Handheld Emulator

[kidswasted]

Does anyone have a recommendation on a handheld emulator they currently use that can store SNES and Gens games(and similar eras like NES)? I've watched videos on Youtube and read countless articles on them. There seems to be a ton of different options and opinions. I was looking at the Supaboy but it seems massive and I would like to play Gens games too. I'm looking for something with a decent screen size/quality as well as decent sound. Form factor comfort is a nice to have as well. Looking for something under $100 if possible too. Not sure if any of you currently use a handheld for on-the-go NHL.

[smozoma]

I'd love to see some recommendations on this, too!

A couple resposes from the Discord chat:

• scribe99: I’m considering getting one of these. If you buy the 16gb +64 gb version it supposedly comes with the games preloaded. Or you can load them yourself. https://www.anbernic.com/phone/eac_phone_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=70
•  chaos: I'd just get a used PSP and hack it

[LaTormenta]

I hacked my PSP and works really well (plus, the process is idiot proof).

The battery life is awful though, regardless of whether you play ISO-based PSP games or old school games.  Plus, in the UK anyway, they're still not that cheap second hand though.

 

[MonkeyHead]

I use retroarch on my Android mobile. Sure, touchscreen controls are awful, but you can bind a variety of controllers to it if needs be. Battery life is decent, and emulation quality is generally good. The fact you can emulate everything up to PS2 era games on a moderately powerful 'droid is a big plus. Literally as cheap as free.

[Sean]

A New Model 3DS/2DS/3DSXL is quite possibly the greatest emulation device you can get your hands on right now. The entire 3DS, DS, GBA, SNES, NES, Genesis, Gameboy libraries in your pocket. Does alright with N64 and PS1, both are currently in the experimental stage as far as I know though.

The older model can play most of the above games and is cheaper, just won't run as quickly.

Edited April 19, 2021 by seamor

[chaos]

14 hours ago, seamor said:

A New Model 3DS/2DS/3DSXL is quite possibly the greatest emulation device you can get your hands on right now. The entire 3DS, DS, GBA, SNES, NES, Genesis, Gameboy libraries in your pocket. Does alright with N64 and PS1, both are currently in the experimental stage as far as I know though.

The older model can play most of the above games and is cheaper, just won't run as quickly.

I have an old DS Lite with an R4 card, it can run homebrew/emulators and DS games on it no problem.

They have a R4 3DS card, probably does the same, though there may be better options for 3DS now.

[kidswasted]

On 4/17/2021 at 6:33 PM, MonkeyHead said:

I use retroarch on my Android mobile. Sure, touchscreen controls are awful, but you can bind a variety of controllers to it if needs be. Battery life is decent, and emulation quality is generally good. The fact you can emulate everything up to PS2 era games on a moderately powerful 'droid is a big plus. Literally as cheap as free.

I'm one of the bozos who has an iPhone.

On 4/18/2021 at 10:30 PM, seamor said:

A New Model 3DS/2DS/3DSXL is quite possibly the greatest emulation device you can get your hands on right now. The entire 3DS, DS, GBA, SNES, NES, Genesis, Gameboy libraries in your pocket. Does alright with N64 and PS1, both are currently in the experimental stage as far as I know though.

The older model can play most of the above games and is cheaper, just won't run as quickly.

I don't own one of these and wasn't a big fan when these all came out. I was a big fan of the OG Gameboy but I'm not really a fan of that style for retro handhelds that have been coming out in the last few years. We'll see how this Pocketgo S30 is whenever it comes in the next month from China LOL.

[Sean]

7 hours ago, kidswasted said:

I'm one of the bozos who has an iPhone.

I don't own one of these and wasn't a big fan when these all came out. I was a big fan of the OG Gameboy but I'm not really a fan of that style for retro handhelds that have been coming out in the last few years. We'll see how this Pocketgo S30 is whenever it comes in the next month from China LOL.

Love the SNES controller style design on those.

Probably a bit easier to set up, and also more practical if you're not looking to play DS-era or later stuff.

[kidswasted]

I realized I never followed up on my previous post. The Pocketgo S30 is really great. Having it during work meetings or long road trips is awesome. I play to practice 94 on both Gens and SNES but it can play pretty much every console from Atari through some N64, Dreamcast, and PS1 but I don't recommend it. I can't remember if it came with a microSD card or not but they're pretty cheap to buy. The microSD card stores the ROMs(which you will need to download yourself) and pops right into a slot. I guess it's modeled after 8bitdo's SN30 gamepad. I had to update the emulators as the ones that come with the handheld aren't the best. However it's extremely easy to do. With the Simple 30 update mentioned below it comes with Retroarch so it should be familiar to most of us here. There is no WiFi for this model although some different models may have it. The sound isn't the best but it's not bad either. It comes with a headphone jack in case you want to play in bed and don't want to wake your partner up lol. After playing for a few hours my fingers and hands start to get cramped but I'm rarely ever playing more than an hour. The screen looks great especially after the Simple 30 update below.

Here are the official specs:

• Quad Core 1.2GHZ AllWinner A33 CPU
• 512MB RAM
• Mali400 MP2 GPU
• 2600 MAH Battery (5 HOURS)
• 3.5″ IPS Display (480 X 320)
• USB-C Charging
• Headphone Jack

I purchased it last year from RetroMini here for $59 USD but it looks like it's currently sold out. However there are alternative models on there. Amazon used to have it for $89 USD but it's also sold out there. eBay might have it but not sure.

Simple 30 update to update the emulators(includes video and guide)