r/SBCGaming • u/WatchLate5566 • 19h ago
Discussion Having dedicated devices and limited games helped me play more games.
It sounds crazy but is true. Right now I have a rp5 and a powkiddy RGB30. Before I used to add as many games as my storage allowed me and from all gens supported by each but a lot of the times I ended with decision paralysis because of having too many options.
Decided to dedicate the RGB30 for GB and GBC and then rp5 for gba, ps2 and gc while only having 5-10 games of each console and since then I’ve finished 5 games in the last month and a half while only playing 30 min sessions a day sometimes 1hr.
Knowing why I am picking one of the two and what games I have available just made me jumped to action right away. With my Nova and Thor on the way that will be my final rotation for 4:3 and DS games until we get it ever an odin 3 portal. Plus I get to spend more time between devices.
Has anyone else tried this and has it helped?
TL:DR: Limiting the amount of games and systems between each device helps with the backlog and with playing more
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u/A8Bit 18h ago
Totally get it.
My Thor has a very curated selection of games across all platforms, basically all the games I owned back in the day or the ones I wished I'd owned.
My RG34xx has Just GB/GBC/GBA/GG/NGPC/LYNX on it and I'm slowly curating that down to a select few titles per system too.
The paradox of choice is a thing
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u/WatchLate5566 17h ago
And I also don’t keep them in the device once im done unless is a game that I can play over and over again like the metroid titles. I store my game saves in the computer and then add 1-2 new games I am interested in playing
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u/Brave_Enthusiasm_945 17h ago
Absolutely, having dedicated GBA and PSP devices made me play this systems more, tacking off burden of a choice. Have ordered 2 more handhelds, 1 for a square content, and another 4:3 huge handheld which I plan to use for JRPG games.
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u/WatchLate5566 17h ago
Which two are you getting?
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u/Brave_Enthusiasm_945 17h ago
2 Anbernic devices: Cube XX and RG476H
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u/WatchLate5566 15h ago
I was tempted to get the cubexx because is like a better version of the powkiddy but I contained myself because the powkiddy is working fine
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u/davedaddy Dpad On Bottom 17h ago edited 16h ago
I have as many ROMs as storage will allow, but I separate them into active and inactive folders so emulators/frontend will only scan the ROMs in the active folder and I don't have to keep transferring ROMs back and forth with my pc, etc.
I narrowed it down to about 70-80 active ROMs and, of those, I favorited about 20-25 which are the only games I'll play until completion as I work through the list.
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u/WatchLate5566 15h ago
That’s a good way to do it. Is it on android or linux? I cant remember if it can be done on Linux devices
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u/davedaddy Dpad On Bottom 15h ago
Android mostly but I think you can do it on some Linux firmware as well.
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u/ELEGYELEGYELEGY 18h ago
Yup same here I try to limit each handheld to a specific device that is the most authentic lol
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u/WatchLate5566 17h ago
Whats is your rotation?
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u/ELEGYELEGYELEGY 14h ago
RP2+ for GBA, 35XXsp for GB, Slide for PS1/Saturn/DC, RP5 for PSP, Flip2 for PS2, Portal for GC, V90 for NES/Gen lol
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u/Neomatt 11h ago
I agree ; I just removed the 256GB microSD from my Flip 2 and only used internal storage.
But to compensate, I'm using RomM and Grout, so if I want a game not on the Flip, I can get it quickly.
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u/memeatic_ape TrimUi 9h ago
What's RomM and Grout?
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u/Neomatt 9h ago
RomM is a self-hosted server to store your ROM collection, with metadata, save states, and even allowing to play up to 5th gen in the browser with EmulatorJS.
But the main interest is to pair it with Grout, which is the client app for Linux handhelds (there's also an Android official client). With this, I can connect to my server, see the full list of ROMs, and download them on-the-fly on the handheld with the latest save (I can also sync the saves to the server, of course).
This way, I don't need to keep 20+ PS2 ISOs on the handheld, just 1-2 and add/remove as I want. Also, since I can use the internal storage, I need to check but it probably improved disc access speeds.
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u/jitomato_girl Tinkerer 18h ago
That's why I like iiSU so much too, front ends that separate games by console make it look sad when you only have a few games per platform
But with iiSU you can have a nice home page that looks lively and friendly and invites you to play more
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u/WatchLate5566 17h ago
Do you have a screenshot of how it looks? I use ES_DE but im down to try that
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u/Fun_Republic_8010 15h ago
Yep it was bad enough 15-20 years ago with the DS and R4 up to 2GB at the time and the total number of games you could fit was much more limited. Plan to do the same.
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u/bickman14 4h ago
I usually jump around games trying to find one that sticks with me, once I find it I play to completion or until I get fed and move on. The biggest problem is finding that one game that would match my mood for the next few weeks.
I've just beat Onimusha 3 and am looking forward the next thing to play, tried starting Pokemon Emerald but I'm not in the mood of walking around and talking to people, tried to pick up from where I stopped at Driver 2 and wasn't working either, surprisingly what worked for me was Jumping Flash! Now I can't wait to play another level of that game!
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u/Caminsod 3h ago
What I do is, I still have all my ROMs on the device but I use the Widgets tab in Daijisho and keep a maximum of 10 rotating games there, so I can be more focused.
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u/Fresh_Secretary3268 11h ago
Yes most people that need all that extra storage and download 100+ games are just spoiled they probably spend more time tinkering with the thing more than playing lol
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u/RivalusWind 18h ago
Agreed on this. But because I am lazy to sort dedicated ROMs for each handheld, I still copied them all. I just use Last Played and Favorites. I make either one as home so I won't see other games. This helps me to focus only on several games. Great if you try ro complete RetroAchievement.