I missed the Game Boy Advance first time around – the Konkr Pocket Advance retro gaming handheld helps me correct that mistake

Konkr Pocket Advance review shot — (Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

I've been writing about games and games systems for the best part of four decades, and in that time I've seen and owned just about every console, handheld or otherwise. Except one.

Strangely, 2001's Game Boy Advance eluded me. I didn't just decide to skip it, I failed to realise it existed until years later. By then it was too late and I'd moved onto the Sony PSP. The same with its fip-style successor, the Game Boy Advance SP.

But now I've finally had the chance to correct that error, and in some style. The Konkr Pocket Advance is, for all intents and purposes, the perfect handheld to catch up on GBA emulation and then some.

Design and build

That's partly down to the build quality. Ayaneo is renowned for its attention to detail and use of quality materials for its handhelds. I own both a Pocket Air Mini and a Pocket Evo and while they are vastly different in price, they each feel premium.

Konkr is the main firm's budget brand, but nothing feels budget about the Pocket Advance. Its plastic is reassuringly sturdy and grippy, and the overall feel is solid and dependable. On top of that, it has some of the best buttons I've ever used on an affordable device.

There's no thumbstick here, but the rubber membrane D-pad and action buttons are accurate and almost eerily quiet. Most of my handhelds click and clack like an ex-rugby player's knees, but not so the Pocket Advance.

That includes the top triggers, which are a little louder but not by enough that you can't play (almost) silently. There are also more buttons than you'll likely ever use, with additional ones on the top, including programmable LC and RC types.

It'll also great to note that, while you can alter the volume in the Android OS you also get a physical wheel on the bottom (alongside a 3.5mm headphone port). That's rare these days and a great touch.

The only caveat to all this is that, as normal with Ayaneo handhelds, the start and select buttons are range together on one side of the display, with menu and home buttons on the other. This makes it hard to use them as hot keys for Retroarch, for example, as pushing them both at the same time is tricky.

The last thing I'll say about the design is that I was thrilled to learn that my review unit was the indigo blue model – the exact one I liked best in the images. You can also get the device in orange/coral, retro grey and there are a couple of special edition variants that have since been announced too, but the blue seems more fitting to me.

Display and sound

Also built into the frame are stereo speakers. They are down-firing which isn't ideal, but the sound that comes from them is robust and clear.

The music in retro games is often overlooked because of tech limitations at the time, but some of the most iconic composers worked on soundtracks that deserve to be heard at their best.

Then we get to the display which, for this price point and use case, is superb. It measures 3.5-inches, LCD and is capable of refresh rates up to 60 frames per second. It has excellent colour saturation too, and can be set extremely bright if needed (albeit at a faster drain to your battery).

You get a 960 x 640 resolution, which works out as a perfect 4x integer scale for Game Boy Advance games, and it handles shaders well. Personally, I prefer to see pixels represented at their best on the modern hardware rather than degrade the effect to look like the original, but I get it either way. And that's easy here.

You can also change the brightness and check frame rate, etc, by opening Ayaneo's trademark Android sidebar using the dedicated button on the front. And that will come in handy when it comes to performance too.

Performance

One significant difference between the Konkr Pocket Advance and original hardware lies in its capabilities beyond GBA games. Running on the octa-core MTK Helio G90T processor and up to 4GB of RAM (the option I tested), the device can play other systems – up to the original PlayStation comfortably, and even PSP and Dreamcast if you are willing to accept that there's no thumbstick and use workarounds.

Some GameCube and PS2 titles will even work, although it's a bit more hit and miss and the control system might get in the way even more.

As for everything else, it is buttery smooth and a joy to use. You will have to spend a fair while setting it up and supply your own games. Ayaneo doesn't supply ROMs or shady apps with its devices, just the Android operating system (Android 12 here) and its own AyaSpace software that can act as a hub for emulators that you'll need to download yourself.

Personally, I always use the ES-DE front-end on Android handhelds, plus Retroarch for the vast amount of older systems – GBA, Game Boy, SNES and that sort of thing.

I have a curated ROMs library I can transfer to microSD cards whenever a new handheld arrives too. That said, it still takes me about 30 minutes to an hour to set each device up, so factor that in.

Once going though, the Pocket Advance is simply brilliant. Even 4:3 games run well on the excellent display, with minimal black bars either side. And I don't mind the bars top and bottom on PSP titles either.

But for me, this handheld will be primarily used to catch up on the GBA games I so sorely missed back in the early 2000s. Especially considering that with the less intesive games, it can last many hours of play on its 4,000mAh battery. It should last me the entire London to LA flight I'll be taking in a few weeks time, that's for sure.

Conclusion

Admittedly, I have a mighty collection of handhelds that I can call upon for numerous circumstances, including an AYN Thor, Odin 2 Portal, Anbernic RG Rotate (which I mainly use for original Game Boy), and a myriad of Chinese clone devices in all shapes and sizes, so I can afford to dedicate the Konkr to the one main task.

Others won't be so lucky (or foolhardy with their money) so are looking for a one-size-fits-all kind-of device. But if you're willing to stick to the earlier systems, the Pocket Advance can tick that box too.

The lack of a thumbstick or two means it won't be for everyone or every type of game, and the fan noise can be aggressive if you need to bump up the profile to play the more modern titles, but personally I prefer the earlier retro games anyway and this is easily my new favourite handheld in that field.

Then when you consider that it's currently just $89 (around £65) for the 3GB / 32GB version on the Ayaneo webstore, or $109 (around £80) for the 4GB / 64GB one I tested, it's a true no-brainer.

And even when those early bird prices raise by $20 each, the Konkr Pocket Advance is a steal. Now I just can't wait to see what Ayaneo has up its sleeve next.

Well, after just one more game of ChuChu Rocket! that is.

Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.