It looks as if Powkiddy has increased the price to $40 since this upload. Perhaps thats due to the increase in traffic, or they priced it wrong previously. $30 was the perfect price, but $40 pushes us to the edge in terms of what it's actually worth. It's your call, the preloaded SD card helps! Thanks for watching everyone. ❤️
Would you rather pay 40 bucks for some used GBA SP with no games and no charge cable or 40 bucks for a brand spanking new Powkiddy V90 with a new charge cable and hundreds of onboard games?
@@jonathonearl482 Gameboy SP without charging cable and games. Charging cable 2$ with USB and a flashcard for 35$. No tearing, best GBA performance without any conflicts or framedrops. This device is just the PocketGo v1 and it's not good. It's also not possible to play PS1 games on this device. Up to GBA is acceptable. Edit: I bought different ugreen USB cables for handhelds like this V90. The usb cable quality is bad.
@@tumtum-7260 I also still have my backlit GBA SP and a GBA cart collection. It is definitely one of my top favorites when it comes to my handhelds and you can't beat the quality of the game play, so I see your point. I also have the Super Retro Advance SNES cartridge which allows you to play GBA games thru your SNES console. The Super Retro Advance works instantly with the Retro-Bit RDP without the need of the A/V cable, which gives you an extra portable way to play your GBA carts.
I can't see any screen tearing! I'll have a closer look once I get mine. It's a miracle that the emulators work as well as they do since a great deal of previous Powkiddy consoles had trouble with SNES, GENESIS and PS1.
Since the GBA emulator is gpSP, you can probably get rid of the screen tearing by changing the resolution or aspect ratio to the gameboys native one. that has worked for me in the past on the psp or vita
I think this supports pocket go v1 firmware if you installed the pocket go v1 firmware you can get no screen tearing mod for the pocket go v1 firmware it helps it out quite a bit for screen tearing.
I just got one in the mail today and for $38ish shipped I'm damn impressed with how well it runs most games, the quality of the display, and how responsive and comfortable it is. Having a boatload of pre-loaded roms that are actually in English including some interesting hacks and homebrew peppered in is also a nice touch. Whoever designed this one really outdid themselves making a stellar budget unit
They had to cut corners somewhere, the screen was likely one of those, and the plastic that its made out of. For $30, this is not a bad handheld, especially preloaded with roms.
With the ability to play practically all classic video game consoles and music files! Also, having a set of stereo speakers, an actual headphone jack and a PS1 / SNES button configuration. It appears to be the ultimate retro clam shell handheld console.
@@wdcegtjdh Oh yes, I have one of those! That GPD XD Plus is seriously no joking matter. 5 inch screen, 6 shoulder buttons, 4GB RAM, 2.1GHz processor, supports 500GB micro SD cards, plays all video and audio files, dual analog stick, loud stereo speaker set, mini PC fan, micro HDMI output, 6,000mAh battery up to 10 hrs., hard plastic shell, runs all Android apps, internet browser, Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and it can almost emulate any video game console let along run Android games, ability to adapt new emulators, priced at around $250.00. Plus, it comes in black. It's a bad little beast.
@@wdcegtjdh I only find the Powkiddy V90 to be a little more interesting because of it's ability to decently emulate the way it does without the use of an Android operating system. I always have a further interest in non-Android based handhelds. We already know any handheld operating with Android is going to perform well as well as having a much higher price pinned on them. The Powkiddy X15 is a good example of one of the high end portable handhelds running Android, performing near perfect and costing round $150.00. Though, we primarily see Powkiddy as a company that makes cheap handheld clones.
Oh wow... Mine just arrived!!! It's worth every dollar! Really love it to pieces! It uses a nokia BL-5C removable battery, so I got a few more so can game on the go for hours!!!! Build quality is there, just one gripe is the screen has a lot of micro scratches on it, only visible at certain angles. Satisfying click when the lid opens. Games really well....and ALOT and I mean ALOT nearly all the old games I used to physically own! Can change the volume physically or their select A or B combination. Also the screen brightness with the select plus L or R. Overall my new daily driver! Only one gripe is that the system as with alot of consoles is only on the TF card, basically the hard drive..... So back up the TF card before u mess with it
Hey. Make sure that the screen doesn’t have a real thin protective film on it. My ldk had some scratches on it when I got it and the I realized it was a thin film over it that can be removed.
My problem with it is I can’t figure out how to actually save on Pokémon games, using save states won’t work and neither will the actual in game saving, anyone know how to save?
Yeah... at the end only thing I liked is the shell in general. Specs as screen are nothing new... yeah guys I can't keep saying it enough... For the money we can't complain 😆
I got one and my kids LOVE it. After having some of these bigger portables, (psvita, switch, 3dsxl) this is adorable. I dont have screen tearing as much as I see some pretty bad after image burns (software it looks like) but for 30 bucks this thing runs perfect.
Honestly some of these machines are awesome value for money. There's crews of abolute mad lads making custom firmware that makes them very solid retro gaming machines
I searched the internet for something like this as a self birthday present and couldn't find anything with an sp style shell so I bought myself an actual gba sp and started a retro game collection. Then on my birthday they dropped this. I'm just gonna keep growing my gameboy collection but I was pretty pissed, glad to see a review of it so I can try to convince myself the screen tearing makes it trash compared to my official gba.
Right? This is THE selling point because you just want the display well protected and it also makes this bad boy smaller. It's the best possible design for a compact handheld device.
@@KRAFTWERK2K6 it was a cheap device, got mine for £23 unbranded, that blew my expectations apart discovering how good it was for the insanely low price. The v90 became even better when the custom firmware came along. The form factor is a massive bonus... but the original cloners were more than likely thinking of the nostalgia bucks that could be made from it... got my attention for that alone to start with.. now resides on my office shelf next to my original 2003 SP and my custom IPS modded one.
I thought that was an appropriate place for the speakers, It's stereo setup for one so that's a plus, also the controls are above the speakers so lots of room below the directional pad and face buttons to hold the device comfortably.
Not the most powerful handheld on the market, but it looks like an incredible amount of value for its low cost! Makes sense as a fully capable surrogate for a real GBA SP.
Pleasantly surprised! Will definitely pick it up for the collection, thank you for the review. Btw, was wondering if Brandon himself answers here? I reckon u guys have a team, maybe someone else is doing that...
I wish more emulation handhelds would use the clamshell idea. I always liked being able to fold up the console to avoid scratching the screen when I toss it in a pocket or bag.
This just makes me want a good clamshell emulator. If someone actually made quality hardware with bluetooth and dockability, and made the software an opensource effort, I'm sure it could become a go to emulation device for a lot of people.
Thanks for the review mate! As you say hopefully this isn't an end run in development and the success they'll experience gives the other Chinese manufacturers a kick up the arse in terms of developing clamshell retro handhelds
Stumbled upon you channel researching what retro handheld to buy.. instantly subscribed! As of this morning I got this bad boy ordered, upgraded to rush delivery, and taxes paid all for 40.40$ USD. Can't wait until it arrives!!😁
Already ordered this almost the minute it came up on aliexpress and, after seeing this video, I know my decision was justified as my (red) GBA SP is my favorite and most-used handheld console. Incredibly portable, more so than the PocketGo v1 I already own with the latest CFW. Good to know I'll be able to move my SD card from that to the V90 and it'll work.
There is an admittedly rather limited amount of PS1 games that you can actually play quite well on this device, at least in my experience, once we move away from the shoddy original firmware. Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Suikoden and Alundra ran nicely, and I'd imagine most other 2D games would run alright too, with a bit of tinkering in some cases. I'm impressed it can launch PS1 games at all, let alone allow you to play some of them at an acceptable performance level. And did I mention the CFW fixes the screen tearing in most games?
Just bought a second one at Tomtop for 37 bucks incl. shipping! I absolutely love this thing! Best bang-for-buck retro handheld, even ahead of the RG351P.
Hey, just wanted to ask. I really like that console since its very compact, a perfect for me. But I heard some rumors that it has problems with running GBA/SNES games which i wanted to play the most. How does it perform overall? Are there fps drops or something? Cheers
10 Months too late but i hope i can still help out somehow. Well some SNES games are a bit of a problem due to the onboard older software emulator. Especial SuperFX2 chip titles are a bit slow. But there's a firmware mod for the thing that also fixes the SNES emulation a bit. However SuperFX2 chip based titles still run a bit slow. But who knows. I guess the custom firmware for it keeps getting updated so i'm pretty sure this speed issue might become less of a problem.
@@KRAFTWERK2K6 hey, thanks for the answer. I managed to get this console and install custom firmware, it runs a little bit better now. Cant Expect much in this price, but its good enough.
I see on triforce cfw web that they already included this thing in their guide for pocket go. Meaning this has the same internals. Could be worth to try if it makes screen tearning better like on original pocket go.
I just pick one of these up on Amazon for under $40. At the price, running PS1 games at all is incredible. The R1/L1 buttons however were not. Mario Kart Super Circuit is a good benchmark for shoulder buttons since if you drift and deploy items, you press them with exact timing and hold them. Half the time they don't register immediately, let go randomly or bounce on and off. I opened it up and added about 9 layers of store-brand transparent tape cut into tiny squares to the back of L1 and R1 to make them press just that much better. Tweezers were helpful in applying it. Now they're responsive and reliable. L2 and R2 click just fine but I can't get them to work in the PS1 emulator, which I think is a software issue and I may be able to fix sometime by messing with the system software on the SD card using a PC (it's Linux, so whatever key mapping issue there is should be fixable). Also you will want to back up the SD card contents with win32diskimager or similar -- the whole system is on that, it's useless without the card contents, and it's a cheapo no-name card.
Personally feel you should have tested something other then the Super Mario game for GBA. That game naturally does weird shit like on the first stage when you fall it does that freeze. Should have tried Castlevania Circle of the moon if it had it. Looks pretty good probably order mine soon. Glad someone did a review.
You can replace the firmware with aftermarket firmware that fixes a lot of the screen tearing and offers more capabilities. You can also use a bigger SD card or better battery if you want.
for anyone that bought the v90,dont turn off the console by the on/off button,theres a chance that the sd card may get corrupted. Instead turn off by the power button in the settings.
I always wanted my GBA SP to also run NES, SNES, GENESIS, videos and music. Furthermore, wishing my GBA SP had a normal headphone jack, SNES button configuration and a set of onboard stereo speakers. Expectations beyond the GBA SP's capabilities. So, in a way this Powkiddy V90 is a dream console for me. I've been waiting on this baby since I first purchased my GBA SP.
What do you mean by screen tearing? I can almost never see screen tearing when you point it out, I wonder if that is because of the camera. Just to be clear, screen tearing is when half of the screen refreshes before the second half due to something like not having v sync enabled or a cheap panel right?
Yes. Technically, screen tear appears when the software a piece of hardware has vsync disabled and the software is not godly optimized. I have witnessed screen tear in gta san andreas steam edition.
Its when ur systems so fast its pushing frames out faster then ur screen can refresh resaulting in half the screen being the new picture a d half of it still being the last frame
Had mine for almost a month now and since Amazon doesn't let you write reviews unless you spend a lot of money recently, I'll write my review here. First few weeks, it worked really well. Some GBA games refuse to run and will simply return to the ROM selection screen, but other than that, whatever. A lot of PS1 games won't run or run well, but the PS1 emulator was kind of a second thought with the device and was just included for the hell of it. At least games like Resident Evil run just fine. Only other problem I've had with PS1 is the same I've had with GBA where sometimes when you try to save state, the system will freeze and that save state slot will be corrupted. And the only game that doesn't run well that I've tested on SNES is Super Mario Kart that runs horrendously for some reason. Overall, it initially worked pretty great. That's where we get to where we are now: Past few days, it would almost always boots up and after showing the NxHope logo, it flickers text and then goes to a black screen and stays there. Originally, the only reason I could think of is that it needed to be charged at or near 100% to even get to the main screen, but it eventually stopped getting past that even when fully charged. The only conclusion I can make is that this device was not built for longevity, and the longer you use it, the less things will actually work anymore. And for $45 (even if it were still at $30), for a device that's not even gonna last a month, it's just not worth it. In the end, the high price as well as the long wait it took for it to get here (thanks China) just wasn't worth it. I really regret buying this and can't even get a refund because by the time it stops working, the refund window closes.
I’m debating if I should buy this V90 or the first pocketgo. I love how both of them look, especially since I grew up with an SP. although I love the clamshell design, it seems like the original pocketgo has better build quality/better d-pad? Is the og pocketgo better than a v90 lol
Another fantastic video👍🏾. Do you know what? This is not bad for $30 . And the amount of games you get is pretty sweet. For that price ,the build quality really is no issue. Most likely going to adopt one💷😂
That "fake" title's a bit misleading since it's touting itself as a portable clamshell emulator, not an actual Gameboy Advance. Honda made a car that looks a lot like the Mazda MX-5 but I don't see them calling it a Mazda MX-5
Disable sound for better performance, less strain on the hardware. Also try different resolutions for screen tearing. Both common issues on tons of things.
They're perfect for people prone to having butterfingers like myself. I've dropped my controllers and handhelds too many times, now I appreciate lanyard wrist straps.
Got one for £35, It takes Nokia BL-5C battery's which are £3.50 each. Get a couple of spare battery's and your good to go. Also you can change the firmware now to make it look a lot more professional.
I like it a lot. In fact, I was looking for something exactly like this a couple years ago. If someone makes a version with slightly better hardware I might order one.
@@humanbeingfromearth I expect it to emulate PS1 games properly, and I would have been willing to pay a bit more if it could have accomplished that 3 years ago, when I was on the market for a portable emulation system. I went with a hacked 3DS XL.
im slightly waiting for these to have some ds emulation , i mean if they are able to make a 2 screen handheld which also makes the top screen detachable then im up for it
The link shows the price is $40, not $30. While I like the SP design over this clone design, I just started using an SP, and it's not a good device to hold in your hands for long periods as it's uncomfortable the way you have to angle and scrunch up your hands just to hold it. I prefer the original GBA design as it's easier to grip and use. Still, a better deal than buying a used GBA SP and individual games, though I prefer to have the actual game.
Can you comment on the measurements compared to the gba sp? I am getting a grip for the device but wanted to see if I could use ones designed for the gba sp
For 30 bucks that’s pretty impressive they were able to fit 1000s of games on a small device. However I am proud to use my original Gameboy advance. Whilst I’m playing my Gameboy, I have so much memories when I was a kid, it feels right playing on a original gaming device and you feel you are a real video gamer plus you got to respect the classic Nintendo’s 😉
Downloading roms is not illegal as long as you have the original. It’s a digital copy of what you should have fisically. The problem is that people abused the system and now, they are seen as “illegal”.
Looking for a cheap handheld with Neo Geo pocket games on it. How many does this have? Thanks my dude I always watch your videos before I make a purchase 😎👍🏼
... It’s a pocket go that looks like an sp. nothing much more to it. 7/10 only because I own a pocket go and love it. I actually think I’m gunna buy a sp because I’ve wanted one for a year or two now. I would buy this, but I already got a pocket go, and I wanna get a real sp.
This console is crazy.It has 3.000-4.000 games from a lot of different type of consoles and has a really good quality.The only bad thing is that it has poor sound quality and the fact that one month ago it costed 25$ and now it is 50$ it's really not good.I will wait for the price to drop cause i definitely want one
I wouldn't rely on the built in Micro SD card because mine came corrupted out of the box, and had no choice but to download the custom firmware. Overall, it works, but isn't great for most of the high end stuff, like Super Famicom and PlayStation.
My smartphone is the best powkiddy I can get .. Even plays Wii,Ps2 and 3ds ...and of course everything below these generation of systems .. But this device for 30/40€ is actually amazing ...
Just bought one because of your review, I still buy and mod GBA SP and such but I don't want to keep switching from game to game and all those cartridges
"fake" though? It has enough physical differences to make it entirely distinguishable from Nintendo's GBA SP. Its imitated the form factor, but the fact that you know the name and model of it means its not trying to fool anyone into thinking its a GBA SP from Nintendo. but to call it fake would be like saying the Watara Supervision was a fake GameBoy.
I thought it was even more like the GBA SP as well. Until I got mine in the mail and compared it to my GBA SP. Though it may look similar in design to the GBA SP from afar, up close the V90 has it's own shell design and the dimensions are slightly smaller than the GBA SP. Button layout and ports also have major differences. In appearance, the V90 looks like a GBA SP and there are a few visual similarities but it's actually more less a GBA SP and it's own thing. Retro Dodo nicknames the V90 a fake GBA SP simply because it actually does resemble a GBA SP, so I get it. I myself called the Original PocketGo the fake GBA Micro and many have nicknamed the Powkiddy X2 the fake Nintendo Switch.
I wonder what they would charge for a higher quality one with better ergonomics, repositioned and better speakers, higher resolution, refined software, etc. For a better version I could see it selling for 2 or 3x original price easily. $60-$90 & up plus tax and shipping.
I worry about powkiddy quality and software. I had their switch lite looking one and I had to fix it before i could use it, power switch fell off the board and come slightly unsolderded and it came with a scratched screen. Oh and the software looked ok but kept loosing all my saves. Which for something to purely play old RPG’s was beyond frustrating. My new pocket go doesn’t do that.
It looks as if Powkiddy has increased the price to $40 since this upload. Perhaps thats due to the increase in traffic, or they priced it wrong previously. $30 was the perfect price, but $40 pushes us to the edge in terms of what it's actually worth. It's your call, the preloaded SD card helps! Thanks for watching everyone. ❤️
Not since the upload.. 4 weeks ago with the launch. The GB SP is of course better.
Would you rather pay 40 bucks for some used GBA SP with no games and no charge cable or 40 bucks for a brand spanking new Powkiddy V90 with a new charge cable and hundreds of onboard games?
@@jonathonearl482 Gameboy SP without charging cable and games. Charging cable 2$ with USB and a flashcard for 35$. No tearing, best GBA performance without any conflicts or framedrops. This device is just the PocketGo v1 and it's not good. It's also not possible to play PS1 games on this device. Up to GBA is acceptable.
Edit: I bought different ugreen USB cables for handhelds like this V90. The usb cable quality is bad.
@@tumtum-7260
I also still have my backlit GBA SP and a GBA cart collection. It is definitely one of my top favorites when it comes to my handhelds and you can't beat the quality of the game play, so I see your point. I also have the Super Retro Advance SNES cartridge which allows you to play GBA games thru your SNES console. The Super Retro Advance works instantly with the Retro-Bit RDP without the need of the A/V cable, which gives you an extra portable way to play your GBA carts.
i don't wanna pay 40 bucks to bought gameboy advance because i need save money and i got nintendo switch and psvita and gameboy advances in china
I can barely see any screen tearing man. It's 30 bucks, people expect too much of such a cheap device. I am still amazed by it.
I can't see any screen tearing! I'll have a closer look once I get mine. It's a miracle that the emulators work as well as they do since a great deal of previous Powkiddy consoles had trouble with SNES, GENESIS and PS1.
It may have been hard through the camera, but there's definitely screen tearing in some GBA games.
@@RetroDodo
Screen tearing vs. frame drops. Which is worst?
@@jonathonearl482 frame drop of course because that affects gameplay more and overall experience.
Although the FPS drops on PSone games is really dissapointing :/ Considering an old modded psp from 2004 can play them perfectly.
I want one
Hey I know you!
Mine arrived today. It’s red....orangey red and it’s actually very good. Brilliant for the price anyway.
Review time!
So you can give it a second screen 👍
Have you bought one yet? Or a couple of them?
Since the GBA emulator is gpSP, you can probably get rid of the screen tearing by changing the resolution or aspect ratio to the gameboys native one. that has worked for me in the past on the psp or vita
I think this supports pocket go v1 firmware if you installed the pocket go v1 firmware you can get no screen tearing mod for the pocket go v1 firmware it helps it out quite a bit for screen tearing.
P3
Can you actually save the game progress on this device and come back to where you left off?? Many people said you cant.
If they make a metal version of this then this would be my absolute DREAM retro console. 11/10.
I would buy it for $100.
Learn to fabricate what you want, or get a 3D printer for better plastic lol
Lets have someone test it and swap the internals into an SP shell. 😂
I just got one in the mail today and for $38ish shipped I'm damn impressed with how well it runs most games, the quality of the display, and how responsive and comfortable it is. Having a boatload of pre-loaded roms that are actually in English including some interesting hacks and homebrew peppered in is also a nice touch.
Whoever designed this one really outdid themselves making a stellar budget unit
Does Pokémon come already installed?
@@EyeLuvMakeup271 Yes
It has several Pokémon GBA and GBC games preloaded
Just ordered this on amazon today. Does it come with earthbound snes?
@@JohnWickWorld As far as I can remember mine didn't have Earthbound preloaded but YMMV if use more than one template to load them
The video said that cheats can be added. Are these game shark cheat codes or something else?
I'm all in for making the ability to "chuck it into yer bag" into an official review metric.
Really love how the video is broken down into sections that you can then scrub between.
What's your thoughts on the Powkiddy V90? Let us know in the comments below! 👇
Looks nice for the price. Same chip as the pocketgo and I think uses the same custom firmware which will probably fix that screen tearing
Aspect ratio?
Not bad but for me one of the other videos you did on the gamebox reminds me more of the sp because that could play gameboy advance cartridges
Very epic game boy advance SP console :D ;)
not gonna lie, I kinda want one
They had to cut corners somewhere, the screen was likely one of those, and the plastic that its made out of. For $30, this is not a bad handheld, especially preloaded with roms.
Yeah, I could tell from the first b-roll shots that the plastic is pretty low quality.
So, from what I've learned, this is basically a PocketGo Clone in an SP modeled shell? Not bad.
Pretty much! Just with four shoulder buttons!
With the ability to play practically all classic video game consoles and music files! Also, having a set of stereo speakers, an actual headphone jack and a PS1 / SNES button configuration. It appears to be the ultimate retro clam shell handheld console.
@@jonathonearl482 no, gpd xd+ is still the ultimate retro clamshell handheld console
@@wdcegtjdh
Oh yes, I have one of those! That GPD XD Plus is seriously no joking matter. 5 inch screen, 6 shoulder buttons, 4GB RAM, 2.1GHz processor, supports 500GB micro SD cards, plays all video and audio files, dual analog stick, loud stereo speaker set, mini PC fan, micro HDMI output, 6,000mAh battery up to 10 hrs., hard plastic shell, runs all Android apps, internet browser, Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and it can almost emulate any video game console let along run Android games, ability to adapt new emulators, priced at around $250.00. Plus, it comes in black. It's a bad little beast.
@@wdcegtjdh
I only find the Powkiddy V90 to be a little more interesting because of it's ability to decently emulate the way it does without the use of an Android operating system. I always have a further interest in non-Android based handhelds. We already know any handheld operating with Android is going to perform well as well as having a much higher price pinned on them. The Powkiddy X15 is a good example of one of the high end portable handhelds running Android, performing near perfect and costing round $150.00. Though, we primarily see Powkiddy as a company that makes cheap handheld clones.
Oh wow... Mine just arrived!!! It's worth every dollar! Really love it to pieces! It uses a nokia BL-5C removable battery, so I got a few more so can game on the go for hours!!!! Build quality is there, just one gripe is the screen has a lot of micro scratches on it, only visible at certain angles. Satisfying click when the lid opens.
Games really well....and ALOT and I mean ALOT nearly all the old games I used to physically own! Can change the volume physically or their select A or B combination. Also the screen brightness with the select plus L or R.
Overall my new daily driver! Only one gripe is that the system as with alot of consoles is only on the TF card, basically the hard drive..... So back up the TF card before u mess with it
Hey. Make sure that the screen doesn’t have a real thin protective film on it. My ldk had some scratches on it when I got it and the I realized it was a thin film over it that can be removed.
Did you try playing PS1 on it? Does it work?
My problem with it is I can’t figure out how to actually save on Pokémon games, using save states won’t work and neither will the actual in game saving, anyone know how to save?
Sadly my screen broke already..... Had it in my pocket and must have pressed against something and the screen cracked
Yeah... at the end only thing I liked is the shell in general.
Specs as screen are nothing new... yeah guys I can't keep saying it enough...
For the money we can't complain 😆
This guy made my childhood-
Package from Chinaaaaa...
8:11 How is it pirates were able to get Sonic 1 running on a handheld better than Sega?
EDIT; This is a jab at Sonic Genesis
TPS Platinum maybe because of the newer cpu/gpu that they put
It's emulation, SEGA uses emulators too, so.
Arr, -we'll- they'll never reveal -our- their secret matey
@@Bro-cx2jc YARGH!! MATEY LETS PIRATE THE PHOSHOP!!!
I got one and my kids LOVE it. After having some of these bigger portables, (psvita, switch, 3dsxl) this is adorable. I dont have screen tearing as much as I see some pretty bad after image burns (software it looks like) but for 30 bucks this thing runs perfect.
Honestly some of these machines are awesome value for money. There's crews of abolute mad lads making custom firmware that makes them very solid retro gaming machines
I’m in the process of reviving my old GBA SP. if it doesn’t work out I’m definitely getting this 😏
I searched the internet for something like this as a self birthday present and couldn't find anything with an sp style shell so I bought myself an actual gba sp and started a retro game collection. Then on my birthday they dropped this. I'm just gonna keep growing my gameboy collection but I was pretty pissed, glad to see a review of it so I can try to convince myself the screen tearing makes it trash compared to my official gba.
I did the same thing!
Look in the discription!
I'm planning on getting an everdrive for my gba.
“Not advising you” “But you SHOULD buy one of these” +1 sub
I just ordered the v90 with 6,000 games. This will be my second unit. I sure can't wait. Thanks for your review. Great like always.
Did ypu eventually get it and if so was it worth it?
8:07 uh yeah, that's what sonic does
have to admit I'm ordering one just because of the clamshell SP nostalgia factor.
Right? This is THE selling point because you just want the display well protected and it also makes this bad boy smaller. It's the best possible design for a compact handheld device.
@@KRAFTWERK2K6 it was a cheap device, got mine for £23 unbranded, that blew my expectations apart discovering how good it was for the insanely low price. The v90 became even better when the custom firmware came along. The form factor is a massive bonus... but the original cloners were more than likely thinking of the nostalgia bucks that could be made from it... got my attention for that alone to start with.. now resides on my office shelf next to my original 2003 SP and my custom IPS modded one.
I’m also getting one, it’s coming tomorrow I am so excited😁
I thought that was an appropriate place for the speakers, It's stereo setup for one so that's a plus, also the controls are above the speakers so lots of room below the directional pad and face buttons to hold the device comfortably.
Not the most powerful handheld on the market, but it looks like an incredible amount of value for its low cost! Makes sense as a fully capable surrogate for a real GBA SP.
Once I get my RK2020, I'll definitely think about getting this one, this looks sweet!
Hell yeah been waiting on this video for like a week already and it's finally out.
Great video 👌
5 min of “oh my lords”. Gotta get that video lenght
Pleasantly surprised! Will definitely pick it up for the collection, thank you for the review. Btw, was wondering if Brandon himself answers here? I reckon u guys have a team, maybe someone else is doing that...
I wish more emulation handhelds would use the clamshell idea. I always liked being able to fold up the console to avoid scratching the screen when I toss it in a pocket or bag.
I ordered one of these a few weeks ago, I was wondering when you would make a video on this. I love cheap retro handhelds!
This just makes me want a good clamshell emulator. If someone actually made quality hardware with bluetooth and dockability, and made the software an opensource effort, I'm sure it could become a go to emulation device for a lot of people.
SaneGhoul like the win max?
@@aurabless7552 I'm thinking dedicated gaming machine and pocket sized.
Ayn odin lite
Thanks for the review mate! As you say hopefully this isn't an end run in development and the success they'll experience gives the other Chinese manufacturers a kick up the arse in terms of developing clamshell retro handhelds
Lets hope! 😊
Stumbled upon you channel researching what retro handheld to buy.. instantly subscribed!
As of this morning I got this bad boy ordered, upgraded to rush delivery, and taxes paid all for 40.40$ USD.
Can't wait until it arrives!!😁
Already ordered this almost the minute it came up on aliexpress and, after seeing this video, I know my decision was justified as my (red) GBA SP is my favorite and most-used handheld console. Incredibly portable, more so than the PocketGo v1 I already own with the latest CFW. Good to know I'll be able to move my SD card from that to the V90 and it'll work.
Same with me! Except, I ordered my red one as soon as it hit Ebay. Had to pay $10 extra but it was the only way I could pay with Paypal.
There is an admittedly rather limited amount of PS1 games that you can actually play quite well on this device, at least in my experience, once we move away from the shoddy original firmware. Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Suikoden and Alundra ran nicely, and I'd imagine most other 2D games would run alright too, with a bit of tinkering in some cases. I'm impressed it can launch PS1 games at all, let alone allow you to play some of them at an acceptable performance level. And did I mention the CFW fixes the screen tearing in most games?
Probably could run any 3D game pre Dualshock as well.
Just bought a second one at Tomtop for 37 bucks incl. shipping! I absolutely love this thing! Best bang-for-buck retro handheld, even ahead of the RG351P.
oh man, what I would give for a high quality, all-metal gbasp-clamshell emualtion device. I hope this is the first of many to come.
I would like to see that as well! I would have to surrender and purchase one.
Hey, just wanted to ask. I really like that console since its very compact, a perfect for me. But I heard some rumors that it has problems with running GBA/SNES games which i wanted to play the most. How does it perform overall? Are there fps drops or something? Cheers
10 Months too late but i hope i can still help out somehow. Well some SNES games are a bit of a problem due to the onboard older software emulator. Especial SuperFX2 chip titles are a bit slow. But there's a firmware mod for the thing that also fixes the SNES emulation a bit. However SuperFX2 chip based titles still run a bit slow. But who knows. I guess the custom firmware for it keeps getting updated so i'm pretty sure this speed issue might become less of a problem.
@@KRAFTWERK2K6 hey, thanks for the answer. I managed to get this console and install custom firmware, it runs a little bit better now. Cant Expect much in this price, but its good enough.
Love this but my most prized possession for retro emulation is still my PSP Go
I see on triforce cfw web that they already included this thing in their guide for pocket go. Meaning this has the same internals. Could be worth to try if it makes screen tearning better like on original pocket go.
Apparently it does!
This is spectacular fake but brilliant 6/10
😂 Thanks for watching.
I just pick one of these up on Amazon for under $40. At the price, running PS1 games at all is incredible. The R1/L1 buttons however were not. Mario Kart Super Circuit is a good benchmark for shoulder buttons since if you drift and deploy items, you press them with exact timing and hold them. Half the time they don't register immediately, let go randomly or bounce on and off. I opened it up and added about 9 layers of store-brand transparent tape cut into tiny squares to the back of L1 and R1 to make them press just that much better. Tweezers were helpful in applying it. Now they're responsive and reliable. L2 and R2 click just fine but I can't get them to work in the PS1 emulator, which I think is a software issue and I may be able to fix sometime by messing with the system software on the SD card using a PC (it's Linux, so whatever key mapping issue there is should be fixable).
Also you will want to back up the SD card contents with win32diskimager or similar -- the whole system is on that, it's useless without the card contents, and it's a cheapo no-name card.
Personally feel you should have tested something other then the Super Mario game for GBA. That game naturally does weird shit like on the first stage when you fall it does that freeze. Should have tried Castlevania Circle of the moon if it had it. Looks pretty good probably order mine soon. Glad someone did a review.
You can replace the firmware with aftermarket firmware that fixes a lot of the screen tearing and offers more capabilities. You can also use a bigger SD card or better battery if you want.
The Miyoo replacement firmware seems to solve many issues, but then that is not "out of the box"
for anyone that bought the v90,dont turn off the console by the on/off button,theres a chance that the sd card may get corrupted.
Instead turn off by the power button in the settings.
Who knew a fake sp would be somewhat better than a real sp
Nothing beats the AGS-101 or IPS modded
I always wanted my GBA SP to also run NES, SNES, GENESIS, videos and music. Furthermore, wishing my GBA SP had a normal headphone jack, SNES button configuration and a set of onboard stereo speakers. Expectations beyond the GBA SP's capabilities. So, in a way this Powkiddy V90 is a dream console for me. I've been waiting on this baby since I first purchased my GBA SP.
I bought it and this other one as well because it comes with a little remote control and you can play with 2 people.
What do you mean by screen tearing? I can almost never see screen tearing when you point it out, I wonder if that is because of the camera.
Just to be clear, screen tearing is when half of the screen refreshes before the second half due to something like not having v sync enabled or a cheap panel right?
Yes. Technically, screen tear appears when the software a piece of hardware has vsync disabled and the software is not godly optimized. I have witnessed screen tear in gta san andreas steam edition.
Its when ur systems so fast its pushing frames out faster then ur screen can refresh resaulting in half the screen being the new picture a d half of it still being the last frame
Fun fact, it’s not illegal to download roms. It’s illegal to host the downloads of roms! :)
Had mine for almost a month now and since Amazon doesn't let you write reviews unless you spend a lot of money recently, I'll write my review here. First few weeks, it worked really well. Some GBA games refuse to run and will simply return to the ROM selection screen, but other than that, whatever. A lot of PS1 games won't run or run well, but the PS1 emulator was kind of a second thought with the device and was just included for the hell of it. At least games like Resident Evil run just fine. Only other problem I've had with PS1 is the same I've had with GBA where sometimes when you try to save state, the system will freeze and that save state slot will be corrupted. And the only game that doesn't run well that I've tested on SNES is Super Mario Kart that runs horrendously for some reason. Overall, it initially worked pretty great.
That's where we get to where we are now: Past few days, it would almost always boots up and after showing the NxHope logo, it flickers text and then goes to a black screen and stays there. Originally, the only reason I could think of is that it needed to be charged at or near 100% to even get to the main screen, but it eventually stopped getting past that even when fully charged. The only conclusion I can make is that this device was not built for longevity, and the longer you use it, the less things will actually work anymore. And for $45 (even if it were still at $30), for a device that's not even gonna last a month, it's just not worth it. In the end, the high price as well as the long wait it took for it to get here (thanks China) just wasn't worth it. I really regret buying this and can't even get a refund because by the time it stops working, the refund window closes.
I’m debating if I should buy this V90 or the first pocketgo. I love how both of them look, especially since I grew up with an SP. although I love the clamshell design, it seems like the original pocketgo has better build quality/better d-pad? Is the og pocketgo better than a v90 lol
Another fantastic video👍🏾. Do you know what? This is not bad for $30 . And the amount of games you get is pretty sweet. For that price ,the build quality really is no issue. Most likely going to adopt one💷😂
I actually might get one of these for my b day just to play sonic advance 1,2 and 3
You'll love it.
Look at that: a cheap handheld with good Sound emulation! AtGames, Take notes!
That "fake" title's a bit misleading since it's touting itself as a portable clamshell emulator, not an actual Gameboy Advance.
Honda made a car that looks a lot like the Mazda MX-5 but I don't see them calling it a Mazda MX-5
I buy one yesterday, it comes in 3 days and I am excited
Disable sound for better performance, less strain on the hardware. Also try different resolutions for screen tearing. Both common issues on tons of things.
So... basically a repackaged second-gen Bittboy?
@@jonathonearl482 nope, it went backwards in quality
i love the form factor.... this would a perfect hand held for me,if it could be just be a little more powerful....
The only thing you didn't check is if it saves any progress. That's make or break
Wish I never sold my SP.
Btw, I don't know why lanyard hooks are still a thing. Never seen anyone use them.
They're perfect for people prone to having butterfingers like myself. I've dropped my controllers and handhelds too many times, now I appreciate lanyard wrist straps.
Holy shit I almost thought Jonah Hill had a secret youtube channel
I just noticed that there is a nerf titan in the corner of the screen. Pretty good eye sight.
If they could improve the build quality ,make the colours better and make the size more 1:1 I'd definitely buy this for $50
I just got one. It played well. But a few minutes later, it became mute 🔇. I have the volume up high.
Got one for £35,
It takes Nokia BL-5C battery's which are £3.50 each.
Get a couple of spare battery's and your good to go.
Also you can change the firmware now to make it look a lot more professional.
I like it a lot. In fact, I was looking for something exactly like this a couple years ago. If someone makes a version with slightly better hardware I might order one.
Dude it's 40 bucks lol what do u expect?!
@@humanbeingfromearth I expect it to emulate PS1 games properly, and I would have been willing to pay a bit more if it could have accomplished that 3 years ago, when I was on the market for a portable emulation system. I went with a hacked 3DS XL.
@@Andre-fq6xg If you can find a handheld that emulates ps1 properly for under $50 lmk
Nintendo games in a Chinese console... They don’t give a DAMMMMNNNNNN
Pepsi bottle Coca-Cola glass... I don’t give a damn
The powkiddy v90 is not a fake gameboy it is designed to play older games and look like a gameboy for nostalgia purposes
im slightly waiting for these to have some ds emulation , i mean if they are able to make a 2 screen handheld which also makes the top screen detachable then im up for it
And i want a pony with 3 heads
yo awesome video! but the audio is clipping for me :) just a note! good stuff man
The link shows the price is $40, not $30. While I like the SP design over this clone design, I just started using an SP, and it's not a good device to hold in your hands for long periods as it's uncomfortable the way you have to angle and scrunch up your hands just to hold it. I prefer the original GBA design as it's easier to grip and use.
Still, a better deal than buying a used GBA SP and individual games, though I prefer to have the actual game.
That is actually the complete (-3) library of nes games
Can you comment on the measurements compared to the gba sp? I am getting a grip for the device but wanted to see if I could use ones designed for the gba sp
For 30 bucks that’s pretty impressive they were able to fit 1000s of games on a small device. However I am proud to use my original Gameboy advance. Whilst I’m playing my Gameboy, I have so much memories when I was a kid, it feels right playing on a original gaming device and you feel you are a real video gamer plus you got to respect the classic Nintendo’s 😉
Downloading roms is not illegal as long as you have the original. It’s a digital copy of what you should have fisically. The problem is that people abused the system and now, they are seen as “illegal”.
It's 39.99 on AliX... How is that $30?
Also noticed that. Even other sellers* have it at 39.99, not less.
I saw this on AliExpress the first day it went up for sale and has always been 39.99 us dollars.
i thin he meant to say Pounds, because its £30 when converted
Looking for a cheap handheld with Neo Geo pocket games on it. How many does this have? Thanks my dude I always watch your videos before I make a purchase 😎👍🏼
...
It’s a pocket go that looks like an sp. nothing much more to it. 7/10 only because I own a pocket go and love it. I actually think I’m gunna buy a sp because I’ve wanted one for a year or two now. I would buy this, but I already got a pocket go, and I wanna get a real sp.
Had an SP in its day. Loved it so much.
I’m getting this before I get a switch
This console is crazy.It has 3.000-4.000 games from a lot of different type of consoles and has a really good quality.The only bad thing is that it has poor sound quality and the fact that one month ago it costed 25$ and now it is 50$ it's really not good.I will wait for the price to drop cause i definitely want one
Cool Video Bro
Thanks man.
I wouldn't rely on the built in Micro SD card because mine came corrupted out of the box, and had no choice but to download the custom firmware. Overall, it works, but isn't great for most of the high end stuff, like Super Famicom and PlayStation.
Quality video as usual mate!
I feel like this is an instant fail the second my thumbs cover both speakers.
Yes. Was hoping you'd do this one.
How much space does that card have lol
16GB
Its kinda cool, miss the old school design
I can’t even see the screen tearing on mine playing GBA games. It plays ps1 alright too
My smartphone is the best powkiddy I can get ..
Even plays Wii,Ps2 and 3ds ...and of course everything below these generation of systems ..
But this device for 30/40€ is actually amazing ...
Outside of the obvious form factor, how does this compare to the Bittboy Pocket Go v2?
Thanks for all your great overview vids
Just bought one because of your review, I still buy and mod GBA SP and such but I don't want to keep switching from game to game and all those cartridges
Solja boi shoulda hired this guy.
it looks like the bitboy Operating system. I wonder if bitboy button combos will turn up the brightness on this.
"fake" though? It has enough physical differences to make it entirely distinguishable from Nintendo's GBA SP. Its imitated the form factor, but the fact that you know the name and model of it means its not trying to fool anyone into thinking its a GBA SP from Nintendo. but to call it fake would be like saying the Watara Supervision was a fake GameBoy.
I thought it was even more like the GBA SP as well. Until I got mine in the mail and compared it to my GBA SP. Though it may look similar in design to the GBA SP from afar, up close the V90 has it's own shell design and the dimensions are slightly smaller than the GBA SP. Button layout and ports also have major differences. In appearance, the V90 looks like a GBA SP and there are a few visual similarities but it's actually more less a GBA SP and it's own thing.
Retro Dodo nicknames the V90 a fake GBA SP simply because it actually does resemble a GBA SP, so I get it. I myself called the Original PocketGo the fake GBA Micro and many have nicknamed the Powkiddy X2 the fake Nintendo Switch.
Sellers on ali express have seen this videos blow up on UA-cam and are now charging $80 for all game boy knockoffs.
I kinda wanna see someone take the v90 and change the membrane and the the button and make a grip for it, I’d think that would be a cool little mod
I wonder what they would charge for a higher quality one with better ergonomics, repositioned and better speakers, higher resolution, refined software, etc. For a better version I could see it selling for 2 or 3x original price easily. $60-$90 & up plus tax and shipping.
I worry about powkiddy quality and software. I had their switch lite looking one and I had to fix it before i could use it, power switch fell off the board and come slightly unsolderded and it came with a scratched screen. Oh and the software looked ok but kept loosing all my saves. Which for something to purely play old RPG’s was beyond frustrating. My new pocket go doesn’t do that.
Did you buy this Powkiddy used or new?