Cheap and cheerful plug-and-play is the way to play retro games

The first video game I remember playing was a giant coin-operated game. It was a monolith, with its glowing screen and the terrifying intruder on its side. At least that’s how it seemed to me at the time, knee high for a grasshopper. Regardless, it sparked my love of gaming, which I brought home from vacation. Unfortunately, the arcade cabinet remained in place.

Luckily, my parents soon purchased an Atari 400. A primitive console, not only by today’s standards, but also compared to the machines that quickly followed. But there was something immediate about those old Ataris. Plug and play. They just worked. (Except when the cable ran strangely and Great breakout It suddenly looked like a Czech cartoon from the 1970s had come to the screen.)

This sense of urgency stayed with me throughout my gaming life. Sure, me could I fought against Infocom text adventures, but I preferred dashing through caves Boulder Dash. And I’m 100% sure Gran Turismo 2 was very rewarding, but I was happier running around like a madman Crazy taxi. Even today, I would still rather treat myself to a few minutes of arcade fun or little puzzles on mobile devices or the Switch than to spend hours on adventure titles.

Time travel

This probably explains why I’m becoming more and more interested in “quick fix” retro gaming. I still love old games. Well, some of them. Most are objectively trash when viewed through the cold eyes of a jaded hacker in space year 2024. But the ones that last 20, 30 or even 40 years are true classics – the A day in the life their medium. So I’m sure I’ll get a permanent ban from Club Retro if I admit that I’m perfectly happy revisiting them on plug-and-play systems rather than original hardware.

That’s like rejecting a Beatles vinyl record in lieu of MP3s, but whatever. What I care about is playing. I don’t want to bother with connecting original hardware to modern TVs or expensive “eBay lottery sessions”. The Atari 2600+ taught me this, with its insistence on original cartridges, which were difficult to obtain and not all that likely to be functional.

Even dealing with open retro consoles is slowly becoming a chore. Certain games sometimes don’t work unless I perform an arcane ritual for the RetroArch Gods. And that’s assuming I don’t end up mindlessly scrolling through hundreds of games and fiddling with setups instead of even trying to play anything.

Pocket power

That brings me to the newest two ridiculously named Hyper Mega Tech Super Pockets. These aren’t even plug and play unless they need to be charged. They’re just… playing. Well, once they’re turned on. At this point they not only annoy purists (since they use emulation), but also Evercade Purists (since they have pre-installed games and don’t require shopping carts).

I don’t care about any of that. I’ve been happily playing around with the newest two for days. The Atari Edition is, if not Atari’s biggest hit, then definitely one of them. And at a pound a game (or $1.20 in US dollars), you can’t go wrong. The Technos edition contains fewer games, although they do involve hitting people and therefore can provide catharsis while commuting.

Are these £50/$60 handhelds perfect? No. The screens are just fine, and while you can connect Evercade carts, that doesn’t mean you can enjoy retro gaming freedom. But they’re a cheap, colorful, instant, nostalgic hit. Tiny take-and-play arcades, each resembling (to continue the music analogy) a satisfying greatest hits album. The ability to immediately pick one up off the shelf with its curated games makes me smile more than grimace. The only bad thing is that there is no bright yellow Namco edition. Maybe next year.