Powkiddy A19 (Retro Gaming Handheld) Review and Starter-Guide + How to add Roms

[@zakzak5892]

Awesome video saw your post on reddit! Glad to have found this channel I love retro related channels :) more the merrier!

[@MashTec]

Hey Zak zak, welcome to the community my friend! I‘m glad you enjoy the channel ;)

[@MightyistheRCGamer]

This was a very good review you put in some things other BIG channels left out

[@MashTec]

Thank you for your positive feedback my friend :) i do my very best for you guys.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Great video - I like the new "star rating" system :)

[@MashTec]

Thanks a lot Russ! I want to give the retro gaming devices i test a "value", so people have a better feeling to compare them in an easy way ;)

[@fernandaraphaela4313]

@@MashTec Can i install new roms on a powkiddy a19 without being the dual system console?

[@MashTec]

@Fernanda Raphaela yes dude, i show it later in the video, where you need to drop the files.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Great video Mashtec! Really impressed by not only the device itself but your presentation of if - very professional! The A19 looks a lot like the RetroidOS built in to the RetroidPocket 2. Not sure if this will work on the A19, but on Ridge Racer try adding a single frameskip and see how the game plays, played a lot smoother on the RP2 so that might help there too. Again, excellent job and looking forward to your future productions!

[@MashTec]

Thanks a lot Jon for your feedback! Actually i was pretty happy with the PSP emulation in Ridge Racer 2, but other titles didn‘t run as well. But i will try it with a more demanding title and let you know, thank you :)

[@antoine3153]

Mines came today from Amazon and I tell you this is one of the best handheld games I've ever played I have all the emulators on my phone but it's way better on the powkiddy

[@_The_Worst_]

I definitely want one of these...🤘🏼💯✔

[@davidwatkins6307]

That was street fighter alpha 3 not marvel vs. Capcom 2 and love your vid

[@MashTec]

🙈 oh ****, i mixed that up. Sorry. Thanks for clarifying.

[@nerb6833]

NIce! I picked up one of these to play Mario Kart DS

[@TysonWillert]

My one doesn't have the "External Games Management" option, what do you do there?

[@aliceinmansonland448]

It looks EXACTLY like the original Retroid Pocket! Wonder which came first? Thanks for the tech side of things! I was wondering how to play my own roms without booting into the Android partition, and now I know!!

[@MashTec]

Hey Russel, indeed it does. The very first version of this device is about 1 year on the market already. Meanwhile it received a hardware upgrade at the D-pad (improvement) and with the User-Interface. Do you own a Retroid Pocket yourself? Do you see any difference from what you see in the video? Maybe Powkiddy bought the rights to re-brand this device?

[@aliceinmansonland448]

@@MashTec I have the retroid pocket, and the Retroid definitely boots faster. The OS is the same, but has a Retroid logo instead of Pandora. Same store, same ROMs. The Retroid Dual Boots, so you can also play Android games like AM2R. Everything else is pretty much the same, and I love hooking it up to the big screen!

[@willhe5564]

I wanna say the Powkiddy A19 came first, maybe a chicken or egg debate, as the first round was called "Super Retro Handheld"... I'd say the Retroid Pocket was later, as it gave option for dual boot, versus the Pandora based only version found in the A19/SRH. Some people also debate is it "Pandora Games Mini" or "Pandora Game S Mini", but that's here nor there. Excellent video here, I was wondering how to add my own games, as even the marketplace doesn't offer English games most of the time... I was scared or hesitant on messing with the SD card, I'm not sure if it's internal or externally based software, so I'm grateful to finally see a helpful video besides what is already assumed or detailed in the manual. Emulation really wasn't too bad, so I'd be happy to try it out properly, I'm not sure if it is an emulation problem, or the files themselves sometimes, leading to glitchy gameplay, or none at all. I'm not sure if we can flash Android, or put dual boot on this one, I'm assuming it's built the same as the Retroid Pocket, just nomenclature and branding the only real differences.

[@aliceinmansonland448]

@@MashTec You'll also notice that the store has some really good Romhacks! So I don't think they had legality in mind. Who can tell who ripped off whom in Chinaland. I just try to enjoy the darn things and let lawyers sort their own BS.

[@MashTec]

Thanks for your feedback dude. I definitely missed the option to boot into the Android OS too. That would have opened up so many more options with this device.

[@christianrink9172]

Hi, i did everything, but i can't see the external games management. But on my sd card the batch_update_game_support_features text file is missing.

[@MrDmoney156]

the device that Soulja Boy tryin to sell under his label lol

[@thedeparted_one]

Any idea how to get the Advance Wars in English? The GBA emulator does not seem to work properly.

[@herbz2hot2]

I don't have external games management setting

[@johnsnow8502]

Hi you Know how update with pc with SP flash tool

[@spyghetti]

Does this have a mame emulator already and if so is there a way to see which version of mame?

[@piehnoharmony]

I got this exact same device but instead of it being name the Powkiddy A19, it's called the Retroid Pocket. Mine has two problems 1) the Retroid OS does not show any games, so I have to rely on booting to android just to play games. 2) I cannot get the Dreamcast emulator reicast to configure the controller, so I can't play any Dreamcast games even when I got the Dreamcast bios working correctly. I bought this thing just so I can play marvel vs Capcom 2 on the go, sucks that it's not working correctly for me.

[@guilhermemonsserrocco2305]

Hi, I know that are 6 months after your video, but nowadays, do you still recommends this device?

[@MashTec]

Hey dude, yes i can still recommend it. In the price are of this device there ain‘t much competitors. There is the RG351 that emulates systems with the same speed and has a really good built quality. It can be an alternative to the A19 if you prefer the landscape layout and better buttons (the A19 lags of shoulder buttons). But compared to it, the A19 comes with HDMI-out, internal WiFi and Bluetooth and a store to download Roms for free.

[@fernandaraphaela4313]

@@MashTec add several roms and everything fine but it does not recognize snes roms, please help, what can I do?

[@MashTec]

@@fernandaraphaela4313 Hi dude, sounds bad. What file extension do your SNES roms have? There are two different kinds. I think .smc should work (not sure about .sfc). Also, if you have them in a .zip archive, unzip them before you copy them over to your device. Best of success!

[@PG-gs5vb]

Not too bad but there seems to be some screen tearing going on. Not sure if it's the emulators, the HDMI output or the device in general.

[@MashTec]

Yes, you‘re right. It‘s pretty obvious to see in the video, but i wasn‘t quite sure where it comes from. I only saw that on HDMI-out, not on the device itself. And i used a screen capture card to record the output in parallel. What you see in the video is the output of the capture card. So A19 -> HDMI-out -> CaptureCard -> Monitor. I need to test without the capture card to exclude it ( i think the screen tearing comes from the card).

[@crazypeeps8641]

So you get a pc sd card?

[@nellifast8930]

Cool

[@johnsnow8502]

Hi my firmware it s a debug version so i Can t add game do you Know where i Can find firmware thanks

[@MashTec]

Sorry dude, i haven‘t found any custom firmware yet.

[@finopser]

My A19 doesn't have the "External Games Management" option. Does anyone know how to fix this? Does it need a firmware update? The game store is also down now, so I can't download any games

[@josebenicio8155]

Me too

[@bigemugamer]

'YESes' - HDMI out, a b 'C' x y and 'Z' buttons nice, beautiful looking UI 'NOes' - no second analogue stick (with L3 R3), no 4 shoulder buttons, no second micro sd card slot, analogue stick is NO flush with the device like rg350M/P, no OTG port for 4 port USB hub (4 wired x-box 360 controllers, I'm NOT buying 4 new wireless controllers) no USB-C instead USB micro, no powerful enough for Game Cube or PS2... To many 'NOes' and not enough 'YESes' for me to consider this device. =/ Great review BTW, as always really appreciate it.

[@bigemugamer]

yeah long start up time and mono speaker is also a 'NOes'. the hi-res screen is a good 'YESes' though.

[@MashTec]

Yes, it has downside too. Depends on what you need or expect from the device ;) Actually, you won‘t find many devices out there that will be able to emulate Game Cube or PS2. Most devices have there limits at PSP or Dreamcast, right now. I personally ain‘t a big fan of the vertical design, i like the horizontal more, but this one has a great design and HDMI out is seldom, as well as a built in Game store. That‘s the big plus i see this device. Still, will not become my favorite :) so, i share most of your points with you dude.

[@MashTec]

Thanks for sharing your opinion with me :)

[@bigemugamer]

@@MashTec I've been looking at these devices since 2000 but never bought one. the closest I've had to a portable emulation gaming device (or a handheld gaming device for that matter) was my long lost Sony Xperia Play which I only had for a year before losing it out of a pocket. I did buy the original RG350 (2 hours before a leaked video of the RG350M hit you tube) as it had a LOT of what I wanted in a portable emulation device and it's (almost) AMAZE-BALLZ for everything up to PS1 emulation, and that will tie me over till I can get what I REALLY want, a device that can emulate everything up to the 6th generation of Gaming consoles, so dreamcast, gamecube and PS2. 2020 brought us N64, dreamcast, even limited post 6th gen consoles like Wii and PSP were working, and as I predicted 2021 would be the year we get PS2 and Game Cube as well as dreamcast and everything below it as provided in the AMD Ryson powered AYA NEO but that device is WAY BEYOND anything that should come out this year... IT EMULATES PS3 FOR GAWD'S SAKE and as a result is WAT too expensive for what I want, but now, FINALLY... gone are the days people spit out at me, "WUT!? PS2 emulation in a portable gaming device!? You're living in a dream world bigemugamer!! A FRIGGIN DREAM WORLD!!" I am excited for the Experimental Pi builds and am waiting for a... Pi5c++ or something like that, which is slightly less powerful and more affordable than the NEO. I did buy a Pi 3b+ with a Nes Pi Case+ IN 2019 and it's awesome to use on the road in my Chevy Avalanche XTL's 7 inch monitor via the composite connections through the Pi's 3.5" A/V port. 4 wired x-box 360 controllers utilizing both frontseat and backseat monitors is a hoot! as a result the simplicity of Pi vs these stand alone devices will prolly make me lean to a future Experimental Pi device, especially since the leaked diagrams display both a vertical AND horizontal device. Ya i know... i DO tend to carry on =P

[@bigemugamer]

@@MashTec Thx for the response, keep the amazing content coming and have yourself a super awesome day! =D

[@mehdibabin5139]

I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Mashtec, but would you consider answering me on your ultimate solution for RG350M (Simple Menu) ? I posted a comment yesterday or so and I can't do it without you... I do understand that this comment has no place on this video, so you can delete as soon as you read it (if you get to it). Thanks again for all of this (community by reviews, many tutorials on the same console, always very clear, advices, updates and all these clearly non-lucrative gestures. Oh, and this new version seems amazing !

[@bigemugamer]

It's Supreme Kai Mashtec... not Lord, a simple mistake anyone could make. Also you're not bothering him, Supreme Kai Mashtec will provide an audience to anyone who wishing one. ^_^

[@MashTec]

Absolutely Yes! I take care for my childs here :D

[@MashTec]

I read your comment and i’m glad we could fixed your issue. Enjoy your device bro ;)

[@joaopaulosantosnicoletti100]

Can you connect a ps4 controller????

[@MashTec]

Sorry dude, can‘t tell you since i don‘t have a PS4 controller. But should be possible via bluetooth.

[@おうま-r1b]

HDMIで映像は出ましたが、ゲーム音が全くしません。💦

[@glennshoemake4200]

Its definitely a step in the right direction, with bluetooth, but I'm not a fan of this form factor.

[@MashTec]

Actually, i‘m also more a fan of the horizontal layout ;) e.g. like the Retroid Pocket 2

[@vk4521]

Can i play android games in it like pubg

[@MashTec]

Hey dude, theoretically YES. But unfortunately this device does not support dual boot, so you can‘t boot into the Android system itself in order to download games from the PlayStore for example. Same with .opk files. There is no way to install them from the firmware that comes along with the device.

[@vk4521]

Then downloading android games in tf card and then installing in a19

[@ares9304]

Big mistake on the ram. 1gb is barely enough for android, 512mb was a very bad choice...

[@MashTec]

I agree. This device could benefit a lot if it had more Ram. Some bigger and more demanding titles have problems loading up is what i recognized when i played around when i added own roms. Like you suggested, 1GB would be a good choice.

[@jnkmal9519]

Great video! Can you connect a hub to the OTG so you can use 2 controllers? Actually, can you even use 2 controllers at all? Can you use 2 bluetooth controllers simultaneously?

[@MashTec]

These are good questions! Actually, i haven‘t tested with multiple controllers. But i expect it to work. The use of a USB hub should work for wired controllers as well as multiple bluetooth controllers. But i‘d need to verify that.

[@jnkmal9519]

@@MashTec Finally got mine. The OTG works fine. I can even use keyboard and mouse which makes setting things up much easier. I need some help though. I have the dual boot android version which doesn't come with pandora installed. Retroid 2 has the option to install it via the toolbox, but mine is missing the "Install Retroid Pocket app" option. If anyone can help me find what I need to get this pandora mode running I would be very grateful. My sc has a 26G "games" folder and i can't do anything with it. :(

[@kici5777]

Wish it had Linux. 🥲

[@MashTec]

Yes me too, but under the hood a Android system is pretty close to linux since the OS is based on it. It opens up a few comfort options and is more user friendly, but also comes with a lot of unnecessary overhead.