I played mainly home computers back in the day - C64 and Amiga mostly, but looking back I did spend a lot of time at my local arcade too. I think my brother might actually still have the C64 and Amiga in his attic as technically they were his. My first console was a Mega Drive, then got a PS, Dreamcast, PS2, PS3, Wii, Switch, Series S then a Series X. Also have most Nintendo handhelds from original GB through to 3DS. I also bought an Analogue Pocket last year so pretty much exclusively use that for anything GB - GBA rather than the original hardware (and also Game Gear via the adaptor).
I still have everything except the Mega Drive and PS1 (Although I re-bought a Dreamcast years after selling my original so had to start the collection from scratch) and regularly play them to varying degrees as they are all hooked up via various adaptors so I can use them on a PC monitor or TV.
For retro Arcade stuff I tend to play mostly on the Switch as there are loads of collections available, like the Capcom Arcade Stadiums, various Konami collections, Arcade Archive Series etc. Actually playing Contra (arcade) from the collection at the moment between other stuff.
I've no real nostalgia for the likes on NES/SNES so haven't played many of those games apart from the odd game on the Wii/3DS virtual console, although I do have access to quite a few via Switch online subscription.
@dmcc0 cool, I think we spoke about the analogue pocket a few months back on Nintendo life. Incredibly tempting just sadly a tad too expensive for me with the shipping and import tax etc. I think one of those Anbernic hand held will do the job for me, especially as you can plug it into the tv and connect a Ps controller via Bluetooth - so it’s a home console and handheld in one, which is awesome.
I went master system, mega drive, Gameboy, psone and two, onto the 360. I kept my Segas and the Gameboy but have sold everything else each time I moved to the next generation. Still dig out the sega consoles now and then but sadly the Gameboy is no longer working! Should be able to play some of my old games with the Anberbic though so that’s cool.
@BowsersBuddy Yeah, the ability to play on the TV is pretty cool. I wish I'd bought the dock for the Pocket at the same time as the console, but I'm probably not going to bother now as I'm not shelling out for more shipping and import duty - the shipping especially from Analogue is particularly hefty even on relatively small stuff as I think they just charge a flat fee for all overseas stuff ($60 IIRC). With the shipping, duty and the UPS charge, it would likely double the price of the dock.
Do any of those Anbernic handhelds play the actual carts? I vaguely remember seeing something that played either GB or GBA carts, but cant remember if it was Anbernic or something else.
@dmcc0 yeah that’s fair enough, I looked into the dock too but it really Bumped the price up even further. The quality looks fantastic, I just wish they had a UK supplier!
There is an anbernic that plays GBA carts: https://anbernic.com/products/anbernic-k101 and also comes with a pre loaded SD card I believe full of GBA games. It doesn’t take Gameboy or Gameboy colour carts I don’t think.
@BowsersBuddy Nice. I quite like how a lot of them look like old handhelds/controllers too. I actually prefer that layout to the original Game Boy style TBH and would've preferred if the Pocket had that layout too. Would saved me a fair bit of grief from my wife too - "Did you just buy a Game Boy? You spent how much on a Game Boy!?!" 😅 No amount of explanation convinced her it wasn't just an expensive Game Boy. In her mind it looked like it and plays the carts, so its a Game Boy!
@dmcc0 haha! I can imagine a similar conversation if I had gone for one of those too!
I am definitely going to get the RG353PS (I do think they could come up with better names for their devices!…probably doesn’t help that they seem to release a new one every few months)…it does look like the right shape of handheld to me, and being able to plug it into the tv is ideal too. Won’t get to try it till my birthday which is a couple of months off but will let you know how I find it
@dmcc0 ha yeah it’s an odd one. The P is apparently slightly more powerful than the PS, but the PS is the most recent one and is cheaper…so I guess this is the entry model. No idea about any of the others though, they have so many versions now!
@BowsersBuddy With a little help from reddit I think I understand it a little better:
RG= Retro Game
First 2 numbers = Screen Size so 35 = 3.5", 40 - 4.0" etc
Third appears to be the processor type - 3 is newer than 2 etc. 5 seems to be the latest.
P = Plastic, M = Metal, V = Vertical (Game Boy Style), S = Single OS
Nobody seems quite sure what X represents though!
So your RG353PS is a 3.5 inch screen, plastic model with the 3rd Processor variant (whatever that is) and a Single OS (Linux). The non 'P' version has dual OS (Android and Linux) which is likely why its more expensive.
I guess if you know how to decode it, it makes sense, but not exactly intuitive for the average customer I'd say. Not exactly a good look when you have to research the name before buying - although not quite as bad as Xbox naming...
@dmcc0 ahh that does make more sense now! Thanks for that.
I knew I had gone for the less powerful (and more importantly cheaper) option, but as my priority for this is a good collection of 8 and 16 bit games, figured the less powerful one would be fine! Also less complicated as I don’t have to try and figure out which OS to use, and on that point I don’t see myself downloading anything onto it, I will just use what is already installed on it I expect.
@nomither6 sure I think we can consider it retro at this stage, definitely for this conversation anyway! Wow has it really been 20 years? That’s crazy!
Do you play many 360 games these days? I’m currently playing max Payne 3 again, got it in the sale, and really enjoying it. Might pick up a few others at some point. The 360 days sure were a lot of fun.
well, i dont play “many” but, i actually plan to again since ive recently got an hdmi converter for my 360, so now i can play my 360 through my monitor, & let me tell ya - these games still look amazing! im currently playing through gears 1 & 2 , and midnight club LA again and im really enjoying it. its honestly giving me that “wow factor” again in gaming that ive been missing for years now. this current generation just isn’t cutting it for me. 7th generation is my favorite gen and they just don’t make em like they used too. so many games , so much innovation, so many genres and variety .
I playing retro games on my old consoles. I have Dreamcats, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, 3DS, Wii, PSP, PS2, GB Micro, PS One, SNES mini, Sega Mega Drive 2 and garbage famiclone for it. I just don't like emulators.
@nomither6 yeah that’s fair enough. I am definitely enjoying playing some older games - it might be nostalgia to an extent, but yes I do think of the 360 era as a real golden age of gaming.
@AnVold that’s awesome, I still have some of my old consoles too. I think that emulators have their place for those who perhaps don’t have the space etc to store all their old stuff, but ideally playing on the original hardware is great.
@BowsersBuddy yep. I'm totally agree. You can get the best experience on original hardware with original gamepad. But there're a few exceptions, like SNES mini, that can give almost the same experience.
@BowsersBuddy i see that i have max payne 3 downloaded so i might play that after i finish gears 2; i beat gears 1 last night so i might take a break before i start the 3rd game and either try to beat midnight club LA or try max payne 3. both are rockstar games so its all good for me!
I have an Anbernic rg 350m. It is okay but there are better out there. If you do go that route, I suggest building your own rom collection and loading them. The ones it ships with were mostly import versions or low quality.
Steam Deck has become my go to for handheld emulation and I use a Beelink mini-PC for TV. I have the Beelink boot directly to Batocera which is a Linux based operating system designed to look and act like a console experience. Youtube tutorials walked me through that process and it is way easier than it sounds.
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Topic: Retro gamers!
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