3D Pandora's Key 7 (Pandora's Box Clone)

Background

3A Games released Pandora box versions 3 & 4 in 2014 which was a very popular upgrade that turned old single game arcade cabinet machines into multi gaming consoles.

While 3A Games has an AliExpress store, they are a small part of the equation. The manufacturing and retail space for Pandora boxes is flooded to say the least. With so many variants, manufacturers and sellers many don't even know what they are selling and there is no official website.

In December 2022 I purchased a 3D Pandora's Key 7 (probably a clone) from a small shop in Paisley for approximately £100.

No demo was available but I thought it was worth a bet. No risk from purchasing from eBay or Aliexpress. It contains 2413 games.

Identification

The box is marked Tapdra. I have no idea if Tapdra is the manufacturer of this product or just a model number.

I did a bit of research and it seems that everything after Pandora's Box 6 which does not have the DX designation is a clone. Some clones are better than others.

The CPU is a Octa-Core ARM Cortex A53 (2GHz), GPU: Mali T830-MP4 (650MHz) with 4Gb RAM (DDR3).

Connections include: HDMI port, VGA port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, LAN Connection, Volume Control (Built-in speaker), Settings Button, Audio Out (3.5mm).

This is certainly a clone. The instructions are in Pidgin English with no CE markings anywhere.

Classical Arcade Games Station.

The side of the box has rather nonsensical markings:

• Professional Design
• Reliable Quality
• Flexible Configuration
• Awards & Exclusive
• Comprehensive Roadmap
• Global Recognized
• Rapid Service
• Technical Support

Inside the box:

• Console
• 2 Spare Buttons
• EU Plug
• UK Plug
• 12V/3A Transformer (Positive Centre)
• Instructions
• HDMI Cable
• VGA Cable
• LAN Cable

Side Panel

Using Google Translate:

3D Moonlight Box 2413 in 1 (Pattern Three-dimensional)

English British Standard European

Standard With Pause Made in China.

Default Games

• 3D: 160
• 2D: 2252
• Latest: 1

Good Points

1. Lots of games - good to see some of them with zero configuration.
2. MicroSD Card can be added to add more games.
3. Some N64 games are included.
4. Bomb Jack, Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands are included.
5. Strider, Shinobi and R-Type are extremely playable on this.
6. Joysticks are of reasonable quality.

Bad Points

1. The correct aspect ratio for the selected game is NOT configured. Setting the display panel to 4:3 for the majority of games seems to be the best idea.
2. Vertically oriented games e.g. Commando are squashed if the display is set to 4:3. It is OK if the display is set to 16:9.
3. Some games are scaled incorrectly on some 1080p display panels cause loss of 8 pixels at top and bottom.
4. About 60 versions of King Of Fighters are included.
5. There are 2 versions of Outrun. Neither can change gear. There is no gear button mapping!
6. Outrun is extremely blocky on 4k displays. Colour looks saturated. Maybe a weird filter is applied. The MAME Hi-Lo gear indicator is unreadable.
7. Turbo Outrun is NOT available.
8. Chase HQ is NOT available.
9. Special Criminal Investigation shows Coin Error during initialisation. I could not get it to run.

Summary

1. This is a fun games console to play games quickly.
2. I will use this to find the games I may want to put on a PC running MAME.
3. In a cabinet a PC running MAME and the games you want would probably provide best results. Better display scaling.
4. Probably best to replace the PSU with a PSU with a CE marking. I haven't done this yet.

Links

Games List

This list is incomplete for my device, but is mostly correct for the 2D Games

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