[Famicom Rescue Mission Part 2]Reviving all the old games with “Retro Freak” that can copy cassettes…isn’t it easy?[What do you do in your free time? ]- INTERNET Watch

The retro game compatible machine “Retro Freak” will not solve everything.

The author wants to fulfill his dream of playing with his son with over 100 Famicom and other retro games that have been left unattended for a long time at his parents’ home in a faraway place. However, there is no place in his home to keep a large number of game consoles and game software. The solution to this problem is Retro Freak, a retro game compatible machine that can copy games. …That’s the synopsis of the previous episode.

This time, I will talk about how I actually got “Retro Freak” and tried copying the game software. I wish I could just buy it, insert the cassette, and be done with it, but retro games aren’t always that easy.

I can’t get “Retro Freak”!!

I started thinking about acquiring “Retro Freak” around the beginning of 2023. “Retro Freak” was released in 2015, and it was a hot topic at the time. Although it has been eight years since then, I have not heard of any compatible machine that has better performance than this, and if you are looking for the best product, this is the only one.

However, perhaps that is why it is so popular, or perhaps because it has been eight years since its release, it is difficult to find a place that sells it. Even if you look at the mail order site, there is a sales page, but it is out of stock. All you can find are used items with premium prices.

Upon further investigation, I learned that Yamada Denki apparently has a relatively large amount in stock. When I checked the mail order site Yamada Webcom, it was indeed in stock. I was also able to confirm that the nearby Yamada Denki store had it in stock.

However, since it might not be in stock forever, I decided to buy it quickly. I bought “Retro Freak Red x White (Controller Adapter Set)”. This product has a coloring similar to the Famicom and includes an adapter that allows you to connect various genuine controllers for the Famicom, Mega Drive, and PC Engine.

As for the controller, “Retro Freak” comes with one as standard, and you can also use USB controllers from other companies. If you don’t have any particular preferences, you don’t need a controller adapter, but this was the only product on sale at the time I purchased it, so I had no choice but to purchase it. The price is 25,300 yen. It is 3300 yen more expensive than the model without adapter. Also, unlike the regular color version, an AC adapter is not included, but a USB power cable is included. A separate USB charger is required.

In addition to “Retro Freak,” there is also “Retro Freak Basic (for SFC),” which is specifically designed for Super Famicom cartridges. Although it is not compatible with game software other than Super Famicom such as Famicom, it can be purchased at a relatively low price of 14,278 yen. However, it can be said that there is no stock of this item either.

By the way, at the time I was writing this article in late March, it was announced that some Retro Freak stores would be selling restocked items. It seems that “Retro Freak (controller adapter set)” is back in stock, including on the mail order sites of various companies. I don’t know how long the stock will last, but it’s good news that even a small number of new products have entered the market.

I can’t read “The Great Adventure of Torneko” that I bought secondhand.

Next, check if the “Retro Freak” you got can be used as expected. After all, the distance to my parents’ house is 500 km one way, and it takes a full day to get there by car. If you arrive at your parents’ house and decide to try it out, it turns out that it has an initial defect, or if it doesn’t work as expected, you’ll be disappointed.

First, start up “Retro Freak” without any game software inserted. A menu screen appeared shortly after, and I was able to confirm that it was starting up correctly.

Next, insert the microSD card to which you want to copy the game software. The main unit also has 3GB of built-in memory, but since we don’t know how much capacity it will end up with, it’s safer to have a microSD card on hand. However, most Famicom games are less than 1MB each, so even if there were 100 games, it wouldn’t even reach 100MB.

In my case, I happened to have an extra 32GB microSDHC card on hand, so I inserted it. “Retro Freak” seems to be compatible with microSDHC cards of up to 32GB, which unintentionally reached the maximum capacity.

Next, I went to a nearby Bookoff store that sells old used game software, and purchased “Torneko’s Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon” for the Super Famicom to test its operation. It’s based on my son’s favorite game, Dragon Quest, which is a software that I don’t have at home, and it’s something I’d like to play as well. Although it was a bare piece of software, it was reasonably cheap at just under 1,000 yen.

Let’s try inserting “Torneko’s Great Adventure” right away. There are three cartridge slots on the top: one for the Famicom, one for the Super Famicom, and one for the Mega Drive, but the largest one in the center is for the Super Famicom.

You can insert a cartridge into “Retro Freak” while the power is on. It was probably the first time in about 20 years, but I inserted the cartridge with a familiar feeling. But for some reason it doesn’t insert at all. I checked to see if I had inserted the wrong slot, but it was still correct. No matter how many times I try, I can’t feel the cartridge going all the way in.

I thought this was strange, so I looked into it and found a number of reviews saying that the Retro Freak cartridge was difficult to insert and was extremely stiff. Thinking it was just hard, I tilted it from side to side and pushed in hard, and although it made a creaking sound, I managed to insert it.

When I looked at the screen, an error message appeared. It seems that the game could not be loaded correctly. I wonder if it’s because it’s hard that it’s having an effect?

Although I was worried, I pulled it out and put it in again and again, making it squeak. I try to insert it slowly, insert it about half way, etc., but no matter how many times I try, an error occurs and I can’t read it.

Among the reviews I saw earlier, there were reports that not only was it difficult to insert, but the pins in the insertion slot bent or came out, causing malfunctions. Since the information was from the time of release, I bought it thinking that it would have improved by now, but I may not be so optimistic. I’d like to avoid having to repair it because it breaks down before I can even try a single game.

Repeat the removal and insertion again, being as careful as possible. For the 10th time, I tried to insert it into the software as hard as I could, even though I was about to give up, and finally succeeded in loading it successfully. When I checked later, there was nothing wrong with the pin in the insertion port, so I was relieved.

You will now be asked if you want to copy (install) to the microSD card. If you select “Yes”, the game data will be read and copied to the microSD card. The process was completed in just a few seconds, and the save data left on the cartridge was also copied. It’s probably left over from the previous owner’s save data. By the way, the data was almost in its initial state.

In any case, first of all, confirm that “Torneko’s Great Adventure” is activated from the cartridge. Next, remove the cartridge and display the list of Super Famicom games copied to the microSD card from the menu. At this stage, only “Torneko’s Great Adventure” is available, but when I selected this, the game started up just like if I started it from a cartridge.

This confirms that it works as expected. Anyway, if there is no problem with cartridge recognition, copying to the microSD card will be completed in about two steps. It’s easier than you think.

Cleaning methods for retro games must also be considered.

What I realized during this work is that it is dangerous to insert old games into “Retro Freak” as is. Since this was my first time doing this, I did it with brute force, but if I did this over and over again, I might break the cartridge insertion slot of the Retro Freak.

Cartridges sold without an outer box had a very dirty exterior. That means the terminals must also be quite dirty. If it’s been 30 years since the game was released, it’s normal for the terminals to be dirty or rusty, and this is likely to be the cause of the difficulty in inserting the device. I think many of the people who wrote the previous reviews had a similar pattern.

Many of the game software at my parents’ house are even older than this. If you remove and insert a large number of them, there is a good chance that you will damage your Retro Freak. I don’t want to take my “Retro Freak” home to my parents’ house far away, only to have it malfunction and return home. You should consider cleaning the terminals of game software as essential.

Although I have no experience cleaning retro games, I thought that if I brought a common contact revitalizer, I could do something about it, so I didn’t think much more about it and waited for an opportunity to go and copy the games at my parents’ house. Now that I think about it, I can’t say that this is correct either…

It was not possible to take long drives with families, including first graders, and due to various problems such as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, they were finally able to return home at the beginning of 2024. More than half a year has passed since the purchase, and the warranty period for “Retro Freak” has already ended…