Atari Flashback 12 Gold, Retro Game Console, Built-in 130 Classic Games, Two Joystick and Paddle Controllers, HDMI, PLUG & PLAY on HD TV

Easy to use and love the classic games !

So far this little console has been great. I was able to update the firmware after downloading it from their site and a couple of other tools. I watched a video on how to do it, and it worked perfectly.The games are great! The emulation plays the games just as well as they did on the original system. I was also able to use a USB flash drive and ROMs to play some of my favorite games that are not included with the unit. It took a little bit of work to get a couple of them to work. One had a name that was too long and the other just wouldn't run, so I got an alternate version (.bin vs the normal .a26). The ability to play games not included with the unit is FANTASTIC! And the console is so tiny!!! A picture really doesn't do it justice. It's smaller than my hand!The joysticks work perfectly, though they take a little bit of getting used to as they are a good bit looser than the ones I remember as a kid, and most definitely looser than the one that came with my Atari 2600+. The left joystick also has buttons on the front, which you might think will get in the way while playing, but they don't, and they come in very handy. No need to go to the console itself, save to turn it on to play and off when you're done.Now to the 'but'. It's the paddles. They're really tight. So much so that it doesn't take long before my hand starts to get tired. A matter of minutes. Maybe they just need to wear in. I'm glad they're not loose, but I do wish they were a good bit looser than they are. But they do work perfectly otherwise.So, were it not for the paddles the unit would get 5 stars. I'd give if 4.5 if I could, but I can't, so 4 it is. Other than the paddles, and again, they may just need to wear in to get a bit looser, it's a fantastic unit. Definitely worth the cost.

I think I can comment on the Flashback 12 Gold as an owner of this, the Atari 2600+, Atari Gamestation Pro and the Atari VCS. The good things about this console are Great Game Line up with the ability to add more games, the controllers are surprisingly very good, while not as still as the 2600+ CX40's I actually play better with these sticks even in the 2600+. Compared to alot of Atari tribute products out there, this one has a big Activision library, and as anyone knows, Activision and Imagic pretty much made the best Atari games, then you throw in Solaris and Aqua Adventure which are two of my favorites and you got a real winner. I can't overstate enough for 2600 games this is the best value by far, you cannot get 2600 games and authentic controls anywhere else at this price. I rank the 2600+ and the Flashback Gold very high for what they are and what they do, if you do not want to or plan on collecting carts this is the way to go, the gamestation pro offers wireless controllers but they are def not as nice as Atgames controls, the GSP doesn't offer a microsd slot to sideload tons of games though, but you can easily do the same here with a splitter usb cable and usb stick, its all in what you want to do but out of the box for 2600 games this blows the GSP away and I own 2 GSP's... I mainly use my GSP's for on the go and quick gaming but for the real deal its 2600+ and Flashback 12 Gold. Hopefully Atgames can get us an Intellivision Gold with HDMI someday!

First I am a 57 year old man and remember the years of Atari and Activision with a very fond memory.But the graphics are very poor, I didn't remember them being this bad on some of the games, yes some of the games look very familar.... one of my least favorite games from my youth Pitfall, looks pretty much the same.but the controllers are very cheap and the responsiveness is very poor. Even breakout was hard to play.Anohter item that is small but noticeable is NO lights on the console. I thought it did not have power because I didn't see any signs of power, but it was work.I got this to play with my grandchildren but it was barely playable. I would NEVER recommend this and I acknowledge that some of this might be my lack of research, but never the less I think the information I had about the game over sold it self. Also be prepared to to research the internet on how to play some of the games, the insturctions are basic to the extreem.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this Flashback 12 Gold. The PROS are... it comes with 130 games, and many of them are very good and classic games. I guess that's about it. The CONS are... the wired joysticks are terrible with a lot of sloppy "play" in them. The button sometimes doesn't work (I could clearly hear myself hitting the button many times in a game, but no action took place on screen, very annoying). The paddles are kind of stiff, and I can even detect a bit of friction/rubbing taking place as I spin it. Overall, the paddles seem to work fairly well on screen, though. Another CON... mine came with a European plug / power supply, so I had to special order a socket adapter. I was also disappointed that this doesn't have an SD Card slot or USB slot to load your own games... (but there are ways around that if you Google/YouTube it). Additionally... it seems very hard to find new joysticks and paddles for this. I bought a regular Atari joystick (hoping it would be less sloppy) but it didn't work with this Flashback system. Every time I pressed left, it took me to the Menu screen. Additionally... there doesn't seem to be a lot of options on the Menu screen other than very basic functions. One joystick has a Menu button right on it... but if you lose that joystick, you are gonna be forced to turn the system on and off anytime you want to return to the menu. Dumb. Why didn't they put a "Menu" button on the console itself? I don't use the Rewind or Save slots, so I can't say much about those. So, yeah... the controls are not how I remembered as a youth, which makes the gameplay not as fun. Nobody seems to be able to re-create the original console experience.