Subor Q6

Subor Q6
Q6-01-Front.jpg
Type Handheld
Hardware Famicom
Sold by Subor Intelligent Technology Development
Brand Subor
Software provider Timemax


Basically a Subor (小霸王) branded version of the common "Sup Game Box" type of Famiclone handheld. Made around 2023 for the Chinese domestic market only.

The interesting thing about this one is that instead of the common 400-in-1 game set seen on the conventional Sup consoles, it has a more "copyright-friendly" set of hacks and originals, mostly dating back to the early-mid 2000s, and mostly with a "Timemax" credit added to them.

Also it has a vibration motor and some of the games are modified to make use of it!

Console

Very very common Sup Game Box-type design, originally derived from the Anbernic Retro FC, but the later Sup variants/clones usually have a textured front, as this one does.

It has a Contra-themed, Subor-branded design printed on it, with the cut-off SUB obviously intended as a nod to the usual Sup branding. (Ironically though this console doesn't actually have an unhacked Contra game on it)

As mentioned it has a vibration motor inside, a pretty cool added feature not advertised on the box at all. Previously this feature has been seen on some later Anbernic Famiclone handhelds like the Super Vib and FC520, but I don't know if it's implemented in the same way.

Ports: 2.5mm jack for AV out, MicroUSB for charging and controller. It runs on a generic BL-5C rechargeable battery.

My unit came bundled with a Sup-branded controller, although it wasn't packaged in the same box and was labelled as being for the Q2.

Box

This box design seems to be derived from the usual Sup Game Box-types, with details like the PlayStation button symbols in the background and "400 in 1 Plus" text resembling those consoles' packaging. Additionally, much of the Chinese text on the box is basically a translation of the English text usually seen on the Sup console boxes.

The console diagram on the right side depicts a YLW GC26 type shell (with the rounded top-left corner, straight start & select buttons and different speaker grille) rather than the Anbernic Retro FC type of the actual console. This is another common trait of Sup console packaging which often shares this same discrepancy. However the manual depicts the correct console.

Box included: Console, battery, MicroUSB cable, manual (Chinese only), warranty card, QC card (mine was date stamped 2023-06-10). No AV cable.

Menu

The menu is only in Chinese and is split into 2 main sections - "classic games" and "vibration games" - and then each section is further split into single-player and two-player subsections. It actually uses the original Chinese names for hacked games in many cases.

There are no exact repeats, although a few games have multiple entries with different starting levels or powerups. However these are clearly listed as sub-entries of the main game.

Games

The "classic" games on here are a pretty eclectic mix, consisting of Inventor hacks, Waixing games with their names changed, Nice Code games and a few other things. Some of the hacks have rarely (if ever) been seen elsewhere, although they mostly seem to date back to the early 2000s alongside Inventor's other work.

The "vibration" games are mostly hacks and licensed games, they have all been modified to trigger the vibration motor, usually when you take a hit or collect a powerup.

Most of the games in both sections, aside from the last batch of generic Nice Code games, have the name "Timemax" on the title screen. Presumably Timemax was responsible for compiling the games and making the more recent modifications, such as name changes, vibration support and a few other simpler hacks. These versions seem to have been made around 2022.

Notable games

Honestly half of the games on here are interesting in some way but these are a few of the more notable/rarely seen ones:

  • Air Raider, a Zombie Nation hack
  • Defender Fighter, a TMNT Tournament fighters hack - video here
  • Anti Covid-19, a minor hack of the Dr Mario hack "Anti SARS" - pics here
  • Berserker, a Kage (Shadow of the Ninja) hack
  • Present, Rocket Cart and Ping Pong, these seem to be early versions of some simple games later "adopted" and heavily overhauled by Waixing for plug 'n' plays. The origin of these games is fairly mysterious to me.

Game list

I've compiled a full English game list here:

Subor Q6 game list.ods
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