8BitDo Retro 87 Mechanical Keyboard Xbox Edition GBAtemp review
Hardware
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://www.8bitdo.com/retro-87-mechanical-keyboard-xbox/
Review Approach:
A new year a new keyboard!
Now I haven't used a mechanical keyboard since they died out in the 90s and I honestly think the obnoxious droning sound those things produce is abhorrent but with today's enormous hype around gamer-rainbow-puke-coloured-noise-maker planks it's hard to avoid it. Nevertheless I am very excited to review this particular one as I'm quite the Xbox fan. Anyway I won't going too in-depth on the keyboard, it's virtually the same as the Famicom inspired one which Scarlet covered almost a year ago.
Package & first impressions.
The keyboard, big buttons & cables arrived in a lovely sturdy box together with two sets of stickers, a manual and a voucher for a month of PC Game Pass, Taking the keyboard out and connecting it to my computer, the first thing that caught my eye was the supplied 1.8m USB C cable. the translucent green insulation really compliments on the whole Y2K design & OG Xbox vibe.
Now for the keyboard itself, the translucent ABS keys feel nice and smooth, the default RGB backlight option the keyboard has isn't too distracting even though personally I can do without it, thankfully the keyboard has a built in setting which turns it off completely.
The clickyness of Kailh's Jellyfish X switches are far too noisy for me. I did initially expect them to be louder but, quite fortunately that wasn't the case, it's on the same level as the early 00s membrane keyboards I still use but with a distinct click. That being said I will definitely be switching them out for quieter ones in the nearby future.
The body of the keyboard matte textured finish is incredibly similar to that of green translucent OG Xbox, considering I have one of those, I've set the two side by side for a comparison.
Loading up the 8BitDo Ultimate V2 software, the keyboard got recognised immediately and allowed me to fine tune it! I quickly assigned the A and B action buttons on the keyboard to Right Win and Menu respectively, call me old fashioned but I like my keyboard layout consistent.
Thoughts on the giant buttons and usage of said keyboard.
After about two weeks with the keyboard my opinions on mechanical keyboards haven't changed much. I do really like the 8BitDo keyboard, It's not a hardcore switch when coming back from those cheap office clackers at work or the flat laptop keys you've been striking all day. I must say that I've grown heavily accustomed to laptop style keyboards and laptops in the past two decades and the lack of a numpad honestly isn't too terrible for me.
Since I wanted to compare the 8BitDo keyboard with another "modern" mechanical keyboard I asked a colleague of mine for his Logitech G915, after using that one for a day I think I can safely say that I'm just not a big fan of it, the lack of the body borders and ultra-minimalistic look of them just saps the joy out of it.
The big buttons on the other hand... the moment I pressed one of them I was outright disgusted at how it felt. very mushy & incredibly loud, the buttons don't spring up as nice as the keys on the keyboard and feel very cheaply assembled despite them being outfitted with similar switches. Perhaps this is due to the weight of the plastic buttons? Now much like Scarlet, I haven't found a scenario where the giant buttons would be really useful and in all honesty, I don't think I'll ever use them, perhaps if an extra spring would be fitted so the caps spring up more....
I don't have a lot to say about the rubber feet other than good job 8BitDo! it keeps the keyboard securely positioned on a wooden surface and the magnetic dongle holder, fantastic! I really wish this was normalised for wireless peripherals that come with dongles.
Removing the keycaps show the giant buttons having Kailh's Thick Clicky Jade switches, the keyboard being outfitted with fully transparent Kailh Jellyfish X switches.
I must say, I wish 8BitDo made one with a numpad, not that I use the numpad an awful lot but I do find myself hovering my hand above the space where the numpad is supposed to go. a compact keyboard for desktop is something I'm just not used to.
Incomplete review?
I was supposed to be sent the Retro R8 mouse together with the keyboard for review but 8BitDo shipped them separately and due to the busy holidays, the mouse unfortunately suffered more delay.
Not being able to review them both together doesn't impact my verdict on the keyboard and a review for the mouse will be coming shortly!
Closing Thoughts.
I honestly think the price is worth it. It's a perfect stopgap between your current hand-me-down "oldskool" membrane and those ultra-fancy gamer mechanical keyboards.
The translucent plastics used in the body together with the translucent green USB C cable make for a fantastic finish! even though the Duke controller was the only one which had a translucent cable and the transparent green ones came with a solid black one but I digress.
With roughly 300h of wireless action on this keyboard should last one through LAN party, pwning plenty of noobs in a match of Halo.
Verdict
- Fantastic theme.
- Three connection types.
- No rainbow puke backlight by default.
- Fair price for officially licensed product.
- Surprisingly quiet for a mechanical clicky keyboard!
- Mushy giant buttons.
- Loud switches by default.
- Spacebar quite loud compared to the rest of the keys.