There was absolutely no reason I needed to get a Q. I have a modded GameCube already, and a decent Sony DVD player. I found an interested buyer for my DVD player, plus sold a couple of other things, and it was settled. I am definitely the type of person that likes the Nintendo rarities out there, and after seeing it at E3 and Space World, I really wanted to get my hands on one. To be honest, it’s just too damn sexy looking not to get. I decided to order my Q from Lan-Kwei, completely modified.

I received my shipment a couple days later, and quickly opened the box. Here’s everything that’s included inside.

1. The Q hardware (universally modified for games and Region 1-6 DVDs)

2. 1 gray Panasonic GameCube controller

3. 1 set of AV Cables

4. Remote control and batteries

5. Power cord

6. Instruction manual (Japanese), and hookup guide (Japanese)

While pulling everything out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the Q was a lot lighter than I thought it would be. At first glance, it looks like it would be made of stainless steel, but a majority of it is plastic. There is no handle on the back, but there are two smaller handles on the top. Since they are made of plastic, I can’t imagine I’ll be utilizing them. The quality is there, but it appears differently than it feels. Even the remote seems very light.

My main concern was how exactly I was going to connect the Q to my Surround Sound receiver. I was surprised to find out that you don’t use the standard Nintendo AV cables. How you connect the Q depends on what setup you have. For basic hookups, you can use the included (rather cheap) AV cables. For more advanced hookups, it gets a little trickier. There are connections for S-Video, an optical out, but unfortunately the optical connection is only used with DVD’s and CDs. The GameCube portion needs to be hooked up with regular analog AV cables. I decided to use the thickest Monster Cables I could find to connect the GameCube portion of audio, optical cable for DVD\CD sound, and S-Video for all of the video. One other thing I need to do is toggle the audio inputs on my receiver between analog and digital (optical) if I switch back and forth between the DVD function and the Q function.

Once I had everything hooked up, I powered up into GameCube mode. The gray screen on the top reads HELLO across it on boot up (yes, it says goodbye too), and the rings around the controller ports glow a bright blue. I have to be honest, but I gasped. It really looks impressive. I pressed the open button, and gently the drive’s tray slid out. I dropped in Biohazard for the first time, and sat back and waited.

So what are the main differences between playing games on the Q instead of the GameCube? After going back and forth between the included cables, and the monster cables, I believe the Q has potential for cleaner, richer sound. You also have two extra audio settings, Bass Boost, and Game Surround. I don’t think the settings add too much, but I keep them on. There is a noticeable difference. If you have children, or don’t want to miss your next class or appointment, there’s a built in auto shut off timer. I have a feeling I won’t be using this feature too often, but for people that like to limit game time it’s an excellent addition.

In the case of the unit I received from Lan-Kwei, the universal modification is all done internally. There is no outside switch to toggle region for Games or DVDs. DVDs boot up to the correct region automatically. But for games, it’s different. If you just press the power button, the Q defaults into Japanese mode. For US games you just hold the power button down for a few seconds and the Q boots into US mode. If you use the remote to power up, you won’t be able to switch to US mode. You have to physically power up the Q, and hold down the button. A slight disappointment for the lazy, but it’s not too bad. Other than that, the Q plays GameCube games just like it would on a Nintendo GameCube.

The main obvious difference of course is the fact that the Q has a built in DVD player. When you switch from GameCube mode to DVD mode, the system entirely powers down, and then restarts without the blue controller port lights. The Q’s DVD player has all the bells and whistles most higher-end DVD players have. Surround Sound, DTS, and Dolby Digital are all supported, and the Q also has a few cinema modes and surround modes. In comparison to my 2-year-old Sony DVD player, I believe the Q has superior sound and video. I used many different DVDs and sound variations, and everything looked and sounded superb. Once you know how to access the menus, you can change the language to English, so there’s really no problems there. In comparison to the DVD playback of the PS2, there’s absolutely no contest.

I haven’t tried any other region encoded DVDs because I don’t have any yet. But I sure can’t wait to. There’s a lot of excellent movies and anime that I’ve found in Japan or from import stores that will never make it over here. In particular there’s the Transformers Box set (yes I know I’ll never have a girlfriend again) that grabbed my eye last year, and now I’ll be able to watch it. I did try a homemade VCD that I burned, and it worked very well.

The Q also functions as a basic CD player, which I tested using various CD’s, originals and burns. The features are very basic, but there are general function buttons on the Q and remote. Since the CD can use the optical audio outs, the sound is improved over both my old DVD player, and my analog CD player. Using analog outs, the quality is actually worse than my analog CD player.

The remote is rather disappointing, regardless of the fact that it’s totally in Japanese. My way around the language barrier is programming my universal remote, and using that instead. The included remote control is responsive, but I would have liked more features. It cannot be used as a controller at all. It has your normal DVD functions on board, but as far as GameCube functions it’s totally minimal. You can power on, and power off the system, and change the sleep timer. That’s it. If you’re going to play a US game, you need to power on the system manually. The remote also is extremely light weight. It feels very cheap.

Overall, I believe the Q delivers what it’s supposed to. It’s a DVD player that can play GameCube games. The Q’s main drawback is the price tag. $400 - $500 for an imported modified unit is a lot of money. For a lot less you can get a great DVD player and a GameCube. Also putting it in your entertainment center may cause problems. Since the GameCube was so small I used to have it sitting right out on the coffee table in front of me, but since I have a short optical cable, this is not possible. When I put the Q in my entertainment center, it sits a lot further away from the couch, demanding either controller extension cables, or getting a couple Wave Birds.

It’s a shame Panasonic isn’t releasing this unit here in the states because it’s a fantastic product. The fact that it’s only available in the US on an import basis at much higher prices will deter most from getting one. Since I have received my unit, there’s been a newer modchip available that allows the system to also play region 1-6 PAL DVDs, as well as CDR’s with MP3s. Sure, this wasn’t the intention of Nintendo or Panasonic when developing the Q, but it’s a nice added bonus for those who can pony up the extra money to get one. The Panasonic Q is definitely the sexiest console ever created. It’s sleek and cool, with a lot of excellent features. It’s a must have for any Nintendophile, as long as their wallet that can survive the hit.