I played through some GBC games on my pocket the last couple of months and I am really happy with the experience, the screen is just beyond compare and the best I've ever seen in any handheld device, especially when it comes to contrast/sharpness and responsiveness, there is no "smearing" you can often see with other handheld displays(also the original ones from Nintendo), plus the screen filters look amazing, the exactly 10x res for GB and GBC really pays off here with the thin pixel-lines the screen can produce. It might not be an authentic way to enjoy the games as they look much better than they would on the old hardware but I'd say it's the best way to enjoy those games. -Aside from that the system works great with 16 Bit consoles and the Trinitron filter is amazing, if you have a Dock this thing will make you feel nostalgic on a good OLED or QLED TV, reproducing the feel of a CRT, which is a big plus as those SNES, MD and Neo Geo games were created with the limitations and advantages of CRT technology back then, meaning sprites and backgrounds will have a much more "3D" look to them with the CRT filter.
I have 3 different AGB-001's and all of the shoulder buttons feel different. 2 of them are more clicky and 1 of them is more mushy. I guess Nintendo used different parts for the shoulder buttons, at some point. I actually prefer the more mushy ones, but it's obviously a matter of preference.
Lmao I loved the sound effects when you disassembled the gameboy. Cool vid too, thinking of doing something like this myself, but wanting to keep the original dimensions of the GBC screen, any suggestions?
Thanks, seams opinions are split on that. It’s super easy and fun to do. Not sure what options there are to retain screen size to be honest. You might have to seek out an early screen replacement, as the scene has evolved the screens have gotten bigger. Maybe look for some older screen swap videos and see what screens they were using.
Analogue Pocket is very tempting, though I’m not sure if trade offs are worth it over playing GBA on new 3DS XL w/ IPS screen (using hacked system with AGB_firm) … that high res screen on AP is gorgeous , but the large IPS on 3DS isn’t bad either, plus the controls are very comfy for long play sessions.
They really missed an opportunity there😅 played some gameboy games on the new 3ds xl and also the Pokémon games Nintendo released on it.. great experience! They could have easily sold lots and lots of gameboy and gba games on the 3ds.. but Nintendo gonna be Nintendo i geus😅
This may be a bit late, but have you considered fitting in an ags-101 screen on the gameboy advance? I found that gave the best possible combination. I prefer it than an IPS screen
@@tonkotsurobot but then it wouldnt fold up compactly and protect the screen! Theres really no improving upon Ags101, even the analogue pocket is too high res for those games and you notice even more pixelation
Yikes for life? Do you still have a child’s hands? My first system was the sp and I love it, I’ve given it a lot of mod love, usb-c charging is next and last - but I absolutely cannot use it for more than 30 minutes or my hands hurt, it’s great to use for link trades to myself
Depending on which IPS kit you have for the GBC you can actually achieve the scanlines and other things as well, simply touch and hold the touch sensor and it should cycle through multiple colour and scanline options
Why would you want scanlines on a handheld with an LCD ? Scanlines are a product of a CRT, nothing to do with the Gameboys. Those Gameboys never had scanlines, so it would be silly adding them.
@@DKTronics70 it's a different look and some people like it. It makes the game look closer to what people were seeing when they played it back then. It also makes pixels look sharper and makes the image look ledd washed out
@Falcon-um7vo We just refer to it as scanlines today as a broad umbrella term. Yes, Game Boys don't have scanlines. The DMG used a dot-matrix screen however that had spaces in between the pixels, giving an apperance like scanlines but in both horizontal and vertical. In addition to that: not everyone was playing their Game Boy games on Game Boys. Up to GBA you have the option to get adapters to play it on your SNES/GC where they then played it on a CRT with actual Scanlines.
I either play on Analogue Pocket or my original unmodded GBC and unmodded GBA SP 001. AP is my default but sometimes I just prefer authenticity over better hardware/screen and convenience, especially when the games were designed to be played on unlit screens. The GBC Donkey Kong Country port is a good example of a game I prefer on GBC cause the AP's bigger screen makes the graphics look worse. I love the SP 001's screen as well for authenticity.
I don't get his logic? He doesn't like the advanced SP yet the analogue pocket has similar dimensions at it's front, the original GBA that he brought from eBay was a weak argument there are many modded original GBAs to choose from regarding design I'm sure you could have chosen a better design with how many there is to choose from As for me I prefer the advanced SP clamshell design I also bought it from eBay and it has a IPS screen installed, hell it's even better than the ags 101 model in that sense, I still think the analogue pocket is a waste of money honestly when there are much more better ways to play Gameboy games with QOL improvements 🤔🤔
I was just never a fan of the SP didn’t have one first time around, so I have no attachment to it. I prefer the form factor of a GBC or OG GBA over the clamshell design of the SP. I take your point about the eBay GBIA. As I stated in the video I intend to upgrade some of the parts. Just remember your preference is not my preference.
I'm lazy as hell and my only problem with the GBC was the lightless screen. So I bought a solderless backlit screen that is a bit smaller than the original one but also comes with a fitting screen glas.
My main concern is the battery duration, i have the GBC clone console with the ips screen and batteries don't last a lot, if you use a flashcard or some cartridge with extra features the duration is 4-5 hours max. If you want to add a battery mod to solve the issue then the complexity skyrocket and the price starts to get really close to the AP.
I run ikea rechargeable AA batteries in my IPS modded GBA. The battery life is probably similar to your GBC but I have 4 batteries so one set is always charged and when the other runs out I switch them out and throw the dead ones on the charger. Works pretty well for me and was a relatively cheap option that didn’t require any soldering or modification to the system
For the longest time I was hesitant on getting a Analogue Pocket, but since they released there Translucent Cases I had to take the plunge lol I unfortunately couldn’t get a Pre-Order from Analogue themselves (because there kind of a trashy company but that’s a whole other topic) so I had to go to the 2nd hand market, I fortunately got the Plain Clear Variant (White) off eBay for $35 over retail 😁 I’ve had it for 2 weeks today & OMG I totally get why people are in love with this BEAUTIFUL HANDHELD!!!!! Playing my 20+ yr old Cartridges is awesome! & they look fantastic! Now I got a Micro SD card loaded with all the 8/16 Bit Consoles/HandHelds & it’s even more cool! It’s like a high end RG35XX & I LOVE it❤
@n8ivegogo1 I see lol I just ordered a white one for normal price. All the other colors were sold out and I didn't want to pay 400$ for a transparent purple model. 😅
I still have the first Sp I got when I was 4!! So I don’t want to keep using it and wearing it down so this is helpful! Also where would you buy good condition gameboy games? I don’t mind paying more if it’s authentic
When you were 4! Man that makes me feel old I was 17 when the original advance came out. That is a bit luck of the draw tbh. Best in person if possible, but I have no great tips sorry.
I placed an order for a pocket but have to wait until Feb 2024. Meanwhile I nodded my gbc with a hispeedido Q5 ips screen. It looks stunning and I love it. I’m considering modding my gba as well, but might just wait it out and use my DS lite for gba although I might still change my mind and just do it. I also have an original DMG gameboy and am considering an ips upgrade as well
I have this weird thing about emulators or flash carts. I tend to put a lot of time into games that I play and when I do it on a flash cart or emulator, that save file just doesn't feel as sacred to me I guess. That is my main concern about buying an Analogue compared to the 5 modded GB/GBA/GBC I have already. Even if it's the subjective best experience, it's not the original/authentic feel.
This is exactly how I feel. While the Pocket is a superb device, as also are the Chinese Anbernic devices, having the REAL thing is always going to be better, simply because it was the real thing, and how the games were meant to be played.
Clearly you haven't done enough research on the Analogue Pocket. While the Pocket is indeed emulating the game (albeit through hardware, NOT software), it still uses your actual cartridges to acquire the data and to save it onto said cartridge. The Pocket is as 1:1 as an original GBA board as you can get and then some, this isn't some Chinese glorified smartphone turned game system. Your "sacred save files" are indeed being saved onto the cartridges.
It absolutely baffles me that they have so much premium quality stuff in the analogue pocket.. and they absolutely Fd up the dpad..😅 one of the most important things on the whole device 😅 amazing
Suppose I want to order a GBC or GBA from one of the modders on Etsy. How do I make sure the texture of the console and buttons will be non-slimy, and how do I make sure the button action feels like the original? More specifically, what are the terms to look for (and look out for)?
In regards to the texture of the shell and buttons, I think you’re best off with parts from the bigger retro companies (funny playing, retrosix etc). I ordered the funny playing Q5 2.0 laminated screen NES kit for GBC direct from funnyplaying and installed it all myself. Absolutely amazing kit, that looks and feels incredible.
Honestly, it’s hard to get your exact preference it’s pretty much trial and error alongside watching a bunch of RU-vid videos about the subject. For example, I have a retro six shell on my GBC and I love it. It’s a great shell. But the shell on my GBA also from retro six I hate. Good thing is none of the parts are too expensive when you’re talking about shells and buttons, unless you get into metal. Screens however, can become a bit more pricey, funny playing laminated ips screen is awesome though.
@@chrisguess The parts you got outside of the shell are probably old stock. I have ordered 2 sets of the same color buttons from the same vendor before and got very OEM feeling ones and the bubble feeling ones just like you described. A lot of the prebuilt systems or build-to-order ones tend to use old stock. FP has prestige buttons that are identical feeling (arguably better in my opinion), than the OEM ones. All my builds are OEM styled though or reuse as many OEM parts as possible, but I've built a lot of GBAs/SPs in the past couple of years to know what to avoid.
I think the Pocket is great for people who just want a high quality pre-built device to play their retro games on. No soldering, no cutting, and no assembly required. And it's got the added bonus of being able to play multiple of platforms, so you're not having to carry around more than one device. For me, however, I much prefer the real deal. I put together my GBC right around the time that the Pocket launched. The Pocket was being sold out left and right, and were popping up online from resellers with huge markups, making it difficult to even get one. But I already had a GBC kicking around that I had found a couple years prior at a local Goodwill, and it worked perfectly fine aside from the speaker. So I started down the rabbit hole of GBC modding, and wound up with one of those laminated Q5 kits in a black shell with red buttons. Also went ahead and replaced the capacitors and the speaker. I absolutely love this little handheld, and it's been a blast slowly grinding my way through the second gen Pokemon games again.
