Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam: All 8 Episodes Reviewed

Pes 2013 Original 176x208 -

Pes 2013 Original 176x208 -

While FIFA (EA Sports FC) and eFootball chase photorealism, this Java title reminds us that gameplay is king. The roar of a crowd reduced to 8-bit noise, the slide tackle rendered in 20 pixels, the last-minute winner scored on a screen the size of a postage stamp—these moments feel more real than any 4K cutscene.

The 176x208 version is widely considered the "Goldilocks" build. The 240x320 touch version suffered from input lag due to resistive screens, while the 128x160 version lost too many animations. The 176x208 physical-keypad version remains the most responsive and competitive experience. Today, finding a working copy of "PES 2013 Original 176x208" is an archaeological quest. Since the shutdown of Nokia Store and Java app stores, the game exists only on abandoned FTP servers and fan-run forums like PhoneKY or JavaGaming.ru . pes 2013 original 176x208

Furthermore, the original soundtrack (a looping, adrenaline-pumping techno track) and the authentic Konami boot-up logo provide a nostalgic hit that modded versions simply cannot replicate. To understand the uniqueness of this version, one must compare it to its siblings: While FIFA (EA Sports FC) and eFootball chase

Introduction: A Resolution That Defined an Era In the modern era of smartphone gaming, where 4K displays and 120Hz refresh rates are the norm, it is easy to forget the humble beginnings of mobile sports simulations. Yet, for a generation of gamers who grew up in the late 2000s and early 2010s, one specific combination of numbers— 176x208 —represents a golden standard. When paired with Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 (PES 2013) , this resolution created a portable masterpiece. The 240x320 touch version suffered from input lag

There is a thriving "demake" community that still patches the original 176x208 version to keep it alive. As of late 2024, fan patches have updated the game to reflect the 2024-25 season, including the addition of Inter Miami CF (with Lionel Messi) and the Saudi Pro League. It is a testament to the game’s core engine that it can be modded a decade later. In an age of "pay-to-win" Ultimate Team modes and 50GB downloads, PES 2013 Original 176x208 represents a lost philosophy: Doing more with less.

While console gamers were debating the merits of the Fox Engine, Java (J2ME) users were squeezing every drop of performance out of feature phones like the Nokia Asha, Sony Ericsson Walkman series, and Samsung Corby. The "Original 176x208" version of PES 2013 was not merely a port; it was a complete re-engineering of the beautiful game to fit a screen smaller than a modern credit card. Why 176x208? This specific resolution (often referred to as QVGA narrow or 176x220 depending on the handset) was the sweet spot for mid-range phones in 2012-2013. It offered enough pixel density to render player faces and kits, yet was low-resource enough to run on a 64MB RAM device with an ARM-9 processor.

| Resolution | Device Class | Frame Rate | File Size | Difficulty Curve | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Low-end | 15 FPS | 400 KB | Arcadey, slow | | 176x208 | Mid-range (S40/S60) | 25-30 FPS | 750 KB | Balanced, tactical | | 240x320 | High-end touch | 20 FPS (touch lag) | 1 MB | Easy (auto-pass) | | 360x640 | Symbian^3 | 30 FPS | 1.5 MB | Hard (CPU cheats) |

Leave a Comment

Questions, updates and trip reports are all welcome. However, please keep comments polite and on-topic. See commenting etiquette for details.

  1. Giang says:
    June 10, 2025 at 10:10 AM

    “There are still so many places for Bourdain to visit in Vietnam, so many more dishes for him to try, so many more episodes for him to make.”

    That is the same thought and reason why I haven’t gone back to any episode or short clips of him, which appear in my YT feeds every now and then.

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      June 11, 2025 at 2:46 AM

      Hi Giang,

      Yes, I know what you mean, and I know many other Bourdain fans who feel the same.

      Best,

      Tom

  2. S Holmes says:
    June 5, 2023 at 3:28 AM

    I sometimes wonder why people often acknowledge people’s death day (religious reasons aside)? Generally speaking that’s the worst day of a persons life and the saddest day for their loved ones and admirers.

    With that in mind Anthony’s birthday is coming up on June 25 (1956), the day this intrepid traveller and lover of people was born!

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      June 5, 2023 at 6:31 AM

      Hi S Holmes,

      Yes, it’s because in Vietnam ‘death days’ are commonly celebrated. Hence, I’ve chosen to remember Bourdain on his ‘death day’ in the context of his love of Vietnam.

      Best,

      Tom

  3. Paul Brooke says:
    June 4, 2023 at 11:26 AM

    Many Americans of a certain age only saw Vietnam in context with the American War. That view persisted in American culture and continued into the next generation. Bourdain was the first to see Vietnam as a unique country. I don’t think he ever mentioned the war in his programs.

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      June 5, 2023 at 6:29 AM

      Hi Paul,

      Yes, I know what you mean, and in many ways (most ways, in fact), I agree that Bourdain painted Vietnam in a different context to what many Americans were most familiar with – that being war. However, he could never let the war go from his Vietnam episodes: Bourdain references the war – either directly or through cultural references, such as movies – in most of his Vietnam shows. This is totally understandable, but I personally looked forward to an episode that left the war out completely, thus focusing only on present-day Vietnam.

      Best,

      Tom

      1. Paul Brooke says:
        June 6, 2023 at 1:05 PM

        I’ll have to re-watch some of the episodes. I guess it was just my first impression that Bourdain dealt with Vietnam on its own merits as a young country with an ancient past and complex culture.

  4. jeff says:
    May 1, 2023 at 3:33 AM

    Thank you for your close and heartfelt reading of Bourdain’s odysseys to Vietnam.

    I have watched the “Hanoi” episode 5 times with deepening appreciation and sentiment; it is my favorite of what I’ve seen of his work.

    The episode is an apostrophe to gain — Vietnam’s as it heals from its history and ascends the world stage toward its future — and a eulogy to the Obama and Bourdain era, where sincerity and civility, for a short time, were given a stage.

    “Is it going to be all right?”

    While Obama and Bourdain were tour guides, we could believe it would.

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      May 2, 2023 at 1:54 PM

      Hi Jeff,

      Yes, I agree, it’s a very poignant episode – it was at the time, but even more so now, with the knowledge of what was about to happen: to Bourdain, to American politics, to the World.

      Best,

      Tom

  5. TH says:
    April 20, 2022 at 5:01 AM

    This is amazing Tom, just found ur blog after following you quite sometime in twitter. Anthony is one of my idol esp for Vietnam. Keep up the good work as always and thanks.

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      April 20, 2022 at 5:06 AM

      Thank you for the kind words!

      Great to hear you admire Bourdain too. I hope you enjoy watching/re-watching these episodes.

      Best,

      Tom

  6. Bao Tran says:
    April 9, 2021 at 8:25 AM

    Thank you for a great article as always!
    It made me miss my hometown even more.

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      April 9, 2021 at 8:47 AM

      Thank you, Bao Tran 🙂

  7. John Pearce says:
    April 7, 2021 at 3:33 AM

    Thanks, Tom, for a moving and informative article that has me regretting that I didn’t enjoy Bourdain’s work when he was with us. He was a one-off for sure and we are all poorer for his absence.

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      April 7, 2021 at 4:26 AM

      Thanks, John.

  8. Vicki Berger says:
    April 5, 2021 at 9:09 AM

    This is wonderful, Tom.
    A great tribute to Bourdain and Vietnamese food.
    I never saw his programmes but have read some of his books which i greatly enjoyed.
    Thanks
    Vicki

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      April 5, 2021 at 9:29 AM

      Thanks, Vicki.

      Yes, I enjoy his writing style too. I hope you get a chance to watch some of his TV shows sometime too.

      Tom

  9. Ben says:
    April 5, 2021 at 4:26 AM

    If you have a Google account with a US credit card you can buy episodes of No Reservations and Parts Unknown a la carte for $2 or $3 (SD or HD respectively) on Google Play. Here’s a link:

    No Reservations:
    https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/Anthony_Bourdain_No_Reservations?id=cI-ABS8T6RA&hl=en_US&gl=US

    Parts Unknown:
    https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/Anthony_Bourdain_Parts_Unknown?id=qZqWbgwkJcc&hl=en_US&gl=US

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      April 5, 2021 at 9:05 AM

      Thanks, Ben.

  10. Javier says:
    April 4, 2021 at 7:26 AM

    Man, great review.
    I didn’t know Tony because I’m Spanish and I was not interested about him. I think I first know about him when I came to Vietnam.
    I have the feeling that Vietnam is changing very fast, but mostly I don’t see it as an inconvenient but something good. We will see how things evolve in the future.
    I agree with Obama, eventually everything will be fine. The virus will be over and we will continue eating food with family and friends, and be able to travel!

    I miss Spain and Thailand!

    1. pes 2013 original 176x208
      Tom says:
      April 4, 2021 at 7:32 AM

      Thanks, Javier.

      Yes, I hope so too.

      Best,

      Tom