So, strangely, TRIMUI got in touch with me and asked if I'd like to review their older handheld, the Brick Hammer. This one released six months or so, but the claim to fame for it is being made (almost) entirely out of machined metal. It sure gives it a premium feel.
I feel like I'm a little lucky with the reviews, not doing this full time or anything means I get to be picky on what I let these companies send me. I'm not obligated to review everything ASAP, since the site I share these on doesn't even have ads. For the most part, I just say yes to the interesting or different handhelds.
tldr:
- Beautifully made, truly feels premium
- To me it really feels like a modern take on the Game Boy Pocket
- Can play up to PSP, DS, N64 and so on, but those are more of a risky and not entirely 100% successful event. It shines most with PlayStation, GBA, SNES and so on. Being 3:2 means its perfect for the older-older systems
I feel like saying one of these 'retro handhelds' is perfect is just...hyperbole. But in this case, that might be the case. It's so slim and sleek, and the metal makes me so damned happy to hold.
ANYWAY.
You can find the following link here to read my review, if you're at all interested. Inside my article, I also reached out to the developer of NextUI to ask him about how it is to create an alternative OS for the TRIMUI Brick Hammer (kinda like a mini interview), and chatted to a creator of 3D printed triggers which were designed to showcase the nice RGB lighting on this one:
https://gardinerbryant.com/hands-on-with-the-trimui-brick-hammer-metal-perfection/
Or, as always, you can just ask me about it here if you'd prefer :)
You can buy a controller for your phone and have a more powerful emulation device without spending as much money.
Yeah it depends on how much you'd use it I guess. I remember playing some old titles on a GBA emulator app back during highschool breaks, but it kinda got old quickly. Would be pointless to buy something specifically for it unless you're really into it, but if so something like this that's well integrated would be pretty neat to have.
I don’t want to use my phone
Phone batteries are shit, so I prefer to game on a separate device.
Agreed but battery life is clutch with mobile devices. Dead phone batteries don't facilitate travel. Or waiting for your car to get fixed and having this in the glove box ... I mean your argument is basically against all retro handheld devices.
True, I recommend an xbox x/s controller and this cheap but great mount the power a moga clip 2.
https://www.powera.com/p/moga/clips/moga-mobile-gaming-clip-2-0-for-xbox-controllers-1519066-01-1519066-01R/
$10 clip + a used xbox controller + your phone and you have a gyro capable (your phone) mobile gaming system with probably the best gamepad ever.
I don't think this takes the place of a gadget like the Brick Hammer but I do HEAVILY recommend going this route first as you likely already have an adequate phone and xbox controllers are cheap and plentiful on the used market (and their only real achilles heel is they don't have gyro... which your phone solves).
note this clip uses the model 1914 xbox controller to be precise, xbox controller names are so stupid... but also this clip is $10, who cares, fold some post-it notes/cardstock up a bunch and jam em in there and you can make a different controller work if it is a similar shape and size
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Wireless_Controller