Hi folks. Long time no post per usual. Theoretically I was waiting to make a new post when I had something to post about but it’s hard to tell when that’s going to happen. I’ve been having trouble focusing on anything to the point where it’s kind of driving me crazy. That’s post-grad school life I guess. Also work is wringing my soul dry. Maybe I would feel better if I got my head back into updating the site. My vacation trip is coming up in about one week and 7 work days. I’m hoping that help reboot my brain.
At least one thing I have been doing is messing around with my Retroid. As soon as I got mine the RP5 was announced but whatever. The SBC gaming hobby is cyclical in a way that convinces people you should just be perpetually waiting for the next thing with better specs instead of enjoying the thing in front of you.
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Anyway, the thing in front of me is my Retroid Pocket 4+ that now has cute thumbstick covers. I’ve messed around with it enough that I feel I can hand down opinions now. Overall, I am VERY happy with this little baby. It runs pretty much everything I want it to and does it well. What I wanted the most was PS2 emulation and I’m very happy with the results. It runs PS2, Gamecube, and Wii very well for me. Also it’s cute and fits perfectly in my bag so I can spend 15 minutes playing Yoshi’s Cookie on my break at work. I’m having so much fun with the capabilities of the RP4+ that I’m falling into that trap of tinkering with games at length and not actually playing them! I gotta pick something and stick with it.
Okay let’s talk about the downsides– the disappointments. Not all of these are faults of the RP4+ but it’s my blog so I’m gonna whine anyway. Really the first major thing I dislike about the RP4+ is the shape. It’s just not super comfortable for me to hold and play for long periods. The official grip helps with this a bit but I found it to be weirdly smooth and slippery. I added some grip stickers to it and that helped somewhat. I just feel as if the grip is weirdly… short? I’m going to try one of the 3D print grips that are out there one day when I have the patience to sit down and sort out my printer’s mental issues.
Ok so on the games side of things: I’ve had a few failed attempts at playing some games and I’m annoyed.
♥ First; I was enchanted with the thought of playing Stardew Valley on a handheld w/ mods. What I didn’t know if that modding mobile SDV is an absolute, fucking nightmare. I have a handful of mods working but SDVE refuses to cooperate no matter what so we’re at a stalemate.
♥ Second; this was expected but Um Jammer Lammy won’t cooperate no matter what. I knew from trying to emulate Space Channel 5 in the past that emulators and rhythm games don’t get along. After trying for about 3 days to decrease the latency I gave up. Now I just have Kick, punch you all remember. Chop Chop back again yes forever.” burned into my brain.. forever.
♥ Third; another expected was Switch emulation being a bust. I tried running a fairly simple indie game and fixing the lag was too much of a hassle for me. Maybe I’ll try again at some point but I can just…use my Switch instead.
♥ Fourth; I find playing DS games on the RP4+ too cumbersome to entertain. But I have a homebrew 2DS XL to do that. Or at least I did when I swiped its SD card to use in my Retroid. I gotta find a new card and get it operational again.. oops.
Overall, I am very happy with the RP4+ and I don’t regret my purchase at all, or choosing it as my first SBC gaming device. Though, if the presence of the RP5 pushes the price down of RP4s I may regret not waiting a few months…. Other things I did in my absence…. I watched all of the show Superstore and now I just feel kind of empty. I drank a bunch of tea. My debit card magically vanished from my wallet and I had to deal with that… blah blah blah..