A Rare and Fascinating Handheld [ZPG A1 Unicorn]

The upcoming ZPG A1 Unicorn is a small-batch handheld with some surprisingly solid build quality and decent performance for its $130 price point. Let's do a deep-dive review to see if this is worth adding to your collection.

Purchase links (not live yet):

This was a review unit sent to me by the manufacturer. All opinions are my own, they did not see this review ahead of time, and no money was exchanged in any way.

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:14 unboxing and impressions
02:45 ZPG vs RG Cube
04:50 controls testing
10:53 audio test and ergonomics
14:06 size, weight, and screen
17:25 software experience
20:05 retro game performance
23:05 benchmarks
24:28 high-end performance
30:11 GameCube and PS2
33:32 summary (likes and dislikes)
36:25 comparisons and conclusion

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This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

#ZPG #Anbernic #retrohandheld #emulation #retrogaming

[RetroGameCorps]

Small correction: I was running PSP at a 2x resolution in my testing, not native resolution. The screen is so small that I didn't discern between the upscale and native resolutions -- my apologies. The assessment still stands, but at a higher upscale-- most games will run well at that 2x resolution, with some slowdown in heavyweight games.

[markalexander]

I love it when you review the lesser known things. Please do some more in the future.

[turnbasedtoddy]

There’s one thing that Ambernic does that I absolutely love and that’s that they color the bezels on the screen to match the device color so it looks almost like it doesn’t have any bezels. It just comes off as so much nicer looking than the unicorn. I wish more companies would do that.

[TheCaused]

The shirt! Op Ivy and Rancid are two of the best bands ever!!!!

[DemocracyJones]

Release the Z-Pocket video! Even if it's something most of your audience can't buy it would still be a fascinating watch 😊

[KlausNESio]

Operation Ivy! I see a man of good taste

[VladNerd]

Another amazing video, Russ!

I always wondered about the Unicorn. You've answered a lot of my question. ❤

[Cremeaphrodisiaque]

An Operation Ivy fan! And I thought you couldn't be more awesome!

[JulianLeonBaroi]

It's similar to the story of the invention of radio frequency. (Yes, the "Chicken & Egg" story is also identical.)
"Radio Frequency" was invented by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose but Guglielmo Marconi presented it first. So, people around the world thought that Marconi was the inventor but the actual story is another. 🤔

As "AYANEO Pocket Micro" also has the "MTK Helio G99" chipset, the performance will be similar to this "ZPG A1 Unicorn", I guess. 🤔

Love from Bangladesh ❤🇧🇩

[CarterDotson]

Oh yes, I've been waiting for a review of this!

[andrerobberts]

30:25 just made my entire day... NBA Street! Thanks Russell! Its the little things that count ❤️

[ctrigart]

“Unicorn” with no release or presale as of yet.
Been waiting lol.

Also great review Russ!

[MrSquirrelchan]

Hey Russ, just some thought, but at 550k subs maybe we can get a review video with chefs clothes and hat on? 😅 bonus footage making a recipe?

[blairchristopher]

I caught the Jawbreaker shirt a few episodes ago and the Op Ivy shirt in this one. Turns out Russ is a 90/00s old school punk like me.

[jonraymondchua]

A breath of fresh air ( I kinda have an Anbernic fatigue😂, too many releases) ..i think it is okay based on the G99 chipset..Hope the retail version is better.. still wishing that you feature the original Resident Evil 4 on one of these :)

[jarrodwhite]

Stop this war!
Unicorn, as one stand together
Unicorn, evolution’s gonna come

[lordgeyik]

Unicorn is like the new Gameforce Chi. Weird underdog with a unique charm.

[DeathMetalThrasher]

I saw the ads for them on aliexpress 2 weeks ago. I like the transparent purple, I wish the cube had a transparent shell model

[EmeraldStargazer]

Wow! Operation Ivy t-shirt was unexpected.. Nice!

[jierenzheng]

That's what I have always felt for me about why people want grips this way for quite a few handhelds. It makes it hard to reach for the D pad unless your layout is more diagonal to rather vertical for many handhelds.