RetroFlag GPi Case [Discontinued] Reviews

4.7 Rating 36 Reviews

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Mann Enterprises LTDHomefield RoadHaverhill, SuffolkCB9 8QP
Cambridge
CB9 8QP

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“Minor issues with the push buttons. The cross should be bigger to operate properly and some tweaks needed for the cartridge since thermal expansions are making the pogo pins to become loose.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I have tried hacking my own case for a retro console, but failed miserably, they just never looked quite right, didn't close properly or had rough edges. This one looks great, is easy to fit together and works perfectly!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“This has a lot going for it - you don't need a soldered header on the pi zero. Basically you preload one of several supported retropie builds onto a microsd card, screw the pi into the "cartridge" and plug it in. Takes 3x AA batteries. It plays older games like NES, SNES and megadrive VERY nicely. PSX is a bit too much for the pi zero but you can still play a lot with that. You get 4x buttons on the front touch and 2 more behind. Screen is just enough for those lower spec units. There were just a couple of small issues - one of the tiny screws that screws into the body of the cartridge broke while screwing the pi zero in. Luckily the others were enough to hold in the cartridge. The other issue is that AA batteries really only give a couple of hours of continuous play - I believe there are good high cap batteries on the market that are slightly higher than normal alkaline so worth the investment for this. Otherwise a very nice case. I already have the Pi Nes case and that works very well. Its definitely recommended if you want a cheap hand held gameboy clone to play retrogames on.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“A nifty little handheld case which oozes nostalgia, the perfect fit for a retropie project, easy to assemble and with decent quality buttons and d-pad in a solid case which feels up to par with the gaming handheld it borrows its design influence from. I do have a couple of minor gripes with the build however, the cartridge area which houses the Pi Zero seems a little loose, there is no satisfying 'clunk' which grips it in place, it slots on easily but also slides off a little too easily, a clumsy hand (like mine) would unfortunately run into the odd time whereby your fingers push the cartridge housing up thus disconnecting the board from the socket which isn't ideal for the raspberry pi as it can cause errors resulting in potentially the need reflashing of the sd card to fix it, I have thus far not needed to however. This could have been avoided with a single screw or even some push-in buttons to release a catch holding the upper compartment in place. The only over grumble I have is the L and R buttons, if you are playing a game which don't require them as something you need to time precisely or use often then it isn't much an issue but the awkward placement and difficult to press nature of the buttons depending on hand size and flexibility of your index fingers makes these two shoulder buttons rather unusable for regular play and serve better for games which use them for casual optional use, like menus or rare use quick buttons. I understand why the design was made as such as to not have protruding L and R buttons but I wonder if they would have been better to go with a megadrive (genesis) style 6 button layout with the L and R on the face of the case instead. I'd advise using a low profile copper heat sink for peace of mind as it does get a little hot at times, stick to emulating up to and including the 16 bit era as anything beyond that on the Pi Zero isn't running great (hardware and dll limitations) and you will have hours of fun with a vast array of classics just waiting for a revisit and revival and what better way to do so than in the palm of your hand in a case that is a love letter to all nostalgic seeking gamers. Oh and the display is crisp and the colours pop nicely.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“High quality product! Buttons very precise. Big fun to play with this device.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I have done quite a few raspberry pi projects over the past years but I must say none has been so complete as this, its a good build and it works prefectly (Once you watch a video on how to get the display output changed to the screen) Works like a dream and great to replay games from old times. Buttons and D pad feel good quality but the dpad is not perfect you sometimes get a diagnal when you press either left or right but its prefectly usable. (Could do with a better battery pack as it eats AA batteries for breakfast. That will probably be my next upgrade.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Very complete, only thing I would change is the fact that it takes 3 AA when a lithium battery pack would of been nicer, apart from that it’s great”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I bought as a gift for nephews. Setup was straightforward. Everything works and it looks amazing. The Gpi case is well thought out and solidly built. Buy it.”

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Posted 5 years ago