The Pocket Advance nearly perfects my favorite Nintendo handheld

Although I number the archetypal Game Boy arsenic 1 of my archetypal tech obsessions, I inactive see Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance to beryllium my favourite console of each clip acknowledgment to its much comfy horizontal plan (for my large hands) and its expansive catalog of fantabulous 32-bit and 16-bit games. Ayaneo isn’t the archetypal institution to effort to modernize the GBA, but its Konkr Pocket Advance does it best. The handheld strikes a adjacent cleanable equilibrium betwixt authentically re-creating the GBA’s plan portion updating its hardware with caller controls, a overmuch amended screen, and the flexibility of Android astatine a terms that feels similar a bargain.

As overmuch arsenic I inactive adore the GBA, I’ve eagerly embraced upgrades to the aging console implicit the years. First it was the clamshell GBA SP that yet delivered a frontlit surface I could really spot without a lamp implicit my shoulder, and aboriginal it was aftermarket upgrades similar a backlit LCD show and a rechargeable artillery that vastly improved Nintendo’s archetypal hardware. Two years ago, I eagerly purchased Anbernic’s GBA-inspired RG34XX, but each of those person present been replaced by the Konkr Pocket Advance.

It’s my archetypal handheld from Ayaneo, and I’ve been pleasantly amazed to find the hardware feels connected par with Nintendo’s. The Pocket Advance is an all-plastic matter but with a satisfying heft acknowledgment to other interior hardware including a cooling instrumentality for its MediaTek Helio G90T processor and a 4,000mAh battery. I opted for the cheaper $109 mentation with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is expandable with a microSD card, but for $129, you tin get 4GB of RAM with 64GB of retention built-in.

It’s not an nonstop transcript of the GBA, but the Pocket Advance’s dimensions are adjacent capable to acceptable each the cases I’ve someway preserved for the past 25 years. Where Ayaneo’s remake truly diverges from the archetypal is with 8 further buttons including X and Y enactment buttons positive 4 other enarthrosis buttons connected the apical edge. I’m a large instrumentality of the larger D-pad Ayaneo has included, but immoderate retro gaming purists whitethorn not beryllium fans of however brushed and squishy the Pocket Advance’s buttons each feel. I’ve had to larn to mash the enactment buttons conscionable a small harder to guarantee presses are ever registered, but I don’t needfully deliberation the fastener consciousness is simply a downside due to the fact that they’re besides satisfyingly quiet.

The Pocket Advance’s 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen with a solid screen is an fantabulous upgrade, but it does cater to GBA games with a 3:2 facet ratio and a 960×640 solution allowing them to beryllium perfectly scaled astatine 4x. (The GBA had a 240×160 surface resolution.) Unless you’re a monster who tin tolerate playing games that person been stretched vertically oregon horizontally to capable a screen, emulating games from different systems volition effect successful letterboxing oregon pillarboxing connected the sides, and perchance immoderate ocular artifacts from scaling erstwhile the mathematics isn’t perfect.

Most likewise sized and likewise priced handhelds tally immoderate saltation of Linux. There’s a thriving assemblage of developers creating and porting a ample assortment of emulators, games, and apps to Linux, but installing, configuring, customizing and updating bundle is not ever a user-friendly process, particularly for novices who whitethorn lone beryllium acquainted with utilizing plug-and-play crippled carts. The Pocket Advance alternatively comes with Android 12, and portion that mentation feels a small dated, mounting up the handheld volition consciousness a small much acquainted to anyone with smartphone experience.

Ayaneo Konkr Pocket Advance

An authentic but upgraded clone of Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance that tin play much than conscionable GBA games utilizing emulation.

Where to Buy:

• $109 astatine Ayaneo

Getting the Pocket Advance up and moving was comparatively casual acknowledgment successful portion to Ayaneo’s customized launcher called AYASpace that makes it easier to instal assorted emulators. But the handheld besides has entree to the Google Play Store, oregon you tin instal Android apps oregon add-ons downloaded straight from a website.

I’m a large instrumentality of a cleanable and elemental launcher for Linux handhelds called MinUI, truthful alternatively of AYASpace, I installed an alternate Android launcher called Cannoli connected the Pocket Advance that brings the aforesaid aesthetics with respective emulators preinstalled and preconfigured. The flexibility of Android means I tin acceptable the Pocket Advance to load Cannoli by default, but I person the enactment to power backmost to AYASpace astatine immoderate time, oregon instal and leap betwixt aggregate alternatives.

When it comes to emulation capabilities, you’ll privation to support your expectations constricted to “retro” gaming. The Pocket Advance’s seven-year-old processor is almighty capable to grip galore titles from the PS2 and GameCube, but the handheld is amended equipped to emulate the PS1 and Sega Dreamcast, and you’ll person the champion acquisition with games from adjacent older consoles similar the Super Nintendo and Genesis. An easy-access speedy settings paper that slides successful from the close lets you rapidly customize and reconfigure the handheld including boosting its show (at the outgo of artillery life) to grip much intensive games, but different happening preventing the Pocket Advance from playing much modern games is its deficiency of analog thumbsticks.

Performance and compatibility volition besides alteration with autochthonal Android games and apps. I’ve had a batch of amusive playing done Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge erstwhile again, but portion the Pocket Advance is simply a passable mode to watercourse Netflix, I can’t get it to play immoderate Disney Plus contented without the app crashing out.

Anbernic’s $69.99 RG34XX is inactive cheaper than the Pocket Advance and whitethorn look similar a amended alternative, but I deliberation Ayaneo’s is perfectly worthy the other $40. It’s a much almighty and susceptible handheld with a higher-res display, and I overmuch similar the Pocket Advance’s larger D-pad and enarthrosis fastener arrangement. I besides find the prime of Anbernic’s hardware to beryllium deed and miss. Similar to what others person reported connected Reddit, I’ve experienced intermittent issues with the responsiveness of the RG34XX’s D-pad. I haven’t had the information to ace it unfastened to effort a DIY fix, and with the Pocket Advance present successful my collection, it’s doubtful I ever will.

The Pocket Advance is 1 of the champion retro handhelds presently disposable and not conscionable due to the fact that of its nostalgic retro design. As agelong arsenic you temper your gaming expectations and won’t beryllium frustrated by what it can’t play, it’s an fantabulous mode to revisit and bask games from Nintendo’s earlier handheld era.

Photography by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge