So I picked up a lightly used Chuwi Larkbox Pro for like $130 to turn into a dedicated emulation box. You can definitely get more PC for as cheap or cheaper-- Lenovo business machines that blow this out of the water are all over eBay for under a hundred bucks-- but I wanted that teeny-tiny form factor. I wanted something so small that I never have to think about whether to bring it or not, I can just toss it in my bag with everything else. Pictured with its little power brick (about the size of a cell phone charger) and an 8bitdo Pro 2 controller for scale.
I was hoping that it would boot from the SD card slot so I could use a 256GB card I had lying around for the OS. In theory it could work; in practice every time I booted it was like rolling a standard 6-sided die; on a 6 it would boot, eventually, into a very slow and finicky menu experience. On a 1-5 it would hang forever on a black screen. Another $60 for a 500GB SSD it is.
Installation of the SSD was easy; the Larkbox is smartly designed so that you just have to unscrew four screws, pop off the bottom panel, and the m.2 slot is right there on a little internal plastic tray that you would have to unscrew and remove to get to the rest of the system's guts. They clearly knew that 99% of everyone who cares to get into it this far is just looking to throw in an SSD, so they made it very easy.
Flashing the SSD with the Batocera image took about ten minutes, after which I wiled away a Saturday afternoon transferring over ROMs and ISOs. There's probably a better way to do it than sneakernetting files from my big PC using that 256GB SD card, but it's the biggest piece of portable storage I have handy right now.
Only had a chance to futz around with it in its "final" state for an hour or so, but I'm pretty happy so far. 8bitdo controller syncs right up no problem, Mario Kart Double Dash!! for the Gamecube runs acceptably with everything set to "auto" or "default"; I'm hoping I can tweak some things to turn "acceptably" into "very well." Batocera is 99% controller-driven; the exception is getting into the file manager to load new games, which requires a mouse and keyboard, so I picked up a tiny little handheld wireless keyboard and trackpad with a USB dongle (not pictured) that I can toss into a bag if I suspect I'll want to do that on the road.
Hoping to stress-test it a little more today, and then next week I'm going on a road trip where this is getting plugged in at every AirBnB I stop at.
What's the best cheap emulation handheld that can play NES/SNES/GB/GBC/GBA? For now I've been using one of my old DS-lite's for this.
I use a Steam Deck for myself but I'm looking for something better than the DS-lite for my kids who are pretty rough on devices. The DS-lite is already pretty well "used".
These are cool but far more than I want for my kids.
What's the best cheap emulation handheld that can play NES/SNES/GB/GBC/GBA? For now I've been using one of my old DS-lite's for this.
I use a Steam Deck for myself but I'm looking for something better than the DS-lite for my kids who are pretty rough on devices. The DS-lite is already pretty well "used".
Anbernic offers a few options that might suit you. The RG280V, RG280M, and RG300X all have the same innards and all use the same custom firmware, called the Adam firmware image, which is easy to set up and use. They differ only in screen size / resolution (the 280V and 280M have 2.8" 320x480 displays with half-height vertical pixels, the 300X has a 3.0" 640x480) and form factor (the 280V has a vertical form factor with a plastic shell, the 280M a horizontal one with a metal shell, the 300X horizontal plastic). The 280M has both a d-pad and an analog thumbstick if you think you'll be playing any PS1 or arcade games that might benefit from it; the 280V and 300X have only a d-pad.
All of them are very sturdily built as such things go and can hold up about as well to rough use as a typical Nintendo handheld, or better. All of them will run NES, SNES and GB/C/A very well with the exception of any SNES game that uses a coprocessor like the SuperFX chip, and will also run about 90% of the PS1 catalog well. All of them fluctuate between about $55 and about $85 in price depending on what's on sale at any given time.
One thing to know about the cheaper devices is that if you have GBA in the mix you have to choose (usually) between a 3:2 ratio or 4:3. 4:3 will mean you have a smaller usable GBA screen ratio with black bars and visa versa for a 3:2 device and GB, GBC, SNES, etc. That’s the high level, simplistic version. So you’ll want to choose based, partly, on what console you plan to play most.
True enough; if you think you're going to be playing a lot more GBA than any other system, you might consider an RG351P, which has a 3:2 screen that's perfect for GBA (but slightly less good for 4:3 systems than the 4:3 screens you'll find in the other devices I mentioned).
Personally, I think GBA games look better letterboxed or stretched on a 4:3 display than 4:3 games look on a 3:2 display, but it's something to be aware of.
The RG351P also has a slightly stronger processor than the others I mentioned, enough to handle the handful of SNES/PS1 games the older devices can't, plus a handful of easier-to-run N64 titles (mostly Mario Kart 64) and Dreamcast titles (Soul Calibur, Marvel vs. Capcom 2). It's a little more expensive to match, closer to $90-$100.
If you like the idea of the stronger processor but prefer a 4:3 screen, the RG351V and RG351MP give you that in a vertical form factor with a plastic shell and a horizontal form factor with a metal shell respectively.
FYI. Ambernic stuff is on sale right now except for the Win600.
Something I find a little frustrating is how there’s still no good device to play DS and GBA games on perfectly. My New 2DS XL plays 3DS games great, but DS games look janky and GBA games are blown up and fuzzy and washed out.
My Odin Lite plays all of these, but the device is really big and not super portable.
I have a DSi XL that plays DS games perfectly, but even running CFW, not all GBA games play.
It makes it tough to decide what to pack around if you want to play both. I guess a DS Lite would work, but man those tiny screens. It feels like a niche an emulator handheld should fill.
If I may, Android is pretty good for DS games in general. The Ambernic 552 or an old phone works pretty well with a backbone controller.
If I may, Android is pretty good for DS games in general. The Ambernic 552 or an old phone works pretty well with a backbone controller.
Understood. I use an iPhone, so I can't see myself using an Android for this, to be honest. It would mean carrying a second phone, that's likely bigger and then a controller in my pocket as well.
No matter how good the emulation is, I can never quite wrap my head around the idea of playing a two-screen game on a single-screen device. Sounds like an inherently janky experience.
Its not too bad. You can muscle the lack of two screens with a huge one or tap a button to swap screens.
The YouTubers are getting AYA Neo Airs and boy they look good. No real judgement about it other than short battery life. It’s so pretty.
God that looks pretty. Not $500 pretty, but still pretty.
I feel like for a handheld the short battery life is a pretty good negative. The Odin gets much better battery life than that and can play a good chunk of PS2 and GameCube.
Something I find a little frustrating is how there’s still no good device to play DS and GBA games on perfectly. My New 2DS XL plays 3DS games great, but DS games look janky and GBA games are blown up and fuzzy and washed out.
My Odin Lite plays all of these, but the device is really big and not super portable.
I have a DSi XL that plays DS games perfectly, but even running CFW, not all GBA games play.
It makes it tough to decide what to pack around if you want to play both. I guess a DS Lite would work, but man those tiny screens. It feels like a niche an emulator handheld should fill.
On a 2DS XL, you can hold the start button when launching a DS game, and it will use 1:1 pixel resolution with no scaling/interpolation. Of course, it won't fill the screen, but it gets rid of the blurriness.
I’ve seen that and it’s not for me, to be honest. I’d rather play blurry or just use my DSi XL.
If anybody's been looking for some sweet deals on older Anbernic devices, they're having a sale on their official website from 8/22-8/26 with some pretty tempting prices.
$118 is about as cheap as the (relatively new) RG353P has ever gotten. Other highlights are the RG351V and RG300X, but really anything on that list that you've been eyeballing is about as cheap as it's ever been.
What can these things run, and what's the best of the best?
Up to Dreamcast/PSP okay. 32 bits and lower.
The best? I prefer the RG351V but the RG351M is metal and dual sticks.
The last digit of the model number tells you what processor it has, which in turn gives you a pretty good idea of what it can run.
0 (RG350, RG350P, RG350M, RG300X, RG280V, RG280M): The JZ4770 chip can handle NES / GB / GBC / GBA / Game Gear / Genesis very well, and all of the SNES library that doesn't rely on a coprocessor chip like the SuperFX chip (so basically everything except for Star Fox, Yoshi's Island, and a handful of others), plus maybe 90% of the PS1 library (everything except for a handful of graphically demanding fighting games like Tekken 3).
1 (RG351P, RG351M, RG351V, RG351MP): The RK3326 chip can handle everything the JZ4770 can, plus the rest of the SNES and PS1 library, plus a handful of easier-to-run N64 and Dreamcast games (Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Soul Calibur).
3 (RG503, RG353P): The RK3566 chip can handle everything the RK3326 chip can, plus more of the N64 and Dreamcast library, plus DS (although you'll have to use a hotkey to switch between screens since these are single-screen devices).
I have an RG351MP and I love it. It's got a beautiful 640x480 3.5" screen, plays everything up to PS1 as near to perfectly as makes no difference. It's small enough to slip into a pocket, but still feels very comfortable in the hand.
The RG353P hadn't come out yet when I got my MP. If I were choosing between them today I think it would be a tough decision, because it would be nice to be able to play more N64 and Dreamcast, but the 353P is just a little too big to fit into a pocket.
Those are the two biggest contenders for "best of the best" on this list IMO.
I'm going to roll the dice on an Ayn Loki Mini Pro. I'll be waiting till at least Q4 though. Seems like a good option, especially without access to something like the Steam Deck.
Steam Deck preorders went live in Asia (at least a year earlier than I'd expected) so I ended up cancelling this and preordering the 64GB Steam Deck. The cancellation process was smooth. I think the Ayn Loki Mini Pro seems like a nice device but I'm putting my money on the Steam Deck community and the fact that some developers will target it as a platform. My thinking is that for almost anything I want to play on the Deck, I can search and find someone who's already tried it and gotten over any hurdles.
Can anyone recommend some SNES-style USB controllers? Don't need wireless or anything fancy, just would like the quality to not be total trash 
8BitDo are pretty much the gold standard right now. Not sure if they have corded or if they are all Bluetooth though.
The iBuffalo Classic used to be another good wired option-- I like their dpads better than 8BitDo-- but they've been out of production for a while. You can still find them used on eBay sometimes for about $30, but they do seem to be all actually used, not "we can't sell this as new because it's open box, but basically new."
8bitdo makes both wired and wireless models of most of their controllers, and even the wireless ones can be used wired via USB cable.
Raphnet-Tech adapters with actual SNES controllers (if they were in stock).
Man, I'm glad I managed to snag one of these when I did. They've been out of stock for a minute.
If they ever come back in stock, I can confirm that they work a treat. Of course, finding decent-quality actual SNES controllers isn't easy either; it's hard to tell whether what you order is going to be in good condition, actual Nintendo hardware or a knockoff, etc. from a generic Amazon or eBay listing. And when you add the price of the controller to the price of the adapter, it starts getting costly.
I really like the wired High Frequency/MadCatz controllers I have that are setup like the Genesis 6 button controllers, but I also really dig the 8BitDo SN30. It feels as good as the real deal to me, but I haven't used my real ones since the 90s (I always used the High Frequency one after I got it around when Super Metroid came out). Sadly they don't make a USB Retro Receiver that is compatible with the 2.4ghz models which is what I have.
You can use the 8bitdo receiver for your various controllers lifestyle.
Life has been a dumpster fire lately and I bought a Retroid Pocket 3 last month and just got it in. Really liking it so far. Pretty solid, great screen. Performance-wise, it's not a powerhouse but it's a nifty little device.
Life has been a dumpster fire lately and I bought a Retroid Pocket 3 last month and just got it in. Really liking it so far. Pretty solid, great screen. Performance-wise, it's not a powerhouse but it's a nifty little device.
I hope life gets better. From one dumpster fire to another.
Pages