When Ayaneo first announced the Pocket Ekka earlier this year, I was very lukewarm about it. It was billed as a “retro” focused handheld, but very much liked Pocket DMGIt was glasses to compete with heavyweight.

Everything was on obstacles: 3: 2 between the screen retro and modern console, the design was de-pad-centered, but had two small rods, and a large-scale 6,000mAh battery is almost larger as steam deck oLED. In addition to retro power colorway, I tested, nothing shouted about it “Retro.”

After testing the device, I have to accept that Ayaneo was correct. This is the correct retro gaming console, but is also very high. This can change everyone Retro gaming handheld In my collection, and I will not even worry.

To understand my early confusion, you have to compare Ayeno Pocket Ace for the rest of the company’s devices. On the large side, you have a 6.2 -inch pocket S and a 7 -inch pocket evo. EVO is particularly one of the most capable handheld I used by me, and it can play any system comfortably that is possible to simulate in the present.

Small side you have Ayeno Pocket Micro And micro classic. These 3: 2 handheld GBA are designed for GBA games, which has the correct 4X integer scaling in the GBA micro-like form factor. They can play other systems, but the design and chipset have more limitations than the rest of the lineup of Ayaino.

Compared to those two devices, pocket ace is undoubtedly a middle child (as you can see above). Despite this, it can still do everything to devices. This is the same aspect ratio in the form of pocket micro for GBA goodness, and the same chipset as pocket S and EVO for state -of -the -art simulation.

Most importantly, it is not a series of bad agreements, but the best is a mission to introduce those devices. It seems that Ayeno has learned from those equipment so that something new can be new.

Starting with the design, it is compact but premium, with some best controls I have tested in a device of this size. D-pad is an attraction, as surprisingly cool buttons and hall effects are analog trigger. Even two small rods are surprisingly decent. Sure, they are not comfortable as incredible full -sized rods on pocket events, but when they need and when they do not do they get enough work to work.

I was also happy to see that Ayaneo carried on the beginning and selected the back button at the top for ACE. There are still four buttons on the bezel below, but they are hot for software. Also bezel with bezel two (mostly) forward-firing stereo speakers with below, which seem excellent. They are kept so that you do not cover them with your palms. My only complaint here is that there is no headphone jack.

Bumper and trigger have a smooth finish, but due to their size, I really never felt that they needed a great texture. The hall effect trigger looks great, and they sit right between my trigger fingers for easy shoots. Next to them are Android back and home buttons, who are far from trigger to avoid casual presses. An air intake on the back is vent and outflow on the top, so no heat reached my delicate gamer fingers.

The screen is a beautiful 4.5-inch IPS panel that is correctly mixed in the device. It is very bright and the color looks fabulous, but I can’t help, but I wish it would have an OLED panel for a reason, and it’s not the right blacks. Pocket ace shows noticeable light in low-light conditions. Honestly, it did not bother me while gaming and my eyes did not see it even after a while, but it should not be an issue on the device on this premium.

It is being said, I think the pocket does a good job of taking out its own niche in the ace lineup. Essentially, it is small that can play everything. The design is not perfect for every system and aspect ratio, but it gives the right concessions to play its entire retro game collection comfortably on the same device.

When it comes to performance, Pocket Ace does not disappoint again. Apparently retro games move like a dream, and the 3: 2 aspect ratio means 4: 3 systems have minimum bezels. I actually played a whispering in the years through the entirety of Super Mario World on SNES because it was very comfortable on this device.

Sticking to the old system on a balanced power profile, I found a battery life of over 15 hours on the same charge. I was actually struggling to dry the battery on this thing without taking a dip in a more modern console.

For casual gamers, the 6,000mAh battery can last a full week, and 40W charging closed it in my test in about 90 minutes. However, there is no charger in the box, so if you do not already have one, you have to create a source of a compatible charger.

Like high demand systems Playstation 2 And Gamkub Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 also has no problem for SOC. It is one of the most powerful chipsets available on a gaming handheld, only a slight edge by Snapdragon 8 General 2 on the Odin 2 lineup.

For comparison, I run the Pocket Ace and Ain Odin 2 portal through our standard suit of the benchmark and found that the Odin 2 portal has about 10% CPU benefits. The GPU scores were almost identical and even in some occasions pocket ace. However, the Odin 2 portal performed much better when he came to thermal, with the pocket ace 46 degree Celsius peak temperatures.

Di, Odin 2 portal is almost double, so it is very easy to keep it cool. The heat on the pocket ace is also focused in the middle and top of the device, so despite the size, I could not feel any heat when catching it. He said, fans get very loud on maximum settings.

The benchmark is one thing, but the best way to push these devices is the most demanded emulator. I tested the pocket ace on a variety of nintendo switch emulator, including Citron, Eden and Yuju, to see how it will stack.

The results were a mixed bag. Mario Cart 8, Super Mario RPG, Super Mario Brothers Wonders, and Games like Mario and Luigi: All of the brothers with all the smoothly, here and there with some graphical glitter. Other games, such as metroid dred, struggle to get in-game.

I will chalk it from hardware to more software, but Techwae is that this device is powerful enough to simulate some switch games. Other state -of -the -art cases such as Windows and PS3 amulation are less protesters due to lack of community adaptation. Hopefully as Snapdragon G-Series Chips Get more normal, we will see better driver support.

On the plus side, 3: 2 displays still look great with 16: 9 games. Like this is good news for the system PSPWhich cannot easily change their aspect ratio. Android games also play well, and the issues of compatibility Snapdragon G3x Jean 2 have been faced on previous devices, which have gone to a great extent.

So should you buy pocket ace? Well, it depends on what you are seeing. If you have already found a small collection of retro gaming handheld and want to start expertise, this jack-of-all-trade is probably not your best bet.

But if you want something relatively small that can play everything, it can be your sleeve up. A combination of build quality, chipset and control can make it the only handheld that you will need to simulate every system under the sun anytime. Di, you will pay a premium for this, as it starts at $ 459 for 8GB+128GB configuration. The 16GB+1TB retro power version that I tested jumps to $ 699, but I think this is an overcome for the strength of this handheld.

This is not without competition, though. Ayn odin 2 mini ($ 329 on manufacturer site) It is the closest colleague, and it renounces comfort for the more reliable Snapdragon 8 General 2 chipset tested above. Retroid Pocket Mini V2 ($ 199 on manufacturer site) Is another, and although it is not as powerful or premium, it is definitely very cheap.

If you decide to buy Ayaaneo Pocket Ace, I would advise you to do so soon. I listed the last retail prices above, but the Indiegogo Crowdfunding campaign is still running with significant discounts. The price of $ 339 starting bird on the cheapest model is more than the appropriate for a device that can simulate the entire collection of your retro game.