Here I am again. Back where it all started. My first tablet was an Android tablet. Specifically, the Asus Nexus 7 (2012). 7″ seemed huge back in the day. Phones were just inching towards the 5″ mark, so this seemed reasonable. Now we have 14″-inch tablets that seemed like a pipe dream back in the day and, 10 years ago, cost thousands. After owning two iPads (1st and 5th Gen iPad Pros), with the last one being 12.9″, I thought that was massive. I didn’t realize how small it was compared to this tablet.
Like I’ve said in many recent tablet and phone reviews, unboxing experiences aren’t what they used to be. You get the tablet and a charging cable. Even tablets have stopped shipping with wall plugs now. The S8 Ultra is massive. When you pull it out of the box, you feel like you’re holding a small TV. Any larger, and these things will be comically too big for any practical use. This thing isn’t comfortable being held with a single hand. You need a case for this thing, and sadly, the S8 Ultra does not come with one. Samsung’s offerings are $100, so a third-party option is more viable (which is what I did). Especially since the tablet comes with an S-Pen that can be easily lost without a tablet. The supplied magnets and charging area aren’t enough to keep them from falling off.
The specs on tablets these days are essentially the same as their phone counterparts. This tablet has the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset my Galaxy Z Flip 5 has. This is perfectly fine, as these higher resolutions are almost on par with phones, so you won’t notice any noticeable slowdown in games or apps. With 8GB of RAM, you will have more than enough to play any game under the sun or multitask with many apps. Android 14 is so efficient that I haven’t run into the slowdown issues that I did just 5 years ago. 128GB of storage space is more than enough for games, comics, ebooks, etc. If you need more than that, you can expand with a microSD card, up to 1TB, which is so nice to have. 1TB cards are as low as $60 now, which is much cheaper than buying a tablet with more internal storage.
It looks like this is an extremely thin tablet for what is packed inside. The massive Super AMOLED screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a resolution that’s just around 2K will give you a crisp, vivid image that’s been known with all Samsung devices. The 120-Hz refresh rate is a nice plus, so everything feels and looks super smooth. Honestly, this is a direct translation from any high-end Samsung phone just steam-rolled into a 14″ tablet. There is a power and volume rocker, and the fingerprint sensor is embedded in the screen (which I’m not a huge fan of) and isn’t as fast or as accurate as the one seen in the power buttons on the phones. The software is a near 1:1 copy of that seen on any Samsung phone, so I won’t go into details on that. There doesn’t seem to be anything bespoke for the tablets. The quad-sqeakers sound fantastic from AKG. Even the cameras are surprisingly decent for a tablet.
The S-Pen is larger than that seen on phones but is essentially the same functionally. There are a couple of magnets located on the edges, and there is a large black space under the rear camera for charging. The biggest drawback to this entire tablet is not having the pen inside the tablet, but cases can remedy this. Having the pen on the back of the tablet also means it won’t lay flat, and that’s another issue as it can slip out from underneath or cause the tablet to fall. It’s a minor issue, though, that can be remedied with a case. I found the S-Pen very useful on a screen this large for writing, playing games, or just using it to navigate screens. The pen feels smooth but also has a small amount of grip on the screen, and it’s incredibly responsive. I’m not an artist either, but I’m sure this would be great to draw with.
Overall, the massive screen real estate is great for movies, comics, reading, games, and drawing. Alternatively, you can use a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and use this 14″ Android-powered laptop as well. It’s very versatile and great for multitasking and document writing as well. However, if you’re looking for something small to just lay in bed with, this isn’t the tablet for you. You need a case with a kickstand or hold it with two hands, and that may be too much for some people. The specs are on par with flagship phones, and the UI is 1:1 with them as well. If you own a Samsung phone, this tablet will be an easy transition for you.
Here I am. Back home. Back to where it all started. Android. I left for a few years in 2021 as Android phones, especially from Samsung, were becoming stale and I was tired of the infrequent and late updates. Hardware hadn’t made any significant or interesting jumps. Add more lenses to the camera, slowly inch the screen larger and closer to 7”, add rounded edges, take them away, increase screen resolution, refresh rate, etc. Nothing at all interesting. That is, until foldable phones started coming out. I left those alone for a few generations, as I knew they needed to be perfected and tweaked. There were a lot of things that needed to be fixed, both physically and in software. We are on the 4th generation of foldable phones, and I feel like most of the smaller issues have been resolved. So, for someone who has been with Android since the original Motorola Droid, here’s my take.
My last Android and Samsung phone was the Note 20 Ultra. The last Note phone. It was fine. It was not impressive, and it had pretty much been the same for the last five years. It was nice that Samsung was redesigning their entire UI system for all of their smart devices. Tablets, watches, and phones. We are on One UI 6.1 now, and I feel it’s mostly unchanged from what it was five years ago. I also last used Android 10, so there have been four Android system upgrades since my last use.
Unboxing experiences are mostly unremarkable these days. Phones no longer come with wall adapters and expect users to know what the proper wattage input is needed to properly fast charge their phone. The Flip 5 needs 25W and uses 15W for wireless charging. It comes with a USB-C cable, and that’s about it. The biggest thing to note is the phone when it’s folded in half. Usually, this would make you cringe. Folding phones in half is usually a big no-no these days, but this is by design. Samsung is using Corning Gorilla Victus 2 glass for the front and rear displays. There is also a hinge system in place for folding the phone. The “crease” in the phone is obvious at first, but when using the phone, I rarely notice it or forget about it quickly. The glass does have a different feel to it. It almost feels like a layer of plastic rather than solid glass, but it’s still smooth to the touch. The front screen is a 6.7-inch AMOLED 2x screen, while the rear display is a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED screen. Both are incredibly vivid and bright, and they look fantastic.
The rest of the phone also feels good on the hands. The fingerprint sensor is on the power button now, and this is needed so you can unlock your phone while it is folded and with one hand. It makes it easy to just press the power button, and your phone will unlock at the same time. No silly in-screen sensor, rear sensor, or any other place. I’ve used them all, and the power button makes the most sense. The only other button is a volume rocker. The screen features a keyhole front-facing camera that is super tiny. There is also only a small bezel around the display, and it doesn’t really affect use or viewing the screen. I’m incredibly impressed with how well designed this phone is and how slim it is.
The software is mostly unchanged since I last used it four years ago. With a much faster chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, over Snapdragon 865+, things are snappy and breezy, and Android can rarely freeze or slowdown now. Apps open instantaneously, and most of the issues I had with Android phones even just four years ago are pretty much gone. Samsung has tweaked their settings, gotten rid of Bixby for the most part, and it’s an intuitive setup switching from Apple. With Anroid being the most customizable and allowing more freedom, it can seem overwhelming, with nearly every app or setting you select coming with a pop-up or a tutorial. There is a lot that can be tweaked and defined in Android 14 now. From Android Auto to Galaxy Wearables, there’s a lot of quality of life improvements and things I wish Apple would do. While I won’t go into minute details here, just know that switching from a complete Apple setup to Android, or Samsung specifically, overnight is a seamless experience. I miss my custom ringtones!
Let’s talk about his front-screen business. The Flip 5 features a much larger screen than its predecessors. These previous models only had a 1.1” screen to basically show you notifications, and that was it. Now you can fully use apps and replay messages on the front screen. This may seem silly to some, but it’s pretty nice and easy to use, and I use this feature a lot. Having a much smaller device in your hand to just do something as simple as check the weather, respond to a text, read an email, etc. is really nice. Samsung hasn’t fully enabled this feature yet. You need to enable apps through the Design Labs, but this in turn only allows apps that seem to be fully tested by Samsung. The Good Lock app on the Samsung store can add a launcher to allow you to open any app on the front screen, pretty much without issues. The apps resize down correctly, and some apps even have widgets that support the front screen already. With this being the first generation of the Flip with a full cover screen, it may take time for apps to natively support it.
Battery life seems to be okay, but the OS takes about a week to learn your habits and adjust how the battery is used accordingly. The 3,700mAh battery is just fine, but don’t expect 24 hours of use out of this. I got better life out of my iPhone 14 Pro Max, but improvements with use are still to be determined. The camera is pretty good but does not use Samsung’s flagship sensor that’s seen in the S series. The camera is a 12 MP sensor with a 12 MP wide telephoto lens. The front camera is a 10 MP sensor. They aren’t anything to write home about, but they aren’t awful either. I’m not a camera snob, so they work just fine for me, but if you want a top-end camera in your phone, this isn’t the one for you.
The battle for handheld PCs is the next evolution in gaming. Handheld gaming has made a comeback thanks to Nintendo’s Switch and Valve’s Steam Deck. Sony released the PlayStation Portal, and Logitech released their G-Cloud handheld device. While streaming handhelds isn’t very popular and there is a huge crowd of detesters (me included), it doesn’t change the fact that portable gaming is coming back, just not in the traditional sense we all grew up with, like the Game Boy, DS, or PSP. Those days are still long gone.
Lenovo of all people threw their hat into the ring, and I think people are taking them less seriously than ROG. While the handheld is brand new, there is a lot of potential, and Lenovo is actively listening to their community, taking a page out of Valve’s book that’s essential for the handheld PC gaming space: Ignore the player base, and your product is dead in the water. Specs-wise, the Legion Go is a direct competitor to the ROG Ally. It sports the same APU, the AMD Z1 Extreme, the same amount of RAM, 16GB, but differs with unique controls and a massive 8.8″ 144Hz screen. This is a huge game changer for the handheld PC space that has sported 7″ displays up until now, thanks to Nintendo pushing this size with the Switch OLED. Lenovo takes ideas from everyone in this space—Valve, Nintendo, and ROG—and creates their own take on the portable PC, but it’s not without its flaws.
Unboxing
The unboxing experience for Legion Go is similar to the Steam Deck. It comes inside its own carrying case but needs a retail-friendly box around that as this is sold on store shelves, unlike the Steam Deck. The Legion case is bigger but of about the same quality, holds the controller mount, and allows you to charge the system through the case, which is a nice change, but it takes one step back by not having a spot for the charger. This will be a recurring theme with Lenovo. One step forward, but one step back into something else. The system is the heaviest of them all, weighing in at nearly 2 pounds, or 864 grams, with controllers attached. It’s a heavy beast, but that large display and removeable controllers come at a cost. Outside of the unboxing, that’s where things start getting complicated.
Windows 11 Headaches
This is a Windows 11 device, and it’s not a portable gaming console. This is marketed as a portable PC, and it shows. Setting this thing up is exactly like setting up any Windows 11 gaming laptop or desktop, including all the problems and pains. Bloatware, display-changing issues, controller issues, and everything in between. This is not a pick-up-and-play device like the Steam Deck or Switch. There’s no proprietary OS running in the background doing all the heavy lifting for you. The first complication is Lenovo’s choice of using a 2K display for hardware that can’t run any current AAA games at that resolution. This leads to the need to rely on AMD Interger Scaling technology to make the games look good. Most casual gamers picking this up will get frustrated as running games natively at 1280×800, just like the Steam Deck, looks like a blurry mess, but most higher-end games can’t run anything higher than this if you want a decent frame rate. Interger scaling will allow you to essential upscale by pixel “quadrupling” in this case to make the image much less blurry, and it works really well here.
This is done in the AMD Adrenalin driver software and can be done system-wide or on a game-by-game basis. You can tell it’s working if you open up the Lenovo Space side panel (another page from Valve) and select one of the smaller resolutions. The screen will shrink down into a window. When you want to play a game at 1280×800, you select it in the side panel, and the game usually needs to be in fullscreen bordered mode for this to work. If you want to play a game in native resolution, you don’t need to change it in the side panel before launching.
There’s also an issue with Lenovo Legion Space, which is a terrible piece of software that doubles as a game launch hub. It’s not Steam, but it’s needed to change some settings for the system. Drivers are also not easily updated, like with the Steam Deck, where they are delivered with regular Steam updates. You need to go onto the Lenovo site and manually check or use their auto-check software, just like a laptop. Other qualms include needing to navigate Windows with a touchscreen and using an onscreen keyboard, but thankfully there is a touchpad on the right controller that also has vibration feedback. It doesn’t compete with the Steam Deck’s dual touchpads, but having one at all is a nice addition, and it works just fine with no issues.
Another issue I ran into was the low volume output of the speakers. They are upfiring speakers, unlike the Steam Deck, and I needed the Fxsound software to increase the volume and make the overall soundscape sound better. I also had to adjust settings in the Realtek audio driver software. This isn’t a good thing, and these power user adjustments need to be done by Lenovo through some sort of overlay on top of Windows. Legion Space needs to make huge strides to even compete with SteamOS. I also had to use BloatyNosy to remove Windows 11 bloatware and background processes to get more frames out of games. Windows 11 is not an optimized portable experience by any means.
Controllers. Yay or Nay?
You can use Steam Big Picture Mode and have the Legion auto-start this on bootup, which helps, but there’s an issue with the controllers, which Lenovo calls TrueStrike Controllers. They took an obvius note from Nintendo and created their own Joy-Cons, essentially. They feel good, they are much more ergonomic than Joy-Cons, and they have great-feeling joysticks, but some of the ideas behind them don’t make sense. They put the system functions buttons where your menu, start, and select buttons usually go. Thankfully, the Legion Space software lets you swap these, but this was a dumb move on their part. The left function button opens Legion Space, and you have to wait for it to load every time. Accidental presses were really frustrating.
These controllers are read as Xbox controllers or Xinput in Windows. Sadly, there is no Xbox menu button outside of a button combination, and there’s no way to map one as the rear buttons can’t be mapped. Lenovo blocked access to these, which are only usable in “FPS” mode with the right controller in the controller stand. This essentially turns it into a mouse, as the stand has feet that allow you to slide it around. There is a mouse sensor on the bottom of the controller and a switch to change to FPS mode. This can also double as a desktop mouse, but Steam has default desktop controls that work only in controller mode. The FPS mode feels like a gimmick, but it works and is really responsive, and it’s a nice middle ground for those who don’t like using controllers for FPS games and want a mouse on the fly. Again, this is one step forward and another backward. These extra buttons on the back feel a little hollow and cheap-sounding, but they work fine.
Another step forward is having detachable controllers to use the system as a standard Windows tablet, but then they detach and attach very poorly. The switch in the back feels clumsy and cheap, and the controllers slide down rather than up on a full rail like the Switch. This means you need to hold the system awkwardly to slide them up, and they don’t click in a satisfying way. They kind of “clunk” in, and you’re never quite sure if they snapped in or not.
The Legion also has a built-in kickstand similar to the Switch OLED, which is nice and has two charging ports. One on top and the other on bottom, so you can orient the cable however you need. If you have the system on the kickstand, you can still charge it at the top, so this is really nice. This kickstand is also required if you want to use the controllers attached, just like the Switch.
The Games Are What Matter the Most
At the end of the day, we want to just play games, right? They are great on Legion Go, and you can squeeze a higher resolution out of some games. Nothing but smaller indie and older games will run at the full 1600p, but many do at 1200p, and they look fantastic. The upside of the Steam Deck is its compatibility with Windows. All games just work and don’t need tweaking. This is why Microsoft would be smart to release a stripped-down handheld version of Windows 11, as the compatibility is already there. We just need an easier console-like experience to navigate to the actual game. Many games that would get sub-60fps reached so or beyond on Legion Go. Either with higher graphics settings or the exact same—just more frames per second.
The other upside to being a Windows device is playing games with any type of anti-cheat system in place. They all just work. Games like Destiny 2 and Genshin Impact work because the Legion is not an unsupported Linux system. A lot of the same tweaks on PCGamingWiki will also work, as will mods from Nexus Mods. You can also just use the Vortex mod manager and run everything like you would on a regular desktop PC. With a keyboard and mouse, modding is a breeze, and this is one thing I avoided on the Steam Deck.
Overall, the Legion Go is a fantastic handheld PC that brings new ideas and pushes the envelope for hybrid machines. With the power of the ROG Ally that we already had and the compatibility of Windows combined with Switch-like hardware, there is a lot here to like. While the detachable controllers aren’t of the highest quality and aren’t as intuitive to use as the Switch, they offer a hybrid way of gaming and are still fun to use. The gigantic, vibrant screen looks great at 144 Hz as well. There’s a lot here to like with little to dislike, and most of the problems lie within Windows and aren’t the Legion’s fault.
8Bitdo has been killing it over the last five to seven years. They have become a premium AA accessory manufacturer for retro and modern consoles. 8Bitdo has released their first attempt at a keyboard with a retro-themed 70% keyboard with NES and Famicom aesthetics. They also have an 80’s PC vibe with similar layout and styling to that era.
Looks wise, 8Bitdo nailed this keyboard. While I can’t speak for the Famicom version as I do not own it, the NES version looks fantastic. While I’m not a huge fan of the giant A and B buttons, the novelty is appreciated. The keyboard has a sloped angle like the keyboards of the 80’s, with a beige tone and red print on the keys. The fully red escape key and the knobs at the top left are great as well; however, the volume is an infintely turning knob, and the position ends up being irrelevant. This being a TKL keyboard, it will fit on most desks and isn’t super bulky. The bulbous power LED is also a nice touch. This feels and looks like the part for an 80’s keyboard.
The biggest draw to this keyboard is the hotswappable switches. It comes with Kail White V2 switches, but I added Kail Heavy Pro Box Navy switches. I also did a tape mod with five layers of tape, and this keyboard sounds and feels great. I’m glad this keyboard does come with premium switches, and you can add whatever ones you want. 8Bitdo’s versatility and customization are excellent choices. There are four screws located behind the rubber feet on the bottom, and using a plastic pry tool, you can just pop the clips around the panel in the back, and off it goes. It’s an easy keyboard to modify and change around.
It doesn’t just stop with being an 80’s mock keyboard. 8Bitdo’s usual macro buttons are available via their very early and limited keyboard software suite. You can update the firmware and edit your macros with this. It’s still really early, and with its popularity and the number of keyboards, I’m sure 8Bitdo can create a more robust piece of software. There also isn’t any RGB on this keyboard, but that’s probably a good thing given the era it’s trying to recreate, but maybe a white backlight would have been nice. The battery claims it can last up to 200 hours on a single charge. The USB 2.4Ghz dongle snaps into the back so it doesn’t get lost, but there is also a Bluetooth option. This keyboard can work on virtually any modern device.
Overall, 8Bitdo did a great job with their first keyboard outing, and the swappable switches are a plus for longevity and customizability that a lot of non-custom keyboard manufacturers aren’t allowing. The 80’s style rocks, the form factor is great, and it feels good to use. I wish the software was a bit better and the dials felt better to use, and I feel the large buttons are a silly gimmick that just increases the cost. Despite this, it’s a fantastic keyboard.
With retro gaming becoming as huge as it is—bigger than ever!—the Analogue Pocket has found itself to have received the status of a unicorn over the last 3–4 years. The Pocket was first announced in late 2019 as a first wave of pre-orders. I personally missed out and was ready to wait for wave two—and then COVID hit. All throughout the pandemic, the Pocket was released in very limited batches, but only for those who pre-ordered during the first wave. Open pre-orders eventually came, but shipments would take over 6 months. Analogue has just finally caught up over the last few months, and hopefully they will be in stock in their store soon. With that said, the Glow in the Dark Pocket was their first limited edition version, and I somehow magically got one. I’ve sat in line for special edition releases of other types of electronics before and have never had any luck. You click the add to cart button, and usually you are put in a virtual line. This time I was greeted with a complete purchase page, and I jumped for joy.
Now that you know how hard it is to find this thing, you can imagine how excited I was to finally get one in my hands. These things have been scalped online for years for 3–4 times the price. The Glow in the Dark Pocket sits on Mercari and eBay for $500–$800 as of the time of this writing. The dock goes for as much as the pocket is new. It’s insane and completely unfair. I did order a dock and Game Gear adapter, as those are readily in stock on Analogue’s site as of this writing, but I also pre-ordered the other three adapters for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, TurboGrafx-16, and Atari Lynx.
Unboxing
The box itself is rather heavy. It’s a premium package with a nice little QR card inside a tiny little envelope that gives access to the quick start guide. I would have loved to see a physical manual, but these take up a lot of room, and things change over time. You don’t want to ship devices with outdated manuals, but I digress. The pocket itself has a screen film and a film over the back of the unit itself. When I picked it up, I was surprised at how heavy it was. This is what I’m assuming, with the battery taking up most of the bulk. The plastic shell is really thick, and the overall feeling is very minimalistic. This isn’t a flashy system with different colored buttons, weird laser cutouts, RGB buttons, or anything silly like that. This is a very serious-looking device, but it’s sleek and sharp, similar to Sony’s design DNA from the PSP. There’s a power and volume buttons on the left, a microSD slot on the right, a GameBoy link cable, USB-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. The rear has a ridged texture, the cartridge slot, the Analogue logo, and shoulder buttons, and that’s your setup.
I’m happy to see the pocket has stereo speakers. That is useful for GBA games that have stereo output options. The front gives you unlabeled face buttons, a D-pad, a FPGA logo, and three little buttons at the bottom acting as Start Select and the Analogue or Home button. The 3.5″ LCD screen is vivid and colorful, but it has a high resolution of 1600×1440. So you’re gaming in 1440p on a handheld. Pretty cool. The FPGA does a fantastic job of upscaling everything.
Software and OS
When turning on the device for the first time, you are greeted with a tutorial on how to navigate the OS and what each button does. This is a really cool thing, and more consoles need to do this! Remember, this has no wifi or Bluetooth chip inside of it, so it’s not spending all of its time getting you to sign up for some service like current-generation consoles do. Once you drop into the OS, it’s just a simple black-and-white list. You can play the cartridge currently inserted or play an open FPGA core (more on this later). view the library, Memories (save states and screenshots) go into Tools for developers and tweak settings for each built-in core. There are also settings inside to dump the memory cache to the SD card and various other advanced things, most likely for troubleshooting. The OS is very basic and simple, but it doesn’t need to be anything else. Sadly, there is no custom OS right now for a more advanced user interface, even if you do want one.
Playing Games
This is why you have one, right? Let’s start with the original GameBoy games. Each core has a filter you can use, and this is important to get the feeling of the game right. Instead of a million useless ones, Analogue gives you three for each core. Their own analog filter removes scanlines, grids, and smoothing. You just get raw pixels, and this is how we play older games on the Switch or any other device running emulators. It looks sharp and utilizes the hardware of the pocket. There are also original modes that add scanlines (which don’t look half bad but darken the screen a lot) or add the original grid back. There are also color filters for the GameBoy Light, Pocket, green, and red from the Virtual Boy. GameBoy Color is the same without the color filters but adds a different scanline option. These filters only work on original cartridges and not emulated games, so keep that in mind. Systems also have options for different display ratios, which is nice. GBA games will have borders, but you get used to them. The sound is amazing, and some cores have different audio options to tune everything to your liking.
When it comes to actually playing games, they feel great. The pocket is nice to hold in the hands; the button mapping can be customized and moved around; but the Dpad isn’t perfect. It’s not the best when it comes to rolling your thumb around. It’s a bit stiff, but it gets the job done. The face buttons feel nice, with two convexed and two concaved, similar to the SNES controller, but the three small buttons at the bottom are tiny and hard to press with bigger fingers. While the buttons aren’t 100% perfect, they are fine for 8 and 16-bit games. We’re not playing competitive shooters here.
Customization
Just recently, the open part of the FPGA was released, and emulated cores are now available. Any 8- and 16-bit system can be run to your heart’s desire now, but you lose access to those fancy screen filters and resolution settings as a result. They also play perfectly, though. I played through SNES, Genesis, NES, GameBoy Color, and GameBoy, and they all ran perfectly fine. Some Genesis games that need six buttons use the shoulder buttons, so it’s a bit awkward, but you can play these on the dock with a controller, so that can help eliminate that problem. Getting some emulators working like the Neo Geo is a royal pain because you need specific ROMs and BIOS files to get anything to run. But once you do, it’s worth it. I wish the OS itself was more customizable, such as having a wallpaper or varied themes. Startup images would be fun too. Maybe one day the OS will open up, or someone will hack it and give us that option.
Overall, the Analogue Pocket is a retro handheld gamer’s dream. You can play any games you currently own or emulate them on the microSD card. While it took years for the FPGAs to become open source, they are finally here, and if you have been holding out, this is the time to get one. This thing is great for those who love both worlds. Physical cart-owning purists and those who don’t own a single cart and just want to emulate. While we will never see physical adapters for certain systems, you can still rock both worlds and have all of your 8 and 16-bit favorites on the go. The battery life is great, the buttons feel good minus the Dpad, and it has all the modern trimmings for a reasonable price.
This was the first handheld I ever had. I got it for my 7th birthday, along, of course, with a copy of Tetris. I remember the copy of Tetris having a cigarette burn mark on the top of the cartridge and being stained yellow. I’ll never forget that! Sadly, I only ever owned two Game Boy games. The other was Galaga and Galaxian, which I found at a thrift store. Despite only having this game for the longest time, I played it a lot. I remember that green screen burned into my memory and the sound of the theme song chirping away in the background. I wish I knew just how many awesome games there were for the system back in the day, as I missed out on a lot.
And for 80s hardware, the system is quite impressive. Being such a small 8-bit system is really something else. The worst part about the system is the awful screen. There is no backlight, and it’s monochrome in green. People gave the Game Boy hell for this and still do it to this day. The Japanese market got an improved Game Boy Light with a backlight, but it was never released here. The system is quite chunky, but that can be a good thing. It has some weight and feels good in the hand, even today. There’s a contrast wheel and a sound wheel, as well as a link cable port. This thing took four AA batteries but didn’t burn through them as fast as people think. This wasn’t the Game Gear after all. The batteries could last as long as 30 hours. Not having a CFL backlight had its advantages.
The system also had a headphone jack, and the speaker was good enough. Systems are only as good as their libraries, and the Game Boy had some great additions. Sadly, there was also a lot of garbage on the handheld. Some developers didn’t know how to optimize the hardware and made ugly games with sluggish controls and animations. While others defined the system. It may be hard to go back to the original hardware today, especially when newer Game Boys play these games with better hardware. I recommend modding this system with an IPS screen and maybe swapping out the shell. A lot of these yellowed over the years, and the plastics became brittle. However, I will praise the large screen, as it’s easy to see the sprites on the screen.
Overall, the original Game Boy’s worst problem was the terrible screen, but the batteries lasted a long time, it sounded pretty good, and the screen was at least large. It may be hard to go back to an original Game Boy today, but anyone who is curious or wants to own one is encouraged to modify it with modern hardware and make it more enjoyable to play today.
Colors: Carbon Black, Solid Silver, Blue, Platinum Silver, Clear, Crystal Yellow, Camo Blue, Crystal White, Stone Blue, White, Pearl Blue
MSRP: $69.95
Everyone has played at least one Game Boy in their life, but the more obscure handhelds that tried to compete just didn’t get enough attention. It sounds odd that SNK, of all companies, would try to release an 8-bit handheld to compete with the Game Boy Color, but they tried, and they did a good job. Their first-party lineup on the system was incredible, and they really pumped quality into the little handheld. There was some third-party support from Sega, Capcom, and Namco, but it just wasn’t enough. SNK was having a hard time getting Western support for the system, as it just didn’t appeal to that audience.
The system itself is the successor to the short-lived black-and-white Neo Geo Pocket. The Pocket Color was ahead of its time, being the first 16-bit handheld system on the market and beating the GBA to the punch by a few years. While it still suffered from not having a backlight like many handhelds in the 1990s, it still had a clear and crisp screen. There wasn’t much in terms of I/O, like the handhelds of the 90s, but there was a link cable for multiplayer. What made the Pocket Color unique was the clicky control stick. It was the first handheld to have an analog stick, and it was meant to emulate an arcade stick. I love this thing and wish more handhelds had it, even if it is really noisy, but man does it feel good and is perfect for fighting games, which the Pocket Color was famous for.
There are only two face buttons (A and B), a soft power button, and an options button. That’s it. It’s a pretty rudimentary system, and I’m surprised it had so few buttons despite having a lot of fighting games on it. You can imagine that these games are very simple at their core, which they are. The display is slightly larger than the original Game Boy at 2.7″; however, the system does have a sub-battery that’s used for keeping the clock, as there are a few built-in apps on here. This was also the first handheld to do this. There is a calendar, horoscope, world clock, and alarm setting. I’m not sure why you would leave your NGPC on all night to use as an alarm, but it’s there. You can pick a background color as well. It’s very simple and basic, but it’s there and is cute.
A system is only as good as its library, and the NGPC is widely loved for its small but high-quality library. Only 82 games were ever released, and a surprising amount were released in the West. The games were fun, had great visuals, and just played and ran well; however, they are insanely expensive. Most complete games will cost, on average, $100 a piece. It’s also recommended to modernize the system by installing a drop-in LCD mod. This makes the system much more enjoyable, and you can play in the dark!
Overall, this is the little system that could. There are a few Japanese-only games that have fan translations, but you need a flash cart to play them, and they are expensive (about $100). You also must like SNK games to really enjoy this system. The King of Fighters, Neo Turf Masters, Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug, and games of that nature If you love those classic arcade games, you will also enjoy this system.
The PlayStation controller is iconic. It was the first controller that had force feedback built-in and dual analog sticks, and it became a worldwide icon. I remember buying my first DualShock controller as a kid. It was a green one, too. The controller improved with the PS2 by adding pressure-sensitive buttons, but overall it was still the same thing. The DualShock 3 was the most controversial, originally being a six-axis controller with no force feedback due to the lawsuit that Sony was in over their force feedback tech. The DualShock 3 did eventually come out, but the six-axis motion was a gimmick and was never utilized outside of the first two years of the system’s life. It also had triggers that weren’t well done, and the analog stick rubber degraded over time. It just wasn’t a fantastic controller. On the other hand, the DualShock 4 wasn’t the greatest either. The forced light bar needed to communicate with the PlayStation camera so that no one had drained the battery, and the added touchpad didn’t really add to any one experience, just like the SixAxis didn’t. It had improved rear triggers and analog sticks, but that was about it.
Here is the scrapped DualShock name. I have to salute that name, and it will be missed. We are now in the DualSense era. This controller is probably the first ever to be truly as innovative as the built-in analog sticks and force feedback from the DualShock 1. The haptic triggers literally change how a game plays and feels. These aren’t gimmicks. There is a resistive force on the triggers in the game. You can hold down a trigger partially, and it will stick to the motor. Pull down harder to actually shoot a gun or arrow. You can feel the swings of an axe in God of War: Ragnarok. The triggers can even vibrate a bit and feel suddenly loose or tight, like in The Last of Us Part 1. It changes the way I shoot in games. Spider-Man Remastered lets you feel the webs that you shoot with physical force.
This is the best part of the entire controller, and I miss it in every game that doesn’t have it. The rest of the controls are just slightly tweaked for a better hand feel in the grips, and the top light bar was finally removed. However, there are still lights around the touchpad, which is fine. The controller just looks so good now, too. The change to a pure white launch color was strange but also brave. The texture of the controller is improved as well. It doesn’t feel as slippery, and the plastic doesn’t feel as cheap as the DualShock 3 (I’m sorry, but that controller was my least favorite from Sony). The D-Pad also feels better this time around and is less mushy. I also love how the controller is now USB-C and we can finally get away from the micro connector. You still have Bluetooth availability, and it seems to be more compatible with devices than what the DualShock 4 could do. I do like the actual PlayStation logo as the home button now, and the controller retains the speaker and mic features. There is also a mic mute button right on the controller, which is a great feature.
Overall, the DualSense controller is the first controller revolution since the Wii remote and the original DualShock before that. The haptic triggers literally change the way you play and feel the game. There are so many things you can do with this type of resistive technology, and many first-party games are coming out swinging already. The battery life is improved over the DualShock 4, the ergonomics have been tweaked just enough, and finally, get USB-C! I’m not sure how Sony can improve from here.
Jsaux, despite being a nobody, took the shot to be the first third party to produce high-quality Steam Deck accessories. It all started with their original dock, and now they have over a dozen accessories available. Their latest and first accessory to modify the deck itself is a transparent back plate. These are high-quality injection-molded plates that feel just like the OEM plates. I was honestly shocked at the quality. They also feature a metal plate with a thermal pad that goes over the APU housing, which the original plate doesn’t have. This keeps heat in one area and away from the back of your hands, which would normally start sweating.
You get a lot of stuff in the box. There is the plate itself, along with three different types of buttons. The standard rear buttons are installed, but you get buttons that raise up and away from the plate, so you have less travel to press the buttons. There are low-height and high-height buttons. I actually like the low height, as I don’t have to squeeze the deck so hard to press the triggers. You also get a screwdriver, a plastic pry tool, extra screws, and some weird anti-static finger gloves, which are stupid, completely pointless, and a waste of packaging. Sadly, the screwdriver and pry tool are garbage. The pry tool broke during the first use, so I had to use a flathead screwdriver to pry the back plate off. The screwdriver is made of very soft metal, so the driver head strips really easily. Thankfully, I had my trusty iFixit kit handy instead.
Once you unscrew the 8 screws on the back (you should use the original screws as they are of slightly higher quality) and snap the new plate on, you’re good to go. It’s a seriously painless installation, and anyone who has never taken a handheld apart before could do it with ease. The plastic feels good, and you wouldn’t know it was a third-party plate when using it. It also looks damn cool. I went with the atomic purple plate as an homage to the GameBoy Color. I played a high-end game for about 30 minutes, and the thermal pad drew the heat away from the rest of the plate so my hands didn’t get sweaty. It’s a fantastic accessory, and for the low price, it’s well worth it.
Is there any reason not to get this? Maybe you don’t like seeing the innards through the backplate, or maybe you don’t like the colors. Don’t be scared about taking the backplate off, as it doesn’t void the warranty with Valve. It’s as easy as replacing the battery cover on a toy. It takes around 20 minutes and is well worth it. If you want a cosmetic update and a way to keep the back cooler, then this is a two-for-one deal that you shouldn’t pass up.
Colors: Black, Silver, Green, Blue, Pink, Red, Lavender, Famicon 20th Anniversary, Final Fantasy IV, Lite blue, Mother 3, Pokemon
MSRP: $99.99
Nintendo’s constant quest to reduce and miniaturize their handhelds has its fans and some detractors. I personally think it’s great, as we can still keep and own the larger handhelds. The Micro, however, may have been pushing this limit a little too far. The tiny handheld improved on a single feature: we finally got a good screen and a backlight. The Micro has the best screen out of any of the systems, even the Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101.
The system was designed with the idea of putting it on your keychain or lanyard and being able to put it into small pockets and pack it away. The system had interchangeable faceplates (you can still get new ones made today by third parties), but the tiny design irked a lot of people. It’s about 1/4 the size of the original GBA, and to many, the SP was the perfect GBA system. It retained the same button layout and rechargeable battery, and the screen brightness could be further adjusted.
However, all I/O was removed. This meant no multiplayer, and any accessories that connected to the GameCube, e-readers, and backward compatibility were out the window as well. To many, this is just a novelty, especially with the tiny 2″ screen. Does having a really good screen and backlight make up the difference for such a small form factor and cutting every other feature? Probably not. The system is still plenty playable, and I have enjoyed many hours on mine.
Sadly, due to low sales, poor marketing, and lambasted reviews, the Micro didn’t sell well, so these systems are expensive, especially in good shape or complete in boxes. Thankfully, the faceplates and rear housing can be replaced by third parties, and mods don’t really exist for this system. They’re not really needed. This system is really only for those who collect Game Boys or just want a really good OEM backlight without any fuss or mods. If you don’t use any accessories such as the ones mentioned above, you won’t miss those either. You also must remember that there is no backward compatibility with older Game Boy titles and that you need to be okay with just Game Boy Advance games.
The system does feel good in the hands, despite its size. There are only two face buttons, so this can work fine. I would complain about the small screen, but it’s so clear, crisp, and high-res for the size that you can see everything clearly. Adjusting the volume and brightness requires a button combo that is unintuitive without the manual, and it has its own proprietary charger that is not compatible with the GBA SP. There is also a headphone jack, so keep that in mind as well. This is just a raw GBA playing system.
Overall, the Game Boy Micro is a fun little system that cuts everything out to give us a fantastic OEM backlight and customizable faceplates, but to some, that may not be worth the cost of size and accessories. It at least has a rechargeable battery and comes in really awesome variations.
Great post tthankyou