The portable Super Nintendo that you dreamt of, twenty years ago, is finally here

Matt Hawkins Contributing Writer, Video Games

Screw the iPhone, 3DS, and Vita, cuz none of those can play Turtles In Time, on the go.

Announced some time ago, Hyperkin’s SupaBoy has finally arrived…

supaboy The portable Super Nintendo that you dreamt of, twenty years ago, is finally here

Let’s get straight to the facts: it accepts old school SNES carts (I’m betting you have one or two somewhere in the back of your closet), has a 3.5 in screen, and a whopping two and half hours on battery! Okay, maybe that last part is not so wonderful, but that’s what the AC adapter is for! It also acts as a home console on the go; there’s AV out, and as you might have noticed, there’s also two inputs for SNES controllers.

Super Nintendo clones are a dime a dozen, but this one is one of the few that accepts the original Starfox and Donkey Kong Country, which is somewhat rare since those carts had special chips that normally doesn’t play nice with unofficial hardware. Oh, and it also runs Japanese games too, in case you happen to have easy access to Super Famicom games as well. It costs $80 and is available via Amazon.

Now, one of the main thrusts of the hardware is, aside from the nostalgia factor, is that games are presumably super cheap to find. Are they? Not on Amazon at least; check out the prices of these SNES classics that are suggested below the listing: $450 for Super Mario World? $300 for Link To The Past? And $134 for Starfox?

Mind you, those are brand new, still sealed from twenty years ago copies. Funny nonetheless! Personally, I’ll have to pass, since I already have a portable SNES. It’s called the Game Boy Micro, and most of the best Super Nintendo games are readily available (plus it’s a much better looking package, and the battery life is MUCH better). Sadly though, Starfox was never re-released for the system, which I’m still miffed about.

But then there’s something else, which I would suggest to folks eyeing the SupaBoy. Ever heard of the Dingoo?

dingoo The portable Super Nintendo that you dreamt of, twenty years ago, is finally here

It sorta looks like a GBMicro, but plays all kinds of games, including GBA, SNES, NES, Genesis, Neo Geo, the list goes on… via emulation. Which means it plays roms, which are kinda legally questionable, I realize. Plus it can play movies and music if you’re so included. It’s also from China, so the interface is a tad bit wonky, but it’s nothing super complicated. Anyhow, it’s also cheaper than the SupaBoy, by a few bucks.

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