I have the RG351MP, it’s pretty nice. Solid aluminum too, so it doesn’t feel cheap, but not really ergonomic for long hours of play. That’s fine though, because this is the kind of device you carry around in your pocket for a short session during your commute, breaks etc. There’s quite a few choices of opensource firmware that you can load onto here, and most of them have this cool app called “portmaster”, which consists of native games ported over from other platforms - such as Prince of Persia (DOS), 3D Space Cadet Pinball (XP) etc, and they run really well.
My main issue with the 351MP is that although it claims to be able to emulate the Dreamcast and N64, it actually struggles with most games from those two consoles. Most notably, I wanted to play Rogue Squadron II (Dreamcast) on it and it was unplayable, the specs were too weak for it unfortunately. Which broke my heart, and I quickly lost interest in the device. I wanted a device that could comfortably emulate all consoles upto the Dreamcast, and the 351MP can only realistically handle upto the PS1.
I started looking for alternatives, and found similar drawbacks with most of these devices, none of them were capable enough to comfortably emulate the Dreamcast - unless I bought a pricey high-end device like the Aya Neo or the Steam Deck or something.
And then I realized, I could just get myself a cheap Android device from eBay (like with a bad ESN or some other non-impairing fault), pair it with a telescopic controller, and it’d be way cheaper + have better specs. So I did just that, got myself a cheap OnePlus 9 with a bad ESN for only $150 (SD 888, 8GB RAM), paired it with a Gamesir X2, loaded Dolphin emulator on it - and I was finally able to play Rogue Squadron II in all its glory - even managed to get an HD texture pack for it and it was glorious.
Eventually, I got myself a Galaxy Fold 4 as my main phone, so I didn’t need the OP9 any more - my Fold 4 had better specs, plus the large 4:3-ish screen made it perfect for playing those old games.
As for my old RG351MP, it’s still lying around, but I think I might sell it. The only advantage it has against my current setup is portability, but since I carry my Fold 4 everywhere, it’s not really that big of an issue. Sure, I can’t carry my controller everywhere either, but I’m not that desperate to want to be able to game everywhere and all the time (with physical controls).
TL;DR: Before buying a handheld, consider whether you really need that portability + physical controls, if you don’t need it everywhere, then your phone (+ controller) could do a better job than most of these.
Definitely having an Android phone will be a better option for emulation than what we currently have in the market, but these damn Chinese consoles have their charm!
Also I would not use my main Android for serious gaming/emulation as I’m a battery freak and seeing it going lower than it normally does would bring a bit of anxiety to me.
Purchasing a separate Android device and attaching it to my Razer Kishi sounds like something feasible to me (or re use my current one when I’m done with it, this is my first Android device and has a SD 865).
Anyway all the SBC gaming world is amazing to me and that will never stop.
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.
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?
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.
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!
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).
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
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 …
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.
It’s an amazing system. Valve is now selling refurbished models for a 20% discount. Presumably they’ll continue selling them in the future when maybe you’ve got room for it.
I would love something the size of the RG405M but ever so slightly more powerful so that it can play Gamecube without issue. And maybe plastic instead of metal so it's a bit lighter; I have a metal Anbernic device and it's a beefy boi.
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.
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.
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