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Name: CoolBaby 600 Game HD Mini TV Game Console
Developer: Shenzhen Renshun Technology Co., Ltd.
Release Date: 2017
Console: NES/Famicom
The NES Classic Edition. Nintendo's belated answer to those self-contained versions of popular consoles that have been coming out since the start of the century.
Compilations of games are nothing new, with various packages of games related in one way or another being released since the early days of the personal computer. We've had games for both consoles and computers released in various media forms over the last several decades, from cartridges, to cassettes, to floppies, to discs, to simply virtual folders of ROM and ISO images you've downloaded to play on an emulator. If a company has a large amount of games it wants to rerelease and enhance, but the games are too short or otherwise don't match the new face of gaming , you can bet that they'll take these titles, stick it on whatever media format is popular at the time, and sell it to make money on their older games all over again! The older generation of gamers get to relive their favorite titles, the younger generation is introduced to a pack of games different to what they're used to, and the company makes money to keep afloat(usually.) Everybody wins, and the games get to live on as classics!
Unless they're cheap shovelware movie tie-ins nobody cared about in the first place. In which case, the only way they'll ever stay relevant is when a retro gaming YouTube channel needs a game to gripe about for additional supporters. And when has anyone who's talked about nothing but bad tie-in games ever been able to make that a full-time, high paying career, amiright?
In fact, it's these compilations that are probably the reason we have Plug n Play games to begin with! The first modern Plug n Play games were simply compilations of Atari games, starting with the unofficial TV Boy in the 90s
Before Toymax, and later Jakks Pacific, released the first OFFICIAL Atari consoles. I've already given a short history of Plug n Play games and compilations in my first two posts about dedicated consoles: Spongebob Bikini Bottom 500 and Konami Collector's Series Arcade Advanced, so I'd recommend checking those out for more information about early Plug n Play games and their gradual evolution. ...Or DEvolution in the case of most games released by Techno Source...
While Plug n Play games have spun off into their own market with original games and concepts, the niche has never strayed far from its roots. A good number of consoles, even to this day, have been manufactured for the sole purpose to emulate arcade and other older games, such as the various Pac-Man consoles, Capcom's 3-in-1(containing 1942, Commando, and Ghosts 'n Goblins), and continued releases of Atari 2600 self-contained joystick units.
Heck, with the Plug n Play market all but dead by this point, most of the very few new traditional-style consoles being produced solely contain older console games, such as the Double Dragon and Mega Man 2 consoles released in this last year! ...Unfortunately not put out by former big names in the market like Jakks Pacific, but I guess I'm glad there's SOMEBODY keeping this niche alive. ...Even if it's on life-support...
I bring this up to express my surprise that Nintendo has only RECENTLY entered the market with its own dedicated consoles! Atari and Genesis have been producing consoles for over a decade, Intellivision and Colecovision have had versions of their consoles since 2014, and arcade game compilations have been around since time immemorial. ...However, it's only been since late 2016 that Nintendo itself has FINALLY entered the Plug n Play market with their NES Classic Edition! Only NOW, at the end of the market's lifecycle, has an official compilation of NES titles been released, with the added bonuses of being able to save anytime and playing these games in HD. This has been a product that people have been waiting DECADES for, and it's NOW, when people have started to give up on dedicated consoles in favor of portable smartphone and tablet emulation, that we've finally gotten Nintendo's contribution to self-contained games! ...And BOY, did it take off, despite that!
To say that Nintendo underestimated the appeal of these consoles is an understatement. Between November 2016 and April 2017, they produced 2.3 MILLION consoles, and there STILL weren't enough to go around! Nintendo thought that the console would only be for dedicated retro gamers, more as a collection piece than something people would use as a preferred game system. Yet in the first run, nearly all consoles sold out in a SINGLE day! The consoles were such a hit, that Nintendo's announcement to end the unit's production after only 5 months was met with a lot of confusion and contention.
And, to this day, even previously-owned consoles without packaging go for a tidy sum. This is a demand that most console developers can only hope and pray for!
However, the insane popularity of this console all but confirmed the release of an SNES counterpart, which was released in 2017, with significantly more units produced to avoid the same contentions(though used versions are still relatively pricey.) And, with Nintendo's recent announcement that a SECOND batch of NES Classic Editions will be out this summer, it's nice to know that our demand for upgraded retro hardware will soon be met on both the 8 and 16-bit fronts! ...And maybe I'll finally be able to get one...
But say you don't want to pay $100+ for an NES Classic Edition. Or you're in an area where it's not likely you'll ever see one in stores, especially if there's such a long waiting list of people in front of you, they'll be sold out before you even get a chance. Well, if you're THAT much of a cheapskate and/or unlucky, China's got you covered with their own cash-ins of the NES Classic Edition! ...And, you guessed it, they're all significantly inferior to getting the real thing...
Bootlegs and the NES go together like Nutella and pretzel sticks. Ever since regions outside of Nintendo's market managed to reverse engineer the Famicom and its cartridges in the early 90s, a MASSIVE amount of bootleg games and cartridges have flooded the darker corners of the market, with Nintendo next to powerless to stop it. Most of Nintendo's patents on their original console and game designs expired years ago, so as long as pirates can sidestep the fine print, Nintendo has no easy way to take them to court and guarantee they receive damages. ...Of course, that's even if Nintendo can find and sue the manufacturers to begin with, with how fly-by-night most of these companies are.
The invention of the NES-on-a-chip has insured that these systems are INCREDIBLY easy to manufacture and distribute, with a large library of games to pick and choose from and dump into said chip. Or, if you want to get even cheaper, take a standard ROM board, dump the library of games into that, cover it with a plastic casing, then sell it to people who already own a console. And remember: The more games you brag are on the cartridge, the more you'll sell! ...In theory, anyway.
That's why you can easily go to a site like AliExpress and purchase one of HUNDREDS of variants of the console, all spread across the page for all to see, and choose from numerous multicarts, all at a price far below Nintendo has ever charged for the same hardware! And Nintendo will rarely do anything about it. APATHY FOR THE...! Eh.
Of course, the novelty of having a ready supply of consoles and cartridges with hundreds of games on them only lasts so long. So to keep sales up, it's beneficial to trick consumers into thinking they're getting something completely different! Something that's all the rage at the time. Something like... A newer, more advanced console, maybe? Or, even better, a modern console imitating a retro console that bootleggers are ALREADY copying off of?!
And that brings us to today's subject. One of the more famous and popular bootleg game systems in the wake of the NES Classic Edition controversy: The CoolBaby HD Video Game! ...Yeah, I know I've probably called it 4 different things in this review, but it doesn't have an actual name, so whatcha gonna do?
This is FAR from the only NES Classic Edition clone out there, or even the only system that labels itself with the CoolBaby name. There are NUMEROUS pirate consoles shaped like the more famous and advanced system, each one boasting hundreds of different games and various outputs. It's a labyrinthine maze trying to navigate through this torrential flood of consoles!
Especially if you're on eBay, trying to find the REAL thing out of all the copycats! ...It's amazing prices haven't plummeted with the original, seeing as how people have to navigate through page after page of clones just to find something RESEMBLING the real deal... Or maybe that helps sales, as people will buy the first real one they see after rummaging through hundreds of fake listings?
While it was an absolute pain to find, I think I found the "original" NESCE bootleg: the legitimate CoolBaby-produced system with 600 games. I went with this version because it's much more orderly than most of the other consoles(though that's not saying much as I'll demonstrate in a sec), and its list doesn't repeat with the same 20-or-so games, which is a major bait-and-switch with multicarts. Plus, it has another feature I'm excited to try out, but I'll get to that in a second.
The console's box... Sort of resembles the original's design? If it was designed by a 12-year-old just introduced to Photoshop? It has the purple shading from the box, but it's missing the starry night sky. Perhaps suggesting it souldn't even give us half of what the real thing promises? ...Well, that's an understatement, but I digress.
The picture of the console is also posed in a similar position as the NES on the real box, with the controller even in a nearly-identical angle as the first. ...I actually feel really bad for the guy who had to take this picture. Hours spent continually adjusting and repositioning the console, trying to make it look EXACTLY like the real thing just so s/he could eat that night. It's like the near-perfect copy job of the Lego manuals from the bootleg Minecraft sets. Why do these extraordinarily talented people get stuck helping the bottom of the barrel for a living?
But it's not a bootleg without logos in the style of the real thing to hopefully trick the uninitiated. In this case, we have the CoolBaby logo in the font and style of the Nintendo logo
And the blurb about 600 games in the same seal as the Nintendo Seal of Quality. Great work, guys! Nobody will ever know the difference!
It's a bit redundant anyway, seeing as how it tells you it has 600 games on the other side of the box. Redundancy? With a knockoff system? Perish the thought!
The other two blurbs are just about technical information. They use the same 9-pin controller inputs as the Atari/Genesis that a lot of other pirate consoles like to use, and the power supply is compatible with both 110v and 220v mains. I'm no electrician, so I don't quite know what it means to live in a country with 110v as opposed to the rest of the world's 220v, but I'm glad I don't have to buy anything to keep this thing from shorting out as soon as I plug it in. It was enough of a hassle buying it in the first place...
But yes, you read that right! This consoles DOES output HD signal, just like the real thing! This is the first Plug n Play system in my collection to use this method, and I can't be more excited to see how they handled displaying these games in high definition!
Even though the signal is 720p, NOT 1080p as it claims!
One side simply reiterates that it's from CoolBaby and it's an HD Video Game
While the other side shows the console in someone's hand(again like the original box) to demonstrate how small it is in comparison. They also included some game posters to give you an idea of what's included in this console, but, as with most pirate systems, they're simply the first images they found of something slightly resembling the real thing. So we have Bomberman(represented by the Bomberman R cover art for the Nintendo Switch), Contra(?), the American original Super Mario Bros art, and the Famicom manual for Double Dragon III. Well, you got one out of four for NES title artwork, so E for Effort.
The bottom of the box simply has some Engrished-up warnings, and, strangely, a blurb explaining what HDMI is, which was apparently taken from a site in another language and Google Translated into English, since it states what HDMI stands for, then gives the English name for it, despite already BEING in English... I particularly like the end, which says "...[O]ne interface plug and play will also be received by vast consumers. Accept it!" Well, OK! You don't have to shout at me! I'm a supporter of HDMI!
Now if you don't believe the console contains 600 individual, non-repeated games, they list EVERY SINGLE ONE on the back of the box! 8 columns of 75 rows, totaling 600 games, all for you to peruse! ...Well, I'm glad they're backing up their claim at least. A lot more than most pirate consoles give you...
Unfortunately, you can't use it as a reliable index if you're looking for a specific game, as they're ordered the same way they are in-game. That is to say, little-to-no order. Some of the groupings are alphabetical, but they're put in random areas on the box, so it's hard to follow along. I think they just dumped a couple of their multicarts on the system and didn't bother to reorganize the titles. No time for that! Gotta get this out quick! Every day not on the market while the real thing is still relevant is a day wasted!
The top of the box is just boring legal stuff and the UPC code. Mostly nothing of note.
However, would you believe that there's actually a WEBSITE for the manufacturer?!
Shenzhen City Renshun Technology Co. is a console developer located in the Chinese district of Shenzhen. And, as this Google Translated version of their website states, they're responsible for a good number of 8, 16, 32, and 64-bit game consoles, plus various games and accessories.
However, on their main site, they're mostly about their 8-bit line of consoles and games, mostly handheld "PCP Station" NES clones, but also a GBA emulator shaped like a PS2 Slim, and what I can only assume is an Famiclone shaped like an Amstrad GX4000. And if that's the case, they get 40,000 hipster points for even knowing that console existed!
Going through their products, I realized that I actually inadvertently own one of their cartridges! I bought this 400-in-1 off of AliExpress, which is listed under their seemingly-pointless "CoolBOY" variant, hoping to get a copy of the Final Fight demake Final Fight 3. And while it's one of the most extensive cartridges I've come across, with 400 different games and a wide range of titles, it unfortunately didn't have Final Fight 3... Not even a game under that title... Thank you AliExpress refund policy...
It took a bit of digging and navigating through pages of Chinese symbols, but I eventually did find this product in their "flagship store." And it appears to be the exact same thing I bought, so I'm happy I didn't spend $35 and wait a month to get one of the bootlegs of this bootleg. ...Though the description tells the even bigger lie of saying it outputs the games in 4K... It's almost like these pirates have no standards. Or morals...
When we open the box, we're greeted by a plastic tray containing the console, two controllers wrapped in plastic, an instruction manual, and even an HDMI cord! I have plenty of the latter, but it's nice they considered it!
The console is a straight-up copy of the NES Classic Edition, which itself is a micro version of the original NES. However, most features of the original console present on here are solely cosmetic. The door doesn't actually open and there are none of the guts you'd expect from an old cartridge-based console.
However, the major difference that sets this console apart from the real thing, besides the altered name and controller ports, is that the cosmetics are completely flipped! That black area with the ridges is on the LEFT side instead of the right, while the controller ports and Power/Reset buttons have exchanged places. Why? Absolutely NO idea! Still, it gives you a visual hint as to if you're buying the real thing or not. ...You know. If the other features weren't a clue enough.
And on the back, we have ports for the power and HDMI cords. ...And yes, they use the exact same DC-in input as the actual NESCE. Except it's worse in this case, since, while the real thing supplies a cord, but no AC adapter, this console has no cord PERIOD! ...They included an HDMI cord, but not a micro-USB cord. ...Ok...
Since my phone uses a differently-shaped charger than most other models, I thought I was going to have to go spend even more money and wait longer to feature this while a cord arrived. Thankfully, after a lot of digging around, I found a spare I use for my portable batteries. It's a short, dinky thing, but it works. Crisis averted! You can turn off DEFCON now!
The controllers are almost straight-up copies of the original controllers, except the A and B buttons are switched and they come with the addition of two Turbo buttons third-party controllers like to include. Truthfully, I wish ALL controllers had Turbo buttons, ESPECIALLY NES, as anyone who's played Silver Surfer can attest to...
However, because the console uses the 9 Pin input most other pirate consoles use, most unofficial controllers(and even a few OFFICIAL ones) will work with this system. So if you're not into the NES controller layout, just pull out the Virtual Station fake PS1 controllers. ...If you're a weirdo like me and own one of these systems, that is.
The last thing to mention is the User Manual, or "User Manuai", which contains the standard diagrams of how to use it and a page full of "do this and die" statements, all of which are so hilariously Engrished up, I'm not even going to try to fit them all here.
However, I will give special mention to this one quote, which says "It may be unavailable for some TV with 4K resolution ratio." ...So the store listing states that it outputs 4K signal, but the instructions say it will likely not work with 4K TVs... If you're going to print bullhonkey, please at least get your stories straight...
Also, it's another lie. I have a 4K TV, and it worked just perfectly. Would have appreciated if it also gave me the resolution promised, but c'est la vie.
When you boot up the console, you're actually given a language selection between Chinese and English. That doesn't sound like something worth mentioning, but the fact that they translated the menu option and the titles of 600 games so this console can be more easily accessible to gamers from two different countries is REALLY impressive given how this is a cheap knockoff! ...Still, they didn't include Esperanto as an option, so I'm not impressed.
When you get to the main selection screen, you're given a choice between six menus: Mario, Contra, HotBlood, Turtle, Adventure, and 545-in-1. This is what I was talking about when I said I picked this one for being "more orderly."
Most other clones of the NES Classic simply have a single menu screen, displaying all the games included with no rhyme or reason. Not to mention the numerous repeated games(excluding hacks or reskins.) So the CoolBaby system does us the favor of organizing the games so we know what we have! ...For the first 55 games, anyway.
Obviously, I'm not going to be able to play and feature every single game on this console. I don't have the time, and you don't have the patience. Instead, I'll just go through each menu, describe a bit of what's in it, and point out a few memorable titles. I'm not even going to list every single game included. I go through the menu in the video and I already showed an HD picture of the back of the box with the list of games, so if you're REALLY curious if something's here, please check those. I'm lazy. I know.
We start off with the 25-in-1 Mario menu. Yes, Mario has gotten the most love on this console, as you'd expect from a Nintendo knockoff. Mario is to Nintendo as Batman is to DC: They're the only ones that matter, all other names are expendable.
Impressively, we get the three major NES Mario titles on here, plus Dr. Mario and the original Mario Bros arcade game.
And even the infamous Mario is Missing and Mario's Time Machine! Considering how most other multicarts/multisystems simply go with the first Mario game, it's a breath of fresh air to see more than the standard Super Mario Bros on here! ...I'm not a Mario person, so I'm not exactly excited to own these games, but it's nice to see some pirates that stepped out of their comfort zone for once!
...But then you get the weird Mario hacks, such as "Mario 10"(a hack of Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu), Mario 14(a hack of a Kid Niki: Radical Ninja sequel), "Mario 16"(a hack of Joe & Mac), "Mario 6"(a hack of Tiny Toon Adventures), and "Mario 9"(a hack of Adventure Island 2). I'm not surprised these are on here, since I've come across these games on multiple multicarts as well, but I find it funny they included a number of graphical hacks when most, if not all, of the actual titles are included on this console! ...Of course, I'm probably giving them too much credit and thinking they actually knew what the games they were putting on this system were.
They even include a hack of Yoshi's Cookie called "Hash Cookie"
Right above the actual game in the menu!
But, hey. Why complain? It's simply the third Mario educational game they've included on here! Now you can teach your kids what 215 and 420 even mean! ...And what psychological therapy is, since they'll need it after seeing one of their favorite video game characters reduced to a baggy-eyed, sleeveless marijuana leaf shirt-wearing stoner... Just give him a bag of Cheetos, why don't you?
The console also contains the infamous Super Mario Bros rebuild "Excite Mario Bros", where the levels are rebuilt and all enemies are replaced with characters from other Nintendo games, such as Kirby, Excite Bike, and Samus from Metroid.
The game that inspired the Assist Trophy, perhaps?
We get another section of graphical hacks later in the list, such as "Mario in Space"(Galaga), "Balloon Mario"(Balloon Fight), "Bomber Mario"(Bomberman), "Circus Mario"(Circus Charlie), "Mario Runner"(Lode Runner)
And "Small Mario", this weird slot machine game I have no idea what it is. Or what its relation is with Mario? ...This game's so bland, I don't think it would even count as a Toad House minigame for Super Mario Bros 3.
However, head and shoulders above the rest in terms of strangeness is a trio of games known as "Kamikaze Mario", a series of ultra-hard unofficial Mario games where Mario runs along and gets killed. Over and over again.
And he does all this completely naked with his dong swaying freely in the wind. ...Ultra-hard indeed...
While that's all the Mario this menu contains, a good number of Mario games can be found in the 545-in-1 section. Without even trying, I found "Alice Cooper", "Blink: Ultra Hard", and "Luigi and the Christmas Quest". Look, I know you're trying REALLY hard to meet that 600 game quota, but weren't there other titles you could have added to the list?
Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? ...Actually, forget I said anything...
The next menu is 11-in-1 Contra. There weren't many Contra games made for the NES, so I'm surprised they managed to find 11 things to pass off as Contra. ...One of them isn't the infamous demake "Contra Spirits" though, which disappoints me as a bootleg game collector...
Obviously, the first Contra game is on here. ...Or rather "Contra 24-in-1", which is a menu inside of a menu with 24 options.
Each of which start you off on a different level with different lives and/or weapons. Pretty handy for anyone wanting to cheat at this ultra-hard game. ...Or trying to review it...
The direst sequel Super Contra and the spin-off Contra Forces are also included, giving you the entire NES Contra library for any Contraphiles out there.
They even included the graphical hack Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces, the version released to most European markets where all characters were replaced by robots, since censorship decreed the original concept as too violent.
Didn't stop the computer ports(which they renamed to Gryzor) from keeping the original format, though. ...Though considering the infamously low quality of the computer versions, maybe changing them to robots would have at least made it look more interesting...
Also, there's no original Probotector. Just FYI.
Interestingly, even though "Contra Spirits" isn't included, there IS a pirate Contra game included: The imaginatively titled "Super Contra 7", as well as the extra-life version "Super Contra 8." This is the game with the infamous "Ootototel" signs, among other things, from Mighty Final Fight. This alone just made the purchase worth it, since I couldn't find a cartridge of the game, and now I can feature it on a future segment of KCC! And in HD! ...Meaning I'll get a clearer view of my character dying over and over again... Still, this means the console has use outside of its initial review.
The other games on this list are obscure, unrelated titles where they just went "Hey, they're side-scrolling shooters. Close enough." Most of them are their European ports, also going under those regional names instead of their more common American titles, such as Final Mission(SCAT: Special Cybernetic Attack Team), Isolated Warrior, Blue Shadow(Shadow of the Ninja), Cross Fire, and Shatterhand. So, if you need to get your run 'n gun fix... Just stick with the Contra titles. These other ones aren't worth your time.
Next is the 11-in-1 Hot Blood* list, containing most of the Famicom ports of the Kunio-kun series of beat 'em up Japanese sports games. It's a long-running series featuring "Kunio", a high-school student that is constantly beat up and humiliated, so he enters a number of no-holds-barred sports tournaments to get even with the bullies. ...So it's basically if they made a game series out of every early-90s teen sports movie ever...
*So named because the first game translates roughly to "Hot Blood Tough Guy Kunio."
We in Americaville know several of these games under the Westernized and redesigned Renegade(Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun), River City Ransom(Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari), Super Dodge Ball(Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu), Crash 'n' The Boys: Street Challenge(Bikkuri Nekketsu Shin Kiroku! Harukanaru Kin Medal), and, possibly the most self-aggrandizing title of them all, Nintendo World Cup(Nekketsu Kōkō Dojjibōru Bu: Sakkā Hen). But now we can play each of these titles, as well as a number that never made it to American shores, as they were meant to be played! ...Not that you'd want to...
I think the reason not all these games were ported to other countries is because they're BORING! The sole gimmick to most of these games is that they're regular sports games where you can hit each other. Besides that, it's the same game you'd get from pretty much any other Soccer/Basketball/Olympic/Hockey/etc. game. So if you're into sports games, maybe you'll like these. But, for the majority of gamers that prefer a bit more action(or at least more cartoonish violence for their sports games), this is a concept that gets really old REALLY fast.
Also, each one is ported in its original Japanese, and since text is crucial to setting up sports plays, and there's a LOT of text in these games, I hope you have Google Translate on standby for every screen.
They DO have the original version of River City Ransom included in this list, though, under the name "Hot Blood Story". So as long as you're familiar with the translated version, this one's at least playable, I guess.
And, just because they couldn't find anywhere else to put it, there's Mighty Final Fight. Thankfully in English this time. And yes, this is the best game out of the list.
I'll spare you a long explanation of the 4-in-1 Turtles and 4-in-1 Adventure menus, since they're simply the four TMNT and four Adventure Island games released on NES and Famicom. For the Turtles, we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, Teenage Mutant Turtles III: The Manhattan Project, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighter. For Adventure Island, there's Adventure Island I, II, III, and IV. All of these are pretty decent games(except maybe the first TMNT game), so these menus are worth revisiting.
Especially since it includes the fourth Adventure Island game Takahashi Meijin no Bōken Jima IV, which wasn't released in the Americas due to it being one of the final releases of the 8-bit era. And it's in English! So this is a great way to check out this hidden gem on the console in HD without an emulator! ...At least, I assume it's a hidden gem. I haven't actually played it...
And that brings us to the final Menu on this console: 545-in-1. AKA "We didn't feel like sorting through the other games we dumped onto this console, but we had a quota to meet, so do it yourself. We're not even going to bother alphabetizing them."
I'm serious. There's no visible or consistent organization across the list. Sometimes they'll include a list alphabetically, and sometimes they'll group titles by series
But most of the time, they'll just throw up their hands and say "Whatever. We're not selling this console based on what games we're including, anyway." So if you're looking for a specific game in this maze of titles, I wish you the best of luck. Pack a lunch...
That said, this section does have a decent selection of decent games, which is clear from the minute you enter the menu and it shows you Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 5(or Rockman 3 & 5 since they're using the original Japanese ports.) I'm not a huge Mega Man guy(though I'm one of the few who enjoyed Mega Man 64), but I understand the appeal of this series and I'm impressed they included these games on this system, since you don't commonly see high-end games like this on generic multicarts and self-contained pirate systems. It's possibly something I wouldn't mind returning to. ...Though why only these games and not all six NES titles?
There's also a decent amount of licensed games you can play solely to laugh at. Home Alone, Captain Planet, Cliffhanger, Felix the Cat, Mission Impossible, The Terminator, and the entire Robocop series, to name a few. As unfortunately demonstrated by Robocop 3 here...
Slight warning to anyone wanting to play the Robocop games: They include the Robocop vs. The Terminator game on here and likely intended it to be under the name "Robocop 4". However, selecting that gives you Robocop 3, while "Robocop 3" sends you to Robocop vs. The Terminator. It's almost like they didn't test each game before they sent it out or something. ...I'd say more, but I'd be a hypocrite...
They also included the Double Dragon trilogy on here, plus a game that goes under the name "Double Dragon 4". ...Don't be fooled, it's not the recent retro-style sequel they made for the PS4 and Switch that they somehow crammed onto an NES. It's a title swap of Target: Renegade. ...Probably the more entertaining Double Dragon IV though...
The Star Wars game intrigued me, since there's a Japan-exclusive Star Wars game(infamous for Darth Vader transforming into multiple giant animals), and, given how most of the titles are the Japanese ports, they might have included it on here.
But no. It's the unfairly hard and boring American version. Geez, the one time I WANT them to mess up...
And a warning to any parents weird enough to think this would be a good system for their kids: This console contains Peek-a-Boo Poker, a pornographic virtual strip-poker game where a chosen woman takes more and more off every time you reach a goal. ...You know, if "Kamakaze Mario" didn't already clue you in that there are no moral standards present here.
Since we're all about bootlegs and unofficial games here, let's finish this look off with all the hacks and demakes I could find.
Chip 'n Dale 3. A hack of Heavy Barrel, but with the main characters hacked to resemble the titular characters, and the villains now looking like gorillas with tiny heads. Solely graphical hack. Not interested. Play the two OFFICIAL Chip 'n Dale games on here instead.
King of Fighters '99. One of many demakes of the King of Fighters series(and one that has nothing to do with the Genesis demake of the same name.) I'm including this one as a GIF, because I am legitimately impressed with how fast and fluid the action is! Most fighting games, especially demakes, on the NES are slow and clunky, so to have one that goes THIS fast and scrolls THIS well is incredible! ...Unfortunately, that's also the game's downfall, as there's no cap. Things happen too quickly to react to, and you have no idea what's going on! I don't play fighting games, I've never played a King of Fighters game, and I have no intention to properly play THIS game. Moving on.
Street Fighter II. A demake of the popular fighting game of the same name. If you've ever wanted to play one of the greatest fighting games of all time with all the sprites and backgrounds heavily compressed, the special moves unresponsive, and near-perfect AI that spams special moves you can't hope to pull off... You still wouldn't want to play this.
Mortal Kombat IV. One of NUMEROUS Mortal Kombat demakes. I've had to play several of them since they were included on multicarts with other pirate games I've bought, and I can say that this version is... Competent? It moves quickly, it's responsive, and it has some impressive effects, including a large blood splatter! However, this is actually a low-memory version of another demake called "Mortal Kombat 3", with only half of the characters and stages from that game. I say if you're going to waste your time on a terrible, lazy demake, you might as well find the complete edition...
Angry Birds. A graphical hack of Moai-Kun
Angry Birds 2. A graphical hack of Kiwi Kraze/The New Zealand Story.
Which, as with most of the other hacks on this console, they also included the real version of.
Angry Birds 3. A true demake of the Angry Birds to the Famicom! I've actually featured this game before in an Angry Birds pirate showcase, and it's one of the better Angry Birds demakes out there. Or at least the most functional. Since this console outputs these games in HD, I kind of wish I had this when I was doing the showcase... Eh, no matter how it's presented, it's still not a game with much replay value.
Sonic the Hedgehog. ...This one's a little strange. This is a hack of "Somari the Adventurer", which is a Famicom pirate of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but with Mario added. And this hack turns Mario back into Sonic. While also starting halfway through the game, with the earlier levels only accessible through a Level Select cheat. Having played "Somari", it's frustratingly difficult, but not one of the hardest games I've played, and it's fairly competent in terms of level layout and physics. Running and attacking on the other hand... I'll save a full review for when I feature it on this blog.
Todos Contra Tche Co. One of the more unintentionally disturbing hacks I've come across. I picked it, thinking it was a Contra pirate. Instead, it's a straight-up graphical hack of Rockin' Kats, except with the main character as this strangely amorphous green-skinned guy who pushes smaller white versions of himself with a telekinetic hand with a face. I can find literally nothing on this game or the people who hacked it, but it looks like a Spanish animated sitcom from an Adult Swim-esque animated block. There's just something REALLY unnerving about this whole thing, whether it's the color palette, the character designs, the unexplained nature of the gameplay, or just the mystery surrounding the backstory of this hack. I couldn't play this very long, I was getting nauseous, so here's an opportunity for a Let's Player to showcase a game nobody else knows about! ...Just don't expect me to watch it...
Plants vs. Zombies. Just like the earlier Angry Birds demake, this is seriously a port of the hit tower defense game to the NES! Possibly by the same company, given the graphics and soundtrack. It's even more competently programmed and engaging than Angry Birds, with the gameplay being pretty faithful to the real thing, only downgraded and simplified for the system. All the elements you'd expect are here. Collect sunlight, plant flowers, repel zombies, repeat through the 5 stages. Again, I'll save a full review when I feature the game by itself on this blog. Especially since I have a Genesis port to pair it with...
Teletubbies. A graphical hack of Mario Bros. The only added fun you'll have is seeing those abominations die repeatedly...
Pocket Monster. Another pirate game I haven't played yet, and one of the more intriguing games on this console. It appears to be a regular platformer game, starring the Pokemon mascot himself: Pikachu. From what I played, it's reasonably designed and fair, and could be a relatively decent game of its genre. I've played the Pocket Monster games for the Genesis, and this is the first one I've come across for the NES. And seeing how insane the Genesis Pocket Monster games are, I'm gong to need to play this one through to see what this throws at me. Review coming soon!
And that's but a small look at the CoolBaby 600-in-1 bootleg of the NES Classic Edition. Obviously, I can't play through and feature all 600 games, but I hope I gave you a good idea of what this console is about. ...Namely it's about tricking you into thinking you're getting an ACTUAL NES Classic Edition for a fraction of what it's going for on eBay and instead presenting you with an overelaborate multicart with the standard budget games and hacks that every single other pirate console/cartridge give you, without any of the bells and whistles Nintendo went to great lengths to include in their console.
But it contains a game with naked women, which automatically makes this the best console ever! ...No it doesn't... Nobody's turned on by 8-bit nudity...
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Design: It's the NES Classic Edition design, but flipped horizontally and with the name of the console changed. I can't exactly give it high marks for creativity, but I'll give it credit that I'd want to know what's up with a miniature NES console if I saw it by itself somewhere. Especially if it had a chance of being an actual NES Classic Edition! Even as a pirate console, it has collectable value, if just cosmetically. Stick it in the background of one of your videos right next to the real thing, and see how many people notice you have a reverse-NES!
Controls: I can't really judge this category the same way I do with most other games, since it's a console and the responsiveness of such is left up to each individual game, but the controls themselves work just fine as far as I can tell. They're designed almost exactly like standard NES controllers, except with the added bonus of Turbo buttons! And I can use them with other pirate consoles I own! What's not to like? ...Besides that they can't be used with actual consoles...? Still,
Graphics: Again, graphics quality is really based on each individual game, so I can't judge it the same way I usually do. However, I'll give the console MAJOR points for outputting the games in HD! It's lower-grade 720p, but it's still higher resolution than the games were originally presented in. My only major gripe is that I don't like the more modern method of stretching images originally in 4:3 to 16:9, as it just makes them look stretched out and skewed and hard to focus on. Still, with the super-high resolution of modern TVs making older resolutions look grainy and out of focus, this is one of the best ways to play classic retro games and still see what you're doing. ...Or you could put an emulator on your tablet and output the signal to your TV, but that's another story.
Music & Sound: Again, something better left to each game. The way it was outputted, however, sounded great. I didn't hear most of the problems associated with emulation, especially pitch issues, and everything sounded clearer than regular AV cables. I did notice a bit of stuttering in a few areas, especially when loading new areas, but this is pretty common with emulation no matter what you use. Overall, everything sounded great, and I remember the audio more here than with most other games featured. ...Then again, these are actual games and not slapdash pirate projects, so these have an unfair advantage in this instance.
Gameplay: I'm going to be judging this category based on how likely it is that you'd want to play this library. This console has a pretty extensive selection of games, ranging from the Mario series to Mega Man to TMNT, to Double Dragon. A lot of the classic titles are here and in HD, so retro gamers have a lot to pick from. ...However, I didn't see much out of the ordinary with the game selection either. Sure, it contains a lot of licensed games that you don't commonly see in multicarts, and the "Hot Blood" series is pretty uncommon as an inclusion, but it's still mostly budget game fare. There's no Metroid, no Castlevania, no Legend of Zelda, no Final Fantasy, no Dragon Warrior, DuckTales, Blaster Master, Kirby's Adventure, Life Force, Battletoads, Ghosts n Goblins, Wizards & Warriors, none of the REALLY engaging titles. There are the Super Mario sequels and a few Mega Man games, but not many of the "classics", which would probably be important for a console ripping of a "classics" console! On top of that, a LOT of titles are simply hacks of classic games, mostly Super Mario Bros., so even though they technically don't repeat themselves, you're still getting basically the same game multiple times. And I'm not even going to mention the enormous amount of "X-in-1" pirate shovelware also on this console(until I feature a console dedicated to it, anyway.) Plus, it's a crapshoot what language the games will be in, whether they'll be in English, Japanese, or even Spanish! Still, as a collector of pirate games, I have to say I'm impressed with the number of unofficial titles they stuffed into this for me to play and feature on my blog. And in HD! So if you're not picky and you just want to play an NES game, this console contains a lot you can pick from. Heck you could theoretically base an entire YouTube channel solely around this console! But if you're a serious gamer who wants specific, immersive titles, you're likely going to be disappointed. Especially since this isn't as easily hackable as the NES Classic.
Replay Value: If you're comfortable with the games included, you're likely going to get a LOT of use out of it! ...Especially since most NES games are tougher than a shoe-leather-and-steel-nail pie...
Overall:
It's just barely above being your standard self-contained pirate console, like what you find on AliExpress for $10. It's a wholly unoriginal concept, with a library of titles with questionable quality and resolution, and your standard pirate console annoyances(such as being kicked back to the main menu and having to find your place again every time you hit Reset.) However, it outputs these games using HDMI, as opposed to the standard AV cables, and the titles it DOES give you are fun and numerous enough to be enjoyable for a long while. Plus, I love the shameless knockoff cosmetics and the slight upgrade they gave to the controllers, so it's worth getting if just for decorative value. It's no substitute for the NES Classic Edition, so if you're really desperate for one of those, I'd recommend holding out until you either save enough for one or they come down in price. However, if you just want a cheap HD console with a lotta games for curiosity's sake, you might be reasonably surprised and impressed with this console's quality and selection. Find one and decide for yourself if it suits your needs. You can find the console you can hack and install N64 emulators on later.
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