PerfectDark

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu

It has pros and cons I love how Linux has SO many options, and community builds are almost endless. But then again, Android gives you so many advantages. Emulation is a breeze, and if you adopt a front-end like Beacon, it can launch straight into that.

Android made me download a ton of 4:3 cartoons (looked amazing on the screen!), listen to music, and emulators are so very easy to use on there.

I think it’ll come down to preference, but to me Android is an asset on this one. Thinking of GameHub Lite, for example.

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu

Oh I know what you mean! There’s something nice and…IDK self-contained when you have something like this. It’s so well made (Anbernic’s buttons are a lovely thing), but the screen is the shining star here. I love that its 4:3 and forced me to focus on older systems.

The most I’ve played have been Nintendo’s old Game Boy games! Oh and PS1. I’m sure there will be sales with the January discounts coming on Aliexpress, if you do get tempted though!

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu

I have a Miyoo Mini also! Mine is a V2, but I know exactly what you mean about the small size. Its basically tinier than a deck of cards!

Between that and this, the ergonomics are night and day. Its far more comfortable. The shock was how comfortable, since it really is a big one!

But I’ve also been enjoying the Miyoo Mini Flip lately!

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/bab0bf6d-e849-44ac-a2a3-503a77cda355.jpeg

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu (edited 5 dni temu)

Oh thank you! So very much!

Especially for the compliments on the site. Which I should add is actually created and ran by Gardiner Bryant who you might recognize from YouTube?!, but I’m an author on the site. And his good friend. So the fact you pivoted and read through other posts, and enjoyed it?

I can’t tell you how happy that makes me (us!) :)

And you’ll love the AIR Mini, though AYANEO is currently being put through the wringer for promising the world and being very slack with deliveries. So I do hope yours get posted and delivered soon.

Thank you again!

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu

The R36S is so popular that it transcended being a niche hobby product. They’re curated, bought and sold everywhere! Even throughout places like Instagram and TikTok. So you’re well and truly holding the most popular of the handhelds!

But do watch out, because the relative cheapness of some of these handhelds can be a dangerously slipperly slope to collecting them :P

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu

1. Yes, this is Google Play certified, so it has the full Google Play Store to access. But, if you’d prefer some anonymity, feel free to install Aurora!

I don’t typically bother with a throwaway account. MFC makes any risk well and truly mitigated, but I also don’t use Google, so if the worst of the worst did happen, I wouldn’t be sad. You can do either, but I and most reviewers I know don’t bother with a dummy account!

2. Yes the 8GB will be well and truly fine to run PS2 games! Think of the 12 as essential for PC games (via GameHub Lite), it just gives you the headroom to make that an easier experience. You’ll be able to play and upscale PS2 perfectly fine with the 8GB version.

:)

PerfectDark, 5 dni temu

Also if you do get one, replace the sd card immediately! I didn’t have an issue, but have heard it is very common.

ABSOLUTELY replace it! They’re ticking time bombs (in a not so flash bang fashion). It will die, the question isn’t if, but when. Also the USB cable they supply? Not trustworthy for the R36S!

…that said, I’m loving that you’re so happy playing older games. The best retro handheld is the one you already own and love, after all!

PerfectDark, 6 dni temu

Really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)

PerfectDark, 6 dni temu

Thank you!

I’ll tell Gardiner, he put so much work into those, and tweaking them to be just so!!!

This will make his day!

PerfectDark, 6 dni temu

In fact, he wrote a post on exactly how!

(They’re open-source!)

gardinerbryant.com/how-i-built-intelligent-fedive…

PerfectDark, 18 dni temu

Its the Anbernic RG40XXH!

anbernic.com/products/rg40xx-h

PerfectDark, 18 dni temu

Same with my laptop!

My laptop is 3:2 and it looks exactly the same as yours there. Not super readable is it :(

PerfectDark, 20 dni temu

It was funny seeing Anbernic do their own (very) chunky take on the PSP Go recently, for a retro handheld.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b3e04a96-c3c0-4023-ad87-913b66786665.jpeg

PerfectDark, 20 dni temu

This looks amazing!

But yes, the aftermarket replacement shells are often quite good (or, equally often not good at all - they’re a gamble whether they’ll be a nice one or not!) But the sticks are known to be bad. People tend to stick with original sticks, from what I recall.

Though your effort looks amazing, I love the transparent shell!

Fix it up completely!!! Consider this your reminder to do so

PerfectDark, 26 dni temu

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/4fa826db-c271-4655-b069-01cb3700d5e6.jpeg

I think it’s pretty obvious that they’re both very much drawing inspiration from the SP.

And that FunKey might even push my younger eyes to be squinting! 5 years of play time is amazing for one of these, well done!

PerfectDark, 26 dni temu

I shudder to think if I were so brave as to use the same banana each time. It would be a bit worse for wear by now!

(small edit) Actually, this may very well be the same one as from my last review!

PerfectDark, 26 dni temu

This is a totally new model. That one was larger and had thumb-sticks, this one’s much smaller and ditched the sticks (and yes, fixed the hinge woes!)

PerfectDark, 23 dni temu

I got you sorted!!!

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/e30f20b4-e6de-4424-bd3f-1f1d4d338e60.gif

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

They’re just (basically) two 4" phone screens, one above the other. So its only going to be modern capacitive stylus like is pictured.

That’s the ‘trade-off’ with these. You get modern and bright, upscale screens but you lose that original stylus input.

That said, I’m obsessed with the DSi consoles, and I’ve actually enjoyed using this stylus on it. Or, whatever misgivings I initially had disappeared after an hour or so, when I got used to it.

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

That’s the one!

Russ had his video out pretty quick, and while some issues aren’t fixed, some were with the update Anbernic pushed out.

Its getting some hate, and some is deserved, but I can’t help but just love this device!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

He was right, about a whole lot. But he also ran it and reviewed it as it was sent to him, which was broken and requiring an update.

Thankfully both Anbernic and Gamma have fixes now. Gamma’s is actually far more extensive. But for a retail experience, its fine.

I maintain that as a modern DS, its wonderful. Emulating everything else…not so much. I wouldn’t buy this to play PSX or SNES, but I would for DS.

Thanks for reading my review :)

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Nope. Well, technically it could with a handful of very very light 3DS titles. But its just not powerful enough for the 3DS.

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu (edited miesiąc temu)

My friend is a dev for PortMaster (spoiler, interview coming soon with klops and the team!), and he has one of these.

So…‘maybe’? Unsure for now, maybe is all I can say.

PerfectDark, 30 dni temu

Potassium + PerfectDark = doom and destruction. Banana for illustrative and measuring purposes only.

It did look good though?

PerfectDark, 30 dni temu

I get asked this question a fair bit! Each time ive shared a review recently I added a banana pic. I tend to get asked what my review of said banana is.

But I have an autoimmune disease where potassium is terrible for me! So…I never know how good these bananas are :(

PerfectDark, 30 dni temu

I’ll test that game for you!

Will come back here and edit this comment with my findings :)

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Thank you so much! It’s always a bit of a nervy experience when I’m sharing a review. Even more so when I linked it in their own Discord, because if anyone will rip through details and point out flaws…its gaming fans. So hearing this? SO kind of you!

I’m lucky that I manage to somehow convince all these people (the devs and other creators!) that they should in fact be friends with me, and that they’re all kind enough to listen to my requests. In fact, the PortMaster team are going to let me interview them soon, so that’s something to look forward to!

Battery depends on settings, like always. But one example was Nier: Automata with high settings across the board, for around 1:25 playing, it took just under 20% of battery. But that’s because I pushed the settings. Emulating PS2 it coasts, but best to limit to to say 2.5x upscale (obviously), unless you’re going for a full 4K in a monitor. And further down, the old systems will go for eons. Android native games gave me 7ish hours at the highest settings I could opt for? While running at 120FPS and not dropping a single frame.

Take this with salt, because I’m hopped up on codeine waiting for Tuesday when I can get tooth pain sorted!

(thank you again SO much for the nice comment!)

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

GameCube and PS2 are a breeze to set up. I never use RetroArch for either of them, all you need to do is set the bios for PS2, change the input (AYN will automatically be set, but I find its better safe than sorry as it can make the odd error when configuring input for you!), choose your upscaling and go!

GCN was even easier, input and upscale, then play!

I’ll be writing up a thorough guide/games/settings post, I’ll find you an link you when I do if you’d like? But for PS2 and GCN its the work of 2 mins at the most on each :)

No RetroArch. At all.

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/28ee3334-fe30-48c3-8cf7-a61afb104e30.gif

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Its going to be a very interesting time with these retro handhelds when that happens. Still, its amazing to be able to play full AAA Steam & GOG games on Android before that even happens.

Its exciting!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Sadly that review will never be posted. Potassium isn’t good for me, due to an autoimmune disease!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Really interesting review, thank you.

Thank you for saying so! I really appreciate that :)

When you say this isn’t ready for most people, is that because the software needs more time, or the hardware isn’t there yet?

100% its the software. Drivers just aren’t there yet, but they’re being actively worked on as we speak, so early 2026 will be a solid assumption. Most PC games I tried worked incredibly well, out of the box without anything needed. But yes, as drivers improve and release, that compatibility will only get higher and higher.

As it stands:

• PC games are the best thing on the Odin 3. They work so well.
• Switch games are a gamble, a lot work beautifully but there’s still a lot which haven’t got the right support yet. But my friend who is a developer of Eden (Switch emulator) was sent an Odin 3 Max to help with development. So that’s only a matter of time.
• PS3 is the same as Switch, some work, some do not.
• PS2, all the games I tried were fantastic. Played SO nicely, upscaled and perfect. But there’s still a handful that will need some of that community driver goodness.
• Older-older systems are fine in dedicated emulators, but in RetroArch, its a mess.

The hardware is phenomenal and ahead of its time. We’re just waiting for the support for the Snapdragon Elite to play catch-up now. But after spending so long testing it, if you’re someone who likes to be at the forefront of things, then it’s a solid investment. I’d buy one, if I wasn’t sent a review unit. But I have the benefit of testing for so long to come to that conclusion!

If I bought one of these today, could I expect to see better compatibility over the next 6 months to year with Steam games, or will it still be mostly for Android games and old system emulators?

Yes. 100% yes. Keep an eye on EmuReady.com also, there’ll be more and more compatibility reports for the Snapdragon Elite as the days and weeks pass, a good way to know if the PC games you love are running well. And you can always ask me to test out and try some games that you love most too, if you’d like!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

I’m so glad to hear my review helped! Youre going to love the Odin 3!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Agreed on all fronts there!

I’ve been spending a fairly sizable amount of time lately with the Android emulation scene, and the amount of times the public goes nuclear over the tiniest inconsequential things is…just unbelievable. From the []-phobes to death threats. I wish that people would learn some social skills.

The dev of Lazarus didn’t have this kind of reaction to Seaglass, so I think we could say that this trend of being a disgusting bigot is one which is being ‘allowed’ more recently than it once was in social media.

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

hahahahhah I like this one! SO true!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

My article can be pretty easily broken down into:

• What ROM hacks are
• Pokémon ROM hacks in particular
• Lazarus
• The dev’s own response to shitty behavior

I don’t think I focused on Twitter’s behavior. I didn’t share any screenshots of tweets, nor did I quote any. There’s not much I can see I wrote here that can be glorified by the losers.

Should I…not write about how shitty the situation is for the developer (and so many others in this space) because a handful of idiots might think they’re being mentioned? I’m struggling to find what I should cut out of my article there!

PerfectDark, miesiąc temu

Its such a shame that:

a) I can see why a company like this would bake in invasive permissions and telemetry, and b) They did so. They have a wonderful product. One interesting thing though is that each time GameHub Lite releases an update, pointing out the shadiness of some of GameHub’s ideas…the next official GameHub update makes the product better and less of a privacy nightmare.

It’s an odd situation, but like you said, at least we have options!