FC Twin Video Game System

The FC Twin Video Game System is a Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone that can play NES and SNES games, released in November 2006, after the patents on both systems had expired.

The console features separate card slots and circuitry for both the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), allowing it to play games for both consoles. It has a single-pole, double-throw power switch with open position; the switch can be thrown to 8-Bit (NES) or 16-Bit (SNES), or opened to Off.

The FC Twin is also Super Famicom compatible; however, in order to access this feature, two plastic tabs found in the cartridge slot must be removed.

Compatibility with the NES

The FC Twin console is unable to use NES compatible controllers and devices such as the NES Zapper peripheral for the game Duck Hunt. As such, players must use a Super Nintendo controller, with the buttons mapped as follows:

• B maps to Y
• A maps to B
• A, X, L and R serve no function

The console connects to the television through an RCA connector and can be hooked into a surround sound system. However, when using stereo and surround output, music and sound effects for NES games may seem very different from their typical mono output. Players wanting a more authentic experience should therefore use output modes that properly generate mono sound, either through a single centre speaker or cloned to multiple speakers. Even with mono output, the FC Twin cannot produce some sounds faithfully; for example, sound effects in the Super Mario Bros series of games will immediately seem different.

Instead of using a ZIF connector, the FC Twin uses a card slot reader, which should help to eliminate some of the bad connections experienced with the original ZIF socket. However, the pins can still sometimes misalign and short across each other, or otherwise fail to connect properly, requiring the cartridge to be reseated.

Compatibility with the SNES

The FC Twin console uses SNES compatible controllers and devices such as the Super Scope and the SNES Mouse for Mario Paint. The console is able to reproduce SNES sound accurately. This is because the original SNES used a sample-driven mechanism, and so reproducing the sound from these systems simply requires playing back clips of sounds with mathematically-defined effects and loop points, with the CPU reading the instruction language or running a program to emulate it.