Finally we have a retro handheld device for under $175 that can play upscaled PSP, N64, Dreamcast, and Saturn, plus about half the GameCube catalog, and a bit of PS2 as well. The PowKiddy X18S sounds like the perfect handheld emulation machine, so let’s take a deep-dive look at its performance and potential.
Continue reading “Review: PowKiddy X18S”
Last updated: 01SEP2023 (see Changelog for details)
In my quest to find great emulation at a budget price, the idea of running games on the Xbox series devices recently came on my radar. Considering that the Xbox Series S retails for $300, I decided to pick one up and test its performance against a similarly-priced PC, and the results are fantastic.
In addition to running classic games up to PS2 with higher resolutions, you maintain all of the functionality of the retail Xbox, and the whole endeavor is completely legal and available through Xbox’s Dev Mode process (after a one-time $19 fee). It does take some configuration to get set up, and so this guide will help you through that process and get you well on your way for all the retro gaming your heart could desire. If you would like to see the full suite of apps and emulators you can use on your Xbox in Dev Mode, check out this Xbox Dev Store.
There are other ways of playing retro games on your Xbox (aka “Retail Mode”), but those run the risk of having your account suspended or banned, and most Retail Mode efforts have thankfully shut down. In this guide we will only be performing the approved Dev Mode method. There is no known risk of having your device bricked (or account suspended) by following this Dev Mode guide.
This guide would not be possible without the excellent work done by Ryan over at Archades Games, whose Xbox emulation tutorials are comprehensive and relevant. For further exploration of specific systems, I recommend checking out his channel, and consider contributing to his Patreon page. Additionally, the Xbox Emulation Hub discord is a super helpful resource in case you have any questions.
Note that this guide will work on Xbox One consoles too, but will require a different DevKit Activation app (more info in that section of the guide). All other parts of this guide apply. Performance will be worse than on the Xbox Series consoles; while I haven’t tested it myself, I have been told that the Xbox One is more than capable of playing Dreamcast and below. If you are curious about emulation compatibility, check out this community sheet.
Continue reading “Guide: Xbox Series S/X and Xbox One Emulation”
The Super Console X Mini PC is a repackaged version of the popular Chuwi LarkBox Pro PC but with a customized 2TB hard drive filled to the brim with retro games. Let’s take a deep dive review and see how well this impressively small PC does when it comes to playing advanced systems like PSP, GameCube, Dreamcast, N64, PS2, and even Steam PC games.
Buy one here
Also on Amazon (more expensive but faster)
2TB loaded HDD
Wired controller
The Batocera firmware lets you flash a lightweight, emulation-focused operating system onto any flash drive, hard drive, or SD card. So what if we flashed it onto a flash drive, loaded it all up, and then used that as a portable gaming “system” that could be plugged into any Windows PC? That’s what we’re going to explore in this video.
Download Batocera
Batocera wiki
Batocera Nation YouTube channel
USB flash drive
Rii USB wireless keyboard
8bitDo Pro 2 controller
Note that you can use any number of storage solutions to host your Batocera operating system, like an external HDD/SDD, and internal drive installed into your PC, or even a SD card if you have a built-in (or USB) reader.
Continue reading “Turn a USB Flash Drive into a Portable Gaming Console using Batocera”
Last updated: 08JAN2023 (see Changelog for details)
This tutorial will show you how to safely and permanently jailbreak/mod your device so that you can run RetroArch or other emulators, plus load backups of your PS Vita, PSP, and PS1 games. Note this will work on any firmware version of PS Vita, up to and including 3.74.
This guide is intended for the PS Vita 1000 and PS Vita 2000 models. The PS TV setup is mostly the same, but there are some slight differences in the process; because I’ve never used a PS TV, I would recommend looking at the VitaHacks guide. This tutorial is written for Windows users, it is possible to jailbreak a Vita using Mac/Linux by following these instructions.
Note that each of these tutorials are written in a specific order. For example, you will need VitaShell installed to run certain tools, and so those instructions are found above the other tutorials. Long story short: if you just jump into a specific section and it references things you don’t understand (like VitaShell, or VPKs, etc.), then scroll up a bit to find those particular instructions.
Continue reading “Guide: PlayStation Vita”
Last updated 08NOV2020 (see Changelog for details)
If you a running the stock firmware that comes with the RG351P, or the updated 3.7 version that I recommend in my Firmware Guide, you’re in luck — Anbernic just released an update patch to this firmware that provides some serious improvement to PlayStation Portable (PSP) performance. It’s still far from perfect, but it definitely makes more games playable.
One nice thing about this update is that it doesn’t require you to reinstall any new firmware. In fact, all you have to do is replace a couple files on your SD card and you’re all set. No need for WiFi FTP, either!
Continue reading “RG351P 3.7 Firmware Update – Improved PSP Performance!”
After over a month of waiting for it to arrive, my pre-ordered Retroid Pocket 2 finally came in the mail. It will take me some time to familiarize myself with its user interface and potential, but I wanted to make a quick post and video to share my initial thoughts. Other than watching a few videos to determine whether I wanted to buy the device, I mostly stayed away from videos and discussion about tweaking the experience. I wanted to have a fresh impression when first opening the box.
Continue reading “Retroid Pocket 2: First Impressions”
Retro Game Corps 