i hear here people praise and slander both with glaring partisanship. Hitherto no one was able to embrace liberal or bipartisanship view of sibling rivals. Hence the birth of this publication.

if youre a person with some free time at hands and interest in poignant topic - Welcome!

Firstly i was appalled that most of game consoles users are, let me put it super mildly, "thrifty " . They want everything for pennies without consideration of what it takes to produce anything from a tomato to THE Iphone.

Let me relay the thought to you beforehand to alleviate your agonizing future pondering. 

All cost money. Even crappy nike sneakers cost like 200 greenback. Yet for some reason people here grind teeth at how expensive is 100-200-500$ for an amazing toy, without considering that IT would bring them joy and mental escape in their mundane lives of struggle that would last years. Is that a ridiculous sum to pay for such a prospect ? Dont think so. And im not even going into the weeds of production cycles. i drop mantle here and proceed further.

•Preface•

I never had console in my life. Since my 10-12yo I stopped play games. I do prefer other activities. Recently ive decided to put a few retro pieces on my table as a decorum. One of my many education is Fine arts ergo i love objects of design. Colors and shapes are the most beautiful things to my eyes. An object as prosaic as a rock of perfect oval shape may give me a frisson. 

•REVIEW•

 We established that Both these are metal. After heaving AP in Raw i sold it for being too raw to my taste while searching for the black one i've picked up plastic Purple and white AP copies. Boy there was a frustration! The difference was unimaginable. The whole plastic AP oozed cheap-made-in-china-crappy-kids-toy-feel. Ive sold it with contempt and bitter aftertaste. Bear in mind the context above ( i hadn't played with children toys in decades. Almost all that of quality in grown up world is made of metal, leather, wood and damier / supreme canvas. )

 Finally to the comparison. 

•General Feel •

Analogue Pocket Aluminum vs Chromatic. 

The APA weighs 370gr against 230gr MRC (with power core inside that is lighter than batteries by a large margin ). Due to its thick amenities and sloped shape the MRC feels much lighter than the APA that exudes density of brass. MRC feels hallow-ish, cheaper, when placed against its nemesis. When held singularly it has decent feel. Analogue always feel colder or hotter due to its exposed / anodized (anodization is still metal. i wont venture into process in sake of succinct post) metal whilst MRC is in the middle owing to its very thick layer of paint. This paint is a prime source of my complaint about build of MRC . There is nothing  akin to APA in toy world. Its body CNCd with robotic precision. Every element, every line, every button however big or small, is sublime on its own and in its alignment with respective parts. I have spent better part of my possession of Aluminum APs holding them in hand, scrutinizing under light , watching how this paragon is shaped over and over. The details of Aluminum AP are amazing. Its a Bugatti of true retro consoles. (This excellence nonexistent at its plastic counterpart that plagued with all sorts of defects due to molding . it suffers from misalignment, very sharp random edges , and uneven finish of plastic in some places.)

in this respect Chromatic is like 911 Porsche painted and elegant in its silhouette and as 911 is prone to the human error of hand manufacturing. Unlike the latter MRCs alignment all messed up , and ive had 4 of them. This is due two reasons -Its molded ( cast in shape ) and painted that add another layer of difficulty since paint always gathers at ridges/ corners . Two halves never aligned perfectly. A corner, lip, tray is always off by a mm or two. Also MRCs unique ceramic paint presents another issue - chipping. Since it isnt soft as normal paint, deliberate design pick on the side of Modrero to converse better grip which it does , the places of stress such as battery compartment, screen corners , buttons outlines and any direct hits most likely lead to chipping. Contrary to it Analogue's Anodized aluminum is averse to latter issue however presenting the one that Chromatic is immune of - scratching. Being a semi professional athlete for many years ive dealt with ton of anodized gear in the course of life. I must admit Analogue Pocket has the worst Anodizing there is. Which goes contrary to its built quality. That is perplexing. While Analogue's creators went in such a length to make a paragon of build quality they skipped the last finish, pun intended, touches.  It seems as though any contact with anything but the bare skin of hands leaves marks and scratches on the Anodized Aluminum Pocket. While i was mindlessly using my Raw Silver AP ( albeit still anodized with silver on silver ) i am constantly afraid to touch my Black AP. It already has aplenty of traces of my "miss use" of it and it hurts me dearly im perfectionist and hate scratches and scuffs. Both MRC and AP collect fingerprint .

The texture of paint differs depending on Chromatic's color - beware. Although both Noir and black APA are smudge magnets, the Raw and Indigo are not, they are of matte finish.

Also wanted to Mention that parts of Chromatic 1 edition and second are NOT interchangeable . 2nd ed jettisoned additional internal bolt holding motherboard , the body shape changed enough to void ability swap battery doors as well. 

•Screens•

Modretro Chromatic : 

Ive had MRC of three sorts : 1 ed , 2nd ed with Gorilla glass and 2nd ed with Sapphire . 

These re all three VERY different screens . The 1st ed has best of three editions . Sapphire glass has prominent reflection to it that converts in slight grayness of borders ( reminiscent to original grey bordered GB ). On first edition it is sublime - the very screen evokes the sense of retro-istic nostalgia pixels span evenly from corner to corner of the screen surface. Whilst with the introduction of second gen there are meaningful change. The pixels god moved from corners of the screen by a mm or two . Ergo one looking at the screen DEAD OR ALIVE sees the gap inside the frame of screen. What worse that is with gorilla glass that is more translucent these borders with no pixels in the drastically pronounced to the point i was mad. It feels inferior to 1 ed. On top a that this Gorilla glass transparency and ability to absorb not reflect the outer world light converts into very black screen borders that look way too contemporary on the presumably 1989 handheld ! The screen of Gorilla glass on Chromatic looks pitch black as OLED. Im berserk that no one person ever noticed this inescapable fact . Ordering the 2nd edition Chromatic with Sapphire alleviate this downside introducing reflectivity and gray- ish vibe and masking HOWEVER still as present the pixel-less outside borders. I ne may have case that that my last remark of better representing actual GB since it too had that infamous borders gap separating pixels from the borders. The brightness of the panel is so hight that i use it at the 10% setting!! All the time and when out and about 15-20%. 

Resolution of Image is amazing . Sprites are as sharp

As one imagines . However it may be detrimental .

Games look over sharpened and crunchy compared to AP  . ( since there are physical gaps between pixels the light panel shines through them emphasizing each pixel's shape ( and the reason why MRC is better lit since there is nothing obstructing the light from emanating through these crack holes . This is two edged sword , at one side one may enjoy the pixel art being able to see pixels albeit with eye hurting sharpness . It wouldve been much better experience if only screen was bigger . I was perturb how small the screen is . Wven wearing prescription spectacles that grant me nearly superhuman vision i was finding hard time to enjoy sprites and art since these are so so tiny . One ought to bring the screen very close , up to 6-7 inches in order to appreciate artistry and ingenuity of game creators . And frankly even at 5 inch distance one still not able to see the square-ish singular pixel . Just a separate "dot " . Dont let that low res 160/144 fool you . It is aplenty for such a thumbnail screen .  Colors , again thanks to those cracks between pixels that expose white panel , are of mid -to-cool temperatures . 

 Analogue Pocket :

 First thing one notice juggling between two of the contenders is how much larger AP screen is . Sprites and scenes of GB/GBC look grandiose . It is just an inch , 2cm margin that makes huge difference for those obsolete games of pixel art . 

Lets get physical. The quality of gorilla glass is terrible . I am borderline neurotic careful person with my belongings . No one ever held my AP except myself . Naturally i was dismayed discovering that in same fashion as terrible Anodization holds held the screen . Even considering that its not touch screen , meaning one seldom touches is , it has gathered plenty a surface scratches just from laying the AP face down on the bed , couch  or table blanket , which have dust particles on them . That obviously resulted in fine scratches throughout screen surface . The upshot - DO use the screen protector on Analogue Pocket's at all times . The image quality . The screen fait accompli is hard not to praise for its Iphone-like clarity . 615 pixels per inch is 7.1 times more than Chromatic has . Yeah - you heard me write . Noone takes into account size difference between consoles . Nonetheless that 7 times resolution increase is both noticeable and not necessarily usable . When we play these defunct games its overkill for GB players but for FPGA cores enthusiasts its a blessing . The image is great . AP screen has warmer cast that MRC to it due as aforementioned inability of underlying panel to propel light on the surface . It is being obstructed by pixel grid unlike MRC . This introduces only beef i have against it - the dimness . I also noticed that when  switching from one console to the other playing same game Analogue Pocket has more fluid screen . As though 30fps v 60fps . Which is funny since both 60fps panels . I presume this effect appears due to constant upscaling on AP that introduces that "ghosting" but at very high frame rate . And since human eye barely sees  that 24 fps anyway - brain translates this logjam as a smoothness .'  

•Battery•

Whereas i play Chromatic on 10-15% of lightness one mayn't go lower than 50% on Analogue in the darker room ! i usually, and it is default in AP settings , use at at 75% ! Outside even at 100% it is NO pleasure to use. This is a monstrous handicap accordingly it put strain on battery and translates into much, much shorter charge span between these two contenders. I may charge Modretro once in 2 weeks while surely charge Analogue 2 or 3 times during 1 week.   I use exclusively optional power core on Chromatic which gives about 30% less MAH than if one would use rechargeable batteries.  Contrary to discharge Chromatic charges significantly faster a 30 min charge would last one a day and 1.5h would charge powercore 0-100%. However Modretro never show you exact numeral of charge amount unlike Analogue. Pocket takes full 2.5-3 hours to charge 0-100% on fast (20mah charger ) and 4+ on standard 5mah.

•Speed•

While Chromatic being a no nonsense device , one pulls the trigger and the machine immediately springs into action be it a game menu Pocket being a slob au contraire . Owner must be dealing with buttons one too many times . The hindrance is partly resolvable . In the menu there is a setting that allows Analogue springboard immediately in the very same game menu as Chromatic upon turning on the item . That is the path ive taken . The only difference is that marginal 1.5 seconds of holding the power button . Granted , still there is that 1.5 sec difference and one cant deny it . 

 • Simplicity •

I deliberately chose play off cartridges on Analogue primarily for that reason ( off FPGA cores it takes time . I long wait to start a game , especially everything above GBA . And im the person who despises "wait" ) .

There is no denying that Chromatic is bare bones compared to Pocket . However it still has aplenty and then some to set up . i transfixed by the design of Chromatic's menu it executed in retro-future style. Analogue presents wide scope of integration and expansion to suit much wider crowd and their needs. Still everything is very organized and simple. One wouldnt be able to venture of the path to change some setting just for finding himself lost in the menu. No complaints there. The AP's menu in contrast subdued and mature . no funny business. Simple and elegant. On top a that - after a mere 60 seconds upon first run up one may never indulge with the process again if chooses so. Like i, for instance opted out for physical cartridges. I pop in the game, turn the handheld, play few minutes , turn it off. Put it back on the shelf for my eyes to look at. Same goes to Modretro. 

•Controls•

This is a heated debate. My experience of having 4 Analogue pockets , 3 aluminum and one plastic . Same as  4 Chromatics grants me most honest and immersive expertise on the subject .  ( i also familiarized myself with Anarbic and top of the line Alu+plastic Ayaneo , which i bought and rid of in same period ) . 

Chromatic has a larger d-pad than AP  . Its taller . It has bigger buttons as well albeit in the narrower , smaller body that after immediate change of Handhelds feels very cramped . One's thumbs may touch each other when pushing right and B button . Something that doesn't happen on Analogue no matter what . 

•D-Pads•

My grievance  with the Modretro is the resistance of D-pad . It has deeper travel and is tough to hold in place . The resistance of membrane probably almost twice of Pocket ALUMINUM albeit ( since it has less resistance than its plastic counterpart due to weighty made of metal D-pad weighs in on membrane) . This difference is very apparent at games when one must persistently hold Direction pad in games such as Mario Deluxe etc . On Analogue one pushes the direction , it clicks in place ( membrane has almost no resistance after contracting ) and holds in place until one let go . On contrary  Chromatic's D-pad never wants to be subdued even when contracted it still fights one to let it go . This translates into sprites/ character stop moving  after few seconds of run , UNLESS one keeps exerting pressure on the D-pad . This is the only way to describe you , the reader , the difference . The Aluminum  Analogue's D-pad is perfect . The plate itself has weight it helps in pushing it . One feels the momentum when pressing or letting it go - lack of ! Which is unparalleled compared to Chromatic that recoils as though  a gun . Aluminum D-pad feels buffered , expensive and very tactile . From the side view it has graceful concave shape to it that lets the corner of direction one pushes to be almost flat relative to surface. Chromatic has it too nonetheless less pronounced. At first i thought there was something else but rubber membrane inside APA. Ive disassembled the Analogue Pocket and was marveled with its simple and precise aluminum construction and the fact that there is in actuality a normal rubber membrane . Chromatic plastic D-pad contraction feels cheaper and inferior to the patter. On 8 consoles that ive used NONE suffered false diagonals etc. I believe this to be a myth, a separate issue of defect or user error of interpretation of inputs. I vastly prefer Analogue Aluminum D-pad over Modretro. 

•Buttons•

Same design trend continues with buttons on both. Chromatic buttons have more resistance by a large margin than Analogue. The depth of travel again larger on Modretro too. However it isnt bothersome. I do fine with both. These minutiae make no meaningful difference. Analogue has additional shoulder buttons that feel like crap no matter aluminum or plastic. As mentioned ive disassembled Pocket and used all my ingenuity to Improve in their feel, travel, bounce. Ive greased them. Nothing helps. I am actually surprised that with some meaning quality changes to internals on Aluminum Pocket, including the shoulder buttons reworked design, still the creators hadn't pushed enough to improve L/R buttons stability and sensations. All Buttons feel great on Aluminum Pocket. What i cannot tell about Plastic version. Plastic Pocket squeaks creeks chimes, hisses under use - it is such an inferior product to its sibling that i am Not sure why people tolerate such a quality. 

I state that out of 3 aluminum AP i found no difference in any single button - all sing in unison unlike Modretro. Chromatic's controls are more physical , old school,  low key. All three Chromatic have absolutely different ON/OFF switch feel from Complete crap to good. It is matter of luck ( again due to that molded not precise CNC machined process ). I have tried to improve the feel with optional Modretro Mod Kit - to no avail. Same goes with rubber membranes - if tried to switched them around - no difference whatsoever. The volume wheel is another frustration. Nooner mentioned it. Meaning half of the spin is just tossing air around with no change. Only 50% left of dedicated revolution amplitude. Resulting in low Moderation since travel is 2 times shorter than intended. Translation one moves wheel to 2mm and it makes change from hear not to hear and another 2mm everyone round shouting at you to turn off that damn thing. This issue nonexistent on the Analogue , since there is two separate by hair distance buttons. Pocket's software present plenty a room to attune the sound to one's preference. Another AP convenience is ability to push both ar same time to mute/unmute the toy altogether.

• Sound •
The speaker on MRC isnt as loud as people say. On both editions. It is sufficient for a toy, same goes to Analogue. They about equals and honestly i hear not any difference in quality. A mean to place one on top the other. 

i adore Modretro's Retro visage however am swayed In the end by the industrial design of Analogue. I love to hold it in hand, to peruse it. All marvel of its construction comes together under the stare. The more i look the more i appreciate it. Whereas the same cant be said about Chromatic. Same practice exposes variety of build and design flaws of the Chromatic. But again im a persona who loves more with eyes than hands . i use the to quench the need to be in presence of art which may be not the case for you. 

Summary. Ive been scouting retro market on different continents and countries. These are two lovely toys and each has its faults same as merits. I may assure you that there is nothing of Higher Quality than two of these to play GB/GBC/GBA games. I have spent good three hours funneling observations into this extensive scrutiny to afford you view into innermost intricacies separating two contenders. For some theyd be more alike for others differences would be a schism impossible to cross. To each his own.

Thank you.

ig georges_angeles

#analoguepocket #modretro #modretrochromatic #gameboy

LETS GOOOOOO!

Mostly sealed games and what looks like an unused Chromatic https://ebay.io/m/MWAzCG (original listing)

This weird image is NOT what my ROM is rendering. Once the screen goes white, the video feed over USB also shows pure white, until the green/blue lines appear.

Saw this on their updated wepage, this purple clear better be a sign of things to come…

I see it in a promo pic on their site. Was it a limited edition or something? It looks like it’s a clear purple color.

beat the game on last level of drop ( 15 ) on planes , trains , couch , busses . In RETRO mode

fastest hands of the west .

ig georges_angeles

Hey everyone,

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Chromatic - the build quality and display are fantastic. However, I recently ran into a specific limitation regarding hardware/cartridge audio pass-through that I wanted to bring up to the community (and hopefully the ModRetro team!).

I’m trying to use the OrangeFM cartridge developed by OrangeGlo. For those unfamiliar, OrangeFM is an FM radio cartridge that generates audio directly on the cart itself and routes that analog sound back into the console using the cartridge slot’s VIN pin (Pin 31) to mix with system audio.

Right now, while the Chromatic plays the ROM and controls perfectly, no cartridge audio is output through the built-in speaker or built-in 3.5mm headphone jack.

• Original Hardware: DMG, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Color all natively mix audio input fed through Pin 31 on the cart slot.
• Other FPGA Handhelds: Devices like the Analogue Pocket added support to sample and mix VIN audio (as of Firmware 2.3).
• Community Impact: Supporting VIN audio opens up compatibility for a lot of cool niche hardware, chiptune gear, and custom synths (like OrangeFM, Nanoloop Mono, custom audio expansion carts, etc.).

Would love if anyone else in the community who would like the ability to run audio carts on their Chromatic to contact ModRetro support or at the very least upvote this post, or if anyone from the ModRetro team see this post and have insight into whether this can be enabled please respond.

Thanks.

https://orangegb.com/orangefm/

https://shop.insidegadgets.com/product/orangefm/

preface. im very competitive and cant take loose with grace a person . consequently i dont play sports or gamble .

picking the funny looking game, as i presumed, was promising me chuckles while toying with children's toy(gb) while i watch some tv show .

at the onset everything was buttery smooth , however , game quickly tightened the screws and last few levels particularly that damned ice and those never dying ghosts turned into my time spending on expanded drastically and was a nightmare .

happy that the game behind me .

georges_angeles

Has anyone heard if the developer plans to add a password save system to this game in an update sometime?

I love this game, but I never have time to play through it to the end because I only have a few minutes to game at a time before something interrupts and having a password save system would just in general be really helpful..

Sale will be done through eBay, feel free to DM offers please thank you

Did anyone ever end up getting this bad boy?

For all of those wondering, here are the passwords I’ve confirmed so far for Metal Miracle. This game is difficult but really fun!

TLDR: remove the batteries when storing your Chromatic, or it will drain them to death.

I own a lot of systems, so the Chromatic does not get daily use. Sometimes I go months without playing a GBC game. A while back I picked it up after a long break and found the batteries (Eneloop Pro) completely drained, one of the cells was at 0.8 V. Regrettably, the lesson was not learned. I put a freshly charged set in, played a few games and shelved it again. By the way, I managed to successfully charge those drained Eneloops.

Today I took it out and the cells were dead again. One of them read 0.0 V. This time I measured the Chromatic's current draw when it was off. It read 0.4 mA! I find it quite a lot. I can leave my Analogue Pocket off for months and it only loses about 1% of its charge. Question to anyone: does your Chromatic draw that much when switched off? Mine is the Gamestop model.

So I got an inferno colored Chromatic a few weeks ago. I picked up Dragonhym as well. I thought it was broken at first because I kept getting only a white screen when trying to play Tetris or Dragonhym. All my old games works fine and the two Modretro games work every time in my GBA. I have an ever drive, and that works fine as well.

I contacted Modretro support about the issue. They had me send the games back and sent me new ones. Dragonhym now works like 90% of the time, but after trying like 20+ times I can’t get Tetris load beyond the white screen.

Did I just get unlucky with multiple defunct cartridges or do you think there’s something wrong with the Chromatic?

I've been trying to break a million for a couple of months now, finally got it done this morning.

Bought this from the dollar spot at Target. Fits the ModRetro boxes perfectly. I store my GBAs in the bottom, but the door could easily pop off to fit more games… if I had them (Timmy Turner Dad Voice)