Love (and Chinese New Year) is in the air, let’s go over all the fun stuff that happened this week.

One of my favorite parts of February is that fewer handheld devices are released, which gives me time to focus on guides and website updates. We’ve got two guides this time around, and more coming next week!

🎥 Now Playing

Here are the videos I released on my channel:

Anbernic RG Vita: More Like "RG PSP"

Anbernic has released one of their most confusing devices to date: they named it the RG Vita but it doesn't play much PS Vita. It also doesn’t really feel like a Vita either: it’s bigger, hollow (and cheap) feeling, and has rubber membrane buttons. Here are my first impressions, and expect a full review before the device launches next month.

Cocoon Launcher: Beautiful New Frontend!

Cocoon is an up-and-coming Android launcher that works equally well on both single and dual-screen handhelds. It has a simple, visual style that was inspired by the 3DS UI; it can import media directly from ES-DE, making it easy to try out if you’re already set up on that frontend. This guide and showcase video walks you through the setup and configuration process. Note: I learned after making this video that you can press L3 or pinch/zoom to adjust icon size, it’s really handy but a little unintuitive.

Retroid Pocket 6 Starter Guide

Here is an in-depth starter guide for the Retroid Pocket 6, going over every detail to get you up and running. This will work with most Android-based handhelds too! Settle in for a very thorough ride, it’s unashamedly nearly two hours long.

Other Russ Sightings

If three RGC videos in one week weren’t enough for you, there is more! I joined the Retro Handhelds channel during their RG Vita impressions livestream, and in the latest episode of the Nerd Nest Podcast we discussed Steam Deck shortages and updates to Valve’s “Verified” program (among other things).

📰 Power-Up(dates)

Plenty of news this week:

• The Lunar New Year officially starts on Tuesday, but workers in China have already begun traveling home for the holiday. Expect shipping delays during this period (which could last through early March). Notably, AYN shipments are behind, specifically with the Thor batch 2 and those discounted AYN Odin 2 Portal units.

• Sony went Spartan on the entire industry with a State Of Play befitting a Greek god. The original God Of War trilogy is getting a remake (with its original voice actor), and they shadow-dropped a new 2D Sons of Sparta prequel game, too. Other announcements include a John Wick game, another Metal Gear Solid collection (this time with MGS4!), and Rayman: 30th Anniversary. Check out the huge spread of goodies at Sony’s official site.

• Azahar (3DS) developer PabloMK7 has been teasing Vulkan disk shader cache support for the past week, and they recently confirmed that this new feature is ready and will be merged into their main branch soon. This means we can expect fewer stutters with this graphical backend!

• Switch emulator Eden received a DMCA notice for their GitHub releases repository. Thankfully this only affects their release distribution, all of their source code is stored elsewhere and they’ll still be posting updates as usual. It’s a good reminder to periodically back up the APKs for your favorite Android emulators.

• Not to be outdone, the Nintendo Switch 2 has become the fastest-selling home console in U.S. history, reaching 4.4 million units sold domestically after just seven months on the market. Globally, the console has sold 17.37 million units since its June 2025 launch. Those are pretty staggering numbers considering that there have been very few “must-have” game releases for the console so far.

• AYANEO pushed out yet another crowdfunding pre-order campaign, this time for their Next II handheld, which commands a whopping $4,299 retail price for its highest-spec AMD Strix Halo model. That is more expensive than the first three cars I owned (combined). The battery is 117Wh, making it too large to carry on an airplane unless you fill out paperwork beforehand.

• Jim Gray (creator of my channel’s music!) started a new weekly recap series over on the Retro Handhelds website, detailing new ROM hacks. Check out the first issue of Hacking the Mainframe to learn about new versions of Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Pokemon games.

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: Super Punch-Out!!

This SNES classic is sometimes overshadowed by its Mike Tyson-affiliated predecessor, but it’s still a solid boxing / rhythm game. The sprites are larger and more detailed, and the gameplay patterns are more complex; I had a hard time with this one as a kid. I went through and vindicated my younger self this week by playing through it on my Odin 3, but this time with a few key RetroArch Game Genie cheats that let me knock out even the toughest opponents without breaking a sweat (multiple puns intended).

Modern Game: Marvel’s Spider-Man

I’ve been trying for years to get through Marvel’s Spider-Man. I have a love/hate relationship with this game, because I love all things Spider-Man but I have a hard time enjoying the GTA-like “quest/mission” progression system of these open-world games. This week I gave the game another shot on my ROG Flow Z13 tablet, but sadly I moved on after about an hour. I’ll get there someday!

Music: The New Pornographers - Electric Version

The band name may sound a little risqué, but The New Pornographers’ music is pretty straightforward (and mostly family-friendly) power-pop. Electric Version is this Canadian supergroup’s second album, first released in 2003, and it’s one of their best: 13 songs of propulsive indie rock anthems that average 3.5 minutes each (the perfect song length for adding to a playlist, if you ask me). Opening track “The Electric Version” was also featured in the first Rock Band game, and it was super fun to play on drums.

💰 Bargain Bin

Things are tough all over due to RAMpocalypse, but here are a few deals:

• The AYN Odin 2 Portal sale event is still underway, and these are some of the best prices I’ve seen for this handheld (especially the Base model). As I noted earlier in the newsletter, due to Chinese New Year I would expect shipping delays for this handheld, but you can still place orders now if I you don’t mind waiting.

  • Buy one here: Affiliate link / Non-affiliate​

  • Here is my Odin 2 Portal review video

• AliExpress is currently running a Valentine's Day sale on their website. Individual prices aren't groundbreaking (everything is pretty expensive right now), but they are offering some coupon codes which help make them competitive.

  • Here are the US-based codes. If you are in a different region, I recommend going to the AliExpress homepage for your region, and then click on their sale banner and you should see them. The "RGC" codes were provided to me by AliExpress but have a limited amount of uses; try the other code if that one is expired!

    • 2RGC = $2 off $15+

    • 4RGC or USSS04 = $4 off $29+

    • 6RGC or USSS06 = $6 off $49+

    • 10RGC or USSS10 = $10 off $79+

    • 20RGC or USSS20 = $20 off $159+

    • 30RGC or USSS30 = $30 off $249+

    • 45RGC or USSS45 = $45 off $369+

    • USSS60 = $60 off $499+

  • These links should ship for free from US warehouses so there won't be any tariffs applied, but be sure to double-check during checkout. Some highlights (prices after coupon):

    • Miyoo Mini Flip ($47) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Miyoo Mini Plus ($47) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Miyoo Flip v2 ($41) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG35XXSP ($47) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG35XXH ($50) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG40XXV ($54) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • TrimUI Brick ($55) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • TrimUI Brick Hammer ($75) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG DS ($95) Affiliate / Non-affiliate

• As far as Amazon deals, RAM and storage prices have been skyrocketing, but some microSD cards can still be found for a (more) reasonable price. If you can wait, it might be worth watching these prices to see if they go down later.

  • Samsung’s 256GB Evo Plus card is solid and it’s only $27 (most other cards are around $35 nowadays). Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • The cheapest (reputable) 512GB microSD card right now is Samsung’s EVO Select card, for $62 (others are around $80, sheesh). Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • 1TB cards are selling for $150+ right now, but Silicon Power’s card is $115 and gets excellent reviews. Affiliate / Non-affiliate

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

PS Vita as a Retro Gaming Handheld

With Anbernic’s “Vita” being a bit of a mess, the original Vita is still the best way to play the surprisingly vast library of titles available for Sony’s last proper handheld console. I mentioned it in a previous newsletter, but 2026 is the year where I dust this bad boy off and re-assess what it can (and cannot) emulate! My previous video (from 2020) is so old that I stretched out Super Mario Bros to be 16:9 in the thumbnail - amateur move, Russ.

🎬 Behind The Scenes

I am constantly traveling back and forth from the studio with random handhelds, and I have a rotating cast based on what I’m reviewing or testing at the moment. The one handheld that has a permanent spot on my home desk is the Retroid Pocket Classic. I probably pick it up every other day to play a few minutes here or there, and it remains my favorite vertical handheld: good performance, beautiful screen, and nice classic controls.

Hope you had a nice Valentine’s Day, see you next week.
Russ