8BitDo Retro Keyboard review: Fun and functional

Price When Reviewed

$99.99

Best Prices Today: 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard

$99.99

$99.99

The very first 8BitDo product I used was its first Bluetooth controller, a trustworthy recreation of the NES brick with a number of additional buttons and Bluetooth. While 8BitDo has expanded its repertoire tremendously within the final decade, the Retro Keyboard looks like a return to this authentic design, in each aesthetic and sensibility. It’s mainly a mechanical keyboard that’s purported to seem like it could really feel at dwelling in a 1985 lounge, however competently made with some fashionable bells and whistles. 

Make no mistake: This keyboard is all concerning the nostalgia. While it’s completely able to serving as your main — and even your solely — keyboard, it’s undoubtedly going to appear misplaced except your desk is affected by Mario and Zelda merchandise. (And maybe the considerably older and much much less ergonomically sound N30 mouse to finish the setup.) But whereas it is a nostalgia piece, that doesn’t imply it’s a mere novelty. The Retro Keyboard is competent, shockingly so for such a stylized machine, and that’s excessive reward. 

Further studying: See our roundup of the best mechanical keyboards to study competing merchandise.

8BitDo Retro Keyboard design: Longing for the ’80s

The Retro Keyboard is an train in painstaking tribute. Every shade of plastic, each little bit of printing is supposed to evoke the design of the NES, from the two-tone case and keycaps to the splash of crimson within the textual content and the big “A” and “B” buttons beneath the best Shift. Even the printed arrow keys’ barely seen black-on-gray have the identical chunky form because the embossed arrows on the NES controller’s D-pad. Good grief, there’s even an old style bubble LED energy indicator. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

The font printed on the keycaps, the striping on the marginally clear sticker on the high of the case, even the darkish grey base of the physique itself — the entire thing seems to be prefer it’s the official NES keyboard that Nintendo by no means made. The dedication to retro aesthetic even extends past the components that would really be related to the NES itself. An analog quantity dial, radial change for energy and wi-fi modes, and the high-profile keycaps all harken again to client electronics from 40-odd years in the past. 

(I ought to level out that this evaluation unit has the colours of the U.S. and worldwide model of the NES, the “N” model. If your retro sensibilities demand authentic Japanese Famicom colours, the “Fami Edition” of this keyboard is what you need.) 

Michael Crider/Foundry

Outside of the retro presentation, this board has a number of stuff you gained’t discover on a standard TKL format. The left-most dial on the high enables you to click on between Bluetooth and a couple of.4GHz wi-fi dongle connections, with an Off setting between them. Next to that’s an old-school quantity dial, harking back to ye-olde growth containers. Next is the Bluetooth pairing button, the programming button (extra on that later), and the profile switcher. 

On the highest finish you’ll discover a magnetic cubby for the wi-fi dongle, the USB-C charging port, and 4 barrel ports labeled A, B, X, and Y. These tie into maybe the keyboard’s most visually placing characteristic: gigantic add-on buttons. There’s one set of two within the field, labeled A and B, however you possibly can buy up to three more wired pairs for a complete of eight programmable buttons. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

These gigantic facsimiles of the NES controller’s main buttons are a little bit of a gimmick, to be trustworthy. Pop open the plastic tops and you’ll see that they’e simply big covers for 2 strange mechanical switches. That makes these two buttons, and all further ones you would possibly select to attach, mainly simply an elaborate macro row. And one which takes up an unlimited quantity of area, particularly should you’ve acquired 4 wires operating out of them…which slightly defeats the aim of a wi-fi board. 

While I recognize having further performance by way of macro keys, and a few could discover the outsized aesthetic charming, I’d actually slightly simply have a number of additional buttons on the keyboard itself. After the requisite testing for this evaluation, I put away the add-on pad and didn’t miss it. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

And that’s your lot. It’s a really nice-looking board, in that extraordinarily particular manner that may most likely enchantment to anybody who can draw a Super Mario sprite from reminiscence. Note that there are not any RGB LEDs, as a result of rainbow gamer keyboards didn’t exist within the ’80s. But how does it evaluate to extra critical keyboards? 

8BitDo Retro Keyboard efficiency

Surprisingly effectively, really. Let’s begin with these retro-inspired keycaps. The format is normal TKL, so you can swap them out with nearly any customized set. But should you’re inquisitive about shopping for this board, you’re by no means going to do this. Which is simply as effectively, as a result of the high-quality PBT caps are additionally dye-sublimated. That’s a elaborate manner of claiming the legends won’t ever put on off, irrespective of what number of retrospective critiques of the unique Metroid you write. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

Underneath the tall however comfortable caps are Kailh Box White V2 switches. These are slightly loud and clicky, which I wasn’t anticipating — you’d suppose that 8BitDo would go for quick linear switches in a board aimed ostensibly at avid gamers. My second guess is that they’re attempting to emulate the loud click-clack of the famous IBM keyboards of the ’80s. Either manner, know that whereas these are high quality switches with very easy, secure motion, they’re loud, significantly louder than even normal mechanical boards. 

If that’s not your factor, then don’t fear, you possibly can swap them out. 8BitDo has included hot-swap change sockets on this board, a premium characteristic that I’m a little bit stunned to see, however nonetheless comfortable for. So should you favor one thing sooner you possibly can swap in normal Red switches, and even go for any variety of “silent” choices. (And sure, the clicky inexperienced switches on the add-on buttons are hot-swappable too.) 

Michael Crider/Foundry

Typing on the Retro Keyboard is satisfying, with the plastic deck and case providing a little bit of give. The stabilizers rattle a little bit, so keyboard snobs like me would possibly bemoan the shortage of lubing, nevertheless it’s greater than acceptable for normal customers. Again, it’s very loud and clicky, which gained’t be everybody’s cup of tea. Ditto for the old style high-profile keycaps — should you’re used to one thing like Logitech’s MX line, or only a strong laptop computer keyboard, it will require some critical adjustment. 

Gaming is a little bit of a combined bag. While the keyboard presents a wired connection and a 2.4GHz dongle for velocity (don’t attempt gaming on Bluetooth, it’s too sluggish), plus N-key rollover, the included Box White switches aren’t preferrred for twitchy shooters and even fast-paced technique or MOBA video games. It simply takes too lengthy to depress the keys to a register level and look forward to them to bounce again. If you wish to construct this keyboard right into a desktop gaming setup, I’d advocate springing for sooner linear switches and swapping them out. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

There’s one final omission that I observed: The keyboard has no adjustable ft, which is kind of normal on any plastic case. So you’d higher be proud of the comparatively excessive profile of the chunky physique, as a result of it could’t be adjusted. 

8BitDo Retro Keyboard programming choices

Programming is accessible by way of a stand-alone Windows-only executable. It’s fairly good as these items go, and I recognize that it could program the board (normal format, alternate profiles, and macros) and replace firmware while not having a full set up. But if all you actually wish to do is assign some keys or macros to these large add-on buttons, you don’t even want the software program, you are able to do all of it with button combos. Overall, very effectively thought out. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

Is the 8BitDo Retro Keyboard price it?

Generally, novelty retro {hardware} comes with a little bit of a value hike, however 8BitDo can be identified for strong worth. And at $99.99, the Retro Mechanical Keyboard is certainly a very good worth. You’d be hard-pressed to discover a board with PBT keycaps, hot-swap switches, and twin wi-fi choices for that value, to say nothing of the add-on buttons and growth functionality. (Heck, there are retailers that may make you pay that a lot only for the keycaps!) 

Michael Crider/Foundry

The styling of this board goes to be the make-or-break name for many customers, however should you just like the seems to be, relaxation assured it’s a strong alternative in its personal proper, and effectively well worth the price ticket. While I want it had extra change selections and was rather less noisy, it’s laborious to recollect the final time I had this a lot enjoyable simply a keyboard.