Digital Foundry, Modern Vintage Gamer, This Does Not Compute and even Metal Jesus are talking about this little beauty today. They are all fine and good, but when I saw My Life in Gaming had also made a video about it, I knew there was only one place I needed to go to get every bit of information I could want about this system.
I just think is so amazing how much the times have changed, the gameboy was a system purposefully made to be cheap using crappy technology, which made it black and white anr with its signature ghosting. Now we are using cutting edge technology, literally the best screens on the market in terms of PPI to recreate its crapyness and to play our physical gameboy games. I definetely want to get one of these someday
I am rather impressed with this at 15:15 where the resolution is high enough to actually replicate the red, green, and blue sub-pixels! Incredible video as always, guys!
The only thing missing from Coury's "try all sorts of weird stuff" segment was plugging in the Game Gear's TV Tuner & use the input port to see if he could turn the Pocket into a portable screen for other consoles!
I'd be really surprised if the tuner worked with anything other than an original GG with the stock LCD (though I'm happy to be wrong). It had its own special use pin that bypassed the Game Gear's normal video hardware and interfaced to the LCD directly to drive it. Basically the operation of the tuner was tied at a hardware level to interfacing with that particular display. Even original game gears with aftermarket screen upgrade kits won't run the tuner.
@@Pathian143 I believe Analogue has updated the Mega Sg to allow support for the Game Gear TV Tuner, but I don't own one, so I can't confirm. I do know that it was requested & that Analogue did acknowledge that it could be done via FPGA. Either way, it would have just been an amusing thing to see hooked up to the Pocket.
The photography of this video is beautiful, it looks better than most of the 4k videos i have watched, even those made by professional studios. The shots of the screen of the Analogue Pocket are best shots of a screen i have seen in my life. I think i will screenshot those shots and use then as my wallpaper.
Yeah definitely, these guys are the best when it comes to the technical bits. Even though they always tell you they aren't experts, their reviews are always so well researched and well informed when it comes to the nitpicky stuff like RGB, screen effects, etc.
Retro Gaming is the new gold and glad that Mike Chi from RetroTink is giving light to consoles that have a hard time displaying on modern displays and Analogue for developing retro consoles to enjoy old school games with modern hardware
Well the important thing to remember for everyone who couldn't order it the first time won't see it until Q1 2022, Q4 2022, or even unluckily in 2023. So they have plenty of time to make the updates before any more consumers can even play the thing. So I think its worth the investment with good faith in mind that it'll probably be better when we actually get it in our hands.
Honestly I hope you come back and discuss a lot of the new features that have come out for the pocket. Especially in regards to everything regarding OpenFPGA. It offers mister-like functionality for far less money in a portable formfactor. Honestly I think that is enough to take another look at the pocket now that it has had a year to really mature overall.
It's not far less money. People love to pretend that you need a fully loaded $500 MiSTer for the system to be functional when my setup (DE-10+OTG USB adapter+128MB RAM) cost half as much, which is less than the Pocket with shipping costs.
Brutal honesty, it's thanks to you guys that I was so excited about Analogue's products and the upcoming release of the Pocket. I appreciate how thoroughly you guys look at the features of these units, and can't wait to see the video for Analogue's PC Engine CD console (whenever that shows up haha)
30:35 thank you for going the extra mile and laying this out for us, because I was heavily interested in the Q5 mod, but knowing this I will steer clear until something of better quality comes about.
[Try4ce] I was worried that going on about the screen mods for as long as I did here would lose some people, but it's a very popular thing in the community, so I wanted to be sure to establish the concerns I have with those mods and address whether they are present on the Pocket. It's a lot of video time spent setting it up to basically say "Nope, these issues aren't here," but I knew at least some people would want to know. They are definitely interesting mods still, but I kinda concluded they really aren't for me by the time I finished that IPS screen mods video. But they are great for people who enjoy tinkering with their systems.
@@mylifeingaming The screen mods made since you have made that video have improved a lot. Your video is essentially doing a disservice to the community , esppecially now that this video is here. The only "screen mod" that still has any kind of major issues is the old GBA LG IPS Screen mods. The DMG's current IPS screens have zero issues that don't stem from "Real hardware quirks" that shouldn't even be considered a problem. The GBC now has a new IPS screen mod that offers several different pixel grid options easily on par with the pocket. That flicker reduction is more like trying to solve the problems that present because of how developers tried to take advantage of the original display's slow response times. There is no super egregious ghosting or large image retention problems on this screen. Also, does no one remember the issues of these original displays? The OG GBC display flickered like crazy and in motion has almost interlacing like artifacts. None of these things are problems that make spending an absurd amount of money for the AP a better deal. The GBA now has a 1:1 resolution screen replacement mod from Funnyplaying's ITA kit that uses a Nintendo Dsi screen with the screen size being nearly 100% the same. The only issues of that screen is inherent to the display tech. Limited viewing angles and some minor slow pixel response times. But nothing like the AGS-101. Looking at ONLY the same so-so IPS drop in replacements is not a fair comparison.
You gotta understand that he’s trying to find these issues because that’s part of how they review all these products and they really scrutinize any imperfection by slowing it down and zooming in to the pixels, the screen mods out for any GB, GBC, or GBA are incredible and well worth the upgrade and price, they may have some very minor things that are just inherent to the technology or the way these games were made but I guarantee the majority of people wouldn’t even be able to see these unless you’re gona take the time to slow footage down and zoom in, in an effort to try to find issues, the point I’m getting to is that I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy an analogue pocket based of the perceived lack of screen quality from current mods, only get a pocket if you really just want this handheld and are ok paying the 220$ plus 30-40$ shipping and then more money for any accessories you want, if you just want a better screen to play for gameboy games on then the 50$ for a screen mod kit is well worth it and they’ve become so easy to install, some without any soldering at all
@@volvoguy804 Something a little unreal about the feel of playing on it after being so used to the old (and probably aging porrly) screen of my GameBoy Color. - feels odd, yet kind of awesome to be able SEE, and thus to play through Super Mario Land again since I thought my eyesight was just getting shittier (which doesn't help with the tiny sprites) hahaha.
I already watched a few videos on the Pocket from other creators, and was sure I wanted one. This in-depth long-form video not only made me buy two, but also all of the accessories. My wallet will have its revenge. Another great job, you guys. Your long-form videos are one of the few things on TH-cam that I reserve for watching on my home cinema, and your cinematography and sound mixing really do it justice. Please keep making these videos.
I was waiting for this review you guys are the true top tier of hardware reviewers. I had already decided to order one regardless but I love the detail in this review, great job. Also given how perfect all Analogue consoles have been up until now I'm confident the Dock will be fully featured in 2022 by the time I get one. Save state working with the GBA Everdrive is amazing! In the mean time I'm going to finally put together my GBA Consolizer and sell it to recoup the entire cost of the Pocket lol.
I finally got to sit down and watch this immense dive. My amazing fiancé actually already pre-ordered me one and I’m already excited. After watching your video I can’t wait to dive into all of my seldom used game boy and game gear collection. I’m most excited to play Lynx games on a system that won’t be so washed out as my old Lynx. Thanks for all that you guys do!
@@n0isyturtle you can they started open orders as of 11 AM est/8 AM pst, you could’ve ordered one and possibly got it in Q1 of 2022, orders will continue to be open too, they’ve stated anyone who wants one will be able to order, but they will be shipped in groups on a first come first serve basis, so any order now I would assume won’t be shipped until 2023, I ordered as soon as they went live so I’m hoping I got it with the first group
14:04 I don't actually have that much interest in playing original Game Boy games, but this attention to detail just made me smile. I couldn't work out why the GB footage earlier in the review looked so awesome, and it's even more awesome knowing the work they put in to get there.
This is the best review of all the ones flooding youtube right now. You guys actually go into real detail on the screen emulation modes which are the real draw of this device for me.
[Try4ce] Haha, right? I thought the speaker comparison was going to be no-contest for the Pocket, and the stereo really does bring the music to life, but there's a warm happy feeling to the mono DMG speaker in there too that... I dunno, I really honestly can't pick which speaker setup I like better there.
Got mine last Thursday. I ordered the black one but they sent me the white one for some reason, it’s not a deal breaker because I’ve been waiting forever for it. It’s all updated and loaded up with roms. I’m absolutely loving it.
Last year I upgraded my GBA SP with a ton of new mods, and I'm glad I did. The video quality on the new screen is amazing and all this video is doing is making me want to play my Game Boy Advance when I get home tonight after work. :)
Super Gameboy features are a must and I really hope they get around to including them eventually (custom borders included). That would make the Analogue Pocket literally the ultimate, be-all-end-all in retro handhelds.
Your Gameboy episode is one of the coolest documentaries on TH-cam. Posting this review, hearing the music, seeing the games is so important to the story. Keep it up!
The Gameboy audio issues are a problem, but it's something that will hopefully be fixed and probably won't turn most people off from a buy. Game Gear is shockingly close and I can't tell the difference without hearing them side by side. GBA also sounds awesome.
2021 has been one of the best years for Gameboy nerds ever. . 4x integer scaling on original hardware with the Funnyplaying RetroPixel kit, a myriad of new mods and custom parts, and now the Analogue Pocket...
Easily the best and most in depth review of the Analogue Pocket on youtube. Thanks so much for the thoroughly detailed video and honest criticism. I think I'll wait for whatever the revision of this ends up being.
I *seriously* wish they made a USB-C based replacement for the GBA Link cable. That would be SO GOOD and help make playing these games far less irritating when the slight breeze bumps the cable out!
…you might just need a new cable. Or to reseat the plug itself if it’s getting loose. Consider fixing your stuff rather than replacing it. Future generations might not have access to OEM components like we do.
@@jerryborjon Literally since day 1 20 years ago these link cables (specifically the GBA-GCN) have been notorious for coming slightly unhooked by the slightest bump during gameplay and booting me back out to the title screen of Four Swords Adventures. It's not a matter of repair, it's a matter of the cable design inherently does not hold itself in the same way a USB C cable does. I've fixed plenty of systems, cables, and games. The OEM cable just sucks.
@@AstralLovelace - Are you _really_ sure? I don’t personally have this problem with either of my cables. They’re pretty safely secured at all times. Make sure the Dunning-Kruger effect isn’t screwing you over here. Don’t get overconfident in something you _think_ is an issue just because you hypothesized it a long time ago. Look at it with fresh eyes and try to find a solution that doesn’t involve risking the loss of a system functionality. If it’s been a problem since day 1, you might have had a different issue since day 1. Maybe your Link Cable port has been lose all this time, or maybe your cable is a bootleg/defective.
@@jerryborjon And... don't assume that my experiences are false? That across 4 different GBA-GCN Link Cables and 4 different GBA/GBA SP's all disconnecting any time someone got excited and bumped their GBA, it was actually *my* fault the whole time? This is across every OEM cable I've had on any GBA I've used. It's just a crap cable and I'm hardly the only person to think so. It's okay if a 20 year old cable sucks, whaddya want.
I'm sure you said that accidentally, but that's actually shameful. There's already a USB port. You know that. What you are effectively asking for is multi-player compatibility with real consoles to be completely removed. What you are asking for could have been done with the USB port already there. You should be asking for the ability for a USB cable to be used as a link cable, not for hardware features to be removed. I agree with you about the quality of the connector itself, hence my hope that they let us use USB cables instead of link cables. But saying that you want that link port to be replaced is not cool. If you got your wish, then it would turn it from a true hardware clone into something much less. The entire purpose of this device is that it can be a replacement for the consoles it supports, and you can't do that if you remove something like a multiplayer port. Yes, they could have chosen a link cable standard from a different system, but let's be real, if anyone is going to use it to play a game with an original console, then it's probably going to be a Nintendo handheld game.
The detail in these videos in second to none. Have been having a bit of buyers remorse after seeing the import fees, but this really hits home at how great this thing is!
I wanted to be so excited for this. Scalpers quickly killed my hype. It's unlikely I'll ever get my hands on one of these because of those lowlifes. Great video nonetheless.
You can order one today. But arrival rates are divided between Q1 2022, Q4 2022, or 2023. Payment is upfront but you can cancel and get a full refund a week before they ship. Release groups are informed about three days after ordering. EDIT: Cancellations can be done anytime by calling their support page. Obviously if you order now you're on 2023's group
They should,ve call it the “analogue multi pocket” instead because that’s what it is,to be able to also play gamegear,tg16 games aside from gameboy/color and gb advance games,among other future games.
Thank you THANK YOU for mentioning these flimsy dpads! It's absolutely game-breaking when you're trying to duck in Contra and you just stand up and die. It happens on every handheld I've bought. Anbernic, retroflag, etc. And most youtubers are just ignoring the problem. Kudos to you for being honest.
The pocket overall looks awesome and this review was amazing. The problem is the delay in shipments and the pre-orders. They are opening one soon but I have a feeling that will be sold out in seconds!
They stated they’re doing open orders and that anyone who wants one will be able to order one, but they will be shipped in 3 separate groups in Q1 2022, Q4 2022, and 2023 based on first come first serve so if you didn’t order one when they went live then sadly you will have to wait awhile
@@PatrickThomasBrady I will, I'm still on the fence bc I ordered a GBA with an IPS LCD screen not too long ago and I'm pretty happy with it. But definitely will read the FAQ.
What a beautiful product. I'm sure you will mention it later but just watching it now for a minute or two, I'm EAGERLY going "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!" and really hoping you'll reveal how much they're retailing for
So many TH-camrs I follow have put out vids on this at once. BUT watching this first cause the video on how to get the best picture quality from Gameboy games is what got me hooked on you two (Think I saw the Controller Adapters episode once before but Gaming Historian mentioned the Game Boy picture quality episode you guys did during his Game Boy Player video which lead me to watching it)
I totally agree with the problem of the 8bitdo d-pads... My favourite dpad today is the playstation classic mini controller, i use it on my switch, ps3 and pc with adpater, but the R and L button are notre great...
32:15 - For anyone wondering what this game is (as I didn't know, either), it's called Noobow! And Bub-o Escape! doesn't seem to be properly released yet by Gabe Swarr, so I'm guessing they got a demo copy from Gabe himself.
[Try4ce] That's right, we're friends with Gabe and he's been hoping to have his game ready to release around the Pocket's launch! He's still not sure how he will proceed with that at the moment however, I believe.
man.. im super bummed to hear the dac isnt compatible yet, even though the website has and STILL says "dac compatible".. one of the big reasons i even ordered the dock, hope they fix this soon
"It's finally here!!!!" For the 500 people that managed to cram their way through the cumbersome preorder. Maybe the masses will have one by 2023... LOL!
If you watch a video of a pinaball machine made circa 1991-2013, you will see the simularities of this "pinball" dot-matrix display mode, and real-life pinball displays.
Wonderful, wonderful video guys! Is there by chance a list of the video games used in the b roll? I’ve been watching everyone’s pocket reviews and I’m getting introduced to loads of cool looking games (for a couple seconds at a time 😅)
[Try4ce] Well, it wouldn't be every game featured since we do use EverDrives at times, but looking through our Game Boy collections on our Backloggery pages would pretty much give you the names of most games in the episode, probably. Try4ce and CouryC.
Thanks guys for this exhaustive review of the Analogue Pocket. I think I might wait for a future revision with a more GBA style form factor but the final product is pretty impressive.
Better yet, how far are we away from recreating the image of a CRT display? With these fast refresh rates, can we even emulate drawing with scanlines? We'd get lightgun support back..
Because you are very important, and analogue is talking to you, can you please ask them if there will be a fixed firmware for the nt mini noir? The system has so many problems with everdrive and some games, if you want to play from the game cartridge. And this is why retro enthusiasts like me bought the very pricey system!
Signed up with the websites for notifications when preorders go up. Never get notified. Analogue's service and customer relations are as bad as their products are good.
This looks amazing...I'm going to keep my eye on theses, maybe I'll pick one up in a year or two when I can spare the cash and there have been software updates, maybe even hardware revisions or at least more case colours.
I’ve had the same problem that when pressing the “down” or “up" button on my Analogue Pocket unit it also registers either “right" or “left”, which heavily affects the gameplay of some games such as Tetris. Would love to know if there is a workaround of some kind.
@@GeorgiaRidgerunner Thank your for the tip. I'll check that out. I saw some people were successful by applying masking tape to the contacts on prior 8bitdo controllers that had the same issue.
Does anyone know what the Desaturation setting _literally_ does for GBA games? Is it actually gamma or saturation or something else? Asking because those are very different things…
[Try4ce] Good question. I don't actually know if it's just straight up desaturation or if it's a mixture of methods, but if you max out the slider, GBC and GBA games become totally grayscale, so it's definitely desaturating, but if it does anything else alongside that, I don't know how it's calculated.
@@mylifeingaming Thanks, Try! Man, would kill to know what Kevtris specifically did for that setting. It’s super important for understanding how best to display GBA games especially.
Do you guys publish a list of the games shown in your videos anywhere? A lot of times I don't recognize them and they look like something I'd want to play. Great video by the way, easily the best retro gaming hardware channel on TH-cam and certainly my favorite.
Thanks for the review. An imperfect d pad makes this an easy pass for me. This along with the price increase, the very good chance they will hold my money for a year or more before shipping, unreasonable shipping cost, and a foreign transaction fee. I will wait for a revision if it ever comes out.
Them: "The d-pad isn't perfect, but a perfect d-pad is impossible to find anywhere these days.." You: "Sweet, my bias is confirmed! Gonna avoid this garbage like the plague!"
Cory said "the perfect d pad is nearly impossible to find" The SNES Switch controller and the 8bitdo M30 both have perfect d pads and are both current products. I have purchased a lot of 8bitdo controllers with unusable d pads in the past, maybe the d pad will be fine, but at the least I'm going to wait for more reviews.
I have recently decided that the title of "Perfect D-Pad" has moved on from my previous faves: a very specific revision of the Genesis 3-button and the NES gamepad, to my new favorite champion, the XBox Series controller. The diagonals simply always respond perfectly on that one. While I'm not the biggest fan of positioning, that's a flaw ALL modern controllers have had for a while now, but overlooking that the basic design is pretty much perfect.
Have you tried a modern 8bitdo controller? Either the Pro 2 or the new version of the SN30 Pro will do, but my SN30 has more a more "crunchy" d-pad which I enjoy. Plus it has the proper position. Those are my favorite dpads.
I have an unmodded GBA SP AGS 001 It's not pretty but It's authentic and I wouldn't trade It for anything I have a gamecube with the gameboy interface, my favorite way to play, still looking for a good d pad controller The pocket looks like something I would get for the best portable experience and to broaden my handheld horizons beyond gameboy but I'm not rushing to buy It
Thanks guys! My main reason for interest in the Pocket was the Dock for GBA games. Glad I held off on my purchase since it seems the Dock isn't the best way to GBA right now. I might look into the Mister instead since I really don't think I'd use the portable nature of the Pocket much.
Digital Foundry, Modern Vintage Gamer, This Does Not Compute and even Metal Jesus are talking about this little beauty today. They are all fine and good, but when I saw My Life in Gaming had also made a video about it, I knew there was only one place I needed to go to get every bit of information I could want about this system.
The review from The Retro Future was very entertaining
Even Rerez and Game Sack talked about this. How strange.
Exactly!!
Yeah, for technical detail on this stuff there's no one I trust more than MLiG.
Metal Jesus? May as well hand the system to a drunk napping in a train station and ask them to review it for you.
I just think is so amazing how much the times have changed, the gameboy was a system purposefully made to be cheap using crappy technology, which made it black and white anr with its signature ghosting. Now we are using cutting edge technology, literally the best screens on the market in terms of PPI to recreate its crapyness and to play our physical gameboy games.
I definetely want to get one of these someday
Same
Plus my brother is trying to get one to make his own gameboy games.
@@bigfootinhiding8641 Get a MiSTER and make it now.
It was more green and darker green than black and white lol
The Game Boy was made to be miser on batteries. Unlike the Game Gear which needed new batteries every 4 hours.
“Totally fooled my eye until I looked at it under a macro lens.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we watch these videos!
I am rather impressed with this at 15:15 where the resolution is high enough to actually replicate the red, green, and blue sub-pixels! Incredible video as always, guys!
I always appreciated the “shading”
The only thing missing from Coury's "try all sorts of weird stuff" segment was plugging in the Game Gear's TV Tuner & use the input port to see if he could turn the Pocket into a portable screen for other consoles!
I'd be really surprised if the tuner worked with anything other than an original GG with the stock LCD (though I'm happy to be wrong). It had its own special use pin that bypassed the Game Gear's normal video hardware and interfaced to the LCD directly to drive it. Basically the operation of the tuner was tied at a hardware level to interfacing with that particular display. Even original game gears with aftermarket screen upgrade kits won't run the tuner.
I wonder if the e-reader fits
@@Pathian143 I believe Analogue has updated the Mega Sg to allow support for the Game Gear TV Tuner, but I don't own one, so I can't confirm. I do know that it was requested & that Analogue did acknowledge that it could be done via FPGA. Either way, it would have just been an amusing thing to see hooked up to the Pocket.
They used the actual PIXELS to emulated the RGB SUB PIXELS of a GBC. These Analogue guys are mad lads. Unbelievable attention to detail.
The photography of this video is beautiful, it looks better than most of the 4k videos i have watched, even those made by professional studios. The shots of the screen of the Analogue Pocket are best shots of a screen i have seen in my life. I think i will screenshot those shots and use then as my wallpaper.
Wow, analogue really goes above and beyond. This is one helluva product. One of the coolest products I've ever seen
Man, you guys REALLY put this thing through it's paces. And it holds up under your scrutiny! This looks like a great piece of hardware!
THIS IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST REVIEW OF ALL THE REVIEWS THAT DROPPED AT THE SAME TIME TODAY.
Yeah definitely, these guys are the best when it comes to the technical bits. Even though they always tell you they aren't experts, their reviews are always so well researched and well informed when it comes to the nitpicky stuff like RGB, screen effects, etc.
@@vladg5216 I just watched Rerez before this, that moron didn't spend more than 5 seconds talking about the screen and nothing about the sound.
It's a paid endorsement. Not a review.
Retro Gaming is the new gold and glad that Mike Chi from RetroTink is giving light to consoles that have a hard time displaying on modern displays and Analogue for developing retro consoles to enjoy old school games with modern hardware
Well the important thing to remember for everyone who couldn't order it the first time won't see it until Q1 2022, Q4 2022, or even unluckily in 2023. So they have plenty of time to make the updates before any more consumers can even play the thing. So I think its worth the investment with good faith in mind that it'll probably be better when we actually get it in our hands.
Honestly I hope you come back and discuss a lot of the new features that have come out for the pocket. Especially in regards to everything regarding OpenFPGA. It offers mister-like functionality for far less money in a portable formfactor. Honestly I think that is enough to take another look at the pocket now that it has had a year to really mature overall.
It's not far less money. People love to pretend that you need a fully loaded $500 MiSTer for the system to be functional when my setup (DE-10+OTG USB adapter+128MB RAM) cost half as much, which is less than the Pocket with shipping costs.
It's genuinely impressive how every Analogue product outdoes the previous one.
Not one day did I regret buying a super nt. And this looks like a buy as well. They just tick all the boxes and they get better each time.
@@Biblionaut Just bought a Super NT. Sweet piece of technology. I'm happy that my old SNES will finally be able to rest.
Then came the Duo...
Brutal honesty, it's thanks to you guys that I was so excited about Analogue's products and the upcoming release of the Pocket. I appreciate how thoroughly you guys look at the features of these units, and can't wait to see the video for Analogue's PC Engine CD console (whenever that shows up haha)
My Pocket and Dock finally arrived today, after an almost 2 year wait! Looking forward to delving into it!
Wow, two year wait, that’s wild. How are you enjoying yours?
That this channel isn’t at a million subs is mind boggling. The content is so in-depth and entertaining. This is real nerds nerd of a channel.
30:35 thank you for going the extra mile and laying this out for us, because I was heavily interested in the Q5 mod, but knowing this I will steer clear until something of better quality comes about.
[Try4ce] I was worried that going on about the screen mods for as long as I did here would lose some people, but it's a very popular thing in the community, so I wanted to be sure to establish the concerns I have with those mods and address whether they are present on the Pocket. It's a lot of video time spent setting it up to basically say "Nope, these issues aren't here," but I knew at least some people would want to know. They are definitely interesting mods still, but I kinda concluded they really aren't for me by the time I finished that IPS screen mods video. But they are great for people who enjoy tinkering with their systems.
@@mylifeingaming The screen mods made since you have made that video have improved a lot. Your video is essentially doing a disservice to the community , esppecially now that this video is here.
The only "screen mod" that still has any kind of major issues is the old GBA LG IPS Screen mods.
The DMG's current IPS screens have zero issues that don't stem from "Real hardware quirks" that shouldn't even be considered a problem.
The GBC now has a new IPS screen mod that offers several different pixel grid options easily on par with the pocket. That flicker reduction is more like trying to solve the problems that present because of how developers tried to take advantage of the original display's slow response times. There is no super egregious ghosting or large image retention problems on this screen. Also, does no one remember the issues of these original displays? The OG GBC display flickered like crazy and in motion has almost interlacing like artifacts.
None of these things are problems that make spending an absurd amount of money for the AP a better deal.
The GBA now has a 1:1 resolution screen replacement mod from Funnyplaying's ITA kit that uses a Nintendo Dsi screen with the screen size being nearly 100% the same. The only issues of that screen is inherent to the display tech. Limited viewing angles and some minor slow pixel response times. But nothing like the AGS-101. Looking at ONLY the same so-so IPS drop in replacements is not a fair comparison.
You gotta understand that he’s trying to find these issues because that’s part of how they review all these products and they really scrutinize any imperfection by slowing it down and zooming in to the pixels, the screen mods out for any GB, GBC, or GBA are incredible and well worth the upgrade and price, they may have some very minor things that are just inherent to the technology or the way these games were made but I guarantee the majority of people wouldn’t even be able to see these unless you’re gona take the time to slow footage down and zoom in, in an effort to try to find issues, the point I’m getting to is that I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy an analogue pocket based of the perceived lack of screen quality from current mods, only get a pocket if you really just want this handheld and are ok paying the 220$ plus 30-40$ shipping and then more money for any accessories you want, if you just want a better screen to play for gameboy games on then the 50$ for a screen mod kit is well worth it and they’ve become so easy to install, some without any soldering at all
Just got mine today, looking forward to using it!
Same! Got mine as a surprise gift. Was totally floored!
@@volvoguy804 Something a little unreal about the feel of playing on it after being so used to the old (and probably aging porrly) screen of my GameBoy Color. - feels odd, yet kind of awesome to be able SEE, and thus to play through Super Mario Land again since I thought my eyesight was just getting shittier (which doesn't help with the tiny sprites) hahaha.
What a killer video. Love that MLIG doesn't skimp on their reviews too. Long thorough content with every bit of detail intact. Not common on TH-cam.
I already watched a few videos on the Pocket from other creators, and was sure I wanted one. This in-depth long-form video not only made me buy two, but also all of the accessories. My wallet will have its revenge.
Another great job, you guys. Your long-form videos are one of the few things on TH-cam that I reserve for watching on my home cinema, and your cinematography and sound mixing really do it justice.
Please keep making these videos.
Been waiting on this video. Very detailed without any bias . I just get beautiful information. Always appreciated!
I love the fact that the future led to a super high tech serious professional grade game boy for adults.
I was waiting for this review you guys are the true top tier of hardware reviewers. I had already decided to order one regardless but I love the detail in this review, great job. Also given how perfect all Analogue consoles have been up until now I'm confident the Dock will be fully featured in 2022 by the time I get one. Save state working with the GBA Everdrive is amazing! In the mean time I'm going to finally put together my GBA Consolizer and sell it to recoup the entire cost of the Pocket lol.
I finally got to sit down and watch this immense dive. My amazing fiancé actually already pre-ordered me one and I’m already excited. After watching your video I can’t wait to dive into all of my seldom used game boy and game gear collection. I’m most excited to play Lynx games on a system that won’t be so washed out as my old Lynx. Thanks for all that you guys do!
Gotta give it to Analogue, this looks like an incredible device.
Now if only anyone could actually buy one...
@@n0isyturtle What do you mean? Is it out of stock?
@@n0isyturtle you can they started open orders as of 11 AM est/8 AM pst, you could’ve ordered one and possibly got it in Q1 of 2022, orders will continue to be open too, they’ve stated anyone who wants one will be able to order, but they will be shipped in groups on a first come first serve basis, so any order now I would assume won’t be shipped until 2023, I ordered as soon as they went live so I’m hoping I got it with the first group
@@andyboxish4436 no they are currently accepting orders but I would check with the FAQ section for how they explain the shipping groups
Phenomenal review! I really enjoy this review. It was very in-depth and answered sooo many questions about the Analogue Pocket.
14:04 I don't actually have that much interest in playing original Game Boy games, but this attention to detail just made me smile. I couldn't work out why the GB footage earlier in the review looked so awesome, and it's even more awesome knowing the work they put in to get there.
This is the best review of all the ones flooding youtube right now. You guys actually go into real detail on the screen emulation modes which are the real draw of this device for me.
paid endorsements aren't reviews.
Bruh, that Kirby’s Dream Land title screen on the mono speaker gave me nostalgic feeling I thought I was no longer capable of…
[Try4ce] Haha, right? I thought the speaker comparison was going to be no-contest for the Pocket, and the stereo really does bring the music to life, but there's a warm happy feeling to the mono DMG speaker in there too that... I dunno, I really honestly can't pick which speaker setup I like better there.
Pause at 21:29 and feel the judgement of the screen lord!
Got mine last Thursday. I ordered the black one but they sent me the white one for some reason, it’s not a deal breaker because I’ve been waiting forever for it. It’s all updated and loaded up with roms. I’m absolutely loving it.
That nanoloop studio composition earns an official "An attempt was made" sticker.
Last year I upgraded my GBA SP with a ton of new mods, and I'm glad I did. The video quality on the new screen is amazing and all this video is doing is making me want to play my Game Boy Advance when I get home tonight after work. :)
The white looks amazing. Can’t wait to get mine. Hopefully it comes this week.
LOL good luck getting one. Analogue's tend to sell out fast and they don't tend to restock
Its an open pre-order, go order it now.
The white does look good! As does the black, however, the white will show less fingerprints and has a nice crispness to it. :)
Super Gameboy features are a must and I really hope they get around to including them eventually (custom borders included). That would make the Analogue Pocket literally the ultimate, be-all-end-all in retro handhelds.
Just wish it was offered in different handheld design. I really love the game gear design, it’s very comfortable on the hands.
Watching this for probably my 5th time while I'm STILL waiting on my analogue pocket 🙃
Your Gameboy episode is one of the coolest documentaries on TH-cam. Posting this review, hearing the music, seeing the games is so important to the story. Keep it up!
The Gameboy audio issues are a problem, but it's something that will hopefully be fixed and probably won't turn most people off from a buy. Game Gear is shockingly close and I can't tell the difference without hearing them side by side. GBA also sounds awesome.
2021 has been one of the best years for Gameboy nerds ever. . 4x integer scaling on original hardware with the Funnyplaying RetroPixel kit, a myriad of new mods and custom parts, and now the Analogue Pocket...
That screen is really cool. Hopefully they release one at some point with the GBAs aspect ratio
Easily the best and most in depth review of the Analogue Pocket on youtube. Thanks so much for the thoroughly detailed video and honest criticism. I think I'll wait for whatever the revision of this ends up being.
I don't think Analogue do revisions generally speaking.
[Try4ce] They did do the Nt mini Noir though, which is radically different, so you never know.
I *seriously* wish they made a USB-C based replacement for the GBA Link cable. That would be SO GOOD and help make playing these games far less irritating when the slight breeze bumps the cable out!
…you might just need a new cable. Or to reseat the plug itself if it’s getting loose.
Consider fixing your stuff rather than replacing it. Future generations might not have access to OEM components like we do.
@@jerryborjon Literally since day 1 20 years ago these link cables (specifically the GBA-GCN) have been notorious for coming slightly unhooked by the slightest bump during gameplay and booting me back out to the title screen of Four Swords Adventures. It's not a matter of repair, it's a matter of the cable design inherently does not hold itself in the same way a USB C cable does.
I've fixed plenty of systems, cables, and games. The OEM cable just sucks.
@@AstralLovelace - Are you _really_ sure? I don’t personally have this problem with either of my cables. They’re pretty safely secured at all times.
Make sure the Dunning-Kruger effect isn’t screwing you over here. Don’t get overconfident in something you _think_ is an issue just because you hypothesized it a long time ago. Look at it with fresh eyes and try to find a solution that doesn’t involve risking the loss of a system functionality.
If it’s been a problem since day 1, you might have had a different issue since day 1. Maybe your Link Cable port has been lose all this time, or maybe your cable is a bootleg/defective.
@@jerryborjon And... don't assume that my experiences are false? That across 4 different GBA-GCN Link Cables and 4 different GBA/GBA SP's all disconnecting any time someone got excited and bumped their GBA, it was actually *my* fault the whole time? This is across every OEM cable I've had on any GBA I've used. It's just a crap cable and I'm hardly the only person to think so. It's okay if a 20 year old cable sucks, whaddya want.
I'm sure you said that accidentally, but that's actually shameful. There's already a USB port. You know that. What you are effectively asking for is multi-player compatibility with real consoles to be completely removed. What you are asking for could have been done with the USB port already there. You should be asking for the ability for a USB cable to be used as a link cable, not for hardware features to be removed.
I agree with you about the quality of the connector itself, hence my hope that they let us use USB cables instead of link cables. But saying that you want that link port to be replaced is not cool. If you got your wish, then it would turn it from a true hardware clone into something much less. The entire purpose of this device is that it can be a replacement for the consoles it supports, and you can't do that if you remove something like a multiplayer port. Yes, they could have chosen a link cable standard from a different system, but let's be real, if anyone is going to use it to play a game with an original console, then it's probably going to be a Nintendo handheld game.
The detail in these videos in second to none. Have been having a bit of buyers remorse after seeing the import fees, but this really hits home at how great this thing is!
I wanted to be so excited for this. Scalpers quickly killed my hype. It's unlikely I'll ever get my hands on one of these because of those lowlifes. Great video nonetheless.
Yeah, and knowing Analogue, they won't be restocking often because for all their accomplishments they really suck at making their products available.
Uh you can order one as of today
You can order one today. But arrival rates are divided between Q1 2022, Q4 2022, or 2023. Payment is upfront but you can cancel and get a full refund a week before they ship. Release groups are informed about three days after ordering.
EDIT: Cancellations can be done anytime by calling their support page. Obviously if you order now you're on 2023's group
Scalpers ruin everything.
You forgot how life works, wow. Do you have one yet? They're not impossible to get anymore, of course. Scalper princes almost always crash eventually.
easy trick to remember the direction of the save state commands:
menu + ↑ ="up"load save state
menu + ↓ = "down"load save state
Ahhhh!!!! Come on son, you know I've been waiting for this one! Can't wait to watch this and with any luck be playing it later this week.
This is the only review of the Pocket I'll be watching. Excellent work as always, guys.
They should,ve call it the “analogue multi pocket” instead because that’s what it is,to be able to also play gamegear,tg16 games aside from gameboy/color and gb advance games,among other future games.
Thank you THANK YOU for mentioning these flimsy dpads! It's absolutely game-breaking when you're trying to duck in Contra and you just stand up and die. It happens on every handheld I've bought. Anbernic, retroflag, etc. And most youtubers are just ignoring the problem. Kudos to you for being honest.
The pocket overall looks awesome and this review was amazing. The problem is the delay in shipments and the pre-orders. They are opening one soon but I have a feeling that will be sold out in seconds!
They stated they’re doing open orders and that anyone who wants one will be able to order one, but they will be shipped in 3 separate groups in Q1 2022, Q4 2022, and 2023 based on first come first serve so if you didn’t order one when they went live then sadly you will have to wait awhile
@@PatrickThomasBrady Oh that's perfect! Thanks
@@VideoStalker00 no problem, they a have a FAQ section that I’d suggest everyone just give a quick read before ordering
@@PatrickThomasBrady I will, I'm still on the fence bc I ordered a GBA with an IPS LCD screen not too long ago and I'm pretty happy with it. But definitely will read the FAQ.
Fantastic review! I'm going to give my son my Pocket for Christmas along with the BGA X5, GB X7 and GG X7 Everdrives. He's going to be set.
The ability to interface with actual official hardware makes this the only third party “retro handheld” worth getting
What a beautiful product. I'm sure you will mention it later but just watching it now for a minute or two, I'm EAGERLY going "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!" and really hoping you'll reveal how much they're retailing for
Just can't get over how good the screen looks
So many TH-camrs I follow have put out vids on this at once. BUT watching this first cause the video on how to get the best picture quality from Gameboy games is what got me hooked on you two (Think I saw the Controller Adapters episode once before but Gaming Historian mentioned the Game Boy picture quality episode you guys did during his Game Boy Player video which lead me to watching it)
This is the only video with watching to be honest. And unfortunately it’s the one with the least views so far.
I totally agree with the problem of the 8bitdo d-pads... My favourite dpad today is the playstation classic mini controller, i use it on my switch, ps3 and pc with adpater, but the R and L button are notre great...
Hands down, best retro gaming information channel on YT.
What a fantastic in depth review. Killer job, guys
32:15 - For anyone wondering what this game is (as I didn't know, either), it's called Noobow! And Bub-o Escape! doesn't seem to be properly released yet by Gabe Swarr, so I'm guessing they got a demo copy from Gabe himself.
[Try4ce] That's right, we're friends with Gabe and he's been hoping to have his game ready to release around the Pocket's launch! He's still not sure how he will proceed with that at the moment however, I believe.
Awesome! Can’t wait to watch this!
[Try4ce] And thank you so much for helping us get that footage! Everyone go watch this guy's modding videos! His special effects are so good!
@@mylifeingaming you’re most welcome buddy!! Thank you for the shoutout 🙏☺️
I always forget how detailed your channel's videos are. Amazing.
i've pre-ordered one :D
Cant wait to get mine also,preordered on 14th!
still looking for subscribers larry? haha
did you get it or still waiting?
Watching this again today for fun and they JUST announced the glow-in-the-dark version!
Thank you for checking the various GBA Everdrive cores. I was thinking that could have been the one cart to rule them all but oh well
The video that’s gonna help me decide whether or not I wanna partake in the madness of preordering tomorrow
Fpga doesn't emulate hardware. It programs the physical connections that make up the cpu to be connected the same way the original hardware was.
I just keep coming back to these videos man. The quality of these videos are simply stunning. You guys do a fantastic job man. Love this channel.
man.. im super bummed to hear the dac isnt compatible yet, even though the website has and STILL says "dac compatible".. one of the big reasons i even ordered the dock, hope they fix this soon
Very thorough review.
52:36 has a small editing mistake, but very high quality other than that. Accidentally forgot to cut an audio outtake.
"It's finally here!!!!" For the 500 people that managed to cram their way through the cumbersome preorder. Maybe the masses will have one by 2023... LOL!
Nah, it'll just be another "exclusive" item, because "I _could_ sell it to you, but I won't" is a thrill for some people I guess.
@@nickwallette6201 No, it will be on ebay for $1200... sigh...
If you watch a video of a pinaball machine made circa 1991-2013, you will see the simularities of this "pinball" dot-matrix display mode, and real-life pinball displays.
Wonderful, wonderful video guys! Is there by chance a list of the video games used in the b roll? I’ve been watching everyone’s pocket reviews and I’m getting introduced to loads of cool looking games (for a couple seconds at a time 😅)
[Try4ce] Well, it wouldn't be every game featured since we do use EverDrives at times, but looking through our Game Boy collections on our Backloggery pages would pretty much give you the names of most games in the episode, probably. Try4ce and CouryC.
This channel still has the best intro and outro music of any I've come across
Great review, guys!!
Only complaint: the screen resizing works great for quick and dirty ports which squash pixels.
Some developers were terrified of letterboxing.
Cool review. Love how this company will take full payment for one and not ship it for a whole year.
Concave and convex buttons ftw!!!
Thanks guys for this exhaustive review of the Analogue Pocket. I think I might wait for a future revision with a more GBA style form factor but the final product is pretty impressive.
The display is incredible. How far are we from creating a display like that for an Arcade cabinet?
Better yet, how far are we away from recreating the image of a CRT display? With these fast refresh rates, can we even emulate drawing with scanlines? We'd get lightgun support back..
Top notch quality as always, it’s a crime you guys have only 200k subs.
Because you are very important, and analogue is talking to you, can you please ask them if there will be a fixed firmware for the nt mini noir? The system has so many problems with everdrive and some games, if you want to play from the game cartridge. And this is why retro enthusiasts like me bought the very pricey system!
Most excellent review and very informative!! Thank you guys!!!
Signed up with the websites for notifications when preorders go up. Never get notified. Analogue's service and customer relations are as bad as their products are good.
This looks amazing...I'm going to keep my eye on theses, maybe I'll pick one up in a year or two when I can spare the cash and there have been software updates, maybe even hardware revisions or at least more case colours.
I’ve had the same problem that when pressing the “down” or “up" button on my Analogue Pocket unit it also registers either “right" or “left”, which heavily affects the gameplay of some games such as Tetris. Would love to know if there is a workaround of some kind.
Only answer is use a stiffer silicon bumper and a dpad with taller central pivot
@@GeorgiaRidgerunner Thank your for the tip. I'll check that out. I saw some people were successful by applying masking tape to the contacts on prior 8bitdo controllers that had the same issue.
Remember the save states like this: up is upload, down is download. easy.
Does anyone know what the Desaturation setting _literally_ does for GBA games? Is it actually gamma or saturation or something else? Asking because those are very different things…
[Try4ce] Good question. I don't actually know if it's just straight up desaturation or if it's a mixture of methods, but if you max out the slider, GBC and GBA games become totally grayscale, so it's definitely desaturating, but if it does anything else alongside that, I don't know how it's calculated.
@@mylifeingaming Thanks, Try!
Man, would kill to know what Kevtris specifically did for that setting. It’s super important for understanding how best to display GBA games especially.
Do you guys publish a list of the games shown in your videos anywhere? A lot of times I don't recognize them and they look like something I'd want to play. Great video by the way, easily the best retro gaming hardware channel on TH-cam and certainly my favorite.
Another cool thing you can't buy because out of stock)
I love Analogue products! That's why I HAD to spend them hundos to secure my order $$$$
Thanks for the review. An imperfect d pad makes this an easy pass for me. This along with the price increase, the very good chance they will hold my money for a year or more before shipping, unreasonable shipping cost, and a foreign transaction fee. I will wait for a revision if it ever comes out.
Them: "The d-pad isn't perfect, but a perfect d-pad is impossible to find anywhere these days.."
You: "Sweet, my bias is confirmed! Gonna avoid this garbage like the plague!"
Cory said "the perfect d pad is nearly impossible to find" The SNES Switch controller and the 8bitdo M30 both have perfect d pads and are both current products. I have purchased a lot of 8bitdo controllers with unusable d pads in the past, maybe the d pad will be fine, but at the least I'm going to wait for more reviews.
Same here.
I have recently decided that the title of "Perfect D-Pad" has moved on from my previous faves: a very specific revision of the Genesis 3-button and the NES gamepad, to my new favorite champion, the XBox Series controller. The diagonals simply always respond perfectly on that one. While I'm not the biggest fan of positioning, that's a flaw ALL modern controllers have had for a while now, but overlooking that the basic design is pretty much perfect.
Have you tried a modern 8bitdo controller? Either the Pro 2 or the new version of the SN30 Pro will do, but my SN30 has more a more "crunchy" d-pad which I enjoy. Plus it has the proper position.
Those are my favorite dpads.
No high end enough if they went with LCD instead of OLED. So I pass.
Insanely in-depth review. Well done.
The best Analogue Pocket review I have seen 👌 It’s very complete. Thank you.
I have an unmodded GBA SP AGS 001 It's not pretty but It's authentic and I wouldn't trade It for anything
I have a gamecube with the gameboy interface, my favorite way to play, still looking for a good d pad controller
The pocket looks like something I would get for the best portable experience and to broaden my handheld horizons beyond gameboy but I'm not rushing to buy It
Thanks guys!
My main reason for interest in the Pocket was the Dock for GBA games.
Glad I held off on my purchase since it seems the Dock isn't the best way to GBA right now.
I might look into the Mister instead since I really don't think I'd use the portable nature of the Pocket much.
Ok, I want this!
And thanks for the fantastic review. I havent watched one of your videos in a while, but now I feel like doing a marathon.
Fantastic review! I was lucky enough to pre-order one and I'm so hyped! It's gonna be here tomorrow and I can't wait!
Df, mlig and mvg all with a video on this the same day
Guess I'm buying one now