The Everdrive brand of flash carts are some of the most efficient, and premium of all flash carts. They are also available on a wide range of systems. The Nintendo Entertainment System as a system that is now over thirty-five years old is quite easy to emulate on anything from a smartphone to a Nintendo Wii. This brings up the question of why someone would go to the effort of purchasing an Everdrive for the NES when the system can so easily be emulated. Well, after spending some time with both the original Nintendo Entertainment System and the NES Everdrive N8 Pro I think I can answer that question. Nostalgia. Like a warm cup of tea in the depths of winter, the nostalgia of using original physical hardware and playing classic games on that hardware evokes memories of precious old times. Using a setup of an original console plus Everdrive transports us to a different time and place. The NES Everdrive N8 Pro facilitates this. Read on for a short review of the NES Everdrive N8 Pro.
NES Consoles and Clone Systems
The NES Everdrive N8 Pro is primarily designed to work with original NES systems. Whether you have an original NES or an original top-loader, the Everdrive will work (as long as the system still works). Unfortunately, the Everdrive will not work on a Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES). Despite the software of the NES and Famicom being similar, a NES cartridge is not physically compatible with the Famicom. In terms of NES clone systems, of which there are many, the answer of whether the Everdrive will work is more complex. Some clone systems work like real hardware in which case they will read the Everdrive like a game cartridge and should work. However, some clone systems work by using software to emulate an NES system, and dump the ROM from the cartridge to internal memory. Most Hyperkin clone systems work in this way. Because an Everdrive is in essence an application that lets you access a collection of ROMs, rather than a game cartridge that represents a single ROM, the Everdrive will not work with these kinds of systems. Furthermore, clone systems vary even by the individual console that you have in your possession, so there’s never a guarantee that the Everdrive will work.
Games and ROM Hacks
Once I got the Everdrive up and running and paired with an original PAL NES console (and all the relevant TV connections being correct), I began experiencing the NES in all its glory like it was 1986. I noticed the menu is the same clear, clean menu that is implemented in many Everdrive products such as the Everdrive 64 X7, and the GB Everdrive X7. Easy to navigate and with a multitude of options. I loaded up some ROMs and checked out the emulation quality. I put some NES classics as well as some fun ROM hacks on the micro SD card that was inserted in the Everdrive. Tetris, Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros. 3 all loaded up within seconds, and played with no major stutters or glitches. A Pokemon ROM hack that recreates the world and RPG system of Pokemon Yellow also ran with no issues. Overall, all the games I tried ran as expected, and the original hardware played like it should, despite being ancient in technological terms.
On top of the great emulation and performance, the Everdrive N8 Pro also supports save states. Similar to the Everdrive GB X7, but unlike the Everdrive X7 for the N64, the implementation of save states makes playing through games so much more convenient. While some people would say that it makes it easy to cheat in games (which might be true), back in the NES days, games were a lot more difficult than most modern games, so it just makes things more accessible when you can reload a save just before that difficult enemy placement or a difficult boss. It’s worth noting that there’s a selection of Everdrives available for the NES with the Everdrive N8 Pro being the most expensive, and the most feature-rich. There are older Everdrives for the NES that won’t have as many features. This means that maybe not all Everdrives for the NES will support save states.
Conclusion
To sum up, the NES Everdrive N8 Pro is possibly the best way to play your collection of NES ROMs on original hardware. While the Everdrive will only work with some clone systems, if you’ve got your hands on an original NES it is a great way to recapture the fun of classics like Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong. The actual emulation is high quality and you can even play modern NES titles (home-brew), or fun ROM hacks on the Evderdrive. The implementation of save states is also a bonus. If I used original hardware to play NES I’d always go for the NES Everdrive N8 Pro.
BongoBongo123 is an avid Zelda fan who also likes the odd game of Smash. His interests in gaming are broad but he loves a good Metroidvania or action RPGs.