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!

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.

  • hyorvenn@jlai.lu
    0·
    2 years ago

    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

    • TwinTusks@outpost.zeuslink.netEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      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 …

  • Carter@feddit.ukEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • bird@beehaw.org
    0·
    2 years ago

    There are so many! The PlayDate and some of the clamshell ones look really neat!

    • aperson@beehaw.org
      0·
      2 years ago

      I am on the cusp of getting my playdate and I am very excited for it! Watching the devs in the community discord work is both inspiring and gets me excited for the creative games that are out for it and that are coming up.

  • TimTheEnchanter@beehaw.org
    0·
    2 years ago

    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!

    • seitanic@lemmy.sdf.org
      0·
      2 years ago

      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).

      • Limeaide@beehaw.org
        0·
        2 years ago

        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

  • Fedegenerate@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • Lojcs@lemm.ee
    0·
    2 years ago

    How are these not getting sued? Especially the fpga must be violating some hardware patents

    • Helvedeshunden@beehaw.org
      0·
      2 years ago

      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.

  • dillekant@slrpnk.net
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

      • dillekant@slrpnk.net
        0·
        2 years ago

        Ok we can categorise them:

        • floss engines like raptor, am2r, quake, rvgl, sonic mania, devilution etc.
        • mono / fna games like Stardew, Celeste, tmnt, etc
        • freeware games like tyrian etc. There’s a game jam version of dome keeper as well.

        Just look at portmaster for some inspiration.

  • Xperr7@kbin.social
    0·
    2 years ago

    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?

  • ArugulaZ@kbin.social
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.)

  • ChronosWing@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • daveydeeEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      Agreed, but having a pocketable handheld is a nice side piece.

  • brsrklf@compuverse.uk
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • SenorBolsa@beehaw.org
      0·
      2 years ago

      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.

  • pemmykins@beehaw.org
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      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).

      • pemmykins@beehaw.orgEnglish
        0·
        2 years ago

        Interesting, I haven’t heard of retroachievements, but they sound like a cool concept - thanks for the heads up! If you have the energy, I’m sure you could sell your miyoo for a good price second-hand locally, then upgrade. These devices seem pretty popular right now.

        • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          2 years ago

          Well, to be honest I hardly ever sell my stuff, but I would never sell this one as they are pretty much extinct lol.

          Maybe I can skip the plus model and hope for a more powerful revision which makes it worth it.