I’m in an odd position in that I only really fell into reviewing handhelds. Early on when I’d writing gaming articles and interviews, some of the companies started to reach out to me, which in turn led to others doing so. I only mention this because I had the unique intro to it all by actually befriending some people at each company. And now I’ve ended up in the odd spot of knowing what each company is working on, and has planned for around the next 18 months or so.

I only say this to give some context as to why I can’t tell you who it is exactly, but I do know one company looked into the stereoscopic 3D screens, and replicating them. I don’t know how far along they are, whether it is viable, or whether they’ll continue, but I do know at least one company is interested and had started work that way.

As it stands though, there’s nothing at all like that on the market!

This isn’t build for the 3DS. It is marketing specifically as a DS handheld, and with good reason. The screens matching in size give it away (both the same size = DS! Large top, small bottom = 3DS!). While it runs some, they’re not ideal on here.

You’d be better looking at AYN’s Thor or Retroid’s Duo (coming up soon)

Hey there, kuiskaaja!

I know this isn’t the ‘IRL’ part of things, but I had a couple people who I chatted to a bunch who desperately wanted the same thing, except…online. After recommending a bunch of options, in the end I revived an old (and abandoned) Discord server we had, and invited all my friends from the retro handheld scene there.

• Russ (RGC)
• Gamma (GammaOS)
• WhatCookie (RPCS3)
• Mothrip (Cocoon)
• ChrisCovers (Retroid)
• Camille (Eden)
• Nathan (iiSU)

…and just so, so, so many more. All the developers and creators I know joined in. So if you do want a (very small!) space to chat about handhelds with others, send me a DM and I’ll send you an invite :)

The R36S is a pretty unique device. It is very low powered, by the retro handheld industry standards. It is very cheap (by anyone’s standards), and it is not built, maintained nor shipped by any one single company. The strengths of it is that it is so widely available, and one of the smartest developers I know (bmdhacks, who recently joined in as the lead dev for ARMSX2) swears by them. In fact I covered his work for the R36S specifically, not so long ago:

https://gardinerbryant.com/the-anatomy-of-an-impossible-port/

But it really is as entry-level-to-the-hobby as you can get. There are infinitely more powerful devices all over the place. This one, the RGSP is just…different. It is specifically designed to be about as good as you can hope for to play GBA games, but also covers most systems up to PSX.

Comparing the two is waaaaay too apples to oranges to make much sense here. While they technically do the same thing, they do it so differently that owning one over the other (or both) makes as much sense whichever way you cut it :)

Thank you so much, you’re right! I appreciate it, edit has been made :)

(and sorry, weird thing to get wrong!)

That title confusion is on me! I should have realized (this happens when you get too close to drafts on a subject and interview!), I’ll go back and edit that title a little to make sure the word ROMs is in there somewhere!

Sorry!!!

There’s something so satisfying about bringing something back to life too!

Then consider this your reminder to get to it!!!

Well worth it, and if you get the Nightdive 2022 remaster, don’t forget to completely ignore their new graphics mode and opt for the original!

Oh I’ve been singing Cloudpunk’s praises for years now! I even chatted to the devs 12 months or so ago about interviewing them, but that never panned out (sadly).

I think of this one in the ‘perfect for Steam Deck/handhelds’ territory, it suits it so perfectly…both in gameplay and in the vibe (very cyberpunkish) too. Have you seen they have a sequel of sorts coming up? Or at least a game in the same universe, called Nivalis!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1488490/Nivalis/

Lenovo that we know in the west just isn’t the gigantic umbrella corp that Lenovo is worldwide (or specifically here, in the east). Their name isn’t synonymous with computing elsewhere in the world, it is synonymous with things like toothbrushes, or even blinds. The manufacturing and ROM card of this are just handled by a 3rd party company licensing their name to make this. In China they’re not getting Nintendo’s lawyers knocking.

And I think the irony of this ‘bad press’ for us is that it is only increasing the sales!

This one is only ‘Lenovo’ because the name has been licensed on a cheap handheld. While in the west Lenovo as a name is associated with some kind of quality (ThinkPad, Legion Go etc), in the east it is a name used for all kinds of odd things:

• Electric shavers
• Clocks
• Baby monitors
• Vacuums
• Earbuds

The name is being used, but the hardware, manufacturing, software etc are just existing products or slightly tweaked by some randoms. 99% of this kind of thing is utter crap.

Don’t fall for the name hype. You can do do much better if you like the idea of a retro handheld! These are basically just R36S Pro’s (almost, anyway), but with a Lenovo-name-tax thrown on top. If you’re after great retro handhelds, ask me and I can recommend you far better ideas! I review them and am in way too deep into the hobby, so I am happy to chat emulators/handhelds :)

Wow that’s terrible! What were they charging you? That’s one of the reasons why I recommend Mercari in that article above, the sellers pay for shipping on Mercari! You just pay the Buyee fee and international shipping.

I have a PSP-2000 sitting in the Mercari ‘warehouse’ right now, the cheapest international shipping for it is 1,050 YEN, the most expensive is 3,150 YEN. That’s from Japan to Australia, just for a comparison to what I see!

This is just an article I wrote some time ago, but seeing so much interest in Sony’s PSP lately, I thought it might fit in here well enough :)

I remember when I used to write ridiculously long and detailed guides on Steam Deck things, so many people asked me to do the same for installing and tweaking Windows for the Deck! I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to install and use it, but it sure isn’t my scene. Or recommendation.

Or if you do, plz look into O&O ShutUp 10+11

NSL is created by a racist jerk and coded with GPT.

What’s not to love?

The games have been decompiled and made to run native via openGOAL, so they’re far better using that via Decky Loader than emulated!

https://opengoal.dev/

I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

These are wonderful! Exactly the kind of thing I hoped might be suggested - less reviews generally means less known, so I’m excited to try!

I think some people get caught up on the few AAA offerings, and miss the indie car games. But maybe I’m generalizing.

I appreciate these, hope others do also :)

Staying away from Chome (even for work) I haven’t had the chance to try it out yet, I’m hoping it’s going to be approved to Firefox’s add-ons so I can see how it is!

I did it myself! Which obviously doesn’t help you whatsoever, but if you’re looking to get yours done you can:

• If you’re in the 'States, then look up So-Cal Console Modding - or follow this link and check them out. - this is run by the guy who moderates the sub-reddit called r/SwitchPirates and he is about as above-reproach as you can get. The best of the best.

• Check Etsy in your area (find someone who has a lot of reviews, and guarantees their soldering work - kamikaze method is the one you want for the OLED), or even nearby. Some are happy with mail-in services.

• Facebook Marketplace. I know, its fb…but there are reputable people who do the work, depending on where you are

• Phone repair shops! Sounds odd, but 9/10 will know exactly how to do the work, since micro-soldering is their bread and butter. Show them a guide, and they’ll do the work. My friend (one of the devs of Decky Loader) did this last week - took his to a phone repair shop and all is fine :)