Blog of that guy who’s wandering around. 📸
While riding the train from Łódź to Warszawa, I had some time to snap pics of all the pages from my Final Fantasy 1 game diary so far. If you’re planning to play it, feel free to check out the maps and drawings, but skip the text—there are plenty of spoilers in those dialogues and rumors. I’ll be posting some photos from Warszawa soon!
I came back from my trip to Gdańsk with way fewer photos than I’d planned. But honestly, no surprise there—I wanted to hang out with family, chill with friends, take some walks, play on my handheld console, and take pictures. And I was only there for a few days!
For 37 years of my life, I was convinced that WARS carriages in Polish trains (short for Wagony Restauracyjne i Sypialne, meaning Restaurant and Sleeping Carriages, not anything to do with ‘wars’) were just lame spots where you could grab a coffee, a pastry, and some juice. But on my way back from Gdańsk, I accidentally discovered that’s not the case at all. I stood by the counter for a bit, sipping a beer and playing on my Miyoo Mini. Then I ended up sitting down with a random guy who was also having a beer, and we just talked. It’s literally a pub—just one where the view outside keeps changing!
I spent the last part of my vacation in my hometown, Gdańsk, Poland, which is halfway across the country from the village I live in now.
I brought four handhelds with me (Anbernic RG40XXV, Miyoo Mini, Nintendo DSi, and Super Pocket), but honestly, apart from a bit of gaming on the RG40XXV during my train ride from Łódź to Gdańsk, I ended up playing exclusively on the Miyoo Mini for the rest of the trip.
It’s crazy how fast I fell in love with this tiny thing! It’s half the size of the RG40XXV, which makes it way easier to just pull it out of a case or a pocket whenever. The buttons feel great to press, and it’s got a super handy volume dial.
And hands down, Onion OS is the best firmware I’ve seen on a retro handheld. It’s clean, lets you easily toggle system modules on and off, and has two features I wouldn’t want to go without anymore: Activity Tracker and the Game Switcher.
During those few days, I played a bunch of games—Contra (NES), Metroid Fusion (GBA), and Advance Wars (GBA)—but by far, I spent the most time on Final Fantasy 1, the version from Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (GBA).
Before the trip, I even made my own map for Final Fantasy 1, simplifying the ones I found online. First, I sketched it in pencil, then painted it with watercolors, and finally outlined it with waterproof fineliners. I love doing analog stuff while gaming—paper maps, notebooks filled with notes and sketches—it makes the experience so much richer for me.
