Blog

Guides, Retroid Pocket 2

Retroid Pocket 2+ Starter Guide

by Russ7 Comments on Retroid Pocket 2+ Starter Guide
Retroid Pocket 2+ Starter Guide

Last updated: 17JAN2022 (see Changelog for details)

The Retroid Pocket 2+ is a seemingly simple device to set up — it runs Android, so how hard could it be? Well it turns out there are some orientation quirks in getting the RP2+ up and running, and so this guide is meant to take you from the very beginning of your journey with the device and take you to the point of being a superstar.

I’ll be updating this guide as time marches on, so be sure to check back frequently as I add more updates and tweaks.

Continue reading “Retroid Pocket 2+ Starter Guide” →
Mini PCs, Reviews

Review: Chuwi HeroBox Pro

by RussLeave a Comment on Review: Chuwi HeroBox Pro
Review: Chuwi HeroBox Pro

At around $180, the Chuwi HeroBox Pro has the potential to be one of the best sub-$200 PCs on the market today. But at that price, will games even be worth playing on it? Let’s find out.

Chuwi HeroBox Pro (both models): https://amzn.to/3A1l3c8
Chuwi LarkBox Pro: https://amzn.to/3KhqgkH
HeroBox direct link: https://store.chuwi.com/products/chuwi-herobox-pro

Other videos mentioned in this review:
Super Console X Mini PC: https://youtu.be/Ay3XgIfHfAQ
Batocera flash drive: https://youtu.be/e0klElI4KLc
Offline scraping: https://youtu.be/RBQuFBbRsXs

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:18 unboxing, teardown, and impressions
03:27 software orientation
04:00 PC gameplay
06:15 emulation testing
07:56 Batocera and RetroBat
14:41 let’s discuss price
16:29 summary (likes and dislikes)
18:23 conclusion

Apple, Guides, xbox

Introducing WebRcade — Play Your Retro Games via the Cloud!

by Russ4 Comments on Introducing WebRcade — Play Your Retro Games via the Cloud!
Introducing WebRcade — Play Your Retro Games via the Cloud!

WebRcade is a new browser-based platform that allows you to play your own retro games via cloud storage like DropBox. This will allow you to play your personal library on all sorts of devices — like the iPhone, iPad, Xbox and more. The games all run at full speed and it’s very easy to set up the platform. And it’s 100% open-source and free. In this video I’ll walk you through how it all works!

Find WebRcade here

BackBone One controller (use this link for $10 Apple gift card with purchase)
My 8BitDo Xbox controller video

Continue reading “Introducing WebRcade — Play Your Retro Games via the Cloud!” →
Reviews

Review: PowKiddy Q36 Mini

by RussLeave a Comment on Review: PowKiddy Q36 Mini
Review: PowKiddy Q36 Mini

Amazingly, the PowKiddy Q36 is one of those rare handheld devices that is just about perfect as soon as you pull it out of the box — no need for hardware mods, custom firmware, or learning a new complicated OS. Much of that has to do with the open-source FunKey firmware that it uses, which has some excellent quality of life features that make this micro handheld a wonderful grab-and-go option. So let’s run this $50 device through its paces and look at why I like it so much.

Buy one here

Continue reading “Review: PowKiddy Q36 Mini” →
PS Vita, Retroid Pocket 2, Reviews, RG350, RG351

My Favorite Retro Handhelds of 2021

by RussLeave a Comment on My Favorite Retro Handhelds of 2021
My Favorite Retro Handhelds of 2021

With 2022 in full swing, let’s take a look back at 2021 and the wonderful world of handhelds from this past year.

Buy the devices here:
PowKiddy X18S
Anbernic RG300X
Anbernic RG351V
Anbernic RG351MP
PS Vita
PowKiddy RGB10 (metal)
PowKiddy RGB10 Pro
Anbernic RG280V
PowKiddy RGB10 Max 2
Anbernic RG552
Miyoo Mini
GPD XP (use code BG231d5d for $80 off)
Retroid Pocket 2+

Continue reading “My Favorite Retro Handhelds of 2021” →
Guides, RG552

Anbernic RG552 Linux Setup Guide

by Russ1 Comment on Anbernic RG552 Linux Setup Guide
Anbernic RG552 Linux Setup Guide

Last Updated: 27DEC2021 (see Changelog for details)

The Anbernic RG552 is a unique device in that it can boot into both Linux and Android, giving users a wide variety of use cases. In this guide we’ll go over some of your options when it comes to the Linux operating system, including a pre-configured SD card image that you can download and use directly on your device.

Some caveats:

  • The Linux operating system that ships with the device is a modified version of Batocera v29. Several development teams (including the official Batocera team) are already hard at work on updated firmware that will improve the user experience. This guide is meant to be a stop-gap while we wait for proper updated firmware.
  • This guide will show you how to install a pre-configured SD card image you can simply flash an SD card that has all of the changes baked in.
  • I DO NOT recommend flashing this SD card image over your existing 16GB card that came with the device. Keep that one around for safekeeping; instead, I recommend using a SanDisk Ultra 16GB card because it is more reliable and can be found for under $10.
  • If you don’t want to flash a new SD card image, I will also link to a shell script that will provide most of the tweaks to your existing stock firmware.
  • Once custom firmware is available, I will likely NOT recommend using this guide, since updated firmware will likely improve the user experience as well as emulation performance.
  • This updated image will include optimized hotkeys, auto save/load for most systems, scaling, and aspect ratios, plus the ability to download new themes.
  • Big thanks to developers FGL82 and konsumschaf for help with dialing in the proper settings, and TheGreatCrippler for helping shrink down this image to a manageable size.

For now, I would focus on using the Linux interface for PS1 and below gameplay. The emulators on the Android OS side are much more optimized and will give you better performance across the board. Custom firmware might make Linux more performative in the future, but for now I would use Android for Nintendo DS, Dreamcast, PSP, Nintendo 64, Panasonic 3D0, Atari Jaguar, and Nintendo GameCube.

So without any further delay, let’s jump into it.

Continue reading “Anbernic RG552 Linux Setup Guide” →