UPDATE: most of the issues I had with this device have now been resolved by the hard work of the retro handheld emulation community! Check out my updated review here: ua-cam.com/video/sifOcAqpQg8/v-deo.html
This device design reminds me of the arduoboy devices and the tiny arcades that are based on the arduoboy like Tetris. Very cool as just a tiny little pocketable thing but all of the shortcomings are really a bummer and sound like deal breakers. Great honest review though!
Ha, I saw the device in the background of your previous video and knew it was an easter egg 👀 "I was excited to test this new device. But then I turned it on. " damn 🤣🤣
@@mrksaccount123 I’m not a sucker youll see, $50 + 16 dollar rush shipping, totaly worth it for Rare purple USB. Ots going to be collectors item one day, usb cabel collecters will pay lots youll see
Thanks for the review, I had been mulling over getting one of these for a while now but after seeing the video I don't think it's worth it at the moment. I'd like to see a video on the updated firmware's gba performance. If this device can get to a point where it can play GBA well I would once again consider getting it.
With custom software it is much better overall. GBA performance is fine honestly, Duke Nukem runs unplayably, but Golden Sun, Metroid or Fire Emblem run just fine.
The only thing that make me sad is that probably thanks to the low performance and really close costomization the sales numbers gonna be low and probably the high people in the company be like "well it sell poorly, never again" and its really sad because the marketing and the desing of this console is soo cool and beautiful, hope they made a revision with better performance and more open to the public for custom roms and stuff
At the moment do you have any plans on a follow up to this video? A well built device with good controls and a pocketable size is a very exciting premise for a product only for it to be let down by (mostly?) software. I've heard lots of rumors online from people saying that the update(s?) have at the least helped for some of the issues you mentioned, and outright fixed others.
Too bad, the form factor and the building quality seemed top notch. Its looks reminds me of the Arduboy. I really like that you're being honest and don't try to sell products when you don't think they're worth it. Keep up the good work.
Ordered one for £22. Can play Pokemon on a tiny device easily. It’s all I wanted it for really. Not looking for amazing performance. Good review though 👌
Seen this on aliexpress for a while now so good to see a video on it. Not a fan of small screens at all anyway (3.5" being small as well) but was curious on how this performs. Avoid is the impression I got 😁😉
You just saved me $50. I watched Panda Mimi's video and was almost sold just for GB/GBC/GBA, but you cleared it right up. What a bummer. It's such a beautiful device. Edit 04-21: I found one for $30 on ali. Performance on the newer firmware has improved. Color is sharp. There is some work on CFW. for $30, it's kind of nice.
@@MG-ql8sg The seller I bought from is up to $40 now, but if you search on Ali for "Powkiddy a66" you will get a bunch of results. The dev work on this has been accellerating recently. Lynx now works, for example. I got Quake 1&2 to run as well. Good luck!
I bought a few purple colored USB A to C adapters and can't remember who sold it, since I was also surprised by the color choice. It's usually blue or black. WIth Red being the newest editions and Razer's Green being nearly exclusive to them.
The UI is perfect simple and kid friendly, that's all I've been looking for simple UI no sub menu kids can open by accident, opendingux, retro pi, retro arch, all have things the kids can mess with & wrong or combined button presses. But the emulation is so bad. Oh man another one so close but so far. Would you be able to see if the firmware update fixes any issues at all? Great video keep up it up.
@@SpikerDragon95 not gonna lie it suck all I want is a kid-friendly UI on a decent emulator that I can add or remove games/systems as needed. It's so hard to find 😩
I can confirm that you can scale games to full screen now and avoid that weird looking border mentioned. I'm on firmware 0.105 now. Some other issues are resolved but will have to mess around with it.
I can also confirm screen tearing js better now for stuff like NeoGeo, Genesis and some SNES but it's still a problem. Looks like Gameboy is worse with screen tearing now. There's definitely some kind of video driver compatibility issues going on still. Sound is hit or miss still too.
I love green as well, lol. 💚 I got the RG351P recently, and I love it. I was interested in this console too, but shame to hear about its drawbacks. I might also invest in the Retroid Pocket 2---especially since I heard that N64 and Dreamcast games are emulated well on it.
@@RetroGameCorps I've found the Dreamcast emulator runs really poorly for me when I've tested it, mostly with stuttering and audio issues, don't know if you had the same experience? I'm on the latest ELEC firmware too so I take it it's just the device and it isn't really good with DC?
@@Stabzcell97812 yeah, Dreamcast isn't great on the RG351P. I'd say half of the games are playable, and of those, few actually play well. RP2 does a better job, but it still has its share of issues. I think we need to wait until a device can run the Redream emulator, which is miles better than what we can run on these devices.
Hi Ross, There are new reviews for this handheld - with conclusions that it is pretty good, I guess update has been rolled out so maybe you try to update and give it another chance? By the way I watch all your videos - you are doing amazing work, I respect quality and constructive approach.
I actually think those black powkiddy boxes look awesome, better than any other (unless I am mixing it up with another box). You don't need those two adapters for audio, there are headphone to USB C adapters - and they are a lot better of a solution (basically just adds not much more than a bit of extra wire at the end). Although not buying this seems a better solution!
Love it. In the cart. Bought. Ty for the review. Edit. For context, my use case is to have a true pocket player. Metal Slug, Pokemon, and Shiren the Wanderer, nothing else. This will run all of those games, and is tiny, pretty and well built. I have my Razer Kishi and Moto G Fast at home.
@@RetroGameCorps I like to look at positive and negative reviews before I buy. Even yours mentions the excellent controls and build. For my use case that's probably the most important part.
RADIO SHACK USED TO HAVE A HEADPHONE JACK ADAPTER PLUG IN EXTENSION WHICH WAS BLACK PLASTIC HEXGONICAL SHAPED,WHICH TURNED A MONO SIGNAL SOUND INTO A DUAL SOUND THRU HEADPHONE EARS-BOTH EARS TO SEEM STERO SOUNDING!!! I HAVE ONE SUCH DEVICE SOMEWHERES!!!
Very cool little machine...nice find Russ. It kinda reminds me of an audiocassette :) nice review! Looks great, i wish it had more power and a better UI.
My 2 cents for the snes emulation is that it is set up to Pal mode (which could explain why it’s running around 18% slower and the top/bottom black borders which does not scale very well).
I think your channel is absolutely awesome, but I can't watch this one as I have one of these and think it's a brilliant little desktop "ornament" that I like a lot. I never expected it to be a fantastic gameplaying emulation machine, but it loads stuff up, enough for a little browse, let stuff run in the background and it's an uplifting tiny little device. Still it was quite expensive for what it is, but I almost don't want to hear it's faults, just in case I end up sticking it in the box with the dodgy famiclones.....
That's a neat use for this little device! It definitely feels nice and looks very good. There are a few people actively working to fix its issues, so maybe in the future its performance will match its build/look.
The SNES didn't use square pixels, so on a modern LCD you're left with either non-integer scaling in order to match the original aspect ratio (which would look bad on a 320x240 screen) or leaving it unstretched, which leaves you with an aspect ratio that is not quite 4:3. Also, it's not quite 240p either, and vertically stretching would look ugly. It would be nice to have the option but it wouldn't look very good.
thanks for making a video on this. It does look good but if I get something like this in a few years I want to be able to modify it's firmware and choose what emulators run on it.
It's a pity we don't have a high quality device of this size, I'd love a cute horizontal handheld that would be able to fit into my jeans pocket. Ah well, the RG351p fits fine into a coat pocket!
Honestly, I think the only thing that isn't good about it is the emulation cores optimizations (lack of). It could use some tweaks, but in terms of UI, it's excellent. I've never seen a retro handheld with an original and polished UI like this one. They even got the typography spacing done well. (If you think these boot times are bad, look into GPi case)
Very true! I just watched your Top 10 Pandora Boxes video and almost fell into that rabbit hole earlier today...I have a Super Console X coming in the mail so I reckon I will just ease into it.
@@RetroGameCorps it .. is a deep one. But I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy it- that is if you load up the retroarch like we have on it. Throw me a message on discord if you want to know anything more about them.
Such a pity. This has the potential to be my new favourite device. I love the build quality, transparency and overall presentation. It seems like most issues could be rectified by a software upgrade and slightly stronger hardware. Shame.
wanted to get it just for the design of the hardware looks very good, then I saw the OS... but ia good to know the buttons feel nice, maybe i get it just for playing tetris
That squeaky sound you hear in Contra is part of the plain gun firing sound, its present in the original game. Either the DAC is very poor or the speaker is tinny (maybe both) so the extreme high frequencies are shrill and piercing, exaggerating the effect. I wonder what they could have done if their target price was $55.
aww this sucks, was waiting for a device exactly like this, something with the form factor and build quality that can play up to snes/GBA is all I really want. If it wasn't for the screen tearing, ui and lack of headphone port, I'd be picking up one of these right now.
That's a shame, I was really hoping that there would be a custom firmware for this that would solve all of the issues. Guess I'll keep waiting for the RG351V!
Huh? You can get adapters that convert USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack directly, it's what people use with smartphones nowadays. Don't need a USB OTG adapter.
Given it uses PhonenixSuit to update the firmware I am assuming it runs android. Hopefully it is running retroarch on it and we can modify the firmware to utilise different cores I’ll get a unit and look at extracting and repackaging with different retroarch cores for each emulator
Great video but I would love to know if the firmware updates fix any of the issues you mentioned. I don't feel it has had a fair review if there are updates available.
The firmware update only fixes the language issue. For now, the only thing they've been able to do is unlock the menu options, but it's very limited. Screen tearing and performance/audio are still the same as shown in the video.
@@RetroGameCorps Thats unfortunate as this device is really portable. Missing headphone jack is an issue also for me. Thanks for the clarification. Also thank you for the continued updates on the PocketGo S30 pack. Your work is appreciated :) I wanted to ask you an odd question, which of the many Chinese handhelds have the quietest buttons (no clicks etc) ? The reason I ask, is that I want to get something that won't wake my wife up whilst I am retro gaming it bed. Thank you again
Too bad for such a stylish beautiful device. Screen tearing and lack of headphone jack is a huge deal breaker. This is as bad but a lot better in many aspects than the overrated original Odroid Go.
By 2019 emulation standards, I think it would have been a good deal. In today's market, there's a lot more bang for your buck at even the $60 price point.
it is a shame this device is so subpar. i really like the way it looks and have always been a huge fan of micro consoles. i just got a funkey sand love it to death, but would have also loved to add something like this to my collection. if it were cheaper i would get it in a heartbeat just as a neat piece to show off on a shelf.
@@svcross-do yea I’m thinking about posting a video for real. Cuz I’m tired of all the hate this device gets, ppl need to do the firmware updates. I Just want to get the word out that this little device deserves some love. Just know the devices limits. All that being said i definitely wouldn’t recommend it as your main device. I use it for my back up. Like when ima get a haircut or something and i need to kill 20 mins. I always bring it with me since it’s so portable
Looks like you're plugging the headphones into one side of a stereo adapter which is why you're only getting one side. You can buy cheap USB C - 3.5mm adapter cables on eBay which should work with this and be much less of a PITA to carry around - just leave them on your headphones.
The adapter I used has a stereo output side and a mic input side, which is why it looks like I was only using one side. I use the mic input side to capture audio from devices on my computer. But I have heard that a simple 3.5mm to USB-C adapter can provide stereo sound on headphones.
@@RetroGameCorps I'd really like that, been thinking of getting it but the firmware is the biggest issue & if they've fixed at least the lagging issues & some frame tearing then I'll definitely get one
i'm a collector... -ish... (10+ different retro handhelds) but i would not buy this guy right here... especially for 50 clams, no way. it looks nice, i would probably turn a blind eye to the performance issues if it cost, like, 20 bucks, and that's still a maybe. Russ is right, 3 yrs ago, actually, scratch that, in the middle of 2019 i would get one in a heartbeat, but now, after what we already saw released... hard pass.
With GMenuNX you can get actual good emulators AND get a proper PS1 bios setup. Granted, most 3D titles still won't run well, but 2D titles will work like a charm. Overall, the stock emus aren't really good at all. Also, the audio thing is just you being a boomer lol. The average person is already using bluetooth earbuds only, not carrying around 3.5mm earbuds. If you are carrying them though, chances are you have a USB C dongle to be able to use it with your phone, which will work fine with this thing too. The single sided audio you get is you just having a shitty dinosaur adapter. This thing is not different to many of these Chinese consoles in that you need community-made custom software to make them work as they should out of the box, and similar to pretty much all portable consoles in that thanks to the community, they go from bland and limited to absolute jewels.
I didn’t have that adapter on me, so I tried with what I had at the house. I have heard reports that the audio works with the adapter, but in mono only. Wasn’t trying to make it complicated, just wanted to see if it worked.
UPDATE: most of the issues I had with this device have now been resolved by the hard work of the retro handheld emulation community! Check out my updated review here: ua-cam.com/video/sifOcAqpQg8/v-deo.html
Hopefully there's a next one and it is better because I like this form factor. Appreciate the honesty here.
The updated firmware solves the screen tearing and the pillarboxing. You should really update the review i think.
Dammit, this bots are everywhere.
God I really hope we get another one of these because its small enough to be hidden on my work desk, to play whilst waiting for calls to come in haha
I digging the Arduboy aesthetic. I would be interested if they address the firmware issues.
This device design reminds me of the arduoboy devices and the tiny arcades that are based on the arduoboy like Tetris. Very cool as just a tiny little pocketable thing but all of the shortcomings are really a bummer and sound like deal breakers. Great honest review though!
they are deal breakers, thankfully thanks again to the community, custom software improves it vastly.
Ha, I saw the device in the background of your previous video and knew it was an easter egg 👀
"I was excited to test this new device. But then I turned it on.
" damn 🤣🤣
Good eye! That may or may not have been on purpose :D
I'm buying this just for the purple USB adapter!
Sucker
@@mrksaccount123 I’m not a sucker youll see, $50 + 16 dollar rush shipping, totaly worth it for Rare purple USB. Ots going to be collectors item one day, usb cabel collecters will pay lots youll see
Thanks for the review, I had been mulling over getting one of these for a while now but after seeing the video I don't think it's worth it at the moment. I'd like to see a video on the updated firmware's gba performance. If this device can get to a point where it can play GBA well I would once again consider getting it.
For me as long can emulated SNES, Genesis, Sega CD and GBA im sold
With custom software it is much better overall. GBA performance is fine honestly, Duke Nukem runs unplayably, but Golden Sun, Metroid or Fire Emblem run just fine.
The only thing that make me sad is that probably thanks to the low performance and really close costomization the sales numbers gonna be low and probably the high people in the company be like "well it sell poorly, never again" and its really sad because the marketing and the desing of this console is soo cool and beautiful, hope they made a revision with better performance and more open to the public for custom roms and stuff
At the moment do you have any plans on a follow up to this video? A well built device with good controls and a pocketable size is a very exciting premise for a product only for it to be let down by (mostly?) software. I've heard lots of rumors online from people saying that the update(s?) have at the least helped for some of the issues you mentioned, and outright fixed others.
Too bad, the form factor and the building quality seemed top notch. Its looks reminds me of the Arduboy. I really like that you're being honest and don't try to sell products when you don't think they're worth it. Keep up the good work.
loving the added quality of the broll scenes. That handheld storage system you have also looks awesome!
Ordered one for £22. Can play Pokemon on a tiny device easily. It’s all I wanted it for really. Not looking for amazing performance. Good review though 👌
2022: got this with updated firmware... did not make any hardware mods.... and its amazing! great for GB GBA GG on the go!
at first i didn't notice the screen tearing, but when you tell me, i can't unseen it
Build quality is really nice!
Seen this on aliexpress for a while now so good to see a video on it.
Not a fan of small screens at all anyway (3.5" being small as well) but was curious on how this performs.
Avoid is the impression I got 😁😉
You just saved me $50. I watched Panda Mimi's video and was almost sold just for GB/GBC/GBA, but you cleared it right up. What a bummer. It's such a beautiful device.
Edit 04-21: I found one for $30 on ali. Performance on the newer firmware has improved. Color is sharp. There is some work on CFW. for $30, it's kind of nice.
can u give link??
@@MG-ql8sg The seller I bought from is up to $40 now, but if you search on Ali for "Powkiddy a66" you will get a bunch of results. The dev work on this has been accellerating recently. Lynx now works, for example. I got Quake 1&2 to run as well. Good luck!
Thank you! I have been sitting on the fence about buying this device. You just savned me 50 USD 👍
Glad I could help!
I bought a few purple colored USB A to C adapters and can't remember who sold it, since I was also surprised by the color choice. It's usually blue or black. WIth Red being the newest editions and Razer's Green being nearly exclusive to them.
The UI is perfect simple and kid friendly, that's all I've been looking for simple UI no sub menu kids can open by accident, opendingux, retro pi, retro arch, all have things the kids can mess with & wrong or combined button presses. But the emulation is so bad. Oh man another one so close but so far. Would you be able to see if the firmware update fixes any issues at all? Great video keep up it up.
Yeah the UI is perfect for kids, I was thinking give one to my nephew but the poorly emulation probably gonna bored her quickly
@@SpikerDragon95 not gonna lie it suck all I want is a kid-friendly UI on a decent emulator that I can add or remove games/systems as needed. It's so hard to find 😩
I can confirm that you can scale games to full screen now and avoid that weird looking border mentioned. I'm on firmware 0.105 now. Some other issues are resolved but will have to mess around with it.
I can also confirm screen tearing js better now for stuff like NeoGeo, Genesis and some SNES but it's still a problem. Looks like Gameboy is worse with screen tearing now. There's definitely some kind of video driver compatibility issues going on still.
Sound is hit or miss still too.
The best pocketable device is the Ambernic 280V imo. Great build quality and excellent screen
I love green as well, lol. 💚
I got the RG351P recently, and I love it. I was interested in this console too, but shame to hear about its drawbacks. I might also invest in the Retroid Pocket 2---especially since I heard that N64 and Dreamcast games are emulated well on it.
Yes, I would say that N64 and Dreamcast are slightly better on the RP2, thanks to the 4:3 aspect ratio and Android emulators.
@@RetroGameCorps
I've found the Dreamcast emulator runs really poorly for me when I've tested it, mostly with stuttering and audio issues, don't know if you had the same experience?
I'm on the latest ELEC firmware too so I take it it's just the device and it isn't really good with DC?
@@Stabzcell97812 yeah, Dreamcast isn't great on the RG351P. I'd say half of the games are playable, and of those, few actually play well. RP2 does a better job, but it still has its share of issues. I think we need to wait until a device can run the Redream emulator, which is miles better than what we can run on these devices.
Hi Ross,
There are new reviews for this handheld - with conclusions that it is pretty good, I guess update has been rolled out so maybe you try to update and give it another chance?
By the way I watch all your videos - you are doing amazing work, I respect quality and constructive approach.
I actually think those black powkiddy boxes look awesome, better than any other (unless I am mixing it up with another box).
You don't need those two adapters for audio, there are headphone to USB C adapters - and they are a lot better of a solution (basically just adds not much more than a bit of extra wire at the end). Although not buying this seems a better solution!
Thanks for the detailed review!
My pleasure!
Cheers Russ, thanks for the review.
Any time!
@@RetroGameCorps Spooky, just watching the case review. :)
Throw it in my purse? Welp. Guess I gotta go get a purse now.
Love it. In the cart. Bought. Ty for the review.
Edit. For context, my use case is to have a true pocket player. Metal Slug, Pokemon, and Shiren the Wanderer, nothing else. This will run all of those games, and is tiny, pretty and well built.
I have my Razer Kishi and Moto G Fast at home.
I think that's a good use case.
@@RetroGameCorps I like to look at positive and negative reviews before I buy. Even yours mentions the excellent controls and build. For my use case that's probably the most important part.
RADIO SHACK USED TO HAVE A HEADPHONE JACK ADAPTER PLUG IN EXTENSION WHICH WAS BLACK PLASTIC HEXGONICAL SHAPED,WHICH TURNED A MONO SIGNAL SOUND INTO A DUAL SOUND THRU HEADPHONE EARS-BOTH EARS TO SEEM STERO SOUNDING!!! I HAVE ONE SUCH DEVICE SOMEWHERES!!!
You deserve more subs.
Thank you!
Very cool little machine...nice find Russ.
It kinda reminds me of an audiocassette :) nice review! Looks great, i wish it had more power and a better UI.
That would be cool! A 2.8" screen and better firmware would have made this quite the catch.
My 2 cents for the snes emulation is that it is set up to Pal mode (which could explain why it’s running around 18% slower and the top/bottom black borders which does not scale very well).
I've been told by a developer that it's small because it defaults to 1x scaling, and unfortunately it just runs slowly. They're working on a fix!
I think your channel is absolutely awesome, but I can't watch this one as I have one of these and think it's a brilliant little desktop "ornament" that I like a lot. I never expected it to be a fantastic gameplaying emulation machine, but it loads stuff up, enough for a little browse, let stuff run in the background and it's an uplifting tiny little device. Still it was quite expensive for what it is, but I almost don't want to hear it's faults, just in case I end up sticking it in the box with the dodgy famiclones.....
That's a neat use for this little device! It definitely feels nice and looks very good. There are a few people actively working to fix its issues, so maybe in the future its performance will match its build/look.
The SNES didn't use square pixels, so on a modern LCD you're left with either non-integer scaling in order to match the original aspect ratio (which would look bad on a 320x240 screen) or leaving it unstretched, which leaves you with an aspect ratio that is not quite 4:3. Also, it's not quite 240p either, and vertically stretching would look ugly. It would be nice to have the option but it wouldn't look very good.
thanks for making a video on this. It does look good but if I get something like this in a few years I want to be able to modify it's firmware and choose what emulators run on it.
If this was:
-open, so I could make games for it
-had no screen tearing
I'd get one to be the Arduboy color I always wanted
It's a pity we don't have a high quality device of this size, I'd love a cute horizontal handheld that would be able to fit into my jeans pocket. Ah well, the RG351p fits fine into a coat pocket!
Yeah it's a shame. Have you seen the FunKey S? It shows some potential. I pre-ordered one and will showcase it once it arrives.
I bought one, I really only want to play GB and GBC, so I think I'll be happy
retroactively watching this video, hilariously it's now being sold as the PowKiddy A66
Honestly, I think the only thing that isn't good about it is the emulation cores optimizations (lack of). It could use some tweaks, but in terms of UI, it's excellent. I've never seen a retro handheld with an original and polished UI like this one. They even got the typography spacing done well. (If you think these boot times are bad, look into GPi case)
After all you said and did with this, it's my opinion that this is junk and i'll pass! Thank you for your work on this video!
My pleasure!
Great review! Arcade games are the way to play most things anyways ;-)
Very true! I just watched your Top 10 Pandora Boxes video and almost fell into that rabbit hole earlier today...I have a Super Console X coming in the mail so I reckon I will just ease into it.
@@RetroGameCorps it .. is a deep one. But I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy it- that is if you load up the retroarch like we have on it. Throw me a message on discord if you want to know anything more about them.
@@TeamPandory I appreciate the offer, thanks! I'll let you know. RetroArch would definitely be my preference.
Such a pity. This has the potential to be my new favourite device. I love the build quality, transparency and overall presentation. It seems like most issues could be rectified by a software upgrade and slightly stronger hardware. Shame.
wanted to get it just for the design of the hardware looks very good, then I saw the OS... but ia good to know the buttons feel nice, maybe i get it just for playing tetris
That squeaky sound you hear in Contra is part of the plain gun firing sound, its present in the original game. Either the DAC is very poor or the speaker is tinny (maybe both) so the extreme high frequencies are shrill and piercing, exaggerating the effect. I wonder what they could have done if their target price was $55.
That's good to know, thanks for the feedback. I did hear other squeaking/tinny sounds in other games, but not as pronounced as it was in Contra.
Pocketgo is a better choice if you are looking for a cheap tiny retrogaming console
It's too small anyways. But looks great. Good to know. Thanks.
I think if they had pushed a 2.8" screen into this and upped the size a bit it would have been a better balance.
aww this sucks, was waiting for a device exactly like this, something with the form factor and build quality that can play up to snes/GBA is all I really want. If it wasn't for the screen tearing, ui and lack of headphone port, I'd be picking up one of these right now.
That's a shame, I was really hoping that there would be a custom firmware for this that would solve all of the issues. Guess I'll keep waiting for the RG351V!
I think the custom firmware will come eventually, but it might be a while.
Show us more about anberports like how you got stadia running and the cloud stuff pleeeeeease
I wanted one of these thanks for the review I think I will pass on it. Again great content. Keep it up Russ
Thanks, will do!
Damn. I was kinda looking at this like a spiritual Dingoo A320 successor. :(
My thoughts too. Bummer
so wait for a V2 if I want one for the collection.
When will it come out ?
Kinda off topic but what keyboard is that? It looks great
thanks for saving us from buying it !!!
Happy to help!
Mario at 12:32 is missing the layer 3 background layer.
Ah, good catch!
Please do another review on this after all the firmware have been released. Thank you.
Huh? You can get adapters that convert USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack directly, it's what people use with smartphones nowadays. Don't need a USB OTG adapter.
Given it uses PhonenixSuit to update the firmware I am assuming it runs android. Hopefully it is running retroarch on it and we can modify the firmware to utilise different cores
I’ll get a unit and look at extracting and repackaging with different retroarch cores for each emulator
him saying that the retroid 2 d pad is bad I disagree its quite stable
Great video but I would love to know if the firmware updates fix any of the issues you mentioned. I don't feel it has had a fair review if there are updates available.
The firmware update only fixes the language issue. For now, the only thing they've been able to do is unlock the menu options, but it's very limited. Screen tearing and performance/audio are still the same as shown in the video.
@@RetroGameCorps Thats unfortunate as this device is really portable. Missing headphone jack is an issue also for me. Thanks for the clarification. Also thank you for the continued updates on the PocketGo S30 pack. Your work is appreciated :)
I wanted to ask you an odd question, which of the many Chinese handhelds have the quietest buttons (no clicks etc) ? The reason I ask, is that I want to get something that won't wake my wife up whilst I am retro gaming it bed.
Thank you again
Too bad for such a stylish beautiful device. Screen tearing and lack of headphone jack is a huge deal breaker. This is as bad but a lot better in many aspects than the overrated original Odroid Go.
Ajajja little mice side lol. You’re great👍
For $ 50 still seems good. More niche for certain games though
By 2019 emulation standards, I think it would have been a good deal. In today's market, there's a lot more bang for your buck at even the $60 price point.
11:00
The NES is legitimately mono. Did you try with something else too?
Yes, all audio came through a single earpiece on my device.
@@RetroGameCorps
Boo!
Thanks for letting me know 😎
I couldn't figure out a way to get to the games installed on the Retroid Pocket 2 and kinda made me feel like I didn't own what I bought too.
it is a shame this device is so subpar. i really like the way it looks and have always been a huge fan of micro consoles. i just got a funkey sand love it to death, but would have also loved to add something like this to my collection. if it were cheaper i would get it in a heartbeat just as a neat piece to show off on a shelf.
The MinUI cfw makes it a great device, solves most issues in the video review. And you can get it for under US$40.
I really think you should flash the firmware.
That thing sucks, good vid Russ.
That's a shame. I like that form factor.
Dolch and RGB together? Is this what "mixed feelings" actually are? :D
I have this device. Mine doesn't squeak in NES games and never reverts back to Chinese. I would download the latest firmware and use a better SD card.
The screen tearing kills it for me. I was really considering it.
Screen tearing fixed. With update
@@_Nar0070x0 yooo that sounds awesome, thank you!
@@svcross-do yea I’m thinking about posting a video for real. Cuz I’m tired of all the hate this device gets, ppl need to do the firmware updates. I Just want to get the word out that this little device deserves some love. Just know the devices limits.
All that being said i definitely wouldn’t recommend it as your main device. I use it for my back up. Like when ima get a haircut or something and i need to kill 20 mins. I always bring it with me since it’s so portable
@@_Nar0070x0 it's understandable. I'll look forward to it!
Wow this system is 110% trash. Thanks for the review Russ!
Rgb10 $70 where haha it’s the same price as a rg351p everywhere.
Looks like you're plugging the headphones into one side of a stereo adapter which is why you're only getting one side. You can buy cheap USB C - 3.5mm adapter cables on eBay which should work with this and be much less of a PITA to carry around - just leave them on your headphones.
The adapter I used has a stereo output side and a mic input side, which is why it looks like I was only using one side. I use the mic input side to capture audio from devices on my computer. But I have heard that a simple 3.5mm to USB-C adapter can provide stereo sound on headphones.
You should do the software update bruh it probably fixed the stuff you complained about.
They did. Works great. Full screen on all emulators now like gb
Powkiddy just cloned this as the A66 for $30, wonder if it's any better?
I think it's just a rebrand. There have been some firmware improvements since making this video, I may revisit it in the future.
@@RetroGameCorps I'd really like that, been thinking of getting it but the firmware is the biggest issue & if they've fixed at least the lagging issues & some frame tearing then I'll definitely get one
3:03 "Inclued" and also, a Switch logo in there huh??
Is it the same size as a GBA Micro?
use it for a digital picture frame on game room or something
Not a bad idea!
This pupre color is stenderd in huaweis charging cabel on the usb A side. :)
Good to know, thanks!
@@RetroGameCorps Purple Plugs only Type-A or USB-C, Huawei SuperCharge. Wiki is my friend. :D
Probably better off with a pocket go v1 at half the price
...and too light to even work as a paper weight ;) I don't think anyone else could have given this device a better review.
Thanks for watching!
The screen tearing was even noticeable in the menus 😒
i'm a collector... -ish... (10+ different retro handhelds) but i would not buy this guy right here... especially for 50 clams, no way. it looks nice, i would probably turn a blind eye to the performance issues if it cost, like, 20 bucks, and that's still a maybe. Russ is right, 3 yrs ago, actually, scratch that, in the middle of 2019 i would get one in a heartbeat, but now, after what we already saw released... hard pass.
It's nice that times have changed and we are getting better devices out there...but that also makes this device even more disappointing.
So hopefully one Chinese will copy it in the good direction;).
Let's hope!
With GMenuNX you can get actual good emulators AND get a proper PS1 bios setup. Granted, most 3D titles still won't run well, but 2D titles will work like a charm. Overall, the stock emus aren't really good at all.
Also, the audio thing is just you being a boomer lol. The average person is already using bluetooth earbuds only, not carrying around 3.5mm earbuds. If you are carrying them though, chances are you have a USB C dongle to be able to use it with your phone, which will work fine with this thing too. The single sided audio you get is you just having a shitty dinosaur adapter.
This thing is not different to many of these Chinese consoles in that you need community-made custom software to make them work as they should out of the box, and similar to pretty much all portable consoles in that thanks to the community, they go from bland and limited to absolute jewels.
The case is a rip off of the Tetris Microcard / Micro Arcade devices. I still love it though. Maybe this is a good Tetris device
What a shame... it -looks- so good.
Yeah, the hardware developer did a great job. The software developer didn't.
Have you tried usb c to aux adaptor
No offence but for some creative criticism It looks like you went out of your way to make headphones complicated
I didn’t have that adapter on me, so I tried with what I had at the house. I have heard reports that the audio works with the adapter, but in mono only. Wasn’t trying to make it complicated, just wanted to see if it worked.
can you add games on it??
I like the form factor but other then that is seems meh. If hey can upgrade it and make it much better then sure that's a buy but till then I'll pass
Welp atleast its 4:3
Haha, very true!
The headphone setup😂🤣😅🤦♂️😭
Shame. A decent emulation device in a slim G&W format would be really appealing.
There may be hope for it with updates, but I'd hate to make recommendations based on potential fixes. For now, it's a disappointment.
im interested in a device that can play psp well and has wifi option what would you recommend?
I don’t think so IMO I think you should get the retro pocket 2 if you want that type of games
A PS Vita is the best for psp games, and of course has wifi
Rp2 plays psp games perfectly and u can play pc games and ds plus it’s cheaper