Hey, this is my first time writing a newsletter from abroad! I’m in Taiwan this week to attend COMPUTEX, and will be traveling to Shenzhen, China afterwards. Having a great time so far - look for an epic travel video when I get home.

🎥 Now Playing

Acer Has Made Some Handhelds

Acer is launching two handhelds this year: one streaming-focused lightweight device called the Nitro Blaze Link, and a beefy Intel-based handheld PC called the Predator Atlas 8. I tried them both out, and here is how they fare.

Lenovo Did NOT Make a Retro Handheld

A new retro handheld with Lenovo branding appeared on AliExpress, so I decided to check it out. It actually has an exceptional 4:3 screen, but everything else has been done before (and in most cases, better).

Still One of Anbernic's Best Handhelds

The Anbernic RG477M is almost a year old, and it remains Anbernic's ultimate 4:3 retro handheld. Let's talk about how I've been enjoying the device, and how I've overcome some of its shortcomings.

Other Russ Sightings

• In entry 14 of Expedition: Handheld, Adam and I discussed the devices we brought to Taiwan, the games we’ve been playing, and news surrounding Intel’s Arc G3 processors. Our first in-person episode!

📰 Power-Up(dates)

• Valve announced significant price increases for the Steam Deck OLED, citing component costs and global supply chain pressures. The 512GB model now starts at $789 (up from $549), and the 1TB climbs to $949 (up from $649). Valve says the hardware itself is unchanged. The increases put the Deck considerably closer in price to more powerful Windows handhelds, though it's still well below something like the Legion Go 2. The timing is notable considering the Steam Machine’s imminent launch, and this new Deck pricing doesn’t bode well for that living room PC.

• Intel has officially entered the handheld gaming chip market with two new Arc G3 processors: the standard Arc G3 and the Arc G3 Extreme. Both are built on Intel's Panther Lake 18A process node, Xe3-architecture integrated graphics (up to Arc B390 tier), integrated Wi-Fi 7 R2, Bluetooth 6, and dual Thunderbolt 4. Performance-wise, I expect the Arc G3 to slightly outperform AMD’s Z2E chips, and the G3 Extreme to bit a significant bump from there (closer to Strix Halo at lower TDPs). First hardware out of the gate: Acer's Predator Atlas 8 (see above), alongside upcoming devices from MSI and OneXPlayer. More details should be coming in hot and fast, and I’m visiting the MSI HQ later this week to get some hands-on time with their upcoming Claw 8 EX AI Plus.

• Retro Game Corps got a really nice shoutout this week from Time Extension in a feature rounding up independent sites worth supporting in an era where quality gaming media keeps getting harder to find. Editor Damien McFerran put together the list as a genuine endorsement of the community, and it's great company to be in: Retro Handhelds, Read Only Memo, Shmuplations, and others all made the cut alongside us. If you haven't spent time on Time Extension, this is a good excuse to start. They cover everything from emulation handhelds to deep-dive game history features, and they do it with the kind of care and craft that's increasingly rare. Give them a visit (ideally with your ad blocker off).

• The newly released OmniDrive is a custom firmware for MediaTek MT1959-based Hitachi-LG Blu-ray drives that lets you rip GameCube, Wii, and original Xbox discs directly from a PC, no modded console required. The tool also supports Xbox 360 and a handful of other platforms, though those discs are encrypted so extra steps are involved. PS3, PS4, PS5, Wii U, and Xbox Series discs can be read but are similarly encrypted; Dreamcast GD-ROM support is partial (low-density area only). Before you go digging through your parts bin, check the Disc Preservation Project Wiki's compatibility list first, only specific drive models are supported, and compatible units are already getting harder to obtain as a result of the attention this has received. Still, a neat development that can only be a net good for preservation.

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night (again)

I’m back on a SOTN kick again, mostly because I knew that I could pick Adam’s brain during Expedition: Handheld filming to figure out where to go next. The map is currently 91% complete, and I’m playing it on my Odin 3 via the DuckStation emulator. Still a great game, but admittedly, wandering the halls in hopes of finding more secret passages has become a little rote; thankfully, Adam gave me some good pointers.

Modern Game: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

The Odin 3 was the only major handheld I brought on this trip, and I had high hopes of playing a number of different PC games via GameNative: Absolum, Ball X Pitt, BioShock 2, Dragon Quest I&II HD, Enslaved, Hades II, Hollow Knight, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and Vampire Crawlers are all installed, configured, and ready to go. What did I do on my flights instead? I booted up BOTW (Wii U version via Cemu), and decided to see if I could find an ideal configuration using some underclocking presets. I got it at a stable 40fps with custom Turnip drivers, no glitches, and running like a champ. So of course, I just played that for about three hours and completely forgot about my PC games. It’s a wonderful title, just enough exploration + coziness; I think it’s my favorite Zelda title ever.

Album: The American Analog Set - For Forever

The American Analog Set is an Austin-based band who juggles a lot of genres: they land somewhere between slowcore, drone, indie pop, and light rock, with a slightly jazzy swagger. I have fond memories of seeing them live about 25 years ago, and struggling to stay awake due to their pleasant, mellow sound.

After a 20-year hiatus, they released For Forever a couple years ago, and it sounds like a record made exclusively for existing fans: with a runtime of 59 minutes, it’s chock-full of ideas with a kitchen-sink approach. It probably could have benefited from a smidge of tracklist editing, but now that I’ve grown accustomed to the epic scale of this record, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Like with their other albums, this is an excellent “throw it on in the background while friends are over” sort of vibe, and it works especially well as a relaxant while stuck in an airplane for an extended period of time. It’s one of the few albums I have downloaded to my phone for offline listening!

💰 Bargain Bin

• Memory and storage prices are getting worse and worse, which makes deals like this deal on the PS5-compatible 2TB WD Black from Best Buy even crazier. Grab it for $300, down from $1000(!).

  • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• While you’re upgrading your PS5’s storage, grab a spare DualSense, on sale for $20 off, bringing it down to $55.

  • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• While not quite as exciting as the WD deal, this 2TB Samsung 990 PRO SSD for $390 is impressive. According to Amazon it is a “Limited Time Deal” but no end date is listed. As of this message, it’s still available and down from $640, almost 40% off.

  • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• Also on Amazon, the Switch 2-compatible Samsung P9 Express (256 GB) is on sale for only $48, down from $80.

  • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• Speaking of Switch 2, TomToc is having a sale on their Switch 2 accessories.

  • Switch 2 Pro Controller Hard Shell Case, $21 (normally $24)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Slim Carrying Case with 12 Game Card slots, $30 (normally $37)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Sling Crossbody Bag with 8 Game Card slots, $40 (normally $50)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• Fanatical is running a HUGE Sega publisher sale with pages and pages of deals. I’ve highlighted a few below, but this is one worth really digging into on Fanatical’s website!

  • Persona 5 Royal, $11.39 (normally $59.99) — 81% off, and one of the most revered JRPGs ever made

  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Ultimate Edition, $30.24 (normally $109.99) — 73% off

  • Like a Dragon: Ishin! Deluxe Edition, $9.49 (normally $49.99) — 81% off

  • Persona 3 Reload, $22.19 (normally $59.99) — 63% off

  • Sonic Frontiers, $10.99 (normally $39.99) — 73% off

  • Lost Judgment, $10.99 (normally $39.99) — 73% off

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

Stream Big for Less: abxylute One Pro Review

With the way things are going, I think we are going to see more and more of these streaming-centric devices hit the market. Last year I reviewed one that slipped under many peoples’ radar: the abxylute One Pro. Check it out.

🎬 Behind The Scenes

A while back I showed off some budding fruits that were growing in my front yard, and it’s nearly time to harvest our lychee. Sadly, these are all going to be ripe while I’m gone, so my family gets to have all the fun picking them! Fun fact: common practice for lychee is that they are only supposed to be harvested when ripe (and not before), which is also the time that birds go nuts for them; so realistically, there is a very tiny window where you can pick them, usually just a single day. They also go bad within a couple days, but you can extend that by throwing them in a bag while wrapped in a damp paper towel, and they can keep for about a week in the fridge.

See you later,
Russ