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Nemoide
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by Nemoide Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:37 pm

Delayed until December now.
Oh well, I've been waiting over a year, I can handle two extra months. I'm still extremely looking forward to it!
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racketboy
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by racketboy Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:13 am

Nemoide wrote:Delayed until December now.
Oh well, I've been waiting over a year, I can handle two extra months. I'm still extremely looking forward to it!


Same here. Some like to give them flack on this, but the production and shipping stuff is crazy in the world right now. Can't really blame them.
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by bmoc Sat Sep 11, 2021 9:32 am

Two month delay? Those are rookie numbers!
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Nemoide
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by Nemoide Thu Dec 23, 2021 2:56 pm

I got mine last night! I haven't had a ton of time with it, but IMO it absolutely lives up to the hype. The screen is BEAUTIFUL and the different modes really make me happy. I prefer the modes that simulate original handhelds. Playing Game Gear games with GG mode is absolutely what I want those games to look like (although I can understand why other folks might prefer Analogue or GG+ modes). I realized I don't have an extra micro SD card, so I haven't updated the firmware, I'll be doing that soon. I'm generally looking forward to playing more games with it and getting a better feel for it in the coming weeks.

I've encountered two problems though: first the game Chase HQ for Game Gear doesn't display properly. That game normally looks squished on a Game Gear and I *think* it's using the resolution of a Sega Master System. On the Pocket the picture looks zoomed in and crops off important information from the sides of the screen. I've heard of folks having this problem using the Master Gear or Flash cart to load SMS games, AFAIK no reviews have talked about original Game Gear games having that problem but clearly compatibility isn't 100% yet. [EDIT: it looks like the latest firmware does indeed fix this]
Another problem: the design of the cartridge slot on both the Pocket and Game Gear adapters seems like it can easily damage a cart's label. If the label is sticking up just a bit, inserting the cartridge can cause it to sort of peel upwards as seen in this Tweet. This happened with one of my Game Gear games, though the label was definitely starting to peel, so I'm not inclined to think it's a super-serious flaw.
Last edited by Nemoide on Thu Dec 23, 2021 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by Gucci Thu Dec 23, 2021 3:14 pm

Something I did as a kid with the label situation was to take clear packing tape and put a piece on the spot of the slot most likely to cause the issue. Something else you can do: cut a very thin piece of the same packing tape and apply it right at the edge where it’ll bond with the label and the plastic on the cart.

Granted: I was a kid with hardware that was not as expensive as this new thing, and I didn’t understand what the current gaming landscape would be in the future regarding preservation, but it worked.

Overall, the Analogue Pocket has great reviews out there and I am glad it doing well in the retro community. I don’t plan on getting one myself because I feel that a GBA/M with an ever drive is enough for me. But I’m glad stuff like this exists!
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Nemoide
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by Nemoide Thu Dec 23, 2021 3:36 pm

I used to work in an archival setting so I would never put packing tape on one of my cartridges. There is such a thing as archival-quality acid-free tape but I'm still generally hesitant to use it.
I'm more likely to just try to glue down the edge of any offending label. I did that with my copy of Woody Pop for Game Gear this morning and will see how it fares later.
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by Gucci Thu Dec 23, 2021 3:49 pm

Ahh I totally forgot about the archival tape rather than packing tape. But it looks like you’ve got a solution. I’m sure if there is a second run that they can fix that issue.
I own too many hoodies jackets hoodies and DS games and I’m not ashamed!
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Nemoide
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Re: Analogue Pocket - FPGA GameBoy/GBC/GBA

by Nemoide Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:58 pm

I just want to give a little update since I've had this for a few months now: I love the Analogue Pocket!
My favorite feature is one I wasn't sure I'd care about when the Pocket was first announced: its ability to replicate the aesthetics of original hardware.
The screen is so good that it somehow makes even the most graphically bland monochrome Game Boy games really nice to look at. And it can replicate a variety of Game Boy hardware, so you could make it look like a Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, or even a red inspired by vintage pinball displays. I can't express just how much I love seeing how games look on it for all generations of Game Boy and Game Gear. It's a constant joy to use and I find it better to look at than I the OLED Switch I also got in December.
The only aspect that I can imagine some folks being disappointed by is that it doesn't yet have custom color palette support. This is most noticeable with first-party Game Boy games that the Game Boy Color had a level of built-in support (eg Kirby is appropriately pink in Kirby's Dream Land, the grass is green in Baseball, the Pokemon are generally the right colors in Pokemon). Since that's built into the BIOS of the GBC, Analogue doesn't replicate it. There are a few color palettes to choose from but IMO the original hardware-style is best and the green color DMG-style feels like the most appropriate.

The hardware feels really good in my hands and I have no complaints about the buttons (although I still haven't play anything that requires heavy use of the trigger buttons). It seems like a sturdy, serious device that's designed to put up with a lot of use. I've heard of people who are disappointed by and having problems with the Dock, but the more I think about it, the less I feel like I want one. The Pocket excels at being a handheld and that's all I want from it.

There's still no Jailbreak and it seems uncertain if there ever will be, though it might come out some time after Analogue OS gets released. But there's an alternative for some games: there are patches that can turn a Game Boy ROM into a .pocket file which can be played off a microSD card using the Pocket's built-in GB Studio support. Only some games have patches and AFAIK it can't work for Game Gear or GBA titles, but it's something for folks who don't have a huge cartridge collection! But even aside from that, the GB Studio support is very cool because there are free indie games to be found on Itch.io which already have patches to be played on a Pocket. I really like that whole scene!
I'm extremely looking forward to getting the Lynx adapter whenever that comes out. I already have a little Lynx collection started so I'll be set to try those games.

Really, I think the Pocket is a must-own for people who like playing classic handheld games. It's a drag that you'll be waiting a long time after ordering, but it's worth it. Heads and shoulders above any of the cheaper handheld emulation devices and more versatile than a modded GBA + flash cart. If you're even close to being on the fence, I say get it!
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