Do any of the GBA clone handhelds now hold up well for general handheld emulation?

[thetwaz]

I know this is sort of handheld gaming, but it's emulation really.

I've been eyeing up the RP34xxSP, Miyoo Flip and some of the other devices in a similar category. I know some had teething issues, but now some of the manufacturing and OS issues (including non-native ones) have bedded in, how are people finding them?

I love my steam deck, but have been craving something that's a bit less of a chore to carry around for GB, GBA, Game Gear and perhaps SNES, NES and Mega Drive emulation. Maybe PS1 and N64 at a stretch.

Edit: I had also wondered about getting hold of a real GBA and an Everdrive. Equally interested in that.

 

[Bonkers225]

Absolutely. There are only 2 I recommend. Avoid the Miyoo Flip.

Powkiddy V10
RG34xx

 

[rootCompute]

I've had an RG35XXSP for over a year now, it's great, I still use it. I've had to replace the internal button membrane but otherwise, I can't complain much. Has great custom firmware and support for a lot of different games. PortMaster is awesome for playing modern indie games, though mine is currently broken for some reason.

Should handle all the systems you just mentioned, I've had good luck with PSP too. The controls are going to be limiting if you want to play anything that requires thumbsticks. If you don't need the thumbsticks, I think it's still a great buy! It's easily pocketable too, though if you want something smaller, I've heard good things about the GKD Pixel 2

 

[qw90700]

I love my steam deck, but have been craving something that's a bit less of a chore to carry around for GB, GBA, Game Gear and perhaps SNES, NES and Mega Drive emulation. Maybe PS1 and N64 at a stretch.

Edit: I had also wondered about getting hold of a real GBA and an Everdrive. Equally interested in that.

At the time I did consider using GBA as emulator device but then I learned it suck at SNES so I scratched the idea and ended up using a PSP for it.

To answer your question for example these days I keep hearing the best around is Anbernic RG405V regarding "easier to carry around" ones for it can even play PS2 games and it looks like this lol:

 

[Zooey]

Miyoo Mini Plus, probably the best bang for your buck, and the battery can be replaced later on.
Retroid Pocket Classic. A newer device that is well made and quite powerful.

 

[diet_orange]

I have an older Bittboy Pocket Go and it's pretty good for Gameboy, GBA, PC-Engine, NES, and most Genesis titles, but struggles to do much beyond that (PS1? Yeah, no thanks and it can't even handle the transparencies in Super Metroid)

Newer handhelds certainly have me considering upgrading

 

[thetwaz]

Thanks - definitely need to look into the Pixel. From my brief read of the reviews, the analogue sticks on the 34 are really uncomfortable to use, so I think I would need to limit it to buttons.

Absolutely. There are only 2 I recommend. Avoid the Miyoo Flip.

Powkiddy V10
RG34xx

I've missed the powkiddy for some reason. Any opinions on the strengths of one over the other?

Post automatically merged: Sep 8, 2025

Also - has anyone got any thoughts or experience with the RG slide?

 

[Gbafan118]

I personally haven't use any gba handheld clones, since I've only played my physical gba sp/gbc.
(not yet at least, I might get a gba handheld clone, but I have seen them in stores every blue moon, bit not recently, if I would give a gba handheld a try, I'm unsure which one to pick.)

 

[thetwaz]

I personally haven't use any gba handheld clones, since I've only played my physical gba sp/gbc.
(not yet at least, I might get a gba handheld clone, but I have seen them in stores every blue moon, bit not recently, if I would give a gba handheld a try, I'm unsure which one to pick.)

Do you use original carts or an everdrive?

 

[revck]

Absolutely. There are only 2 I recommend. Avoid the Miyoo Flip.

Powkiddy V10
RG34xx

I opened this thread to say that I just ordered a Miyoo flip (I actually did it)... Ooops..!
Anyway hoping mine is fine..


The original reason to open the thread was: yes modern handelds are very powerful for retro gaming, most can play effortlessly up to PS1 (I believe quite.. all). Whereas if you go above 50/100$ mark you can get to PSP/Dreamcast/DS/3DS.

PS2 and Switch are for the most powerful devices out there like the Ayn Odin 2 and require modern CPUs like SnapDragon 8 Gen 2 forward.

 

[thetwaz]

Thanks - very aware that the wider set of handhelds can do some pretty awesome things, my Steam Deck can do most of what I want; I'm interested in the more pocketable devices and a bit obsessed with the GBA SP format for some reason!

 

[Vardalis]

Yeah, they're pretty decent I'd say. Not too expensive now either really.

If you want something that looks like the real thing, go for the RG34XX (Gameboy Advance) or RG35XXSP (Gameboy Advance SP). If you want something more like a PSP that's cheap as well, go for the TrimUI Smart Pro. Otherwise, a Miyoo Mini will probably do the job.

Keep in mind, the suggestions I made above cap out at around Dreamcast (RG34XX, RG35XXSP) or below (TrimUI Smart Pro, Miyoo Mini). If you want anything better you'll need to go for one of the higher end devices.