The Retroid Pocket Nova has been a thing since June, but we're only just getting to see the retro handheld in action. While we did get a look last month, the gadget maker caveated its demo was based on an engineering prototype. Now, an employee has now unleashed footage of the portable running a bunch of classics.
An unexpected post to Retroid's official X account dubbed "some gameplay for y'all", employee Chris Covers uses the retro handheld to run F-Zero GX, but a bunch more demos are included on their channel (cheers, Time Extension). There are separate clips of Burnout Revenge, Outrun 2006, God of War 2, Panzer Dragoon, and Dead or Alive 2 running on the 4:3 horizontal portable on Covers' YouTube account, providing a nice idea of its emulation abilities.
The footage is admittedly a little janky compared to something you'd find on the actual Retroid YouTube channel. We're talking close-up shots on the screen that aren't supposed to boast high production value, but they do at least give a clear view of each game.
Naturally, it's impossible to get a true idea of performance from this style of video, but from what I can see, every game runs at full speed with ease. The resolution looks crisp too, which could mean it's scaling PS2, Dreamcast, and Saturn games to suit the display's native 1280 x 960 abilities.
It's best to wait for actual reviews that take a closer look at performance stats and highlight any slowdown, but from this sneak peek, I'm impressed. The Pocket Nova is set to strike a nice balance between modern controls and a 4:3 screen that suits most classic games, particularly if you're looking to avoid black bars on each side.
As a bonus, there's also footage of the Pocket Nova paired with an attachable screen for 3DS games. Super Mario 3D Land looks buttery smooth on the top display, and the fact that it's 16:9 means it's equipped to take on other clamshells like the Ayn Thor.
Of course, you could say that, considering it starts at $229 for the 8GB/128GB version, it should punch pretty hard. It's up against some solid rivals like the Anbernic RG Cube, Retroid's own Pocket 5, and the slightly pricier Anbernic RG 477M, so it'll need to pull some bigger performance moves off to stand out.
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