Slot - the best retrogaming frontend

I'm always on the lookout for new gaming frontends and have recently discovered one for the GameBoy Advance called slot, it's designed for use on the Anbernic RG SP but works on other Anbernic devices too.  GBA is it's main system although GameBoy and GameBoy Color games can also be added.  And having tried it for a couple of weeks now I can honestly say it is an absolute game-changer for GBA on the Anbernic RG SP.

Firstly, as you can see from the image it displays each GBA game as the actual cartridge, to start playing your selected game simply press 'A' the cartridge disappears into the slot at the bottom of the screen and uses the actual sound effect of a GBA cartridge being inserted which is a really nice touch, the creator of slot recorded it from an actual GBA!  To exit the game simply press and hold the Menu button and out it pops back into the carousel.

Installing and setting up slot is really simple, firstly you require the BaseOS firmware which can be obtained from https://github.com/pvaibhav/BaseOS - flash this onto a blank SD card, put it in your RG SP and wait until the message is displayed on the screen that a frontend is needed.  Now switch the machine off, remove the SD card and put it in a PC or laptop.  Next download slot from https://github.com/BrandonKowalski/slot extract the zip file and copy this over to the SD card, then it's simply a case of copying over your GBA, GB and GBC roms.

But there's one more thing to be done and that's to add the labels for the cartridges, which can be done via a feature on the slot website at https://slot-cfw.fyi called Studio, while keeping the SD card in the PC or laptop select it in Studio which will then scan all the games you've added and attempt to add the labels for them (it does a pretty good job of this actually), if there are any missing then simply select it and the built-in database will, in most cases display the required label, select it and move onto the next one.  In my experience of this there were only three games I could get the labels for and had to search for and make my own which wasn't surprising as the three missing ones were for Pokemom rom hacks.  Once you have all your labels, simply press 'write to SD card', safely eject the card, insert it back into your RG SP, switch it on and it should look like the image at the top of this post.

There are a number of other things that can be done in slot, pressing up or down on the d-pad moves along the shelf from one letter to the next, pressing 'Y' saves a game in your Favourites list, pressing start allows you to choose which GBA emulator to use, and pressing L1/R1 switches between systems if you've GB or GBC games installed as well.  An option is also available in the Settings to display a 'Recently Played' list.

As I said at the start of this post slot really has changed how I play GameBoy Advance, it really is a joy to use, it's the best retrogaming frontend I've tried and I can't recommend it enough!

Why I love the Sony PSP Go

 

The original Playstation Portable (PSP) was truly a handheld ahead of it's time with excellent graphics and a varied library of games which came on Sony's own format called UMD (Universal Media Disc) designed specifically for the PSP, despite all this it never sold as many units as the company had hoped but still maintains a cult following with retrogaming enthusiasts to this day and I love the red PSP 3000 I own as part of my collection.

However in an attempt to boost sales Sony then launched the PSP Go, a digital only, tiny pocket sized device but the main stumbling block here was that because it was digital only and didn't use the UMDs it means anyone who already owned a game on UMD would have to purchase and download it again in order to play it on the PSP Go, this as you can imagine was not a popular idea and the machine was not a hit for Sony.  Although many years later if you can find a modified PSP Go as I did from the excellent modxgaming.com it is still worth getting hold of one in 2026.  The benefit of a modded PSP Go is that it is possible to add your own PSP .iso files to the SD card, this requires a little bit of effort as the SD card is attached to a ribbon adapter inside the machine, but it's just a simple question of unscrewing the back plate, carefully removing the SD card, popping it in a PC or laptop and copying over as many PSP roms as you require.

I did this with mine and now have a really impressive library of around 70 or so of the best PSP titles including Gran Turismo, Tekken, Virtua Tennis and Soul Calibur to name but a few.

The machine itself is tiny and very cute, it's only slightly bigger than my hand!  The size of the machine doesn't detract from playing games at all all of which play great and the controls are perfectly usable and responsive.  And sliding the machine up to boot up never gets old!  It loads the game list quickly and the battery life is good, better I think than the full size PSP 3000.

If you've any interest in the PSP I would absolutely recommend a modded PSP Go, it looks great, plays the games well and is extremely pocketable, I am extremely happy with mine!

Bitmap Books - Leaps and Bounds & Trigger Happy Book Reviews

 

For a long time now I've been a firm fan of the books from a company called Bitmap Books, they're of good quality, lavishly illustrated and packed with quality content, and I've recently taken delivery of what I think are their best two books yet....

The first is called Leaps and Bounds and describes itself as 'a visual guide to nine console generations' beginning way back in 1972 with the Odyssey and finishing in the present day with the Switch 2, two pages are devoted to each system with some information about each one including the month and year of release and the number of games that were released for it, on the opposite page is a screenshot from a key game for that system.

This really is a fascinating read and a useful work of reference too, I discovered many systems in the book that I'd never even heard of as well as all the usual familiar systems, if you've an interest in systems from the past and present this is definitely the book for you!

The second Bitmap book is called Trigger Happy and describes itself as 'a visual celebration of video game controllers' and as with Leaps and Bounds is lavishly illustrated and comes with some postcards of some of the controllers tucked inside the front cover which is a nice touch.

Again the majority of controllers have two pages devoted to them with lots of information about each one and one or more photos of the controller.  Again as well as the familiar and well known controllers I discovered many I'd never even heard of, there are a variety of different controllers covered in this book from design masterpieces such as the N64 and Gamecube controllers, to controllers which just look impractical and uncomfortable to controllers designed for use on a specific game.  Again a really excellent fascinating book to dip into and enjoy and highly recommended if you're interested in learning more about game controllers.

Move over MelonDS - there's a new DS emulator in town!

For a long time now the go-to Nintendo DS emulator on Android has been MelonDS or a special fork of it for dual screen devices, well now there are two new DS emulators for Android, WatermelonDS for more powerful handhelds such as the AYN Thor and Seedless DS for less powerful devices such as the Anbernic RG DS.

WatermelonDS as you can see above has a really attractive interface and is easy to use with lots of features and I especially like that when you add your library of roms the emulator automatically scrapes for box art which is handy.  As with MelonDS there is a choice of resolutions and graphics settings such as OpenGL and Vulkan and it's easy to set up too for dual screen use with the AYN Thor or AyaNeo Pocket DS.

SeedlessDS uses the same interface but has less features and is best suited to a device like the Anbernic RG DS which it would be perfect for.

As an owner of an AYN Thor I've been using WatermelonDS and for me this is now my new go-to DS emulator and will be using this going forward, it's really excellent!

The two emulators are available now from https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/WatermelonDS and https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/SeedlessDS

8BitDo Flip Pad Review - the best mobile controller

For a long time now 8BitDo have been making some of the best console controllers, well now they've released the Flip Pad, a pocket sized, lightweight mobile phone controller, but is it any good, let's find out.....

The first thing to notice is it's extremely well made and of good quality and very light so easily pocketable when not connected to a phone.  To begin using it simply connect it to the USB-C port on your phone and it connects instantly and is ready for use, no Bluetooth here!

I've found that the best use of the Flip Pad is for playing GameBoy, GameBoy Color and GameBoy Advance games through the excellent Delta emulator on iOS, the games run flawlessly and the d-pad and face buttons are extremely responsive, the only slight issue is that the R1, R2, L1 and L2 buttons are on the front rather than being shoulder buttons, a design sacrifice that had to be made in order for the device to be as light as it is and flip down like it does.

A carry case would have also been useful as with the GameSir Pocket Taco but other than that I've no real issues with this and in my opinion this is the best mobile controller you can buy, highly recommended!

Playdate OS 3.0 is here!

Regular readers will know I'm a big fan of Panic's little yellow Playdate machine, it's well made, fun to play with a huge library of games.

Well version 3.0 of the operating system has now been released which makes it even better and easier to use.  The main new feature is that your games are now organised into folders : All Games, Alphabetical, Recently Played, Season 1, Season 2 (if you purchased this), Catalog, Sideloaded and System.  This makes finding your required game a lot quicker and easier rather than scrolling through a long list previously.  It's also possible to add your own folders so if you want to create a folder for a specific genre of game that could be done.

I'm hugely impressed with this new version of the operating system, it makes the Playdate way more user friendly and the new version is fast and responsive, great job Panic!

This eBay Gameboy Advance SP seller really is awesome!

I've always loved the GameBoy Advance SP so was excited when I discovered an eBay seller who goes by the username of 'domaniacal'.  This seller provides custom made GBA SPs using a variety of different shells and colour schemes.  As you can see from the photos I chose a glow in the dark Metroid themed device and, as I'm a big fan of the Kirby series, a pink Kirby themed device.  You have to wait an average of about 3 weeks to receive your SP as the seller orders the shell and buttons but what sets this seller apart from the rest is firstly the fact that when the build is completed they send you photos of the completed build and of the machine working so you know exactly what you're getting before it's shipped and secondly it's the superb quality of the machines they make, they really are excellent!  Each machine comes with a fully backlit screen offering an amazing 15 levels of brightness and the machines look and feel really premium.  Also each machine comes with a matching storage box to keep it in, another nice touch.

I was even able to pay a bit extra and purchase an EZ Flash Omega Definitive Edition flash cart loaded with pretty much every GBA game so it was ready to go straight out of the box!

The last thing which really impressed me was when they were building the Kirby SP they changed the colour of the power light to pink to match the colour of the shell, it really is little touches like that which make this seller so awesome!

If like me you're a fan of the GBA SP and are looking for a well made, high quality custom built device you really can't go wrong with domaniacal on eBay!