With few tweaks and some thoughtful customizations, you can turn your phone into an amazing retro handheld. As long as you keep the touchscreen's limitations in mind, you can simply download the games you want to play and enjoy them on your phone.

Personally, I think Pokémon games are the perfect example. They work incredibly well with touch controls, as these games don't require intensive use with the dpad.

Maybe you don't need a new handheld for now, your phone is just enough.

All that power, just wasted due to the lack of analog sticks. Even worse it doesn't have video out so I can't hook it up to a TV with a Bluetooth controller for PS2 emulation which it's fully capable of.

It's limited to GBC era and maybe some PS1 games that don't need a stick to play. N64 is out. Most PS2 is out.

It just could be so much more but it's handicapped for no reason

Didn't even have time to get to the checkout. Probably for the best. Paying $300+ for a device that ain't gonna ship for 3 months never sat well anyhow, lol.

*Meh,...nevermind. Must've just been a glitch, or they were just over run too soon? Still available,...for now, lol.*

The RP Nova announcement has me feeling a little conflicted.

On paper, I think Retroid absolutely nailed it. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-class performance, active cooling, 120Hz AMOLED display, compact size, and price all make it look like an incredible handheld.

Honestly, I don’t have many complaints about the hardware itself.

The only thing I keep wishing is that it existed in the Flip form factor.

I started out emulating on my phone with a controller, and over time I realized I really wanted a dedicated handheld. One thing I didn’t expect was how much I’d value a clamshell design. Being able to simply close it, toss it in a bag or pocket, and not worry about scratching the screen feels like a much bigger quality-of-life feature than I originally thought.

Looking at the Nova, I can’t help but think that if Retroid took essentially the same internals and built a Flip Nova, it would probably be my ideal handheld.

Am I the only one who feels this way?
Would you buy a Flip with Nova internals? Would you choose it over the Nova if it cost another $40–60? Or do you prefer the traditional slab design?

I’m genuinely curious whether I’m in the minority, or if there’s still a strong market for premium Android clamshell handhelds.

My last post got deleted for not including the name of the Retroid pocket classic.

As I stated the buttons aren’t working within retroarch when I open up es-de They’re working fine. I don’t know if it’s the ports or in override. I’ve tried setting Back to the default settings and saving the configuration with no change. I’d appreciate any help. Please know. I’m not very sappy when it comes to these devices. This is only my second day with it. I bought it on Facebook marketplace used preloaded with Games

Hi all, i am just very confused about this little product https://shop.ayaneo.com/products/ayaneo-pocket-micro-2

Why it can be so popular that it sold almost instantly? From my perspective, this product got some many flaws:

1. Using old CPU
2. Screen still LCD
3. Low resolution screen
4. Price too high
5. AYANEO track record regarding shipping is not good

**Also posted in the r/OdinHandheld sub**

I took a break from the Odin for several months because I was gaming on original retro hardware, but I'm going on a trip soon and wanted to take a genesis game on the go. Started it up to get it going, did all the checks for updates and put on the latest nightly build for Retroarch and when I started it up, the buttons aren't working. Neither the pad, the stick, nor the abxy buttons. I connected my 360 controller and that doesn't work either. Although as you can see, touch still does

I attempted to rebind port 1 and it did not recognize any buttons when it gave the option to press to bind and just timed out.

It isn't a hardware problem because outside of retroarch it is working fine, but Retroarch doesn't seem to recognize any controls anymore. Any suggestions would be helpful.

it's so vague or im just dumb

handhelds.wiki

I just moved and after a few months finally unpacked some of my handheld devices from storage. Since they were all moved together, they were all at least unused for several months, but some of the older devices like my Miyoo Mini v3 have been unused longer since I have moved on to using newer devices.

However, I found that in many of the devices the batteries would no longer hold a charge, and some were even completely dead. Others did charge up but seemed to be draining more quickly than I remembered. Is this a common experience for handheld device batteries? Is there any way to prevent this if so, and are some devices more immune to this than others?

Still rocking the SD card (20 dollar for a 64gb card these days damn)

Thank you to the people here recommending this device. I’ve tried multiple handhelds including those from Anbernic. This one really is for those that want to actually play the retro games.

Saving feels like you are playing on an Nintendo Switch or mobile game on iPhone, while saving on an Anbernic feels like you are playing on an experimental device.

I'm really confused on whether or not I should use shaders or overlays on the rg cube xx and I also don't know how I should utilize integer scaling and overlays or if they're one and not the other. Please help me! Thanks in advance

I have some digitally downloaded games, and also themes and all that I wanted to just know before I mod my 3ds that it can be kept and how to do that

This is the follow-up to my original video, where I go through how to fix the RG Rotate Crash that happens on some units (happens on both black & silver models). This updated video gives you a very simple guide on how to use an android app to fix the issue (with reduced battery drain compared to my original workaround).

I do hope Anbernic resolves this issue with an update or hopefully GammaOS comes without this issue. Hope this helps those unlucky ones (like me) that are facing this issue to have a better and proper working RG Rotate with the issue resolved (with minimal battery drain).

So I've seen a lot of criticism towards the sticks on the RG34XXSP recently, especially after Anbernic announced the RG SP (basically a stickless 34XXSP), so I wanted to make a post explaining why they're actually great (and why anyone who thinks otherwise is totally wrong /s).

My first point is that if you don't really care for the sticks, they are basically invisible during normal usage. You can obviously see them, you know they are there, but they don't stick out at all. They are not noticeable at all during gameplay and they never get in the way in D-pad centric games.

Another thing to point out is that the sticks come in handy when emulating non-GBA games and for Portmaster games as well. I know this fact is irrelevant for people who only want to play GBA but also... you never know what you might want to play in the future, considering the versatility of the 34XXSP and everything it can do. The sticks simply unlock a lot of new possibilities for the device.

The last thing I never see mentioned is that you're totally allowed to use the sticks in GBA games too! For example, I've been playing Pokemon FireRed (my first Pokemon game!) for 50 hours and have found that to move my character around the map, the stick is just wayyy more comfortable than using the D-pad, which I use exclusively on the menus. This probably applies to a lot of other GBA games as well, which is why I think the sticks are great and love the fact that they can enhance gameplay even if the games they are used on were never designed around them. I think this is actually my most important point on why the sticks rock.

Counterpoint: I know some people buy the device only for the nostalgia factor, which makes not wanting the sticks somewhat understandable for me, and why the new RG SP is better in that regard. I also understand that some users may find them ugly or just straight up not pleasant to use, but considering the limitations of the clamshell form factor, I think they are as good as the can be with maybe some room for improvement.

In conclusion, the sticks are basically the reason why I think the RG34XXSP is one of the best handhelds Anbernic has made and why other similar emulation-focused clamshells don't even come close in terms of versatility and value this one offers. Also feel free to disagree with me, I understand there are multiple perspectives around this topic that I would love to hear!

I am struggling to figure out what I want, like the millions of other post here. I see some conflicting answers so trying to get clarification. I am looking for something more portable than the Steam Deck but not an exact replacement. I would like it to handle

JRPG Switch Titles/Visual Novels
Light PC Ports (I am thinking of Balatro and Slay the Spire like games)
PS2 and under (Big focus on GBA games, then Sly Cooper)

I would really be going back and forth between switch games and GBA the most. I would like to try to spend under $500.

Devices I currently own:
Steam Deck
Modded Switch V1 (has died on me during travel and did not have access to laptop)
Retroid Pocket Classic
Trimui Brick Hammer
RG34XXSP

Thank you for your time and any suggestions!

I own a modded PS Vita (that I mainly use for psp and ps1 games), a modded DSi XL that I primarily use for GBA and some DS, and a Steam Deck that I use for basically everything up to PS2/Gamecube. I also have a very beefy gaming PC.

I'm a big fan of handheld emulators like the Anbernic RG34XXSP, but I'm finding it hard to justify buying one given the devices I already have.

I'd love to hear the arguments for and against this purchase!

I've been looking into handhelds for awhile, but I'm mainly interested in one for gb/gbc/gba games, as every other system I either prefer PC emulation for, or don't have interest in. From what I've seen, the cubexx seems to be the best for this, but I wanted to ask here before deciding fully, as the price where I am is a little more than I want to pay; though I will if it's truly the best option for <$100.

Hi! I'm thinking about buying the AYN Thor Pro and I want to get it as cheaply as possible, so I'd like to ask those of you who already own one or have been following it closely.

Specific questions:

- Is it cheaper to buy it from AYN's official website or the official AliExpress store? Are there any differences in price, shipping, taxes, or warranty that I should know about?

- Do you know of any discount codes that are active right now or that usually come out during batch releases or pre-orders?

- Are there any upcoming sales (11.11, Black Friday, AYN promotions, or AliExpress sales) that are worth waiting for?

- I've read that there have been recent price increases due to RAM shortages. Do you recommend buying now before prices go up even more, or do you think they'll go down at some point?

- If you bought one recently, how much did you pay in total and where did you buy it?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your shopping experiences, price comparisons, or any advice. Thanks!

I'm trying to picture the worst possible handheld one could create

1. Hinge durability

2. Button noise

3. Build quality

4. Stock OS

5. Community firmware

6. Costumer support

7. Joysticks

8. Buttons

9. Thickness

10. Screen

11. Bezels

12. Ergonomics

13. Aesthetics

14. Ram bottlenecking (Not absolute lowest, more so when it's too low for the rest of the device)

15. CPU

16. Speakers

What else am I missing as a category?

I'm gonna start off by nominating my beloved RG35XXSP for the button noise category.

I got interested in cheap handheld so I could play pokemon romhack, that's when I fell in the rabbit hole.

But for some time now, I'm wondering, where do they come from ? I never heard of anbernic or retroid or the others before, it's probably because it's to niche to be mainstream, but I wonder since when they exist, what's their story, stuff like that.

A real PS2 portable made from a SCPH-90004 slim PS2 - 6 ICs have been extracted including the Emotion Engine, Graphics Synthesizer, Mechacon, Clock PLL, Ethernet PHY and Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

No AetherSX2 or ARMSX2 required. Load up your favorite PS2 classics and enjoy with OPL, Neutrino and NHDDL.

Documentation and build guide here:
https://github.com/tschicki/PS2-Portable/

Just to clarify - not my project - just something that I thought I'd share! I know emulation is "obviously" more accessible for most, but its awesome to be able to repurpose old hardware in a beautiful new form factor.