Analogue Pocket Review - The Ultimate FPGA Handheld ? | MVG

[@ModernVintageGamer]

Corrections/Updates: Price : The new updated price of the Analogue Pocket is $219 USD. In the video I refer to the previous price which is incorrect. Battery Life: I tested around 8.5-9 hours on a single charge with Links Awakening DX running.

[@nalong55]

hows your son/daughter and fam doing? merry xmas friend

[@Nobe_Oddy]

it doesn't take scientific comparison to tell there is a bit of a difference between the two Mario Golf songs.... in the first one there is a bleeding of the 1/32 notes (which is called release in synth talk) which the original song doesn't have - you can here those quick snaps to the note in the second one, where as the first one sounds like one continuous note - very very close, but not the same :)

[@Nobe_Oddy]

oh wow, I should have just waited to pause it because you brought up the same thing in that Shantae song.... except I thought it was the release, but hearing it in the snare drum, yes it is clearly sustain... which makes total sense in the Mario Golf song too...... this could VERY easily be fixed with an update to the core :)

[@Nobe_Oddy]

lmao I should stop pausing the video and commenting because you said the same thing about the update right after I paused it lol 🤦‍♂️

[@prayingdantris218]

I also think you forgot to post the DF retro vid in the description, like you mentioned at the end (unless I'm just missing it of course). Edit: neat, I see it's added.

[@kevtris]

Heya, I love the review! As for the Shantae audio issue, it's actually a bit deeper. On the GBA, running the game will result in different behavior of the noise channel. The game uses an edge case to silence the channel earlier than it normally would've been silenced, but this only works on a GBC. If you try it on a GBA, it doesn't work. I have added both behaviors to the core now, so if you run in GBC mode it works as expected, and running in "GBC on GBA" mode, it will have the different behavior.

[@jhonbus]

I like it, it sounds like a Nine Inch Nails remix 😂

[@peter-william]

Stuff like this shows a devotion to your craft, thank you.

[@Synplex]

Hearing that ROM carts work is great news. I'm clearly interested in this for my original GB and GBA collection, but there are dozens of games that are so hard to attain. So if I can play a ROM I am all in on this device!

[@welshmouse]

I would wait before buying an everdrive. Usually within a few weeks of an analogue device coming out we get a jailbreak that will play roms from the SD card.

[@Synplex]

No I already own the flashcards. I own a flash card for GBA, GB, and most other handheld systems. But nothing compares local system emulation.

[@rajiegill5726]

U can play on android easily and its great just get the xbox style razer kishi mobile handheld controller if ur phone uses a usb type c port on it for charging.. Works great when also emulating touch controls for ds and 3ds games its awesome i have a galaxy note20 ultra 5g so i can even use the s pen to control the ds and 3ds touch controls like how u do on the console with the stylus. I put a 1tb micro Sdxc sandisk extreme with all the supported games that fit on it, i cant put gamecube, wii, ps2, ps1, psp, and emulated console game libraries which consist of too much data for the very tiny amount of 1tb storage.. But i can network copy via my file explorer app to and from my pc anywhere anytime if im on data i can use an app that turns my pc into a nas basically and share all my data with anybody worldwide via internet through the use of an email address to add to my contacts for optional sharing so if i ever want to play big games on it i put them one at a time whatever i feel like playing..

[@videogameobsession]

@@welshmouse yes. I'm counting on a jailbreak. Sure I own all of the different flashcarts, but when you start to think about it, you'll need to pack along: GG, NGPC, Atari Lynx, TG-16, (and maybe other) cartridge adapters. That kind of makes it a less bit portable. I also hope to see some console cores ported to this ASAP. NES, SNES, GEN, SMS, NG, would be nice to have on this.

[@lyianx]

lol Like any Pokemon game. SOO prohibitively expensive.

[@keatzthememelord5920]

Please don't ever change that awesome intro music, it's way too iconic and tied to your channel. As someone who watches your videos, mostly the ones on console security, over n over because I'm that interested, I often hear the theme a lot and have become quite fond of it.

[@MegasXLR]

yeah indeed

[@JakeShirley]

I Pavlov'd my self on accident. Every day at lunch I'd get the same sandwich and sit at my desk and watch MVG videos. Now every time I hear the intro music I crave my lunch sandwich. Never change the intro, it's EPIC!

[@randomlock99]

NOOB

[@AFourEyedGeek]

@@randomlock99 Saibot

[@nuvitcoskun4324]

It is called "pacific drive" composed by MVG

[@hanzo90]

The pixelation looks absolutely breathtaking

[@jamesh446]

The GBA Everdrive can actually play Gameboy and Game Gear games through emulation the reason why it couldn’t play GB games by default on the GBA was because of the manual switch on the GBA that switched it into Gameboy mode, It would be interesting if at some point you could play GB games on the Pocket using the GBA Everdrive as the manual switch is no longer an issue.

[@goldenretrogames]

That's a fantastic point. I wonder if that's mainly something that Krikzz needs to update in the EverdriveGBA.

[@ModernVintageGamer]

yes - you can play GB cames through a GBA everdrive. i tested that it works. however the screen is reduced and doesnt take up the entire display

[@theIpatix]

Does it use the Goomba Color emulator? This one in particular does work (also on other flashcarts) but it has issues with some games that are from what I recall not really patchable due to hardware limitations of the GBA (Pokemon Crystal was one of them).

[@RetroSmoo]

Same with ez flash iv? Lol that's what i have

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

I think the bigger point is whether GG will actually work this way too

[@nickwort123]

Wow, what a fantastic, in-depth overview. Really good catch in the snare sustain issue as well

[@FirstTimeRC]

5.1 surround sounds is absolutely amazing! Thank you for that demo.

[@toooes]

How are you streaming KZbin PCM?

[@Kenjitsuka]

4 channels on my timeline drop Analogue Pocket videos at the exact same time? Of course gonna watch MVG first! :)

[@AchiragChiragg]

Same

[@Thollis1987]

Metal Jesus Dude

[@PreRendered]

The video quality on your channel is stunning. Really helps show off the product nicely!

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

I saw a lot of reviews of the analogue pocket, I had to come back to yours to say, your review is the best I saw, very informative and balanced review.

[@Yomommalinkmugen]

huge thanks again to john for helping out with this one. This was a tough one to put out there for everyone but john got it done with the testing an all.. thanks

[@bes03c]

Mvg always delivers

[@saifal-badri]

And the winner for the best review is you :) thank you, I ordered one after watching this video!

[@TriteHexagon]

As someone intimately familiar with the GB's soundchip I can definitely confirm there's some emulation issue with the noise channel on the Analogue. This is quite bizarre because unless Shantae uses some weird noise setting for the drums (which doesn't seem like it to my ears) it should be fairly straightforward to get the length of the noise note right. EDIT: I checked this song both on bgb and with a .gbs player and both don't match the GBC version on the video, shortening the note more than what's supposed to (unlike the Analogue which extends it). So there's definitely something weird going on with Shantae specifically that's tripping up the emulators.

[@analebanane508]

this is not a software but rather a hardware problem i guess - it sounds like the electronical signal going to the OUT does not go a clean 0 but rather "waves out" - hope you understand what i try to say.

[@ModernVintageGamer]

@XCL4M4t10N yes it is

[@TriteHexagon]

@@ModernVintageGamer Thanks for correcting this point before I potentially made a fool of myself xD I'm certainly not an expert in what counts as emulation or not.

[@TriteHexagon]

@@analebanane508 That may be the case, but it's kinda weird it only happens with Shantae. What makes it different from other games?

[@analebanane508]

@@TriteHexagon if i had to guess it is the cause of the frequenzy? that the snare of that game hits a "special freq" that the soundbell could not handle? So that the Frequenzy leads the bell to fade out the signal which make that weird effect. I am not really sure about all of this but it is worth a looking into this - if i am wrong, then its proofen that i am not right, right? so there is nothing bad that can happen by exploring my theory in the wild praxis ;)

[@TAEYYO]

Thanks for the thorough review. I'm looking forward to getting one of these--I was wondering when they were finally going to drop!

[@PaulAup62]

The snare sustain probably denotes poor implementation of hw envelopes. That's how these fade-outs are usually made in gb, they're dependant on soundchip hw and not software. An area of improvement for sure, especially considering the analogue pocket runs Nanoloop 2 and people will surely try out trackers like lsdj on it.

[@Gameboygenius]

It's most likely not an issue of the basic implementation of the envelope. It's probably some quirk, like zombie mode, that's not implemented quite correctly.

[@Gameboygenius]

Just asked and got confirmation from kevtris that it's indeed related to zombie mode and it behaves like GBA hardware. If you change the game to not run as GBA, the issue goes away.

[@Gameboygenius]

... in a firmware yet to be released.

[@tiobetio9501]

I've never seen all of my major channel subscriptions come out with a video for the same device at the same time like this!

[@charlesjmouse]

A personal take, I don't expect anyone to agree: If I want to use carts I'll use original hardware, modified or otherwise. To want to use a 'modern' system it absolutely has to support ROM files, making this device a non-starter for me. I understand why Analogue didn't include ROM support - Nintendon't! Oh, and the ability to sell cartridge adaptors. Still, if in some crazy alternate reality someone was to port MiSTer to this device I'd certainly buy one pending a 'proper' portable MiSTer.

[@Mogura87]

All other Nintendo-centric Analogue products have had jailbreaks that let you load different cores and ROMs through the SD-card. I don't know for a fact this will be available for the Pocket but I'd be surprised if not. It won't be officially endorsed for legal reasons, of course, but still. You also have the option of using Everdrives out of the box, which "Nintendon't" can't do anything about, just like they can't do anything about emulators. If the jailbreak does happen the value of the Analogue Pocket will be insane; you can load up just about every retro handheld there is, as well as PC Engine HU-Card games. Here's hoping for a WonderSwan core as well.

[@NeverToBeSeenAgain]

You can use roms on this by converting them to .pocket files, letting you load them through GB Studio. It's not OFFICIAL support but seems like an intentional backdoor.

[@alainchristian]

Original hardware doesn't support video out.

[@imfamiliar.]

MVG uploaded so it's a good good day

[@MrMario2011]

Definitely planning on getting one of these, awesome review! Skipped out on the initial pre-orders but after thinking on it for a while, I'd like to grab one of these, and the results here confirm it for me.

[@Orcastruck]

Hello there

[@MitchMatrixx]

Bro, my modded Phat PS3 on 4.88 got banned a few weeks back, and I’m a dumb noob that didn’t look into PSN Tools etc before I went and got my account of 13 years nuked, and then... - Oh wait, wrong channel 😉

[@sidoku6945]

Keep it up man Australian youtubers are uncommon but its nicebecause its relatable

[@ThePhiphler]

We truly live in the golden age of high quality handhelds, between this product, Steam Deck etc.

[@basshead.]

It's too expensive. I'd rather buy a Switch Lite.

[@nintendo1889x]

@@basshead. You can't play GB, GBA, etc on Switch, so...

[@basshead.]

@@nintendo1889x Did your mom not teach you lying is bad?

[@andyboxish4436]

@@basshead. You can't play those natively is what he means. And as far as using emulation, the switch is very poor at it, you're better off buying an ambernic or similar device.

[@2010ngojo]

@@andyboxish4436 And neither can you play them on the steam deck natively. And you know 99 percent of people won't play them legally either, which is whatevs. I'm not that innocent either.

[@stormrider01]

I pre ordered today succesfully. Buyed the black one. Can´t wait to get it on my hands!

[@Sr.D]

Hard to buy from Europe with E.U. taxations, hope analogue someday gets interested in selling his products on Europe...in the meantime I'm just modding my GB color and GBA.

[@Manic_Panic]

That's the problem with a lot of these custom, emulated consoles.

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

What about Australia? The worst with imports. So many assumptions sadly is the American audience optimized releases for that region being the big audience for retro lately. When it comes to EU usually thinks like the reproduction of micro computers are treated better due to more nostalgia for those products. E.g That Amstrad thingy

[@Gravy1255]

I can't even get one in America. Always sold out

[@TheJadeFist]

Note looking at the store now, it says Fulfillment Group C: 2023. under where you would add it to cart on the store page for everything. So if someone hasn't already jumped on it, they are looking at 2023 before they get it. That wasn't there when I ordered, I hope i'm in group A, it didn't say a group at the time when I ordered (or if it did I didn't notice), and I jumped on it with the first day or so that it was availible.

[@scherge]

I was still sceptical whether I really want an Analogue Pocket after watching the videos from Gamesack and My Life In Gaming about the device. You are usually the most critical reviewer that I know, so after watching your video and seeing how much you actually seem to like the device, I will definitely try to get one later today when the pre-orders go live. Thanks!

[@rickowen8187]

MVG gets paid by chris taber at analogue for the positive reviews

[@NiGHTSnoob]

This definitely won't replace my Game Boy Micro, my preferred GBA by far, but I'm super interested in using it as a Game Gear and Turbo Express replacement since my GG has both battery compartment corrosion and a virtually dead screen, and I've never actually had a Turbo Express just a Duo. Both of those systems are rare, difficult to repair, large, and have some nasty old screen tech. This is perfect for those in my eyes.

[@ahardm05]

Her: The SD card is just for firmware updates, right? Him: Her: Right?

[@bustergundo516]

This popped into my head lol

[@Dzumeister]

I'm glad this video addresses what I always thought was strange about the Pocket--the fact that it seems to favor GB/GBC players over GBA. Had they designed it with the 3:2 screen in mind with the original GBA's form factor, I think the design would have turned out better for players overall

[@zerker08]

Ok.

[@TVsBen]

With our luck they would have gotten a display that's just as wide as the one they selected but shorter, not improving things for GBA users and shafting GBC/GB players overall.

[@ornerycuss5804]

I ordered mine with the dock to play on my 70" oled

[@VexAcer]

It's a pick your poison situation. Use the GBA aspect ratio and now GB, GBC, etc. games have black bars on the side. GB aspect ratio and now GBA games have top & bottom black bars. It's a given when trying to have a bunch of handheld systems playable on one unit and many of them had unconventional screen ratios.

[@lolman123401]

would be better if the screen was either at the top or bottom, which would make the black bars pretty much a non issue I think. that or hacking games so they're full screen, the 3ds can widescreen DS games, why couldn't this too

[@blakryptonite1]

I'm disappointed they didn't use aluminum shell as housing. It seems like it's prone to getting scratched quite easily...not good for a $220 device. I can't justify spending that much money because Q5 laminated IPS displays are readily available, as well as high quality Anbernic aluminum handheld emulators.

[@fordxbgtfalcon]

Yay! The next item to be scalped on Ebay! 👍

[@jevonp]

oooooooo so early. Love you MVG, been watching for years and you just get better and better at videos. I really enjoyed your cameo on the Wrestling with Gaming Neo Geo video btw :)

[@kylemckyle6464]

Just ordered the classic orange spice edition, I'm excited to finally get a analog pocket, I have the super nt and love it

[@shabmaster7128]

I want to see that Gameboy game that runs the background every other frame with the blending mode on. It's an epileptic nightmare on emulators normally.

[@Call_MeJD]

Thank you for the video. Super excited to get mine in a few days hopefully.

[@budthecyborg4575]

I find it ironic that a Game Boy emulator is given a 1440p screen with a pixel density of 615 Pixels Per Inch, but everyone keeps saying 1440p on the next Switch would be too much. Clearly, we can afford to have a 1440p Gaming Handheld, and it would benefit image scaling in most games no matter what the render resolution is.

[@mkyprm]

3d is definitely a different matter tho. Gba games are much easier to run

[@budthecyborg4575]

@@mkyprm Resolution scaling can only look better with more hardware pixels, there is zero downside to higher resolution displays, as long as Switch keeps using OLED they may as well jump straight to a 4K screen in the handheld.

[@zachwolfrom4522]

I am glad no mistakes were made. 👍

[@MegaManNeo]

I am jealous and I still want one more than those fancy Mods often shown by MachoNacho. Can we have a video about what it takes to do circle perfect Z80 emulation too, please?

[@SpiffingNZ]

> Everyone who tries golf falls in love with it... (X) Doubt

[@DsDoomAlexander]

Awesome video! Just one question about the feeling of gba games: doesn't it feel like a gba sp when you play them? Or as a weird original game boy that plays gba games?

[@hdofu]

you can see the form factor (The original game boy form factor but with extra buttons), as for how the experience will be for you is something that will be pretty personal

[@DsDoomAlexander]

@@hdofu you're right, the point is since he's saying that playing gba games feels better with the original gba modded with an IPS monitor, I was wondering if that form factor could feel like a gba sp fully opened And since it isn't simple to try by myself (it isn't really cheap), I was curious about that :)

[@Call_Me_David]

@@DsDoomAlexander IMO, I think by explicitly stating a regular GBA is his preferred layout, that it's implied the Analog is more akin to playing an SP.

[@overlordalfredo]

I can imagine the shoulder buttons are a big factor for how the device feels. I hate the tiny shoulder buttons on the GBA SP, and much prefer the big original ones. But the analogue has even shoulder buttons on the back of the device... That is especially weird!

[@DsDoomAlexander]

@@overlordalfredo I reeeeeally prefer the original gba form factor, in fact I have made mod mine gba with a back light screen and the result is awesome Since this console seems EPIC I was wondering this and consider acceptable to play gba game on a device that resemble a gba sp

[@JDavies345]

15:00 there is a HIDDEN Dev Package port under the battery cover, but i dont know if there is a actual Dev Plug/Support, besides, the regular way is kinda like a Dev Cart to a game anyway

[@KiraSlith]

So, knowing a GBA SP is still $100 used, already runs accurately out the box, and is easier to hold, what's the value add for your extra $120 here? An optional alternative audio engine for GBA games and some screen filters? Even if you're the kind of snob that wants a better screen, just install an upgrade kit in a used AGS-100 or 101 ($40-60) and pocket the $60+ difference, or better yet put it toward a flash cart and get backup loading too.

[@FAKEAXIS]

Yeah the cartridge blocking your fingers is super weird and the bezels are bigger than I would expect. It’s very hard to justify the price for me. Not being able to run backups out of box is kind of a bummer

[@RicardoTrevinoLohman]

Thats what i was thinking. And its 100 percent accurate. Unless you want the screen output. Then you need a GameCube 🤣

[@josiahkhani3667]

Personally, I want the better screen but have no interest in learning how to install a new screen or potentially having to deal with a used GBA breaking in one way or another. The added ability to play on the TV, even if I probably won’t use it that frequently, is a nice addition. I found it difficult to find a used SP in really good condition for a decent price earlier this year. Might as well spend the extra money and know I’m getting something brand new.

[@alextirrellRI]

@@RicardoTrevinoLohman There are mods to add video output to the GBA.

[@haysoos123]

I don't know, $60+ difference isn't that much for a better screen and great potential flexibility. No doubt this will be jailbroken soon and you'll be able to run roms from the sd card. Also, Genesis/SNES cores can't be far behind. Pretty much I think of this as a lower-powered MiSTer.

[@likenem]

You the Goat for posting this quick

[@jonny4036]

wish you would of shown gba through the dock. while a small disadvantage with the screen on the unit does it work better when played through the dock?

[@pineapplepainkiller1739]

nice review. Always clear and concise and zero bs

[@jengelenm]

Prehistorik Man!!! I didn’t know that was a GB game. I used to play that on DOS. Not sure if it was end of 80s or beginning 90s….

[@GameTimeWhy]

I thought I recognized it from DOS. I feel so oooold

[@Scerttle]

Didn't even know this existed. Thanks for the review!

[@davidmalkowski7850]

As much as I'd like a product like this, I don't think it'll be very viable except for game collectors for much longer. I've only held onto my MMBN3 cartridge because I liked it so much. What if it finally dies? The reality is that many GBA games are more expens8ve now because there is zero supply. I suspect in the future products like these will not survive unless they can use ROM files directly from conventional storage like an SD Card. I'd also imagine this functionality is disabled on the Analogue because it would immediately invite lawsuits.

[@АлександрС-о6в]

no, emulation is legal by us law, and that's why there's ton of emulation retro machines, handheld or that hooks to tv, like anbernic ones. There will be no lawsuit as long as they will not provide roms. This thing cartrige only... well, because they chose to do it that way. You could still use flashcarts with this thing though

[@n00bfishie]

You can use an Everdrive (or equivalent) with it, and run ROMs. To be fair, the quality of the screen/handheld is superb here and blows away anything I could do with a RetroPie handheld kit, or Android based emulation device. Plus, it’s FPGA and essentially a clone of original hardware, instead of software emulation. All in all, it’s a great device. And I think the market that is interested in this sort of device will have ways to get around the SD card restrictions to run ROMs on it, if they want to. Just my two cents.

[@jonathoncapshaw7610]

I believe all Analogue products can run ROMs off an SD card

[@elmariachi5133]

@Jonathon Capshaw This thing can't, it's officially said on the website. So there are only two ways for making this possible: Someone codes a custom firmware (which might be very hard or improbable, depending on how well the hardware is documented), or using Everdrive like hardware, which is very expensive, on top of to the Pocket's cost. Yeah, they won't sell much of these, sadly. It could become a very expensive rarity in a few years when it's not available anymore, and possibly still is the best way for portably running the old games. So it still for sure is a very interesting thing for collectors. (Well, maybe there might be a third way: If people find a way for abusing the GB studio import to play commercially made ROMs.)

[@welshmouse]

@@elmariachi5133 If you follow the scene, you'll know that analogue doesn't "officially" support custom firmware and roms to avoid legal issues, but every other analogue device, within weeks of release, gets a custom firmware suspiciously created by someone who has had months of time to prepare it and made readily available. basically, their lead dev is making a jailbreak and releasing it unnoficially to avoid legal troubles. I'd expect the same thing with the pocket.

[@markitobarca]

much love from your melbourne brother - love your work goodluck in 22

[@shukterhousejive]

I can't fault them for the screen choice, it's either this or you squish down the GB/C games and it's clear who the target demographic is. For over $200 I'd hope their next revision uses an OLED panel or micro-LED LCD, that should make the letterbox less pronounced. I'm also curious if there's (unofficial) support for other FPGA cores. With the dock, a controller and a pocket full of ROMs this would be a perfect multi-system emulator for accuracy freaks

[@TheCoolDave]

ONLY problem with OLED, it suffers from burn in. Not ideal for a video game system like this. A good IPA display will do a awesome job with out burning in.

[@aDumbHorse]

@@TheCoolDave it really depends of the panel in question. Some panels can remain pristine for 5 years and a bit more. Others on the other hand start showing burn-in in less than 2 years. IPS LCD will always be a better choice in my opinion but I don't blame people who want to sacrifice durability for better contrast.

[@snugswashere6504]

LMAO. OLED and micro-LED are overkill for retro games.

[@lelsewherelelsewhere9435]

@@snugswashere6504 right! Don't want to see those GBC pixels, unless they are simulated!

[@aDumbHorse]

@@lelsewherelelsewhere9435 visible pixels have nothing to do with screen type, but pixel density

[@ItaloPenna]

What a piece of engineering. Amazing.

[@spokehedz]

I would want a option to move any non-full screen cores to the 'top' and have the blanked pixels shoved all down on the bottom. That would help a ton, for me, to ignore the borders... Which is already not a big deal anyway.

[@lexluthermiester]

@MVG I'm not fussed over the aspect ratio thing and most people likely feel similarly. GBA seems to look good and I am not bothered by the screen ratio banding(black bars top & bottom). If it were 3:2 ratio we'd have banding on the sides for GB/GBC and anything else 4:3. Overall, this is a quality piece of tech that will serve anyone who buys it very well.

[@slipperynickels]

adjusted for inflation, the original gameboy was 201USD at release, so the pocket is actually a pretty decent deal.

[@nuclearbeeberman]

phantastic content as always, thx MVG

[@gigaherz_]

While I don't know much about the GB audio chip... the issue sounds to me like an improperly handled decay/release? If the GB has full ADSR. Otherwise sounds like it may not be handling volume changes on channels that are in the middle of playing.

[@D.u.d.e.r]

MVG + DF Retro = Excellent stuff! ;)

[@merman1974]

Good to see a review that goes in depth and tests a lot of games before reaching a verdict - it looks like a great device, but the high price tag when you factor in the accessories puts it out of my reach.

[@Operational117]

The price tag is certainly high, but this device will safeguard GB, GBC and GBA legacy for decades. As older hardware die out, this one will pave the way for non-original devices with native-level compatibility. I just hope there exist (or we one day invent) an FPGA-equivalent for GPU chips. That way, we’d have a better chance at creating non-original N64 (and later) devices with native-level support.

[@merman1974]

@@Operational117 yes, there is definitely a case for preservation and keeping games alive. That's a good aspect of these projects.

[@TheConuresrule]

​@Operational117 Funny enough Analogue started preorders on their take of the n64. Let's see how it holds up

[@NathanielClay]

I'll probably never be able to use this device, they always end up sold out, it's a blessing you got your hands on one tbh

[@tenisviejos]

Congrats for such a well crafted video. You set a new standard for review of these devices. And Kudos to Analogue, this piece of hardware is a work of love.

[@Macko_z_Bogdanca]

Yeah GB Studio looks amazing I am waiting for how to develop videos for other platforms! Really would like to see more of it :)

[@Gerenocidiac]

The price is difficult to justify, but given the specs and build quality, it appears to worth every dollar. This is definitely on my watchlist with all the optional items such as the dock and GB Studio. Dock being a must have. Also good to know those everdrive cartridges will let you playback rom files. Some people may not enjoy collecting, or find it way too expensive for certain vintage games. Great review.

[@embersworkshop]

GB Studio is free 😉 no addons required

[@porkstamina]

09:44 The Shantae music track on Analog reminds me of "Closer" by NIN.

[@charlottearanea7507]

I love the technology and would love to see it for other console clones, but this just seems very redundant for GBA specifically. 3DS is still easy to find and can play GBA with native-level compatibility with homebrew, and modded GBAs are also pretty easy to get ahold of if you really want to play cartridges. And then when it comes to GBC, software emulation is already basically perfect.

[@tomstonemale]

As I understand, the point of this devices are not just to play games but to replicate as much as posible the original hardware output for preservation. Most people won't care but this devices are made to be compare against original hardware, not software emulation.

[@jonathanturnbull7131]

The scaling is horrible when playing GBA games on 3DS.

[@charlottearanea7507]

@@jonathanturnbull7131 There is a pixel perfect option but I'll grant that most people prefer a filled screen lmao. I primarily played on Game Boy Micro so it feels right to me

[@andyboxish4436]

as far as I know you can't play every GBA game on the DSi and 3DS, there are massive compatibility issues. Half the games run perfectly, but the other half have issues or won't play at all.

[@COMATRON.]

i expected an oled display for that price. awesome video as always tho. thank you.

[@bltzcstrnx]

1440p OLED is very expensive. Even most phones use 1080p OLED. They really need 1440p to maintain a 10 to 1 scaling ratio.

[@CarlosIvanFocus]

Does this mean someday there will be something like this available for the 3DS? It would be awesome to have an OLED top screen FPGA console to play 3DS games, upscaling resolution and stuff like that. Great video as always, thank you MVG.

[@ludensarahan]

I would love PS2 handheld like this too.

[@TheCoolDave]

A 3DS is not as near as old as GB, or GBA... OLED would be sweet but, in 10-15 years when the 3DS is retro system there might be some new TV/video tech out that might blow away OLED. What I am trying to get at in 10-15 years the tech will change for sure.

[@TheAbsol7448]

I _would_ love to see an FPGA 3DS with a screen resolution high enough to also play DS games without being blurry. I don't know if it's possible, but native upresing would be _insanely_ cool. There are a lot of awesome things that could be done with an FPGA 3DS.

[@Alexey65536]

Not happening for a long time. FPGA capabilities are quite limited. From what I've heard, PS1 is probably the best that could be squeezed out of this tech today.

[@ludensarahan]

@@Alexey65536 Damn 😭

[@Macko_z_Bogdanca]

11:53 Mistakes were made nice one also great video as always

[@lieutent2654]

I really just want one of these with an oled screen. Using NES and SNES on the switch OLED has made me realize how much of a difference it makes in motion blur and frame times. I can’t seem to find anything that will accomplish that goal other than using my iPhone and that’s just a pain. By far my switch OLED is literally my best looking handheld display. And I spent $130 to get dual IPS displays on my N3DSXL and IPS modded my GBASP.

[@-aexc-]

I really dislikes oled screens cause there's a lot of black smudge an and the degradation is noticable to me atleast

[@lieutent2654]

@@-aexc- I’ve only ever seen black smearing on an oled from a galaxy s7 edge. I haven’t seen that issue on newer Samsung phones, OLED iPhones, nor my switch. I’m sure it’s avoidable. And the burn in isn’t nearly as fast if you don’t have a vibrant filter on. It’s why you see almost every used galaxy s8 on eBay or with sbi and not on a lot of iPhone X’s. Apple doesn’t put a beauty vibrant/vivid filter on and Samsung does. It’s why you’ll see noticeable burn in after only a year on Samsung devices vs 4 year old iPhones that don’t have it in a lot of cases. Both of these issues can be addressed. Also not running the display at really high brightness GREATLY increases the lifespan of an oled display.

[@thecryingsoul]

@@lieutent2654 It depends so much on the kind of pOLED panel, had a phone with an lg panel from 2017 and the ghosting came in like a week, I believe this has been improved, and was never as big an issue in the samsung panels, but the black smudging is still very much present. Can't say i've been much a fan of pOLED

[@-aexc-]

@@lieutent2654 maybe I'm just more sensitive to the black smudge cause it bothers me on every phone.

[@lieutent2654]

@@thecryingsoul friends and I were actually just talking about this and one of them did bring up if it could be when the panels are LG rather than Samsung, since Apple is known to only use Sammy right now and of course Sammy uses their own. I wonder what panel the NS OLED uses? Regardless I still believe OLED is far superior when executed properly.

[@ThomasVought]

@8:38 There’s some slight differences in the mid tones, but it’s so close I could only confirm it by comparing them side to side.

[@sjaaktrekhaak100]

Looks pretty awesome. I already have my GBA modded, so need for this, but if i hadn't modded my GBA, i would consider this.

[@punkydudester3]

Great review thanks to you & your buddy!

[@agenttexx]

It sounds and looks like a nice system, but there are other handheld for less than half the price that don't require use of legacy media. Additionally, a $100 tablet will accommodate a nice 8bit controller and use of an emulator will do much of this without risking damage or loss to cartridges that are now pushing 30 years old.

[@Varangian_af_Scaniae]

But FPGA units is a whole other deal. I don't care much since emulators is enough for me. But many inveterate gamers of old hardware want the authentic experience and it doesn't get more real than FPGA units. They replicate the hardware perfectly.

[@X22GJP]

Agreed. It's nice enough for what it is, and does what it does well I'm sure, and if you have the cash and need/want, go for it. I love my MiSTer FPGA under my TV and would love an equivalent handheld, but don't want to be tied to cartridges even if they are flash card-based. Now...if a custom firmware allowed ROMs to be browsed and run from the Micro SD card slot, that puts it into far more desirable territory for me. I'd still prefer a more generic solution though with more cores available.

[@MarkMcDaniel]

FPGAs are expensive, but are much faster and more reliable than Raspberry Pis.

[@davidste60]

@@X22GJP Yeah, my guess is they have done a handheld because there is no handheld Mister to out-value them.

[@Schule04]

@@Varangian_af_Scaniae FPGAs are only as accurate as our understanding of the hardware, with undocumented chips there will always be some guesswork. That's why the audio is not accurate in this video for example.

[@alexandregiaccheri]

About the audio in Shantae (and probably in other games meeting the same criteria), I don't think that's minor/nitpicking at all lol I hope they manage to solve it! Other than that, I think I need this in my life lol

[@TheAbsol7448]

I wanna see how it looked hooked with with their DAC.

[@itsonlystars]

Sorry to be stupid but what's the game at 6:43?

[@ZygalStudios]

Hardware emulation will always be the best solution. All the original antecedent - consequent relationships are preserved as well as the exact delay times, or at least very close. In software it is basically improbable to accomplish. I am very impressed from what I have seen with this device so far! I am glad to see this is of high quality. It seems like one heck of a device! This is the power of reconfigurable hardware at its finest. Thanks for the in-depth review!

[@AntneeUK]

Awesome. I was heading over to DF's video straight after this, so great to hear you worked with John Legendman

[@hdofu]

I'm sure its great, but at the cost of about 2 Retroid Pocket 2 +s going to say this one just seems like paying a lot more for something that you still are going to have to swap carts and add accessories to use.

[@dandiaz19934]

💯

[@FaridAnsari1]

I had a original GB (still being used by my dad to play Tetris) and only had few GB games so I never fully got into playing GB games as a kid, but this unit looks pretty amazing! It's just amazing what you can do with modern hardware and good design. I can say that I am almost tempted to get one (even though I probably won't play much) but then I remembered that I have pre-ordered a steam deck so I am going to wait and see how emulation looks on that thing first.

[@xxHANNONxx]

Tetris is the only thing I ever used my GB for, it was the reason to own a GB. My girlfriend bought me a GBA for Christmas, so I pulled the Tetris cartridge from the GB, slipped it into the GBA, and never bought a single GBA game

[@FaridAnsari1]

@@xxHANNONxx Yeah , for some reason I felt there was more "value" in spending the same money for a SNES game or something for my PC, especially as a kid with limited amount of funds. Another of my favs was was Dr. Mario for GB. In total I think I owned 3 GB games but did rent or borrowed some occasionally. Also out of all versions of Tetris, I like the GB version the best.

[@Canady182]

I wanted to be so excited for this. Scalpers quickly killed my hype. It's unlikely I'll ever get my hands on one of these because of those lowlifes. Great video nonetheless.

[@jinxedpenguin]

You will get your hands on one. It may just take forever.

[@pdraggy]

Preorders went back up this morning, not sure how long supplies will last, usually a couple days

[@redan499]

Preorders opened about an hour ago. It was no problem ordering a system. Good luck!

[@NanomachineExE]

Preorders just opened I got mine literally hours after it opened.

[@videogameobsession]

I'm surprised nobody is bringing up what many of us Pocket owners want to really see.. Console cores ported to the Pocket, and a jailbroken firmware, to allow direct rom loading + all cores switchable, right from the SDcard. This has always been a "thing" on all of the Analogue FPGA consoles, and I would be very surprised, and disappointed, if we didn't see the same thing on the Pocket, where having many games on a small SDcard, could make a huge QOL difference.

[@rockerwess]

The fact that all these reviews came out the day before they open another preorder tells me they are under strict guidelines on what they can show.Even if there are jailbreaks available I am sure they aren’t allowed to show them/talk about them.

[@scikoolaid]

You can always just use an everdrive... why does it matter so much now? It will eventually

[@FFXfever]

It's finally out? I felt like I've been waiting for this thing forever. The handheld scene have moved alot since.

[@VexAcer]

Yeah they're finally shipping the pre-order units after a 6 months of delays past its intended May 2021 release. Orders open up again tomorrow. I almost forgot too until my feed got smacked with Pocket videos.

[@JayrosModShop]

My favorite part of this video is the GB Studio project title: "Mistakes were made".

[@KyussTheWalkingWorm]

Can't wait to see how the "unofficial" cores supporting SNES et al. work out on this device.

[@Valery0p5]

3:37 they don't seem to use custom affine transformations to have "HD" backgrounds, what a shame for a display like that

[@H6rdc0re]

Mistakes were made in this review: - No mention of the Mister FPGA what so ever. - Best solution on the market when Mister exists with higher resolution support, more filters, better cores and fully open source. - No negative mention about that limited LCD screen when OLED exists. With such a high price it should have an OLED screen.

[@tomstonemale]

Not really mistakes though. He did a video about the Mister and he's reviewing the hardware on its own.

[@kdkseven]

Those aren't mistakes.

[@ModBay]

Fantastic! Thanks for the review.

[@LordVarkson]

A good and cheaper alternative is the Revo K101 Plus, which is a hardware recreation of the GBA. It takes original cartridges, but it also comes with it's own flash cart for loading up ROMs. It's a sightly flawed device, but I'd call it a good experience and worth it for the cost. It doesn't play Gameboy or Gameboy color games natively though,, but it's emulation is decent since it still has most of the original chips. I imagine the hardware was designed off the GBA Micro.

[@aetheralmeowstic2392]

Honestly, I find that the extended snare sample in that early music in Shantae makes it sound a bit more dramatic. If anything, I prefer how the Analog Pocket handled that piece.

[@BBSplat]

Man, I really wanted this thing but the preorders were gone almost instantly even though I was waiting for it. I wish they did what the Playdate did, and accept further orders and manufacture as needed, even if I did have to wait a year or longer to receive mine.

[@angell6209]

They are doing that tomorrow

[@X22GJP]

Chances are you'll be waiting more than a year, but pre-orders open again soon. I got a couple originally and sold them for £500 and £600 respectively. Plan on doing the same again.

[@BillehBobJoe]

@@X22GJP awful person.

[@ninjapwnsatlyfe]

The game gear add on is definitely a feature that would make me buy. I'm not a nintendo fan really and grew up with every other brand besides them, its cool to see I can relive my childhood on new hardware too

[@pixelotix]

I’m a huge handheld fan overall, and love the Game Gear, but you are truly missing out as the Gameboy family has a stellar library.

[@MagnaLynx21]

Sticking with a backlight GBA SP...stuff like this is always too niche

[@mutusdumbas]

Says the niche about the other niche.

[@MES082]

Anbernic 351P

[@mutusdumbas]

@Daniel E Arnold II Agreed. MVH always lists these outrageous prices and then claims them to be a bargain! He must be raking in cash so that he has lost touch with the real world. «This five thousand dollar, 1 meter long HDMI cable is definitely good money spent, and I recommend you buy 2 for backup» - Modern Vintage Gamer

[@juicemanvon9859]

This wasn't on my radar, but it's certainly something I'll keep an eye on now. Retro handheld gaming enthusiasts now have a solid machine to play around with.

[@LinusIslamTips]

Yeah good luck.

[@cashnelson2306]

now? There's many lol

[@matthewyoung6069]

Thank you and it's nice to see you are taking care of your health awesome

[@yugen042]

I'm not convinced, a Vita is half the price and looks more ergonomic, can do more and still has a really good screen.

[@tomferrier6143]

All with software emulation. If that's good for you, great, but it's missing the point of what an FPGA system is about.

[@andyboxish4436]

@@tomferrier6143 Absolutely, people are making comparisons that are completely unapplicable. This thing isn't about software emulation, it's a completely different category of device intended for those who care about playing on native hardware. It shouldn't be compared to ambernic or switch, or xbox series s, or whatever other weird comparisons people are making. And for even used gameboys on craigslist have gone up so much that the $219 price tag is actually cheaper than buying a used gameboy, GBC, and GBA on craigslist, plus you get the incredible screen and amazing features, as well as the convenience of having only one device. I think this device is really well priced for what it is, and the amount of engineering and design that went into it, the manufacturing quality, everything. I'm honestly surprised that it only costs $219, so I am especially confused by people balking that this costs too much. All of it comes from their ideas about what things "should" cost, rather than reality. This is a high quality product made by a small company in the USA, not a game console made at a loss by giant corporations who own assembly line style manufacturing plants. Prices really seem to trigger certain people based on misconceptions and the desire to enforce the market's expectation of what things "should" cost.

[@JamesSkemp]

GameSack dropped their review right around when you did. I opted to listen to his before your's, as I knew you'd do a much deeper dive, and I was right. Great overview.

[@graphicsgod]

Did they play Greendog on it??

[@JamesSkemp]

@@graphicsgod :D No, I don't believe he did.

[@chucklea5898]

I’m hoping Nintendo will get off their butts and add GBA as well as game boy games to the switch online to justify the price hike and finally make their customers happy.

[@luaxlab]

Yeah, with some awesome input lag of doom :)

[@zviedelman9015]

Unless there's another price hike...

[@asdfjklo234]

Nah, Nintendo gonna nintendo

[@luc1522]

I think 219$ is expensive. You can have a gba or a gba sp with backlight screen. Those two consoles are compatible with gba gbc and gb games without emulation and are cheaper than this. If you want to have games on tv you can use a raspberry pi. Okay it’s a cpu not a fpga so software emulation instead but I think it’s enough for most people.

[@luc1522]

Oh I forgot another option your smartphone you can easily find gba gbc and gb emulation for smartphones and you can connect it to a tv with an usb c to hdmi adapter and finally use a bluetooth controller.

[@LanceThumping]

For this price, the handheld should be in a better form factor and come with the adapters.

[@MegaManNeo]

This is the original GameBoy form factor. Besides bulky and slim there is isn't much that can be done here.

[@SockyNoob]

@@MegaManNeo which is the worst form factor ever. That was a cost saving measure as opposed to something that's better.

[@MegaManNeo]

@@SockyNoob Frankly enough, there is a dozens of people who enjoy this form factor, so it can not be that bad.