Ayaneo just released its latest retro gaming handheld with the Ayaneo Pocket DMG. It’s a premium, Game Boy-inspired handheld that’s more than up to the task of emulating everything from the Atari to the PS2to playing the latest and greatest Android games. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful retro gaming handhelds you can buy today, but with the price that starts at $339 and ranges all the way to $589, you’ll need to covet what it’s trying to accomplish beyond simply playing retro games.
Specifications
- Current Price: $339 - $589 (IndieGoGo)
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Ayaneo Pocket DMG - First Impressions and Key Features
The Ayaneo Pocket DMG couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Over the last month or so, my oldest son has discovered my Game Boy Color. It has filled me with a unique joy seeing my 10-year-old son enjoy the very same console I spent so many hours with an unbelievable 26 years ago. Because of this, I’ve already been reliving some of the nostalgia that comes with rediscovering an old source of enjoyment and sharing that with another.
So, in a way, you might say that I was the ideal target for Ayaneo. The Ayaneo Pocket DMG is heavily inspired by the Game Boy Color. It does so with the clear intention of pulling you back in time, clearly messaging that this is a handheld devoted to vintage games.
Ironically, it’s also quite powerful. It’s outfitted with the SnapDragon G3x Gen 2 processor. It’s cutting edge, and frankly overkill for the types of games the Pocket DMG’s design first brings to mind. That also applies to its memory and storage. Depending on how much you’re willing to spend, you can outfit it with anywhere from 8GB to 16GB of memory and up to a full terabyte of storage.
The display is also absolutely fantastic for device like this. It’s a 3.92-inch OLED touchscreen and features a 1240 x 1080 resolution with a classic 4:3 aspect ratio. This lends it a high pixel density of 419 PPI for a very crisp picture that can take full advantage of upscaling, and other image enhancements built into different emulators. It also gets quite bright with a peak brightness of 450 nits.
It doesn’t skimp on controls, either. In addition to the usual D-pad and ABXY buttons (as well as start and select), it also features R1, L1, R2, and L2 shoulder buttons and two pairs of buttons on each side for controlling its Android operating system on both sides.
It also features a single joystick (Hall Effect, so stick drift will never be an issue), but that’s a bit misleading. The area to the right of the joystick is actually a touchpad that can be used for mouse control or act as the second joystick. By default, it is set to the latter and is just about perfectly sized to feel natural in games. It isn’t immediately apparent that this is what it’s for or that it should work as well as it actually does, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well implemented this is. And yes, that means that you can use the Pocket DMG for far more than Game Boy games.
In fact, the system is powerful enough that you can play everything up to PlayStation 2 games on it and even beyond if you’re sticking with Nintendo systems. If you’re more interested in Android games, the SoC is powerful enough to run just about anything with top-tier performance and visuals available today.
At this point, I should mention that we at MMORPG don’t condone or endorse piracy in any way. It’s also important to note, that the Pocket DMG does not come with any games preinstalled. While it is possible to find ROMs online, you should be aware that it is only legal to play backups of games you already own.
For the backups you do have, Ayaneo makes it easy to access and play them using its AyaSpace app. Once you have your ROMs sorted into folders for each system, the app presents them with a nice categorized layout. Since there’s nothing illegal about emulators, if you happen to need one the system will direct you to the app store to download a free version to get you playing with the least effort.
In true Ayaneo fashion, there is also a wide array of configuration options to really make the system your own. You can set your own TDP using presets or dial-in wattage up to 15W. At that level, you need active cooling so the system also has a built-in fan. You can customize your own fan curve too. You can configure each of the buttons and inputs to your taste, including turbo buttons and dead zones on the joystick. There is a wheel on the left side that defaults to volume, but this can also be remapped. This menu can be raised at any time by pressing a dedicated Ayaneo button on the bottom right of the system.
In every way, the Pocket DMG is a very high-caliber, well-made piece of hardware that effectively evokes nostalgia and delivers an impressive gaming experience.
Ayaneo Pocket DMG – Performance and Overall Impressions
With all that in mind, if you’re considering this is your first retro handheld it’s important to understand that there is a good amount of set up and learning you will have to do. In my experience, most emulators benefit if not require some tweaking to really perform their best. Some are more complex than others. You’ll also need to get familiar with their menus, how to configure controls, create and load save states, and turn on or off any visual effects or scaling you might prefer. The same is true for creating your ROM library and sorting everything into its proper folder. This goes with the territory for retro handhelds like this.
Android, on the other hand, is ready to use straight out of the box. It comes pre-loaded with the Google Play Store and gives you the option of pre-installing popular apps like Netflix and Spotify. The launcher is customized for the Pocket DMG and is completely navigable using the D-pad, joystick, and face buttons. It also comes with Google Chrome installed, which is useful for finding those backups and if you need browser access. It works; Ayaneo did a good job of making navigating the web a viable option on this kind of device (the touchscreen also helps). Even so, it doesn’t feel great because of the smaller screen, so I found myself only using it when I didn’t have my phone on hand.
Scanlines are part of a CRT effect option built into the emulator and are not part of the screen itself
Like I mentioned in the previous section, this is a powerful handheld. I played backups all the way back to the TI-99 to the PlayStation 2. With rare exception, everything ran smoothly. Newer games obviously take more processing power, so the more demanding you go the harder it will be to run. By adjusting the TDP, I really didn’t run into any major issues whatsoever.
I also love the form factor. It truly is like a big screen Game Boy. It’s a bit too big to easily fit in a pants pocket, and I wouldn’t want to do that anyways with the joystick present on the front, but it certainly feels more portable than many competing handhelds, like the Ayn Odin. Throughout the physical and software aspects of the system, there is a wonderful attention to detail that elevates the Pocket DMG above any of the dedicated retro handhelds I’ve tested so far (which is most of the big ones today).
The big question is whether it’s worth its higher cost. It’s clear that Ayaneo is positioning this as a higher caliber retro gaming handheld than most others out there and is pricing it accordingly. A survey of the market also makes it clear that you do not need to spend nearly this much money to have a great retro gaming handheld experience. You could, conceivably, just connect a controller to your smartphone and be able to play many of the same games depending on the age of advice.
The Pocket DMG is a handheld to choose for the sum of its parts. The OLED screen, the powerful processor and memory combination, the high programmability of all of its buttons and inputs, the ability to play decades worth of game systems that you have backups for. For many people, it’s still going to be much too expensive. That’s understandable, and I would wager that Ayaneo understands that as well and is intentionally setting the Pocket DMG apart.
Even so, I definitely believe the upper end of its pricing is much too high. While I love the retro color scheme and that a microSD card likely will never be necessary, it encroaches on PC gaming handheld territory where any Android device will struggle to compete.
That said, taken on its own merits the Ayaneo Pocket DMG is a very impressive and very nostalgic piece of hardware. My son and I have loved games I haven’t touched in many years, and I personally love how easy it is to throwing a bag and take with me throughout the day. Retro gamers will find a lot to love here if they’re willing to pay the cost of entry. If this sounds like you, you can pick one up for yourself at IndieGoGo.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
