For nostalgic players, one of the most feared things when buying high-priced retro cassettes is to find out after returning home that they have bought replicas, refurbished products or even fake cards. Epilogue, which specializes in cassette reading equipment, has recently officially updated its Retrace App. In addition to originally supporting Game Boy cartridge verification, it now also supports Super Nintendo (SFC/SNES) cartridge identification and authenticity detection functions.
This update also works with the newly launched SN Operator SFC card reader, allowing collectors to quickly check the identity of their Super Nintendo cartridges directly through their mobile phones or tablets.
SN Operator has officially added support, and SNES cartridges can also be authenticated.
Epilogue says Retrace now works with the SN Operator.
Players only need to connect the SN Operator to the device via USB-C, then insert the Super Nintendo cartridge, and the system will automatically identify it and provide the same information as the Game Boy cartridge, including cartridge identity confirmation, market price reference, and authenticity verification results.
However, the official also admitted that the current SNES support is still in the beta testing stage.
Since the database is still being expanded, the system may not be able to provide high-confidence identification results for some rare or low-circulation works. If you encounter an unrecognized cartridge, players can directly submit data to Epilogue through the app’s built-in reporting function to help improve the database content.
Automatic card detection
In addition to adding SNES support, one of the biggest improvements to Retrace this time is to further simplify the operation process.
Epilogue says players no longer need to manually press the recognition button. As long as the cassette is inserted, the system will automatically start identification and authenticity checks.
The official describes the process as quite simple: “Connect the device, insert the cassette, and check the results.”
For players with large collections, this change also means that the checking efficiency will be greatly improved, and there is no need to repeat key operations every time a cassette is verified.
Tablet interface comprehensively improved
Epilogue also improves the Retrace experience on tablet devices.
In the past, when running on iPads and Android tablets, the interface was still displayed in a mobile phone proportions, resulting in a large amount of screen space being left unused, and it looked like “the mobile app was forcibly enlarged.”
In the new version, the settings page, identification result panel, and cartridge details page have been re-arranged and can be automatically scaled according to the device size to make full use of the large screen space.
Added error reading warning and vibration feedback
In addition to the interface and recognition function updates, Retrace v1.1.0 also includes many detailed improvements.
The new version adds a new setting page, vibration feedback function, result tag read and write status display, and a new “Inconsistent Read” mark, making it easier for players to detect oxidation of cassette contacts, poor contact, or other problems that may affect read stability.
In addition, the system has also added a ROM capacity backup determination mechanism, which can still provide more reliable analysis results even when some identification information is insufficient.
Join the anonymous diagnostic system to help track down rare problems
Unseen, Epilogue has also made a series of adjustments to the system architecture.
Officials stated that the new version adds an anonymous diagnosis function based on Sentry. When an error or crash occurs in the app, the system will return data through an anonymous ID randomly generated each time it is launched to help the development team analyze the source of the problem.
Epilogue stresses that no personal data is collected and all returns are anonymous. This approach can help the team track down rare bugs that only appear on specific phone models, specific operating system versions, and even specific cartridges.
Currently, Retrace v1.1.0 has been officially launched on iOS and Android platforms. For players who have a large collection of Game Boy or Super Nintendo, there will be a new and convenient tool for verifying the authenticity of cartridges in the future.