Best Retro Handheld

I've taken the plunge this morning and ordered an Indigo RG34XX.

Absolutely no need for it with my Steam Deck and Miyoo Mini+ but look at that form factor! It was a toss up between the Indigo and the transparent green but after seeing videos I went for the Indigo.
 
My RG35xxSP has been playing up all weekend.

Thursday, the repurposed SD card it came with that I put MuOS on died.
Friday, So I used a new Lexar card and put MuOS on it. Since I used a 2 card arrangement it felt easy to do. Loaded up fine and kept all the settings.
Sunday....lost all the settings and doesn't read the ROMS in SD2.

Decided to wipe it all and start again and using just 1 SD card this time.

Also, realised I used a 256G SD card for my Miyoo Mini Plus...WTF was I thinking, I only have 40gig of data on there. So downsized that to 128gig and saving the 256gig for RP5 I think.
 
Got the TrimUI Brick...no clear buttons like in all the videos, no screen protectors either (not bothered)....but I wanted those clear buttons....ah well.

edit - I forgot I selected the no cards option so can't even test it out at my lunch break.

VcHGStDh.jpg
 
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Got the TrimUI Brick...no clear buttons like in all the videos, no screen protectors either (not bothered)....but I wanted those clear buttons....ah well.

VcHGStDh.jpg
Same, no extras. Would have liked a screenprotector just so I could be a little more careless with chucking in bag when travelling.

Wouldn't be surprised if some 3d print models come up for the buttons, would probably work well with a translucent filament.
 
I got my RP 5 today. Shame I can't have until christmas day. Got a SanDisk 1tb sd card to go with it. :)
Mine arrived today too! Tested it all works but im finding less time to configure everything so sticking with my TrimUI Brick for now and might get an Odin 2 Portal when its released. Selling the RP5 and hopefully ill get back what I paid for it and the case from PartTimeCAD.
Need to focus on more boring life stuff like fitness, work, wedding planning, future kid plans blabla... (whilst also playing Chromatic Tetris of course)
 
Got the TrimUI Brick...no clear buttons like in all the videos, no screen protectors either (not bothered)....but I wanted those clear buttons....ah well.

edit - I forgot I selected the no cards option so can't even test it out at my lunch break.

VcHGStDh.jpg
You know you can test it without even a card.
It comes with stock os on the 8gb internal storage - You should be able to power it up with no card in. It'll say no card inserted or something but you might be able to get to options.
When updating stockos / crossmix / minui it writes the changes to the internal storage, instead of the os being installed on the sd card.
 
You know you can test it without even a card.
It comes with stock os on the 8gb internal storage - You should be able to power it up with no card in. It'll say no card inserted or something but you might be able to get to options.
When updating stockos / crossmix / minui it writes the changes to the internal storage, instead of the os being installed on the sd card.

Oh nice.

I have a 64G card coming, the only other spare card I have is 256G. I really want to try it or set it up tonight!
 
I'm asking this out of naivety, it's not a loaded question but why do people bother with all these myriad of Android devices just to play games? They could play on their phone or say get a steam deck which can play pretty much everything.

For example, there are literally hundreds of devices that can play super Nintendo and other 16-bit games. Like how many do you really need?
Phone and controller are not the most comfy setup. Yes they can play most games but what if you need to make/take a call? The new handhelds are being made primarily for emulation both in hardware and software to maximise the experience for a reasonable price.
I have a steamdeck but find it too heavy for longer sessions. It is a great bit of kit, but not what I want for retro gaming.
 
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Phone and controller are not the most comfy setup. Yes they can play most games but what if you need to make/take a call? The new handhelds are being made primarily for emulation both in hardware and software to maximise the experience for a reasonable price.
I have a steamdeck but find it too heavy for longer sessions. It is a great bit of kit, but not what I want for retro gaming.

Maybe I worded it badly. I didn't necessarily mean phone. I mean there's got to be a thousand devices that look just like an old game boy. What is incentive to keep buying a new one? It's not like game boy games are hard to emulate.
The only one I really like to look of was the forgot the name? (Gameboy thing about £200) and that was just because it looked cool and like Raymond said some people like to just collect stuff
 
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Maybe I worded it badly. I didn't necessarily mean phone. I mean there's got to be a thousand devices that look just like an old game boy. What is incentive to keep buying a new one? It's not like game boy games are hard to emulate.
The only one I really like to look of was the forgot the name? (Gameboy thing about £200) and that was just because it looked cool and like Raymond said some people like to just collect stuff

There is that "Collecting" element for some, but in general if you only want older stuff (say PS1 and down) there is little need to buy a new device - but the quality is getting better, different screens, sticks, etc so the hardware itself is improving all time even if the CPU/memory isn't really needing to be any more powerful.

Personally I hate using my phone for gaming even though its technically more powerful than my Odin 2 and always found an add-on controller just to be extra faff.
I also found something like the Steam Deck to just be too large for carrying everyday alongside my laptop, etc.
 
Maybe I worded it badly. I didn't necessarily mean phone. I mean there's got to be a thousand devices that look just like an old game boy. What is incentive to keep buying a new one? It's not like game boy games are hard to emulate.
The only one I really like to look of was the forgot the name? (Gameboy thing about £200) and that was just because it looked cool and like Raymond said some people like to just collect stuff

1 - I find setting them up part of the fun, even though it is quite tedious...
2 - Collecting them
3 - I love tactile feeling of them, when they are well made.

As for playing the games, that's like lower down the list. Because it is the same selection of games in all of them pretty much, aside the fact that I don't put N64 games in consoles without the stick.

This is all true because they are relatively cheap, £50 or less in most instances. I wouldn't have bought so many if they were £100 or even £80. I have the Steam Deck so I wouldn't touch devices like the Odin 2 and I am still on the fence for the RP5.
 
So is the Analogue Pocket a good one? Love the look of it and I do like physical media.

Yes, if you plan on getting GBA or GB games then the Analogue Pocket is great.

If you just want GB or GBC then there is the Funnyplaying GBC though, you can get them already made on ebay or Etsy even for less than half of the Analogue Pocket.
 
Maybe I worded it badly. I didn't necessarily mean phone. I mean there's got to be a thousand devices that look just like an old game boy. What is incentive to keep buying a new one? It's not like game boy games are hard to emulate.
The only one I really like to look of was the pocket station? (Gameboy thing about £200) and that was just because it looked cool and like Raymond said some people like to just collect stuff
It all depends on your requirements. Best way is to work out which era you want to play, and see what devices best support it. Then decide which meets size, battery and weight requirements. There are entry level handhelds for £20-£40, and then beasts like steamdeck and AYANEO which can go to £1000. I went with RG Cube as screen is great for 3DS games whilst still being portable.
And collectors will always collect - hard to make sense of the desire. As George Mallory said about why he tries to climb mountains "Because it is there". Spoiler he died on 3rd Everest attempt - there is no logic.
 
And collectors will always collect - hard to make sense of the desire. As George Mallory said about why he tries to climb mountains "Because it is there". Spoiler he died on 3rd Everest attempt - there is no logic.

Many reasons - Some collect as think they will appreciate in value, some collect because they look nice, moreso in unsealed boxes. Climbing everest is slightly different to collecting stamps/model cars/handhelds/anything! That's the physical challenge / test of the mind and body (and wallet!)
 
Many reasons - Some collect as think they will appreciate in value, some collect because they look nice, moreso in unsealed boxes. Climbing everest is slightly different to collecting stamps/model cars/handhelds/anything! That's the physical challenge / test of the mind and body (and wallet!)
Of course there is differences between collecting and climbing mountains. As there is a slight difference between mass produced items and older items that are scarce. I am not sure if having every handheld produced in 2024 would appreciate in value as there seems a glut.
 
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