I have a 3 upgraded to a 3+, but I think if I were buying a retroid for the first time and didn't know any better, I would have found myself leaning towards the flip. This is because I adored my clamshell Nintendo handhelds back in the day, and I baby my devices enough to convince myself I might be able to avoid hinge issues. I would be really torn over the sliders, though. Truth is that you can't really go wrong with either. I'll list out the Pros and Cons for each that I know of. Maybe it can help you decide...
Flip
Positives
Clamshell means safer and smaller in your pocket. (No need for a screen protector or case)
Black bars on 3:4 content is less intrusive because the screen is separate.
The dual analog sliders have room to be inset enough to be more comfortable.
The analog triggers are good for gamecube and streamed games.
The design makes the system feel more like a dedicated gaming device than a modified phone with buttons.
Negatives
You have to be vigilant about not stressing the hinge.
The hinge doesn't bend as far as the DS or GBA SP did.
The analogs are sliders, and I heard they don't click unless centered.
(my personal opinion, but) the M1, M2 buttons are kind of weird.
3+
Positives
It's got that PSP feel.
The analog sticks are pretty good.
If you get the grips for it, it's actually pretty comfortable.
You can take it apart and modify it pretty easily. (Not sure if the same applies to the flip.)
Negatives
No analog triggers.
Dual analog games can get uncomfortable pretty quickly without grips.
You might want to get a screen protector and a sleeve/case.
The start/select/sound rocker buttons are all pretty weirdly placed (though you can get used to it).
I have the 3+. Most PSP Games I tried run nice on 2x native resolution. Can’t tell you much about the GameCube games, tried one GameCube Zelda and it ran good. Not perfect, but playable. Can’t tell you about other ones.
I have the 3 and I think it’s a great handheld, but it is nowhere close to being able to play GameCube Zelda at a stable framerate (the 3+ is of course better, but I don’t think it’s significantly better). I’ve only tried one PSP game but it didn’t play amazing. You’ll have an okay time if you like turn-based RPGs. But I think if those are the consoles you’re after and you like action games I’d get something a little pricier with a better chip. You can also just wait for the tech and price to reach a goldilocks zone, these handhelds seem very popular right now and are being innovated on constantly.
I'm not playing anything PS2 at the moment, so I can't be bothered to do it yet. I think I've got an older version of AetherSX2 on my device as well, so I need to check if this Nether patch requires the most recent apk on the play store before I actually fiddle with it.
I believe this was brought up in the retro handhelds podcast/stream interview. Long story short, the 2s chip will struggle with more PS2 and GCN games than the 3+, but since the screen only goes to 1x and isn't widescreen, there won't be any incentive to strain the chip with hacks. I imagine any game that can run upscaled and wide-screened on a 3+ might be able to run on a 2+ without any enhancement.
It's a tough call. If I didn't already have my 2+, it would be an instant buy. It answers literally every problem I had with the 2+ (my favorite handheld), but it's hard to justify dropping $100 on a handheld that won't be that much more powerful despite the quality of life improvements. Maybe at some point I'll snag one, but honestly, I'm thinking I'll just hold off until someone drops something super similar to the 2S that also runs GameCube and PS2 a lot better.
Did you mean 3+? The chip inside the 2s is a pretty significant upgrade from the 2+, though it's a little downgraded from the 3+. If all I had was a 2+, I would absolutely be looking at a 2s. (Assuming of course I had the money for it.)
Was considering it but the fact that it has an inferior chip with lower performance and is still chunkier than the RP3+ is kind of a turnoff. If I buy a new retroid device I expect at least a performance increase.
Btw don’t be satisfied with black bars, I’ve been using game specific art bezels from thebezelproject on my RP3+ and widescreen hacks when available. Those 4:3 games look gorgeous on that RP3+ screen.
Btw don’t be satisfied with black bars, I’ve been using game specific art bezels from thebezelproject on my RP3+ and widescreen hacks when available.
I’m a bit picky with widescreen hacks because some games can get really janky out the 4:3 boundary (particularly with GameCube) and I am too easily distracted by it. I am super intrigued by the bezel project, though. I’m going to look into this now. Thanks for mentioning it.
That is exactly how I feel. I have the RP2+ and the RP3+, but I am not using the RP2+, because I don’t mind the black bars on the side. I don’t see me using the RP2S for 4:3 games alone, I rather play all of my games on one device, so I stick with the RP3+ for now.
As I already have the Black RP2 and an 16Bit RP2+, it is time for something new and fresh. Maybe transparent green? My RP3+ is Indigo, so that differentiates them all from each other :)
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