Miyoo Mini Flip Review

Well it's suffered many delays and has been a long time coming but the Miyoo Mini Flip is finally here but is it worth the wait?   Let's find out.....

Firstly, the machine looks great, it reminds me of the Powkiddy V90 but with better specs and dual analogue sticks (yes dual analogue sticks on a device this small!), the controls are all good and responsive although you'll have little requirement or use for the dual analogue sticks.

The stock firmware as is often the case is not great although adequate if you're a newcomer to emulation devices, custom firmware is currently limited to MinUI or Gamma, although versions of SpruceOS and Knulli are being worked on.  I've previously detailed elsewhere on this blog how much I like the MinUI firmware so this was the obvious choice for me and it's a perfect fit for the Flip, supporting everything up to PS1 perfectly, some N64 and Dreamcast is also possible.

The elephant in the room is the Flip's hinge which is extremely stiff making opening the machine quite difficult which has generated much discussion on Reddit and Discord, personally I don't mind the hinge and it does result in the machine closing with a very satisfying snap!

A second version of the device with an improved hinge is reportedly being worked on by Miyoo but nothing has yet been released.

This is a terrific little clamshell device with plenty of potential through future custom firmware releases, but at the moment I recommend installing MinUI rather than using the supplied firmware, it's just better all round.  I still prefer my Anbernic RG35XX SP but this is a great little complement to it.

Retroid Pocket 5 Review

I'm quite late to the party with this device but now am the very happy owner of the Retroid Pocket 5 and, along with the Ayaneo Pocket Micro, is the best Android handheld there is currently, here's why.....

The build quality, as with all Retroid devices, is superb, the buttons are good and responsive as are the d-pad and the dual analogue sticks and shoulder buttons.  The whole machine feels extremely comfortable to hold and looks amazing.

It's real strength is it's stunning AMOLED screen which is the most bright, sharp and colourful screen I've seen on an Android device, the games look incredible and really pop off the screen like they never have before, it really is fantastic!

Performance is another area where the RP5 really shines, the higher end systems in particular such as Dreamcast, Saturn and PSP are flawless.  A special word in particular for Sega Saturn performance which is the best I've yet experienced, it's the first device which gives perfect performance through Robert Broglia's standalone Saturn.emu emulator and the performance through the Beetle Saturn core on Retroarch is also equally excellent.

This, along with the AyaNeo Pocket Micro, is my go-to Android handheld, it really is an outstanding all-round device and comes very highly recommended.

Kirby Air Ride (Gamecube) - a great non-platformer Kirby game

I've been a fan for a long time now of the Kirby games and had always thought that, apart from a pinball game and a symbol matching game on GameBoy, there were only platform games in the series but I was wrong!

Recently I discovered Kirby Air Ride on Gamecube, a racing game featuring Kirby for up to four players and it's excellent fun!

It's primarily played through the use of a vehicle, some of which are taken from previous Kirby games including the Warpstar.  The controls for the game are unusual in the fact that there is no accelerate button, this is done automatically by the game, except for the control stick to steer all other actions are done using the A button including braking, charging for a boost and sucking in nearly enemies to use their powers.

The game consists of three different modes : Air Ride which is a basic back view racing mode, choose your machine and race against up to three other human or CPU players and aim to win.

Top Ride which is a mode on smaller and simpler tracks and viewed from above the track and has only two vehicles to select and features seven courses and also Time Attack and Free Run modes.

And lastly there is City Trial where a city must be navigated along with sections in a forest, cave and volcano all while collecting upgrade items.

The graphics are excellent and the racing is fast, this is a real gem of a Kirby game and well worth a look if you still own a Gamecube or, like me, can play it on a retro emulation handheld.

SuperPage58.com - a great site for fans of Digitiser

Between 1993 and 2003 on the UK Teletext service there was a daily video games magazine called Digitiser which quickly gained a cult following for it's anarchic and surreal humour alongside it's game reviews

And a devoted fan has now done an amazing website called Super Page 58 (so named as Digitiser I believe used to be on page 458), it really is the ultimate reference point for fans of the page, there is a section giving information on all the characters that used to appear, a full and comprehensive index of every game which was reviewed (many featuring screenshots of the original Teletext page).  Also featured in the Archives section are Digitiser's Top 10s, letters to Digitiser, Star Pinups, their hilarious fake adverts, and their Ring-sir! Phone Pranks and much, much more.

If, like me, you used to read Digitiser after school each day this is an incredible trip down memory lane and a must visit for fans of the page.

Digitiser still lives on to this day in the form of a YouTube channel, there have also now been two series of Digitiser on YouTube, Level 1 and 2 (the second was Kickstarter funded) and both series feature the same humour as used to be featured on the pages.  Both series are well worth checking out.

Super Page 58 can be found at superpage58.com

The original Nintendo DS - ugly but revolutionary!

Before the release of the Nintendo DS there had only been single screen handhelds from Nintendo such as the GameBoy and GameBoy Advance but the DS changed all that.

It was Nintendo's first dual screen and touchscreen handheld allowing for much more detailed and involved games many of which utilised the device's built-in microphone, another first.

The original DS was however not exactly what you would call an attractive machine, in fact I'd say it was rather ugly quite frankly but thankfully this was rectified with the subsequent releases of the DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL.  It is though quite comfortable to hold and use.

It had a massive software library including some excellent titles, many of which still hold up to this day.

And finally if we hadn't have had the DS we probably would never have got the 3DS, still, in my opinion the best handheld Nintendo ever made.

So all in all the DS was a real game changer and a handheld which will go down in history as a revolutionary device.

Opinion : EGX 2024 was awful!

I last went to EGX in 2019 and it was a great day out, a decent sized Retro and Indie Zone, lots of new and upcoming games to play and lots of big name stands, so when I read that this year’s event at London’s Excel was to be a joint show with MCM Comic Con I feared the worst and having spent the day there at the end of October I was right to do so.

Supposedly it was split into EGX on one side of Excel and MCM Comic Con on the opposite side which you’d have thought, bearing in mind the size of the halls at Excel would have meant a good show, wrong!  It was terrible, row after row of Sunday market-type stalls most selling things that had little or nothing to do with gaming (why was there a stall selling whisky?), a tiny Retro and Indie Zone, no big names and virtually no new or upcoming games to play (not even Call of Duty 6 which had recently been released!). Apart from an Asus stand promoting the ROG Ally, Modretro promoting the Chromatic and a couple of retrogaming shops selling their stock, that was pretty much it, if I hadn’t been there with a couple of friends of mine I’d have probably have left after about an hour as I’ve little interest personally in the Comic Con side of the event.

It was a very pale shadow of the Eurogamer Expo events of the past and made me feel that we were seeing the beginning of the end of EGX.

Also Excel might be big and modern but it’s really not a great venue, it doesn’t handle crowds well, it takes 15 minutes to walk from the halls to Custom House Station, and there aren’t enough toilets and what toilets there are you have to go down two flights of stairs to get to and then stand in a long queue.

If the show sticks with it’s current organisers and it’s another joint event next year then I certainly will not be wasting my money again on a ticket, it just isn’t worth it for the keen gamer.  

The solution is change the current organisers to a company who actually gives a damn about gamers, make it a standalone EGX event once again, bring back the big name companies if possible and loads of new and upcoming games to play and most of all, move it to Olympia, a venue which is easier to get to, doesn’t take forever to get to and from the station and hopefully has more toilets available!

Did you go to the show?  Do you agree with my thoughts, what did you think?  Would love to know your thoughts, feel free to comment!

EGX organisers over to you…….

My favourite retro emulation handhelds of 2024

First off I want to state that I'm not a hardcore collector of these devices so have not experienced all the devices that have released this year such as the Retroid Pocket 5 or the Odin Pro 2 and have based my choice solely on the devices that have released and I've purchased during 2024, so here we go.....

It's a tie between two superb devices at both ends of the market, I really couldn't choose one!

I'm not going to go into too much detail about both as have already posted reviews of them on here.....

So first we have.....

AyaNeo Pocket Micro

Coming in at the premium end of the market we have the AyaNeo Pocket Micro and as I stated in my review this is the most beautiful looking device I've ever seen, it's just stunning!

It's ridiculously powerful too for something so small capable of playing everything up to and including Dreamcast, Saturn and PSP and some Gamecube and PS2.

The whole machine is made of metal giving it a great feel and weight when playing.

Since getting it I've added quite a lot to it, some of which I didn't think would be possible, I've added a couple of my favourite Gamecube games (both of which play great), have got all the Mame Game & Watch games working perfectly and set up EmulationStation making it easier to play those systems such as Final Burn Neo and Pokemon Mini that do not have standalone Android emulators.

Literally everything about this device looks and feels premium right down to the real leather carry case, I love this machine and it has become one of the jewels of my collection.

And finally we have......

Anbernic RG35XX SP

I've always been a sucker for a clamshell retrogaming device so was rather excited when I read that Anbernic were finally releasing one this year and I was not disappointed!

The RG35XX SP is very much styled around the Gameboy Advance SP (although is slightly bigger and thicker), it's well built with good, responsive controls and good screen.

Performance wise it can play everything up to and including PS1, most Nintendo 64 and I believe some Dreamcast too (although have not yet tested this).

The supplied firmware on the machine is perfectly acceptable however for a better experience I recommend installing one of the available custom firmwares : Knulli, MinUI or muOS.  I went with muOS which has proved to be a great choice, it has a beautiful looking interface and is easy to use and navigate around.

Initially upon release the machine was a bit rattly when opened however the release of further colours later in the year has fixed this.

Due to it's increased size over the GBA SP it's a much more comfortable device to hold and use and closes with a satisfying snap just like the original GBA SP!

The best clamshell retro handheld currently available (although the Miyoo Mini Flip is reportedly due soon), Anbernic have really nailed it with this machine, a really terrific little device.