I have gotten engulfed into the minis/compilation systems recently, and this one definitely surprised me. Granted, I was able to secure one from GameStop when it was on sale, so the value for me was awesome. Overall, it's a thumbs up.
The games natively on there are pretty cool and found to be satisfying. No real theme of publishers but there are a handful of classic game companies like Taito and Data East; most of the games being the arcade versions thankfully. You won't find the major titles for any them with the exception of Joe and Mac series, Bubble Bobble, and Space Invaders. You won't find Capcom or SNK but there are so many other places to play those out of the box. An odd mix of SNES games like Disney's Aladdin and the Star Wars trilogy of games, tho Zombie's Ate My Neighbors is a very cool addition. Arcade wise, so was Fix It Felix Jr, both Breakers & Breakers Revenge, and Boogie Wings. The arcade list is a varied mix of action/platformer, shooter, fighting, driving, beat'em-ups, and puzzle from the 80s-90s era. Even tho there will be many you haven't heard of, don't conflate that with bad because the stock library of 100 is pretty banging once to get playing. You might be surprised how much fun you'll have with games you may never seen or only walked past in a retro arcade.
If you want to play pinball, that will be a purchase. I personally didnt opt-in. I wish it was cheaper for the games AND the additional hardware that attaches to it. I just wish there was a way to play pinball without the extra add-on because the tables do look interesting. They can be pricey but there are sales with bundles of tables. I wish I could have more of an opinion. As for the arcade games available with the joystick while online, there's a feature called ArcadeNet with 5 rotating games that also allows online play with other users. I was able to play some people on Garou Mark of the Wolves and didnt have any issues.
Be mindful the joystick is what it is. Don't expect a high level arcade stick, but this isnt some mayflash trash either. It's very reasonable and actually better than it has the right to be, frankly. You probably could mod it with Sanwa buttons and replacement stick, but stock is just fine for me. The stick itself is an accurate 8-way stick that feels good. I could do street fighter movements just fine - usable for many styles of games. The buttons are pretty springy but almost feel a little cheap. Again, they don't feel bad though. My only real complaint is that the 8-button layout is almost too spaced out. Wish they were slightly closer to each other. I keep it connected thru USB 100% of the time. The bluetooth isnt bad but wasnt impressed with it either.
The joystick connects to a puck. The puck is really portable. I haven't tried using it with other USB controllers but I imagine there has to be some compatibility. Also, only 1 USB port so 2-player gaming is tricky. I wish it had an ON/OFF toggle. To turn off you have to unplug. Prob cost cutting measures. I use wifi with no issues.
The UI is fine albeit a little confusing. It's kinda a slog getting it started, logging in, and navigating outside the base game menu. You have to be a little intuitive on your own to move around. The OPTIONS menu is a mess. I really just try to stay in the games menu. The in-game menus are not uniform either. Since it's a mix of arcade and console, the menus have different settings where you can adjust. Fighting games, for example, only allow you to change the layout outside of the game in the pre-game menu. Also, the start button can differ from start and the atgames button. Not the best integration but it's really not that bad. Just not perfect esp when considering most everything else is a cinch when playing the games. Wonky menus overall with unclear navigation at times. You learn to live with it. I am also having trouble April 2023 even logging in (thus why I am on this page in the first place) so the online support may be done now. I am trying to figure that out now.
I have yet to try uploading ROMS into it, tho I did doing the remote app to access my Steam library with mixed results. Thankfully, my PC was able to read the arcade stick with relative ease and I was able to play Steam games directly. Very cool that it can be used as an extra PC device. Most of these controllers from Minis can't.
I wanted to write a review because I really enjoy this thing. It's really hard to beat for the value! Now, I would say this thing is perfect at $100 esp with added functionality. It's relatively easy to do things with it too. As a joystick, it's probably worth $75 alone, but as an overall device it shows it value pretty well. I was hoping to see more reviews! So, I had to put in one. If I didnt like this thing, I wouldve just kept it moving. I hope this helps someone on the fence!
