Well here's my Retroid Pocket Duo review! Retroid, the company, has released their higher-end Android-running retro handheld. AMOLED displays in a dual-screen form factor which can handle emulating Nintendo DS and 3DS games, and some more above that.

As part of it, I've been chatting with the developers behind Eden, Eden Duo, SeedlessDS and Cocoon about their work, the challenges of dual-screen gaming on Android, and where they see things going from here. I've incorporated their perspectives throughout the review, alongside my usual hands-on testing and thoughts about the hardware itself.

I've also spent plenty of time testing everything from Nintendo DS and 3DS through to PSP, GameCube, PS2, Switch and PC gaming, seeing where the Duo does well and where the limitations start becoming apparent. There are some fun things I found when reviewing, and a few things I'd still change. Above all, though, Retroid has once again managed to make a handheld that feels nicely playful (something I love about their handhelds), and 'Nintendo-like', and I've had an absolute blast reviewing it.

As ever, this is a written article (and a very long one at that!), so if you're a fan of older gaming-style sites and features that aren't videos, this might be your kind of read. Hope some of you enjoy this!

This is looking closer and closer to my dream device, I'm just waiting to see how FEX matures so this thing can run all my favorite 2D indie games. Whenever the inevitable Duo 2 model comes out, that'll probably be the one I pick up.

Considering how GameNative allowed me to play stardew valley, into the breach, and darkest dungeon with very playable fps (worst was into the breach at 27), on a pixel 6a, I'm pretty sure you don't need to wait too long for 2D games

How are these devices with ps2 titles?

I covered how this one did with PS2 in my review there!

Really well, but a dual screen might not be the best one for you if PS2 is your focus. I'd recommend something like Retroid's Pocket Nova (the 8GB one) if PlayStation is the key for you!

https://www.goretroid.com/products/retroid-pocket-nova-handheld

nice touch interviewing the emulator devs instead of just running benchmarks. One question: on the 3DS the top screen is 400x240 and the bottom one 320x240, so they differ in width. Does the duo use two identical panels and letterbox the bottom image, or do the emulators handle it some other way?

Thanks! I really wanted to give some of the developers behind these projects a chance to talk about their work, since so much of the experience depends on what they're doing.

The Duo actually has two different panels: a 5.5-inch 16:9 AMOLED on top (1920×1080) and a 4.5-inch 4:3 AMOLED below (1280×960). Azahar handles the two 3DS screens independently, so the upper 400×240 image is scaled to fit the top display while preserving its original 5:3 aspect ratio, leaving small black bars on either side. The lower 320×240 image is already 4:3, so it fills the bottom panel perfectly. You can upscale the 3D rendering considerably without stretching either screen, and in practice it all works rather nicely :)

Have you tested any of the Linux-based software available for these Retroid devices? Like Armada or Pocknix? How much better or worse is emulation performance on that side now? I heard there's been a lot of work done lately. I'm guessing that the Duo specifically has no support yet though... Anyway, awesome reviews!

not perfect dark

:'(