Today's games are all about graphics: powerful game engine, hyper fast cards, 4K displays, and DPIs. The war among Xbox, PlayStation, and PC fanboys over graphics supremacy has become so much of a noise.
If you miss the good ol' days of old-school titles and 16-bit pixel worlds, when games were simple and the charm was innocent such as Super Mario's love for Princess Peach, then there's one console that is right for you. A console that will bring back the retro good-NES in your gaming life.
Prepare for a trip down geek nostalgia lane — RetroBlox is here.
Retroblox And Modular Design
According to its press release, Retroblox provides "a modern, unified platform for digital retro gaming that's also committed to unprecedented modular support for original console game media and hardware peripherals."
Retroblox, in its barest essence, kind of fuses old-school with high-tech of today. For one, it has USB ports. It also has an SD card slot, presumably for loading plug-and-play games.
RetroBlox is a modular-type console. It means it works by connecting pieces or what it calls Element Modules compatible with the existing systems. It allows playing of physical copies of games (discs, cartridges, etc.) through what the so-called hybrid emulation.
Multiplatform Support
It has an onboard CD/DVD drive, which lets you play classic PSX, TurboGrafx-CD, Sega CD, and more. So if you still have your original PlayStation One CDs such as Final Fantasy VII or Chrono Cross, you can slap them in and play like it was the 1990s all over again.
The console also allows for play using game cartridges and controllers. So rejoice if you have kept your NES or SNES cartridges of the games that introduced you to video gaming world.
The confirmed supported systems so far are:
• NES
• SNES / SFC
• Genesis / Mega Drive (J) / Mega Drive (E) / 32x / SMS support via Power Base Converter
• Atari 260
• PC-Engine / TurboGrafx-16 / SuperGrafx
• PSX (PSOne)
• Sega CD / 32X CD / Mega CD (J and E)
• PC-Engine CD / Super CD-ROM / Arcade CD-ROM / TurboGrafx-CD
Retro Made Modern
Another feature of Retroblox is its capability to save the physical copies of the games into your digital library. The games will have unique encryption so not only does it deter piracy, but it also makes your (retro) gaming more personal and unique because, well, our first experiences with gaming are always personal. Digital copies also keep your physical copies from wear and tear.
The console also allows games to be played at 1080p display. It means you can enjoy the full glory of your 16-bit Mario or Zelda worlds on your widescreens.
Crowdfunding Nostalgia
Retroblox currently is planning to have a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The campaign will launch in April. Contributors will get perks included in the first batch of consoles when it finally launches.
Three models will be released, with each having the base unit and a Bluetooth controller. The difference will be in the number of Element Modules included.
