Analogue Pocket isn't for everyone, and that's precisely what makes it so great

Counterpart Pocket isn't for everyone, and that's precisely what makes it and so great

(Image credit: Future)

The Analogue Pocket is a delightfully indulgent device. From its pixel-perfect 3.5-inch display and beautiful, sleek design, it's unashamedly geared towards a small-scale user base of operations of devoted retro enthusiasts who want null more than than to relive the halcyon days of handheld gaming. But in the best possible way.

Crucially, there'due south no emulation here, unlike many other retro gaming handhelds on the market. The Counterpart Pocket plays Game Male child, Game Male child Color, and Game Boy Accelerate cartridges natively, and you tin can buy adapters for Neo Geo Pocket, Sega Game Gear, and Atari Lynx games likewise.

It means all those games you grew upwards playing decades ago will run exactly how you lot remember on the Analogue Pocket – just and then, so much meliorate. The Analogue Pocket'due south gorgeous screen and clever software include advanced features that inject new life into games – like a sharpening pick, frame blending, as well as support for original display modes.

You lot can also suspend and resume your gameplay at a moment's notice using the Analogue Pocket'southward sleep function, which is a delightful addition and all the more impressive when y'all realize it's running older games natively. Jumping dorsum into Pokémon Silver and playing from exactly where you left off is only fantastic.

The Counterpart Pocket can also exist docked to your Boob tube, just like a Nintendo Switch (though the Dock is sold separately). The Pocket outputs games at 1080p when connected to a Tv, and you tin attach upwardly to four Bluetooth controllers for some seriously old-school couch gaming.

But that's not all. You can fifty-fifty create music on the Analogue Pocket. Heck, it'south open to developers to create new games, which means it could one mean solar day exist dwelling house to some incredible titles from contained developers.

If that wasn't plenty (and honestly, nosotros're being utterly spoiled at this indicate), yous can purchase Analogue's Link Cable and play local multiplayer games with multiple Pocket Analogues or with original hardware. That means you tin trade Pokémon with someone using a mesomorphic yellow Game Boy like it'southward 1998 once again. Seriously cool.

100% accurate gameplay and sound

These mod-24-hour interval additions provide a retro gaming experience that's simply unparalleled. The mere fact that yous tin delve into your existing library of titles – if you've hung onto them subsequently all these years – is a novelty in itself. You might even need to blow into the cartridge slot to become some of them going again. How's that for nostalgia?

Merely this isn't just a organisation that will delight those with rose-tinted glasses. The Counterpart Pocket not merely transports you lot back to a simpler time merely reinvigorates everything in the process. You don't have to suffer through playing on impossibly dim screens or scouring the cupboards for some new AA batteries; the Counterpart Pocket makes information technology feel equally though the Game Boy was released yesterday as opposed to 1989, and that's a remarkable achievement. Information technology ways that new players can discover and enjoy games from decades ago, many of which are all the same fantastic today, rudimentary graphics bated.

The question is, though: in a world of 4K TVs, HDR, and 120Hz capable displays, is there a fevered need to revisit Game Boy, Game Male child Color, and Game Boy Accelerate games? Absolutely not. But if you lot have even the slightest involvement in revisiting handheld games or have been dissuaded by the grey expanse of downloading ROMs and emulating in the past, the Analogue Pocket is a must-buy. It'south a luxury product in the truest sense of the word ($219.99 for the console alone), and it'southward all the ameliorate for it. Welcome to your fast-track ticket to retro gaming heaven.

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Adam is TRG's Hardware Editor. A police force graduate with an exceptional runway record in content creation and online date, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own laurels-nominated video games website. He's previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. (He's still recovering to this day.)