It looks like a GameBoy, it feels like a GameBoy, it sounds like a GameBoy, but it's so much more than that. The ODROID-GO was released by Hardkernel, a South Korean electronics company that is known for their modern, 'Raspberry Pi'-like single board computers. For their 10th anniversary, however, they are giving us a little piece of nostalgia for the small price of 32$.
Well, to get to the point: it's basically a DIY handheld console, closely resembling a GameBoy Color in appearance, that you have to put together from individual parts (don't worry, anyone can do it without any tools except a small screwdriver).
It uses an emulator to not only run GameBoy and GameBoy Color games, but you can also play Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Master System (SMS) and Sega Game Gear (GG) titles.
And as if that was not enough, the device offers full Arduino compatibility for programming your own applications and supports WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The package arrived within a week and was in good condition, so everything was perfect on that regard.
Anyway, putting everything together is super easy and they provide decent instructions on how to do this.
I have also recorded a video of me putting this thing together "blind", meaning without prior knowledge about what I have to do. I managed to get everything up and running, late at night, not even completely sober tbh, in just half an hour. So, no need to be afraid, I'm sure you will be able to do it as well!
The video does not only include the assembly, but also the installation of games.
Note that you need a micro SD card with at least 8 GB of memory for everything to work properly.
You might argue that you can have all of that stuff for free right now on your phone. Well, you're right... but the simple fact that the ODROID-GO has actual buttons makes the experience with this device much more enjoyable, in my opinion. Especially if you play action-oriented games where precise movement is important. I do have to admit, however, that the buttons feel a little wiggly and not as robust as on the original. That goes for the whole device. It is a little lighter, smaller and generally feels 'cheaper' than the original GameBoy Color.
Having buttons isn't the only nice thing about this gadget, though, but I will keep this relatively short: Everything else is working perfectly. All the emulators work smoothly, boot is fast, access to the SD card is quick and easy so you don't even have to buy a new one just for this thing. I use the one of my action cam, put a few games on there, and just put it in whatever device I am currently operating. The ODROID-GO just accesses its two folders in the upper directory of the SD card and leaves everything else alone. The battery is lasting almost 10 hours and you can charge it wherever you'd charge your phone.
The only thing that could make this device not worth the 32$ is if it doesn't last long and breaks in a few months. But only time (and regular usage) can be the judge of that.
So much for the good stuff. But there are also a few (arguably minor) things to complain about. For one, I think the speakers are way too loud. There are just three discrete sound levels that you can cycle through with one of the extra buttons, but the lowest one already makes too much noise. I guess I'm not the only one complaining about that, because the ODROID-GO wiki even has an entry on which resistors to change on the circuit board to adjust the output volume. For me, these tiny thingies are way too small to replace manually, so I'm thinking about maybe cutting the wires of the speaker and adding a small resistor there in order to (hopefully) get this thing a little more quiet.
This also ties into the next unfortunate aspect: The ODROID-GO doesn't have a headphone jack. For me personally it is not that important, but it is still something that would have been a nice addition.
I can't really say much about the Arduino compatibility yet, because I haven't tried it yet. But I will add my experiences with that here, when I have played around with it. And if I remember that I have just written this sentence here.
Pros
+ Low cost
+ Easy setup and usage
+ 5-in-1 handheld console including GB, GBC, NES, GG, SMS
Cons
- Speaker is too loud
- No headphone-jack
- High shipping cost if you are ordering just one
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| Fully assembled ORDOID-GO running The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC) |
What exactly is the ODROID-GO?
The ODROID-GO uses a custom ESP32-WROVER module @ 240 MHz with a 16 MB flash memory, 4 MB of PSRAM, coupled with a 320x240 pixel display and *more technical MumboJumbo...*Well, to get to the point: it's basically a DIY handheld console, closely resembling a GameBoy Color in appearance, that you have to put together from individual parts (don't worry, anyone can do it without any tools except a small screwdriver).
It uses an emulator to not only run GameBoy and GameBoy Color games, but you can also play Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Master System (SMS) and Sega Game Gear (GG) titles.
And as if that was not enough, the device offers full Arduino compatibility for programming your own applications and supports WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Sounds amazing! But where do I get this?
You can order the ODROID-GO directly on the Hardkernel website, but be aware that the 32$ mentioned above don't include the shipping. Since this thing is coming from South Korea it costs an extra 16$ to get this to Europe. Luckily, I found some co-workers who were interested in this thing as well, so we were able to split the shipping cost by ordering together. I suggest you try to do the same if you don't want to pay 50% extra, just for shipping.The package arrived within a week and was in good condition, so everything was perfect on that regard.
Putting everything together
Like I already mentioned, you're going to have to put this device together yourself. Why is it not shipped fully assembled? Politics, probably. Selling this thing as a "Development Kit" requires much less certification procedures (like the CE marking in Europe, for example) which makes the product a lot cheaper. I don't think it's about saving the actual assembly-cost.Anyway, putting everything together is super easy and they provide decent instructions on how to do this.
I have also recorded a video of me putting this thing together "blind", meaning without prior knowledge about what I have to do. I managed to get everything up and running, late at night, not even completely sober tbh, in just half an hour. So, no need to be afraid, I'm sure you will be able to do it as well!
Note that you need a micro SD card with at least 8 GB of memory for everything to work properly.
Review
All of this sounds really amazing, especially for the low price, but does the ODROID-GO live up to its (or rather my) expectations? Let me give you a direct answer to that question immediately: Yes, yes is does. You can play all of your favorite games from back then (for the given emulators, of course) or catch up on the ones you have missed back in the day. Or maybe you are too young to have the nostalgia bubbling up inside when you see this thing and want to experience what 'mobile gaming' was like a few years ago. With the added benefit of having a back-lit screen, so you don't have to sit at the window all day where the lighting was optimal for you to enjoy your Pokemans to the fullest.You might argue that you can have all of that stuff for free right now on your phone. Well, you're right... but the simple fact that the ODROID-GO has actual buttons makes the experience with this device much more enjoyable, in my opinion. Especially if you play action-oriented games where precise movement is important. I do have to admit, however, that the buttons feel a little wiggly and not as robust as on the original. That goes for the whole device. It is a little lighter, smaller and generally feels 'cheaper' than the original GameBoy Color.
Having buttons isn't the only nice thing about this gadget, though, but I will keep this relatively short: Everything else is working perfectly. All the emulators work smoothly, boot is fast, access to the SD card is quick and easy so you don't even have to buy a new one just for this thing. I use the one of my action cam, put a few games on there, and just put it in whatever device I am currently operating. The ODROID-GO just accesses its two folders in the upper directory of the SD card and leaves everything else alone. The battery is lasting almost 10 hours and you can charge it wherever you'd charge your phone.
The only thing that could make this device not worth the 32$ is if it doesn't last long and breaks in a few months. But only time (and regular usage) can be the judge of that.
So much for the good stuff. But there are also a few (arguably minor) things to complain about. For one, I think the speakers are way too loud. There are just three discrete sound levels that you can cycle through with one of the extra buttons, but the lowest one already makes too much noise. I guess I'm not the only one complaining about that, because the ODROID-GO wiki even has an entry on which resistors to change on the circuit board to adjust the output volume. For me, these tiny thingies are way too small to replace manually, so I'm thinking about maybe cutting the wires of the speaker and adding a small resistor there in order to (hopefully) get this thing a little more quiet.
This also ties into the next unfortunate aspect: The ODROID-GO doesn't have a headphone jack. For me personally it is not that important, but it is still something that would have been a nice addition.
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| Resistors that influence the ODROID-GOs speaker volume. |
edit 04.08.2018:
I have actually done what I just said. I have put a small 10 Ohm resistor between the speaker output of the board and the speaker itself to make it a little more quiet. By doing this you simply create a voltage divider that makes some of the output energy dissipate into heat on the resistor so that, in turn, the amplitude of the audio voltage over the speaker (and therefore the loudness) is lower.
As an additional benefit, the sound quality is probably going to increase a little. The noise of cheap electronic amplifiers is usually fixed, no matter how the volume control is set. With the resistor we therefore also reduce the overall noise, which means that the lowest sound level from before (which is now going to be level 2 or 3, for example, depending on your resistor) is going to sound a little cleaner and better.
If you want to see how to do this exactly, watch the following video where I show you how to do it, step by step. :)
I can't really say much about the Arduino compatibility yet, because I haven't tried it yet. But I will add my experiences with that here, when I have played around with it. And if I remember that I have just written this sentence here.
Summary
All in all I think the low price of 32$ for the ODROID-GO is well worth the expense, especially if you manage can split the shipping-cost, considering you are getting a handheld device on which you can play games from five different (albeit very old) consoles. The Arduino compatibility is a nice touch as well and let's you use this thing for much for than just gaming.Pros
+ Low cost
+ Easy setup and usage
+ 5-in-1 handheld console including GB, GBC, NES, GG, SMS
Cons
- Speaker is too loud
- No headphone-jack
- High shipping cost if you are ordering just one
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