Analogue Pocket review: The greatest Game Boy ever made

Enlarge / Analogue Pocket, running The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening in its Game Boy Color mode. (credit: Sam Machkovech)

The Analogue Pocket is a dream of a gaming device, and it begins shipping to preorder customers this week. It's the most powerful, beautiful, and feature-rich system to revolve around the original Game Boy-and it has earned its mountain of pre-release hype. The Pocket supports any game cartridge with the words "Game Boy" on the label (including GB Color and GB Advance games), while cartridge adapters allow it to play other companies' portable games. That combination of features makes Analogue's latest product a wholly unique portable retro-gaming option-and for the most part, the manufacturer has nailed its execution.

But the Pocket is also a first-generation gadget. Its makers have never released a portable system before, which means that fans of the company's previous TV-centric retro systems (like the Super Nt and Mega Sg) might wonder what they're in for. Is the Pocket another slam-dunk-or does it have enough issues to merit waiting for an eventual system refresh?

Having now tested the Analogue Pocket for a whopping three weeks, I can say that the answer depends. If you bought during the system's painfully brief preorder window late last year, don't fret: your $199 purchase is an insane value. (For all future orders, the price is now $20 higher at $219.) If you didn't buy yet, you can soften your FOMO with the knowledge that there are a few rough edges-and that an eventual Pocket 2.0 could make a great system even better.

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