I may not have grown up in the retro age, but I definitely remember the days of Game Boys and the PlayStation Vita and other handhelds. Personally, I had a Nintendo DS (remember those?) growing up. However, taking classic retro arcade games in my pocket today is something of a delicacy.
On the hunt for a phone case not too long ago, I stumbled across a phone case that doubles as an entire arcade. And the best part? It can fit in your pocket. Obviously, I had to pick it up, because the gamer in me yearned for more ways to play video games on-the-go. A smartphone just isn’t enough gaming for one lifetime.
The official name of this phone case is the POKPOW Handheld Game Console Phone Case. It features 36 retro games and an anti-shock absorption cover. It’s actually very, very cool, turns out. I was skeptical when I first bought it, but upon using it, I can safely say it’s way more fun than I even thought.
Without a further ado, let’s jump into the full review:
The Features
The Pokpow game console phone case comes with 36 games and it doesn’t require any connectivity to play any game. Which means that even if you’re in the middle of the Outback in Australia without any sign of civilization near you, you can play Super Mario Brothers.
The case is adequately protective for a smartphone and features good shock absorbance. However, I usually don’t even use it with my smartphone. It could honestly even just double as a portable, lightweight console.
The case does require charging, but Pokpow claims that every one hour of charging grants users four hours of playtime.
The case has a few buttons on the front. One button powers the console on and off. The other button is used for selection of the player inside of games. There’s a D-Pad on the left side, as well as a sound button. Then there’s the A and B buttons, which are used in games as well.
It’s really simple to boot up and get started. Check out the video below:
The Games
The Pokpow console does come with 36 games, as I mentioned above. I’ll make a list of them just for you all:
- Super Contra
- Super Mario Brothers
- Tetrisa
- Boom Man
- Galaga
- Exctiebike
- Donkey Kong
- Balloon Fight
- Spartan X
- Arkanoid
- Five Chess
- Mahjang
- Pin Ball
- Circus
- Ice Climber
- Pac Man
- Pooyan
- Soccer
- Lode Runner
- Battle City
- Mario Bros
- Tennis
- F1 Race
- Nuts Milk
- Chinese Chess
- Road Fighter
- Olympic
- 1942
- Badminton
- Urban Champion
- Mappy
- Sky Destroyer
- Macross
- Star Force
- Bomb Jack
- Penguin Kun Wars
Selecting a game is really easy, and booting one up is really easy as well.
The Gameplay and More
Although the screen is a bit on the small side, I wasn’t expecting anything massive from a phone case, obviously. However, it’s actually a nice quality screen and the sound is great as well. You can also mute the sound in case you’re out and can’t really make any loud noises while playing.
I commute to classes often, and my train ride can be up to an hour long. It’s not the most fun experience, so being able to play some retro games on my way to school is actually great. It also is a great way to give kids something to do on a road trip that doesn’t involve an iPad.
My mother grew up in the retro days, so she was able to connect with me on a lot of these games, which was honestly great.
Now onto the actual gameplay. I decided to demonstrate by playing a game like Pac Man, since that’s one of the most recognizable and classic games ever.
Please excuse my one-handed gameplay.
The buttons were sometimes a bit hard to press, or you needed a bit too much force to press down on them in order to move the character across the screen. The sound is actually very loud. Obviously it’s hard to see on a phone recording, but the screen is also a great quality and has some good graphics to boast for such a small device.
Pricing
The Pokpow handheld console actually has a great price for what it offers. For about $22, you get an entire arcade in a phone case. It’s honestly affordable and has a lot of value for what it is. As a tech and gaming find under $50, it can double as either something for yourself or a gift.
Overall Thoughts
I’ve had a long time to play with this neat device, and I can say that it does offer endless amounts of fun. Retro games are some of the most popular for a reason. Because they’re really dang fun. If you’re someone that grew up with retro gaming, I’m sure the nostalgia is high for you.
And even if you didn’t grow up in the days of arcades everywhere like me, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a slice of the old days in the palm of your hands.
Where to Buy
If you’d like to just get your hands on this thing already, you can buy the Pokpow handheld gaming console at Amazon.
Check out these other tech reviews:
- Why this gaming headset is one of the best headphones out there: Logitech G733 Review
- The best keyboard I’ve ever used – Corsair K100 RGB
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
