The Q20 Mini is the latest budget device from PowKiddy, and at $40 it’s definitely in the realm of “impulse buy” options. So let’s look at how this one performs, especially within the very competitive budget handheld market available today.
Buy one here
Install custom firmware with my V90 guide
Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that runs RetroArch front and center. So is this ultra simple firmware a viable option for retro handheld devices like the Anbernic RG351P, RG351M, or RG351V? Let’s dig in and find out.
Continue reading “Review and Guide: Lakka for RG351 devices”
Last updated: 11JUL2021
The tiny TrimUI Model S (now rebranded as the PowKiddy A66) has received a lot of excellent development over the past few months, so it’s time for me to revisit my initial review. And while I initially recommended avoiding this device, these new updates have changed my mind — this is now a device worth considering. Let’s check it out.
Buy one here (PowKiddy A66)
Buy the old TrimUI Model S
In this video we’ll take a look at the latest Nintendo 64 emulator for the PS Vita, DaedalusX64, and how to get the best performance possible for your beloved device. I think you might be surprised to see how well it runs.
Continue reading “Nintendo 64 Emulation on the PS Vita”
Last updated: 04JUL2021
351Droid is an unofficial build of LineageOS 18.1 (Android 11) for Anbernic RG351 devices, and as of today it now has a public testing build. This build supports proper control layout, it resizes the userdata partition on boot, and supports the wifi chips in 351M and 351V. Let’s take a look at how to install this firmware, and its potential for Android-based retro gaming.
Continue reading “Introducing 351Droid for RG351P, RG351M, and RG351V!”
Last updated: 03JUL2021
The GKD Mini is an impressive little device, with some unfortunate caveats. Let’s dive into my review of the device, and some tips to get the most out of your experience.
Continue reading “GKD Mini Review and Starter Guide”
Over 50% of the US phone market share comes from the iPhone, but it is rarely seen as a gaming device. In this video, let’s look at standalone games, Apple Arcade, and how to use streaming to transform your iPhone into a gaming handheld with some help from the BACKBONE ONE controller.
This is the first of two videos. In the next video, we’ll focus on retro game emulation and sideloading your own apps.
Continue reading “Review: iPhone as a Gaming Handheld”
In today’s video we will swap out the buttons on each PowKiddy RGB10 Max model for a cool effect. Even better, PowKiddy even sells the “panda” mod version already! We’ll also fix the screen lifting issue, and try out some CPU heatsinks.
Buy the RGB10 Max
Spare buttons and case
Copper shim heatsinks
B7000 glue
iFixit toolkit
Last updated: 06JUN2021 (see Changelog for details)
The GameForce Chi shouldn’t exist — its design is garish, it runs the agin RK3326 chipset, and it looks like it traveled through time from the 1990s to reach us here in the 2020s. But somehow, it all seems to work out in the end. So in this guide I’ll show you how to set the device up, some tips and tricks, as well as a teardown video.
Continue reading “GameForce Chi Guide”
Last updated: 29MAY2021 (see Changelog for details)
The sixth generation of video game consoles, which included the PS2, Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox, and Sega Dreamcast, was a transformative period for both gaming and televisions. Standard (4:3 aspect) TVs were eventually replaced by widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio displays during this time, and many console accommodated this shift. A few Dreamcast games, such as Rayman 2, natively supported widescreen televisions upon release — all you have to do is go into the game settings and change it to 16:9 instead of 4:3. Most other games were natively scaled to 4:3, but many 3D titles on the Dreamcast can be altered to stretch into anamorphic widescreen. This is possible because these games render the 3D environment beyond the 4:3 displayed on a typical TV, and through various hacks we can unlock widescreen Dreamcast for over 100 titles.
These instructions are primarily written for the RetroOZ firmware on the ODROID Go Super or RGB10 Max in particular, since it has a lovely 16:9 screen, but the RetroArch widescreen hack cheats can be implemented in other firmwares such as EmuELEC, ArkOS, and 351ELEC for RG351P/M devices (or other devices with screens wider than 4:3). There are three basic methods:
