cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/4790038

I got the new Retroid Pocket 2S in clear black. It worked out about 105 quid delivered, and took just over a week to arrive.

It’s a lovely little device, with some really nice sticks and triggers. But it really hammered home how easy it is to set up a Miyoo Mini Plus (which was largely just a case of copying over the ROMs). This one comes pretty much barebones, and it’s up to you to install all the emus and a decent front end. So you end up with a weird combination of Retroarch and stand alone emus, and a confusing set of different configs. Retroarch alone is an absolute beast to understand and get right…it seems to have a slippery complexity that is very difficult to hold in your brain.

That said, once it’s set up, it is lovely. I’m using Daijisho as a front end, and it pretty much hides all the underlying complications. 4:3 systems look great on the tiny screen, and it runs up to Dreamcast really well, with some GC games running nicely. The only downside is that the PSP’s 16:9 screen looks a little titchy letter-boxed on the screen, but it’s a small price to pay for portable Outrun 2.

Overall, very impressed… though concerned that this is my second retro handheld and I’m already thinking about things that would make me pick up a third. These things are compelling, eh?

  • BangersAndMash@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    I’m really keen on getting one of these handhelds but there are just so many I’ve got no idea what to choose. I wish someone would make a spreadsheet with things like cost, screen format, max console emulation generation, maybe aggregate reviews or top comments or something.

    • Strafer@artemis.camp
      15·
      1 year ago

      Retro Game Corps is a good place to start when it comes to looking the the different retro handhelds. Reviews are detailed showing the limits of each device and often comparisons to other devices.

      • pirate526@kbin.social
        6·
        1 year ago

        I second this. Very good quality reviews, and enjoyable to watch. Ended up getting a Miyoo Mini + based upon his review…

        • Strafer@artemis.camp
          2·
          1 year ago

          It’s how I ended up going with my 351V a while ago (this is prior to the current generation of handhelds) and it’s been perfect for what I’m playing on it.

    • DrQuint@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      Ii would like to add Taki Udon as a recommendation. I find his insight better when he’s comparing consoles side by side or across spending tiers. Watch a bunch of reviews before commiting and you’ll have a good idea of what you’re getting into. Also, don’t be afraid to just put your own OS’s onto devices when you do get them. You’ll see that most of everyone’s reviews assumes you’re willing to.

      Also, personally, a suggestion: At roughly 70-110 monetary units you’ll be buying consoles that play up to the PS1/PSP plus a number of smaller PS2, Dreamcast and Gamecube games fine. But if you want to go further… just go all the way, get the steam deck. The gap in between those two tiers is far more variable and has a lot worse diminished returns than the rest, so finding the right thing is a lot of exhaustive effort and then… the quality to price ratio has an astronomical jump when the deck and maybe the ally enter the scene.

    • Dave@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Yeah, it’s confusing, and not helped by the fact that they release a new one every couple of months.

    • ElkendersEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      I’m pretty keen on these. What would you like it for? I’m using my Retroid Pocket 3+ most at the moment but deleting in your budget and what you’d like to do there might that be a better option.

    • Dave@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Funnily enough, that’s one of the reasons I went with the 2S over the 3+. I love the look of the old NGPC!

  • NightOwl@lemmy.oneEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    Has dual joysticks and a dpad while having the kicker of a nice transparent shell. This looks like a nice portable to use alongside my deck when I want something much more compact. Wonder how the battery life is when playing 2d titles.

  • romaselli@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Maybe this is futile but I’m just waiting for them to come out with nicer colorways to pull the trigger.

        • Dave@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          5·
          1 year ago

          I don’t have the other devices to compare, but I understands that it should handle those platforms better than the 2+ and slightly worse than the 3+. So some playable games, but not all.

          I tried a few GC games (Mario Kart Double Dash and Monkey Ball). They seemed to run okay. Monkey Ball ran worse than Mario Kart.

    • J4g2F@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      The 2s has more ram and a better soc.

      As well out of the box support for Android 11. The 2+ runs android 9 with a possibility to manually upgrade to android 11.

      That being said I’m still very happy with my 2+