Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Vibe Retro Arcade ain't the first Famiclone handheld I own, but it is the first to come in the Game Boy shape, which a lot of Famiclone handhelds tend to use a lot in the late 2010s and even in the 2020s. I don't think I've seen a video of this variant, but there's probably plenty just like it, using the same 200-in-1 ROM. My grandma also got this as a Christmas gift in 2024, so I figured I would try and play all the games on it.
Honestly, judging by other Famiclones that use the same Game Boy mold, yeah, I can see why the buttons are sorta crappy. The buttons feel okay, they are pretty spongy though, but they get the job done. The D-Pad on the other hand... well yeah, I can try to get used to it, but it did make some games hard to play due to it not being the best of quality. Oh, and the weight of the Vibe Retro Arcade? It's pretty dang light, even lighter than a Game Boy Advance SP, but that ain't surprising considering many modern Famiclones feel light.
Aside from that, it does have a nice, bright screen, and the AV quality, while certainly not that good, is definitely a little better than how it looks on my PVP Station Famiclone. I'd still rather play it on a TV or something if I feel like it, because the battery life is definitely not the best on some handheld Famiclones.
Okay, so, how is the multigame menu? Well, of course the main menu music just wouldn't be complete without Mighty Final Fight music on a modern Famiclone's built-in menu, so of course it's gonna be the Level 1 theme from that game. That aside, moving in the multigame menu works and feels like a charm. The only elephant in the room that I'm not a fan of, is that resetting takes you back to the 1st Game on the menu instead of where you left off, which to be honest, I will forgive this Famiclone for, since 200 Games is a breeze for me with that problem, but if it was something like the Sup Game Box with 400 Games, I would've probably gave up or just find certain games that I like throughout the menu.
And as for the Games? Well, there are no Super Mario or Contra games, but that doesn't mean there's not gonna be stolen games, because man, there is plenty of them still here.
There's Dig Dug, the Donkey Kong trilogy of games including DK JR. Math, the NES Sports games, and even Nintendo's Pinball is here too, which I'll always appreciate over Nice Code's crappy Pinball Intellivision conversion.
Speaking of Nice Code, there's definitely a lot of Nice Code games here. Heck, Nice Code games probably fill up more than the stolen games on this Famiclone handheld! Though being one of the only Nice Code fans out there, of course this would be a decent time killer for Bug Catcher or Egg Contest. Heck, even some Inventor and Waixing games/hacks are thrown in here too!
And as for the sound, well, not really a lot I can say that hasn't been said in my other Famiclone related videos, it has the reversed duty cycles, and I'm not here to complain about that. Though, when in portable mode, it does go pretty loud, so I'll give it props for having a good speaker.
What did I think of this Famiclone handheld? Well, it's definitely better than the PVP Station I own, due to having more games and having better video out. Unfortunately there's no Super Mario or Contra games like what the PVP Station had, but aside from that, the games that are on here are pretty fun to play! And for being a Christmas gift, I honestly shouldn't complain too much, since I did have some fun playing this thing for a video. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll use it often, because I do wanna get back to playing on my Power Joy or Power Games Famiclones since I get more hours of enjoyment out of them, but I still appreciate this as a 2024 Christmas gift!
The Vibe Retro Arcade ain't the first Famiclone handheld I own, but it is the first to come in the Game Boy shape, which a lot of Famiclone handhelds tend to use a lot in the late 2010s and even in the 2020s. I don't think I've seen a video of this variant, but there's probably plenty just like it, using the same 200-in-1 ROM. My grandma also got this as a Christmas gift in 2024, so I figured I would try and play all the games on it.
Honestly, judging by other Famiclones that use the same Game Boy mold, yeah, I can see why the buttons are sorta crappy. The buttons feel okay, they are pretty spongy though, but they get the job done. The D-Pad on the other hand... well yeah, I can try to get used to it, but it did make some games hard to play due to it not being the best of quality. Oh, and the weight of the Vibe Retro Arcade? It's pretty dang light, even lighter than a Game Boy Advance SP, but that ain't surprising considering many modern Famiclones feel light.
Aside from that, it does have a nice, bright screen, and the AV quality, while certainly not that good, is definitely a little better than how it looks on my PVP Station Famiclone. I'd still rather play it on a TV or something if I feel like it, because the battery life is definitely not the best on some handheld Famiclones.
Okay, so, how is the multigame menu? Well, of course the main menu music just wouldn't be complete without Mighty Final Fight music on a modern Famiclone's built-in menu, so of course it's gonna be the Level 1 theme from that game. That aside, moving in the multigame menu works and feels like a charm. The only elephant in the room that I'm not a fan of, is that resetting takes you back to the 1st Game on the menu instead of where you left off, which to be honest, I will forgive this Famiclone for, since 200 Games is a breeze for me with that problem, but if it was something like the Sup Game Box with 400 Games, I would've probably gave up or just find certain games that I like throughout the menu.
And as for the Games? Well, there are no Super Mario or Contra games, but that doesn't mean there's not gonna be stolen games, because man, there is plenty of them still here.
There's Dig Dug, the Donkey Kong trilogy of games including DK JR. Math, the NES Sports games, and even Nintendo's Pinball is here too, which I'll always appreciate over Nice Code's crappy Pinball Intellivision conversion.
Speaking of Nice Code, there's definitely a lot of Nice Code games here. Heck, Nice Code games probably fill up more than the stolen games on this Famiclone handheld! Though being one of the only Nice Code fans out there, of course this would be a decent time killer for Bug Catcher or Egg Contest. Heck, even some Inventor and Waixing games/hacks are thrown in here too!
And as for the sound, well, not really a lot I can say that hasn't been said in my other Famiclone related videos, it has the reversed duty cycles, and I'm not here to complain about that. Though, when in portable mode, it does go pretty loud, so I'll give it props for having a good speaker.
What did I think of this Famiclone handheld? Well, it's definitely better than the PVP Station I own, due to having more games and having better video out. Unfortunately there's no Super Mario or Contra games like what the PVP Station had, but aside from that, the games that are on here are pretty fun to play! And for being a Christmas gift, I honestly shouldn't complain too much, since I did have some fun playing this thing for a video. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll use it often, because I do wanna get back to playing on my Power Joy or Power Games Famiclones since I get more hours of enjoyment out of them, but I still appreciate this as a 2024 Christmas gift!
