The Pocket Go is the latest addition to the BittBoy family of portable gaming devices. Boasting an expanded range of emulation options over the original BittBoy, two new shoulder buttons and a much more comfortable form factor. The original BittBoy was a wonderful little device that gave one of the best handheld gaming emulation options around. With its gorgeous IPS panel screen, extremely portable and cute form factor and fantastic battery life. The only real downside was the limited emulation options of Game Boy, Game Boy Colour and NES games.
Pocket GO
The Pocket Go is the latest update to the portable BittBoy line and continues the trend with a gorgeous IPS panel screen, even more user friendly and portable form factor. This time including emulation for the Game Boy, Game Boy Colour and NES as well the Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo, Sega MegaDrive, Sega MasterSystem, Mame, Neo Geo, PC Engine, Atari 2600, Lynx, Wonderswan, DOS and PS1.
All things considered this is a fantastic little handheld console. Especially for the price of $40 plus postage! If you are after one of these portable little bad boys then I’ll leave some links in the description below. However there are some issues to consider which stop this being perfect.
Let’s get the issues out of the way so we can enjoy the good stuff later on.
Pocket GO Emulation
The main problem is that not all games are emulated equal. This is not a problem limited to the Pocket Go however it is one that is noticeable on it. For example, the MAME emulator wasn’t very user friendly and was sluggish at times. It took a while to load Cadillacs and Dinosaurs but when it did and I could figure my into the start screen, it played pretty smoothly after that. However NBA Jam loaded relatively easily, but once in the game the emulation was just too slow to enjoy. Final Fight however was a joy to load and play.
Pocket GO Screen
The screen on the Pocket Go as gorgeous as it is, isn’t the fastest to refresh. This means that you’re going to see some screen tearing. Although not the most aesthetically pleasing feature it doesn’t stop me from enjoying my favourite side scrollers.
Pocket GO Quality
The first thing you notice with the Pocket Go is that the form factor is a lot like the GameBoy Micro! The Game Boy Micro is a fantastic little console but to get one you’ll be spending a lot of money and they only play Game Boy Advance games.
The Pocket Go has a really good build quality with a nice weight to it. Making it feel premium, but still light enough to enjoy a long handheld playing session. The D Pad and buttons on the Pocket Go are also really well designed with a nice clicky feel to them.
Pocket GO Battery
As far as battery life goes this baby keeps going and going! In the week that I’ve been using it I’ve not run out of battery once! I’m not sure what the official duration is but it definitely impresses for a handheld gaming console!
Pocket GO Emulation
The Pocket Go comes with an 8gb micro SD card and now this is one of the best things, it comes fully packed with a heap of amazing retro classics as well as some spare space to add your own roms. Roms can simply be added into the relevant console folder in the Roms folder.
As I’ve said in previous videos I play most of my video games portably these days. So the idea of a fully handheld emulation station on the go really appeals to me. Although the Pocket Go won’t be replacing my RetroPi setup any time soon, it is definitely my new best portable friend!
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