mClassic Upscaler: My Review

Ah, the mClassic. The magical dongle that’s supposed to turn your blurry retro dreams into crisp, jaw-dropping 2K nostalgia. I got one. I plugged it into my Steam Deck and set the HDMI output to 720p. And then… absolutely nothing happened. No upscaling. No magic. Just the same old pixels staring back at me like I owed them money. For something that costs nearly as much as a decent game, you’d expect at least a sign of life. Maybe a sparkle. A twinkle. But no. It just sat there, silently judging me for believing the hype.

So like any slightly disgruntled gamer with too much time and not enough dignity, I unplugged, replugged, sacrificed a pixel sprite to the HDMI gods and nothing. The mClassic was a glorified HDMI extender. To be fair, I’ve bought DLCS that gave me less functionality, but those didn’t promise to upscale anything. They just promised disappointment and delivered flawlessly.

Look, I don’t expect miracles. I’m not asking it to turn Final Fantasy VI into Final Fantasy XVI. But I do expect some form of feedback when I flick a switch and the product is supposedly activated. There was no visual “aha!” moment, no sonic boom of resolution clarity. Just me, squinting and wondering if I had accidentally bought a placebo cable.

A New Monitor, a New Hope

Then I tried it on a different monitor which I just got to replace my current setup (long story short, building a new recording room for Playing Games with Snat and figured I would keep the fancy monitor for my gaming setup) and got a new HDMI cable for the Steam Deck at the same time. Because maybe, just maybe, the mClassic was a diva and needed the right stage. And you know what? It actually did something. Final Fantasy XIV got a little glow-up. It looked less like it was smeared across the screen and more like it belonged there. Textures tightened up, aliasing dropped a bit, and the whole thing just felt smoother. Still not jaw-dropping, but cleaner.

I wouldn’t say it was life-changing. It’s not like I booted up the game and suddenly felt the urge to weep at the beauty of Thanalan’s rocky landscapes. But it was a decent bump up in quality, especially if you’re used to fuzzy edges and ghosting. Was it because of the new monitor? The cable? A rare moment of HDMI synergy? Who knows. All I know is it finally looked like it was trying to earn its keep.

Final Thoughts: It’s Fine, But Don’t Bother

At the end of the day, the mClassic does what it claims. It upscales. Technically. It turns your input into a slightly crisper 2K output. That’s nice. But for the price? Nah. Unless you’re some kind of HDMI evangelist or you think “subtle improvements” are worth nearly triple digits.

Sure, it works better in some setups. Yes, Final Fantasy XIV looked mildly better. But “mildly better” shouldn’t come with a price tag that makes you question your life choices. If this thing were half the cost, I’d say go for it. As it stands? You’re better off tweaking in-game settings, buying a sharper display, or just squinting with intent.

Now, let’s talk about RetroArch on the Steam Deck. This is where the mClassic actually shines a bit. When I fired up some old-school classics (Sonic 3 and Final Fantasy VI), suddenly things started looking a lot sharper. The upscaled textures popped, and I could make out the details without feeling like I was playing through a foggy window.

The colours were richer, the pixel art felt more defined, and honestly, it gave me the kind of nostalgia boost I was looking for when I bought this little device. If you’re into retro gaming, this is the one area where the mClassic might justify its existence, especially if you’re all about that pixel-perfect experience. But, yeah, it’s still not quite worth the hefty price tag.