Lon Seidman reviews the TinyNES, a niche console merging original NES hardware with modern open-source design. It uses genuine CPU and PPU chips from the original NES/Famicom, including the 6502 processor with integrated sound hardware. These chips are socketed for easy swapping, and the unit supports clone processors since originals are no longer manufactured. Modern components provide cleaner video and audio, but output remains composite only — no HDMI or RGB component. The board supports RGB PPU variants, though they are rare; a solderless RGB add-on is planned.

Why choose this over a real NES or FPGA? Viewer Destructodisk explains: purists reject emulators, FPGA implementations, and even video signal add-ons for introducing quirks. The TinyNES delivers unmodified original hardware behavior in a new, reliable form factor. Its successful crowdfunding proves a small but dedicated market exists.

Thanks to viewer Handheld Obsession for loaning the review unit.