Retro Freak: A Retro Gamer's Paradise

Being a retro gamer (by retro, I'm referring to the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis days), I often miss the experience of hooking up a Super Nintendo to a 13-inch CRT TV, retrieving a cartridge, and wiggling the cartridge into the system slot. I also pine for the fervor of flicking on the SNES switch and holding my breath until the official publisher logo appears. Cartridges littered the floor, each representing a genre I loved and cherished for years: The Lion King, Animaniacs, Buster Busts Loose, Timon and Pumba's Jungle Games, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy III, NHL 95, Shadow Run, Top Gear, and Mario Paint. Every day and every pointless blow in the cartridge screamed adventure for me; as a child, the ability to lose myself came with ease.

Sadly, it's a little tougher to relive the nostalgia as an adult. HDTVs require an up-scaling device, and personally speaking, my SNES is no more. Beyond the SNES there are other experiences, such as the classic and frustrating Sonic games and the heart-pounding brutal races in 3DO's Road Rash, that beg to be relived. Would there be a day where I don't have to resort to collecting every retro console to play my old games once more?

Yes, yes there would.

Okay, more like maybe.

Recently, in Japan, a new retro console has been announced, and boy does it deliver. Dubbed the Retro Freak, Hyperkin's platform serves a cornucopia of platforms: Famicom (the Japanese version of NES), Super Famicon, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Mega Drive, Genesis, PC Engine, TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine SuperGrafx.

Unfortunately, no 3DO appears on the list, but then again, the 3DO is an American-based console.

There are five different slots for the platforms, so some systems share the same slot, but if you do not have the physical copies of games, you can easily install games onto the console.

11 systems don't sound as vast when you consider that the SNES is the International version of the Super Famicon and that Game Boy Advance handhelds carry backwards compatibility for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, but who am I to complain?

The controller design is sleek, resembling most of a SNES controller combined with the white color scheme of the Wii Classic Controller. If you do not choose to stick with the controller packaged, then you are welcome to use a USB-supported controller. Really hoping this sails to Western Shores!

The Retro Freak will release later this year in Japan.