Why buying this $200 device is the best thing I did last year
Writing about a gaming device... you would be thinking that I must be quite the gamer. However, the reality is quite the contrary. Being a car guy through and through, even the games that I play are predominantly driving or racing ones. That said, there are other games that I've enjoyed from young - from the Pokemon titles on Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance to the RPG games on Playstation 2 (PS2) and rhythm games such as DJ Max on the Playstation Portable (PSP), these were the games that kept me occupied during my childhood and teenage years. And it is why I ended up buying the device you see here - the Retroid Pocket 3+!
So, what is the Retroid Pocket 3+? It is an android-powered handheld console that is relatively affordable, and is made predominantly for running emulators. You see, software developers and retro game aficionados quickly realised that the powerful Android mobile devices could be made to run emulator software, which would allow you to emulate retro console games. In the past, you would require a proper gaming PC to run Playstation 2 games. However, mobile hardware has became powerful enough to do so these days.
But there still presents a serious issue - your powerful smartphone does not have physical buttons and analog sticks for an enjoyable gaming experience. And this is where the a device such as the Retroid Pocket 3+ comes in - it looks like a smaller Nintendo Switch lite, and it has all the buttons you'll need for retro gaming. While it's hardware isn't able to run all Playstation 2 games smoothly, it is still able to handle quite a fair bit. And the best part is that it isn't prohibitively expensive!
Being an Android device means that it will run many native Android applications and games, such as the Grand Theft Auto 3/Vice City/San Andreas trilogy (these were originally PS2 games!). Of course, you can also run apps such as Youtube and other media players (sadly Netflix isn't supported), which means that it'll double up as a media player as well.
But you don't really buy one of these to play Android games, it really is in its element when you are a fan of retro games.
Want to play Pokemon? You'll be glad to know that Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance emulation are easily achievable by almost any hardware these days. In fact, the Retroid Pocket 3+ will even run some Nintendo 3DS games!
The most amazing thing about retro game emulation is the fact that I can now play my favourite home-console title on the go. Youngsters these days probably wouldn't be able to understand it as they are well too familiar with the capabilities of the smart devices in recent times. But in the early 2000s, where the PS2 was the most advanced console in the market, we had to set up the console, connect it to the TV, and play these games with wired controllers. But now, I can play my favourite PS2 JRPG game on the go. I don't even have to be made to play till I find a save point (RPG gamers would understand...) - the emulator comes with a save-state function that allow you to start the game from the exact point as and when you want to.
With these functions, you can really enjoy the flexibility - drove 5 out of 10 laps in Gran Turismo and you feel like taking a break? Sure, just create a save-state, and pick it up again when you want to.
It's kind of funny how I chanced upon this device - I was actually contemplating the repair of my old PSP for nostalgia sake, then I read about how such devices can not only emulate the PSP smoothly at upscaled resolution, resulting in sharper images, but also capable of much more. I've since gotten the Retroid Pocket 3+ and never looked back.
The portability of the device also made it an excellent travel buddy. Being so easy to pick up and just start gaming, I've spent countless hours on it since the day I received it. My only gripe is that the Retroid Pocket 3+ could be a little more powerful, as it has some trouble running quite a fair bit of PS2 titles among others. That said, the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro packing almost twice the performance of the 3+ was recently announced, and I am contemplating getting it....
Are you also into gaming or retro gaming? Feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations! If you aren't familiar with retro gaming, but would like to get something after reading this post of mine, feel free to comment as well, I would be happy to share what I know with you!
- Zhi Xuan
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