Retroid Pocket 5

A Library on the Go and at Home

I really wish I could get ‘new’ copies of old games, like how you can get reprints of old books, films, and albums. How amazing would it be to go into a store and browse their selection of reprinted copies of SNES, PS1, and other retro games? I understand that this is a pipe dream, because it would be damn near impossible to get a factory setup to make the old cartridges and discs for dozens of retro consoles. There is also the whole legal side of things, and I think we all know no one would play nice, but it would be nice if I could get physical copies of retro games without having to spend a small fortune. So instead, emulation is what we’re left with, and a growing number of companies are filling that niche with a variety of Android based handhelds, and I am all for it.

Emulating the Past

A few months back I talked about my love for the Miyoo-Mini Plus, and how such a little machine blew me away. It is still something I play all the time, especially when I am relaxing in my car before work and during my breaks, and for less than a hundred dollars I have more than got my money’s worth. The Mini Plus stirred something inside of me, and not long after I was looking at getting something with a little more horsepower. After a bit of research and reading I settled on the Retroid Pocket 5, and I am so happy I did. I’ve had it now for a month or so, and I think it was well worth the money and the wait.

The Retroid Pocket 5 is an Android based handheld, with a primary focus on emulation. Powering the device is a Snapdragon SD865 processor with the integrated Adreno 650 GPU and 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, which has been able to easily run everything I have thrown at it. I am only looking to emulate up to and including the Wii, and so far, the Retroid Pocket 5 has delivered in spades. I have been upscaling most of the emulators, and I have yet to see any problems; I know that some games on the PS2 and up will give it some trouble, but I feel that is a fact of life when it comes to emulation. Since I am upscaling the games, I have never seen these retro games look so good, especially on the TV. The Pocket 5 also comes with 128GB of internal storage, but I would recommend getting yourself a hefty SD card for your games, because once you get past the PS1 days, the file sizes just keep getting bigger and bigger.

The 5.5” OLED screen is a real wow factor for me, with its amazingly rich colours and solidly dark blacks. It blows me away how good the screen is, and it makes me want to invest in a needlessly massive OLED TV.

I found that out of the box, the sound quality was not great. It sounded like the left speaker was quieter than the right, and it was driving me crazy. With a bit of looking around on the internet I was able to find a solution, and via the magic of sideloading apps, I got the Pocket 5 sounding amazing. While its poor sound quality could be a knock against the system, the fact that you can sideload an app to fix the problem just highlight how awesome these Android machines are.

There is a good a bit of set-up involved when you first get your Pocket 5. From updating software, to sideloading emulators and other apps, and finding the ROMs themselves, this is definitely not a pick-up and go/plug and play device. With the amount of video tutorials and written guides available out there to help you get everything set-up, what could be an intimidating process for some folks is shown to be actually really easy. I used this video here by Retro Game Corps to get my Pocket 5 ready to go, because not only was it easy to follow, but their website (here) is an amazing resource when it comes to emulation. I enjoyed the whole process, and just like when I was messing around with the family computer back in the day, I feel that I learned a lot about the system and how it works.

Something Witty about Controls Here

The Pocket 5’s joysticks, buttons, and D-pad all feel really good. The joysticks are responsive, and I think it’s so neat that they light up, and that you can also change the colours of the LEDs (I am rocking purple right now); I know it’s a minor thing, but I love how customizable the whole package is. The face buttons feel really good, the D-pad is also surprisingly nice, considering how funky directional pads can be, and the shoulder buttons/triggers are responsive and have a satisfying click to them. All in all, I am impressed by the Pocket 5’s controls, but since I am almost always using it on my TV, I got myself a wicked Bluetooth controller: an 8BitDo SN30 Pro in the colour scheme of the North American Super Nintendo.

If you had told me 25 years ago that one day I would have a wireless SNES controller with joysticks, I would have called you a dirty liar, yet here we are. I am in love with my SN30 Pro and use it almost everyday. The controller feels well built, with everything working exactly as you expect: the joysticks are smooth and I don’t see/feel any drift; the face buttons feel exactly like the SNES and are super responsive; the D-pad is great, also feeling like the SNES; and the four shoulder buttons are good and clicky. I have always loved how the SNES control sits in my hands, and the 8BitDo SN30 Pro feels almost exactly the same. I cannot recommend it enough, and you need to get this controller. I am looking into getting myself a Bluetooth Nintendo 64 controller, because no matter how good the Pocket 5’s controls are, or how awesome the SN30 Pro is, playing N64 games with anything other than the N64 controller can be an effort in frustration.

How Many Games?

I had been waffling about whether or not to get the Pocket 5 for a couple of months after I got my Miyoo-Mini Plus, and after my girlfriend got tired of seeing me look at it online, she told me to just pull the trigger, and I am so happy I did. Being able to play so many games on so many consoles, both on the go and at home on the big screen, is still mind blowing to me; it’s like I’m living in the future, but the future is now. I never thought I would see anything like this, especially at a reasonable price point, and yet here we are, living in a golden age of emulation.

There are so many options out there if you want to get into this retro gaming space, and even though I love my Pocket 5 quite a bit, I think you should take a look around the net and find one that really speaks to you. The new dual screen and flip models of a ton of devices are now coming onto the market, and I really do think that now is a great time to get into this side of the gaming hobby. Take the jump, and travel back in time with me and relive those halcyon days of our youth, because there is something special in replaying the classics.