I got my limited edition combo in (both editions in translucent plastic) and I have been very impressed. I actually prefer it over the EXP. The screen just seems better suited for the vast majority of Evercade games, and the form factor is better IMO. A real bargain if you buy a standard edition.
This is pretty neat but I think it only really appeals to someone who has a collection of old Atari 2600 games. Since that's before my time I really don't have a use for something like this.
These things remind me of a late 00's UMPC and the early/pre-smartphones with the keyboards. Never been a fan of those micro-keyboards, I feel like the appeal for this sort of design came and went. Maybe it would be appealing for big fans something like DOS retro gaming though.
Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. The Genesis was basically the first console I had, and I had it with Sega Channel until they discontinued the service. Even now, I think the Genesis had a lot over the SNES.
He kinda ruined this opportunity by not finishing the original story with Shenmue 3. It seems like even Suzuki is tired of Ryo's story dragging on forever.
It's a cool novelty, but about $600+ for a novelty like this is a lot for a novelty like this, as getting the full setup with the keyboard, mouse, and monitor is the only way to go IMO.
This series was one of the most impressive things I saw back in the early days of PS2 when they were showing off demos for it. The first game turned out to be excellent, probably one of my all-time favorite PS2 games. A shame the sequel wasn't as good, I would have loved to see what they could have done with this on more advanced hardware. The third game is one of those games that got cancelled where I always wondered what could have been.
Well the analog stick placement looks terrible but I do love the Saturn controller for fighting games, and I guess it would be nice to use a wireless controller on my Saturn if I hook it up.
@samuelvictor Yeah I have one of those Japanese Game Boy Light models, which is essentially just a GB Pocket with a front light that takes AA batteries. It's honestly one of my all-time favorite classic handhelds, something about that crisp black and white with the light-blue lighting and contrast adjust wheel, it's aged incredibly well IMO.
@Poodlestargenerica What?! The GBP was arguably one of the best handheld consoles ever made. Rock solid reliable build quality, super simple, easy to use, very affordable, relatively compact design, properly focused on gaming, and it also had one of the greatest libraries ever seen. It basically helped establish the standards that every handheld console followed in.
You would have to be smoking something funky to suggest the N-Gage of all things was any better.
@Tasuki I think this was one of those ideas that was truly ahead of it's time. So ahead of it's time they really lacked the design capabilities needed to make it work. Like the mobile phone market simply wasn't ready for a gaming focused device, nor was it really capable of making mobile phones and handheld consoles work well together.
To this day I still think this is the worst handheld game console of all time. It had some good ideas and a few good games, and good graphics for it's time, but it has aged incredibly poorly, worse than anything I can think of, and I think the bad outweighed the good.
That is really cool but largely useless today outside of novelty, as systems that can play a variety of NES games has become so common. Definitely just one of those collectors items for someone who wants the "ultimate" rare old original piece of NES hardware.
@bryce951 Yeah this looks like something I would actually buy. Problem with the mister is that it just comes off as hardware for people who like to mod, work on, and build their own hardware. This looks more like the type of thing where I can just buy it, and it would just work.
Piko Arcade was the only one that really interested me. Delphine collection is interesting though, but I already got the two best games there on other platforms.
@KingMike Well I think that's because Microsoft could never come up with a consistent theme for succeeding Xbox consoles. I mean they went from 360, to One, to Series X and S. Like I get the idea behind 360 and One, but they really didn't work that well, especially One which seemed to confuse people.
Seems like they really focused on trying to find a way to put Microsoft in the name and relate it to existing Windows products of the era. Glad they decided to just abandon that and come up with something more original instead.
Out of all of those though, I'd say VIC was the least terrible.
I already got the lynx and arcade collections. Skipped the 2600 games as I already got a bunch of them in Atari collections for the Switch, and most haven't aged particularly well IMO.
This is the problem with games as a service and anything tied down to an online availability status. Especially on mobile, where support goes away with updates.
I had a Gamecube adapter for SNES way back in the Wii era for playing the retro console SNES games. Heck I even bought a custom N64 cable for Gamecube for the N64 games.
Why would anybody care about having someone's old receipt? I could MAYBE see it having some value if it was attached to the complete game or something.
@RupeeClock Yeah mine is an old Razer Black Widow I bought about 10 years ago, I think it's got their own bespoke mechanical keys and it's always worked well for both gaming and typing IMO. It's also just got one color for the key lighting, green lol. I don't mind that one bit though, I keep it on one of it's dimmest settings and I just like that solid consistent color look.
Never been a fan of these mini keyboards, in my experience they just aren't that great to use. Honestly this whole design just sort of reminds me of something like an old UMPC or one of those early texting phones they had back in the 00's before they came out with decent touch screens. Considering the capabilities of modern touch screens and how awkward these mini keys are to use, I think this is a bit of a redundant design for this day and age.
@tameshiyaku For real, I have never been a fan of RGB lighting. Could never understand why some people want their PC accessories performing a rainbow light show. I just think it's distracting and tacky looking.
The Pluto is pretty interesting, kind of a showing of what could have been, and shows off how Sega was thinking about modem integration long before the Dreamcast. The Neptune is what I always really wanted, probably the holy grail of Sega consoles and a proper 32X console, but pretty sure none of those really exist.
Problem I got with this is how it's just too similar to a Steam Deck. There is a reason why I always prefer the $100 - $200 Anbernic kinda handhelds, they are just a lot more appealing to me when it comes to retro gaming.
For starters a widescreen just isn't ideal for most retro gaming needs, and the size of these Steam Deck sort of handhelds is just too big for practical handheld needs. I mean I love my Steam Deck, but I hardly consider it ideal for a true portable, it's more of a device to use somewhere around the house, I don't think I would want to take it on vacation unless I would be planning on spending a lot of time wherever I would be staying.
Cool how it's getting this support, No Mercy has pretty much always been my favorite wrestling game, but Wrestling Empire has largely replaced the need for this as far as I am concerned.
I always just used an old DVI box to hook up to a DVI to HDMI converter. These internal console mods are usually a bit beyond what I would be comfortable with if they require any soldering.
For me, I seem to do pretty much all of my retro gaming on handhelds these days. Most old games don't look that good when blown up on a modern 55"+ 4K OLED, but they sure look great on a handheld screen with a resolution that scales well for them.
Exception for me is when we start getting into the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox generation, heck even the Dreamcast can be included. That's about the start when graphics and hardware got capable enough to look great on modern displays when enhanced with modern emulators/adapters. *maybe the N64 is the first console I could include on that list.
@KainXavier Yeah the financial harm aspect is always the only thing I could be concerned with. Like, if this is from a currently active IP that is being sold somewhere I could understand, but if it's something that has been for the most part abandoned, where the IP holder can't even be bothered to make it available anywhere, I think it's pretty hard for them to claim they're losing any money. This is the same reason why I don't have any issue with retro gaming roms if nobody is trying to sell the games new anywhere.
Would have been cool, although the N64 was never known for it's sound quality, especially when it came to real licensed music. That said they still went with real tracks for the most part and Prodigy would have been a lot better than most of them.
@mjparker77 I don't think they should treat the latest Ages series they released on the Switch as any indication of what the interest for their 3D 90's classic arcade games would be like, as that was just a collection of old Master System and Mega Drive era games.
I think the Ages games they had on the PS2 would be more like it, but sadly that was a Japan exclusive series that is about two decades old by now. I just can't help but to feel like Sega had completely forgotten about their 90's era arcade games if it wasn't for the Yakuza series. Considering the popularity of retro collections lately, especially 90's era, it just seems crazy for them to have no proper home console releases.
Comments 380
Re: Review: Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket - A Wonderful Game Boy-Style Retro Gift
I got my limited edition combo in (both editions in translucent plastic) and I have been very impressed. I actually prefer it over the EXP. The screen just seems better suited for the vast majority of Evercade games, and the form factor is better IMO. A real bargain if you buy a standard edition.
Re: Gallery: Unboxing The Atari 2600+
This is pretty neat but I think it only really appeals to someone who has a collection of old Atari 2600 games. Since that's before my time I really don't have a use for something like this.
Re: Aya Neo Unveils 'Remake' Line With Nintendo DS And Game Boy-Style Devices
These things remind me of a late 00's UMPC and the early/pre-smartphones with the keyboards. Never been a fan of those micro-keyboards, I feel like the appeal for this sort of design came and went. Maybe it would be appealing for big fans something like DOS retro gaming though.
Re: Steam Deck Gets Switch-Style OLED Upgrade
Well I'd much rather buy this than another Switch by now. At least this is still up to modern standards.
Re: Gunstar Heroes Developer Treasure On Why Mega Drive Is Better Than SNES
Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. The Genesis was basically the first console I had, and I had it with Sega Channel until they discontinued the service. Even now, I think the Genesis had a lot over the SNES.
Re: Miyoo Mini Flip Takes Inspiration From The Nintendo GBA SP
Well it is a nice design where you can get away with not using a case.
Re: Athena's Six-Button Shmup 'Daioh' Joins Arcade Archives On Switch And PS4 This Week
Nice, I'm glad they're focusing on more of these obscure 90's games.
Re: Yu Suzuki Would Love To Make A Yakuza 0-Style Shenmue Prequel
He kinda ruined this opportunity by not finishing the original story with Shenmue 3. It seems like even Suzuki is tired of Ryo's story dragging on forever.
Re: Review: Zuiki X68000 Z - An Expensive But Appealing Substitute For The Real Thing
It's a cool novelty, but about $600+ for a novelty like this is a lot for a novelty like this, as getting the full setup with the keyboard, mouse, and monitor is the only way to go IMO.
Re: Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, The Punisher And Bubble Bobble Come To Analogue Pocket
Punisher was always a favorite of mine on Genesis.
Re: Unpublished Early Demo Footage Of The Getaway 1 & 2 Has Appeared Online
This series was one of the most impressive things I saw back in the early days of PS2 when they were showing off demos for it. The first game turned out to be excellent, probably one of my all-time favorite PS2 games. A shame the sequel wasn't as good, I would have loved to see what they could have done with this on more advanced hardware. The third game is one of those games that got cancelled where I always wondered what could have been.
Re: 27 Years Later, PlayStation Cult Classic 'Krazy Ivan' Is Getting A Soundtrack Release
Almost looks like a Jaguar game.
Re: Random: New Game Boy Color Game Turns Frasier Into A Turn-Based RPG
Okay, now this actually looks interesting.
Re: Crowdfunding For The Dance Dance Revolution Classic Mini Begins Today In Japan
This seems like one of those pointless novelty items.
Re: Saturn Pro Controller Is Available For Pre-Order Now
Well the analog stick placement looks terrible but I do love the Saturn controller for fighting games, and I guess it would be nice to use a wireless controller on my Saturn if I hook it up.
Re: Anniversary: Nokia's N-Gage Turns 20 Today
@samuelvictor Yeah I have one of those Japanese Game Boy Light models, which is essentially just a GB Pocket with a front light that takes AA batteries. It's honestly one of my all-time favorite classic handhelds, something about that crisp black and white with the light-blue lighting and contrast adjust wheel, it's aged incredibly well IMO.
Re: Anniversary: Nokia's N-Gage Turns 20 Today
@Poodlestargenerica What?! The GBP was arguably one of the best handheld consoles ever made. Rock solid reliable build quality, super simple, easy to use, very affordable, relatively compact design, properly focused on gaming, and it also had one of the greatest libraries ever seen. It basically helped establish the standards that every handheld console followed in.
You would have to be smoking something funky to suggest the N-Gage of all things was any better.
Re: Anniversary: Nokia's N-Gage Turns 20 Today
@Tasuki I think this was one of those ideas that was truly ahead of it's time. So ahead of it's time they really lacked the design capabilities needed to make it work. Like the mobile phone market simply wasn't ready for a gaming focused device, nor was it really capable of making mobile phones and handheld consoles work well together.
Re: Anniversary: Nokia's N-Gage Turns 20 Today
To this day I still think this is the worst handheld game console of all time. It had some good ideas and a few good games, and good graphics for it's time, but it has aged incredibly poorly, worse than anything I can think of, and I think the bad outweighed the good.
Re: Insanely Rare Nintendo M6 Demo Unit Goes Up For Auction On eBay
That is really cool but largely useless today outside of novelty, as systems that can play a variety of NES games has become so common. Definitely just one of those collectors items for someone who wants the "ultimate" rare old original piece of NES hardware.
Re: Could MiSTer Rival MARS FPGA Be The New King Of Retro Gaming?
@bryce951 Yeah this looks like something I would actually buy. Problem with the mister is that it just comes off as hardware for people who like to mod, work on, and build their own hardware. This looks more like the type of thing where I can just buy it, and it would just work.
Re: Taito's 1989 Shoot 'Em Up Darius II Is This Week's Arcade Archives Release
@RootsGenoa Yeah I wonder why that was, some problem with licensing rights maybe?
Re: Taito's 1989 Shoot 'Em Up Darius II Is This Week's Arcade Archives Release
Glad this is getting an ACA release, I haven't exactly been going for that Taito Milestones collection.
Re: Hands On: Evercade's Latest Crop Of Carts Offer Some Welcome Surprises
Piko Arcade was the only one that really interested me. Delphine collection is interesting though, but I already got the two best games there on other platforms.
Re: Flashback: Xbox Got Its Name Because The Other Suggestions Were "F**cking Appalling"
@KingMike Well I think that's because Microsoft could never come up with a consistent theme for succeeding Xbox consoles. I mean they went from 360, to One, to Series X and S. Like I get the idea behind 360 and One, but they really didn't work that well, especially One which seemed to confuse people.
Re: Flashback: Xbox Got Its Name Because The Other Suggestions Were "F**cking Appalling"
Seems like they really focused on trying to find a way to put Microsoft in the name and relate it to existing Windows products of the era. Glad they decided to just abandon that and come up with something more original instead.
Out of all of those though, I'd say VIC was the least terrible.
Re: Evercade's Atari Carts Are Being Discontinued
I already got the lynx and arcade collections. Skipped the 2600 games as I already got a bunch of them in Atari collections for the Switch, and most haven't aged particularly well IMO.
Re: This Super Rare N64 Controller Could Fetch £1000 At Auction
If it's just custom, these would be easy to reproduce. Just get a standard N64 controller, disassemble it, hydro-dip the shells, and rebuild it.
Re: Sega Forever Games Are Being Delisted From iOS And Android
This is the problem with games as a service and anything tied down to an online availability status. Especially on mobile, where support goes away with updates.
Re: New Mod Allows SNES Pads To Be Used With The Nintendo GameCube And Wii
I had a Gamecube adapter for SNES way back in the Wii era for playing the retro console SNES games. Heck I even bought a custom N64 cable for Gamecube for the N64 games.
Re: Review: RetroSix Super GamePad - The Perfect Replacement For Your Old SNES Controller
I never thought "what I need for my retro consoles is more RGB lighting."
Re: The 'Frog Boy Color' Is An Absolutely Adorable Game Boy Clone
Wow, you seriously felt a need to create 5 accounts to troll with?
Re: Transparent Analogue Pockets Are On The Way, But You'll Need To Be Fast
@VideoGameBoy Yup, there is no good reason they can't produce more transparent plastic anyways.
Re: Random: Till Receipt For ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut Reaches $500 On eBay
Why would anybody care about having someone's old receipt? I could MAYBE see it having some value if it was attached to the complete game or something.
Re: The 'Frog Boy Color' Is An Absolutely Adorable Game Boy Clone
So a cool thing that nobody can buy.
Re: Transparent Analogue Pockets Are On The Way, But You'll Need To Be Fast
Cool but I already got one and they're too expensive to warrant buying another for novelty.
Re: Review: 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard: Mario Teaches Typing
@RupeeClock Yeah mine is an old Razer Black Widow I bought about 10 years ago, I think it's got their own bespoke mechanical keys and it's always worked well for both gaming and typing IMO. It's also just got one color for the key lighting, green lol. I don't mind that one bit though, I keep it on one of it's dimmest settings and I just like that solid consistent color look.
Re: The Keyboard-Packing Aya Neo Slide Is Available To Order Today
Never been a fan of these mini keyboards, in my experience they just aren't that great to use. Honestly this whole design just sort of reminds me of something like an old UMPC or one of those early texting phones they had back in the 00's before they came out with decent touch screens. Considering the capabilities of modern touch screens and how awkward these mini keys are to use, I think this is a bit of a redundant design for this day and age.
Re: Review: 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard: Mario Teaches Typing
@tameshiyaku For real, I have never been a fan of RGB lighting. Could never understand why some people want their PC accessories performing a rainbow light show. I just think it's distracting and tacky looking.
Re: Random: Extremely Rare Sega Pluto Console Finally Returns Home (Well, Sort Of)
The Pluto is pretty interesting, kind of a showing of what could have been, and shows off how Sega was thinking about modem integration long before the Dreamcast. The Neptune is what I always really wanted, probably the holy grail of Sega consoles and a proper 32X console, but pretty sure none of those really exist.
Re: Best Virtual Boy Games Of All Time
This is definitely a list that very few could make.
Re: Review: Aya Neo Pocket Air - The New Handheld Emulation King
Problem I got with this is how it's just too similar to a Steam Deck. There is a reason why I always prefer the $100 - $200 Anbernic kinda handhelds, they are just a lot more appealing to me when it comes to retro gaming.
For starters a widescreen just isn't ideal for most retro gaming needs, and the size of these Steam Deck sort of handhelds is just too big for practical handheld needs. I mean I love my Steam Deck, but I hardly consider it ideal for a true portable, it's more of a device to use somewhere around the house, I don't think I would want to take it on vacation unless I would be planning on spending a lot of time wherever I would be staying.
Re: Atari Is Reissuing Outlaw For Its Legendary 2600 Console
I prefer the original box art, it's far more period appropriate. This new box art looks like it's meant for a modern indie game.
Re: This No Mercy N64 Mod Is A Retro Wrestling Fan's Dream
Cool how it's getting this support, No Mercy has pretty much always been my favorite wrestling game, but Wrestling Empire has largely replaced the need for this as far as I am concerned.
Re: Building The Ultimate Sega Dreamcast
I always just used an old DVI box to hook up to a DVI to HDMI converter. These internal console mods are usually a bit beyond what I would be comfortable with if they require any soldering.
Re: Poll: Handheld Or TV - How Do You Play Retro Games?
For me, I seem to do pretty much all of my retro gaming on handhelds these days. Most old games don't look that good when blown up on a modern 55"+ 4K OLED, but they sure look great on a handheld screen with a resolution that scales well for them.
Exception for me is when we start getting into the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox generation, heck even the Dreamcast can be included. That's about the start when graphics and hardware got capable enough to look great on modern displays when enhanced with modern emulators/adapters. *maybe the N64 is the first console I could include on that list.
Re: Another Clayfighter Fan Project Has Received A C&D From Interplay
@KainXavier Yeah the financial harm aspect is always the only thing I could be concerned with. Like, if this is from a currently active IP that is being sold somewhere I could understand, but if it's something that has been for the most part abandoned, where the IP holder can't even be bothered to make it available anywhere, I think it's pretty hard for them to claim they're losing any money. This is the same reason why I don't have any issue with retro gaming roms if nobody is trying to sell the games new anywhere.
Re: 1080° Snowboarding Dev Wanted The Prodigy's Music To Feature In The Game
Would have been cool, although the N64 was never known for it's sound quality, especially when it came to real licensed music. That said they still went with real tracks for the most part and Prodigy would have been a lot better than most of them.
Re: Daytona USA 2 Is Finally Getting A Home Port, Thanks To Like A Dragon Gaiden
@mjparker77 I don't think they should treat the latest Ages series they released on the Switch as any indication of what the interest for their 3D 90's classic arcade games would be like, as that was just a collection of old Master System and Mega Drive era games.
I think the Ages games they had on the PS2 would be more like it, but sadly that was a Japan exclusive series that is about two decades old by now. I just can't help but to feel like Sega had completely forgotten about their 90's era arcade games if it wasn't for the Yakuza series. Considering the popularity of retro collections lately, especially 90's era, it just seems crazy for them to have no proper home console releases.
Re: Daytona USA 2 Is Finally Getting A Home Port, Thanks To Like A Dragon Gaiden
As good as this is, Sega really needs to just release a collection of their classic Arcade games by now.