It's been a couple years since we at GBAtemp took a look at the Revo K101 Plus handheld console, a GameBoy Advance clone device that offers the ability to play official cartridges, as well as ROM backups and emulate a variety of other retro systems. At the time of publishing for my colleague Scarlet's
official review of the device last February, many were quick to point out that despite the manufacturer having sent us a unit to review, the K101 Plus had been out of production for quite some time, and could no longer be purchased new. Thankfully, however, that's no longer the case. Handheld emulator manufacturer Anbernic has recently began offering the Revo K101 Plus for sale once again on their online store, bringing this high quality GBA clone back to consumers.
As part of the resurgence of the device, I was lucky enough to receive one of the new models to test out for myself. Having previously read the existing K101 Plus review, I had a general idea of what to expect, but once I had the device in hand I found it hard to disappoint. The package still came with everything included previously; the K101 Plus itself, Revo's K-Card (essentially an Everdrive like device that works exclusively on the K101 Plus) for accessing device settings and playing ROM backups, a small screwdriver to access the battery slot, a screen protector, a mini USB charger, and an AV cable for connecting it to a television set. From a design standpoint, I absolutely love the GameBoy Micro inspired Famicom Gold color scheme, and found that it fit perfectly in my slightly oversized hands with minimal issues as far as comfort goes. All of the buttons on the device itself, while not being a perfect 1-to-1 match as far as a traditional GBA experience goes, still worked flawlessly with no problems accepting inputs or being "sticky." The LCD screen is also a high point here, offering a crisp image and eight levels of backlight that can be changed right on the console and blowing the visibility of a standard GBA screen out of the water. I will admit that at first, it sorta felt strange to be using a clone device to play, but the more time I spent with it, the quicker that feeling dissipated.
Playing official cartridges was as simple as plugging them in and starting them up like a traditional GameBoy Advance, and I found that it performed just as well as any GBA I've ever owned, with no weird glitches or issues from playing on unofficial hardware. The settings for things like screen size, display language, and others are all still locked to the K-Card and can't be changed when official cartridges are plugged in, so even if you buy this without the intention of playing with ROMs, it's still something worth keeping around. Speaking of the K-Card, getting backup ROMs uploaded was a breeze, and accessing them through the card's menu was an incredibly user friendly task. In seconds I was playing my GBA backups, which were functionally identical to my experience on the official cartridges, performing equally as wonderfully. Even more demanding titles like
Wario Land 4, Super Monkey Ball Jr., and
Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride played as perfectly, a testament to the power behind the clone. For fans of Gen 3 Pokêmon, the K-Card also includes an option to enable a real-time clock, allowing berry growth and Umbreon/Espeon evolution without issue. Cheats can also be enabled from a menu that can be quickly accessed via one of the many hotkey combinations that the K-Card has to offer.
Outside of GBA backups, I also spent a brief time testing the emulation NES games and a few ROM hacks on the device; a few Pokémon ROM hacks such as Rocket Edition and UltraViolet ran flawlessly, and the device was even able to handle running the GBA port of OpenLara... it's not perfect, mind you, but it runs fine enough. NES emulation was another story though, with games like
Castlevania, Gradius, and the ROM hack
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Redacted all running technically, but with plenty of graphics stuttering, stiff controls, and less-than quality sound. It's neat that the emulation option is here, but it's still just more of a gimmick than something that would make the K101 an all-around portable retro emulator. The true strengths are firmly in its capacity as a GBA clone, and in that area it excels.
In short, I find myself wildly impressed with the K101 Plus as a GBA clone device. It helped to scratch a "GBA on official hardware" itch that I've had for quite some time since regrettably selling off my console as a teen. With official GameBoy Advance consoles still seeing some pretty high prices to get your hands on, I can easily recommend picking a K101 Plus up to anyone looking to get some GBA gaming in while saving a bit of cash.
Anbernic Official Store
AliExpress Listing
Revo K101 Plus Official GBAtemp Review
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