The Supaboy - New SNES handheld from Hyperkin

[Coreykun667]

I just received my Supaboy from Stone Age Gamer, and the high pitch noise is godawful, which even plays through headphones... I also seem to get some weird lines on the screen playing Star Fox, yet Stunt Rally FX plays just dandy. The unit also doesn't play Mario RPG and Kirby Superstar (I'm 99.9% sure that these are 1st rev.) I'll have to check back up on Yoshi's Island for issues, but none so far. Mario RPG has the number 34 punched in the back label and KSS has a 40 stamped in the back. I bought this assuming I was right with the 1st software revisions on both...

[nusilver]

I just received my Supaboy from Stone Age Gamer, and the high pitch noise is godawful, which even plays through headphones... I also seem to get some weird lines on the screen playing Star Fox, yet Stunt Rally FX plays just dandy. The unit also doesn't play Mario RPG and Kirby Superstar (I'm 99.9% sure that these are 1st rev.) I'll have to check back up on Yoshi's Island for issues, but none so far. Mario RPG has the number 34 punched in the back label and KSS has a 40 stamped in the back. I bought this assuming I was right with the 1st software revisions on both...

from what i recall, the stamps only mean what factory the games were assembled at, not which revision.

I recently received Kaboomer's copy of Super Mario RPG - one that works on a Supaboy. I don't have my Supaboy to test right now, but I can confirm from watching his video that it's the same cartridge. Having said that, when I opened up both copies of the game that I have, the insides are using the same PCB revision, though the chips look slightly different. I honestly don't know how to differentiate between a clone-compatible copy and a non-working copy. Sigh.

[Tempy]

Received my Supaboy yesterday. Seems like a good product - except for the loud buzzing sound which occurs even when using headphones Disappointed. I hope there will be some kind of fix that I can do myself (like the mods to improve the Retro Duo NES sound). I'm not expecting it to be easy or cheap to get it replaced since I'm in Europe.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Received my Supaboy yesterday. Seems like a good product - except for the loud buzzing sound which occurs even when using headphones Disappointed. I hope there will be some kind of fix that I can do myself (like the mods to improve the Retro Duo NES sound). I'm not expecting it to be easy or cheap to get it replaced since I'm in Europe.

Sorry, there isn't any fix. It's problem with the hardware itself. You need to get the entire unit replaced and hope your replacement doesnt have the same damn problem. Thats what happened to me. i sent mine back for replacement, and the replacement system still has the buzz.

[Coreykun667]

I tested Donkey Kong Country 2 and I get the piracy protection screen.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

hm. I would recommend trying it again. The DKC trilogy does have anti piracy bootscreen if it detects latency with the pin connector, but that shouldn't happen when you plug it directly into the Supaboy without the use of any other adapter. My copy of all three games works fine with the Supaboy. it's possible you have a later revision, but I still haven't heard of any such issues. Do you own any other Super Famiclones? If your copy of DKC2 doesn't work on your Supaboy it shouldn't work on any other clones either.

[Coreykun667]

hm. I would recommend trying it again. The DKC trilogy does have anti piracy bootscreen if it detects latency with the pin connector, but that shouldn't happen when you plug it directly into the Supaboy without the use of any other adapter. My copy of all three games works fine with the Supaboy. it's possible you have a later revision, but I still haven't heard of any such issues. Do you own any other Super Famiclones? If your copy of DKC2 doesn't work on your Supaboy it shouldn't work on any other clones either.

I don't have a Snes clone other than the Supaboy. My DKC2 cart does have a bit of difficulty even playing on my Mini Snes sometimes. I bought my DKC2 off of some guy on Amazon. The cart was cleaned by them. I have to get it in that sweet spot for the pins I guess?

[Coreykun667]

from what i recall, the stamps only mean what factory the games were assembled at, not which revision.

I recently received Kaboomer's copy of Super Mario RPG - one that works on a Supaboy. I don't have my Supaboy to test right now, but I can confirm from watching his video that it's the same cartridge. Having said that, when I opened up both copies of the game that I have, the insides are using the same PCB revision, though the chips look slightly different. I honestly don't know how to differentiate between a clone-compatible copy and a non-working copy. Sigh.

Someone told me that if there's just a 2 digit number, then it's a first rev. and the later ones had an "A" stamped too. Guess I'm wrong then. I just found out that the ones that say "Made in Mexico" work? Figures with my luck...

[nusilver]

Someone told me that if there's just a 2 digit number, then it's a first rev. and the later ones had an "A" stamped too. Guess I'm wrong then. I just found out that the ones that say "Made in Mexico" work? Figures with my luck...

Did you see that on that YouTube video? If so, you'll notice my comment telling the guy "thanks for trying, but that's not correct."

I have two copies of Super Mario RPG - los dos hecho en Mexico - one works on the Supaboy, the other doesn't.

Also, I haven't heard back from Hyperkin in several days re: the status of my Supaboy. I'm not worried, just annoyed that their customer service doesn't respond to my emails. I mean, I'm always incredibly polite...should I start being a dick?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Whether the game was made in Mexico or Japan has little to do with SA-1 games running on clones. All revisions of the game were made in both countries. The determining factor is the board revision, which you can't tell apart aside from directly looking at it. There is no external way to tell the revision.

As for your problems contacting Hyperkin, try to be patient. I can't imagine Hyperkin is a very large company. They probably have twenty employees, tops. There's probably only a single person to address all custom relations. I'm not defending Hyperkin, but you should try to appreciate their situation.

[nusilver]

Whether the game was made in Mexico or Japan has little to do with SA-1 games running on clones. All revisions of the game were made in both countries. The determining factor is the board revision, which you can't tell apart aside from directly looking at it. There is no external way to tell the revision.

As for your problems contacting Hyperkin, try to be patient. I can't imagine Hyperkin is a very large company. They probably have twenty employees, tops. There's probably only a single person to address all custom relations. I'm not defending Hyperkin, but you should try to appreciate their situation.

I very much do understand and appreciate the situation. Having said that, it's been a week since I first emailed for an update, and regardless of a company's size, it's unacceptable to take someone's money and not acknowledge their communication in a situation like this.

There's a reason there are templates in Outlook.

[Taiyaki]

After trying to take videos and not being able to capture the sound issue properly with my camera I decided to give up and return the item to the seller.

Hyperkin has not been open enough about acknowledging the flaws of this system to the public. We still don't even have clarity regarding what to expect from the final product this long after it's release. This is bad business plain and simple.

The Pokefami DX and the upcoming Retro Duo Portable appear to be much better alternatives.

[Coreykun667]

Did you see that on that YouTube video? If so, you'll notice my comment telling the guy "thanks for trying, but that's not correct."

I have two copies of Super Mario RPG - los dos hecho en Mexico - one works on the Supaboy, the other doesn't.

Also, I haven't heard back from Hyperkin in several days re: the status of my Supaboy. I'm not worried, just annoyed that their customer service doesn't respond to my emails. I mean, I'm always incredibly polite...should I start being a dick?

I see. Yeah, it was that Youtube video.