Retro handheld emulator consoles

[673f951e97379fox]

Apparently it's running on a JZ4725B SOC. I think chances for upgrading that thing are pretty limited as far as the hardware performance goes - that's one of the downsides of SOCs.

[673f951e975f3voodoo47]

just getting it to load an open system with updated emulators can do small wonders, as the original software that comes loaded on these devices is years old - as far as I can tell, they pretty much are just copying some three sets of firmware around, that's why so many of these knock-off consoles share an identical UI, despite looking vastly different.

for example, the RetroMini sw is shared with the RS-97, but also with the PMP series. the X9, X6, MP5, PAP consoles share another set (that's why that PAL Mario which runs too fast is everywhere - they don't bother to switch the rom when copying that crap around). and this goes on and on - they are basically ripping off everything they can, themselves included.

[673f951e977f4fox]

Well, I have now read through the entirety of that dingoonity-thread but it's not looking like there's a firmware or software upgrade in sight. Maybe I don't get it but I don't see how accessing RAM over the USB-debug mode can help as long as the non-volatile memory (NAND flash) is practically read only. You'd have to connect the thing to an external device everytime.

The JZ4725B supports three boot modes: NAND flash, USB and MMC/SD Card. Looking through the datasheet, it seems possible to select SD-boot by applying low levels to both of the dedicated pins BOOT_SEL0 and BOOT_SEL1

SD is slower then NAND flash though but none of that is useful without improved code to load of course.

https://steward-fu.github.io/website/handheld/retromini/uart.htm
https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IngenicJz47xx

[673f951e97950voodoo47]

no idea what the problem with retromini is (whether they can't make it boot from the sdcard, or the firmware/os is not compatible, or even if they actually made any serious attempt at modifying the device at all), but if you have something interesting, I would suggest dropping it into the topic I've linked.

because with just a bit more speed, and that NES/SNES scaling fixed, this would be the ultimate gameboyesque handheld.


//registered at their forums, it seems like this is indeed more of a manpower issue, rather than a technical one. maybe someone will pick it up once the RS-97 hacking fewer is over.

[673f951e97a72fox]

I don't think I'll want to invest more time into this at the moment. I don't even own one of these. But it's interesting and maybe I will look into it again sometime. However, I guess it's just a matter of time before somone will redesign the board with a JZ4760 (or better) but keeping the case design (although I read that the shoulder buttons are not ideal either).

[673f951e97d29Olfred]

As there are already people digging into this.
Does anyone know any good place where you can buy a housing for a handheld? Preferably with buttons also available to it.

[673f951e97e65voodoo47]

ebay would be my first choice, but maybe check sudomod, pretty sure they will have a ton of direct links to many parts used in these builds.


//and it does run Wolf3D:

[673f951e97fb4Olfred]

For the most part they direct you to ebay as well.
I was looking for something a bit more versatile than the Gameboy (Advance). Something that at least is capable of having enough buttons for SNES games. The most suitable I could find would be a PSP or PS Vita, but it's rather difficult to find the housing parts. Best bet would be to buy a broken one which doesn't look too worn down and salvage it for parts.

[673f951e980b1voodoo47]

depends on what you want to do, I suppose - you could even get some of those chinese knock-off consoles and use their shell, the cheapest psp-esque ones can be bought for as low as $15.

[673f951e98221Olfred]

That's also a good idea. But they often have some questionable quality when it comes to the buttons and the pad.
The only thing really bothering me besides the availabilty is the screen size. 16:9 isn't really that ideal of a form factor when it comes to emulating older games.
Maybe I'll just need to wait until I have enough money to get the 3D printer I'm eyeballing for a time already.

[673f951e9836evoodoo47]

yeah, you would have to get proper buttons, most likely (ton of them on ebay). pretty sure a 4:3 screen (or whatever you have on mind) can also be obtained - again, I would ask around the sudomod forum, they will be able to point you to any part you specify including its source/seller, I bet.

[673f951e986ebvoodoo47]

it's interesting and maybe I will look into it again sometime.

looks like I maybe nudged things a bit;

This device is just screaming to be hacked i have people messaging me all the time when will it be hacked. Lol if there are any devs out there interested in hacking the device maybe we can get some sort of bounty together from the community. I think that would be the best idea in this situation if someone could organise this and be nice to see some dev step forward to acknowledge they are interested in getting opendingux on the device

so if you can contribute something, please do. if it's a matter of having the device sent your way, that can be arranged as well..

[673f951e9883dfox]

Thanks for the offer but I am not sure if I have the skills and absolutely sure that I currently have too many other time consuming things on my plate. Hopefully things will normalize within a few months but until then, I'm not up for it.

[673f951e98967voodoo47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyafFTPs85M

https://zcrc.me/index.php/category/retromini/

[673f951e98aa0voodoo47]

also, the previously mentioned X9 handheld is starting to drop really close to $30, so one more piece of junk it is.

pretty sure I'll be just repeating myself with "the software just isn't there yet", and there is zero chance of custom firmware for this one afaik, but the screen is really large, and gotta love the NO/OFF button.

[673f951e98bf0voodoo47]

and the second batch of RS-8 handhelds is here - the device now sports a microUSB charging connector (was miniUSB), meaning everyone including your grandma can charge it on their cellphone charger, and a couple of improperly named ROMs are now named properly (and some that were named properly are now named improperly, because we just can't have a chinese knockoff device without something crazy going on). so some sort of evolution is definitely happening, even though it's three steps forward and two steps back.

they sold almost immediately - and both buyers claimed it's for a kid in a hospital, so now I'm bringing happiness to sick children, apparently. it's a mad, mad world.

[673f951e9903avoodoo47]

//edit 2019: closed source devices above $15 are not worth the hassle anymore, go for something that has an open OS.

alright, X9 time;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsOkfZaMcnA

I have a different firmware version (newer, I'd assume) with the main menu large icons offset instead of them being in regular rows, which is probably worse usability wise, but the few games that I've tried didn't seem to have speed issues (the device is supposed to suck at SNES, but Chrono Trigger was fine, same goes for the Kamikaze Squirrel which runs horribly for the guy). so they definitely are trying to make things run better - I'm guessing if I dumped my firmware and made it available, older devices could flash it and run better.

the menu system is slightly annoying and weird - basically, the main menu has a bunch of big icons that are just shortcuts to a few of the built in games, video player, mp3 player, txt reader etc, and file browser, which will bring you to the respective thing you selected, with the added weirdness bonus of being able to always browse the entire content of the device, but only being able to use the thing that the shortcut was for (so if you use the video shortcut, you can browse everything, mp3s, txts etc, but only videos will play). file browser gives you proper access to everything. as mentioned earlier, can't have it without the crazy.

the buttons are not great, but I've seen worse (but if you like games where great control precision is required, you should look for some other device), the screen is large but not extremely crisp. six savestates per game which is nice, no previews (RetroMini had them) so you will have no idea what you are loading, but whatever. the key remap function is great, but whoever designed the menu should be beaten with nail planks and sprinkled with salt. thankfully, you won't be remapping the keys too often though, and they do get saved, so you won't have to go through the torture all the time. oddly enough, the volume level doesn't survive power down, so it needs to be adjusted each time you boot the device up. one really important thing is that (unlike in the video) you now have three screen size options - original size, fullscreen, and stretch while preserving the aspect ratio (the device however resets to full screen each time you start it up. //aha, you can soft power it down by pressing and holding the start button, and turn it on by pressing it again - and the settings will not be reset, volume level included).

the console comes loaded with various games, some are built in and cannot be removed, some are in a GAME folder which is accessible once you connect the device to your computer. the undeletable games are under the GBA and ARCADE shortcuts, and there are supposed to be 20k of them, but surely enough, it's much less as they are just cycled and repeated - they just couldn't resist throwing some fakeness in. but they are easy enough to just ignore, I suppose.

so again, it would be great if they could just get rid of all the stupidity and fakeness, but that's like asking them to not cook with sewer oil. but I have to say, the stupid is not too terrible, and the fake is easy to ignore, and I actually can recommend this to anyone who wants a cheap device that runs NES/SNES/GB/GBC/GBA/GENESIS/PSX/ARCADE (and maybe some more) games on the go - just make sure to not pay more than $30 shipping included (got mine for 30.35, good enough). I actually consider keeping this one.


//well, I kinda have to now, the screen has crapped out after three days of use, and now I have long wide line of failed pixels going through it, making it unsalable - asked and received a partial refund. so yeah, the components are not of the best quality, if you haven't figured it out yet. won't change my recommendation - if you want to have some cheap fun, and don't mind the stupid, this is the device to get.

[673f951e991b8voodoo47]

another interesting retro handheld, if you aren't into the cheap junk;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15iHim5aB-M

supposed to retail at $139 which is not bad, seems like it will play gen4 and older console games.

[673f951e99386Nameless Voice]

This made me think of this thread:

Reddit video: A kid from Venezuela created a Super Mario game with just carton and paper.

[673f951e99513voodoo47]

love the top two comments: "Incoming Nintendo cease and desist" and "I wonder if china is gonna make a knock off of this", just as they say, it's funny because it's true.

anyway, reminds me of something that has been around in my early (behind the iron curtain) childhood - an AkvaBall, basically a pretty nifty device that answers the "how to make a simple computer game without any actual computer parts" question.

only very few were lucky enough to get their hands on the real deal;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpemEkKOjBs

I think I still have one somewhere.. gawd I'm old.

[673f951e99908ZylonBane]

anyway, reminds me of something that has been around in my early (behind the iron curtain) childhood - an AkvaBall, basically a pretty nifty device that answers the "how to make a simple computer game without any actual computer parts" question.

Toys like that far predate video games. I had one when I was a kid that was a water-filled plastic cylinder with a diving bell floating inside it. You squeezed the cylinder to make the bell descend and pick up treasure from the bottom with its little claw.

[673f951e99a75voodoo47]

I guess you could go pretty far back if the criteria is some kind of portable game that uses liquid to float some of its parts, but these specific ones were used as the poor man's portable game consoles around here, hence, computer games without actual computer parts (as those were really scarce in any form, you know, communism and stuff).

[673f951e99becvoodoo47]

aaand still not done with the cheapest junk, apparently. so, a Retro FC thing that not even google really knows about.

mine is some newer (or knockoff, one never knows - it's marked Q3) version with 500 games, no repeats as far as I can tell, but a ton of hacks and other crap. but the shell is pretty nice, and buttons are best so far, so not that bad of a deal for $18. they could have omitted the intro screen with a picture of a small girl holding a teddy bear, and maybe sort the games alphabetically, but apart from that, no complaints.

[673f951e99d06fox]

RPS: "Exapunks players remake Asteroids and Pong inside a fictional Game Boy"