@BulkSlash You can migrate everything using a MicroSD card - EmuDeck even has the option to move everything over. I had all of my emulation stuff on a MicroSD card already, and it was all retained when I popped it into the OLED model.
@KingMike Sorry, I think I may have misunderstood your first question. I'm fully aware of all of the system cards (spent far too much money collecting for the PCE back in the day) - I assume the Analogue Duo simply picks the right 'card' for each game? I loaded up CD-ROM2, Super CD-ROM2 and Arcade CD games and they all played flawlessly. I didn't test Altered Beast though, which is apparently one of the CD-ROM2 games which refused to run on any of the more advanced System Cards.
@KingMike I'm not sure I follow? The Duo runs all CD games without the need for System Cards, as mentioned in the review. I'm no expert but I imagine Analogue was able to replicate the System Cards within the FPGA, as all they really did was add more RAM, if I remember rightly.
@michaelf I imagine a second pack will happen. Sadly it looks as if SuperFrog won't be included as there appears to be some kind of legal issue with that game now...
@-wc- The Yes album covers really are something else. Their beauty is one of the reasons I lament the shift to digital music; it's not the same when you can't listen to an album while gazing at the cover art! I have a massive soft spot for Relayer because the cover is so good.
@-wc- "In 1988, the same year as the film's release, the Kyoto-based developer Tose partnered with the publisher Taito to release a Japan-exclusive adventure game based on the magazine for the Nintendo Famicom, which received somewhat of a lukewarm response from magazines at the time like Famicom Tsūshin"
The 'magazine' in this case is the original manga, on which the film was based.
@Zenszulu If you read the full interview, Atari (and Nintendo's other rivals) were pretty bummed by Nintendo's practice of getting third parties to sign over the exclusivity of their games in order to get them released on the NES - a practice which was later deemed to be anti-competitive.
Not saying this little episode was justifiable, but you can see why Atari and Sega would be annoyed.
@-wc- Fair enough on the 'second stick' wording, that was confusing (I meant second control input), so I've amended that.
However, with N64, my point is that there are plenty of amazing games which require you to use both the D-pad and the stick at the same time (Sin & Punishment being my personal fave) and that means the RG ARC isn't the ideal system.
TBH, this issue aside, I wouldn't recommend this device for ANY system that relies on analogue input, so the conversation is moot anyway
@wiiware See, I really liked that aspect - it's kind of like gear-gating sections of the level, creating mini-puzzles within stages. But I can see why it might frustrate, too!
@BobaTheFett Just because you don't see the point of projects like these doesn't mean other people aren't interested in them. I personally find it amazing what old hardware can do when put in the right hands.
Regards to it "being weird" that we reported on this without more detail, the guys behind the project literally posted a video and that was it. We're not involved in the project so therefore can't give any additional background info - but, given the interest in this post, it seems that a lot of people wanted to hear about it regardless.
And as for it not running on stock hardware because an Everdrive is used, that's kinda like saying Star Fox and Virtua Racing don't count either, as they're running with the help of special chips on the cartridge. The console itself is stock, so that's still a legitimate statement.
Regardless of all of this, I'm amazed a news post about a really cool development in the world of retro gaming would cause such a large amount of drama.
@WaffleRaptor01 Firstly, "one of us" was in quotation marks because I was kinda alluding to the line from Toy Story rather than saying it 100% seriously - apologies if that wasn't clear.
Secondly, despite the fact that gaming is the world's biggest entertainment industry, there are still a lot of celebs who don't play games – and if they do, they're certainly not as invested in them as Perry clearly was.
That's why I felt it was worth using this kind of language because he wasn't just a casual gamer.
@gingerbeardman The resolution is actually (almost) perfect, as most of the arcade games have an very similar resolutions. I was amazed at how sharp the games look on this display.
As for the comparison with the RGB30, you're comparing two totally different devices aimed at two different demographics. The Super Pocket is more straightforward to use, doesn't come loaded with unlicensed ROMs (something a lot of people are uneasy about) and has the added benefit of running physical carts, too. And it's cheaper than the RGB30 by almost half (and the battery life is almost the same).
The Super Pocket is clearly aimed at younger players, and the casual retro gift market - and with that in mind, it's a brilliant product.
"It's a portable that plays cartridges made for handhelds"
Judging from the amount of traffic we get on our OpenFPGA core guide for the Pocket, I'd argue a LOT of people are using their Pockets to play ROMs. I have a massive collection of physical carts but I see the benefit of being able to load a bunch of ROMs onto an SD card and avoid having to carry around physical games.
Also, your use of term 'hack' is misleading here; there's no hacking required to make use of OpenFPGA - it's baked into the Analogue Pocket firmware. All you're doing is loading in new FPGA cores and then loading ROMs. The Pocket was always designed with this in mind, just as it was designed to play original media.
"There is currently not an FPGA complex enough to do 3D game systems. It's not a software emulation handheld."
There are PS1, Saturn and N64 FPGA cores on MiSTer already.
"I think it's pretty clear that Analogue only creates and sells FPGA consoles, and caters to the FPGA niche."
While you're correct in that the FPGA and software emulation sectors are different, the end goal is the same: to play retro games. Given that the RGB30 has the same aspect ratio display as the Pocket (one of the big selling points for me personally), the comparison is fair, IMO.
@samuelvictor Thanks for the feedback, and you're right, it would help for us to stagger content when we can. However, TE and NL are, despite being part of the same network, independent in terms of editorial, so this isn't always possible. There's bound to be some crossover at points, but we try our best to avoid it.
Also, the lack of comments on here compared to NL isn't anything to do with us posting similar stuff, though - NL gets over 10 times the traffic of TE
We're always listening, though, and I appreciate you having the site's interests at heart! Spreading the word (either via word of mouth or online) is the best way to help the site grow
@samuelvictor The sites are separate, and always will be - even though we do often cross-post content across both.
The 'angle' of the NL story was different to this one, too, even though it's based on the same interview.
Just as NL, Push Square and Pure Xbox often post the same story from three different angles, there's sadly no way for us to avoid this kind of issue unless we only had one site – which might cause more harm than good!
@-wc- I can only imagine that it was somehow cheaper to license just a single title from SNK for this, rather than the whole series? It is odd, for sure!
@user0 I'm the main retro writer in the whole network (and the editor of Time Extension, a retro site). It stands to reason that if we ever cover anything by any retro-focused company, it will be me writing it. We've covered 8BitDo, Hyperkin and Retro-Bit with far more regularity than we have RetroSix.
@MysticX The impact of the crash was indeed fairly localised to the US, but, when you consider that it was perhaps the biggest market for console games at that point, I guess it was quite a big deal. Here in the UK, home computers like the Spectrum were already filling the void and in Japan, the Famicom launched in 1983 and we all know how that went
@RupeeClock There's zero issue with the cartridge slot, IMO. You can tap GB carts quite aggressively during gameplay, and nothing happens. I've been using mine since 2021 and haven't had a single instance of the issue you're describing.
@Scooby-Doo Yep! I got all of my Japanese PlayStation, Saturn, N64 and Dreamcast stuff from there. They even used to install mod chips on consoles so you could play imports!
Comments 707
Re: Review: Steam Deck OLED - The Best Just Got Better
@BulkSlash You can migrate everything using a MicroSD card - EmuDeck even has the option to move everything over. I had all of my emulation stuff on a MicroSD card already, and it was all retained when I popped it into the OLED model.
Re: Random: Mario Mascot Costume Photo Recreated 34 Years Later
@nukatha Ah, thanks for the save!
Re: Review: Analogue Duo - The Best Way To Enjoy The Entire PC Engine / TG16 Library
@KingMike Sorry, I think I may have misunderstood your first question. I'm fully aware of all of the system cards (spent far too much money collecting for the PCE back in the day) - I assume the Analogue Duo simply picks the right 'card' for each game? I loaded up CD-ROM2, Super CD-ROM2 and Arcade CD games and they all played flawlessly. I didn't test Altered Beast though, which is apparently one of the CD-ROM2 games which refused to run on any of the more advanced System Cards.
Re: Review: Analogue Duo - The Best Way To Enjoy The Entire PC Engine / TG16 Library
@KingMike I'm not sure I follow? The Duo runs all CD games without the need for System Cards, as mentioned in the review. I'm no expert but I imagine Analogue was able to replicate the System Cards within the FPGA, as all they really did was add more RAM, if I remember rightly.
Re: Review: Analogue Duo - The Best Way To Enjoy The Entire PC Engine / TG16 Library
@KoopaTheGamer Yeah, it was a pun referencing that (and the PC Engine name). The PCE generates emotions
Re: Review: Team17 Collection 1 - A Fine Celebration Of The Veteran's Amiga Years
@michaelf I imagine a second pack will happen. Sadly it looks as if SuperFrog won't be included as there appears to be some kind of legal issue with that game now...
Re: Alexey Pajitnov And Henk Rogers Talk Tetris With Roger Dean, The Man Behind The Iconic Logo
@-wc- The Yes album covers really are something else. Their beauty is one of the reasons I lament the shift to digital music; it's not the same when you can't listen to an album while gazing at the cover art! I have a massive soft spot for Relayer because the cover is so good.
Re: Flashback: How An American Businessman Tried To Turn Akira Into A Blockbuster Game
@-wc- Anytime, my man 🤜🤛
Re: Flashback: How An American Businessman Tried To Turn Akira Into A Blockbuster Game
@-wc- "In 1988, the same year as the film's release, the Kyoto-based developer Tose partnered with the publisher Taito to release a Japan-exclusive adventure game based on the magazine for the Nintendo Famicom, which received somewhat of a lukewarm response from magazines at the time like Famicom Tsūshin"
The 'magazine' in this case is the original manga, on which the film was based.
Re: Review: The Bitmap Brothers Collection 1 - Great Games, Wrong Versions
@Darthphillius I remember that - Xenon was also featured as a phone-in game on Get Fresh, if memory serves?
Re: "I Didn't Want Mario Lemieux Hockey, I Wanted Super Mario Hockey"
@Zenszulu If you read the full interview, Atari (and Nintendo's other rivals) were pretty bummed by Nintendo's practice of getting third parties to sign over the exclusivity of their games in order to get them released on the NES - a practice which was later deemed to be anti-competitive.
Not saying this little episode was justifiable, but you can see why Atari and Sega would be annoyed.
Re: Remembering Bushi Seiryuuden, Pokémon Creator Game Freak's Japan-Only SNES RPG
@JJtheTexan Ah yes, I was getting my NA and EU releases mixed up! Fixed!
Re: Review: Anbernic RG ARC - The Dream Handheld For Fighting Game Fans
@-wc- I forgot PD uses that setup as well. GoldenEye doesn't though, does it? That's stick + C-buttons, if my fading memory serves me correctly...
Re: Review: Anbernic RG ARC - The Dream Handheld For Fighting Game Fans
@-wc- Fair enough on the 'second stick' wording, that was confusing (I meant second control input), so I've amended that.
However, with N64, my point is that there are plenty of amazing games which require you to use both the D-pad and the stick at the same time (Sin & Punishment being my personal fave) and that means the RG ARC isn't the ideal system.
TBH, this issue aside, I wouldn't recommend this device for ANY system that relies on analogue input, so the conversation is moot anyway
Re: Review: Anbernic RG ARC - The Dream Handheld For Fighting Game Fans
@fpcreator2000 2D DC fighters run fine on this, BTW. I was playing CVS2 last night and it runs at close to full speed.
Re: Review: Irem Arcade 1 - Come For R-Type, Stay For Genuine Coin-Op History
@michaelf You are quite welcome!
Re: There's A New Polymega Project Coming In 2024
@macdon6794 We were told directly, but I assume the same update is going out to other sites.
Re: Review: Goodboy Galaxy / Witch n' Wiz - A Must-Have For Your Evercade
@wiiware See, I really liked that aspect - it's kind of like gear-gating sections of the level, creating mini-puzzles within stages. But I can see why it might frustrate, too!
Re: Review: Goodboy Galaxy / Witch n' Wiz - A Must-Have For Your Evercade
@michaelf Watch this space...
Re: Review: Trimui Smart Pro - Great Design, Shame About The D-Pad
@calbeau Apologies; the unit has about five hours of stamina - this has been added to the review.
Re: Footage Of Marvel Super Heroes Running On Sega Genesis Raises Eyebrows
@BobaTheFett Just because you don't see the point of projects like these doesn't mean other people aren't interested in them. I personally find it amazing what old hardware can do when put in the right hands.
Regards to it "being weird" that we reported on this without more detail, the guys behind the project literally posted a video and that was it. We're not involved in the project so therefore can't give any additional background info - but, given the interest in this post, it seems that a lot of people wanted to hear about it regardless.
And as for it not running on stock hardware because an Everdrive is used, that's kinda like saying Star Fox and Virtua Racing don't count either, as they're running with the help of special chips on the cartridge. The console itself is stock, so that's still a legitimate statement.
Regardless of all of this, I'm amazed a news post about a really cool development in the world of retro gaming would cause such a large amount of drama.
Re: Warhammer 40K: Boltgun Contains An Awesome Throwback To Games Workshop's Musical Past
@Woderwick I was honestly thinking for a second I might be the only person who remembers this album!
I also loved the Dark Future radio intro - it blew my mind as a 12-year-old that albums could have stories weaved into them.
I'm so pleased this album is getting a new lease of life, even if it's only as menu music!
Re: 18 Wheeler Director Got A Driver's License In Order To Work On The Game
@NinChocolate I was thinking the same thing! XD
Re: Sega Resurrects The Iconic "Sega Scream" For Sonic Superstars
@AshMcCool @Coolmusic Ah, you're quite right! I've updated the text to reflect this. Thanks!
Re: FIFA Cover Stars - Every Athlete From 1993 To 2022
@belmont Thanks, added!
Re: FIFA Cover Stars - Every Athlete From 1993 To 2022
@Turrican Wow, I've never seen that cover before! Added, thanks!
Re: A Tribute To Matthew Perry, Actor, Playwright And Video Gamer
@WaffleRaptor01 Firstly, "one of us" was in quotation marks because I was kinda alluding to the line from Toy Story rather than saying it 100% seriously - apologies if that wasn't clear.
Secondly, despite the fact that gaming is the world's biggest entertainment industry, there are still a lot of celebs who don't play games – and if they do, they're certainly not as invested in them as Perry clearly was.
That's why I felt it was worth using this kind of language because he wasn't just a casual gamer.
Re: A Tribute To Matthew Perry, Actor, Playwright And Video Gamer
@Exerion76 People tend to bond over shared interests and hobbies.
Re: Review: Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket - A Wonderful Game Boy-Style Retro Gift
@gingerbeardman The resolution is actually (almost) perfect, as most of the arcade games have an very similar resolutions. I was amazed at how sharp the games look on this display.
As for the comparison with the RGB30, you're comparing two totally different devices aimed at two different demographics. The Super Pocket is more straightforward to use, doesn't come loaded with unlicensed ROMs (something a lot of people are uneasy about) and has the added benefit of running physical carts, too. And it's cheaper than the RGB30 by almost half (and the battery life is almost the same).
The Super Pocket is clearly aimed at younger players, and the casual retro gift market - and with that in mind, it's a brilliant product.
Re: Review: Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket - A Wonderful Game Boy-Style Retro Gift
@RootsGenoa Mapping is active on the EXP, as per the last update I think?
Re: Powkiddy RGB30 - A $90 Analogue Pocket Rival? You'd Better Believe It
@DestructoDisk A few points:
"It's a portable that plays cartridges made for handhelds"
Judging from the amount of traffic we get on our OpenFPGA core guide for the Pocket, I'd argue a LOT of people are using their Pockets to play ROMs. I have a massive collection of physical carts but I see the benefit of being able to load a bunch of ROMs onto an SD card and avoid having to carry around physical games.
Also, your use of term 'hack' is misleading here; there's no hacking required to make use of OpenFPGA - it's baked into the Analogue Pocket firmware. All you're doing is loading in new FPGA cores and then loading ROMs. The Pocket was always designed with this in mind, just as it was designed to play original media.
"There is currently not an FPGA complex enough to do 3D game systems. It's not a software emulation handheld."
There are PS1, Saturn and N64 FPGA cores on MiSTer already.
"I think it's pretty clear that Analogue only creates and sells FPGA consoles, and caters to the FPGA niche."
While you're correct in that the FPGA and software emulation sectors are different, the end goal is the same: to play retro games. Given that the RGB30 has the same aspect ratio display as the Pocket (one of the big selling points for me personally), the comparison is fair, IMO.
Re: Powkiddy RGB30 - A $90 Analogue Pocket Rival? You'd Better Believe It
@ChromaticDracula It has HDMI out
Re: "Like A Book Or A Movie" - Star Fox Dev Dylan Cuthbert Shares His Vision Of Retro Gaming's Future
@samuelvictor Thanks for the feedback, and you're right, it would help for us to stagger content when we can. However, TE and NL are, despite being part of the same network, independent in terms of editorial, so this isn't always possible. There's bound to be some crossover at points, but we try our best to avoid it.
Also, the lack of comments on here compared to NL isn't anything to do with us posting similar stuff, though - NL gets over 10 times the traffic of TE
We're always listening, though, and I appreciate you having the site's interests at heart! Spreading the word (either via word of mouth or online) is the best way to help the site grow
Re: "Like A Book Or A Movie" - Star Fox Dev Dylan Cuthbert Shares His Vision Of Retro Gaming's Future
@samuelvictor The sites are separate, and always will be - even though we do often cross-post content across both.
The 'angle' of the NL story was different to this one, too, even though it's based on the same interview.
Just as NL, Push Square and Pure Xbox often post the same story from three different angles, there's sadly no way for us to avoid this kind of issue unless we only had one site – which might cause more harm than good!
Re: Hands On: Evercade's Latest Crop Of Carts Offer Some Welcome Surprises
@KingMike I've noted that in the text, just in case anyone thinks it's a straight sequel. And yeah, the MD / Genesis game doesn't get enough love!
Re: Metal Slug 3 Teams Up With "Competitive RTS" Warpath
@-wc- I can only imagine that it was somehow cheaper to license just a single title from SNK for this, rather than the whole series? It is odd, for sure!
Re: CIBSunday: Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
@Daggot We probably need a 'best Time Crisis games' list, to be honest
Re: CIBSunday: Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
@Daggot CIB (Complete in Box) Sunday pieces are intended to show off games in their packaging, they're not meant to be in-depth features.
Re: Review: RetroSix Super GamePad - The Perfect Replacement For Your Old SNES Controller
@user0 I'm the main retro writer in the whole network (and the editor of Time Extension, a retro site). It stands to reason that if we ever cover anything by any retro-focused company, it will be me writing it. We've covered 8BitDo, Hyperkin and Retro-Bit with far more regularity than we have RetroSix.
Re: 40 Years Ago Today, Atari Dumped Millions Of Unsold Games In The New Mexico Desert
@MysticX The impact of the crash was indeed fairly localised to the US, but, when you consider that it was perhaps the biggest market for console games at that point, I guess it was quite a big deal. Here in the UK, home computers like the Spectrum were already filling the void and in Japan, the Famicom launched in 1983 and we all know how that went
Re: Transparent Analogue Pockets Are On The Way, But You'll Need To Be Fast
@RupeeClock There's zero issue with the cartridge slot, IMO. You can tap GB carts quite aggressively during gameplay, and nothing happens. I've been using mine since 2021 and haven't had a single instance of the issue you're describing.
Re: Review: Aya Neo Pocket Air - The New Handheld Emulation King
@tektite_captain The rubber is indeed dirty-looking on the sticks, which is a little annoying. That's just the way they look sadly.
Re: Best Gundam Games Of All Time
@Sketcz I have the physical version of Troy and I have a modded 360... might have to investigate, as I've only ever played it in Japanese
Re: Best Gundam Games Of All Time
@WoottWinds I've added Unicorn to the list, I can't believe I forgot that! Will look into the others as well, once I've had a chance to play them.
Ditto for the Side Story games, @AJB83 - I've always heard bad things about them, though?
Re: Review: 8BitDo Neo Geo Wireless Controller - It Just 'Clicks'
@gojiguy It does work, but you'll need the 8BitDo USB Adapter 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrhdRTDuTeY
Re: Best PS1 RPGs Of All Time
@Knirau11 Don't know how I missed BoF4! Added!
Re: Playing The CeX Retro Lottery
@Andee Game Focus was amazing! Such a shame when that closed down.
Re: The Superb 'Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit' Gets A Welcome Dose Of Amy Rose
@BionicDodo Fixed! 😅
Re: Playing The CeX Retro Lottery
@Scooby-Doo You're very welcome - thanks for the kind words!
Re: Playing The CeX Retro Lottery
@Scooby-Doo Yep! I got all of my Japanese PlayStation, Saturn, N64 and Dreamcast stuff from there. They even used to install mod chips on consoles so you could play imports!