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Blog of that guy who’s wandering around. 📸

  • Comic and Game Museum + Broken Sword 1 on Super Pocket

    I had such a blast on my last walk with pocket consoles that I did it again the very next day—just with a slightly different route and one extra console: the Anbernic RG40XXV. I hadn’t taken it on the road before, so it was the perfect excuse! I hopped on a train to Łódź, Poland, with three consoles in my bag: the Anbernic (blue), Super Pocket (wood-like finish), and Nintendo DSi (white). On the train, I played Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout—a game I used to grind as a kid on my PSX. Funny how, nowadays, you can learn all the moves in an hour with a quick Google search. Back then, we spent hours figuring it out ourselves.

    The day in the city kicked off with a completely unplanned visit to the comic and game museum. Turns out, it’s super close to Łódź Fabryczna station, where I always get off. Took a ton of pics—just sharing a handful from the gaming section here.

    One of the coolest parts is the Retro Zone—rooms filled with old-school computers, set up like Polish apartments from the tough communist era. Think Bruce Lee, The Cure, and Kora (the late polish singer) posters on the walls, VHS tapes, and vintage computer magazines.

    Then there’s the Game Lab, a series of rooms showcasing the different stages of game development—from prototyping to character design, sound, and testing. This part was co-created with polish gamedev studio CD Projekt (aka the folks behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk), which is pretty awesome.

    While I was there, I played a bit of Resident Evil Survivor on the RG40XXV—a game I beat multiple times as a kid on my PSX. I’ll never forget those summers: playing Resident Evil, then heading to the beach with my mom (I grew up in Gdańsk, by the sea), swimming in the Baltic Sea for hours, then coming home to play some more. That door-opening cutscene? Burned into my memory forever.

    Later, I went to grab a tempeh sandwich at my absolute favorite spot in Łódź—Niebostan. No other place in this city makes me feel more at home. It’s spacious, with an indoor area, an outdoor blue metal platform, and a cozy backyard. The decor is cool, there’s always some visual art on display, and the staff is super friendly. The crowd is interesting, the plant-based food is delicious, and… there’s a bathtub with a hole cut into it, turned into a couch! Absolute genius.

    Spent the rest of the day wandering around Łódź, snapping photos, and playing on the Super Pocket here and there. In the evening, I found myself back at Niebostan, sipping a beer and playing my all-time favorite, Broken Sword 1, with the background chatter of the bar around me. I’m a pretty anxious person, and truly relaxing is a struggle, but at that moment—lying on an outdoor couch in my favorite bar, playing one of the most important games of my life—I felt completely at peace.

    I love Broken Sword because Charles Cecil is a master storyteller. I love Broken Sword because the voice acting is insanely good—it’s funny when it should be funny, emotional when it should be emotional, and atmospheric when it needs to be atmospheric. I love Broken Sword because it nails the balance between adventure, comedy, and romance—the kind of romance that sticks with you forever. The dynamic between George and Nico? Always reminded me of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files, one of my all-time favorite shows.

    That night, out of nowhere, it started pouring rain. I took shelter in my second favorite Łódź hangout—Planszówkowi Astronauci, a cozy board game café where you can sip tea, beer, hot chocolate, or a cocktail while playing board games.

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  • The day I bought a Nintendo DSi + Broken Sword 1 on the Super Pocket

    What I love about pocket-sized handheld consoles is that they can tag along on totally analog adventures. I just toss one in my pocket, pack a few things in my backpack, and head out for a few hours, wandering wherever my feet take me.

    I grew up in Gdańsk, a big city on the north of Poland, by the sea, but now I live in a tiny village in the center of the country, near a much bigger city—Łódź. (I wonder how you guys imagine pronouncing that name, given that three out of its four letters are Polish special characters.) Since I’m on a three-week vacation, yesterday morning I packed my Hyper Mega Tech! Super Pocket into its case, grabbed my backpack, and hopped on a train to Łódź from a station in the next village over.

    I spent the whole day aimlessly wandering around the city, taking photos—because I love it. Łódź is super photogenic, a city full of contrasts. Some parts look sleek and modern, while others feel straight out of a gritty post-apocalyptic game, falling apart in the most atmospheric way.

    The weather kept shifting, and when the sun was too bright, the Super Pocket’s screen became unreadable. But when clouds rolled in or when I was indoors or on the train, I played Broken Sword 1 & 2 from the Evercade cartridge. I adore this series—especially the first two games. I replay them every 2–3 years (sometimes more often). And I’m having an absolute blast playing my favorite adventure game on a pocket-sized console.

    The controls felt weird at first since it’s a point-and-click game, meaning you have to move the cursor with the d-pad. But they added some handy shortcuts: pressing Y moves the cursor to the inventory bar, X jumps to the topic bar, and holding L1/L2 slows the cursor for precision while R1/R2 speeds it up. After about 15 minutes, I got used to it, and it felt OK.

    Out of all handheld versions (excluding the Android one—I don’t like gaming on my phone), this is simply the best. The Game Boy Advance version was heavily simplified and lacked voice acting. The Nintendo DS version was a Director’s Cut with extra story bits, but again—no voice acting, which is crucial for the atmosphere of this cult adventure. I wish the Evercade cartridge had the Director’s Cut version, but having full voice acting on a pocket-sized console makes up for it!

    I also brought Indie Heroes Collection 1, 3, and 4 (sadly, I don’t have 2—it’s unavailable in Poland). Small indie games are perfect for quick gaming breaks between city wandering. But in the end? I got so hooked on Broken Sword that I didn’t play anything else.

    This whole experience made me realize how freaking awesome it is to have a handheld console with licensed cartridges. It also made me realize we desperately need a Super Pocket 2—with a slightly bigger, preferably OLED screen for better outdoor gaming.

    During my wandering, I visited three different small local video game stores. One focused on modern consoles—PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch—which I wasn’t in the mood for. But the other two had a ton of Nintendo DS games. I’ve always wanted a DS but never owned one… well, scratch that—I didn’t own one. Because I found a white Nintendo DSi in one of those stores, the Irydium at Placu Wolności 9, in great condition at a great price. So yeah, I bought it. My first DS ever. And I’m already in love with it. It’s such a shame Nintendo doesn’t have a dedicated pocket console in the current generation—it would be amazing!

    To wrap up the day, I hit up a pub, had a craft beer called Triple Smiles in Polish (a nod to the ‘smiles in Polish’ meme), and played Professor Layton and the Curious Village on my new DS. (Fantastic series, by the way!)


    PS: That was a really great day. I highly recommend you try something similar! I’d love to see your photo diaries of city strolls with your handheld consoles.

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