Hardware Showdown: FXPAK PRO VS. Super Everdrive X6

We’re going to retread some ground here so that we can get you as close to the ultimate answer of which is better the FXPak PRO or the Super Everdrive X6. This article will be for multiple different types of people. Maybe you have an X5 and realize it’s limitations and wonder which you should upgrade to. Maybe you’re wanting to finally get an SNES flash cart but you don’t know which one is going to suit you better. I have both of them in hand and I’m going to break it down in plain English!

Unboxing Super Everdrive X6:

Unboxing FXPak PRO:

Super Everdrive X6 Features and Pros:

• Max. ROM size up to 7.5MByte
• Max. Save RAM size up to 128KByte
• Instant Loading
• SuperKey. This function eliminates region locks
• Improved EverDrive menu (compared to previous super-ed generations)
• SDHC/SDXC MicroSD cards support up to 128GB
• GameGenie cheat codes
• Low power consumption
• Hi-quality 4-layer PCB
• OS supports up to 1000 files per folder
• Supported with any SNES/SFC16 system
• Supports the following enhancement chips: DSP-1, DSP-1A, DSP-1B, DSP-2, DSP-3, DSP-4. Does not support any other special chip games.’
  

1. Pro, multiple color options for shells. Different sticker options too. There are several shell variants coming from Krikzz / Everdrive.ME or Stone Age Gamer. Click on any of those links at the end and you’ll see a ton of options to choose from. Honestly, I didn’t know there was a transparent red when I got into these. I thought everything was true to the console colors. Don’t be a fool like me, explore your options first!
2. Pro, the build quality is mind-bogglingly incredible. This isn’t something that we really need to get into too deeply. If you’ve ever owned one of Krikzz’s products, you probably still own it because it doesn’t crumble as the years go by! If you haven’t, well, there’s a reason everyone covets them.
3. Pro, the setup of this Everdrive is outright simple. The same goes with most other Everdrives. But this one takes dragging and dropping the OS files and your ROMs to the microSD and that’s it. It also has a robust cheat system in place. The only downside to the setup is if you care for DSP ROM execution. More on that part later though.
4. Pro, ease of use is super-duper on the Super Everdrive X6. This is due to the intuitive and easy-to-learn user interface. It takes the most natural button and button combinations to get functionality easily to you. The more advanced users know how to get to the extended features and how to use them. They’re nothing that you’ll accidentally turn on.
5. Pro, game compatibility is pretty freaking off the carts. Especially for how decently priced this cartridge is. More on the price in just a moment. If you need to see a list of games that it supports, well too bad! Instead, I have a list of what it doesn’t support, mainly because that’s easier to show. Check the video after the X6 cons to see the ones, it’s not very many!
6. Pro, the cost of the cartridge is under $100! That’s assuming that you don’t go over and purchase a boxed copy with extras. I’m saying that if you get the cartridge alone, you’ll come out in the $80 range. That is a great price, especially if you consider all of these other benefits.
7. Pro, it has SuperKey integration. This makes all games both region-free and region unlocked. There is a difference and just having an out of region ROM dumped doesn’t mean it will run on every SNES flash cart.
8. Pro, it supports homebrew. So whether you’re making a game or app yourself, having a friend make you something, or you’ve found a homebrew game online, this will support that. The same can be said for most ROM hacks and fan translations.

Super Everdrive X6 Cons:

1. Con, the shape is not my favorite. If you’re buying this for the US, just know that it’s made to fit all regions of SNES/Super Famicom. That means you get a rounded cartridge that looks awful in the square hole of the SNES. They need to let us choose.
2. Con, if you’re an average user of a simple and classic Krikzz Everdrive, you’re going to be fine here. If you bought the X6 just to play a lot of DSP games, you’re going to have to scour the internet to find additional files. It sucks because it’s hard to find all of them in 2021. These are not files that are likely legal to share, I assume this because Stone Age Gamer once hosted them. They no longer do, but I benefitted from them doing so. By using the Way Back Machine, I found them on their site. You may not be that lucky.

Super Everdrive X6 Game Exclusions:

FXPak PRO Pros and Features:

• Micro SD card support (tested up to 200GB; no exFAT support so Micro SD card must be reformatted using FAT32)
• Fast ROM loading (~9MB/s)
• Fast menu navigation
• Directories are sorted automatically, no need for FAT sorting tools
• High resolution menu (512×224) for adequate display of long file names
• Real Time Clock
• Supports ROM size up to 128MBit (96Mbit actually implemented)
• Automatic near-time SRAM saving to micro SD Card.
• Enhancement chip support (see below for implementation status)
• MSU-1 can be used in conjunction with all enhancement chips
• SuperCIC key (SNES CIC clone):
• -enables operation on unmodified consoles of all regions
• -supports software 50/60Hz switching on SuperCIC enhanced consoles only
• Auto region patching
• Hi quality 4-layers PCB
• Supported Enhancement Chips:
  • BS-X memory map / Satellaview base unit registers (clock)
  • DSP-1/1B
  • DSP-2
  • DSP-3
  • DSP-4
  • ST-010
  • Cx4
  • MSU-1
  • S-RTC
  • OBC-1
  • GSU (Super FX)
  • SA-1

1. Pro, Compatibility is the highest that I’ve seen in a flashcart for a console in a long time. The FXPak PRO clocks in being able to run everything except FIVE. That’s right, the only games that it cannot run are: Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shogi, Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shogi 2, Far East of Eden Zero, Momotaro Dentetsu Happy, and Super Power League 4. If all you have is a North American library and common games at that, then you’ll be 100% covered by this flashcart.
2. Pro, Shell colors are off the chain. If you buy from Stone Age Gamer, then you’ll have at least 14 options to choose from (at the time of this article). If you want to check out Krikzz/Everdrive.Me’s offerings, they also have some more options for you. There’s no reason to settle for grey with a black sticker, unless you want to. (Hey, some people like a classic color scheme.)
3. Pro, For that one person who needs a real time clock, this has got it. That’s it. That’s the Pro.
4. Pro, FXPak PRO has impeccable build quality. Anyone with a Krikzz flashcart for any system knows how much effort and high quality resources go into it.
5. Pro, Ease of use is something that matters to a lot of people. If you’re just getting into the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo then you want a simple menu. If you’re an OG and you just want to get back into your beloved games, you also want a simple menu. This menu is simple to navigate and everything that experts need and want is just a button press away. But it’s not just being jammed in your face to confuse you or think that you need it.
6. Pro, Load times on the FXPak PRO are some of the best around. That’s not to say it’s faster than the Super Everdrive X6 in loading ROMs. It does indeed load faster than other flashcarts in the wild for other systems and such. So once you press the button on the game you want, you’re in the game within a blink.
7. Pro, Besides the almost 100% compatibility for official games, this cart goes beyond to support others. You can run Satellaview games on it and that’s a big draw for me personally. You can also run ROM hacks, fan translations, and homebrews.

FXPak PRO Cons:

• Con, the price. Compared to the features you get, the added price seems a bit illogical. My guess is that since it was designed by Ikari_01 and manufactured by Krikzz, that the cost comes from making sure both parties get their fair share. I would put the Super Everdrive X6 higher, at $100, since it’s so great. I’d put the FXPAK Pro at $150 since it’s great, but it’s not entirely different than the X6. The FXPAK Pro has a lot of special features over the X6, but to get them going will take you knowing what you’re doing and where to get certain files. So for the average user, the price of the FXPAK Pro just doesn’t make any sense. And I’m absolutely certain that that’s why the X6 exists and all. But my point is, you’d sell more FXPAK Pros if the price was closer to the $150 price point.
• Con, the cheat system. I’m not the only one to take issue with this. It’s just too difficult to use cheats with this cartridge. I don’t know if this is a deal-breaker for anyone. It isn’t for me as I don’t use cheats. But when I was trying to test it for review purposes, I found it too convoluted. It’s clearly something that could be fixed or at least they could drop a GUI on the net to let us type in our favorite code on PC and have it convert and then drag and drop it. The FXPak PRO can then let you decide if you want to enable or disable them.
• Con, new features. The newest features to be added are still a bit broken. And while not a deal-breaker, they are a bit misleading unless you dig into how they work and the hoops to jump through. It has Super Gameboy support, don’t think that that means all game boy games ever made by Nintendo like I did. It supports roughly 640 of the 1033 games to be released that the Super Gameboy can play. That’s a solid number, but just be aware that that means it only plays the grey and the black Gameboy carts. So if you’re hoping to play the transparent carts, you cannot. But then again, neither can the actual Super Game Boy on Super Nintendo. The upshot, I suppose, is that it saves you space on your microSD card. The bummer of it all is the requirement of additional files to get it up and running. It is not something that just runs by default like most SNES games.
  The same goes with the save state support. It’s working, but not everywhere, not all of the time. This is being worked on constantly though and also gets further help from the community.
• Con, again, the oddly shaped shell. This multi-region shell is so goofy to me. I literally might just take the shell off and see if I can modify a Super Nintendo game shell to work with this. Could be a fun project, just taking an old, broken sports game and using its shell. Modify it to have the port holes for the FXPak PRO board.

Final Thoughts:

Look, you wanted answers, and I’ve got them. First off, the clear and apparent winner is the FXPak PRO. So if you don’t have any SNES/Super Famicom flash cart, don’t hesitate. This recommendation is only being made to those who have the funds for it. The FXPak PRO is probably the only one you will ever need (unless you want to play one of those 4 games that it doesn’t play).

Now, if you’re upgrading from a Super Everdrive X5 (and earlier) go for the FXPak PRO. The differences between the X5 and X6 are not large enough to warrant paying all new money for it. But the differences between the X6 and the FXPak PRO are definitely greater. So it stands to reason that you can go from the X5 to the FXPak PRO and be happy for years and years.

If you just bought an X6 and didn’t see the FXPak PRO until afterward, I would say stay where you are. While it’s not going to get some of the features of the FXPak PRO because they require certain hardware, you’re going to keep seeing improvements to the X6. As of the time of this article, the X6 has only been less than a year. Stick with it for 5 years or so, see if the features have gotten closer to that of the FXPak PRO and if not, then upgrade.

Let’s say that you do not have the funds for a FXPak PRO. Obviously, the X6 is the next best option of all on the world wide web. The Super Everdrive X6 is at a great price point, being under $100. It plays everything that most US consumers will play, with the exception of Yoshi’s Island 2, Starfox, and Super Mario RPG. But if you own those games, just play them from their respective carts and then swap in the X6 when you want to play everything else. Swapping 5 carts infrequently is still better than swapping all of your carts.

Super Everdrive X6 Purchase Links:

Purchase Links:

Krikzz (thanks for sending the review X6 to us)

Everdrive.me

StoneAgeGamer (thanks for sending us previous flashcarts)

RetroTowers (UK retailers)

FXPAK Pro Purchase Links:

Everdrive.ME (thanks for sending the review FXPAK Pro to us)

Amazon

Krikzz

Stone Age Gamer