{"id":4425,"date":"2016-12-02T18:38:04","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T23:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/?p=4425"},"modified":"2017-01-02T18:38:41","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T23:38:41","slug":"review-atari-flashback-portable-atgames-2016-version-includes-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2016\/12\/02\/review-atari-flashback-portable-atgames-2016-version-includes-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Atari Flashback Portable (AtGames, 2016 version) (includes videos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

AtGames has released the Atari Flashback Portable<\/a><\/strong>, which is now available from a variety of major US retailers. While list price is $59.99, typical retail price is often quite a bit less.<\/p>\n

The Flashback Portable is part of the new AtGames Flashback Zone<\/a><\/strong>, which encompasses an increasing number of retro-themed products and a new social media presence on both Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. The AtGames Flashback Zone<\/strong> is expected to be the AtGames retro gaming portal going forward and should hopefully see regular expansion. Other products for this year include: Atari Flashback 7<\/a><\/strong>, Sega Genesis Classic Game Console<\/a><\/strong>, Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player<\/a><\/strong>, and Atari Flashback Classics Volume 1<\/strong> and Volume 2<\/strong><\/a> for Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What you get<\/h1>\n

In the box you get the handheld itself, a miniUSB cable for charging, and instructions. The handheld measures approximately 5.5 inches across, 2.5 inches high, and about three quarters of an inch deep.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The box and its contents. Note that this is the limited pre-release review version, and the actual wide release version has a different built-in game list (e.g., no new Space Invaders port or Jungle Hunt).<\/p><\/div>\n

How it works<\/h1>\n

As expected, the Atari Flashback Portable<\/strong> is basically a handheld version of the Atari Flashback 7<\/strong> console, just like the Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player<\/strong> is a handheld version of the Sega Genesis Classic Game Console<\/strong>. Although the Flashback Portable sports a newer generation of the hardware powering Flashback 7, there is no noticeable difference in the already excellent quality of the emulation.<\/p>\n

\"Page<\/a>

Page 1 from the manual, showing what each of the buttons and other hardware functions do.<\/p><\/div>\n

Unlike the Atari Flashback 7<\/strong>, there are enough buttons on the portable to replicate the original Atari 2600<\/strong>‘s six switches, as well as provide for extra features like returning to the Main Menu<\/strong> and pausing games. Naturally, the biggest difference between the portable and console is that the former sports an oft-requested SD card slot to play your own game ROMs. More on that later.<\/p>\n

In terms of the game selection menu (aka, Main Menu), a push to the left or right on the joystick moves to the previous or next page, respectively, while up and down moves amongst the games on the same page. The primary action button (A<\/strong>) selects the highlighted game.<\/p>\n

Once a game is selected, the game is started the same way as on the original console, which usually means pressing Start<\/strong>\/Reset<\/strong> or the A<\/strong> key (main fire button). Once in a game, you can select the usual difficulty (L<\/strong>, R<\/strong>) and game mode (S<\/strong>) options, as well as TV Type<\/strong> (T<\/strong>). An onscreen display lets you know when player 1 or player 2 difficulty switches are set to hard, although it’s unfortunate that it remains on the bottom of the screen outside of the play area once active. Since TV Type<\/strong> is an auto return switch type, pressing that button only displays Mono<\/strong> on the bottom of the screen outside of the play area momentarily.<\/p>\n

Although officially undocumented, a diagnostic menu option was publicly reported, so I’m able to repeat that useful info here. Hold down the three largest buttons (A<\/strong>, R<\/strong>, and S<\/strong>) when turning the unit ON and you’ll get a RAM, sound, and button check. This is useful if for some reason you suspect that something might be wrong with your unit, although most problems are usually related\u00a0to a weak battery charge or not charging the unit long enough.<\/p>\n

Games<\/h1>\n

You can see the full list of 60 games here<\/a> (remember, my pre-production review unit and a limited number of early release units have a different list of 60 games). Basically, they’re a mix of first and third party titles, along with some homebrews (Frogger<\/strong> is a new port specific to the 2016 Flashback hardware). Although there is no hardware paddle option, the built-in emulator automatically lets you use the d-pad to play paddle games.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the built-in games in action, recorded using the optional composite TV out cable<\/a> (note that the Atari Flashback 7<\/strong> review<\/a> shows other games in action, which perform the same here):<\/p>\n

Dark Cavern<\/strong><\/p>\n