My Favorite Retro Handhelds Under $100

[Music] hey everybody this is rer Metro gamecore this channel focuses mostly on handheld gaming especially when it comes to emulation I love the idea of being able to play my favorite retro games but on more Modern Hardware now over the past few years there have been a bunch of these handheld devices coming out to the point where it gets really hard to decide which one to pick up if you are interested in kind of getting involved not only that many of these handhelds have very specific use cases where they might be great in one aspect but not so great in another that's what we're going to focus on in this video I'm going to talk about my 10 favorite handhelds available for $100 or less and I'm going to help kind of pinpoint which one specifically is going to fit you the best as well and my goal by the end of this video is that among all the different choices that you have available you're probably going to be able to narrow it down quite a bit and so grab a snack and drink and let's go ahead and get [Music] started okay as we get started a couple caveats the first is that there is no perfect handheld at this price point you're going to have some sort of concessions here and there and so as I show each handheld I'll show the pros and cons and allow you to weigh that as I talk about it next we're going to break all these handhelds down into five different categories and it's not necessarily categories of handhelds but categories of users and so I'm hoping that one of these five are going to apply the most to you and that'll help you narrow it down as well so so let's get started with our first category which I'm calling the wee baby category the idea here is this is for folks who are just now getting started they don't know anything about anything they just know they want to play some retro games so we'll start with my very top pick in that regard and it's going to be this one the amernick RG 35xx and am bernick's been around for many years at this point and I almost feel like this handheld is a culmination of all the efforts they've made over those years this company is known for having pretty solid Hardware but their software usually isn't that great well it just so happens that this device has gotten a lot of software updates on the aminic side but then also there are Community software Solutions as well that really Elevate The Experience too and so I found this device to be a really good mix in many regards if you just buy it and use the SD card that comes with it it's going to come pre-loaded with a bunch of games and honestly the software isn't half bad however after you've been using it for a bit and you've kind of outgrown that initial experience you can then upgrade the software to get an even better experience down the line on top of that because this device is so popular I expect that the software is going to get better and better from the community as well it's also got all the bells and whistles that I would want in a retro handheld including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as HDMI out if you want to plug it into a TV or a monitor on top of that the performance of this chip is not half bad it can play all the way up to PS1 fairly flawlessly but then also it can play a good amount of Nintendo 64 Dreamcast and even PlayStation Portable not only that it's in a nice small form factor which makes it easily pocketable as well now of note there are actually two two different models that use this exact same chip and so it'll have the same performance and software and everything else they just have two different form factors this other one is called the RG 35xx plus it's got a more of a Game Boy kind of look to it this one is definitely more nostalgic but between the two I prefer the H model the one that's horizontal because it's a little bit more comfortable to use additionally because the one on the left has analog sticks that means it's going to work a little bit better for certain systems like arcade games and Nintendo 64 either way yes that's my first pick when it comes to to the Wii baby category if you're just getting started I really recommend the rg35 xxh you can usually pick this one up for somewhere between 60 and $75 depending on where you shop but if you shop around and look for sales sometimes you can get it even cheaper now let's say that you're really into that game boy style form factor and you're eyeballing that rg35 XX Plus on the right well to be honest the plus is a good handheld but there's another one that's very similar that I recommend instead it's called the Mi Mini Plus now this one has a little bit less performance than the other one it basically caps out at PlayStation 1 and Nintendo DS but there's a couple reasons why I prefer the Mi Mini Plus over the other one and part of that has to do with the controls these just feel a lot more natural and classic but by far my favorite thing about this one is the software it's a community- based software called onion OS and onion OS has been around for years at this point and they've really perfected that balance when it comes to pickup and play and Retro Gaming my favorite example is what they call the game switcher say that you're playing a game all you have to do is just tap on the menu button it's going to bring you to a quick menu option that'll show off all the games that you've recently played not only that it's going to show you a picture of the in progress game play so what you can do is switch between these different options choose one of these games and not only will it launch the game but it'll launch exactly where you were the last time you were playing it and so that's just a really great example of how easy it is to get in and out of your games using onion OS on the Mi Mini Plus the only drawback compared to the others is that it is lacking HDMI out if you want to plug it into an external display but otherwise if you're just going to be taking it around in your pocket I think the Mio Mini Plus is the way to go and this one's around the same price as the others around $50 or $55 altogether now let's say that you're kind of on the fence about whether or not you want a retro handheld and you don't want to spend that much money you want to keep it under $50 well there are a lot of really cheap handhelds that I don't really recommend but there is one that comes in at around $40 $45 that I would recommend instead and so this device the r 36s is my pick under the we baby category if you are on budget and I've got a full review of this one and all the other devices on this channel but in a nutshell this one is a clone of a bunch of other devices that came out previously and so it does kind of rest on the back of all these other handhelds that came out before but they can do it for a lot cheaper of a price and this one has a bunch of different software options as well so you can really customize it to your liking in addition I think the controls here are pretty good they're not the best in the world but they definitely get the job done it's got a nice bright screen and on top of that the performance is not bad either it's a little bit older of a chip but it can still play up to PS1 no problem and a good amount of Nintendo 64 Dreamcast and even Sega Saturn and so I wanted to slide the R 36s into this category just in case you're really on a budget you only want to spend maybe $40 $45 at the end of the day anyway those are my picks when it comes to the wee baby category if you're just starting out I think you should focus on one of these three devices now for the next category we're going to focus on what I call Micro Devices we're going to call this category little Boop and the idea behind this is that these devices are so small that you can just throw them in your pocket and when you've got a little moment of time you've just got a little Boop of gaming that you want to play you can pull one of these out and then just do that right then and there now these devices are very much so a niche device but I have found that I tend to use these more than any others just because I happen to have them on me more often because they are so pocketable and we've got three different devices to talk about in this category the first is called the gkd pixel and I just recently did an updated review of this device I'll leave all my reviews Linked In the video description below but in a nutshell this is a metal handheld that's also super small now the initial software experience on this is not the best but if you upgrade it with one of my software guides you can get a much better experience and like I mentioned because it's so small I tend to take this one around with me a lot and I play it all the time and I think the gkd pixel is best suited for certain games like puzzle games and role playing games especially those that you can play with one hand I sometimes also use this device as an MP3 player which is something that was a little bit unexpected for me anyway if you're in the market for something that's really small that you can maybe throw in your bag or in your pocket and you want something that's a little bit more rugged then I think the gkd pixel is a really good bet however there are other small handhelds in this category that are worth considering as well the next one is going to be the original Miu mini and this one is the precursor to the Mi Mini Plus that we just talked about a few minutes ago this one is a lot smaller but runs the exact same software it has the same CPU inside and so all those other software features that I talked about with the other on still apply to this one as well including that game switcher function now in addition to being smaller and not quite as comfortable to play as the Miu Mini Plus this one does have a couple other drawbacks the first is that it does not have Wi-Fi like the Miu Mini Plus does and so in particular if you're looking to earn retro achievements or maybe play against your friends this device is not going to be capable of doing that in addition the original Miu mini is a little bit on the fragile side so compared to something like a gk0 pixel this is not something that I'm comfortable just throwing in my pocket but of course because of that software it is still a joy to play and it also works pretty well one-handed too and so between these two small vertical handhelds it's really going to be up to your play style do you want something that's more rugged you can throw in your pocket or would you like something a little bit bigger and with better software either way it's pretty cool that we have so many options in this micro handheld category but I got to say that among all the micro handhelds there's one that I prefer over these two and it's this one here it's called the trimi smart and what sets this one apart compared to the others is again the comfort factor I really like horizontal handhelds because I feel like I can play more more action heavy titles with it and it just doesn't fatigue my hands as much and for this one I recommend using a community software called minui which will streamline the user experience and so for me this is the best of both worlds in that little Boop category in the sense that it's horizontal so it's a lot more comfortable to use but it's still also really small and pocketable and it's also pretty rugged as well and so if you're in the market for something super small and cute and something you can just kind of take around with you whenever then I would recommend they trim youi smart okay for this third category we're going to talk about those who are a little bit picky when it comes to things like pixel balance and resolution and integer scaling all these things that are really important when it comes to emulation for example if you're a retro gaming Enthusiast but you tend to play on original Hardware or maybe fpga Solutions like the analog pocket but you're looking into getting an emulation handheld as well well this category is going to be for you and I'm calling it future snobs and I mean that in the kindest way possible this is for people who are really focused on making sure they have the best emulation experience that they can have and so I would consider this category to be a little bit more advanced in the sense that you have to be willing to go into the settings and dial everything in perfectly to what you want to see and in particular there are two handhelds that I think are worth your consideration the first is going to be the pal Kitty rgb3 now I want to start by saying that this is a seriously flawed device but has some aspects to it that really push it above the others and we'll start by talking about the bad stuff the first thing is the d-pad it's a little bit too sensitive for me so if you are playing a game that requires very precise controls then this one may not be a very good fit unless you're comfortable going in and adjusting the PCB board and I have guides on how to do that as well the second thing about this one is that the battery and charging are a little bit wonky for example it's very finicky about which kind of charger and cable that you use so I do recommend using the standard cable that comes with it and then using a low power charging brick if you can on top of that the battery performance on these will vary by device for example I've got three of these at this point and some will drain FAS than the others I'm not really sure what's going on there but it is something to be mindful of so yes this definitely has some flaws to it but let's talk about why it is even on this list in the first place and the number one thing about this is its screen it has a square 1X one aspect ratio screen with a resolution of 720 X 720 and that's a pretty high resolution compared to the other devices you can find around this price and at the size and if you're picky about your pixel balance and integer scaling then this is going to be a really good fit for many classic systems for those systems that have a more squarish aspect ratio things like Game Boy and Game Boy Color these games are going to look amazing on here because they going to fill up most of the screen and they're going to be huge on this 4-in display on top of that I find this to be a very comfortable handheld to hold because it is horizontal and a little bit on the tall side because of that taller aspect ratio and so when it comes to a comparison to something like the analog pocket I'd rather play on the rgb3 you get all the great things that come with software emulation but then also a horizontal device is more comfortable for me to use as well another system that's really well suited for the rgb3 is pico8 this also has a square aspect ratio but it's online capable that means you can actually just play the native app of pico8 and download games directly onto your device from the internet not only that there are some Home console systems that look amazing on this device including Sega Genesis Super Nintendo and the regular NES as well and the chip in this device is also pretty powerful you can play most Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast games too so in the end if you are very particular about having good integer scaling for classic retro gaming systems then I think that the rgb3 is definitely worth taking your time to look into another device that I decided to put in this category which was kind of a surprise for me is this one this is the trimi Smart Pro and this one is a really appealing handheld in many ways it's got a really nice form factor to it it looks kind of like a PS feda or a PSP and I reviewed this device when it first came out last year and I was a little bit lukewarm about it most of that had to do with the software but a lot of that has been updated today and the company has been making some really great strides when it comes to software and firmware updates but on top of that the community has gotten involved and improved it even further so I'm definitely overdue in making a new updated video I will try to knock that out as soon as I can but all the same I wanted to sneak it into this video as well now I am keeping this device in the future snobs category just because there is a little bit of work involved in getting this up to date and I do think that the best is still yet to come with this device as well so it will require you to kind of keep a breast of what's going on with the handheld to make sure that that you're getting the best experience possible all that being said I think we've reached a Tipping Point with the trimi smart Pro where there are so many updates at this point where it does really improve the user experience and I think one of the reasons why this device is improving so much is because it had some really good skin and bones the hardware itself is fairly decent I have a couple nitpicks especially when it comes to these analog sticks but when it comes to just d-pad Centric gaming it is a really nice experience not only that we've got a really nice and vibrant 720p screen which works really well with certain systems especially Game Boy advanced and it's also got a fair amount of power under the hood enough to be able to play most Nintendo 64 games and so I would almost categorize this device as being an investment handheld in the sense that when you buy it right now it may not be perfect but I think it's going to improve a lot over time so be on the lookout for an updated video from me on this trimi smart Pro and let's move on to the next category for this category I'm thinking about people who want to do more than just Retro Gaming on a handheld for under $100 yes it's always great to be able to play favorite Super Nintendo games but what if you want to for example stream some of your more modern games from your PC onto a handheld we're going to talk about this category next so I'm calling this category streamy Mimi and there's only really one handheld here but I want to talk about why this one specifically is optimized for a better streaming experience and the handheld that we're talking about here is the PO Kitty x55 now this one is actually very similar to the rgb3 that we were just talking about the only main difference here is the control scheme as well as is the screen this one has a 16x9 aspect ratio display which is going to fit really well with more modern games and it has a 720p resolution it also has stacked shoulder buttons which means it's going to feel more natural when you're playing something that requires you pressing on those left and right triggers and finally among all the other handhelds we're talking about in this video it's the only one that has the analog stick up top and as you can imagine when it comes to more modern games that's going to be a really good fit as well now when it comes to emulation there are a couple ways that this one really shines especially when it comes to things like Nintendo 64 or Dreamcast but played with wh screen hacks on this means you'll be able to play these classic games but in a wider aspect ratio and you'll see more things going on than you did previously on those old TVs in addition PlayStation Portable games look really good on this handheld now the chip isn't quite powerful enough to be able to play every PSP game but I would say at least half of the catalog is going to be very playable on this as well and other systems that are a little bit wider like Game Boy Advance look excellent too but I do think that the place where the pal Kitty x55 really shines is that it's kind of a budget streaming device there really aren't any other handhelds at this price point that can do streaming so well and thankfully the community software solutions that you have already have Moonlight enabled which is an app that you can use to stream from a PC over to this handheld and so here I've connected my x55 to the PC in my house and so I'm doing local streaming from Steam over onto that now to be clear it's not going to be a perfect experience there's always going to be a little bit of lag when it comes to streaming and this one doesn't have have a super powerful or high-speed Wi-Fi chip but I think it is good enough to be able to play most games in addition the Triggers on the left and right are not analog inputs and so if you want to play something like a racing game it's not going to be a perfect fit however the analog stick Centric device and the more ergonomic grips that we have on the back does make this a pretty comfortable experience for playing all those other games that won't require analog triggers and really once you start streaming to your PC it opens up a whole world of possibilities for example you could log into Game Pass and go and do some cloud gaming from a browser onto your x55 but via your PC now bear in mind that is another layer of lag because you have both Cloud streaming going to your PC but then also streaming that to your handheld so it's not going to be like a perfect conso like experience all the same it's a lot of fun to mess around with for under 100 bucks anyway if you're looking for a pretty comfortable handheld to be able to use with a bit more of a modern control scheme then I'd recommend the x55 now another handheld I want to slide into this category before we close it out is this one it's the paly RGB 10 Max 3 this one is very similar to the x55 in fact it has the exact same chipset and also a wide aspect ratio screen the big difference between these two is that this one's a little bit smaller but then also it is d-pad Centric you can see here that the d-pad is up top so in particular if you are looking for something like the x55 but you want the d-pad up top then I would recommend checking out this device you can still definitely use it for streaming and whatnot but I would say that it probably is going to be the best fit when playing more retro style games maybe some indie games that use the d-pad that might be a good fit right there but in general I just wanted to throw this one in there because it is very comfortable and ergonomic and has that wide aspect ratio if that's something you're interested in and finally we're ready to talk about my last category this is for people who I'm calling power hungry now right off the bat I do want to say that the retroid pocket 2s is a bit of a stretch because there are two different models one is $89 the other is $99 and I recommend the $99 model it's going to come with a little bit more RAM which is going to help with certain Android games as well as emulation in some contexts but the thing is those prices are before shipping and so when you actually get it shipped to your door it's probably going to be a little bit more than $100 I would say 110 115 depending on where you live so bear in mind that we're really stretching that whole $99 or less right now but I do think that this device is worth mentioning if you are talking around that $100 price point and that's because for the money this device will outperform all the others that we've talked about by far for example you've heard me say many times that the these handhelds will play like most Nintendo 64 or most Dreamcast now the reted pocket 2s doesn't have any of those caveats it can play every Nintendo 64 game every Dreamcast game every PSP game at full speed no problem in fact this device is so powerful that you can play a good amount of GameCube PS2 and even 3DS games as well so that's why I want to put this device in this video is because for the money if you're really looking for the best performance possible then the retroid pocket 2s is a no-brainer yes it's going to cost a little bit more than the others but the performance performance that you're going to get at this price category really can't be beat now one thing of note this is an android-based device it's kind of like a really small phone or tablet and as a result that does mean you're going to have to set it up like an Android phone or tablet it takes a little bit more work than the other Linux based devices we've been talking about throughout the video but with a little bit of tinkering using one of my guides you can definitely get spun up to really have a seamless gaming experience and so if you are looking for the absolute best performance that you can find around the $100 price point then the retroid pocket 2s is easily the best device that you can find right now and it's got a lot of great Hardware features that you usually wouldn't find in this price category either including some really excellent analog sticks and analog triggers but of course performance may not be the number one factor for you and so that's why I made these different categories however in wrapping up you may be wondering which among all of these do I have as like my overall picks and again that was kind of hard to narrow down as well but I actually did Whittle it down at least to these four different devices here if you're looking for a vertical style handheld something any more Game Boy form factor then I think the Miu Mini Plus is an easy pick I love the software on this one it's just a very pickup and play friendly device now if you're looking for something that's a little bit more comfortable with a horizontal form factor but also nice and small then I would recommend the amberi RG 35xx now if you want to take another step further and get something with a little bit better of a display so you can get some really chunky pixels then I would recommend the rgb3 with a couple of those caveats that I mentioned earlier and finally if power is your thing and you want to make sure that you get the absolute best performance you can for the price then the retroid pocket 2s is going to be the pick for you anyway that's about it for this video I wanted to go over all your many options that you have at this price point and what I think are going to be the best depending on the type of games that you're going to be playing so let me know what you think down in the comments below among all of these which one is your favorite or is there something that I left out that you would prefer over these as well and also bear in mind that these things change on a dime for example there are a bunch of different clamshell devices coming out this year I'm super excited to try those out so if you're not already subscribed that might be something worth clicking on because I will be covering those devices here in the future anyway I hope this video was helpful maybe you're just now getting started with this whole retro handheld thing or maybe you're looking to upgrade from the one that you currently have either way I hope this helped you Whittle it down as always thank you for watching be sure to like And subscribe if you found it helpful and we will see you next time happy [Music] gaming [Music]

Channel: Retro Game Corps

Views: 388,720

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Id: 6UGr42nOv54

Length: 22min 5sec (1325 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 07 2024