Each year my wife and I just ask each other what we want for Christmas, and then we proceed to buy those items. We don't make each other wait either, or bother to wrap the presents; at least not when it comes to each other. This year I told her I wanted an Abernic RG35XXSP. So that's exactly what she got me. It's quite an amazing little handheld! Very nostalgic yet packed with modern features. I wanted it mainly for GB/GBC/GBA games (given the form factor), but I will end up using it for some S/NES, PSX, MD/Gen, GameGear, and maybe some other systems as well, like the PCEngine/TGfx16.
I'm making a solid resolution for this new year to play a majority of retro titles in 2025, and I'm using the RG35XXSP as an excuse to do so. The price point makes them an intriguing proposition for those of us who aren't insistent on collecting phsyical media. There are a multitude of companies making retro emulator handhelds too, not to mention they come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors.
My first foray into this world was a couple of years ago when I bought the ODROID Go Advance (now discontinued). Though, my primary reason for buying that device was that you got to assemble it yourself. For me, it was more of a hobby computer project than anything else. I probably spent more time remoting into it via SSH than actually playing games on it. As much as I enjoy playing old games via emulation, I also enjoy building computers. Unfortunately the ODROID was not a very sturdy device--through no fault of my assembly. A short drop about only a meter or so off the ground resulted in one of the L/R shoulder buttons getting bent and prevented the device from working correctly. So, regardless of whether I *wanted* to play it more, I pretty much just set it aside to collect dust and I cannibalized the SD card for another project. The Abernic is different though, it's much sturdier, and the build quality is actually really impressive.
What I Plan On Playing
Below are all the games that I plan on playing on it. The majority are RPGs and dungeon crawlers, with some tactics games thrown in the mix. These were always my favorite types of games, and continue to be, and there were a number of more adult games for older systems that came out in Japan and not in the US. These games are in no particular order. Currently I'm playing the 3rd game on this list, and may even jump somewhere near the bottom before going back to the beginning of the list.In any case, these are my selections:
1. Shin Megami Tensei
I've played through the third game, and I got about two thirds of the way through the fifth game... While I've booted up the original SMT a few different times and have played through the beginning couple of hours of the game, I've never beaten it, or really made much progress with it. I'm a big enough fan of Nocturne and the SMT formula though that I owe to myself. I believe there is a GameBoy Advance fan translation out there... If so, I might play that version, but for right now I'm planning on playing the SNES version.2. Shin Megami Tensei II
From what I've heard and read, the second entry is better than the first. I might not play them in succession, but I do plan on playing them both. Same as above, there is a GBA version that I believe has a fan translation for it, so I may, or may not, play that version... It would be optimal for the Abernic, but I already have the SNES version.3. Pokemon Crystal
Essentially the original, however, I'm playing the Perfect Crystal rom hack, which I primarily selected because it's an almost entirely vanilla pinnacle gen 2 experience except for the fact that you can collect all 251 Pokemon, there are a bunch of bug fixes, grammar corrections, and some minor balancing that was introduced in the re-release for the DS (*Heart Gold* and *Soul Silver*). As far as I'm concerned, this is the definitive Pokemon experience--though, I wouldn't argue with someone who said that Crystal Clear is a better rom hack... The next time that I have an itch to play Pokemon in any form, it'll probably be this or *Crystal Clear*. Red and Blue still remain favorites, but the changes introduced in Gen 2 are definitely peak for the GameBoy entries.4. Far East of Eden: Zero
Otherwise known as *Tengai Makyo Zero*. I stumbled upon a review for this game while looking for TurboGrafx-16 RPGs... There are a number of entries in the *Tengai Makyo* series, but this is the only one that was ever released for the SNES. It was a late entry for the console too, and only recently received a fan translation. From what little I've seen, this game has some of the best sprite work and animations in an RPG for the SNES that I've ever seen, so that's my primary draw for wanting to play this one.5. Fire Emblem: Geneology of the Holy War
FE fans talk about this one a lot. I did play through "Monsho No Nazo" (which translates to Mystery of the Emblem) a number of years back, then I ended up playing Three Houses when that came out, bounced from Three Houses to the original NES version that Nintendo officially translated and localized to English. I was all for it! I loved the original on NES, and I happily bought it for the $15-20, or whatever it sold for.Rumors have been floating around that Geneology might be the next remake that Nintendo does in the FE series. If so, I'll purchase it. But I would be more than happy with an official translation of the original SNES game. Even though this is pretty high on my list here, it might be one of the last games I play for the year in anticipation of an official release. Fingers-crossed.
6. Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Essentially for all the reasons that I listed above in the last FE game, that's why I want to play Thracia. It's an entry that I've never played and one that is talked about highly by fans of the series.This game was an extremely late entry to the SNES given that it was released in 2000, a year after SEGA released their Dreamcast console (two generations newer than the SNES). By all accounts, there should have been a Fire Emblem entry on the N64, but that didn't happen, instead they seemed content to just let series creator Shouzou Kaga keep developing for the 16-bit era. In any case, this is also Kaga's last title before parting ways with Nintendo entirely. The game tries some interesting things with the mechanics from what I'v heard.
There's also a lot of drama that followed, and the split between Kaga and Nintendo sounds like it was pretty bitter, but I'll spare you from all of those details. Instead, I recommend checking out this video if you're interested in learning about what happened to the creator of Fire Emblem.
7. Kyuyaku Megami Tensei: Megami Tensei I + II
Shin simply means "New" in Japanese. If you're only familiar with the Persona games, or specifically the SMT entries, you may not be aware of the wider Megami Tensei series (sometimes referred to as "MegaTen"), but there are a plethora of games in various different sub-series under the "MegaTen" umbrella.This specific version is a re-release/remake of the Famicom games that preceded *SMT*, but using the *SMT* engine... At least, that's the way I understand it. Development has changed quite a bit in the last thirty-plus years, I could be wrong. I have no real experience with the originals, so I'm curious to check out this release.
8. Beyond the Beyond
This is a Camelot Software Planning hidden gem. It was the very first RPG released for the Sony's PlayStation as well. When this came out, and having recently played through Final Fantasy IV and VI (II and III in the west) myself, I was eager to get this game as a child. It's not the most amazing RPG of all-time, but it is a bit like a *Golden Sun* prototype. While I have played through this before, it has been nearly thirty years, probably back in 1995 or 96. I have tried to go back to it over the years, but gave up due to how grindy it is. This time around I might just find some GameShark codes so I can play it for pure nostalgia.9. Mother 1+2
The Mother series in Japan is the EarthBound series here in the west. I honestly don't have much experience with these games. I played the US version of Mother 2 on the SNES, but I don't remember ever finishing the game. For that matter, I've also played a bit of EarthBound: Beginnings which was an official Nintendo release of the original NES title here in the west, but again, never finished. Because this series is so beloved, I think I owe it myself to give it another shot.10. Mother 3
I've heard good things about the third and final entry in the series, but it isn't talked about much in the West... Perhaps I've just never sought out content on these games before, but I haven't seen much about Mother populate my feeds at all. I'm eager to find out what this game is all about.11. Dragon Quest V
Hand of the Heavenly Bride! At least, that's what I remember the sub-title for this entry to be. Most of what I know about this game is from the 2019 animated movie. I also know that this is one of the more beloved entries in the series. Honestly, I don't expect much but a wholesome journey.12. Dragon Quest VI
I'm certainly no stranger to the DQ franchise in general, but I know absolutely nothing about this entry, it's a complete blind spot for me. It's kind of a shame that we never got the SNES entries here in the west, and I've never looked into WHY... Obviously, we did eventually get the DS remakes of IV V and VI, but I didn't own a DS back in the day. And I had already played VII and VIII for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 (respectively). VII is one of the few JRPGs that I feel is really an accomplishment to beat/finish (considering it's about 40 hours before you ever unlock the job system). But I digress. Without any expectations for VI, I'm sure this game will probably be quite a bit of fun for me as someone who played DQXIS mostly in the 16-bit mode.
13. Wizardry: The First Episode - Suffering of the Queen
Wizardry died out in the west after the 8th entry in the franchise, but the Wizardry formula had already been getting a bit stale in comparison to games like the Daggerfall and Ultima: Underworld. Those games sort of took center stage in the PC roleplaying arena. But that was only here in the west, meanwhile, back in Japan ASCII was busy making use of their license for the Wizardry brand and were, for all intense and purposes, making Wizardry games in name only and effectively doing their own thing. This is the first in the GameBoy entries and I'm eager to see how playable this game is today. Based on what little I've read online about this game, it is effectively a port of Proving Grounds with a different story. Still, an impressive feat to make such a minimalist RPG even more minimalist and portable.14. Wizardry: The Second Episode - Curse of the Ancient Emperor
From what I understand, the second GameBoy entry is effectively the same as the first with different dungeon layouts and slightly improved graphics.15. Wizardry: The Third Episode - Scripture of the Dark
Again, from what little I was able to gather based on the few English-speaking gamers who have shared their experience with this game, this is more of the same as the first two GameBoy entries, but with better graphics, and some improvements such as more races additional spells, etc.16. Wizardry Gaiden IV: Throb of the Demon's Heart
A unique entry in the franchise, both for the English and Japanese-only entries. This game swaps out European fantasy for medieval Japan. It's going to be hard not to start this one first, but I fear that will probably spoil the GameBoy entries because of how much better the graphics and interface are most likely going to be.17. Shining Force CD
This is a re-release and remake of the gaiden Game Gear titles. I have played through "The Sword of Hajya", which is the second game in the gaiden entries, but it was the only one that we got here in the West. I had wanted a GameBoy because my friends had GameBoys, but my Dad was convinced the that Game Gear was superior because it had color graphics... He wasn't wrong, but similiarly to some of SEGA's other consoles, the Game Gear just didn't have many games for it, and therefore didn't sell well. Likewise, the Genesis/MegaDrive CD add-on wasn't a compelling purchase for most gamers. I would say the CD version is the definitive version of those two entries and is easily superior in every way. Also, considering the second game is a direct sequel to the first, it's best to play the entire story from start to finish.18. Shining Force III: Scenario 1
For being such a great tactical RPG series, the Shining Force games haven't been treated all that well in the West, and now SEGA has all but abandoned the "Shining" games entirely. As it so happens, the Saturn Shining Force games would be the last games in the franchise to be developed by Camelot Software Planning before they got scooped up by Nintendo. We only received this first entry in the trilogy in the west, but I never owned a Saturn because the PlayStation was so superior... While I have played this game, I've never beaten it. Saturn emulation has been spotty over the years, but is finally in a place where respectable hardware can handle it. I'm curious to see how well the RG35XXSP does with it.19. Shining Force III: Scenario 2
20. Shining Force III: Scenario 3
I'm lumping these two games together because they are effectively just a continuation of the first entry in III. Even though SEGA has taken down the Genesis/MegaDrive and Dreamcast Classics from online stores, hopefully that means that SEGA is planning on doing new releases of those games along with new re-releases of games such as these. One can hope, but this is also why I'm going to be playing emulated versions of these games.My plan is to review these games as I play them, and then do a year-end roundup. As mentioned, I'm not sure that I'll get all the way through each of these games by the end of the year, there may be some that I bin and never complete. Recently I've also been getting back into The Elder Scrolls Online ("ESO")... While I don't raid or do any PvP, just playing through the story quests and treating it as a single player experience is still a lot of fun. I think overall the writing is the best part of that game. So we'll see how much of that sucks away time from playing classics on my retro handheld this year.
! It's not an amazing game, but it is absolutely a Golden Sun beta/prototype. So, in the event you like those games and want to see where some of the concepts for Golden Sun came from, then BtB is worth checking out. It is super grindy though, so running through the game with GameShark codes could alleviate some of that.
