PocketGO Portable Handheld Retro Game Players Progress Save/Load MicroSD card External Colorful 2.4" IPS Screen

The Pocket Go.This thing is amazing. Very portable and has battery life of around 3 to 4 hours, it can be longer if the backlight brightest is reduced.The quality of the unit is fantastic, although very light weight it doesn’t have that feel of cheapness. The buttons and d-pad have a good tactile feel and the included additional coloured buttons to replicate the super NES controller is an added bonus.The display is a beautiful IPS LCD panel with super colour output and fantastic viewing angles.It plays all the main console games very well including, Sega Master System, Sega Mega drive, NES, Super NES, Game Boy and Game Boy Colour.It also plays Neo Geo and Atari games too.I tried a Play Station 1 game “Driver 2” which just about plays, but it was not designed for the PS1 console so don’t bother. Look elsewhere for PS1 emulation.I stumbled across this as I was looking to buy a Game Boy advanced to re-live some of the 90s retro games that I loved on Game Boy, including the original Tetris and Super Mario Land games.The music in these games just brings back my child hood. I owned a NES and Super NES and its amazing to have all those games playable on this device too.Don’t hesitate. Just buy one, its super value for money.You won’t regret it.

The Bittboy PocketGo is a bit of an oddball device. On the one hand, if you want to just dump some ROMs onto your micro SD card and start playing then it works a treat. On the other hand if you are an advanced user and want to customise your experience then there's quite a bit of a learning curve involved.What's in the box?My PocketGo came in a minimalist box that had the console (with 8GB micro SD included), micro USB cable, micro SD to USB 2.0 adaptor, a spare set of face buttons, and a paper manual with basic instructions. The micro SD card is speed class 10 and has been pre-formatted with the device firmware so it can be booted right out of the box. My unit didn't come with an AV adaptor but from what I've heard the video-out feature was never implemented so that's not really a problem.Build qualityFrom the get-go, the PocketGo certainly looks and feels like a quality product. The unit has a nice matte plastic texture that grips well in the hand and unlike the glossy smart devices we're all used to, it doesn't attract fingermarks easily. What's striking is just how small the device is. It's about the same size as an NES controller and the fact that they've fit an entire Linux computer inside that size is just bonkers. While the micro SD card slot can hold the card securely in place, it doesn't have a retainer so when you eject the card it will be launched out violently instead of being held in place. If you're not careful you can easily lose your precious memory card this way. The material's fairly durable and you can safely toss it into a bag without a case and not have to worry about it getting scratched.Display specsThe PocketGo features a 320 x 240 IPS display that's bright and punchy with excellent viewing angles. At extreme tilt, I couldn't see any colour aberration or loss in clarity - this is one of the best display panels I've ever seen on a device of this class. The backlight is also very bright, even outshining the likes of the DS Lite as shown in my review pictures. One downside is the physical size of the screen, at 2.4 inches it will display content just about smaller than the original GameBoy itself. While I was initially worried that the non-integer scaling for GameBoy and GameBoy Advance games causing blur, this wasn't much of an issue as the emulators handle the upscaling very competently with minimal distortion.While previous reviews have mentioned screen tearing problems, this appeared to have been a software problem that has been fixed in recent firmware updates. Mine shipped with the firmware already updated.On top of the display panel is a tempered glass casing, which is a real bonus as it will resist scratches much better than the plastic competitors. The glass is also shaped in a very nice curve which gives the PocketBoy a premium feel. A downside is that I noticed my unit came with dust inside the screen that couldn't be cleaned without disassembling the entire console. Even then, there were also scratches on the glass that came from the factory, which cannot be buffed out. This hampers an otherwise excellent visual experience.Controls and ergonomicsThe buttons on the PocketGo are absolutely superb. The D-pad uses a proper pivot design and soft keys that rival even the feel of the GameBoy Pocket while the face buttons use soft membrane pads give a satisfying tap instead of the clicky microswitches that you'd often see in cheaper devices. The L and R shoulder buttons are also well-designed, giving a soft clack instead of the loud clicks you'd hear from something like the L and R buttons on Joy-Cons.While the face buttons can be changed with the extra set to resemble the Super Famicom controller's colours, the disassembly process is a little iffy. Inexperienced tinkerers risk damaging the battery or ribbon cables, which have to be shifted during the button-swapping process. The shoulder buttons and power slider also lack proper retainers and will fall right out when the back plate is removed, so be very careful with them.Gameplay and softwareThe system runs on the GMenu2X frontend with multiple emulators included. Because each emulator is from a different source, your experience will vary greatly between them. Some of them will have different UI controls that will be confusing when you switch between them while others may have performance issues.Emulating the GameBoy is a treat, with perfect performance and even some pretty neat shaders that mimic the classic green shades of the original GameBoy dot matrix display. GameBoy Advance mostly works too, as well as NES games. SNES games will suffer if they use Mode 7 but are otherwise fine. While the PocketGo can technically emulate the PlayStation, it's in the same way that a blender can technically emulate a musical instrument. In other words, not good at all.Emulators aside, there are also a few native games as well as utilities that run on the Linux-based system but mist people probably won't ever touch them.While you can simply put ROMs on your card and play right away, being a mini-computer you can also customise the interface. Unlike modern smartphones, apps don't show up on the main screen automatically. Instead, you need to manually manage pages (called "sections") as well as create shortcuts to each app you want to be able to launch from the main screen. Each shortcut can also be customised from icons to default search directories to even CPU clock speeds. It takes some learning but if you're patient with the system then you can really build it to be yours.Unlike most games consoles, you can't just power it off whenever you want by flipping the switch since this can cause problems with the memory card. Instead, you need to exit out of the software that's currently running and then select the "power off" option from the home screen.One final quirk I noticed is that while the volume slider on the right can be used to control the sound, there's another volume setting inside the settings menu. There are also supposedly button combinations that control the volume and brightness, but they didn't work for me. I don't know if it's because I updated my firmware or if it's a glitch. The volume was also buggy with headphones plugged in, sounding abnormally quiet if the headphone cable is plugged fully in but suddenly turning loud if the cable is slightly pulled out.Overall verdictAll-in-all, the BittBoy PocketGo is an excellent handheld retro player. It's got a brilliant screen, superb controls, and decent performance for most titles. There are some quirks that hamper the experience but if you're an experienced tinkerer then they're no barrier. If you don't already have a modded 3DS or Switch, then this is a great way to play retro games on the go.

The media could not be loaded.  Having grown up in the 80’s, I was lucky enough to have lived through the era of the Gameboy/NES/Master System etc. I still own many of these consoles today, which all sit proudly in my “Game Room” and I am happy to say that The Pocket-Go will be joining my collection!As much as I love the originals, I am hardly going to carry a Gameboy around in my pocket all day. 1, due to its size and 2, the screen is awful. The Pocket-Go allows you to carry around a bit of nostalgia in comfort and style.I must say that this little device has surprised me and unlike the first BittBoy (that I also own) this one comes with a pre-loaded SD card full of games…. great games! I must say that I am impressed with the collection and very surprised to see Zelda and final fantasy given their size.For people who were not around at the time or were not lucky enough to have experienced these games, then I say buy one. For the price, you can not go wrong and a lot of these games are now very expensive and often hard to find, so being able to access them all in one place and take on the go is fantastic! You can also add more games which is very easy to do and there is a PS1 slot which I am looking forward to filling.I have not noticed any screen tearing, which others have mentioned and I feel like the screen is pretty good for its size and price. The sound is a little “Tinny” but let’s be fair so could the GB/GBA be at times. There is a headphone jack so that you will not be annoying others around you and it’s also a great size to put in your pocket as its not bulky at all and it is also very comfortable in the hands. It looks very smart and I love the changeable buttons which are included in the box.If you want a taste of retro then this is a great alternative to the real thing and I can assure you that the Pocket-Go will give you hours of fun.