Best Retro Handheld

Guest2 said:
AYANEO Flip DS? Its a chunky monster and pretty expensive - $1140 32GB/2TB / $1400 64GB/2TB

AYANEO Flip DS vs. AYN Thor Specs Comparison - Retro Catalog

Compare specifications, features and performance of AYANEO Flip DS vs. AYN Thor, and visualize the size difference
retrocatalog.com retrocatalog.com

AYN Thor would be my choice for flip but im eyeing up the Odin 3 with the SD 8 Elite. Just slightly annoyed at the change to Nintendo button layout.

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Eyeing the Odin 3 myself; missing having PS2 emulation since I sold my Odin 2!
 
Bubo said:
I have a 3080 now and my next gpu will probably be a 6090. So by the time a Steam Deck 2 comes out the 60 series should already be on the go. My laptop also needs upgrading too really. I guess what I am saying is that depending on how you see things, things like investing in a more powerful handheld device than you already at a certain moment in time could also depend on where you are will all your other tech cycle at the time and what gets the next wedge. This is veering off topic somewhat though as handhelds for retro gaming don't need to be that powerful really.
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Doesnt it all depends on what you're trying to play / do with a handheld/laptop/gaming PC?

I only really use my gaming desktop machine for Warzone and browsing. Odin 2 mini for some retro and Winlator - Winlator currently for THPS 3 & 4 remastered, TrimUI brick for retro only when im travelling light.
 
Cavallino said:
Ah I just realised this handheld retro thread! I assumed it was all handhelds.
Thanks for your input.
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meh, retro is now a combination of modern and retro. Try emulating (for example) retro Win9X games through PCem inside Winlator and it'll make any, or at least most handhelds crumble. Similar with running WinUAE on Winlator emulating A1200, things start slowing down and devices heat up fast!

I managed to find an hdmi to micro hdmi cable on leeds outside market today. Suprisingly it works and outputs odin 2 mini to tv / monitor fine. Not bad I dont think for £1.

I’ve ordered 2x Xbox wireless controllers for £86, fancy some 2 player games on big screen like Virtua tennis 2. I have a feeling control setup wont be as simple as i expect, but at least they’re xbox controllers so should detect them fine.
 
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Xbox Wireless Controller – Robot White Series X|S, One, and Windows Devices​


Got a couple of these for £43 each. Effortless connectivity with Odin 2 mini pro and tried 2 player Virtua tennis 2 (Dreamcast) on both pads. Working instantly without even changing any settings.
 
Hi all, just thinking ahead for a Christmas present and could do with some advice.

After something that will play primarily Gameboy games, but would also be nice to play PS1 games.
Budget will likely be around £100 so are there any decent suggestions, and are these sort of handhelds largely ready to go, or is much tinkering required?
 
Armageus said:
Hi all, just thinking ahead for a Christmas present and could do with some advice.

After something that will play primarily Gameboy games, but would also be nice to play PS1 games.
Budget will likely be around £100 so are there any decent suggestions, and are these sort of handhelds largely ready to go, or is much tinkering required?
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Most are ready to go out of the box, you may just need to add some of your own legal roms to the SD card.

Some of the really cheap devices come with poor quality SD cards so it is recommended to use a branded replacement. But even Anbernic devices around fifty quid come with a decent Kioxia card these days (they used to be part of Toshiba).

There are a few devices I'd recommend, the Miyoo Mini Plus is a great handheld, but it may be a bit small ergonomically but it's also very pocketable. This will work out of the box but you can easily flash an SD card to run Onion OS which is a superb OS and much better than the included one.There are a ton of videos on this device and how to flash.

Anbernic have a variety to choose from. You have flips, horizontals, verticals and a few screen sizes so you can really go with whatever best fits your needs and what you feel is most comfortable.

I like the RG40XX V, it's a slightly larger screen (4") and has a lovely look to it. Personally I use MUOS rather than the stock operating system, has some great functionality and I find it nicer to use. It lacks a right analog stick though so depending what you play this could be an issue.

The Brick has a lot of good reviews and people swear by it. Has a higher resolution screen but still compact, not used it myself.

All of the above will play up to and including PS1 no problem.

You could also consider something like the Funny Playing FPGBC if you're really interested in GB over anything else. It's hardware emulation rather than software emulation. You can buy it prebuilt but usually comes as a kit you put together yourself which really appeals to me, plus you can choose your own shell and button colour combos.

It is designed to run original GB and GBC carts which might not be what you're looking for, but multi carts exist. Obv PSX won't be an option with this one.
 
Armageus said:
Hi all, just thinking ahead for a Christmas present and could do with some advice.

After something that will play primarily Gameboy games, but would also be nice to play PS1 games.
Budget will likely be around £100 so are there any decent suggestions, and are these sort of handhelds largely ready to go, or is much tinkering required?
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Do you want vertical or horizontal?

Primarily Gameboy id go with vertical like a TrimUI Brick, Retroid pocket classic or RG40XX V.
Out of those, probably the Pocket classic as it has OLED screen, snapdragon and Adreno which are more compatible with a lot of emulators. 144 usd inc delivery, so £106.

Retroid Pocket Classic vs. Anbernic RG-40XXV Specs Comparison - Retro Catalog

Compare specifications, features and performance of Retroid Pocket Classic vs. Anbernic RG-40XXV, and visualize the size difference
retrocatalog.com retrocatalog.com

Personally I would go for the classic 6 as its 6 button layout (I love Saturn) but there is retro 4 button and other options - https://www.goretroid.com/en-gb/products/retroid-pocket-classic?variant=47137891909856

Horizontal there's a 'Mangmi Air X' for 90 USD that can do PSP, Dreamcast and some other systems. Pretty incredible for the price. Althought i've not seen it for $90


...so to sum up, id got with a Retroid pocket classic unless you need analog sticks or have money to buy a Pocket-DMG - https://ayaneo.com/product/AYANEO-Pocket-DMG
 
Well, I don't know how I talked myself into it but i've order a Retroid Pocket Classic (classic 6 sg - the black one)
Vertical for GBC, Amiga, Arcade and maybe some Dreamcast on the OLED. Seems a reasonably sensible buy for ~£110 and should be re-sellable quite easily if not / I dont use it much.
 
I have lost the love for my Retroid Pocket 5 at the moment as I think I have finished tinkering with it and now looking for the next thing. Will prolly sell it to make space for the Thor or the Odin 3 :D
 
Lustral said:
I have lost the love for my Retroid Pocket 5 at the moment as I think I have finished tinkering with it and now looking for the next thing. Will prolly sell it to make space for the Thor or the Odin 3 :D
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I do this. Ive got an Odin 2 mini pro and have switch back to a TrimUI brick for retro. Modern and higher end i still use the Odin though.
 
Guest2 said:
I do this. Ive got an Odin 2 mini pro and have switch back to a TrimUI brick for retro. Modern and higher end i still use the Odin though.
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Yeah I think I enjoy tinkering the thing instead of actually properly gaming on them. My TrimUI Brick is set up as I wanted with PakUI but I havent really gamed on it. Also same with my Smart Pro too. Also I been messing with a S25 Edge as a gaming phone using a Backbone controller which seems to work well too.
 
Guest2 said:
Well, I don't know how I talked myself into it but i've order a Retroid Pocket Classic (classic 6 sg - the black one)
Vertical for GBC, Amiga, Arcade and maybe some Dreamcast on the OLED. Seems a reasonably sensible buy for ~£110 and should be re-sellable quite easily if not / I dont use it much.
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I'm tempted by the Classic, the old screen looks nice, I've nearly pulled the trigger a couple of times... What was delivery to the UK costing?

Android as the OS is a double edged sword, it has good power management but you're dealing with a lot more bloat and junk than a dedicated retro device. Although using ESDE or something similar and making it default would hide a lot of that.

It's a powerful CPU but the GPU isn't meant to be that great so some shaders are supposedly not an option which is odd given it's a higher spec device.

The lack of analogue stick would be fine on a device focused at the lower end but this can do a lot more so I'm not sure why they didn't include one.

It's basically the ultimate 16bit / PSX / Saturn device if you go for the 6 button job. Must. Not. Buy... :)
 
KraniX said:
I'm tempted by the Classic, the old screen looks nice, I've nearly pulled the trigger a couple of times... What was delivery to the UK costing?

Android as the OS is a double edged sword, it has good power management but you're dealing with a lot more bloat and junk than a dedicated retro device. Although using ESDE or something similar and making it default would hide a lot of that.

It's a powerful CPU but the GPU isn't meant to be that great so some shaders are supposedly not an option which is odd given it's a higher spec device.

The lack of analogue stick would be fine on a device focused at the lower end but this can do a lot more so I'm not sure why they didn't include one.

It's basically the ultimate 16bit / PSX / Saturn device if you go for the 6 button job. Must. Not. Buy... :)
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Shipping was 15 USD (4PX)
I agree and use Daijisho on Android devices.
I woud take any Snapdragon / Adreno combo over the more expensive (and worse) T820 / Mali combo. The latter still has pretty poor support in many emulators. Shaders wise, I tend to find some of the lightweight ones are the best 'CRT easymode' for example, but I tend not to use any shaders on my Odin 2 and just go for upscaling. Dreamcast for example i'll upscale 3x (1920 x 1440) and PSX Swanstation to 5x (1080p)

Based on reviews, it sounds like Retroid didnt think they knew how well the Snapdragon G1 Gen 2 chip would run so didnt include an analog, that and if they did include one people wouldnt bother buying other Retroid devices that do have sticks (such as the RP mini / RP5)
Basically "we cant make a device that has it all, otherwise we wont shift other products for years"

Edit, another reason for me getting the Classic was wanting to emulate Amiga. Amiga is pretty hard to emulate for an older system (especially A1200) and on the TrimUI Brick games dont always run at full speed. The aspect ratio on the classic looks ideal for Amiga (5:4)
 
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chrismscotland said:
Pre-ordered the Odin 3 Ultra... nowhere near need 24GB of RAM but will be nice to have 1TB storage!
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I've held off, for now.

Does anyone know if its possible to clone or copy storage from one Android device to another?
I've lost count of the amount of times i've setup emulators on different Android handhelds now, surely there is a quicker way than setting everything up again.
e.g. I would like to copy contents from my Odin 2 mini pro to Retroid pocket classic. Will probably end doing a new setup, at least its all fresh again then
 
Got a Retroid Flip 2 arriving tomorrow, can't wait to have a fiddle!! Moved on my Razer Edge, it was great, but a faff. I LOVE a clamshell console
 
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