The Pocket Advance nearly perfects my favorite Nintendo handheld

Although I count the original Game Boy as one of my first tech obsessions, I still consider Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance to be my favorite console of all time thanks to its more comfortable horizontal design (for my big hands) and its expansive catalog of excellent 32-bit and 16-bit games. Ayaneo isn’t the first company to attempt to modernize the GBA, but its Konkr Pocket Advance does it best. The handheld strikes a near perfect balance between authentically re-creating the GBA’s design while updating its hardware with new controls, a much better screen, and the flexibility of Android at a price that feels like a bargain.

As much as I still adore the GBA, I’ve eagerly embraced upgrades to the aging console over the years. First it was the clamshell GBA SP that finally delivered a frontlit screen I could actually see without a lamp over my shoulder, and later it was aftermarket upgrades like a backlit LCD display and …