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
If there’s one thing we know about retro handhelds, it’s that there is always something new around the corner. Seriously, it’s “worse” than smartphones, as some companies release new handhelds every other week. On the bright side, at least there’s no shortage of options.
Anbernic Announces RG34XXSP, and is Coming Soon
Only Anbernic would wait until late on Friday (or early on Saturday) to announce pricing and availability for a new handheld. Yet, here we are, as it’s been confirmed that the Anbernic RG34XXSP will go up for pre-order on May 16th at 3 AM PST. It’s also pretty affordable, coming in with a retail price of $66.99. However, we’ve also learned that if you snag one in the first 72 hours, it’ll only set you back $59.99.
The Retroid Pocket Mini V2 Has Arrived, But Don’t Wait Too Long
Retroid has been on a roll lately, and following what seems to be a successful launch of the Pocket Flip 2 and Pocket Classic, we can start focusing elsewhere. In the wee hours of the morning, the Retroid Pocket Mini V2 launched, as pre-orders are available now and will begin shipping on May 14.
The Pocket Mini V2 is priced at $199, but if you order within the first 72 hours, you can save $10 by using code V2SAVE10 at checkout.
Here’s Our First Look at the ASUS ROG Ally 2 and ROG Xbox Edition
It’s been more than two years since the original ASUS ROG Ally was announced, and just past a year since the ROG Ally X debuted. After a teaser on April 1 got everyone excited about the ROG Ally 2, it appears that we’re nearing the launch of two new ASUS handhelds.
Game Bub Will Soon Arrive on Crowd Supply
It’s been a couple of months since we first learned about the Game Bub, which is a new Open-source FPGA handheld, similar to that of the Analogue Pocket. Recently, a landing page was created over at Crowd Supply, meaning that we’ll soon be able to buy a pre-built Game Bub! This is great if you don’t want to fiddle with sourcing the parts and building it yourself.
Game Bub Crowd Supply Campaign
MagicX Zero 40 Vertical Arcade Game Showcase
Last week, MagicX released the Mini Zero 28 v2, while also making it available over at AliExpress. With that out of the way, the company is now starting to show off its upcoming handhelds, such as the Zero 40. A new video published to the MagicX YouTube channel gives us a look at what it’s like to play “30 Classic Vertical Arcade Games” on this unique handheld.
Other Hardware News
- AOKZOE A1X Kickstarter Campaign
- Nintendo Hopes to Sell 15 Million Switch 2s in its First Year
- Macho Nacho Builds the “Most Advanced Panasonic 3DO Console”
- Backbone Pro Announced
Apps and Software
Don’t get me wrong, hardware is definitely fun and exciting to talk about. But what good is an awesome handheld if it doesn’t even work? That’s where software and custom firmware come into play, so here’s everything you might’ve missed this week.”
KNULLI Gladiator Released
Can you believe that it’s been months since the last major release of KNULLI? It turns out that was for a good reason, as KNULLI Gladiator is here, bringing with it a swath of improvements, changes, and bugfixes. Plus, it now supports the TrimUI Brick, Smart Pro, and Anbernic RG34XX. The changelog is insane, so be sure to go check it out while you’re downloading the latest update.
Eden for Switch is Finally Here
It’s been a long time coming, but Eden for Switch is officially available, as the 0.0.1 Pre Alpha has been released. This is yet another Yuzu fork, but it offers quite a variety of improvements and changes over some of the other options out there. As a reminder, this is not the final version, so you’ll probably run into a few bugs, but overall, it seems to be working pretty darn well so far.
TSP Firmware v1.1.0 and CrossMix Update
Crossmix brings a whole host of additions to the stock Smart Pro OS
As if that wasn’t enough, a surprising update came from the creator of CrossMix, whose project has been fairly quiet in recent months. It turns out that was for a good reason, as they have been working with TrimUI to improve the stock firmware for the Smart Pro. With that, the developer provided an update on the CrossMix project, with v1.1.0 for the Smart Pro set to launch this month, quickly followed by another update that includes support for the TrimUI Brick.
SaveState Makes Finding Your Saves Much Easier
SaveState is an app that only recently cropped up on my radar, but I’m glad it did. As the name suggests, it’s an app that is designed to back up your saves from different games, including Steam and Minecraft. Versions 1.3.8 and 1.3.9 were released this week, bringing the ability to “detect save data” for a variety of emulators, including Ryujinx, Yuzu, Cemu, Flycast, and many others.
More Software News
- Retroid releases v1.0.0.130 for the Pocket Flip 2
- Ymir is a New Sega Saturn Emulator
- Ecco the Dolphin Remaster and New Game Announced by the Original Team
- There’s Now a Recompiled PC Version of Dinosaur Planet
- ‘Black Mesa’ Beta Brings Better Linux Support and Nears Stable Release
- GTA VI Trailer 2
- Half-Life 3 is Reportedly “Playable End-to-End”
- Palworld v0.5.5 Removes the Ability to Glide Using Your Pals
Emulator Updates
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.
EasySMX D05 Review: An Easy Choice
It’s no secret that I’m a controller enjoyer. I’ve grabbed everything from tiny controllers to controllers that let you swap out every last aspect of them for something different. I’ve done a 9-pack round-up of controllers under $40 and I’ve gotten things as low as $10 on sale. But what if you’re looking for something that Docks, and just seems to work.
Well, I picked up the EasySMX D05 for myself just to see how it does in terms of gameplay, and while it’s not perfect, I think it’s going to be an easy choice for many people to make.
R36Plus Review: A Great Budget 1:1, As Long As It’s Real
The R36Plus looks to take these missteps in cloning and show why Game Console had led the budget pack. The new budget handheld takes everything that made the R36XX successful, and gives consumers the choice of a 1:1 display.
RH Games: What We’re Playing This Week
This week, Zu plays Zelda: Link’s Awakening for Game of the Month. Wait a minute? Everyone is playing Zelda: Link’s Awakening for Game of the Month! Oh, wait, Stubbs is playing Tony Hawk. Carry on, folks.
On the YouTubes
Don’t think that the writers are the only ones getting things done. The RH video team is constantly working on new videos, and now’s the best time to subscribe. This week, Zu shows off how the RG557 performs following a recent update, while Ban unboxes the R36 MyMini!
Looking for Deals?
Another week, another set of deals to be had. Hit the button below to check out our favorite deals of the week. We know how much everyone loves a good deal, so we’ve been cooking up something to help you get the best deal possible.
Retro Handhelds Deals of the WeekHandheld.Deals
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