RK2020 handheld emulator evaluate: Dreamcast games in your pocket

Among the easiest handheld emulators available in the market

At present time’s Most attention-grabbing Tech Presents

Picked by PCWorld’s Editors

Prime Presents On Gargantuan Products

Picked by Techconnect’s Editors

Desk of Contents

Present More

There is never been a bigger time to be a retro gamer, in particular may perhaps presumably maybe indulge in to you would admire to support the classics spherical in your pocket. The RK2020 from RK Console is one more in a lengthy line of handheld emulation devices that plays games from a substantial quantity of primary consoles.

While RK2020 plays all the pieces from NES to PS1 with ease thanks to noteworthy hardware, it falls animated immediate on Dreamcast and PSP emulation. The RK2020 comes in three varied case adaptations and the pricing shall be realized as little as $70—which is the top in all probability-priced tool admire this I’ve tested up to now. Despite those minor drawbacks, right here is one in all the easiest handheld emulators you may perhaps well presumably maybe maybe purchase, and or now no longer it’s change into my skedaddle-to tool for retro gaming in the palm of my hand.

Let’s dig in.

Included in the box:

RK2020 Console
32GB MicroSD card (OS pre-loaded)
USB Form A MicroSD card reader
USB-C charging cable
Client handbook

Vital emulators included with the RK2020:

NES
SNES
PlayStation 1
Nintendo 64
Dreamcast
GameBoy Coloration
GameBoy Advance
PSP
and extra

Hardware design

The RK2020 comes in three varied case alternatives. I changed into once sent the Crystal Crimson variation that harks encourage to the semi-transparent plastic Atomic Crimson coloration realized on GameBoy Coloration. It’s a fun gaze that suits the moveable nature of this handheld. The Aluminum version seems nice as smartly but is a pricer probability at $120. You would moreover moreover salvage the hand held in Crystal Sad.

Hardware specs:

CPU: RockChip RK3326 (Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A35 @ 1.3GHz)
GPU: Mali-G31 Dvalin
RAM: 1GB DDR3L
Present: 3.5 fling 320×480 IPS
Battery: 2600 mAh Li-Polymer

The RK2020’s design quality is rock proper, however the edges aren’t rounded off ample for my taste, which contributed to a little bit stress when held for lengthy intervals. The 3.5-fling show seems nice and lustrous, with tantalizing pixels and no indicators of ghosting. The battery life lasts spherical a proper 4 hours looking on the emulator being dilapidated—extra graphics intensive games can reduce that to practically half of.

The D-Pad is above the analog stick (the formulation it needs to be) and taller than those realized on other emulators admire the New PocketGo. I realized it severely stiff, however the added peak helped differentiate between the many instructions. The analog stick also stands taller than authorized on a tool admire this, but it absolutely sits inside of a recess that enables it to be a venerable ‘stick’ in living of a ‘sliding pad’ admire is realized on the New PocketGo. It’s a bigger design, but it absolutely’s collected subpar compared to console controllers, and I gravitated in direction of the use of the D-Pad as unprecedented as I may perhaps.

The face buttons on the RK2020 supply my authorized tactile genuinely feel out of every handheld emulator I’ve tested up to now—they are terrific. The peak off the face plate offers bigger than ample depth for a vivid living off, the circumference of every button is wide ample to salvage without disclose, and the gap between every button is perfectly placed to make particular that no counterfeit presses. Button presses supply a really healthy resistance that provides masses of suggestions, though there may perhaps be a chunk too unprecedented sail for my liking at either cease of the clicking. The supreme downside to the face buttons is the shut placement to the show. There had been times where my thumb would fling over the show a chunk too unprecedented. The RK2020 in all fairness little, and I would had been stunning with a wider machine to support counter this.

Sadly the Birth and Capture keys are practically flush with the face plate, making it inviting to living off them without either glancing down or sliding your thumb a chunk to double-test its placement. Worse, the formulation you skedaddle away most emulators requires pressing both of those buttons on the identical time, twice. It never felt factual, and I genuinely wish they had been raised out of the machine extra. The Capture button also needs to be pressed on the identical time as X in uncover to elevate up the emulation settings, one more circulate that never felt usual or pure thanks to the affirm of the buttons.

Since the tool is so thin the RK2020 facets a facet-by-facet shoulder button placement in living of stacked. I’ve dilapidated this placement ample to salvage dilapidated to it, but it absolutely’s now no longer my preferred design. I may perhaps pretty leer a thicker machine to accommodate stacked shoulder buttoms. Fortunately, the buttons elevate out indulge in masses of separation, and the clicky triggers purchase barely ample stress to utilize, but aren’t free ample to allow counterfeit presses.

The bottom of the RK2020 facets one MicroSD card slot and a really tinny speaker. You would salvage a energy button, headphone jack, USB-C port for charging, and USB Form A port up high. The USB-A port enables use of a WiFi dongle or exterior controller which is ready to be living up correct by the OS. There is not any longer one of these thing as a volume help an eye on, which is a shame. As an different, volume is handled by all yet again retaining down the Capture button and then pressing up and down on the D-Pad. Or now no longer it’s now no longer sizable, in particular with the Capture button’s design, but if truth be told now no longer as inferior as I believed it may perhaps well perhaps presumably maybe maybe even be in the originate.

Scheme and gameplay

The RK2020 now ships with RetroArch installed, an give a contend with to over the custom Linux working systems authorized in most handheld emulation devices. I direct “now” ships because when the tool changed into once first launched it ran firmware from one more handheld emulator, the ODROID GO Advance. And it wasn’t animated firmware—the RK2020 even included one of the hardware because the OGA. Copyright licensed pointers are very varied in China than the U.S., but it absolutely’s a inferior gaze for the RK2020. Fortunately, RK Console addressed the firmware disclose now no longer much less than, and the RK2020 you may perhaps well presumably maybe maybe purchase now ships with RetroArch.

The combination of RetroArch and the RK2020’s quad-core CPU with 1GB of RAM ensured most emulators ran very tender. RetroArch is terribly customizable. It consists of pretty just a few varied behold alternatives of your collection, shall be connected to scraping products and companies for issues admire box art, and supplies an all-spherical greater user abilities than what you salvage on most handheld emulation devices. Working 8- and 16-bit games went blissfully hitch-free, even in games that characteristic extra strenuous visual processing, admire F-Zero and Smooth Castlevania IV. Nonetheless at this point we already know that practically all 2D-based entirely mostly game consoles will flee stunning on systems admire these. What about 3D?

PlayStation 1 performance changed into once hit or omit on the New PocketGo, however the elevated hardware energy of the RK2020 allowed practically every PS1 game to flee as meant. This time spherical it’s Dreamcast and PSP emulation that proved contact and skedaddle. I needed to turn body skipping on for most games. That characteristic cuts the body rate in half of, but on the entire allowed for a smoother play abilities. Games admire Soul Calibur 2 that already flee at 60 frames per 2d natively remained playable at a locked 30fps and gaze unheard of. Frame skipping wasn’t a universal medication though. Games admire Jet Situation Radio that already runs at decrease body rates animated didn’t determine—a proper bummer.

Address that in point of view though. Most handheld emulators can’t flee any Dreamcast games smartly. The Dreamcast may perhaps smartly be my authorized console of all time, so getting to flee pretty just a few these games on the RK2020 is a proper treat, and one thing I didn’t leer coming so soon after the New PocketGo’s struggles with 3D gaming.

Nintendo 64 performance, on the opposite hand, changed into once now no longer so factual. There are two complications right here. One has to support out with the rendering on N64 games in widespread emulators, and the opposite offers with the controls. The N64 controller setup is a silly yarn (though some of my colleagues disagree) and mapping that oddball help an eye on plan to this handheld tool’s completely varied structure is animated a inferior disclose. I’m now no longer going to skedaddle into too unprecedented detail right here because I salvage it’s obvious, but I may perhaps never salvage a configuration that felt pure to incorporate the buttons wanted for most games.

By formulation of emulation, I all yet again needed to flee all the pieces with body skippping active to salvage smoother Nintendo 64 gameplay, but I collected bumped into masses of stuttering, hitching, and show tearing. With some work to the emulator settings I’m particular you may perhaps well presumably maybe maybe salvage nearer to a playable affirm, but I didn’t purchase the time to support out so, because taking part in games with unpleasant controls feels unpleasant.

PSP performance changed into once in every single living, essentially attributable to the radically varied game styles on hand on that console. 2D-based entirely mostly games, or games that had very minimal 3D interplay, if truth be told ran surprisingly smartly with body skipping on, and I changed into once even in a affirm to salvage just a few games to flee stunning with body skipping off—Solutions Ogre and Persona 3 Portable as an illustration. Intensive 3D games admire God of Battle: Chains of Olympus and Steel Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the opposite hand genuinely battle to support framerates and direct many other complications as smartly. Bottom line: PSP performance is terribly game particular, but animated know that the RK2020 animated doesn’t indulge in ample energy to play all the pieces with ease.

Conclusion

As a result of extra horsepower, (mostly) cushy controls, and tantalizing show, the RK2020 has change into my skedaddle-to tool for handheld emulation of primary games. The value is a little bigger than my closing authorized tool, the New PocketGo ($65 vs $70), but you salvage is a extra noteworthy machine that can if truth be told play some Dreamcast and PSP games. That’s charge the extra money.

Present: Whenever you happen to purchase one thing after clicking links in our articles, we may perhaps moreover fair construct a little commission. Be taught our affiliate hyperlink coverage for added little print.

The RK2020 is one in all the easiest handheld gaming emulators you may perhaps well presumably maybe maybe purchase factual now, taking part in PS1 games with ease, but stumbles with Dreamcast and PSP.
Pros
- Unheard of specs practically help up Dreamcast, PSP games
- Involving and lustrous 3.5″ demonstrate
- Gargantuan D-pad and face buttons
- RetroArch is a step up from custom Linux OSes
Cons
- Copyright disorders
- Some buttons are now no longer as factual because the face buttons
- Edges are now no longer rounded ample
- Very tinny speaker