MVG do you have any good experiences with these SOC based systems? I have not. Not to continue the meme "fpga is superior blah blah" (said in a spongebob voice) but all my experiences with these has been piss poor as a whole comparatively.
@@Tense which is pretty weird when we think about the fact that phones have been emulating PS1 for ages now, with pretty low end SoCs at that (hell, my _still daily used_ 2014 Sony Xperia L, with dual core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM can do PS1 at 60 FPS). Can't understand how they just don't run freaking GBA games well... Also frankly the proportion mess up is unforgivable for me. It doesn't take much to just up square pixels and give THAT as an option or 16:9, no idea why forcing 4:3.
I wish Hyperkin’s functionality was as good as their industrial design. Everything they make looks cool but always misses the mark on core functionality.
THyperkin is STIL selling their Retron 5 with that horrible controler that literally everyone hates. there is no excuse for being that ignorant of their customers and intended marlket.
@John Hancock , I made a comment above regarding the Retron 5 and its ability to play GBA games. As I do not own one, you may be able to bestow your knowledge as I am in the dark about the Retron 5 vs the SQ's ability to play said GBA games..
The GBA part essentially came out over 16 years ago on the GameCube as the Datel Advanced Game Port and performance was even worse... especially if you had an early version of the boot disc/emulator. ;)
That's cus they are likely using a 15 year old CPU that was probably outdated even back then. They have always used the absolute cheapest parts possible in these crappy Chinese Emulation devices. They plain don't care about the quality of their products at all.
Especially since this apparently just uses Retroarch. Retroarch has an entire setting section dedicated to being able to make completely custom aspect ratios. You can adjust the height and width by the pixel to be exactly how you want it. And yet they specifically chose to only have these two aspect ratios, both of which are wrong. HELL, there's an entire list of aspect ratio PRESETS already in Retroarch. You can just pick one. Like, ALL they had to do was allow you to bring up the Retroarch menu. (I've heard you actually can do that if you plug a keyboard into this.)
Great concept, terrible excecution. Why do companies rush these things to market, take your time and get it right. I'd totally get one if it actually worked... and that aspect ratio! What where they thinking! As always thanks for the review and honest critique Jason.
Hyperkin doesn't rush things to market. They just seemingly don't have competent emulator developers and instead opt to just slap whatever has GPLv2 onto an SBC and call it a day. There's not a single Game Boy emulator that defaults to 4:3.
That sucks about the GBA. I could get over the other shortcomings, and really do like the look of the box itself, but I’d probably be using a device like this 70-80% of the time to play GBA games. So if those don’t run, it’s a deal breaker.
I'm going to be optimistic here. Great to see options on the market. Cool little box, love the design of it. I guess that will be the end there however haha.
I couldn't help but to think about the Super Gameboy on the SNES, and the fact that you can change the colors, and many other settings. I know it only played regular GAMEBOY games, but it did it beautifully
I dunno if MJR just forgot to address this as well but... What exactly is the point of this system? You can just pick up an Advance SP for not that much money on Ebay and it will be portable, have a rechargable battery, and be a lot more compatible. Or even barring that, just load up a GBA emulator on a Raspberry Pi. I mean, really now, unless I'm missing something, this system seems like a total rip-off.
@@arnox4554 you're right, however if this system was actually really good at its job- it would be a good alternative to the gameboy player for cheap. The goal was to make a cheap device that could play gb, gbc, and gba on HD TV. While to people like me and you- we wouldn't see much use, however it had potential to replace the gameboy player and retron 5. Unfortunately they've compromised on way too much. This is a waste of 75 dollars.
@@RedLogicYT That's the thing though. Even if this could play all GB, GBC, and GBA games flawlessly, it's still a fat waste of money. Again, Rapberry Pi can do all this and MUCH more, or just buy an Advance SP. Yeah, you can't hook it up to the TV with the SP, but I'm just gonna say it. I've never had a single occasion where I said to myself, "You know what? I wanna play these visually scaled down GBA games on my TV."
@Arnox Immordium, He didn’t forget to mention it because, as is usually the case, neither point is relevant to who this is marketed to. You may never have considered wanting to play a GB library on your TV, but that’s you. Many gamers have and want to do exactly that. I have an GBA, as do many others. That doesn’t fulfill this desire. In the end. Anyone who defaults to the argument of “The Rasberry Pi will be better than...” doesn’t understand, will never understand, and should really just give up telling anyone that. The Pi crowd is the Pi crowd, and then there’s everyone else. I’m not sure either of us will ever understand each other. Stick to what works for you and let others do the same.
It’s the first time I actually hear you struggle at reviewing a product. The impression I got was: “oh damn ... How can I phrase this in the nicest possible way ? This thing stink but still let’s find something actually positive about it “. Hyperkin will take any feedback as long as it is constructive, don’t be afraid to be a bit more harsh on the verdict
Yeah I don't trust his opinion. If he struggles that much to phrase it that way; I don't think he's trustworthy. He's afraid they won't send him more products.
@@MikeRetroModz I guess professional to you is equal to walking on eggshells in an attempt not to anger the people's product he's reviewing, so they'll continue to send him free stuff.
@@MikeRetroModz There's a way to be professional and be more critical of things. When I see someone hold back and walk on eggshells to not upset anyone; I don't value their opinion as much.
They didn't make the emulator used here. They're using the LibRetro cores of Visual Boy Advance and mGBA. They couldn't even bother to directly use the source codes for those respective projects, they opted for the easiest hacked up method possible (LibRetro).
I really don't understand why this can't output a crisp signal. That doesn't seem like it should be much of an issue. I also don't get why you wouldn't just spend a little bit more and get a Retron 5.
I mean, it's emulation. Obviously it's not gonna run a flash cart. I don't even know why you'd buy this. It's neat I guess, but it's emulation. You can emulate GB, GBC, and GBA on just about anything nowadays. Not to mention, apparently, this thing just has Retroarch on it. Using proper Retroarch on a PC or whatever, you can get custom borders and shaders that you simply can't use on this Retron SQ. I have my GB, GBC, and GBA games all set up to look and feel like they're being played on real hardware. Specifically, all using TV-Out Composite shaders and Super Game Boy and Game Boy Player borders......and I didn't pay $75 to do it. Like, I get the whole "I wanna use my real cartridges" mindset. Totally. But if you're gonna buy a clone console that emulates, you could just emulate on an actual PC or console, and choose to only play games you own physical copies of. You'd get the same results, but better.
@@travisiswin Sorry, I forgot, despite being a comment section for talking, people don't like when you leave long comments. Lemme try again: lmao haha funny lol joke make laugh ha ha Better?
@@TXFDA I mean, if you want to reply with a paragraph humble bragging about your emulation setup to a 16-word throwaway joke about this thing not running the games it was made to run, be my guest.
Great review video! It's also worth noting that the Game Boy Player goes for insane prices, at least on eBay. Sellers are claiming that it's "rare", which is complete nonsense-it was never a hard to find item in game stores back when Nintendo was supporting the GameCube.
I don't understand why would I buy an emulation machine without emulation features, even mainstream official products have some emulation features like savestates. You can buy a super game boy for dirt cheap, I've seen stacks of them in retro game stores for 10 dollars or less, and if you don't have one you probably could get an snes from 30 to 60 dollars. I don't see any reason to buy this
I don’t understand why someone who has invested $$$ into a library of physical carts wants to buy an emulation box to play them on in this day and age, when you could use MiSTER or Analogue Super NT with Super Game Boy. Or use Retroarch and keep your physical games on the shelf.
I appreciate that you made a video for the RetroN Sq. I have been waiting for news about this console since it was teased a few years ago. I got excited when it was officially announced for sale a week or so ago. But I was wary of the 'beta' support for GBA games and I wanted to see the video output quality. After watching this video, I am probably going to pre-order the Retro-Bit Prism GameCube adaptor instead of the RetroN Sq.
I was hoping you would review this. And I’m sad it is what I feared with it. Maybe one day we will get a good affordable way to play gameboy and gameboy advance games on HD TVs. Great review as always!
I really was hoping theyd have some reason to sell me this. I have the retron 5 and gameboy player on my GC so thismay not add anything new or more conveinient. Nice balanced review imo thankyou
Hey MetalJesus, I just wanted to say thank you for this honest review. I really appreciate it as a small gaming channel just starting out! I did preorder this and for someone with a tiny gbc/gba collection this is something that is perfect for me just be to able to play on my tv and be able to do walkthroughs for all my Pokémon games. I recently just started getting into collecting old Gameboy colors as well so this was pretty exciting to me. I do understand and can appreciate the feedback from most of the gaming community for those avid gamers/collectors who just have higher expectations for different devices. Only about a month into collecting my old childhood games I gave away and I have most of the original Pokémon gbc/gba games except for the highly coveted Pokémon Crystal, Emerald, Leaf Green, & Ruby. I was also able to pick up a limited edition atomic purple mario gbc! As always, I appreciate and love your videos, keep on rock'n!!
Last I checked, this was announced and demoed as the retron jr before the gba consolizer was announced and released. Edit: my mistake, the retron jr was originally an april fool's joke from 2017 and wasn't announced as a real product until January 2020, around 6 months after the gba consolizer.
I did. And I had John Hancock test his copy (he's reviewing it too)...and same thing. Something weird with that particular game, so I figured I'd mention it.
I thought about mentioning the Analogue Pocket in the video...but that costs $200 without a controller and isn't out yet... so I'm not sure if it's the same consumer or not. We'll see soon enough.
Yeah same. Got the GC add on for $2. He knew nothing; just found old stuff to sell in basement to Flea market. Had no cd; Used my mod wii with smash GC to load it up.
@@timothyle4248 There's a problem with that: Not everyone has an emulation device or a computer (or Gamecube), and GBP Bootup Discs are as expensive as crack, it all depends on what you have
It's good to hear that Hyperkin is still releasing new consoles. Still waiting on the RetroN Ult (N64) that was announced 2 years ago. Hope they release it soon.
@@lukaskidd4621 And the products that eBay sells and sends to Brazil have 100% of tax on the product. For example, buying a $60 Xenoblade is $120 minimum, usually the shipping is $40 so a single game would come for $200. Yeah, 100% tax is pretty wild.
For some people I feel like it’s a good option. It’s way better than paying hundreds of dollars for a gameboy player and for people who just want to play game boy through gameboy advance games on the tv and for reviews it’s a good option
Times like this makes me wonder why Nintendo doesn't take the opportunity to make something like this. If Nintendo made an official console that can play GB, GBC, and GBA people would buy it.
Probably because they aren’t still producing the GBA/GBC cartridge games anymore. They seem to not want to put out new consoles that play physical games that they don’t produce anymore. They could make it and release it, but then everyone is forced to hunt down old cartridge games in second-hand stores and eBay, and Nintendo cant profit from those of course.
Cause they milk you with online services or re-releases/compilations. You may think, rightfully so, that they can get the money from the device itself as well and be done with that, but greed can never be underestimated, if they only support the latest generation console or one gen bellow in life support, it forces you to get that new machine for anything they release, and if you have it already you're still paying for the service or same game once again.
I'm always so against any Hyperkin products I come across after the AWFUL experience I've had with my Retron 5 and their customer service. Ugh. Their stuff always comes across as pretty bad now, no matter what. So disappointing.
That’s why I don’t understand all the videos they get from you tubers. Even when they are “honest” it’s giving them a plug and their products are consistently mediocre.
4:37 So you can access your save files from the cartridges, great, but if you're progressing further on this retron can you save your game while playing on the console, then pop it back in your Gameboy to pick up where you left off? If it just copies the save file then stores the future save games on the SD card then this thing is useless.
The great news is everyone can fix the problem easily. If you connect a Keyboard to it using a Bluetooth connections. Press "F1" and you'll find different things you can change and fix yourself. Cause there using Retroarch emulation.
But funny thing is the ouya is a better emulation box than this will ever be, the SOC in the ouya is a bit more powerful to be able to do better at emulation.
Been subscribed to you for a while now. But have defo become a bigger fan as of recent. Watching all of your older vids n stuff. Keep on keepin on man!!!
@@vasopel No, I mean that the games are being rendered at the original resolution but the system is still sending a 720p signal to the TV, That's why the image is so soft. usually an emulator can natively render a game at a higher resolution than the original system, giving you a sharper image
@@MisticDW 2D games don't scale,gameboy and gameboy color games will be rendered in their original resolution no matter the emulator, if you want play on bigger screens the best you can do is an exact multiplication (like the GBA consolizer does), this things output is soft because they are using the wrong aspect ratio AND they are using filters that don't need too much cpu power (they tried to make this thing as cheap as possible)
I own a Retron 5 HD and it plays gb, gbc and gba games already. Maybe cost effective for some, but they need to of included DS and 3DS in newer Retron versions.
Won't work with the Everdrive because "they're all about people who want to play the actual physical games" yet it does so by ripping the rom to internal memory and running an emulator. Sorry but that just doesn't add up.
Cool. Hyperkin releases another paperweight. The black and gold model looks like a pretty nice paperweight though. I paid about $80 for my Retron5 paperweight on eBay about three years ago. I’m holding out for the Analogue Pocket
Well, executed video Metal Jesus! I began the video with no care for the product; just a fan of the content! Became interested when I saw the device and it's claims. Then I watched you put it through it paces! I was definitely surprised the GBA wouldn't function very well! Glad I didn't buy one! Hopefully a patch soon. I probably had a nearly face when you showed the "Ratio" from "SQ" to Tetris on the GCP. Definitely wasn't a fan of that, I feel like there is so much detail lost with those stretches the "SQ" is using! Anyway, Bravo.. Well Done!! The visuals were great, simple effects that really add life... from "Listening to the games score" the of the gameplay found it to be very easy to pay attention visually and by ear! I particularly loved the music supporting you; great vibes. (I heard those guitars shredding, perfect for Metroid!!) #Masterclass #MadeMeCare
Wouldn't it be a treat to have Hyperkin design a case for the Raspberry Pi that looked similar to this? I know that would cannibalize their sales, but a guy can dream. :)
No way Hosee, that aspect ratio gotta go. Hilarious thumbnail btw. And GB Advance gotta be on par here. Playing the heck out of oracle of seasons now on my NT Mini Noir. What a gem!!!!
Ah man, I was sold on it until it came to the Game Boy Advance issue. I hope they fix that because I would love to buy this! Hopefully you can make an updated video if they do fix it.
Thanks for your review. I just bought one for a project with some friends. I’ll be uploading a review myself for the product. I’m super easy to please and optimistic but, this isn’t looking too great for me haha
Woo-hoo great news for anyone who are still not convinced on giving the sq a chance. I recently receiving mine in the mail, Hyperkin has update there firmware for the sq to download onto the mini SD card. The gameboy advance feature is working clear, smooth and definently worth the 75 bucks :D
For me personally, nothing beats playing GB/C/A games on gameboy player through a mid 90s Sony Trinitron CRT (before anything was digital in the tv) with high quality cables. I can never go back (although there is a homebred software for gb player that adds extra features which I d like to mess with)
I bought this a year ago and we absolutely love it! Plays most of our Gameboy advanced games too. Thank you for this review it's the reason I took a chance ✌️
Dang, I was so excited for this. There's not a lot of cheap options for a modern console that plays real gba games and or even with everdrive support. Just to see this not executed well make really kills me. I even got excited for some of the more expensive ones like the analog pocket and they pull crap like you can only preorder it and no more will be produced at launch. Why are companies so bad at pulling off a gba clone home console correctly. The cheapest option from the looks of it with great results is the retron 5 but I want something that doesn't have all those other consoles clinged to it raising the price. I want something that's good or cheap that around $75-$100 with just the GB, GBC, and GBA alone.
As for the “aspect ratio” deal it’s possible they are using integer scaling vs aspect ratio to allow a larger scale picture while keeping it pixel perfect. Just speculation as I have no idea what they are using. For 75 bucks it does what it’s intended to do, so it is what it is. Firmware updates will fix, when the Retron 5 first came out it had lots of performance issues too.
When I played my friends beta version GBA games we tried worked well...but like you said, it's a beta version and a firmware update will probably fix it. I love it and I have a Retron5, mainly for portability.
Thanks for the great review. Disappointing to hear about it's performance. I feel like a lot of hyperkin products always come so painfully close to being amazing for the price. Hopefully over time the system will see improvements.
We've seen with the success of Analogue that there is the willingness from gamers to pay extra for the best quality. It's disappointing Hyperkin doesn't go that route too... or at least give consumers choice, kinda like how smartphone makers will do a cheap phone and a flagship phone.
To be fair the retron 5 comparison should not be used due to them illegally using other peoples emulation software without permission / compensation. No one should be supporting the Retron 5 or the people that made it. Hyperkin is using their own software AFAIK. I love the look of this console (like you said its kinda like the N64 special editions) and for $75 it's kinda a steal, especially when they get the GBA stuff smoothed out. Although it needs everdrive support for me to buy it.
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [1/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vLGjxFL6U_I/mqdefault.jpg)
great video, shame about the product. it was one i was genuinely interested in
MVG do you have any good experiences with these SOC based systems? I have not. Not to continue the meme "fpga is superior blah blah" (said in a spongebob voice) but all my experiences with these has been piss poor as a whole comparatively.
some would say that... mistakes were made...
@@Tense which is pretty weird when we think about the fact that phones have been emulating PS1 for ages now, with pretty low end SoCs at that (hell, my _still daily used_ 2014 Sony Xperia L, with dual core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM can do PS1 at 60 FPS). Can't understand how they just don't run freaking GBA games well...
Also frankly the proportion mess up is unforgivable for me. It doesn't take much to just up square pixels and give THAT as an option or 16:9, no idea why forcing 4:3.
HELLAAAOO YOU ABSOLUTE LEGE........wait wrong TH-camr
Yeah, because mistakes were made, shame.
I wish Hyperkin’s functionality was as good as their industrial design. Everything they make looks cool but always misses the mark on core functionality.
They have sh*tty quality.
THyperkin is STIL selling their Retron 5 with that horrible controler that literally everyone hates. there is no excuse for being that ignorant of their customers and intended marlket.
@@duhmez I just use to controller as a remote to turn off the system and go to the main screen 🤣
@@Slothretro Yes you and literally everyone else who has bought one also does the same too.
@@duhmez the fuck is your problem bro? Get the fuck off the internet
I appreciate the transparency with the review. Too many people will shill a product like it's flawless because they got a free one.
Who does that?
oh no
Sup, Elliot
Hey Elliot
Hi, Elliot
This tells me all I need to know.
Great review. Looking forward to giving my own thoughts about it soon. This console needs more development time.
Thanks for double checking the Yoshi bug for me. That is just weird! Looking forward to your review.
Spoiler alert
The IMMORTAL ONE!!
@John Hancock , I made a comment above regarding the Retron 5 and its ability to play GBA games. As I do not own one, you may be able to bestow your knowledge as I am in the dark about the Retron 5 vs the SQ's ability to play said GBA games..
Hey John Hancock , Im Dave Footpenis
This feels like it should have came out 10 years ago. No excuse for any of the problem this has in 2021.
The GBA part essentially came out over 16 years ago on the GameCube as the Datel Advanced Game Port and performance was even worse... especially if you had an early version of the boot disc/emulator. ;)
That's cus they are likely using a 15 year old CPU that was probably outdated even back then. They have always used the absolute cheapest parts possible in these crappy Chinese Emulation devices. They plain don't care about the quality of their products at all.
Why is it so hard for these companies to get the damned aspect ration correct?
because theyre idiots
Especially since this apparently just uses Retroarch. Retroarch has an entire setting section dedicated to being able to make completely custom aspect ratios. You can adjust the height and width by the pixel to be exactly how you want it. And yet they specifically chose to only have these two aspect ratios, both of which are wrong. HELL, there's an entire list of aspect ratio PRESETS already in Retroarch. You can just pick one.
Like, ALL they had to do was allow you to bring up the Retroarch menu. (I've heard you actually can do that if you plug a keyboard into this.)
Copyright issues
Great concept, terrible excecution. Why do companies rush these things to market, take your time and get it right. I'd totally get one if it actually worked... and that aspect ratio! What where they thinking! As always thanks for the review and honest critique Jason.
Hyperkin doesn't rush things to market. They just seemingly don't have competent emulator developers and instead opt to just slap whatever has GPLv2 onto an SBC and call it a day. There's not a single Game Boy emulator that defaults to 4:3.
Hey any suggestions for something like this? I see you commented this 2 years ago and was wondering if you are aware of a better option.
@@sawsauceyou can get a GameCube with a Game Boy player. Or you can just get Roms of games you legally own to emulate on a Wii.
"I'll put links down..."
*video immediatley switches to Link's Awakening footage*
I was editing the video and caught that as well. Completely unplanned, yet perfect 😂
@@MetalJesusRocks The magic of editing - the greatest things often happen by accident^^
@@MetalJesusRocks happy little accidents are always the best
@@ShadowReaver573 Bob Ross made a legendary career out of it :D
How Ironic, It almost looked intentional.
That sucks about the GBA. I could get over the other shortcomings, and really do like the look of the box itself, but I’d probably be using a device like this 70-80% of the time to play GBA games. So if those don’t run, it’s a deal breaker.
“Oh no... BETA!!”
- Snake Jailbird, _The Simpsons_
I'm going to be optimistic here. Great to see options on the market.
Cool little box, love the design of it. I guess that will be the end there however haha.
I couldn't help but to think about the Super Gameboy on the SNES, and the fact that you can change the colors, and many other settings. I know it only played regular GAMEBOY games, but it did it beautifully
Damn that GBA performance is super disappointing. I was really looking forward to this device.
It's because frameskip is set to 4, you turn off frameskip it plays smoothly.
It looks like a real bummer, poor video quality, stretched aspect ratio and the compatibility issues.
Looks like shit
I dunno if MJR just forgot to address this as well but... What exactly is the point of this system? You can just pick up an Advance SP for not that much money on Ebay and it will be portable, have a rechargable battery, and be a lot more compatible. Or even barring that, just load up a GBA emulator on a Raspberry Pi. I mean, really now, unless I'm missing something, this system seems like a total rip-off.
@@arnox4554 you're right, however if this system was actually really good at its job- it would be a good alternative to the gameboy player for cheap. The goal was to make a cheap device that could play gb, gbc, and gba on HD TV. While to people like me and you- we wouldn't see much use, however it had potential to replace the gameboy player and retron 5. Unfortunately they've compromised on way too much. This is a waste of 75 dollars.
@@RedLogicYT That's the thing though. Even if this could play all GB, GBC, and GBA games flawlessly, it's still a fat waste of money. Again, Rapberry Pi can do all this and MUCH more, or just buy an Advance SP. Yeah, you can't hook it up to the TV with the SP, but I'm just gonna say it. I've never had a single occasion where I said to myself, "You know what? I wanna play these visually scaled down GBA games on my TV."
@Arnox Immordium, He didn’t forget to mention it because, as is usually the case, neither point is relevant to who this is marketed to. You may never have considered wanting to play a GB library on your TV, but that’s you. Many gamers have and want to do exactly that. I have an GBA, as do many others. That doesn’t fulfill this desire. In the end. Anyone who defaults to the argument of “The Rasberry Pi will be better than...” doesn’t understand, will never understand, and should really just give up telling anyone that. The Pi crowd is the Pi crowd, and then there’s everyone else. I’m not sure either of us will ever understand each other. Stick to what works for you and let others do the same.
It’s the first time I actually hear you struggle at reviewing a product. The impression I got was: “oh damn ... How can I phrase this in the nicest possible way ? This thing stink but still let’s find something actually positive about it “.
Hyperkin will take any feedback as long as it is constructive, don’t be afraid to be a bit more harsh on the verdict
Yeah I don't trust his opinion. If he struggles that much to phrase it that way; I don't think he's trustworthy. He's afraid they won't send him more products.
@@inputfunny he's keeping it professional its obvious that this product sucks and needs more cooking before being released
@@MikeRetroModz I guess professional to you is equal to walking on eggshells in an attempt not to anger the people's product he's reviewing, so they'll continue to send him free stuff.
@@inputfunny pretty much, put yourself in his shoes, He didnt lie about the product He wasnt bias, I command him or that.
@@MikeRetroModz There's a way to be professional and be more critical of things. When I see someone hold back and walk on eggshells to not upset anyone; I don't value their opinion as much.
this what happens when retron has to build the emulator from scratch. the 5, they stole the emulator from the internet lol
They didn't make the emulator used here. They're using the LibRetro cores of Visual Boy Advance and mGBA. They couldn't even bother to directly use the source codes for those respective projects, they opted for the easiest hacked up method possible (LibRetro).
I’m not sure it’s possible to steal something from the internet. The internet doesn’t own anything. It’s not an entity, person or business.
I really don't understand why this can't output a crisp signal. That doesn't seem like it should be much of an issue.
I also don't get why you wouldn't just spend a little bit more and get a Retron 5.
Miami vice edition
Its not a little more, its about twice as much. Retron 5 160, Retron Sq 75
@@joshh4836 I'm seeing it on Walmart for $130. Though I guess the MSRP has been going up. It was originally $100.
"Yeah, it won't work with everdrives. Hell, it barely runs the games we made it for." - Hyperkin.
Underrated comment
I mean, it's emulation. Obviously it's not gonna run a flash cart. I don't even know why you'd buy this. It's neat I guess, but it's emulation. You can emulate GB, GBC, and GBA on just about anything nowadays. Not to mention, apparently, this thing just has Retroarch on it. Using proper Retroarch on a PC or whatever, you can get custom borders and shaders that you simply can't use on this Retron SQ. I have my GB, GBC, and GBA games all set up to look and feel like they're being played on real hardware. Specifically, all using TV-Out Composite shaders and Super Game Boy and Game Boy Player borders......and I didn't pay $75 to do it.
Like, I get the whole "I wanna use my real cartridges" mindset. Totally. But if you're gonna buy a clone console that emulates, you could just emulate on an actual PC or console, and choose to only play games you own physical copies of. You'd get the same results, but better.
@@TXFDA You put waaaaay too much thought into responding to a joke, bud.
@@travisiswin Sorry, I forgot, despite being a comment section for talking, people don't like when you leave long comments. Lemme try again:
lmao haha funny lol joke make laugh ha ha
Better?
@@TXFDA I mean, if you want to reply with a paragraph humble bragging about your emulation setup to a 16-word throwaway joke about this thing not running the games it was made to run, be my guest.
Great review video! It's also worth noting that the Game Boy Player goes for insane prices, at least on eBay. Sellers are claiming that it's "rare", which is complete nonsense-it was never a hard to find item in game stores back when Nintendo was supporting the GameCube.
I don't understand why would I buy an emulation machine without emulation features, even mainstream official products have some emulation features like savestates.
You can buy a super game boy for dirt cheap, I've seen stacks of them in retro game stores for 10 dollars or less, and if you don't have one you probably could get an snes from 30 to 60 dollars.
I don't see any reason to buy this
I don’t understand why someone who has invested $$$ into a library of physical carts wants to buy an emulation box to play them on in this day and age, when you could use MiSTER or Analogue Super NT with Super Game Boy. Or use Retroarch and keep your physical games on the shelf.
I appreciate that you made a video for the RetroN Sq. I have been waiting for news about this console since it was teased a few years ago. I got excited when it was officially announced for sale a week or so ago. But I was wary of the 'beta' support for GBA games and I wanted to see the video output quality. After watching this video, I am probably going to pre-order the Retro-Bit Prism GameCube adaptor instead of the RetroN Sq.
loved that you had your name as kyuss on the tetris dx game, i love kyuss
I was hoping you would review this. And I’m sad it is what I feared with it. Maybe one day we will get a good affordable way to play gameboy and gameboy advance games on HD TVs. Great review as always!
I really was hoping theyd have some reason to sell me this. I have the retron 5 and gameboy player on my GC so thismay not add anything new or more conveinient. Nice balanced review imo thankyou
Hey MetalJesus, I just wanted to say thank you for this honest review. I really appreciate it as a small gaming channel just starting out! I did preorder this and for someone with a tiny gbc/gba collection this is something that is perfect for me just be to able to play on my tv and be able to do walkthroughs for all my Pokémon games. I recently just started getting into collecting old Gameboy colors as well so this was pretty exciting to me. I do understand and can appreciate the feedback from most of the gaming community for those avid gamers/collectors who just have higher expectations for different devices. Only about a month into collecting my old childhood games I gave away and I have most of the original Pokémon gbc/gba games except for the highly coveted Pokémon Crystal, Emerald, Leaf Green, & Ruby. I was also able to pick up a limited edition atomic purple mario gbc! As always, I appreciate and love your videos, keep on rock'n!!
it din't take that long before they got an idea from the GBA consolizer. nice review BTW.
The Homeboy88 was first
not familiar with that brand but thanks for the info.
@@Elixir-re8yl th-cam.com/video/dPbtTttZnBE/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/8bGu2ndN5sg/w-d-xo.html
Last I checked, this was announced and demoed as the retron jr before the gba consolizer was announced and released.
Edit: my mistake, the retron jr was originally an april fool's joke from 2017 and wasn't announced as a real product until January 2020, around 6 months after the gba consolizer.
I assume you did check to see Yoshi was working properly on a real GBA?
I did. And I had John Hancock test his copy (he's reviewing it too)...and same thing. Something weird with that particular game, so I figured I'd mention it.
Hyperkin rushed this out in order to try and get it to market before the Analogue Pocket was released.
I thought about mentioning the Analogue Pocket in the video...but that costs $200 without a controller and isn't out yet... so I'm not sure if it's the same consumer or not. We'll see soon enough.
@@MetalJesusRocks and the dock is extra
I caught that kyuss name in tetris, didn't know you also liked desert rock!
4:22 kyuss! Great band 👌
Always love your videos, MJR. I see what you did at the end....a clip of Link in Oracle of Seasons, as you mention "links down below" haha
MJR have you ever tried “Game Boy Interface”? It has a lot of great pixel perfect options. And the frame rate is spot on.
Since I hnow have SD Gecko and GC loader, am selling my shitty nintendo gameboy player boot disc by itself but keeping my player ^^
Nothing beats the GBA Consolizer .. Real Hardware 👌
Agreed. I was really impressed with it... just a bummer it's expensive to get a fully built one.
Every time MJ says I'll leave it up to you, I hear "This is a piece of crap"
Man I was so happy to see this! I didn't get the retro 5 because I only wanted it for gameboy!! But I mostly want GBA
This is cool but I prefer the GameCube add on
Yeah same. Got the GC add on for $2. He knew nothing; just found old stuff to sell in basement to Flea market. Had no cd; Used my mod wii with smash GC to load it up.
And EZflash Omega.
@@timothyle4248 wow
Yeah I'd rather get & use the Game Boy Player with the Game Boy Interface software TBH.
@@timothyle4248 There's a problem with that: Not everyone has an emulation device or a computer (or Gamecube), and GBP Bootup Discs are as expensive as crack, it all depends on what you have
It's good to hear that Hyperkin is still releasing new consoles. Still waiting on the RetroN Ult (N64) that was announced 2 years ago. Hope they release it soon.
they should release a add-on that makes GBA games run really well called the 16X
There is an sd card slot meaning they will release updates for it
200k more and you reach 1M congrats mate you deserve it, your hard work will payout even more
Thanks a ton!
I am literally dying to see a restock for the Analog Pocket. Pre-orders sold out in under a minute IIRC.
Keep an eye on that. Analogue anounced restocks and pre-orders soon. You can subscribe for email notification
@@lukaskidd4621 I want them to be sold on Brazil. I wake up early to pre-order one just to discover they don't ship here.
@@lukaskidd4621 And the products that eBay sells and sends to Brazil have 100% of tax on the product. For example, buying a $60 Xenoblade is $120 minimum, usually the shipping is $40 so a single game would come for $200. Yeah, 100% tax is pretty wild.
@@lukaskidd4621 But I don't care to pay $500 for Analogue Pocket as long as it is good and durable like my Everdrive
@@lukaskidd4621 Ow boy, I don't even know why I talk about this. Analogue Pocket is just imaginary product to people in America.
For some people I feel like it’s a good option. It’s way better than paying hundreds of dollars for a gameboy player and for people who just want to play game boy through gameboy advance games on the tv and for reviews it’s a good option
Times like this makes me wonder why Nintendo doesn't take the opportunity to make something like this. If Nintendo made an official console that can play GB, GBC, and GBA people would buy it.
Probably because they aren’t still producing the GBA/GBC cartridge games anymore. They seem to not want to put out new consoles that play physical games that they don’t produce anymore. They could make it and release it, but then everyone is forced to hunt down old cartridge games in second-hand stores and eBay, and Nintendo cant profit from those of course.
Cause they milk you with online services or re-releases/compilations. You may think, rightfully so, that they can get the money from the device itself as well and be done with that, but greed can never be underestimated, if they only support the latest generation console or one gen bellow in life support, it forces you to get that new machine for anything they release, and if you have it already you're still paying for the service or same game once again.
It feels weird to not have your normal intro for videos like this. I’m always expecting to jam out at some point 😂
Thanks! but I like mixing it up a bit too....so it will be back!
Update in 2023?
I like how as he says "I'm gonna be putting links down below" he shows Link in Legend of Zelda gameplay at that moment.
Kyuss ftw! No shoes, just thongs. 🤘
Man what a bummer. I was really excited about this, already pre-ordered
Question is why on earth would you be excited for a Hyperkin product? They are notoriously crappy.
I'm always so against any Hyperkin products I come across after the AWFUL experience I've had with my Retron 5 and their customer service. Ugh. Their stuff always comes across as pretty bad now, no matter what. So disappointing.
Hyperkin hardware sucks. It is only good for people with low standards.
That’s why I don’t understand all the videos they get from you tubers. Even when they are “honest” it’s giving them a plug and their products are consistently mediocre.
@@alinepiroutek8932 OR it's for people who don't want to spend $100+ on the Gamecube and GB Player, not everyone is rich you know.
@@zachatck6567 People with low standards use cheaper option like $30 phone to emulate. Retrogamer market is top notch.
@@alinepiroutek8932 I don't stoop that low, but still, Game Boy Players are getting expensive because of the Boot Up Disc
Been awhile since i checked in, glad you are still putting out content brother. You rock 🤘
It looks great man, greetings from Mexico 🇲🇽
Hi from Australia 👋🇦🇺
Hi from Israel
No it doesn’t. It looks awful.
I think it looks good, I think I'll get it because I don't have a Game Boy Player
Greetings from the United States
You're my favorite TH-camr I'm really looking forward for the channel to reach a million subscribers
4:37 So you can access your save files from the cartridges, great, but if you're progressing further on this retron can you save your game while playing on the console, then pop it back in your Gameboy to pick up where you left off? If it just copies the save file then stores the future save games on the SD card then this thing is useless.
No, it only saves it on the SD card. Your Gameboy saves remain untouched.
Thanks for the review!
I just woke up and it said uploaded 3 seconds ago!
OMG!!!! That is SOOO CRAZY!!!! You were on TH-cam whenever a video was JUST UPLOADED!?!?!?! WOW! OMG GIRL!!!
I'm glad I held off ordering this, hopefully it improves with firmware updates. Also, upside down USB ports are a pet peeve of mine.
Man. This thing blows. What a disappointment. I’ll be sticking to the GameCube gameboy player!
The great news is everyone can fix the problem easily. If you connect a Keyboard to it using a Bluetooth connections. Press "F1" and you'll find different things you can change and fix yourself. Cause there using Retroarch emulation.
If they fix the GBA problem down the line I'd buy it.
I did have extremely high hopes for this guy. After some time with it I am overall happy. It has its flaws and I have nitpicks but glade I own it.
Looks like an Ouya... *shudders* 😱
But funny thing is the ouya is a better emulation box than this will ever be, the SOC in the ouya is a bit more powerful to be able to do better at emulation.
You are very good on what you do.. I wish you upload 3 videos a week... Continue the good work..
you deserve one million subscribers.. Take care
512mb wow
Been subscribed to you for a while now. But have defo become a bigger fan as of recent. Watching all of your older vids n stuff. Keep on keepin on man!!!
I Don't think this is even running at 720p internally
what do you mean? 2D games don't scale.
@@vasopel No, I mean that the games are being rendered at the original resolution but the system is still sending a 720p signal to the TV, That's why the image is so soft. usually an emulator can natively render a game at a higher resolution than the original system, giving you a sharper image
@@MisticDW 2D games don't scale,gameboy and gameboy color games will be rendered in their original resolution no matter the emulator, if you want play on bigger screens the best you can do is an exact multiplication (like the GBA consolizer does),
this things output is soft because they are using the wrong aspect ratio AND they are using filters that don't need too much cpu power (they tried to make this thing as cheap as possible)
Nice to see all the retro boys supporting metal Jesus
I own a Retron 5 HD and it plays gb, gbc and gba games already. Maybe cost effective for some, but they need to of included DS and 3DS in newer Retron versions.
I appreciate the honesty about the GBA games.
If the Retron 5 taught me anything, it’s that emulation-based clone consoles aren’t reliable. Sorry, SQ.
Your knowledge and integrity is what keeps me coming back. Keep up the good work.
Won't work with the Everdrive because "they're all about people who want to play the actual physical games" yet it does so by ripping the rom to internal memory and running an emulator. Sorry but that just doesn't add up.
I think he meant people that want to play on real hardware
Sounds like the hardware can't handle it lmao
Cool. Hyperkin releases another paperweight. The black and gold model looks like a pretty nice paperweight though. I paid about $80 for my Retron5 paperweight on eBay about three years ago.
I’m holding out for the Analogue Pocket
I won't pay to be a beta tester.
Well, executed video Metal Jesus! I began the video with no care for the product; just a fan of the content! Became interested when I saw the device and it's claims. Then I watched you put it through it paces! I was definitely surprised the GBA wouldn't function very well! Glad I didn't buy one! Hopefully a patch soon. I probably had a nearly face when you showed the "Ratio" from "SQ" to Tetris on the GCP. Definitely wasn't a fan of that, I feel like there is so much detail lost with those stretches the "SQ" is using! Anyway, Bravo.. Well Done!! The visuals were great, simple effects that really add life... from "Listening to the games score" the of the gameplay found it to be very easy to pay attention visually and by ear! I particularly loved the music supporting you; great vibes. (I heard those guitars shredding, perfect for Metroid!!) #Masterclass #MadeMeCare
Hyperkin just seems like they could make really good clone systems, but choose not to.
Wouldn't it be a treat to have Hyperkin design a case for the Raspberry Pi that looked similar to this? I know that would cannibalize their sales, but a guy can dream. :)
The Retron SQ looks a bit like BMO, unless that’s just me!
No way Hosee, that aspect ratio gotta go. Hilarious thumbnail btw. And GB Advance gotta be on par here. Playing the heck out of oracle of seasons now on my NT Mini Noir. What a gem!!!!
I love videos like these. 👍👍
Ah man, I was sold on it until it came to the Game Boy Advance issue. I hope they fix that because I would love to buy this! Hopefully you can make an updated video if they do fix it.
I'm so stoked for the Analogue Pocket later this year! Will definitely be selling my GBA Consolizer once I get it.
Thanks for your review. I just bought one for a project with some friends. I’ll be uploading a review myself for the product. I’m super easy to please and optimistic but, this isn’t looking too great for me haha
that 3 years old video would have deserved a sequel or an update, they probably imporved their product since that day.
Woo-hoo great news for anyone who are still not convinced on giving the sq a chance. I recently receiving mine in the mail, Hyperkin has update there firmware for the sq to download onto the mini SD card. The gameboy advance feature is working clear, smooth and definently worth the 75 bucks :D
Love Your Videos MJR!!! You really know how to bring a Gamer out of a slump!!
Subbed For Life!!! TC😎
For me personally, nothing beats playing GB/C/A games on gameboy player through a mid 90s Sony Trinitron CRT (before anything was digital in the tv) with high quality cables. I can never go back (although there is a homebred software for gb player that adds extra features which I d like to mess with)
I bought this a year ago and we absolutely love it!
Plays most of our Gameboy advanced games too.
Thank you for this review it's the reason I took a chance ✌️
Dang, I was so excited for this. There's not a lot of cheap options for a modern console that plays real gba games and or even with everdrive support. Just to see this not executed well make really kills me. I even got excited for some of the more expensive ones like the analog pocket and they pull crap like you can only preorder it and no more will be produced at launch. Why are companies so bad at pulling off a gba clone home console correctly. The cheapest option from the looks of it with great results is the retron 5 but I want something that doesn't have all those other consoles clinged to it raising the price. I want something that's good or cheap that around $75-$100 with just the GB, GBC, and GBA alone.
There will be more analogue pockets produced. It’s really the scalpers fault but it isn’t discontinued.
Hopefully the homebrew community helps with this one also!
I have really enjoyed my Retron77 with the community build.
Stil my favorite video game TH-camr!
Was waiting to see how long it took you to say "The difference is night & day". Just under 6mins. Well done. Haha
As for the “aspect ratio” deal it’s possible they are using integer scaling vs aspect ratio to allow a larger scale picture while keeping it pixel perfect.
Just speculation as I have no idea what they are using.
For 75 bucks it does what it’s intended to do, so it is what it is. Firmware updates will fix, when the Retron 5 first came out it had lots of performance issues too.
just discovered the MJR Extras youtube channel and i'm gonna sh*t my pants.
MetalJesusRocks just set the base price of our new gba consolization pcb kits to $75 (controller included) 🤘
When I played my friends beta version GBA games we tried worked well...but like you said, it's a beta version and a firmware update will probably fix it. I love it and I have a Retron5, mainly for portability.
Dude, that breath you took at the beginning before saying "Hyperkin Retrobla bla bla" said it all even before watching the whole video lollll
Fantastic video as always a fair and honest review brilliant MJR 😃😃👍👍🕹️🎮
Thank you 👍
Thanks for the great review. Disappointing to hear about it's performance. I feel like a lot of hyperkin products always come so painfully close to being amazing for the price. Hopefully over time the system will see improvements.
We've seen with the success of Analogue that there is the willingness from gamers to pay extra for the best quality. It's disappointing Hyperkin doesn't go that route too... or at least give consumers choice, kinda like how smartphone makers will do a cheap phone and a flagship phone.
@@MetalJesusRocks
So i guess this won't be able to play multi cartridge games with Gb, GBC and Gba games.
To be fair the retron 5 comparison should not be used due to them illegally using other peoples emulation software without permission / compensation. No one should be supporting the Retron 5 or the people that made it.
Hyperkin is using their own software AFAIK. I love the look of this console (like you said its kinda like the N64 special editions) and for $75 it's kinda a steal, especially when they get the GBA stuff smoothed out. Although it needs everdrive support for me to buy it.
Hey My Elder Brother MJR
I'm always your Near & Side with you
Don't Worry,I always support your TH-cam Channel