
I have no doubt that the hardware is more than worth the asking price.

I’d go so far as to say that, given the price, I was impressed with the build quality from a user standpoint. The screen is bright, the buttons aren’t terrible, and on the whole it feels pretty solid. The short answer is, it’s not actually that bad. But as getting permission from my significant other to take this system apart was contingent on me being able to restore it to like-new condition in time for wrapping, I’m able to give a slightly more informed than usual opinion on its operation. It’s partially an ideological choice, but more practically, most of the gadgets I take apart simply don’t live long enough for me to actually use them as intended. In general, I try not to present these teardowns as product reviews. Have the designers secured their place on the Nice List? Or have we been sold the proverbial lump of coal? Let’s crack open one of these budget handhelds to see what cost reduction secrets are inside. Of course, there’s only one way to find out. It’s nearly a foregone conclusion that at the heart of this little bundle of faux-retro gaming lies a black epoxy blob, the bane of hardware tinkerers everywhere. Invariably, these devices will be using some “NES on a Chip” solution to emulate a handful of legitimate classics mixed in with enough lazy ROM hacked versions of games you almost remember to hit that oddly specific number of 168 titles. With the outward appearance of a squat Game Boy, these systems promise to provide precisely 168 games for your mobile enjoyment, and many even include a composite video out cable and external controller for the less ambulatory classic game aficionado.Īt a glance, the average Hackaday reader will probably see right through this ploy. The one I ordered carries the brand name Weikin, but there are dozens of identical systems available, all being sold at around the same $20 USD price point. Which is how I came to possess, at least temporarily, one of these cheap handheld multi-games that are all over Amazon and eBay. Includes the NES classic Super Militarized Police Bros 3 Something that’s a bit more interesting than a coupon book or a lotto scratcher, but also affordable enough that you can buy a few of them without having to take part in that other great holiday tradition: unnecessary credit debit.

The holidays are upon us, and that can mean many furrowed brows trying to figure out what token gift they can give out this year as stocking-stuffers.
