Android and Linux Handhelds - Shield, GCW Zero, GP2X, Pandora, Pyra, JXD, etc.

pixeljunkie

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Thanks for the info Ocean!

Anybody care to post their experiences with the Retroid Pocket 2? I’ve heard some say that there’s input of, and others say there’s not. Would love a definitive answer.

Also, anybody own both an RP2 and an RG351P, and care to post opinions of the two in comparison with each other?

I have the RP2. I feel like it requires a ton of work to get it where you'd really love it. As is, out of the box...I don't care for it. Input lag, etc. But if you don't mind fiddling with Android and installing your own stuff I can see it being nice. I just wanted it better out of the box.
 

GohanX

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I don't have a RP2, but I do have a GPD XD and have configured several phones to be used as emulation devices. Frankly, I gave up on Android as a gaming platform. The power was nice but it has a lot of little issues that I've never been able to resolve, such as audio latency. I'll take my RG351p over the XD any day, even if the XD is significantly more powerful.
 

Ajax

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Thanks for the input dudes. I decided to take a chance on the RP2. I may grab an RG351P too, and keep the one I like more. The aspect ratio thing on the 351 kinda freaks me out, but GohanXs endorsement earlier puts my fears to rest quite a bit. The RGA scaling thing - is it just a setting in the menu, or is it something you set in each emulator?

I’ve noticed that on the RG350, the PC Engine emulator struggles with sound quite a bit. That’s primarily what I want to play, so that’s the top thing I’m hoping to avoid in upgrading to a more powerful device, whatever it ends up being.
 

GohanX

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Thanks for the input dudes. I decided to take a chance on the RP2. I may grab an RG351P too, and keep the one I like more. The aspect ratio thing on the 351 kinda freaks me out, but GohanXs endorsement earlier puts my fears to rest quite a bit. The RGA scaling thing - is it just a setting in the menu, or is it something you set in each emulator?

It's a setting in the scaler menu of Retroarch, so it can be set on a system by system basis (which is what I normally do) or you can set it in the global Retroarch config. You really only want to enable it on systems where integer scaling doesn't work though, so yes on consoles but no on most handhelds.
 

Lastblade

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Where did you guys order the RG351 from? Aliexpress? I am thinking of getting the m and put ArkOS on it.
 

Ajax

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Thanks for the heads up GohanX. Still waiting for my 351P to come in, but looking forward to it.

I got my RP2 a couple weeks ago. Retroid OS is not good. I didn't see any options for customizing at all, and the input lag is horrible on everything, so I won't be using that. I would be happy to even get rid of all of that data from the card, for that matter.

Retroarch on the handheld is another story though. It's true, it does take a lot of tinkering, but I think I've found settings that work for everything (or, everything I've tried so far). PS1 and PC Engine both run really, really well, so I'm pretty satisfied.

I can't seem to get N64 to run in Retroarch, but there are like two 64 games that I don't hate, so it's whatever. DC isn't great on the system, but I wasn't really expecting it to be, so not a big deal there either.

@Lastblade, yes, I ordered the 351P from Aliexpress. I selected shipping from the US, but it still hasn't shown up. May be quicker to order from China, hilariously.

RG351 at Aliexpress

RG351 at Retromimi
 

Lastblade

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Thanks for the link to Retromimi, might give that a shot.
 

pixeljunkie

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Thanks for the heads up GohanX. Still waiting for my 351P to come in, but looking forward to it.

I got my RP2 a couple weeks ago. Retroid OS is not good. I didn't see any options for customizing at all, and the input lag is horrible on everything, so I won't be using that. I would be happy to even get rid of all of that data from the card, for that matter.

Retroarch on the handheld is another story though. It's true, it does take a lot of tinkering, but I think I've found settings that work for everything (or, everything I've tried so far). PS1 and PC Engine both run really, really well, so I'm pretty satisfied.

I can't seem to get N64 to run in Retroarch, but there are like two 64 games that I don't hate, so it's whatever. DC isn't great on the system, but I wasn't really expecting it to be, so not a big deal there either.

@Lastblade, yes, I ordered the 351P from Aliexpress. I selected shipping from the US, but it still hasn't shown up. May be quicker to order from China, hilariously.

RG351 at Aliexpress

RG351 at Retromimi

Yeah, I'd love to just boot to android and have an SD card for roms so if you figure that out let me know. I shelved it because it's too much work for what seemed like little return.
 

Ajax

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Is yours booting into Retroid OS? If so, there's an option somewhere on the menu to restart in Android, and it will restart in Android until you switch to Retroid OS.

If you want, I can make an image of the SD card in mine, copy it over to a new card, and send it to you. It's 128GB, and I don't think there's a way to boot directly into Retroarch, but I've been really happy with my results.
 

GohanX

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Where did you guys order the RG351 from? Aliexpress? I am thinking of getting the m and put ArkOS on it.
I just got it from Amazon. It's a few bucks more than Chinese sellers, but I didn't feel like waiting.
 

Ajax

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My 351P arrived last night. I haven't had much of a chance to mess with it just yet, but I really like the feel of the buttons and d pad. A huge step up from the 350, and also better feeling than the RP2. Looking forward to digging into it.
 

ForeverSublime

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Special thanks to SML and pixeljunkie. Found great information here - specifically, about tate setups. I was looking for something with buttons on the D-pad side, and didn't think about rotating the other way for the right stick side. Nice to know tate functionality exists.

@SML, do you by chance still have the Mario screenshot of the LDK with screen scaling turned off? The attachment vamoosed. Those were nice comparisons.
 
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16-bit

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My 351P arrived last night. I haven't had much of a chance to mess with it just yet, but I really like the feel of the buttons and d pad. A huge step up from the 350, and also better feeling than the RP2. Looking forward to digging into it.

Yeah, I might have to buy that. I already have the 350p and the 280v (current fav), but the 351p sounds perfect as a dedicated gba player.
 

Ajax

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I meant to mention - when you fire up the RG351P for the first time, the screen looks pretty crappy. I don’t remember what the settings are, but there are these weird horizontal and vertical lines. It doesn’t look good. There is a way to get rid of that shit, but like I said, I don’t remember what the settings were.

After hearing about it here, I looked into Arkos. I imaged a card with that, and I prefer it over the stock image immensely. It seems like the screen is configured properly for everything by default in Arkos. Plus, you still have access to tweak things in retroarch, if necessary.

Gotta say though - I’ve still been using my RP2 more than the 351P. It’s true, I like the feel of the hardware and controls on the 351P more than the RP2, but things seem to run just a touch better to me on RP2.
 

GohanX

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I forgot to mention that. I put ArkOS on mine immediately.
 

ForeverSublime

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You got it.

View attachment 58957
LDK Unscaled

It has a jewel-like quality. Neat! and thank you.

The Shield's screen looks interesting in a good way, but the unit itself looks interesting in a bad way. Maybe they'll change the form factor for a different appeal. It just reminds me of something out of the n-gage era.
 
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pixeljunkie

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skip to about 3:18

edit: OOF! $109?! No thanks Looks like plastic version is $80 - pretty expected
 
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pixeljunkie

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IMG_20210330_093159539.jpg

I was drunk a few weeks ago and bought one of these shitty things on Ali Express. Gets awful reviews. I gotta say though, I can see myself playing this thing. Was like $34 and I can toss it around and throw it in my pocket and not worry about it getting banged up. Plays Neo Turf Masters very well. CPS1, CPS2 play very well. PC Engine plays very well.

It's total garbage, but knowing that - it's kind of useful as something I can keep in a backpack when traveling and not taking anything of value with me. I can play 3 holes of golf, save - toss back in pocket or bag.

I did put the custom FW on it which helps, but I kinda' liked it out of the box TBH. I'm not expecting to play SNES on it well...and ironically it's shit NES emulation on it. But I can play Devil's Crush, Neo Turf Masters and RPGs on it.
 

sylvie

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skip to about 3:18

edit: OOF! $109?! No thanks Looks like plastic version is $80 - pretty expected
that thing looks about as castrated as its target audience. Might as well be branded by LeapFrog
 

sylvie

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I'm just mad because I know if i used it my thumbnail would obscure the screen
 

sylvie

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View attachment 46645

I was drunk a few weeks ago and bought one of these shitty things on Ali Express. Gets awful reviews. I gotta say though, I can see myself playing this thing. Was like $34 and I can toss it around and throw it in my pocket and not worry about it getting banged up. Plays Neo Turf Masters very well. CPS1, CPS2 play very well. PC Engine plays very well.

It's total garbage, but knowing that - it's kind of useful as something I can keep in a backpack when traveling and not taking anything of value with me. I can play 3 holes of golf, save - toss back in pocket or bag.

I did put the custom FW on it which helps, but I kinda' liked it out of the box TBH. I'm not expecting to play SNES on it well...and ironically it's shit NES emulation on it. But I can play Devil's Crush, Neo Turf Masters and RPGs on it.
This is actually kind of cute. I'd buy right away if it were half the price, and hoping that googling "powkiddy" didn't put me on a shoot & kill list.

So it's pretty hit or miss as far as what it can actually do? Why does NES emulation suck so bad?
 
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