29 Best Retro Handhelds Of 2023
The handheld gaming market is seriously starting to pop, but what are the best retro handhelds? This is a question we get asked a lot, so here's a list!
![29 Best Retro Handhelds Of 2023 [All Reviewed]](https://lemdro.id/pictrs/image/c1c26f45-07c1-414b-8660-ca2ad313b43f.webp?format=webp)
Do you have one of these? Do you use it? I want one but I'm afraid it's going to end up another plastic brick in a drawer.
I have the RG351MP, it's pretty nice. Solid aluminum too, so it doesn't feel cheap, but not really ergonomic for long hours of play. That's fine though, because this is the kind of device you carry around in your pocket for a short session during your commute, breaks etc. There's quite a few choices of opensource firmware that you can load onto here, and most of them have this cool app called "portmaster", which consists of native games ported over from other platforms - such as Prince of Persia (DOS), 3D Space Cadet Pinball (XP) etc, and they run really well.
My main issue with the 351MP is that although it claims to be able to emulate the Dreamcast and N64, it actually struggles with most games from those two consoles. Most notably, I wanted to play Rogue Squadron II (Dreamcast) on it and it was unplayable, the specs were too weak for it unfortunately. Which broke my heart, and I quickly lost interest in the device. I wanted a device that could comfortably emulate all consoles upto the Dreamcast, and the 351MP can only realistically handle upto the PS1.
I started looking for alternatives, and found similar drawbacks with most of these devices, none of them were capable enough to comfortably emulate the Dreamcast - unless I bought a pricey high-end device like the Aya Neo or the Steam Deck or something.
And then I realized, I could just get myself a cheap Android device from eBay (like with a bad ESN or some other non-impairing fault), pair it with a telescopic controller, and it'd be way cheaper + have better specs. So I did just that, got myself a cheap OnePlus 9 with a bad ESN for only $150 (SD 888, 8GB RAM), paired it with a Gamesir X2, loaded Dolphin emulator on it - and I was finally able to play Rogue Squadron II in all its glory - even managed to get an HD texture pack for it and it was glorious.
Eventually, I got myself a Galaxy Fold 4 as my main phone, so I didn't need the OP9 any more - my Fold 4 had better specs, plus the large 4:3-ish screen made it perfect for playing those old games.
As for my old RG351MP, it's still lying around, but I think I might sell it. The only advantage it has against my current setup is portability, but since I carry my Fold 4 everywhere, it's not really that big of an issue. Sure, I can't carry my controller everywhere either, but I'm not that desperate to want to be able to game everywhere and all the time (with physical controls).
TL;DR: Before buying a handheld, consider whether you really need that portability + physical controls, if you don't need it everywhere, then your phone (+ controller) could do a better job than most of these.
Definitely having an Android phone will be a better option for emulation than what we currently have in the market, but these damn Chinese consoles have their charm!
Also I would not use my main Android for serious gaming/emulation as I'm a battery freak and seeing it going lower than it normally does would bring a bit of anxiety to me.
Purchasing a separate Android device and attaching it to my Razer Kishi sounds like something feasible to me (or re use my current one when I'm done with it, this is my first Android device and has a SD 865).
Anyway all the SBC gaming world is amazing to me and that will never stop.
There are so many! The PlayDate and some of the clamshell ones look really neat!
My 2DS is my retro handheld.
Some of those for sub-$100 don't look awful.
I won't ever use them instead of my steam deck though.
Agreed, but having a pocketable handheld is a nice side piece.
I just learned about the whole idea of retro handhelds the other day and I had no idea there were so many options! These look like they would be really fun, but I would have no idea how to load games onto them (because it looks like they don’t use cartridges for the most part?). That’s beyond my tech knowledge, ha ha!
Most of them come already full of games. Don't worry about whether that's legal.
Lol i like that they come with games bc its easier, but i feel like once the big companies catch on, that will be the downfall of the industry
Emulators run ROM images of the cartridges. There are some rather arcane devices that can create these for you, but most people just download them (usually from a website or torrent).
I have the RG35XX + 128GB Sandisc SD card + GarlicOS + Best set go. As a toe in the water set up it's awesome, 4 stops to have damn near everything PS1 and before worth playing, all for under a hund. Just add your few nostalgia hits that are missing and you're done, like Worms hello?
I picked it over the Miyoo Mini Plus because it was cheaper on the day. They seem much of a muchness, for the most part the USP of either is meh to me, though I did use the mini hdmi for some level/life shenanigans once... I think I would have been happy with whichever one I got.
It certainly has its quirks with the menu button, I never tried analogue stick games with an external controller, because I've tonnes of games to get through before I think about Ape Escape.
I got the powkiddy X55. I only use it for ports. I really feel like the true power of these devices is in ports and native linux ARM games.
What good native Linux ARM games are there?
What I expected when I read "Retro Handheld".
Article fails to mention that the Analogue Pocket is not strictly for just cartridges. It can also play roms from a ton of different systems using FPGA cores.
Steam deck is high on my shopping list. I would have bought it already if my phone and laptop both didn’t need to be replaced first.
Phones like 4-5 years old and laptop has problems with the keyboard and webcam.
It's an amazing system. Valve is now selling refurbished models for a 20% discount. Presumably they'll continue selling them in the future when maybe you've got room for it.
Yeah! I’m really looking forward to it.
Not sure how I feel about the ranking of the RG35XX compared to the MM+ (or how they called the RG35XX weak when it can emulate some DS and PSP through Koriki). Also, the 351V higher than the 353V? Tf?
Now before we go anywhere, the handhelds we are talking about are emulators. That means handheld consoles that use ROMS to emulate old retro games, so there’s no 3DS or PSP being featured here
.. But an unlocked PSP can absolutely run old retro games through emulators
My thought exactly, I have read some pieces regarding the age of PSP and how the newer retro handhelds are stronger, but as I read further many of the handhelds aren't powerful enough to emulate PSP ...
My setup is the cringe Retrod Pocket 2 (dated AF not recommended).
The RG351V arguably has the same performance as the RP2 but it has a better and nicer touch and feel as the OS (I have it with AmberELEC).
And the Miyoo Mini which is awesome, but I still use more the RG351V since this one has Retroachivements support.
I would love something the size of the RG405M but ever so slightly more powerful so that it can play Gamecube without issue. And maybe plastic instead of metal so it's a bit lighter; I have a metal Anbernic device and it's a beefy boi.
That's the dream mate.
I have a Retroid Pocket 3+ and an Ambernic RG351v.
The RG is a super Game Boy looking device that handles 8-16 bit very well as well as PlayStation 1 (if you can read the text). Runs Linux and I have a few Linux and DOS Box games installed such as a port of Commander Keen (Genius) and Epic Pinball as well as WinXP Space cadet pinball just cause.
The RP3 is a widescreen Android device that does that + PSP/Dreamcast/Saturn/N64 very well and some GameCube and PS2 (it's picky). Also it's android so native Android games can be played on it as well to an extinct. For some reason it won't let me install the Android versions of Doom., But it can play CoD Mobile.
Honestly I would recommend the RG3XX for the low cost end as you don't need that analog stick much and RG3+ on the higher end. If you need more, steam deck although you ain't fitting that even in a JNCO pocket.
Hey they've got the playdate in there!
Their comparison to the old school Gameboy screen is a bit ridiculous honestly. Sure it's not backlit, but it doesn't need to be, if there is any kind of light, you can really see perfectly.
I had a Gameboy and an OG GBA, I know what it's like to desperately look for the right angle/lighting/contrast slider position to try and make sense of what the hell was on screen. Some games with poor contrast like Donkey Kong Land were torture.
Yeah, the OG pea soup gameboy screen is an engineering marvel for it's time and the game boy pocket is even better, the GBA is too, but an utter failure at actually providing a good user experience.
I bought a miyoo mini plus a few weeks ago. It’s been good, I used to play snes/gba games on my phone when I used android, but now that I’ve moved to iPhone that’s much less possible (I know it’s possible - no need to tell me).
The miyoo hardware is good, buttons are clicky, screen is excellent, cpu could be faster but it can run the one psx game I had lying around (THPS1), so I’m fairly impressed.
The software was fine but installing OnionOS added some extra features which was nice - full english menus, OTA updates, the gameswitcher, etc.
Even though it’s another screen to stare at, I think it’s better than looking at my phone. I’ve uninstalled a bunch of games from the phone as well, after realising how frustrating and predatory modern mobile games are. I’m happy to not internet games on my phone and work my way through the massive library of games from the golden age of gaming. Not interested in grinding for drops or lootboxes in genshin, arknights or the other big mobage.
I am a Miyoo Mini V2 user and I love the heck out of it, but stopped using it since I knew about Retroachivements (because of the lack of wifi signal)... Tbh the plus model seems like a good option to me as it integrates that hardware feature... But I'm trying to keep my collection simple (more like I have too, I am poor).
I had a Miyoo Mini Plus for a while but just swapped to using my phone with a Backbone controller. Just seemed to make a lot more sense.
Whats the biggest screen device that would play untiss psx and / or psp ?
I've got a Data Frog because it was so cheap. I'm sure there's better out there, but I won't buy one until it's both cheap and capable of running Dreamcast games at full speed. (Possibly GameCube as well; I'd certainly appreciate that.)
I have a retroid pocket 3+ and a funky S. the rp3+ has seen maybe 180 hours of use since I got it last year. gamecube and PS2 games are a little fiddly, both emulators run much better with versions that don't come preloaded. it's gotten the most mileage with psp games. it will also run a version of source engine for portal/half life, and openMW for Morrowind. those also take some doing with moving install files from PC to their respective folders. Highly recommend.
the funkey s is a delightful little handheld that's seen probably 30 hours of use, mostly pokemon gold edition, tied with chrono cross. it's honestly too small but that's also the reason it ends up conveniently in my bag or glove box until I suddenly need to kill half an hour. the resolution is a little poor for GBA/PSX games. shines with GBC. I don't recommend it at the $80 price point unless you're very enthusiastic about the small size.
How are these not getting sued? Especially the fpga must be violating some hardware patents
Remember that one of the few positives the DMCA included was exceptions for interoperability. Also, these pieces of hardware are generally analyzed and reimplemented rather than copied - which steps outside of patents in general, as far as I know (IANAL). Many ship with roms and games included, though, which is generally not allowed in most countries.
these pieces of hardware are generally analyzed and reimplemented rather than copied
This process is known as clean room design if anyone wants to do more reading about this
laughs in China laws
Yeah I mean fuck the DMCA in general but I can't imagine the adhoc fuckery that would have replaced it.
