As far as the games go, it all really comes down to is the game being "emulated" or is it running the original game roms on original hardware.
That is what separates a lot of people who collect these.
The Pandora's Box is not expensive, has lots of games, is quick and simple way to play these games. That's the good part.
But it is emulated, since it is not using the original hardware (the specific computer chips to create the sound, graphics and game play for each game) you may notice things like sounds that are different, slowdown in game play, graphics glitches, controller lag and such. Some people don't notice them, or don't care about them, and that is fine.
But for a lot of us, having played these games in our youth, we want to have the exact same experience of playing the game as a kid. If the sounds are off, or game play slows down, or there are graphics glitches then we will notice them.
That is why this forum exists. Darksoft is creating "multicarts" that take the original game roms and connect directly to the original hardware allowing for an exact game play experience. Thus allowing for us to play these games in their full original glory!
Back in the day, game manufacturers would create a base hardware system, like CPS2, and then have their game developers create games that would run on that specific hardware. Eventually, newer and better hardware would be created, allowing for new games to be created that would only run on that specific hardware. This has been going on since the beginning of arcade games.
What Pandora's Box and other emulated multicarts do is to take a lot of games from different hardware platforms and "make" them all play on one system. So naturally, you will have compromises in certain areas like sound, graphics, controller lag and other things. Some games emulate well, while others are playable, and some are just so bad as to not be playable at all.
Both types of multicarts have their place in the arcade hobby. Casual gamers who don't remember these games may not care that much. But if someone like you and your boyfriend wants to play the "same" game as they did back in the day, the only true way to do that is with original hardware.
But if you were to buy every original CPS2 game board today, you would be spending a huge amount of money, not to mention the time, space and hassle.
Now, enter the Darksoft CPS2 Multicart. Connect it to an original CPS2 board and load any or all of the CPS2 game roms you want and play them faithfully on original hardware. That is gaming goodness!
Darksoft has done the same with the Sega ST-V boardset, and is working on the Neo Geo, Taito F3, and others.
So again, the Pandora's Box is great for what it is, as long as you know what you are getting.
I hope they weren't original. Destroying the original locks on these cabs really hurts the value.
