Unfortunately, the screen of the Retroid Pocket 2+ is just a little too small to make splitting it for Nintendo DS games worthwhile, so I didn’t bother. I would expect that at the rate both hardware and emulation software is progressing devices towards the end of the year will probably nut those two consoles down. They’re not really playable due to plunging frame rates, which is a pity because I really want to get stuck back into Beach Spikers and Lost Kingdoms. The Android operating system that the console runs on has both GameCube/Wii and PlayStation 2 emulators at this point, but that pushes Retroid Pocket 2+ beyond its limit. Given that I’ve tested around 50 Dreamcast games, 100 N64 games, and dozens of PlayStation One, four misfires, none of which have anything to do with the hardware, is a pretty good hit rate. The same goes for Phantasy Star Collection on the GBA, which experiences some weird graphical distortions, but that has also been the case on every device and emulator I’ve tried to date. This is an issue with the emulator rather than the console, though. In the week I’ve been testing it, I’ve encountered just four games that don’t run right: Sydney Olympics 2000 on the Dreamcast doesn’t load at all (I have no idea why), while Body Harvest and Gauntlet Legends on the Nintendo 64 are a buggy mess. Yes, that means Skies of Arcadia, Soulcalibur, Crazy Taxi and Dead or Alive 2, folks. To start with what the Retroid Pocket 2+ emulates: It does older consoles perfectly, of course, and has been flawless with everything up to and including the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation One/PSP. The fact it’s on the lower end of the price spectrum is icing on the cake.

The Retroid Pocket 2+ – something of a remaster of the already popular Retroid Pocket 2, is the closest to an uncompromised console I’ve encountered so far. They often come close to the standard of the “legitimate” consoles, but are inevitably held back by one or two (or more) issues that remind you that they’re not the product of a large, major corporation. In the time since I started getting into this hobby two years ago, I’ve become familiar with the compromises involved with these devices.

It might be even more than that now, as I’ve grown to rather love this little hobby and I’ve lost count of the number of the things I have. The Retroid Pocket 2+ is my… 20th emulation console.

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