2 Weeks with Analogue Pocket - Review and Impressions

I'm reviewing the Analogue Pocket after having played nothing but Fire Emblem for the last 2 weeks. Also might make some people angry with what I've got to say.

[thecamobot]

*Some notes!*

Over a year later I like the Pocket more than I did when I first got it, but I wish I got a dock with mine haha.

Analogue did end up replacing the screen in my pocket and covered the shipping back and forth, factory issues happen but it did take a while.

Also worth noting my POV is from a Canadian that had to ship it and deal with extra fees, exchange rates, etc. The price is harder to justify up here.

I still stand by most of what I said here. I'm pretty picky about buttons and that sort of thing and much prefer the feel of original hardware but I still use my Pocket for all of my GB games now.

Also if you happen to use the GC to GBA link cable you have to rip the grips out of the plug, that and a few things like the small triggers make the Pocket feel more like an awesome GB/C than a GBA.

Hope that at least adds a bit more context to this old slapdashed review, Cheers!

[itranscendencei]

I really appreciate the honest video. Been on the fence about getting one for a while now, but I'm definitely good on it now. Inconsistent tolerances on the D-Pad like you mentioned are usually a deal breaker for me. The Analog Pocket is way too damn expensive for that to be acceptable.

[mamaluigi]

While i do agree with everything on the price side, The thing i like about my analogue is the pickup and play experience being greater than anything i have (after i set up the console) while still feeling incredibly high quality and having a good screen. There is no massive tweaking needed for getting what i want, and every console i used has a "perfect" setting in my perspective. There could be more to ask about from this handheld, but in general of playing old games in a portable way, i think this is the best for me.
btw, i do not have any cartridges to use on my pocket.

[viridionwaves]

I own an Analogue and several original gameboys. I feel like the analogue's main advantage is that it plays real carts from multiple systems (gameboys, game gear, and in the future tg16, and a few others with adaptors) on top of that it connects to a dock so you can play original carts on your tv with wireless controllers. The screen is also amazing. However, for this flexibility in playing original carts, you have to accept the buttons which some people don't like (i find them a bit too high, but not clicky enough). They are not as soft, smooth, and low-travel as og gameboy advance buttons. They feel a slight bit higher and they arent as tightly settled in. They rattle and move around a little/feel loose which i don't like, but its not a huge deal to me. The og gameboy advance buttons dont rattle or move as much and feel better.

Also, I dont use save states because i have heard some things from people online. They sometimes work and sometimes not, or mess up your save files. Since it's not reliable, it's not a great feature. Fairplay to them, they are running the game off of the original cart which was never meant to run off of save states, so on a technical level, I'm sure it has challenges.

The screen filters are great, and if you want to be able to make it look like any version of gameboy, that's cool.

However, it's not very convenient to use as an emulator with rom files, because that's not its intended purpose (its main purpose is to play OG carts).

An actual emulator handheld will be far more convenient with the quality of life features like save states, save backups, many different and more powerful systems, and longer battery... A modern emulator handheld can also have a good screen, though many dont match the quality and modes on analogue. Though keep in mind, those modes only work with OG carts, not rom files. The company plans to bring that functionality to playing rom files as well, but its not currently possible.

If you dont care about having original cart compatibility, an emulator handheld will probably be better for convenience, price, usefuleness, and quality of life. Hell, I'm thinking about buying one just to compare. The only thing I worry about is having perfect integer scaling for the resolution (or a high res screen) and no input lag. Things which analogue doss well with. Still, if I'm actually playing OG carts, I might as well play in my modded GBA SP with an IPS screen.

For having a handheld that plays files, I'd be more comfortable carrying around a cheaper modern emulator than the expensive pocket (which doesnt have a single good skin-like case/protector, all you can find are display cases or travel bags).

[ecmyersvids]

Thank you for this! Almost every review I've seen focuses on how amazing the screen is, but doesn't talk much or at all about the buttons — and I think those make or break a handheld system like this. D-pads in particular are important for these old games, and I'm very picky about them, so I appreciate you pointing out potential flaws here. I think I will stick with my original and modded Game Boys.

[cjs_gaming_channel]

I personally love my glow in the dark analogue pocket. It's my first time ever owning one of their devices and I mainly play GB, GBC, & GBA games on the go. It's great this device allows me to play all types on one device. I will still enjoy my handheld collection of the originals, but I can't deny the crispness that the analogue pocket provides. Unfortunately, I shelled out a lot of money to get the one I own on the secondary market, which I wish analogue was better at, but FOMO & the quality of their devices keeps them relevant in the increasing retro community.

[bit-ooff]

I definitely needed this reminder, It was going to be 800$ for me and I last min decided to not do it. I think I will stick with just buying them and playing my SP for now. Thank you!

[jeromebullard]

I was going to buy this before I saw this video. I instead bought a Miyoo Mini+ with onion OS installed on a Samsung SD card. I also purchased a Nintendo switch. I’m super impressed with the Miyoo mini plus! That thing is KILLER!!!! Also, I have an original gameboy with an IPS display and it’s awesome.

[EvilG]

This isn’t the only way to play gb/gbc/gba games on a fantastic screen. The gameboy modding community is amazing - there are absolutely fantastic IPS panels that work with original hardware now.

[joehernandez]

I picked up a transparent purple, reminded me so much of the original game boy color I had as a kid. I like it overall but I do occasionally have issues with save states on physical gba games. Luckily I save in game as well but save states should always work, that’d be my one con.

[wotwathorigl]

thank you so much for this video. just ordered my black pocket yesterday and i am really looking forward to play with this thing even tho i have a modded switch lite with retroarch running so i have the best button and dpad along the ability to play my roms. i have a large cartridge collection to play with (i also have the same gex game lol! ) really nice video mate and thanks for the honest words i hope my dpad on my pocket is nice to play and not as stiff

[unsliner]

I had a clear Gameboy Pocket when I was a kid. Loved that color scheme. I wish emulation consoles would do more original designs instead of the same tired DMG-001 or Super Famicom colors.

[lyianx]

First: I don't dispute that they prey upon FOMO abit. I strongly disagree with them selling the translucent versions after the fact, instead of just selling the shells to them. I was NOT going to buy another entirely system just to get a translucent shell. Of course, that all said, Nintendo did they exact same thing with ALL of their gameboy systems, DS systems & N64. Hell, they are doing it today with the Switch. Microsoft has done it with their 360 and One consoles, and Sony, i think there were a few PS consoles that did this, but not to the same extent. They mostly just did this with controllers.

Second: Generally speaking, they havent been doing just "one run" of their other systems. There have been several of almost all their consoles. I got in on the second or third run of their SuperNT and second run of the pocket. So i dont necessarily think they are limiting their stock for that, but rather they can only produce so much due to how manufacturing queues work. Their Sega and SNES systems were in stock for quite a while, while they quickly sell out of the Pocket. They may increase their orders of the pocket in the future.

Third: FPGA means Field Programmable Gate Arrays. In short, a versatile programmable chip that, unlike every other device, the chip is not programmed for that specific purpose at the factory and ONLY for that purpose. This allows companies like Analogue to program the chip to work exactly like the systems they emulate without relying on software to do the emulation.

Forth: You are right. This system is not for everyone. Most people would not see the value in it as software base emulation (ie the kind Switch Online does) is good enough for them. However one of the reasons (and not a big one mind you) that the library is more limited on software emulation, is because some games out there do not work very well under it. It introduces compatibility problems, glitches, or the performance of the game doesnt match that of the original system (ie, its too fast or too slow, which can mess up your gameplay and timings as some of the timings of the game elements rely on the chip clock). Only a certain kind of gamer will notice some of these issues in software emulation, or those who play those specific games which software emulation doesnt work right. That is Analuges target market here, not really the general public. Which is, i believe also why they dont have loads and loads of stock of their systems.

[davo]

Thanks for the video mate, I saw this thing come out a year ago and it always interested me, but could see that a lot of outlets are simply marketing the product, rather than giving a honest review.

[cavemandan]

Nuanced video, nice job. I debate whether any modded gba can match it in fit, finish, and experience for the price, but that equation changes pretty quickly after analogue’s steep flat shipping fee. I also agree that for the price the inputs should have been perfect, not just pretty good. Overall I don’t regret my purchase either and agree it’s best for folks who have existing cart collections.

[feykroTV]

Got an analogue pocket from the same batch (the transparent green one), and there are a few points from the video I'd like to nuance:
Personally, I've had no problems with build quality/irregularity at all. Maybe it's because I'm tougher with my buttons, but I've encountered none of the mentioned issues. I did feel like the track pad could get "stuck" in a direction, as in if you're transitioning from up to left for example, it might take too long to understand you're not going up anymore.
I find that the device is made primarily with the original GB/GBC in mind. The screen aspect ratio makes it so incredibly great to play these games, I've come to regret that the aspect ratio isn't a bit wider because you don't get quite the same feeling with the GBA, which is nearly the same size as the original GBA.
Another quirk of the device is I found the handling of the triggers to not be super comfortable, that didn't stop me from playing both GBA metroid games, but it contributes to my GB/GBC first feeling.

Overall I love it, perfect retro gaming device with perfect sound, great image quality, great battery and overall great experience.

[mwax]

I just recently was able to secure myself a pocket with their release of the line of “classic” colors. I’m very excited for its arrival. I’ve wanted one since they were announced but have never been able to get one. I’m glad to hear the screen and speakers are good, my biggest problem with my older gameboys has always been the screen not looking right and the sound being too quiet. A couple years ago I was finally able to get a GB Micro, which I’ve wanted since I was a kid, and while it’s very nice I find it too small to use for extended play sessions

[voteDC]

I like reviews from smaller channels as they often have to put their own money up for a system. After all it's a lot easier to be forgiving of a system's flaws when you've received it, and often a few peripherals, free of charge.

What put me off buying the Analogue Pocket was it being FPGA based simply wasn't a big enough draw. Sure FPGA hardware based emulation has the potential to be better than software based emulation but most people aren't going to be able to tell the difference. So the price of the Pocket when it is limited in what it can play by the amount of buttons on the handheld is just far more than what I'd be willing to pay given the wealth of other emulation handhelds that can play everything the Pocket can and far much more.

[ArtistMarkFlynn]

Got this exact same model and absolutely in love with it!

[NerdENerd]

It is a handheld FPGA system. It plays ROMS for Amiga, NeoGeo, SNES, Genesis and a massive amount of arcade games. I don't even care about the GameBoy stuff but I love my Pocket.