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What device do you prefer for portable retro gaming?

Favourite portable retro gaming device

  • Chinese portable (ambernic - retroid pocket, powkiddy and more)

    Votes: 9 19.1%
  • Old portables (PSP, Vita, Nvidia shield, Switch)

    Votes: 36 76.6%
  • Cellphone + gamepad

    Votes: 2 4.3%

  • Total voters
    47

ACESHIGH

Banned
I have been thinking about this for the last couple of days... I got interested in those Chinese retro portables and some of them look great. But these days there are lots of alternatives to have your retro gaming fix on the go.

Phones have great performance on the cheap these days, and I think we cannot rule out old portables like the PSP, vita or hell even the switch or Nvidia shield must be amazing devices.

From those alternatives which is your favourite?

EDIT: Of course ruling out Steam deck because its just trumps all over the rest of devices but at a much higher price point.
 
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BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
I still have a K1 Nvidia Shield tablet with controller. Pre-pandemic days when I had to travel for work it always came with me. I still fire up Dolphin on it once in a blue moon.
 

th4tguy

Member
Unmodded vita for now but I plan to get one of those Chinese portables once the next iterations launch.
Next iterations should smooth out Dreamcast support and maybe Saturn….. maybe.
 

kiphalfton

Member
Smartphones seem idiot proof from having played through one whole GBA game and one whole PS1 game.

I modded my my Wii, OG Xbox, Vita, and Wii U, but it takes way more effort and can be a PITA to mess with.

So my vote does to Smartphones, considering how much easier it is and not only that but because I literally always have my phone on me.
 

mhirano

Member
PS Vita 1000 is the best retro device for me.
Beautiful OLED screen, best controls ever, great battery life, perfect PSP and PSONE compatibility, good enough MAME, GBA and SNES compatibility.
For perfect GBA and SNES compatibility, the New 3DS is nice.
Smartphones are a nono for me: touch controls are disgusting and my battery is short enough for my daily use.
I'm thinking about buying the Anbernic RG280v though...
 
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Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
PS Vita 1000 is the best retro device for me.
Beautiful OLED screen, best controls ever, great battery lofe, perfect PSP and PSONE compatibility, good enough MAME, GBA and SNES compatibility.
da68f17f66dc062e1ecbcdadd008dbab.jpg



:messenger_smiling_with_eyes:👆
 
Funny I been going through a similar YouTube hole watching reviews of these. I think it's best to wait. If you want to play 64 and up the next gen portables will be able to do it full speed. I was thinking of going the phone route but the controllers are so dorky and I would never use them. So a next gen abernic might be the move. I'd like to have that ring abernic in my glovebox or something
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Modded 2DSXL is my go-to portable right now. Interested in getting a Anbernic RG280V at some point because I like the form factor. I have a Steam Deck on reserve that I'll use for DC, but I doubt I'd use it much for older systems.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
The only portable I have is Switch. I try to collect as many retro games on it that's available, and it's quite a few in the overall library, but I hate how Nintendo locks their NES and SNES games behind their online service. I would rather buy them and have them in my collection.
 

MrFunSocks

Banned
I don't do any portable gaming let alone retro, but if I did my S21 Ultra with a razer kishi or a xbox controller plus clip would be the best way to do it.
 

Zug

Member
A hacked Vita is the best bang for the buck at the moment. Portable Windows machines are too expansive for retro gaming.

It has excellent form factor (the Switch is too big for my taste, it looks silly in public), a nice screen (on the oled version, at the cost of some battery life), good controls (missing those L2/R2 buttons though), native-ish PS1/PSP support, a gigantic choice of games through emulation, and even a good choice of modern indies (Papers please, Risk of rain, Fez, Spelunky, Darkest Dungeon etc...).

Also, though it's not really *portable*, a hacked snes/md mini or retropie is an excellent portable arcade machine, you just need something with an hdmi input.
 
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yurinka

Member
As of now I keep using PC to emulate better more powerful systems mostly in Retroarch, but I look forward to SteamDeck and the evolution of the emulation of systems like PS2, PS3, Saturn, N64, WiiU, Switch etc.
 
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JimboJones

Member
As of now I keep using PC to emulate better more powerful systems mostly in Retroarch, but I look forward to SteamDeck and the evolution of the emulation of systems like PS2, PS3, Saturn, N64, WiiU, Switch etc.
I've been messing around with the desktop version of batocera.

Bit of a cheat in regards to portable but it is super easy to transport and works on pretty much any computer.
 
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yurinka

Member
I've been messing around with the desktop version of batocera.

Bit of a cheat in regards to portable but it is super easy to transport and works on pretty much any computer.

I use Big Box (paid version of Launchbox for cool menus) using Retroarch on Windows for basically everything. But I think an image like the one you posted will be great for SteamDeck if Proton doesn't adapt properly everything.
 
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IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Tablet plus gamepad.

I played Castlevania on Samsung Tab S7 and I'm converted. Heard that there are a load of other Android retro games that also have controller support (Doom, KOTOR, San Andreas etc) playing them with a controller on a tablet is amazing.

So amazing, that it's convinced me to get the Galaxy Tab S8 when that drops in few months.
 
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