Analogue Pocket Aluminium has arrived

 First of all, very sorry for the long gap between posts.

Before I dive into my latest purchase, the amazing Analogue Pocket handheld, I should cover what has been happening lately to take me away from blogging and computers in general.

First of all, my Grandmother passed away, aged 96, in June. I have been her carer since 2021 when my father (her son) passed away from Motor Neuron Disease, and I took over from him to look after all her needs. She was in hospital in May and June, keeping me busy outside of my usual full time work.

In June I was busy to organise her funeral, clean out her aged care home apartment, and deal with numerous end of life activities that take a lot of time, and is still keeping me busy today.

In July I had hoped to get away from everything for a while, with leave planned for two weeks in the UK with my wife. A chance for a digital detox and a much needed break from work and family things. 

The first week we did indeed have a great time, and I hope to cover some of my train activities while in the UK in a seperate blog post later. 

I went to the British F1 Grand Prix on race day, the first time for me to attend the British Grand Prix. It was windy, rainy, and cold. But the race was sensational and I am so glad I got to see it live.

Covered grandstand was indeed the correct (but very expensive) choice, as it bucketed rain throughout the day, with occasional periods of dry weather. Summer in the UK - you gotta laugh.

I wanted Lando Norris to win, but I was happy to see Lewis get success in front of his home crowd, after a truly incredible and very enjoyable race.

Here is a small teaser of some of the trains I rode on while in the UK - first up some GWR trains at Paddington station, taking us to the Cotswolds:

Next, the amazing steam trains of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWSR) in the Cotswolds, here at Toddington station.

Next is the Northern Belle Pullman train, which we took on a day trip from Glasgow, touring parts of Scotland. 

Turned out to be the first and last productive day of my trip in Scotland. This train trip was all I got to see of Scotland....

Anyway, more on that trip in a seperate blog post!

On the friday of the first week of my holiday in the UK I finally got Covid-19, after 4 and half years of avoiding it by being very careful. Apparently not careful enough, as I did forget my mask on a bus trip that I will regret for a long time. 

Anyway, I was very ill for the rest of the two week holiday, confined mostly to a hotel room. Boy did that suck. I heard about how tired people get, and I was surprised how bad that was - could barely stay awake more than a few hours at a time.

I flew back to Australia masked up but still very unwell, but at least well enough to travel. 

When I got home, I was in bed sick for another week, before I was finally able to return to normal life, and back to work as a reward...yay.

I then got very busy with work, preparing IT for the new office in Spain, and a relocation for our office in Germany with new IT infrastructure and phone system. That work for Germany is ongoing as I write this in August.

In September I have to work on IT setup for a new office in Turkey, and another trip to Prague at the end of the month until mid October...when I return I have to setup phone systems for US, LATAM, Czechia and South Africa. 

Whew, 2024 has been so busy!

With all that, I hope you understand that having time free to play with my computers has been extremely limited.

While I was sick in the hotel room in Glasgow, I read about this Analogue Pocket handheld for the first time. 

I read about the ability of this single FPGA based handheld to play physical cartridges for Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, and PC Engine/Turbo Grafix-16? And MIDI support through a music application included with it?

Seriously? wow.

I had to buy one, and so I did a few weeks ago. Turns out the Analogue Pocket sold out quickly on its original release, and just recently they did a restock, with a new aluminium version in limited stock now, and the new cartridge system converters now also released! Seems a logical time to get one, even if it does cost USD$499 without the converters and dock!

I got it within a week after ordering from overseas, after paying a ridiculous "import and processing customs fee" to UPS that is pure price gouging. 

To overseas vendors, seriously, don't use UPS for shipping to Australia. They suck, and deliberately overcharge way more than the GST import fee, just because they can. 

I ordered all the converters, the dock, and the cover for the Analogue Pocket, along with the unit itself. It arrived in one big box, with lots of little ones inside.

I am not sure why vendors insist on doing this black on black indented text thing - it is hard to photograph and I am not sure it is that cool. But anyway, they did it:

They put green stickers on the back to identify the box contents - further proof why using black text on black sucks:

It is all very minimalist, and not much is included in the boxes for the considerable money spent. Frustratingly the manuals are MIA - with a QR code to download the electronic versions included in the box.

To be clear, I *HATE* QR CODES. Small rant ahead.

These days Restaurants have QR codes on the tables instead of physical menus and waiters/waitresses to take your order, train operators use QR codes instead of real tickets, concerts use QR codes instead of real tickets, passport control uses NFC and QR codes for immigration (eg. in Japan) to replace forms. 

Of course the excuse is what I knew it would be, being eco and saving the planet. But it isn't really about that is it? It is really about saving them money at the cost of your convenience to have a real ticket or menu to read that used to be supplied for free. 

Show me the discount I get on the restaurant meal for me having to order it myself on my own device online. Is the train or concert ticket any cheaper for not supplying me a physical ticket?

Same applies to things we used to get for free like shopping bags, straws that actually work, decent coffee cups and more, but that is of course a different thing.

Yep, I really do feel like a Grumpy old man from the tv series, which by the way was 20 years ago! Maybe I am indeed just that!

Remember the memories and good feelings you got just looking at an old physical ticket from an event you went to, or a menu from a great meal you had. Now, all you have is a bunch of useless QR codes that have no nostalgia value to retain at all. No one is going to keep those in a photo album or photo book...

The British F1 grand prix had no tickets at all this year, just QR codes that activate in a custom app on your phone the day before they could be used. Melbourne F1 grand prix would have been the same except that I paid extra for an actual ticket...which they screwed up and sent to the wrong place. No doubt that option will disappear soon too.

The same thing applies to computer games in 2024. I have some amazing PC games I enjoy on Steam like Trackmania, Fall Guys, Among Us, F1 2024 and many others. All with no physical box release.

It is a loss for us all.

No wonder people like me (and maybe you too) are buying physical box release of new Amiga, C64 and Gameboy games, and still enjoying the pleasure of a new release boxed game with instructions, posters, and other addons.

That is also where the Analogue Pocket really comes into its own. There are many options to play emulated systems on the go - I have had many of them over the years, but they all lack the tactile option to use real cartridges, and the Pocket also uses FPGA cores, not emulation.

And none of those other handheld solutions allow the use of multiple system real cartridges in the same device. (just waiting for someone to point out some obscure handheld I have never heard of - heh)

I am aware of the Evercade handheld, but it locks you into buying their cartridges only - not the original carts for the systems.

I love having that feeling of using real carts again. And so here we are in 2024 with the Analogue Pocket. And I love it.

The Aluminium Pocket has a beautiful high quality case and screen, and is actually a lot heavier than I expected.

The Pocket is actually closer to the size of the original Gameboy than the gameboy pocket, which is what the looks appear to be based on.

The buttons feel premium too, along with the directional pad.

On the back is a nod to the original Gameboy design with the bottom half resembling the original gameboy design - a nice touch, although the battery itself it not the AA variety, but a USB-C chargeable battery instead.

There are two shoulder buttons at the top of the unit, done in a similar style to the Gameboy Advance SP.

On the side is a volume up/down button and the sleep/wake button. Speakers are on the sides at the top left and right, so they won't be covered while playing.

A Gameboy link port is also included at the bottom, (which can be connected to real gameboy handhelds apparently!) along with the headphone out port that doubles as the midi output jack, along with the USB-c charging port and two leds to show status.

I am impressed with it - it looks great.

At this point I reflected on my own Gameboy history, with my first Gameboy being the original one back in 1992, playing two player link cable Tetris with my brother, and many hours of F-1 Race and Super RC ProAm...

Later on, I upgraded to the Gameboy Color in 1999 when it was released, and picked up a handful of titles for it. It wasn't the step up I had hoped - but having colour in games was a welcome addition. 

The Gameboy Color's life was cut short when someone broke into my house I was in back in 2001 and stole it, along with all my gameboy software, Atari 2600/7800 and XE consoles (with software), Sega Dreamcast and software, Sega Saturn and software, Panasonic 3DO and software, and most of my valuable Sony HiFi Stereo components..

Most of it was not replaceable due to its age, so I just got a token value from insurance. I replaced the Dreamcast as it was still available at that time. Sadly I no longer have the Dreamcast today - I sold it to help fund the Amiga 4000T... 

I never did get any of my original Gameboy stuff back until I decided to buy software this month! 

I did buy a Gameboy Advance in 2002, with some Japanese language games Super Mario Advance and F-Zero from a market in Sydney during a business trip there. It was an amazing system and upgraded it later to the SP, but ultimately, I got distracted with the release of the Sony PSP handheld not long after, as it offered far superior graphics and full 3D games on the go.

While working in Japan in 2005 I was tempted by the Gameboy Micro on its September launch (picture below I took was in Shinjuku), but as it was Japan region locked I decided not to. Looking at the prices these days of the Japan only Mario version I could have bought back then, perhaps I should have bought one anyway!

I also learned for the first time about the amazing Gameboy Homebrew scene with lots of new games being released in 2024 and even the demoscene!

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that there is a following today for the most popular handheld gaming system, in the same way as the Amiga and C64 do also. Retro is indeed in.

My first homebrew game for the Gameboy Color arrived while I was unpacking the Analogue Pocket - very good timing - Super JetPak DX.

Anyway, buying the Analogue Pocket gave me the perfect excuse to buy lots of Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Neo Geo Pocket, Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx games.

Happy early birthday to me. :-)

As the games slowly came in, I started to try them out on the Pocket, with the first one being a Gameboy Color title. I am impressed that Gameboy Color, Gameboy and Gameboy cartridges all fit into the same connector.

I understand the Pocket is designed to fit the Gameboy Camera accessory also, but I don't have one and although I am nostalgic for the games, I am not so interested in grainy horrible resolution photos in black and white...YMMV.

Anyway, on first power on, the Pocket walks through the optional tutorial, which works well and explains the basics to get you started.

This information about the display modes is interesting - you can simulate the gameboy and other supported handheld systems original display modes if you prefer.

And then, the dreaded QR code appeared. Thanks.

I suspected there would be an update to apply, but I wanted to play games on the unit now, so I skipped it and tried out the gameboy color game I just inserted.

It works really well, and looks amazing on the Pocket.

It's like playing a different machine with this beautiful screen. It is easy to forget just how horrible the handheld screens on the original Gameboy systems were, even the Advance.

Screen technology has definitely improved.

This discussion of the screen brings me to another point. 

I am aware that you can purchase mod kits for the original classic handhelds, but the work is fiddly, long and difficult if you don't have soldering skills (which I don't). Even if I had the skills, I don't have the time.

I balanced the admittedly high cost of the Pocket with the fact that it was much cheaper than if I bought an original Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance SP, Atari Lynx, NEC GT PC Engine and Neo Geo Pocket color, and then modded all of them to use a modern screen, recap them and upgrade as needed to make them usable.

The Pocket is great value for money when taking that into consideration. And the system is not region locked so you can play carts from any region, and you don't need to carry all those physical systems around with you.

To deal with the various systems which use different cartridge sizes and connectors, the Pocket has the option to purchase additional converters to unlock the ability to play the other handhelds I mentioned above. Out the box it can play Gameboy, Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance cartridge games.

The converters open it up considerably to more system cartridges.

First off the rank is the PC Engine/TG-16 converter. This is because I already have a NEC PC Engine and a lot of Hu Cards for it, that I picked up in Japan around ten years ago, before the prices of them went crazy. FYI Atlantean is a newer release homebrew game title for the PC Engine I ordered later on.

The converter connects easily to the back of the pocket. It covers the shoulder buttons which the PC Engine controller doesn't have.

I tried the New Zealand Story HuCard first:

It was at this point I hit the first problem - I didn't update the firmware, so it didn't recognise the converter. Turns out the firmware included with the Pocket as delivered was quite old - version 1.0b and the most recent was 2.2 release in 2024!

Upgrading involved downloading the update file from the Analogue website to the root folder of a microSD card, which when inserted in the Pocket MicroSD slot on the right side and powered on, would automatically update.

It then ran through another tutorial once finished, which showed the addition of screenshot functions, save memory states for cartridge games (to allow resuming games which have no save function), and more.

It also opens up the system to accept other OpenFPGA cores, like Amiga, C64, Arcade titles and more! I will definitely have to play around with those later on!

You can now see the additional supported systems in the system list in the Pocket.

You don't need to select them - I just wanted to show what is there. It will use the FPGA core for the appropriate cartridge when it is inserted automatically.

There is a splash screen that shows the game cartridge you inserted before you hit play.

I soon got down to enjoying Aero Blasters for TG-16 on my Pocket, and it works perfectly.

I also tested New Zealand Story on HuCard, and it worked perfectly too:

I tired a lot of other games too - Final Lap:

Gradius too:

Screen looks so good doesn't it?

Analogue Pocket is the ultimate PC Engine/TG-16 handheld if you want to use real HuCards with it.

Lastly, I wanted to test my Everdrive HuCard with the Pocket. I read that Flash cards should also work with the Pocket, so I wanted to try out the one I use on my PC Engine console. 

This Everdrive has all the games released for the PC Engine on the MicroSD card stored on it.

It is clear that when travelling, using a Everdrive cartridge is a no-brainer. As nice as using physical cartridges is, it is not practical to have a pile of them in your luggage for every system when on the go.

I am pleased to report it does work, although I did notice some graphical glitches in some games I tested using the Everdrive, like New Zealand Story. I have the original HuCard though, so no drama for me. Perhaps I need to update the firmware on the Everdrive - it is quite old.

The flash cart menu is easy to read and navigate using the Pocket, and I was soon running PC Engine Outrun from the Everdrive flash HuCard on the Pocket:

I think I can move on from PC Engine games on the Pocket - they work great.

Curiously enough, after I sold my Gameboy Advance and Gameboy Advance SP, I retained the Japanese Super Mario Advance and F-Zero game cartridges I bought. I don't know why -  I guess because the boxes were different in the Japanese releases, and because they cost so much when I first bought them.

Anyway, it meant I had two Gameboy advance games to use on my Pocket, and these cartridges don't need a converter to be used:

Gameboy Advance used a non 4:3 aspect screen, which means the games display with borders above and below the game screen output on the Pocket.

I thought this would bother me, but actually it is fine.

Gameboy Advance games looks great on the Pocket screen, and I enjoyed reliving a game I haven't played in over 20 years!

At this point I also unwrapped the plastic case cover for the Pocket. It is sturdy and very nice, but I am unsure about the usefulness of it. It looks pretty I guess, and it would protect the Pocket in your backpack while travelling, but annoying to use as the top is loose and needs to be precisely aligned to the bottom to click in place.

Personally I think it should have been hinged to make it easier to lock into place and the correct orientation, since it only connects one way.

The dock on the other hand, is excellent.

A little annoying that the power adapter included with the dock is US plug only with no plug converters in the box. Err, you know there are other countries in the world right? For the high price of the dock, the plug converters should be included in my opinion.

Included with the dock is the USB-C cable for charging the Pocket in the dock, and a HDMI cable to output the Pocket screen to a standard HDMI display (with audio too).

Also included on the dock itself are two USB ports, for connecting USB wired controllers to use instead of the Pocket controls, which are unusable when docked. 

The docked Pocket also supports wireless bluetooth controllers like the PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Wii and 8BitDo controllers.

On initial connection, it tells me I have to upgrade the firmware straight away, which it does from the Pocket itself, so no further download is needed.

It prompts to confirm the upgrade version to 2.2, and then select Upgrade Now to proceed.

Sorry for the screen reflection glare, but the dock vertical position of the Pocket makes it hard to photograph.

With the dock firmware upgraded, I can now see the Gameboy Advance game I was playing before on the connected HDMI screen (ignore the Ally, it is what I usually have connected to this screen):

You can of course use a bluetooth controller as mentioned, but I was lazy and didn't want to muck around with pairing one, so I grabbed a logitech usb wired controller I use on my linux pc for gaming, and connected it to the dock. It works perfectly.

Having tested out the Dock, I moved back into portable mode. I wanted to try out the Atari Lynx cartridges on the converter for the Pocket.

Luckily for me, I could still buy new old stock Atari Lynx games from a supplier in Australia, and they were quite cheap also. They soon arrived and I ripped open the packaging. I couldn't care less about the "collectors value" - I want to enjoy the games now. I didn't buy a display cabinet piece...

Back in the 1990's, I had a Atari Lynx II when I was sick in hospital - my mum bought me one to keep me occupied in hospital during my recovery from a collapsed lung, which thanks to complications in surgery left me in hospital for 2 months. I have nice memories of the system during a tough time for me.

I decided to pick up some other games I never had for the Lynx too, so I could try them out.

I played Shanghai a lot on the Lynx back then, so naturally that was the first game I wanted to try out in the Pocket, using the Lynx converter.

On Power on and play cartridge selected, the Pocket shows the game detail before launching it:

Shanghai worked perfectly, and I was full of nostalgia playing it. I used to play Shanghai on the Amiga too, and I still enjoy it very much.

It is worth mentioning with the analogue bottom and left/right direction pad keys you can change the display mode, same as for the Gameboy games. It displays a small text at the bottom when changing mode to show which display mode you are currently using on the Pocket. I prefer the Pocket default mode, but the Lynx original display modes allow you to experience the display as it was on the original handheld.

Next I tried Zarlor Mercenary, a shoot em up on the Atari Lynx that I have never owned or tried before. It is a good game, and I wish I had it back in the day!

Reminds me a bit of playing Battle Squadron on the Amiga.

I then tried Toki, and came across my first game that didn't work. It was brand new in box, so no idea why it doesn't work. 

I saw other people have used Toki fine on the Pocket, so I guess I just got a non-working cartridge. Shame really. The undescriptive "error" when launching it doesn't exactly help in troubleshooting...

I moved on to California Games which was a lot of fun on the Atari Lynx version.

All the other Atari Lynx games I bought worked perfectly also.

I have ordered a ElCheapo SD Card flash cart for the Atari Lynx, as I intend to use it when travelling with the Pocket. I haven't got it yet so I can't try it in this blog post.

Moving on now to the Neo Geo Pocket Color. 

This was a handheld I considered buying many times, but ultimately never did. It was never released in Australia. You could find it at import places, for high prices and limited game selection.

The games now are a little too pricey, so I decided to just get one game locally to try out, and picked Densha De Go 2 (Go by Train 2 in Japanese). Since it was not released for the other platforms I can use with the Pocket, it seemed logical to choose it.

I tried to avoid buying the same game across the different handheld systems, since it doesn't make sense when I can run them all on the same Pocket system. 

The Neo Geo Pocket cartridges are quite small, and don't overhang the Pocket much with the converter, which is great.

Densha De Go 2 works great on the Analogue Pocket handheld - as before it shows the game cartridge detail prior to launching it:

The screen fills out nicely on the Pocket and the game runs perfectly:

Having played Densha De Go on later systems like the Switch, the age shows on this version of it, but I like it anyway!

I do plan to get a Neo Geo Pocket Flash cart for the Pocket too, as I would be crazy to pay the current prices for Neo Geo Pocket games on eBay....

Next I move onto a system I also never owned, a Sega Game Gear. Now in 2024 with the Pocket, I can buy and enjoy the original Sega Game Gear games with it!

The first game I bought is Halley Wars - have to admit I never heard of it! But that is kind of the point - to try out games I have never played.

The Game Gear cartridges are much wider and thicker than any of the other systems cartridges:

The HuCards are longer of course, but much thinner and narrower than the Sega Game Gear ones.

I remember seeing Sega Game Gear handhelds in the shop back in the day, with their color gaming screens making the Gameboy look so old. But then again, The Game Gear had a very short battery life as a result....

No such issues on the Pocket though, and I was again impressed with the quality of the screen output on the Pocket with the Game Gear cartridges. The games look incredible on it.

As with the Lynx, NeoGeo Pocket and Gameboy, you can Adjust the display mode to match the original handheld Sega GameGear if you desire:

I also tested Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Game Gear on the Pocket during the ads while watching the Paris Olympics TV coverage, and again, fantastic display:

Sonic is Sonic, not much to add to it. The Game Gear version is great. Seems more period appropriate to me to have Sonic on a Sega handheld than the Sonic advance version released on the Gameboy advance later on...

At this point I decided to pick up a Gameboy Color flash cart and a Gameboy Advance flash cart.

Getting the original games is fun of course, but as mentioned there are limits to have many you can bring on a trip with you. The flash carts make it easier. 

That is not the only reason though. The other reason is to enjoy the non-physical release homebrew games and demoscene for the handheld platforms, which are only possible with a flash cart. 

I picked up GB Pro + flash cart for Gameboy and Gameboy color cartridge releases:

I got this one from a seller on eBay, with an included 4GB MicroSD card with homebrew titles and some other titles...ahem. You know what I mean.

Being able to run homebrew and demoscene titles for the Gameboy and Gameboy color on this cart is fantastic, and worth it just for that alone.

Perhaps you would like to enjoy some Gameboy tunes? Demoscene music disks have you well covered on the Gameboy with many music releases too, and using the flash cart allows you to enjoy them on the Pocket. 

I enjoyed this LoFi Girl music disk tribute release, called Gameboy Study Beats:

I also enjoyed playing GB-Wordyl, a recent homebrew conversion of the popular online Wordle game to the Gameboy Color and original Gameboy. 

I have the physical box release on its way to me, but in the meantime I can enjoy the download version now on the Pocket with the flash cart.

There is some interesting tribute homebrew too, for games that are not possible on the Gameboy really, like Among Us...

It's fun to explore just how huge a variety of homebrew is out there on the Gameboy, and to support the physical boxed releases where you can. I hope to cover more of them as the ones I ordered arrive.

I also picked up a EverDrive GBA Mini flash cart to enjoy homebrew and demoscene titles released on the Gameboy Advance.

The Everdrive Mini is tiny, given the Gameboy Advance cartridges are tiny: 

After loading the required GBAOS from the Krikzz website onto an empty 32GB SD-Card, I set to work loading up demoscene and homebrew game titles onto it to try out.

The cart will tell you to load the GBASYS files if you don't do it before power on, like below.

The GBA era demoscene is close to Amiga in terms of the graphical and technical limitations, which makes watching demos with the flash cart on the Pocket for the GBA very enjoyable indeed! 

Also some familiar Amiga demo groups active in the GBA scene too, which is nice to see.

Definitely check out the GBA demoscene on pouet.net, there is a lot of great stuff to find and try out with a flash cart on the Pocket!

Plenty of music disks too, some retro themed like this one:

The Everdrive GBA has the usual SD-Card navigation menu, using the direction control and action buttons to select or go back a folder:

Of course in addition to Homebrew and demoscene, you can enjoy the other titles .. ahem ... assuming you own the originals. or not. YMMV.

Personally I find playing the new homebrew titles GameBoy Advance much more interesting. Like this new 2024 game called Goodboy Galaxy. 

I hope all this has whet your appetite for experiencing the Analogue Pocket and discovering a bunch of games, demoscene and more, for a pile of retro handheld systems, all in one device.

If you plan to buy one of these Analogue Pockets, I recommend the flash carts. 

I also believe that financially supporting the homebrew game developers on Gameboy, GBA, Atari Lynx and other Retro platforms is a good thing to do, since they put a lot of effort into making titles for these retro formats for us all to enjoy, generally for free or for very little money. 

I am doing what I can too and have ordered a bunch of physical box releases, and financially supported some non-physical releases too.

I plan to further explore the Pocket's functionality, by trying out the openFPGA cores for Amiga, C64, arcade games, and more later on, and also the MIDI functionality which I don't have time to explore at the moment but I bought the cables to do it.

Until next time, take care, enjoy your retro systems and I hope you enjoyed this look at the Analogue Pocket!