Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week, we saw a bunch of news in the world of hardware and software. Our writing team continues to be on an absolute tear, and there’s even a surprise or two sprinkled in! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and catch up on what’s happened this week in the world of Retro Handhelds.
Table of Contents
Hardware
- Retroid Pocket 6 12GB Discontinued, 8GB Price Hike Starts March 2: Less than 24 hours after learning that AYN would be raising prices on both the Thor and Odin 3, while basically putting the Odin 3 Ultra on ice, more grim news was revealed. Retroid confirmed that “the RP6 12GB model will have to be discontinued.” Adding insult to injury, it was also announced that the 8GB Retroid Pocket 6 will see a $15 price increase starting on Monday, March 2.
- AYN Confirms Our Worst Fears for the Thor and Odin 3: A few days after sharing a shipping update following the Chinese New Year’s holiday, AYN returned with another update. Unfortunately, price increases are on the way for both the Thor and Odin 3 starting on March 8.
- Zelda Game & Watch Hacked Into a Tiny Emulation Powerhouse: Leave it to Macho Nacho Productions to show off one of the coolest mods out there. This time around, they tore apart the Zelda Game & Watch, added more RAM and a microSD card slot, turning it into a proper retro handheld.
More Hardware News
- OrangePi Neo Reportedly “On Ice” Thanks to Component Prices
- Banjo-Kazooie Lands on Hyper Mega Tech’s New Rare Edition Super Pocket
- Fully-Funded GameTank Heads Into Production
- You’ll Soon Be Able to Wirelessly Connect Two VMUPros
Apps and Software
- GammaOS on AYANEO Pocket Air Mini: When it comes to Android firmware on retro handhelds, very few can keep up with the one and only Gamma. With work on the RG Vita Pro for Anbernic complete, Gamma has now set his sights on the AYANEO Pocket Air Mini and is making quite a bit of progress.
- SpaghettiKart’s Big 1.0 Update Supercharges Mario Kart 64 on PC: With the Version 1.0 update, the developers added a new, harder CPU difficulty that pushes back, complete with Spiny Shells, Triple Shells, and smarter overall item logic. Not just that, but there are also a boatload of minor fixes and improvements to enhance the experience.
- Myrient Shutting Down: It’s not often that we really talk about ROM sites, unless they’re getting shut down by the government. However, that’s not the case this time, as the video game archive will be shut down on March 31. Reasons include “insufficient funding,” “paywalled download managers,” and “rising RAM, SSD, and HDD prices.”
More Software News
- Stop Killing Games Is Picking Up Momentum
- SpaghettiKart’s Big 1.0 Update Supercharges Mario Kart 64 on PC
- Sony Announces Plans to Monetize Player Base
- Nintendo Files A New Trademark For The Game Boy, But It’s Probably Nothing
- Pokémon FireRed for Switch is just a ROM with a few modernizations
- Play Games From 28 Vintage Systems in Your Browser
- PicPic Is A New Pico-8 Emulator For iOS
- Alloy Offers a “Native” Way to Play Android Games on Mac
Game of the Month
From the Writers
While there’s always a lot of news to cover and talk about, we also try to take a step back and give everyone something a bit different to enjoy. These are the more editorial-styled articles and reviews that you might have missed over the course of this week.
- Savage Raven FissionGrip for Switch 2 Review | Joe White
- dArkOS on the AISLPC RG52 Mini: How to Install | Nick
- Next Level #3: Steam Next Fest Rules | Jim Gray
- Retroid Pocket G2 Review: More of the Same (But Better) (Again) | Ban
- Hacking the Mainframe #3: Games Hidden in Games | Jim Gray
- Homebrew Side Quests #3: Mama Amiga | Jim Gray
- Anbernic RG Vita Review: 2023 Called | Ban
- AISLPC RG52 Mini Review: Budget Brawn | Nick
- Anbernic RG G01 Review: Not Quite There | Ban
- Game Over: Sega CDX | Jim Gray
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