For everyone suggesting to use the Super Buttons as foot paddles, I don’t think they are designed with that in mind. The cable is only 4’ in length, so it’s not long enough to reach around the back of the desk and be placed on the floor at a distance close enough to comfortably step on. Additionally, while the Super Buttons feel very secure and solid, I don’t think they can withstand foot presses over extended use. But thank you for the suggestion, and it’s certainly something I considered - I should have mentioned why it wouldn’t work in that way in the video.

I know this probably sounds back handed, but genuinely it's great to see a keyboard review by someone who doesn't "do" keyboard reviews. I only know a little about the deep dark rabbit hole of mechanical keyboards, but I know there's a lot of jargon that gets thrown around about something so many people engage with but very few actually consider. Your review, as ever, was direct, considered, and approachable. Good stuff.

"I think people just really appreciate that attention to detail that I bring to reviews." Yes.

Just got this in the mail yesterday! Hands down my absolute favorite keyboard I've ever used. Aesthetically and functionally it's beautiful. Big W for 8Bitdo again

More tech related reviews like this, please!

Love this! You’re the gold standard when it comes to retro handheld coverage and it’s great to see your skill set applied to a broader range of products.

One note about the WIN key- you can change what they keys do within the macOS settings! There used to be a little toggle for swapping them because of the prevalence of standard keyboards.

$100 for a decent wireless mechanical KB is very good. Most in that price range don't even have the same feature set either. This is probably the best value in mechanical KBs overall. Really enjoy this change of pace in reviews. Wonderful.

So happy you're doing this! It's on my wishlist and your seal of approval is all I need :) Also, a big thank you to everything you've taught me since I caught the retro modding/emulation bug. I'm glad you're exploring things you want to cover!

I'm fairly into keyboards and normally wouldn't be interested in boards like this, but that famicon board looks INCREDBILE and I would 100% buy those keycaps separately if they were for sale.

As someone who loves both the mech keyboard hobby and keeping up with the retro handheld scene, this was awesome to see. Well researched and executed as always, Russ!

As a fan of your channel and of 8Bitdo products myself, it makes a lot of sense to be reviewing this keyboard. When I saw your video I had to immediately watch it and buy one for myself. As always, thanks for all your guides - I set up my Myioo Mini and my RP3+ using them - and all the work you do, Russ. All the best!

So happy to see this review! I saw this board on Amazon and bought it right away but haven't had the chance to play with it yet..love how it looks

Really great comprehensive review as usual. I love the look and concept of this keyboard, but the lack of a number pad is a deal breaker for me. I'm too used to having that easy access, but in practice, i guess i could adjust.

Very decent & courteous unboxing. Great to see a YT reviewer that respects the manufacturer’s documentation and extras.

I pre-ordered this and received it Friday and I gotta say it's a damn impressive keyboard. I've got it set up on my work computer and even just aesthetically it stands out and looks great. I've programmed the big buttons for a couple Premiere Pro hotkeys I use all the time and so far I'm loving it!

Dude, more stuff like this. I trust your hh opinions so highly, seeing you dive into accessories and such would rule!

The big keys are used as pedals, just put it below the desk

Wasn’t expecting this review and I love it! Have this keyboard on my wishlist.

Love that you’re branching out from retro handhelds! Keep it up!

In macOS you can remap the modifier keys directly in the system preferences, so you could easily swap the positions of alt and cmd for this particular keyboard without 8BitDo's official software.

Wanted a mechanical keyboard and this keyboard (nes Version) from 8bitdo checks all my boxes. Pre-ordered it and I'm pretty sure they won't disappoint me. ☮️

This was a unique video! This was very informative and clear! Nice job!

I'm very supportive of you expanding your reviews. You do great work and think you have a fair perspective.

Nice review. Hope to see more variety like this in the future.

I like the branching out, I love your handheld reviews but this is welcome addition.

Nice, in depth review. I'm waiting for mine to be delivered.

yes more reviews! please don't upscale to much though, I know a lot of reviewers like to ramp up the "quality" but I really enjoy this homey feel to your reviews. it's super chill, super detailed, and more personable

It's pretty nice finding a keyboard review from someone other than a keyboard youtuber. Great review!

How did I miss this video when it came out! :P Great video.

Magnets!! Love 8bitdo products they became a standard for my gamepads. Great review!! Looking forward for more tech reviews like this!!

Nailed it! 😀 Maybe you can mount those super buttons UNDER the desk ? Interesting idea for the save-states, I'd have just used them for some BISHI BASHI arcade games or something

this gives very star trek vibes as well, so tempting! great review as always Russ, love seeing you branch out and looking forward to more

I may have missed it, but in regards to connectivity, can it be quickly swapped? Like can I have it 2.4 ghz to my PC and bluetooth to my android and be able to quickly swap between inputs?

You probably had the best 'Explain like I'm five' explanation of switches and keycaps I've seen. I mean this as a compliment :)

TBH while that might look expensive compared to other (trash) keyboards on Amazon, it's actually a steal compared to mechanical keyboards of similar quality

Definitely the top 3 best and solid reviews on a keyboard mate cheers!!

thank you for the review, would like to get this for my retro gaming PC

I saw an article on this today and I instantly had to buy it. This is the keyboard and mouse I want and a perfect replacement for the ones that just died on me

Really happy you reviewed this. When it comes to high end mechanical keyboards, I know nothing! Yet when it comes to reading reviews, the ones I see read as if they assume the reader is already knowledgeable on this stuff! So your video explaining terminology and the differences between switches is great!

Glad to see you branching out. Keep up the good content!

Just got mine as well and I absolutely love it!! I actually ordered this because of a KZfaqr as well lol(it may have been you or someone else speaking about it a month or 2 ago)

100 dollars? Man, that's a budget option and I love it

I just realised that I'd watch you review anything. I havent used an external keyboard at home for about 10 years nor do I have a desk at home - so have no plans to buy a keyboard. But I watched the whole review and was interested throughout

thank you for the review!🎉

What a review. You totally nailed it with this one.

The Box White switches are quite different from the typical blues. The mechanism provides a crisper click and tactile feedback, unlike the loose rattly feel of the Blues. This tactile quality is sort of reminiscent of older keyboard mechanisms like the buckling spring switches found in IBM boards, which aligns well with the retro theme. I actually think the board would be leagues worse if it came with blue switches, so the Box Whites are a great choice (though I would have loved it if they used Box Pinks, the slightly more tactile version)

Man, you really did your homework for this video. I didn't think you would go into this depth yourself. 😁 Great job going outside your norm for this. If you are enjoying it, I'd recommend you build a keyboard. I built a Tofu65 with Gat Yellow Switches and aluminium top plate. Was a very fun experience.

I think you're missing a trick with the super buttons. Use them with your feet. Have the cable running down the back of your desk with the buttons. It keeps your hands on your controller or KB&M and allows for 2 extra inputs.

I really like this keyboard, thanks for this review. I might pick it up.

Great work outta you, this is a snazzy looking little outfit, for sure. Also, love the admission of how you play Tecmo Bowl. I have a stable of sports games in which I do the exact same thing. While not exactly retro in the way often covered here, I love firing up NBA2K16 and using my own modified Dream Team in a custom arena in my home town of St. Louis, Missouri. I have way too much fun using my overpowered 90s era GOAT team demolishing the more current computer teams. At any rate, great coverage, as always!

I have tried roughly 30 different mechanical switches. I find kailh whites to be among the best. So good that I ended up getting a kailh box white keyboard for typing. I have to be entirely honest though and say that although it is a fantastic keyboard, I found that I like a bit more resistance which is why I gave my keyboard to my sister who has a gentler touch and finds it perfect. Planning on getting a kaihl box jade keyboard next which provides the same tactile feeling, but with a bit more resistance.

I bought this as a pre-order and am very satisfied with it. Love the look.

I’ve had 3 8bitdo controllers and they were amazing. I had the old SNES controller for 5 years and still worked and held a charge. Love the packaging and looks and feel of the plastic they use.

Those big super buttons look like those accessibility gaming peripherals or maybe leg buttons :D I do really like that keyboard and I think 99 is a great price for the quality, also 8bitdo products are in general very competitively priced for the quality it offer, especially in last 2,3 years when their quality bumped waaay up, they really are on top of the game atm

man this keyboard looks great. i love kaihl box whites, i have them on my gmmk pro after trying a ton of other switches. love the giant A B buttons

Been watching this keyboard since it was announced, cant wait to get my hands on one in Canada in the coming months!

This was awesome. You nailed every aspect of what a keyboard enthusiast would want to know about a keyboard. Keep it up!

No joke this is a better review then most dedicated keyboard yt reviewers out there.

"I think people just really appreciate that attention to detail that I bring to reviews." ☺ *nods in agreement* Honestly, it is very refreshing to hear and see the details be laid out in the manner of which you present it. It's not just the attention to detail, it's how those details are presented. Being able to relate those details to wide audience is the key.

I bought the Famicom edition, for no reason whatsoever (it was a tossup) about two weeks ago, and I couldn't be happier. I am a Linux user, so I map my A and B to desktop switching. The Big buttons are my "activity" switch and my pulldown terminal. :) Love the keyboard. Great review...

That right there "I just know when I like something but I don't really understand why" is such an awesome feeling! I like opening these kinds of things in the mornings too for some reason. I tend to stare at my toys for while too just examining 😂

i tend to find that the numpad on my current keyboard gets in the way quite a lot so i'm actually very happy to see this

Great video I’ve been on the fence about picking this up and now I really want it lol. The four remappable buttons have a lot of potential I didn’t even realize. You could make them emulator function keys, full screen, save/load state, menu, rewind or fast forward, etc. or even an Alt Ctrl Del button or something. I wonder if you could macro a full word? So to have a key mapped to instantly type a single word or catchphrase seems pretty cool for online games. Also, might I ask what parts you used to get a 8BitDo Ultimate Controller to have that colour scheme? I have a white one that I’d love in that famicom colour style.

Okay, so, things to know about keyswitches: "clicky" switches weren't designed to be clicky, they were designed to be hysteretic - that is, exhibiting hysteresis, a discrepancy between actuation position and reset position; they were designed to reset only after you released the key back past the activation point, thus reducing accidental re-inputs. This makes them especially good for typing up an essay or novel, but less preferable for gaming since you can't just flutter the key on and off with a feather touch and barely any movement. Reds are at the opposite end of the spectrum where you just have no frelling clue what the key is doing until you see it on-screen and that counts double for keys you didn't even realize you clipped because they yield absolutely no tactile or audible feedback when actuated. I find them physically painful to type on because my hands are constantly tense from struggling not to clip extra keys.

A fellow Commodore 64 guy! No wonder I like your channel 😅 Excellent video as always, can't wait for mine to come in on the 6th! Sadly, I'll be on vacation, so I'll have to wait even longer.

Nice change up video Russ! So how about another change up video of say maybe a tour of your whole gaming environment/set-up and the area you edit your videos etc? I think it would be interesting and that your fans would love to see something like that👍

Russ, I've only recently come across your (excellent) channel, if you're looking for retro gaming topics for future videos that don't involve handhelds, perhaps you might want to check out the MiSTer FPGA project. Awesome video!

I’m definitely going to pick the nes version of this keyboard up. Thank you for the review.

On macOS if you go to System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Modifier Keys, you can swap Command and Option. No need for 8bitdo software to remap. I use Windows-focused mechanical keyboards all the time because they tend to be cheaper than Mac-specific, and the muscle memory can remain.

Russ, you never fail to get me obsessed with getting something I never knew I wanted😂

I would definitely watch more keyboard reviews. I’m kind of in a weird middle ground with mechanical keyboards. I know what I like (clicks keys, either high profile or low profile. Don’t like the “normal” or “ medium” profile…the standard non high-profile keyboards from Drop like the Shift, Ctrl, or Alt are what I mean by “normal”/“medium” profile. I also don’t really care for tenkey-less layouts. I either want a full size keyboard with a numpad or a 60% super small keyboard. Being “in the middle” like this is a worst of both worlds solution. It takes up space on your desk but doesn’t justify it with functionality you get from a full-size or 1800 layout. I tend to default towards smaller, but a numpad honestly is super satisfying when you need to work with numbers.) but the enthusiasts tend to lose me when they get into gasket mount vs case mount vs pcb mount or with things like foam in the case. A cool idea would be to compare layouts and profiles. The company Keychron might be a good choice for this, as they have keyboards of every imaginable layout in both high and low profile variants, so you could get one of each and compare them with it worrying about variances in quality based on company production standards. For the super buttons, those look like Jade switches. They are “clicky”, if I recall correctly. Clicky switches are a sub-variety of tactile switches. Tactile switches tend to “thok” while clicky switches sound like mouse clicks. Linear switches tend to be best for gaming as they require less force to actuate and don’t offer distractions from sounds. A quick note on switches. White switches tend to be pretty quiet. The reds are going to be most similar to the whites but require a little more force. Browns are the standard “middle ground” and are tactile but not too loud. Blues are going to be your standard “clicky” switches and require the most force because you need the little extra force to work the mechanism that makes them click. On my Drop Alt High Profile, I tend to use Box Navy switches. Super heavy and clicky. But I recently got a Keychron K1 with Mint switches and I may switch to this one as my “main” keyboard…if I decide I want to stick with low-profile, I may upgrade to a Keychron K13 (if you want to try it, the main thing the pro variants offer is hot swappable switches, meaning you can take the switches out and put different ones in, as opposed to them being soldered in place…there are pros and cons to each option. My experience with hot swappable switches is that eventually, one of the connection pieces will eventually come desoldered so not ideal but a nice option to have for mixing switches (like linear WASD but tactile/clicky for everything else), and the option for RGB. I don’t personally care for RGB, and I know what switches I like, so I’m fine with the “standard” version, which has a white backlight with plenty of animation options. Keychron comes with Mac keys on the board but also comes with Windows keys. On a shorter note, if you like a clean desk setup, you should try a 60% keyboard. It takes a bit to get into the flow of using the Fn layers to get the function keys (60% doesn’t have a function row. They are mapped to the 2nd layer of the number row)…but it is super sleek without the shock of trying something like ortho-linear.

Great Review! I've always loved my 8BitDo controller for emulating and I didn't really think I'd want another mechanical keeb. You've got me seriously considering this one, though. Also a Niners fan, but maybe I'd play Tecmo the good ol fashion way...even if it means I lose some times. :P

This might be something that I buy around Christmas. I really love that the switches are hot-swappable; lets me try out a whole lot of different switches.

Pre ordered mine and it arrived Friday. I am very pleased with it. Not sure how I plan to use the super buttons if at all. But I’ll figure it out. Just waiting for the software to drop to customize this thing further.

Just a thought; will we see dedicated game review/commentary videos in the future as you branch out more?I would love to see those if you make them.

The deep sound of the super button with mx green really illustrates how caps and housing change the sound.

please do more videos like these ‼️

Really digged the video. Just a "the more you know moment" for future reference: we designers, are nerds too, and for me as one who also have 3D in his life, numeric keyboard is really amazing to work with 3D since it gives you a way to have 1) more buttons 2) dedicated view shortcuts. I have a glorious GMMK2 96 compact and its the best of both worlds. Although for me the script should go like so: "would be appreciated if they'd have a independant numeric keyboard that could connect to the 3.5mm jack giving options for those in need of it". Thats what I would want in this keyboard. (thinking of buying it so i dont have to swap between my win and mac machine)

a keyboard review 😮 , that's great

Sweet review, maybe 3d printing a stand at 30 degree angle for the AB hotkey button with cable storage or wrap to clean it up would work.

Yep, more reviews like this!!

20:20 You could try to tie the excess cable to keep your desk tidy. I really like this keyboard and your review of it!

Russ, I really love your content.

I bought the Fami version of this keyboard just because I really like the color scheme. I don't look at it as a Famicom-themed keyboard. I love the way typing feels on this thing. The Kailh Box V2 White switches strike a wonderful balance between smooth typing and tactile feedback. And they're clicky but not obnoxiously so. These don't sound like Cherry MX Blue switches. They have a dull click versus the Cherry MX Blue's high-pitched click. I like typing on it so much that I've already decided that I don't want to use any other keyboard, and this is coming from someone who previously used a keyboard with the excellent Cherry MX Red switches. If you're getting the Fami version of this keyboard and want a wrist rest for it, I recommend looking at the Golden Oak version of the Glorious tenkeyless wrist rest. It's a pretty good color match for the Fami keyboard.

TKL is my favorite keyboard layout. I use the home, end, page up/down keys in combination with shift and control so much throughout the day. Laptops need to start providing a TKL layout.

Hi Russ! Once the software comes out for it, I'm wondering if it would make a good video editing keyboard.

Got the fami edition and it’s perfect. The start and end of my keyboard hobby came pretty quick😂

I would say the 100 to 150 is the higher end of the budget mechanical keyboards. I'm rocking a Keychom K2 Pro and i'm loving it. Going from a cheap Red Dragon mechanical to this was worlds apart. So 100 for the 8bitdo looks like a very solid buy. I would love switch options as I want Linear switches m'self.

@RetroGameCorps - did the idea to map the keys for MacOS work out?

Thanks for the great review! :) I'm curious if those buttons connect through that 8th inch jack via some kind of serial, or if it's literally 2 switches direct in. If it's the latter, one could make just about anything into a macro key with a trip to Radiosh...ahm, Amazon and some elementary level engineering...

Thanks for the review. Just a suggestion, when doing a sound test, it would be better if you place the keyboard on your desk instead of holding them. 😊

thanks a lot! i am going to buy it

I want to have those super buttons to use as a foot switch for push-to-talk with my friends

What keycaps are you showing at @5:29?

I just got this keyboard today. I love it. It goes well with the nes mouse too.

What is your red and white controller in the video? It looks awesome...

I love the 8 bit do keyboard, I built my custom keyboard with box white v2 so I like my clickyness lol, I would to buy this keyboard as a v2 with rgb led and height adjustable feet and maybe different colors black and red maybe famicon as a custom color, I love the 2 big button add on! If 8bitdo made these things available with this keyboard I would deff buy it! Thank you for the amazing review as always!

There appear to be 3.5mm socket at the back. What are they for? Does that mean you can purchase additional super buttons and have 4 of them (8 buttons)....so that you can program them for street fighters?

I can’t wait till mine arrives this week! It will go great with my Loki and it’s lack of usb availability.