You may have read my review of the FC Twin, but if you have, this review will be very familiar in a sense. Meet the GN Twin, the cousin of the FC Twin!



The GN Twin takes the basic idea of the FC Twin by having two different systems in one console; this time however, its a dual Sega Genesis/NES. Now this is an intriguing idea. Two different systems from two different companies in one handy system. But, how does it work? Is the sound reproduction accurate? Is the NES portion any better than the FC Twin's NES? Well, read on! :)


THE SYSTEM AND CONTROLLERS




The design of the GN Twin is a little more modern and futuristic looking than the FC Twin. The console comes in two colors, Black/Silver and Silver/Gray. As you can see, I got the Silver/Gray colored system. The main power switch has been changed. On the FC Twin, it was vertical with OFF, 16-bit and 8-bit. The switch on the GN Twin is horizontal. You slide it left to "SG" to play Genesis games. Slide it to the right on "NES", and you can play classic NES games. When in the center position, the system is off.

The cartridge slots are arranged in a very odd way. The Genesis cartridges go in the rear, while NES cartridges go in the front. This makes the system look a bit akward when games are in both slots.

The system is very lightweight and the plastic seems a tad bit cheaper than the FC Twin, but it's still nowhere near "Polystation" plastic.

The controllers look like the official six-button Sega Controller that came packaged with the Genesis 3. The controls are responsive and build quality is very good, even though the controllers are extremely light. The controller connections look similar to the standard 9-pin Atari connectors that official Genesis hardware use, but the connectors are shaped slightly different. You can't insert official Genesis controllers into the GN Twin because of this. And though a GN Twin controller can be inserted into an official Genesis controller port, the controller will not work there either.


COMPATIBILITY


Genesis games play as they should, with no glitches in the gameplay. The sound however has some issues. Some of the sound channels seem softer than they should, and others louder. This is very noticeable in games such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Kid Chameleon. Picture quality is colorful and sharp, but the contrast is a tad bit low.

The NES portion....well....what can I say. Its far behind on what the FC Twin's NES is capable of. The sound accuracy is somewhat off like most other clones other than "jeweled" FC Twins. The sound is also very muffled, like when you place a pillow in front of a speaker. Picture quality is also not the best, with very vivid colors and somewhat distorted outlines around text and objects.

Oh, one more important thing. You may have a bit of trouble playing NES games with the GN Twin controller. NES controllers have B, A, buttons in that order. The GN Twin (and Sega) have that switched around, going A, B, and C, keeping faithful to original Genesis controllers. Because of this, the NES buttons are mapped backwards to A and B as presented on the controller. C is a combination of both A and B buttons.


CONCLUSION


Should you get a GN Twin? If you don't mind minor sound compatibility issues with Genesis games and NES games, and can get past the NES controller issue, this may be your clone to get. Otherwise, stick with an official Genesis with an FC Twin by its side. ;)