Boltz Retro Stick Review: Is It Worth It?

If you’re like me, you have powerful, crystal-clear memories of sitting on a carpeted floor, clutching a weirdly-shaped controller, and staring at a fuzzy CRT TV. You’re also probably getting ads for the Boltz Retro Stick (or “Retro Bolt”) every time you scroll.

My main intent here is to talk to you, from one nostalgic 90s kid to another, about this “miracle” stick. If you’re looking to relive those NES and Sega glory days, and you want the easiest, cheapest, no-fuss way to do it on your modern TV, this is the product you should buy. But you must know what you’re actually getting.

My Experience With Boltz Retro Stick

My journey with the Boltz Retro Stick started on a random Tuesday night, scrolling through my phone. An ad popped up showing a tiny HDMI stick, two wireless controllers, and a game list that seemed to scroll for infinity. 20,000 games? Mario 64? Crash Bandicoot? Sonic? All my childhood memories, in one little device, for “50% off”? It was the ultimate impulse buy. I’m a dad now, and I’ve been trying to explain to my kids what “real” video games were. This seemed like the perfect, easy way. I knew, deep down, it was “too good to be true,” but the nostalgia was stronger than my skepticism.

The package arrived about a week later.

The box itself felt light. Alarmingly light. Inside were the two controllers, the HDMI stick (about the size of a pack of gum), a USB power cable, and a tiny USB dongle for the controllers.

My first impression of the controllers was… not great.

They are hollow, feather-light, and felt like a cheap toy you’d win at a carnival.

They took AAA batteries, which felt dated. Still, I was optimistic.

The setup, I have to admit, was magic. This is the “easy button” I was promised. I plugged the stick into a spare HDMI port on my TV. I plugged the USB cable into the stick and then into the USB port on my TV for power. I put the batteries in the controllers. I turned on the TV, switched to that HDMI source, and… it just worked. A colorful, loud menu popped up. And the game list…

It wasn’t a list; it was a waterfall. I just sat there, scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling. I saw games I hadn’t thought about in 25 years. Bucky O’Hare. Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Zombies Ate My Neighbors. It was an overwhelming tidal wave of nostalgia.

My kids were excited. I was excited. “Let’s play Mario!” my son yelled. So I found the “Nintendo” section. And that’s when I saw the “20,000 games” trick. There were dozens of copies of Super Mario Bros. (USA version, European version, Japanese version, hacked versions, “fast” versions). The list was a disorganized, bloated mess of duplicates.

“Okay, fine,” I thought, “let’s just play.” I clicked on the classic Super Mario Bros 3. It loaded up instantly. It played… perfectly. The controls were responsive enough. We played for 30 minutes, and it was bliss. Then we switched to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the “Genesis” emulator. Again, flawless. This thing was amazing!

Then came the moment I really bought it for. The N64 games. I scrolled and found Mario 64. I booted it up. The music… what was wrong with the music? It was choppy, garbled, and slow. And the game itself… it was unplayable. It was a slideshow. The frame rate couldn’t have been more than 10 frames per second. Mario was moving in slow-motion. My kids, raised on a Nintendo Switch, started laughing at how “broken” it was.

My heart sank. I tried Tekken 3 for PlayStation. Same thing. The sound was a warbled mess, and the characters moved like they were underwater.

That’s when I had my great realization. The Boltz Retro Stick is not a miracle. It’s not a “PS1 or N64” machine. The ads are a lie. The cheap processor in this stick simply cannot handle 3D games.

It is, however, a fantastic NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis machine. I had to completely re-frame my expectations. I now call it the “80s and 90s machine.” I spent an hour creating a “Favorites” list of the 50 or 60 games that actually work, and now, it’s our “go-to” for a quick, simple, retro-gaming hit. It did get my kids to play the classics, but it failed to deliver on the “modern” retro games it promised.

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Pros Of Boltz Retro Stick

• Absolute “Plug and Play” Simplicity: This is, without question, the #1 reason to buy this. You are not buying a high-performance machine. You are buying convenience. I, a non-tech-savvy dad, had this thing unboxed and was playing a game in under three minutes. You plug the HDMI stick in. You plug the power cable into your TV’s USB port. You put batteries in the controllers. It just boots up. There is no software to install, no emulators to configure, no ROMs to download (ahem). It is the easiest possible way for a normal person to play retro games on a modern TV.
• Astounding Value for 8-bit and 16-bit Gaming: If you can mentally delete the N64 and PS1 games from your mind, the value is incredible. For the price of one new video game, you are getting a single device that perfectly plays thousands of classic games from the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and classic arcade cabinets. If you only bought this to play Super Mario Bros 3, Sonic 2, and Tetris, you would still be getting your money’s worth. It is a time machine to the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, and for that, it’s a bargain.
• The “Wow” Factor of the Massive (Bloated) Library: I’m listing this as a “pro” because of the feeling it gives you. The first time you turn it on and see that 20,000+ game count, your jaw will drop. Yes, it’s full of duplicates and junk. But it’s also full of everything else. You will scroll and see games you completely forgot existed. River City Ransom. Gunstar Heroes. Mutant League Football. It’s a digital archive of your entire childhood. The joy of discovery, and of showing your kids these long-lost gems, is a powerful, instant hit of nostalgia.
• Ultimate Portability: This is a huge, underrated feature. The entire “console” is the size of a pack of gum. The two controllers are lightweight. You can put the entire system—stick, controllers, and cables—into a large Ziploc bag. I’ve taken it to a friend’s house for a party. I’ve brought it on vacation to plug into the hotel TV. It’s the most portable, “party-in-a-bag” console you could ever own. You can’t do that with a real SNES or a Raspberry Pi setup.

Cons Of Boltz Retro Stick

What To Keep In Mind

• The 3D Game Performance is a Lie: I need to be crystal clear. The advertisements will show you Goldeneye, Mario 64, Tekken 3, and Crash Bandicoot. This is deceptive marketing. The cheap processor in this stick cannot handle 3D emulation. N64 games will be a garbled, 10-fps slideshow. PlayStation 1 games will be a stuttering, slow-motion mess with terrible, screeching audio. If you are buying this specifically to relive your N64 glory days, you will be profoundly disappointed. It is a lie.
• The Controllers are Genuinely Awful: I wasn’t just being picky. The controllers are the cheapest-feeling plastic I’ve held since the 1980s. They are hollow, they rattle, and they run on AAA batteries that die quickly. But the worst part is the 2.4Ghz wireless connection. It has a slight, but very real, input lag. This makes precision platformers like Castlevania or Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! feel “floaty” and almost unplayable. You will know you pressed the jump button in time, but you’ll die anyway. It is infuriating.
• “20,000 Games” is a Scam (It’s All Duplicates): The massive game count is a marketing trick. You are not getting 20,000 unique games. You are getting maybe 4,000-5,000 unique games, padded out with thousands of duplicates. You’ll see the USA version, the European version, the Japanese version, the “v1.1” version, the “beta” version, and 20 different “hacked” versions of every single popular game. This makes the game list a nightmare to navigate. It is a disorganized, bloated, frustrating mess.
• It’s a “White-Label” Drop-Shipped Product: “Boltz” is not a real tech company. It’s a “brand” name (like “Retro Bolt,” “Data Frog,” “M8,” etc.) stamped on a generic, mass-produced product from a factory in China. You can buy the exact same product on AliExpress or Temu for about one-third of the price. You are paying a “drop-shipping” tax for their Facebook ads. This also means there is zero customer support, zero warranty, and zero quality control. If it arrives broken, you are out of luck.
• The Obvious Legality Question: Let’s be blunt. This is a piracy machine. The 20,000 games on it are copyrighted ROMs. This device is 100% illegal. You are buying a device pre-loaded with stolen software. While the “ROM police” aren’t going to break down your door, it’s something you need to be aware of.

Maintenance Tips For Boltz Retro Stick

How to Make This Cheap Stick Actually Usable

• Buy a Real USB Power Brick (The #1 Tip): This is the most important tip I can give you. The stick comes with a USB cable. The instructions suggest plugging it into your TV’s USB port for power. Do not do this. Your TV’s USB port is weak (usually 0.5A) and is not meant to power a device; it’s meant for flash drives. Plugging it in there will cause the stick to get “under-powered,” leading to random crashes, reboots, and file corruption. You must plug the USB cable into a dedicated 5V/1A or 5V/2A power brick (like any old phone charger you have) and plug that into the wall. This will make it 100% more stable.
• Back Up Your SD Card Immediately: The stick runs off a tiny, generic, unbranded MicroSD card that is hidden in a slot. This card is the cheapest, lowest-quality card on the planet. It will fail. It’s not a question of if, but when. The very first thing you should do is carefully remove that card, plug it into your computer, and make a complete “image” (a 1:1 copy) of it. Then, buy a brand-name MicroSD card (like a 64GB Sandisk) and copy that image onto the new card. This 30-minute process will save you from the inevitable day when the cheap card corrupts itself and you lose everything.
• Spend One Hour Creating a “Favorites” List: When you first boot up the stick, do not just start scrolling. You will be miserable. You must do the “setup” homework. Spend one full hour once and go find the 30-50 games you actually want to play. Every emulator on this stick has a “Favorite” button (usually “Select”). When you “favorite” a game, it gets added to a separate, clean “Favorites” menu at the very top. This is a lifesaver. This means you can turn the stick on and be in your “Top 30” list in seconds, instead of scrolling past 10,000 Japanese-language games to find Contra.
• Buy Better Controllers (Wired or 8BitDo): The included wireless controllers are, as I said, trash. The lag is a deal-breaker. You must upgrade. The easiest way is to buy a pair of wired, USB SNES-style controllers (Hori and 8BitDo make great ones). The stick will recognize them instantly. The input lag will be gone. If you must have wireless, spend the money on a real Bluetooth controller from 8BitDo and a separate Bluetooth dongle. This will transform the experience.
• Learn the “Secret” Emulator Menu (For Save States): This is not a real console. It’s a computer emulating a console. This is a good thing. This means you have superpowers. On most games, if you press “Select + Start” (or a similar combo), you will open the “Emulator Menu.” In here, you will find “Save State” and “Load State.” This is not the in-game save. This is an instant screenshot of your game. This means you can save your game right before the final boss of Contra. You can save mid-jump in Ninja Gaiden. This is how you can actually beat these impossible 8-bit games. Learn this menu. It’s the whole point.

Comparison With Other Brands

• Boltz Retro Stick vs. Official “Classic Mini” Consoles (Nintendo/Sega): This is the “Legal vs. Illegal” battle. Nintendo and Sega (and Sony) all released “Classic Mini” consoles. These are official, licensed products. They come with 20-40 perfectly emulated games and high-quality, official controllers. The emulation is flawless. The con? You are locked into only those 20-40 games. The Boltz stick is the illegal, “wild west” version, offering 20,000 (buggy, duplicate) games instead of 20 (perfect) ones. If you only want to play the “greatest hits” with no lag, the official Mini is better.
• Boltz Retro Stick vs. Anbernic or Miyoo Handhelds: This is the “TV vs. Portable” and “Quality” comparison. The Boltz stick is a cheap TV stick. Brands like Anbernic (e.g., the RG35XX) or Miyoo (e.g., the Miyoo Mini Plus) are premium, purpose-built handhelds. They have gorgeous screens, much better processors (they can play PS1 games perfectly), amazing controls, and run on a clean, customizable OS. They are more expensive ($60-$100), but they are 1000x better in quality. If you want a good portable experience, skip Boltz and get a Miyoo.
• Boltz Retro Stick vs. a Raspberry Pi (DIY Setup): This is the “Convenience vs. Custom” comparison. The Boltz stick is a pre-made, “locked-down” version of what a Raspberry Pi with a front-end like RetroPie can be. A Pi is a “Do-It-Yourself” project. You have to buy the board, the case, the SD card, and install the software and find the games yourself. It’s way more work, but it’s infinitely more powerful and customizable. You can get N64 and even Dreamcast working. The Boltz stick is for people who would never do that. You are trading all the power for zero work.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

So, what’s my final word? The Boltz Retro Stick is not the miracle machine from the ads. It’s a flawed, cheap, but easy way to play 8-bit and 16-bit classics. If you know its limits and just want a simple “nostalgia button” for Sonic and Mario, it’s a fun, cheap toy. But if you’re chasing that Goldeneye or Tekken dream, you need to save your money and look elsewhere.