Retro Handhelds General Thread

[Bonkers225]

I have several. Retroid Flip, Miyoo Mini+, and RG351V. I just recently ordered the RG34XX, and should be receiving it next week. It's modeled after the GBA, and it looks wonderful. It also has a 120p screen, which is perfect to emulate CRTs.

 

[Dyne]

I really enjoy my Anbernic 35xx SP. It is very pocketable and comfy to play in bed.

I also have an Alldocube iplay 60 turbo (8 inch tablet) with a telescopic controller (Gamesir G8+) for DS/3DS/PSP/PS2/Android, which is a bit bigger and not pocketable but a nice way to play certain things.

 

[JusticeAvenger]

I have a R36S I got on the cheap. I’m browsing for it this afternoon.

 

[Zooey]

I really like my Retroid Pocket 4 Pro. Only part that sucks is less than a year later they came out with the 5.

 

[Twapsel]

I just recently ordered the RG34XX, and should be receiving it next week. It's modeled after the GBA, and it looks wonderful. It also has a 120p screen, which is perfect to emulate CRTs.

I really love the original GBA. I love it that much buch that before replacement IPS screens where a thing a put an GBA SP AGS101 screen inside my original GBA to have a horizontal GBA with backlight.

Still for me this device for my personal taste is too close to the original. I would have prefered that they adjusted the controll to modern standards. For my taste the d-pad should be bigger, even though that would make it look less like the original GBA. Also I dislike the smaller X and Y buttons. Many of those mods where a Raspberry Pi was put into an original GBA shell also had smaller X and Y buttons and I never understood why. Now this device also have it. With a bigger d-pad and bigger buttons I maybe would have bought it even though I swore to myself no more retro handhelds, but now I probably skip it.

But these things are a matter of personal preference. So I hope for everyone that gets the device this is how they like and enjoy it.

 

[Egg (McMuffin) Man]

I had a Retroid Pocket 3+ for a while but I never used it for 3d games so it became useless to me after I bought an Analogue Pocket. It sat in a drawer for a while and then I sold it. But I enjoyed it during the period in which I used it. They're not bad devices but I prefer to play from my actual cartridges.

 

[Spoopz]

Ive been trying to look into getting one myself though ive been going back and forth on wiether to get a retro handheld or just buy a steam deck and call it a day

i have a miyoo mini plus and love it! use it for all my retro portable needs~

i use the steam deck for more modern things!

based dejiko enjoyer. Honestly that sounds like a p decent idea, though i dont think the miyoo mini is for me, my hands cramp up bad just playing on my dsi?

 

[RX-7.62x51Gundam]

After using the Anbernic RG35xxH and 35xx2024 I can confirm the dpad on the RG40xxV is the best I have used on a retro handheld from them. I would like to eventually find something with as nice a dpad and larger than 4” 4:3 screen that is capable of 6th gen consoles.

 

[Boo Man]

So i ordered two anbernic devices and they come with a usb cable but no charging block. and apparently they need a 5v 1.5a block to charge so i ordered a couple of those and they still wont charge! Are both these devices dead on arrival or wtf am i missing?

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

So, question, in the current day is there any point to owning an OEM Sega Game Gear? That system is basically a portable Master System, and has some massive issues with capacitors. Are there any Game Gear exclusive games that are cheap enough and good enough to be worth owning an original system?

 

[Dyne]

So i ordered two anbernic devices and they come with a usb cable but no charging block. and apparently they need a 5v 1.5a block to charge so i ordered a couple of those and they still wont charge! Are both these devices dead on arrival or wtf am i missing?

Thats really weird. Never heard of one just refusing to charge, let alone 2 out of 2 being like that. I'm using an old iphone charging block that is 5v 1amp I think, and it works fine on my anbernic 35xx SP.

 

[loopy]

I recently bought a Anbernic Pap Kiii for 10 euro, its really really bad, has a constant and pretty loud hissing noise through the speaker, the screen is bad, the menu is bad, but it was only 10 bucks so I still think its pretty neat.
I was considering buying a KINHANK K36, but even at 40 I think its a bit expensive.
I'll probably buy a retrohandheld in 5 years when the cheap ones are much better and hopefully have good battery life. For now I'll make do with my hacked DSi 3DS Vita and Switch
This site is pretty neat too though: https://retrocatalog.com/

 

[Boo Man]

Thats really weird. Never heard of one just refusing to charge, let alone 2 out of 2 being like that. I'm using an old iphone charging block that is 5v 1amp I think, and it works fine on my anbernic 35xx SP.

Weird, it says to use a certified charger what ever that means, i tried an iphone 5v 1a and still nothing. Apparently if you try to charge it on anything over 2a itll fry it... so i could have fried em both. Screw anbernic anyway i ordered another miyoo mini

 

[albrown267]

I was supposed to get the Powkiddy X55 last year, but I keep forgetting. Same thing with the Anbernic RG3XX-H.

 

[marky]

I've got a Retroid Pocket 4 Pro and it's a great piece of hardware, it handles most PS2 games with no problems (some require a bit of fiddling with the emulation settings to get them to run smoothly), it also runs Wii and GameCube games smoothly (although in the case of the Wii some games such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games are unplayable due to the fact that we can't emulate the wiilots and their motion controls perfectly).
The only minuses are the fairly quiet speakers (better to play on headphones) and the somewhat small screen, but the screen alone isn't enough for me to replace it with the Retroid Pocket 5

 

[Hotwer]

My daily driver is the Ayn Odin 2, such a powerful machine that can emulate pretty much everything up to Switch and some window games thanks to Winlator, the only thing holding it back is the software, notably the emulator side.

I also have a LCD Steam Deck, thought it was going to be my daily driver but this thing is huge, chonky and very heavy. But I love how ergonomic it is despite its size and how powerful it is, I can play PC games on the go and also some of the more demanding emulators like PS3 and Xbox 360. For now I'm using it in docked mode as my second PC.

This website is useful to those who are new to the scene and wants to compare specs and stuff before buying one themselves, similar to what GSMArena for phone.

 

[Bonkers225]

My daily driver is the Ayn Odin 2, such a powerful machine that can emulate pretty much everything up to Switch and some window games thanks to Winlator, the only thing holding it back is the software, notably the emulator side.

I also have a LCD Steam Deck, thought it was going to be my daily driver but this thing is huge, chonky and very heavy. But I love how ergonomic it is despite its size and how powerful it is, I can play PC games on the go and also some of the more demanding emulators like PS3 and Xbox 360. For now I'm using it in docked mode as my second PC.

This website is useful to those who are new to the scene and wants to compare specs and stuff before buying one themselves, similar to what GSMArena for phone.

A new breakthrough is happening with Linux on Odin 2, where you can dual boot. Coming real soon. Which means playing PS3, and X-Box 360 is possible in the foreseeable future.

 

[Darklink]

Yeah the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 getting Linux is super interesting. I don't know if I'd use it, depends on how much of a hassle it is to set up, but more development is always cool.

It's such a powerful device that I don't see community support going away anytime soon, when it's more than powerful enough for any Android emulation purposes. Except maybe Windows emulation, but that's still in pretty early stages as well.

 

[Hotwer]

Looks good but still no dual screen one like DS and 3DS

 

[Dyne]

for the Flip 2 -- with that much real estate on the bottom half, it irks me that they don't use full-size buttons. I always vastly prefer a full-size Dpad and face buttons.

Alternatively, it feels like a missed chance to put the 4:3 OLED screen from their Pocket Mini on the bottom half and have the ultimate DS/3DS emulation device.

 

[Hotwer]

for the Flip 2 -- with that much real estate on the bottom half, it irks me that they don't use full-size buttons. I always vastly prefer a full-size Dpad and face buttons.

Alternatively, it feels like a missed chance to put the 4:3 OLED screen from their Pocket Mini on the bottom half and have the ultimate DS/3DS emulation device.

Yeah, that bottom layout is still as barren as their flip 1 from before. I guess the software part is what holding them back from making a dual screen device. I don't know if Android support that, if not then they'll have to come up with their own software which won't happen anytime soon

 

[Duke_11037]

Looks good but still no dual screen one like DS and 3DS

I do wonder why nobody has really done a proper dual screen? Clam shells have been in the scene for a couple years now, I feel like the next step would be the dual screens. Maybe there's not really a demand since ds's are still pretty cheap?

 

[Darklink]

It's because basically any of these handheld makers, PC or Android, are just using off the shelf parts for almost all of a given device.

Software is probably what stops it from being made, since it's pretty obvious that Android isn't really a multi-screen/multi-monitor environment.

On the handheld PC side, the Aya Neo Flip DS exists, but it's discontinued and even when it was around was ridiculously expensive. With horrible battery life.

Right now the "best" option for a good DS device would just be a one screen device similar to a 2DS.

 

[Boo Man]

guys dont buy anything Anbernic
its trash! dont waste ya money

 

[Darklink]

Just put PSX style buttons in my Odin 2 Mini, and now it really looks like a Vita lol.