I don't know if this has been posted before. I have searched for FC Twin Japan but couldn't find any thread about it. Please feel free to delete if it has.
I was looking for a Combo FamiClone here in Japan but unfortunately, the Retro Duo does not seem to be available. Play nTrade's FC Dual can be found but it usually is a US model with a NES-to-Famicom Converter thrown in. There is also another console called the FC Twin by Answer which has gotten really poor reviews all around. Some shops also carry the "usual" FC Twin under the name FCX2.
It seems it was only in March 2009 that the FC Twin was officially released in Japan. It got a new paint job reminiscent of the old Famicom, an official site with a full compatibility list. On top of that, it has a one year warranty!
I haven't peeked at the insides yet since I'm not a modder but I guess I wouldn't be afraid of a few screws if people are interested. The NOAC seems fairly recent since Akumajo Densetsu (Castlevania III: Simon's Quest) plays beautifully. On the SNES side, Rockman X (Megaman X), StarFox, Yoshi's Island, the Super GameBoy as well as Hori's SuperGameBoy Commander (special gamepad for the SGB) are all compatible as well. The compatibility list does list the usual suspects as not working: PaperBoy and many obscure Japan-only games for the Famicom and all the SA-1 and special chips games (Kirby3, Star Ocean etc...) for the SNES. Super Mario RPG is listed as working and so is Famicom BatteToads but I have yet to buy them and check if it really is the case.
I have also noticed that in some old reviews of the FC Twin on YouTube (Circa 2007) people could switch from NES to SNES at any time. Doing this on this model results in the two images being blended with the Famicom playing in the back and the Super Famicom having clear priority over the Famicom part.
The only thing that bums me for now is that my TV input is Mono only meaning I only get one channel when playing Famicom games. Any workaround for that? It plays fine on a "proper" TV with stereo input and a Y-Cable doesn't cut it =(. The SNES ouputs just fine in Mono.
All in all, this probably isn't new hardware but I find the warranty and official site part especially interesting. Japanese customers are used to being treated well and I suspect this is just another illustration of that!
Thanks for your time and again, sorry if this isn't anything new!
Some pics:
