RetroFlag GPi Case Review - Raspberry Pi Zero Emulation Handheld

[@voteDC]

I could see myself buying this, playing with it for about a week, and then putting it down never to touch it again.

[@Saxie81]

Especially when most of us have phones *insert Diablo immortal meme here*, that will play damn near everything.

[@citizenterra]

@@Saxie81 i personally like separating the two. Same with my music collection. My phones battery is saved for social media, photo taking, and browsing net and KZbin. So having a dedicated gaming and music device makes sense to mem

[@TakoiKadoozle]

@@citizenterra I'm with YOU on this one, Terra. I hate using one mobile device for everything. The only device I want to have everything for, is a device that is connected to my TV and sound system at my house. I prefer a different device music/gaming and socialmedia/KZbin. The battery in my phone will die before midday, am I right?

[@aedonbokkes8146]

Such high quality video, no annoying background music, concise, and well paced! Consider me subscribed!

[@DoesntMatterTheAt]

i have watched a ton of GPi videos this week. but i feel this has been the best one yet. i appreciate the comparisons to the 300 and the bittboy, and you have shown very good pros and cons. i had already watched other videos you had done during the week, but this one made me a subscriber. awesome work!

[@jimmygillard]

Love my gpi. Always wanted to make one myself, this takes the pain out the process.

[@Maurilustrador]

Instant Nostalgia with that Mystic Quest theme there... Nice review, I love the way your videos are build and structured :)

[@Metaphor9696]

I would love to see a CM3 Module in one of these. I would buy it for mine for sure

[@LatchedBuffalo]

Rob Grey theres a pre order for a mod

[@Metaphor9696]

@@LatchedBuffalo can you provide me with a link to it? Much appreciated

[@svcross-do]

Can't wait to see more of your videos. Keep it up!

[@mzterzi]

Your reviews are fantastic

[@leecollins5479]

i would love to see retroflag make a gba case that doesnt cost the earth like the other case out there

[@leecollins5479]

problem solved! i bought an lcl one for cheap

[@ced214]

I just got my 2nd vita &This is my next handheld then I will get a switch lite black Friday 😎

[@buddyfx7026]

Bro, beastin' on this review! Like the tag out, too! Legit want one now as a result of your video and I already have a gameshell, odroid go, switch and gpd xd plus lolz

[@danelectr]

Ordered mine yesterday! Tnx for the review..

[@leecollins5479]

i love my gpi case! theres a great image on the gpi case users group on facebook

[@IcoKirov]

with a bit of work you can switch the AA batteries with a Li-ion/polymer battery. all you need is the battery, a small pcb that is used to recharge the battery, and a bit of soldering skills.

[@kmtb2011]

very comprehensive review!

[@PixelisedPaul]

I was all for buying one of these because I have a couple of Pi Zero's, but thanks to the lack of availability here in the UK for months on end, I ended up buying the RG350 which I received today. The only real benefits of the Pi Zero in this form factor is Pico-8 (which I love) and more support in terms of emulators, but I think RG350 has a good deal of momentum behind it.

[@MisterSouji]

Waiting on a gamegear/nomad version

[@ogami1972]

honest question: why would i choose to do this project vs buying an rg350? I'm very close to making that purchase, so...

[@thev1010]

As the raspberry pi zero w is a few years old and the Rg350 is a new GPU and CPU i would assume that the RG350 would have better performance. if you are looking for an amazing handheld look into the waveshare Gamehat on amazon. You have to buy a raspberry pi 3B+ but it plays 99% of games. Performance on the Raspberry pi 3b+ is really amazing and i would recommend. www.amazon.com/Game-HAT-Raspberry-Pi-Portable/dp/B07NY34SMY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=waveshare+game+hat&qid=1572481392&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQjBKODdXOUtOSlc1JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDUwNjcwMUtDSkMxTTRGOUQ4RiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzc4ODYwMUM3QVRCR0dLVkxZQiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[@Ti0Luch0]

If you are looking for the final retro handheld, you should wait for a while. The new pocket go is coming and analog is releasing a new handheld too. This device will suit you just fine for Nes to GBA, but it uses AA batteries, that's the let down.

[@lostGash]

The appeal here, in my opinion, is the fact that you'll have complete control over the computer inside. Because the raspberry pi has so much other software support, you can expect to be able to run stuff other than just the emulators without any hassle. For example, I'm running the Raspberry Pi Linux version of Pico-8 on my GPi that allows me to download and play the entire library of Pico-8 games from inside the program. This currently isn't possible on RG350, and you have to rely on a Pico-8 emulator to play games you've already downloaded elsewhere. I'm sure I'll be able to add other programs to my GPi as well, as long as they run on Raspbian.

[@CrashNicker]

I actually have to mention that while RetroPie and Pegasus are quite a fancy combo, they're way too bulky for devices like the RPi0. Lakka's soooo much better in terms of booting and game loading speeds, but only if you're alright with sacrificing a few platforms.

[@eldontyrellcorp]

This is a very nice little system, but is let down by the choice if 3xaa batteries and poor battery life. I also have an rg-300/350 and a Freeplay zero. At the end the Freeplay zero is also a viable option (for those who like some medium level modding) as it offers a better battery life, 4 buttons + more practical L+R, the same raspberry pi 0 support (or the much more powerful cm3 module). And then yes, it's more expensive and the gpi case is so easy to use and "build". My own choice for every day use is either the rg-350 or rg-300, then the gpi case and the Freeplay zero.

[@justjoeblow420]

A compute module adapter for this case would make it nearly perfect for my needs as I wouldn't mind a device I can run some retro computer emulators on and the GPD Win line is way in the hell out of my price range otherwise I would have one all ready.

[@shalahmadi]

Does the RG 350 support Net play also? Thanks for your review.

[@shalahmadi]

@Alex BeyerOk, Thanks

[@stardust-kyun]

More Raspberry Pi builds please!

[@Pfahli94]

Instead of the Eneloops I can recommend the IKEA Ladda 2450mAh, they are basically the same as the Eneloops Pro, but cost way less (around 8$ per pack of four)

[@2012JvN]

Eneloops are just a few cent more expensive. For a few cents I don't prefer noname crap. Especially not from a furniture shop.

[@Pfahli94]

@@2012JvN Wow, you pay a few cents over 8€ for Eneloop Pros? Whos your eneloop guy? Where I come from, they cost 16-20€ per pack while the identical ikea ones cost 8€. It has been scientifically proven over and over again that the Ladda 2450s are exactly identical in performance and capacity, but if I can get Eneloop Pros for that cheap, I'll go with those. Otherwise I'll stick with the "noname crap".

[@ASAN2042]

It's a neat little device. But I dislike the dpad... when pushing down, it forces me right or left and that's a big big bummer on certain games.. contra in particular!

[@corymatews9975]

We need retropie for the raspberry pi 4. And something like this compatible with the raspberry pi 4 not the zero ☹️

[@PiotrPilinko]

And a huge power source for RPi4...

[@zoltanm687]

Hi Taki, can the Pi Zero be replaced with banana Pi or Orange Pi are those support the same retropi emulation? thnx

[@thunderboydavid]

The RetroStone!!!!

[@stiggievandell]

I bought this 4 years ago and it hasn't been touched in 3 years lol. I bought Duracell rechargable batteries for it and they were the worst ever, im pretty sure they are bootleg even though I got them from Amazon. Anyway due to that I never had a good experience with the gpi. Also I got the non wifi pi zero, which due to the lack of having access to a usb port is absolutley not good to use with the gpi. I had to jungle the sd card into a pi3 to get things on it over the network (yes the pi3 starts up with a pi0 setup sd card, it doesn't function fully right, but it does turn on and you can network access it.) I took it out yesterday and decided it needs some love, but first im figuring out if it's possible to add a usb in, I really need one on it.

[@AmigaVR]

Nice.. I would love a mini game gear casing.

[@winandd8649]

So what IS the boot time for this Retropie setup? (TMHO the rpi zero can be called fairly underpowered for this?)

[@ivangh94]

There are many better options for gaming on an small device. But this is great if you want to build you own modular game console. I love my Miyoo Mini V2 but i going to get this just for fun.

[@Captainsting]

I have a modded ps vita slim. Should i get this, rg 300 or rg 350?

[@joostvanpoppel]

Just wondering; how long can you play with one full battery-charge?

[@xerxesdacat]

This needs external usb ports, its impossibly hard to load roms, very cumbersome to do. Loading roms cannot be done unless you have wifi and a wifi laptop, using a tablet ipad or android. The HDMI and USB ports are blocked, someone needs to design and 3D print a better cartridge case with these openings. This could easily be a really good pocket pc in a gameboy form factor, but its a miss due to poor bluetooth connectivity (have to re-pair previously paired devices and sometimes it flat out refuses.

[@AndrewAHayes]

I wonder how hard/easy it would be to use a Rpi 3 compute card with this?

[@gowgearhead]

Taki, quick question. Is it possible to run Wonderswan on Pi Zero? I've been asking ETA Prime for over 2 years now and nothing from him. Hopefully you can (please) help?

[@papaduz9100]

Does someone know if it's possible to start and wake up a blank screensaver with a button combination? Is there some kind of configuration possibility on retropie in that direction. It would be awsome if it wouldn't be necessary to power it off every time when it's necessary to put it away only for some minutes.

[@CementRoots]

never late than never??... comeon kid, geeez

[@EURIPODES]

Where is the image link?

[@Spelis]

Does the gpi case 1 support the pi 2w

[@nelsonquinney9869]

Analogue Pocket, rs-97, X9, Odroid, Nintendo Switch Lites, Gameboy Advance And At Games

[@dennischen8887]

What do you think of the custom LCL gameboy with 3b/3a? would be cool if you can get your hands on one and compare to the gpi case.

[@TakiUdon]

It's happening

[@dennischen8887]

@@TakiUdon Cool, can't wait for the review

[@halenstoreches4730]

Mine froze up how do i safely shut down if its frozen?

[@MarillMau5]

You sold me!

[@hectomortus]

watching this video with growing satisfaction and then BOOM 💥 he's using windows to program the Pi 😂

[@Kaptinkaptink10]

you got ff7 running? do you know how to do disc changes?

[@tigrewulph]

Has anyone made a portable hand held with the 4? It'd obviously be bigger but I don't think it'd be unwieldy or unpocketable.

[@mannkeithc]

The AFUNTA Screen Protectors for Ricoh GR II, 2 Pack Anti-scratch Tempered Glass Protective Films for DSLR Digital Camera, are a perfect fit the GPi case screen. I've fitted one to my GPi case and it works well. The link is for Amazon in the UK, but this product is also available from Amazon in the US. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073QLP4FP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@jimpayne9488]

I’m surprised you like the speaker. I get a lot of static hiss and crackling out of mine. And headphone use is almost unbearable.

[@citizenterra]

Why no one ever reviews the battery life on these things? How is the battery life with the rechargeable batteries?

[@TakiUdon]

:( those things are largely dependent on the actual batteries you buy for this.

[@citizenterra]

@@TakiUdon that is true but at least if you mention what you used (how many mahs) and how long they lasted it would give us a ballpark :P Love your reviews btw but neither you or any other emulators reviewer ever mentions battery life for any device. Battery life for me is important because most of the usage will be on long plane flights and in transit lounges or while on the road. But they are especially important for people who love to play old school RPG games :D

[@japanesemickeymouse6694]

is there a atari 2600 emulator for it ?

[@fajrdn]

The dpad is very wiggly compared to old version. I hate that...

[@ianhanawalt1907]

Replace the stock dpad with a Gameboy pocket dpad, it's much less wiggly but you'll need a strong thumb since it's so firm. I got mine off kitsch-bent, and there are tutorial videos on youtube.

[@Ti0Luch0]

how much time does the battery give you? 4 hours with snes?

[@TakiUdon]

I went through three sets of different ones. My power on time ranges from 1-5 hours.

[@Ti0Luch0]

@@TakiUdon well that sucks, could you give me the mAh of each set? i think the information will be useful for a lot of us.

[@TakiUdon]

@@Ti0Luch0 my best set has an mAh of 2k, but they are Chinese so that could be a lie.

[@chomp7927]

Check out the user group on Facebook, folks have had best success with certain brands there, you can get recommendations there with how long they last, I'm doing quite well with the Amazon brand hi cap rechargeables

[@naliboi93]

does the GPI case have any form of video out?

[@TakiUdon]

Not via hardware

[@rottie6900]

Taki, I'm a newbie on this! How do I download an image for my Pi?

[@TakiUdon]

Hello, go on the discord that I linked on this video and you'll see images that you can download.

[@rottie6900]

@@TakiUdon So all I have to do it click on them and it will download for me?

[@TakiUdon]

@@rottie6900 yeah, you can use the torrent links or Megaupload. I got all of mine via torrent.

[@dsharpbb09]

Battery life compared to others?

[@TakiUdon]

Less than the 350 and 350H

[@lightspeed-qv9fk]

Will there be an updated LDK?

[@TakiUdon]

Yes

[@lightspeed-qv9fk]

@@TakiUdon Gotta start saving money..

[@robbufford]

Recalbox is better than retropie for the gpi case

[@lexbeltran1354]

Does it have any Zelda games?

[@TakiUdon]

The image that I used in this guide has Zelda games.

[@johnwongtw1]

99.99%

[@tokyojam9688]

Another review I saw said it won’t run ps1 but you’re seems to lol

[@TheHummChannel]

100%

[@Stella-ri5ex]

nowadays..anything smaller than 3.5" is too small..

[@kobeneilson6717]

Do you have a discord

[@TakiUdon]

I hang out in the retro handheld discord

[@MrRamazanLale2]

99.98%

[@realkraqqen]

Budget build??? Buy the rg350 all the way

[@esmith13]

For those of you that long for 3B+ Pi Power in the GPi case (and live under a rock) see here: twitter.com/RgRDev/status/1189569065263628288?s=20 I have already preordered mine! Preorder Link: t.co/FPGksOa6GR?amp=1

[@Grifter]

Yo your bittboy is fucked my light leak is nothing like that. Maybe that is something to do with the older versions mine is the 3.5.

[@Alejandro-bg8ei]

Low cost? Really?

[@TakiUdon]

It's almost as good as an RG 350 at a fraction of the cost.

[@Alejandro-bg8ei]

Uhm, I don't think so, RG350 costs around 70€ (here in Spain) and can run many PSX games. The retroflag kit is for 100€, it has fewer buttons for PSX but it does not work well because this platform is a RPI ZERO, this RPI has a rather poor emulation, 16 bits down, having some problems with SNES games, which The RG350 is left over.

[@TakiUdon]

@@Alejandro-bg8ei Well, I don't live in Spain. This device is cheaper than the RG350 pretty much anywhere.

[@birdqueer7231]

I just want a gaming case for a regular pi with dual analog and 2 sets of triggers...I dont care if its faaaat

[@pacman10182]

not with that layout it's not

[@sale1991]

That is not best. The best is psp!