Review of Recently Acquired Items

[Atari 5200 Guy]

This should be on my blog here on Atari I/O but I thought I would do one here that's easier to find.  I will do another more in depth review of these items for my blog.  In the meantime get your notepad and pen out.  You may want to take notes.

AC Adapter

First up is this fine AC Adapter.  For a China-made product it actually feels like a nice quality product and it does work with one limitation.  Look at the image below and see if you can spot something.

Look really hard...take your time, I'll wait.  

The issue is this adapter is advertised as being able to work with three consoles:  The NES, SNES, and Model 1 Genesis.  There's only two plugs.  The idea is to use the same plug for the NES on the Genesis.  However, someone must have fell asleep at the drawing board.  The NES draws AC power which is then converted to DC current inside the NES itself.  The Genesis is a DC-only system with it's power supply converting to DC for the console.  The adapter is outputting DC current and does work well with the SNES and NES consoles (I tested it on the NES but I have an original NES power supply so I will stick with that).  The NES and Genesis consoles, however, also have variants on polarity coming in to them through the power port.  If it hasn't sunk in yet the Genesis' polarity is opposite that of the NES.  Using this on a Genesis console can FRY THE SYSTEM!  

Bottomline:  For an SNES/NES power supply replacement this will work however I can't recommend it for the NES knowing its internal AC/DC nature.  For the Model 1 Genesis avoid this at all costs as it is being falsely advertised as working with that console when it does not.  The plug does fit but the polarity is reversed.  It's simply too risky to even attempt.

Off-Brand SNES Controller

Along with the adapter I picked up a controller.  This controller is not the Nintendo-issued one or of a decent 3rd party during the SNES' production cycle.  This is a cheap knock-off that does serve the purpose but also has a few issues that might be worth noting.  

The controller itself is comfortable and doesn't feel much different than the originals other than it might be a bit lighter.  The D-pad, four function buttons, and the Select/Start buttons do feel OK and perform well.  The button issues reside with the two shoulder buttons L/R.  These require a lot more force to use than those on the original SNES control pads.  And I used them a LOT playing F-Zero hoping that they would get broke in enough to soften up a bit.  Nope.  Never happened.  In a way that's a good thing but it would have been more comfortable to use if they would have softened just a bit.  

The second issue I had was plugging the controller into the console.  I am not sure what is off but the connector on the controller going into the console was such a tight fit that I almost thought I was going to break the control ports on the console loose somehow.  They are also very hard to unhook from the console if one wants to switch controllers.  I only recommend these for those that have broken or no controllers, the latter of which was my situation.  They are a cheap alternative to the more expensive used original controllers and they do perform well.  Just be aware of the issues I ran into if these become a part of your gaming collection.  Otherwise, try a different knock-off controller.  There might be some with buttons easier to use and will fit the console without trying to break it.

Final Thoughts

Both of these products work as replacements for anyone with a Super NES in need of them.  If used only for the SNES the adapter alone is worth the price at about $8 average brand new.  The controller could use some softer pads under those shoulder buttons and the connector really needs to be corrected so it is not such a chore to connect/unhook from the system.  Otherwise it performs well and as expected.  It will allow for some length game time on favorite SNES games.  For Model 1 Genesis owners, however, the AC Adapter is a buyer avoid.  

[greenween]

I bought this snes controller for 10 bucks a couple of weeks ago. So far it works great. The only complaint would be that sometimes you push up it goes right. Works good other than that.