Best Retro Handheld
- Thread starter MurphyBrix
- Start date
Caporegime
How many have you got now?
(I should get a photo of all mine)
(I should get a photo of all mine)
5... Odin 2, RG35XX, RG35XX H, RGB30 and the RG 300X.
The 300X is crap, knew instantly I would be returning that.
The original RG35XX is good but I prefer horizontal devices, hence the RGB30 and H. I won't keep both, will have a play this week and decide and return the other.
The Odin 2 is brilliant and you might wonder why I'm buying others if that's so good but you don't always want to lug a hefty 300 quid device around.
The cheaper handhelds are great to pick up and play, and I'll still look after it but don't have to be quite so careful with a 60 device, might even let the kids use it... heh.
Caporegime
I had the RG35XX, gave that away as a present as I also have the Miyoo Mini +. The Miyoo Mini with wifi and better triggers just feels nicer to me. Although I found the screen in the RG35XX to be nicer.
I also bought the Miyoo Mini (v2) before it blew up a year ago.
RP3 Flip...should really sell that, I never use it.
RG35XX H. This is probably my fav horizontal compact, the sticks are nice, even on older games.
Soldato
Didn't know that. Downloaded it and works good. This should be a built in feature for the OS tbh.
I did try a search and it worked well.
Many of the Apps have been developed since Black Seraph last worked on GarlicOS 1.4.9. Its no longer in development and im sure there are many many apps, ports and other things since 1.4.9 was released.
It would be like saying to Microsoft to add new features to Windows 98.
Ironically, Win9X had a better search function that Win10/11
The search in Windows now is shockingly bad
Tiny bit off topic:
I bought one of these playstation classic mini things when they came out. After the initial fun of the built in games and swapping those games for my own I got bored and it sat in a drawer. Anyone know how that compares to an rg35xxh or other retro handheld and if the same sort of stuff can be done on it? I don't think batocera and stuff like that existed back then, but I could be wrong as I'm a semi noob with this stuff.
rp2000
I bought one of these playstation classic mini things when they came out. After the initial fun of the built in games and swapping those games for my own I got bored and it sat in a drawer. Anyone know how that compares to an rg35xxh or other retro handheld and if the same sort of stuff can be done on it? I don't think batocera and stuff like that existed back then, but I could be wrong as I'm a semi noob with this stuff.
rp2000
I forgot to reply to this. I only tried a couple of psp games but I couldn't get lumines at 60fps maybe 45fps and choppy audio. I just assume other titles would be even worse.
DC both crazy taxis drop to 30-40fps.
I don't care really as I bought it for PS1 and SNES. Psp obviously borders as the rg35xxh is 4:3 and I think DC is widescreen as well?
Anyway if I can get Lumines 1 & 2 working on ppsspp at 60fps that would be awesome. Even with the borders I'd still hammer those games as I have on every Sony device I've owned, that's it available on. For me its Tetris for the modern era.
rp2000
I tried Lumines and Lumines 2 on latest StockOS. Both seem to work great for me, fps shows solid 30 (presuming its a 30fps game or at least its not changing from 30) Audio is fine.
Try the following ppsspp settings.
Fullscreen, 0.78 aspect ratio (not as stretched a 'stretch' but fill a bit more of the screen)
Frameskip off
Lazy texture caching (speedup) enabled
Bezier curve quality - low
hardware transform - on
software skinning - on
AF - off
texture filtering - nearest
DC, some games are better than others but its not going to be perfect DC. 30-40fps is easily playable for Crazytaxi, especially for a £50 device.
.
@rp2000 also try skip buffer effects ON and skip GPU readblocks ON.
Might cause some graphical glitches in some games but will be faster. Just been playing Lumines 2, fantastic game but im still rubbish. Max score 28 on 60 second time attack
edit - now 30 >> 33
Might cause some graphical glitches in some games but will be faster. Just been playing Lumines 2, fantastic game but im still rubbish. Max score 28 on 60 second time attack
edit - now 30 >> 33
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@rp2000 also try skip buffer effects ON and skip GPU readblocks ON.
Might cause some graphical glitches in some games but will be faster. Just been playing Lumines 2, fantastic game but im still rubbish. Max score 28 on 60 second time attack
edit - now 30 >> 33
Ok, Now I realised the issue. Having played the PS4 remastered version (on PS5) version most recently they are 60fps! The PSP version is supposed to be 30fps, which is why it feels choppy to me and it's been years since I played it on the original hardware!
Opened Batocera, changed to libretoppsspp, reset core options, and solid 30fps in Lumines 1, without any other changes. I can see frameskip is off, but that is probably the default batocera config. Solid 30fps in time attack at least, will play the longer modes in a bit to see if copes when the levels/music/skins change.
1st 3 attempts at 60 sec time attack were 31>30>38. On my PS5 my high score is 60!
Edit: There is a core option called "Duplicate frames in 30hz games". For me it helps a lot as I got a score of 45 instantly after that change! I'm gonna try with my PS4 controller over bluetooth and see how close to 60 I can get!
Edit2:
rp2000
Last edited:
So I decided to return the RGB30, the screen is lovely but the cheap build quality, poor dpad & buttons and lack of ergonomics and overall larger size made me feel it wasn't worth keeping.
Still undecided on the RG35XX H as controls are nice and it is small so is easy to carry about and slip into a pocket.
But the lower quality screen and lack of a decent power save mode is putting me off. Plus I'm not sure if it's a bit too small, need a few longer gaming sessions to see.
Still undecided on the RG35XX H as controls are nice and it is small so is easy to carry about and slip into a pocket.
But the lower quality screen and lack of a decent power save mode is putting me off. Plus I'm not sure if it's a bit too small, need a few longer gaming sessions to see.
Caporegime
I think my favourite still is the Miyoo Mini Plus, mostly because I only play 16bit or below games mostly and I like the Gameboy style design.
p.s. it's currently about £35 on Aliexpress. Just bought one for the gf for her birthday.
p.s. it's currently about £35 on Aliexpress. Just bought one for the gf for her birthday.
Showing as 43 now, might have a look at the start of next month when the extra offers kick in.
Keen to give onion a try, looks like a decent OS.
So now I'm thinking about the Retroid Pocket 2S... 
Been around a bit I know but I play mainly 16 bit era and below and is decent spec so that's fine, and dpad is above the stick so that's another tick and is horizontal so for me that's more comfortable.
It's small and portable, not a big boy to lug around, and cheap enough that I I'd let the kids use it (they don't go near my Odin 2).
Runs Android, so I know the power save stuff should work as pretty much every other Linux based system can't seem to get this right which is such a pain.
I have the beta of Emulation Station on Android and that's great so far but not delved into it much.
Screen is the sort of size I'd expect, hope the quality is better than the Anbernic devices I've had so far.
Been around a bit I know but I play mainly 16 bit era and below and is decent spec so that's fine, and dpad is above the stick so that's another tick and is horizontal so for me that's more comfortable.
It's small and portable, not a big boy to lug around, and cheap enough that I I'd let the kids use it (they don't go near my Odin 2).
Runs Android, so I know the power save stuff should work as pretty much every other Linux based system can't seem to get this right which is such a pain.
I have the beta of Emulation Station on Android and that's great so far but not delved into it much.
Screen is the sort of size I'd expect, hope the quality is better than the Anbernic devices I've had so far.
Nice, remember Batocera also has ppsspp standalone emulator (coming to MuOS very soon in testing)Ok, Now I realised the issue. Having played the PS4 remastered version (on PS5) version most recently they are 60fps! The PSP version is supposed to be 30fps, which is why it feels choppy to me and it's been years since I played it on the original hardware!
Opened Batocera, changed to libretoppsspp, reset core options, and solid 30fps in Lumines 1, without any other changes. I can see frameskip is off, but that is probably the default batocera config. Solid 30fps in time attack at least, will play the longer modes in a bit to see if copes when the levels/music/skins change.
1st 3 attempts at 60 sec time attack were 31>30>38. On my PS5 my high score is 60!
Edit: There is a core option called "Duplicate frames in 30hz games". For me it helps a lot as I got a score of 45 instantly after that change! I'm gonna try with my PS4 controller over bluetooth and see how close to 60 I can get!
Edit2:
rp2000
The reason I decided against an RP2S was that it only has Android. I love how the Linux models have different options for CFW, boot really quickly and appear to be much moreresponsive in the menu systems.So now I'm thinking about the Retroid Pocket 2S...
Been around a bit I know but I play mainly 16 bit era and below and is decent spec so that's fine, and dpad is above the stick so that's another tick and is horizontal so for me that's more comfortable.
It's small and portable, not a big boy to lug around, and cheap enough that I I'd let the kids use it (they don't go near my Odin 2).
Runs Android, so I know the power save stuff should work as pretty much every other Linux based system can't seem to get this right which is such a pain.
I have the beta of Emulation Station on Android and that's great so far but not delved into it much.
Screen is the sort of size I'd expect, hope the quality is better than the Anbernic devices I've had so far.
Both the Lumines games crash upon launch if I force the standalone PPSSPP. Didn't really look into why as they worked with the RA PPSSPP core.
Anyway, after 3 weeks of tinkering, I think i'm bored of it! Have settled on Batocera v40. The 2 games I care about on PSP work, every game I tried on PS1 works at full FPS at x2 resolution, NES/SNES/GBA are all flawless. The PSP stuff is a bonus as I wasn't expecting it to work, but I guess they are not heavy games. The only reason I would even consider upgrading is if they get Amiga working, which will stoke the final part of my nostalgia.
Now I'm gonna spend my time playing! I even use it with a dualshock wirelessly and the handheld on my lap for some games, even though that half defeats the point!
The next device for me would be a linux handheld device under 150 that can play all PSP and PS2 flawlessly. I know nothing about Linux, but I know enough about Android that I can't be bothered with the faff
Keeping an eye on iOS emulation that's just getting started as well. Not really handheld but the idea of a device playing all of the above in an iPad (mini) format with a wireless controller sounds cool.
rp2000
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