Gaming

GPD Pocket 2 RPCS3: Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Final Mix Test

Dave Jansen

• 2 min read
GPD Pocket 2 RPCS3: Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Final Mix Test

I wanted to test how well (or if at all) the GPD Pocket 2 runs RPCS3. I tried a few games and most of them did not work, either at all or at a very low framerate, which is to be expected.

What I did not expect was how well Kingdom Hearts actually ran. After some initial caching that is common for RPCS3 (or any newer system being emulated) that causes slowdowns and hitches, gameplay actually ends up being basically 100% full-speed, clocking in a consistent 30fps. I did not notice any slowdowns in the beginning area that I explored (as seen in the video) besides the aforementioned texture compilation bits.

While unfortunately it ended up looking a little less smooth in the recording (framerate mis-match between the camera and screen, sorry about that), I still decided to share the result as I think this might be nice to know for some of you that there are actually PS3 games out there that the GPD Pocket 2 can properly emulate. Kind of mind blowing.

Settings wise I mostly stuck with stock settings in RPCS3, although I switched the compiler to the more experimental (yet faster) one whenever possible. I also undervolted the P2 using ThrottleStop, which makes a noticeable difference. I also boosted the TDP a bit (to 6 watts) to smoothen out performance.

For the games listed below I went as far as 10 watts but only for a moment as I don't feel comfortable doing this long-term, nor would I want to keep playing that way even if it made these games playable as battery life would end up suffering way too much for it to be a viable portable option.

Other games I tried that did not fare well:

  • Tales Of Berseria (low framerate, consistent stutters)
  • Ni No Kuni (low framerate)
  • Persona 5 (very low framerate)
  • Sleeping Dogs (low framerate)
  • Yakuza 4 (didn't work)
  • The Last Of Us (didn't work)
  • Red Dead Redemption (usually didn't work, got in-game once at <1fps. I can dream..)

That's all for now. I hope this is useful for some of you, and at the very least shows you how this tiny pocketable device is quite amazing that it can even run RPCS3.

Thank you.

GPD Max

GPD Pocket 2