# Best Handheld Emulator Machine



## ToonGoomba (Mar 13, 2018)

Besides the 3DS, PSP, and smart phone, whats the best custom made handheld that is capable of running NES, SNES, Genesis, and maybe even N64? I would like something that is flashy and about the size of a GBA, but with a much nicer screen and affordable. Any suggestions? Or should I just build my own Raspberry Pi handheld...? (If I build my own, I will need a VERY detailed guide as I am no good at wiring)


----------



## Scarlet (Mar 13, 2018)

PSP is always the clear winner in this, despite you saying you don't want it lol. A Vita can do everything a PSP can do, has a nicer screen, and more options. You could also invest in an Android tablet, or one of those fancy GPD things, but they're pretty expensive. What do you have against PSP/3DS anyway? I honestly think they're the best suited for what they cost.


----------



## ToonGoomba (Mar 13, 2018)

Scarlet said:


> PSP is always the clear winner in this, despite you saying you don't want it lol. A Vita can do everything a PSP can do, has a nicer screen, and more options. You could also invest in an Android tablet, or one of those fancy GPD things, but they're pretty expensive. What do you have against PSP/3DS anyway? I honestly think they're the best suited for what they cost.


Honestly, I just think the 3DS is a bit too bulky. The PSP would be nice, but...I would want to modify it a lot to make it not look like a Sony device.


----------



## DKB (Mar 13, 2018)

ToonGoomba said:


> Honestly, I just think the 3DS is a bit too bulky. The PSP would be nice, but...I would want to modify it a lot to make it not look like a Sony device.



If you want to go though that mess, you should just build a raspberry pi handheld and make it one of a kind. You're being extremely specific here.


----------



## Sonic Angel Knight (Mar 13, 2018)

Nvidia Shield Portable. Since it's intended to be a game console in the first place, and runs on android, it makes thing as easy as it can get by simply installing a app and playing a rom, you can take it with you anywhere or plug it into your tv and use another controller as well. Of course the shield tablet is a little better with the Tegra K1 compared to Tegra 4, means it has some enhancements. Still both are good depending on the person. You want something that looks like a portable console, then that is it.


----------



## Old (Mar 13, 2018)

Scarlet said:


> PSP is always the clear winner in this, despite you saying you don't want it lol. A Vita can do everything a PSP can do, has a nicer screen, and more options. You could also invest in an Android tablet, or one of those fancy GPD things, but they're pretty expensive. What do you have against PSP/3DS anyway? I honestly think they're the best suited for what they cost.



I’ve gotten so much enjoyment out of the PSPs over the past few years.  The various models seem to emulate 85% of my favorites with ease.
I’ve never had a save slip or lost any data, either.

Speaking of, is there a preferred chip brand, a best-of-the-best?


----------



## Deleted User (Mar 13, 2018)

Psp is easily the best, cheapest emulator machine. It has a wide range of games for it's own library and can play a damn lot of old systems too.

Though once the Switch is fully opened and people start unlocking it's full power, it'll be very possible for it to take pole position, but there's always going to be a place for the holy psp.


----------



## Deleted User (Mar 13, 2018)

ToonGoomba said:


> Honestly, I just think the 3DS is a bit too bulky. The PSP would be nice, but...I would want to modify it a lot to make it not look like a Sony device.


Not exactly sure what you have against Sony devices (a logo is just a logo), but I do see what you mean about the 3DS being a tad bulky, though.

Ultimately, it comes up to preference.  All devices can emulate the NES, SNES, and Genesis fairly well, so if you only care about those games, then just go with whatever you feel like.  I feel that the PSP/PS Vita has an edge over the 3DS in terms of emulation (thanks to semi-native PS1 support and to the MIPS architecture making N64 emulation feasible at all, in addition to better GBA Emulattion support), but the 3DS certainly isn't a bad emulation device, and is still able to play a wide variety of games from all sorts of devices.

Another thing you should probably keep in mind is that each system I listed above has it's own set of games.  Depending on your taste, you may find yourself leaning towards the 3DS's library, or towards the PSP/PS Vita's library.

You could, as @DKB pointed out, just 3D Print a case and wire together a Raspberry Pi with a screen, then load RetroPie and all your ROMs onto an SD Card.  I'd recommend the Raspberry Pi 3 for this; that little sucker can emulate systems all the way up to the Dreamcast and PSP.  Going this route requires that you have some knowledge about soldering and at least some basic experience with Linux, FTP Servers, etc., etc.

You could also just get something along the lines of a GPD XD.  It runs on Android and, thus, can use all Android emulators.  You can even play some nice Android ports of older titles on it (Sonic 1, 2, CD, and Crazy Taxi come to mind).

The answer isn't as simple as it seems.  You kind of have to weigh these strengths and weaknesses when picking your handheld.


----------



## dAVID_ (Mar 14, 2018)

Or you can get a GPD XD.


----------



## Helpful Corn (Mar 14, 2018)

This doesn't answer your question but:

Hypothetically, an e-ink screen like a kindle, but with a dedicated keyboard and an indiglo backlighting system that only plays interactive fiction.

Or a system that mimics the look and style of retro lcd games but can be fully detailed to play full on games in a minamalist package.


----------



## the_randomizer (Mar 14, 2018)

dAVID_ said:


> Or you can get a GPD XD.



Chinese Android devices aren't all that great. A K1 Tablet would be better and more reliable.


----------



## dAVID_ (Mar 14, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Chinese Android devices aren't all that great. A K1 Tablet would be better and more reliable.


Hey, that's actually pretty good for the price.


----------



## slaphappygamer (Mar 14, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Chinese Android devices aren't all that great. A K1 Tablet would be better and more reliable.


Just finally bought epsxe for my k1 tablet. It’s so nice.


----------



## the_randomizer (Mar 14, 2018)

slaphappygamer said:


> Just finally bought epsxe for my k1 tablet. It’s so nice.



Indeed, the K1 tablet is very nice


----------



## zfreeman (Mar 14, 2018)

Xperia Play running Cola 6.


----------



## SLiV3R (Mar 15, 2018)

N3DSXL is the one and only for 8-16 bit emulation


----------



## JellyPerson (Mar 17, 2018)

Nvidia Shield Portable?


----------



## CrakrHakr666 (Mar 17, 2018)

I can vouch for the Shield Portable. I used to have one and even emulated Dreamcast nearly perfectly. Used it to play NES, SNES, GB, GBA, Genesis, PS1, and Dreamcast.


----------



## The Catboy (Mar 17, 2018)

I am going with my PSP as the clear winner on this one. I've used the 3DS, DS, and Dingoo for my portable emulation and none of them even compare to the PSP. The closest to the PSP has been the 3DS, but lack of good PS1 emulation really holds it back for me.


----------



## Zaphod77 (Nov 16, 2018)

We all know the gpd xd plus is the best, but it also has a high price tag.  it even emulates DREAMCAST.

The more important question is what's the best CHEAP portable emulator console?

Here are my qualifications.

1) must be under 100$
2) must allow adding your own games
3) must play the majority of 8 and 16 bit consoles and portable consoles. 32 bit consoles optional but would be nice. arcade games also would be nice.
4) must run full speed with no frameskip for all consoles.
5) must be accurate enough to fool people into thinking it's an official product. has to look and sound right, adn work.
6) must have serviceable dpad and buttons.


----------



## emigre (Nov 16, 2018)

Zaphod77 said:


> We all know the gpd xd plus is the best, but it also has a high price tag.  it even emulates DREAMCAST.
> 
> The more important question is what's the best CHEAP portable emulator console?
> 
> ...



OG GPD XD. I got mine pretty cheap on the second hand market.


----------



## Taleweaver (Nov 17, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Chinese Android devices aren't all that great. A K1 Tablet would be better and more reliable.


I beg to differ. Can't say much of other (Chinese) devices, but the gpd xd is a top notch device : decent clamshell design, best controllers I've ever touched on a handheld, snappy, responsive and even comes preloaded with emulators and games.

The PSP is a nice runner - up, and if price is a priority I'd go for it. But the Gpd xd plays psp perfectly, and there are more gems in the android store than you might think.


----------



## kuwanger (Nov 17, 2018)

Taleweaver said:


> But the Gpd xd plays psp perfectly,



You have an interesting definition of the word perfectly.  Personally, I'd avoid Android because my experience has been that many Android devices have perceivable latency issues either in input or audio. :/  Has anyone done latency tests on the GPD XD?


----------



## the_randomizer (Nov 17, 2018)

Taleweaver said:


> I beg to differ. Can't say much of other (Chinese) devices, but the gpd xd is a top notch device : decent clamshell design, best controllers I've ever touched on a handheld, snappy, responsive and even comes preloaded with emulators and games.
> 
> The PSP is a nice runner - up, and if price is a priority I'd go for it. But the Gpd xd plays psp perfectly, and there are more gems in the android store than you might think.



My beef with PSP is that it can't even run the latest or at least, a decent Snes9x core with the superior S-SMP audio core.


----------



## Zaphod77 (Nov 17, 2018)

I'm more interested in cheaper devices that WORK.

here are all the cheap devices i actually know about.

atgames atari flashback portable. this is great, darn near perfect emulation and you can add all the joystick games onto an sdcard.  but.. it's only atari 2600 games.

genesis flashback portable. this has horrible sound emulation, and no one knows how to support battery backup on added games. reportedly the 2017 model can have the sound issue patched, but then you lose access to the built in games, and battery backup only works on built in games. and i has shovelware added onto it.  The 2018 model STILL doesn't have the sound fixed.

bajillions of nes on a chip based handhelds. they pretty much DO work, but only do nes. some also have extended modes to run their own shovelware. and not all of them take sdcards.

Dingoo. this is rather expensive, but generally well received, and known to be quite hackable usually.

various cheap android based portable consoles.  they are a  real mixed bag, and i wouldn't buy any of them without being able to try them first, which is, of course, impossible.


----------



## Taleweaver (Nov 17, 2018)

kuwanger said:


> You have an interesting definition of the word perfectly.  Personally, I'd avoid Android because my experience has been that many Android devices have perceivable latency issues either in input or audio. :/  Has anyone done latency tests on the GPD XD?


Okay, what do you want me to say? The most demanding game on the system has some drops, but your video shows that even that is doable. Depends on what games you want to play, I guess.


----------



## kuwanger (Nov 17, 2018)

Taleweaver said:


> Okay, what do you want me to say? The most demanding game on the system has some drops, but your video shows that even that is doable. Depends on what games you want to play, I guess.



"Mostly really good, but the most demanding games have some drops"?   No need to oversell what it can do.  Not trying to be petty about it, but it's too easy to take someone's word on how "perfectly" some is, make a purchase, and then later be disappointed because some of the games you specifically want to play are noticeable choppy to you*.

If you want perfect PSP, probably a PSP or a PS Vita is the best route.  I don't know if PPSSPP on Android can crank out 60 fps on God of War anywhere and/or what the performance requirements are vs what's required on x86.  I get the impression it's better optimized on Android, so I wouldn't really be surprised if some day soon 60 fps on God of War for something like a GPD XD would be a thing.  It's definitely a thing that rather impresses me about PPSSPP.

* I've had that happen a few times when it comes to SNES support.


----------



## matthi321 (Nov 17, 2018)

i think gpd xd is the only handheld that can play 64 games near perfect. if you dont mind streaming and you have an decent pc you can also stream the emulators from the pc via moonlight on a gpd xd or ps vita


----------



## CrakrHakr666 (Nov 18, 2018)

If you want cheap and are willing to put time into it, you can always build a custom portable with a RPi. That is what I am working on right now.


----------



## Zaphod77 (Nov 18, 2018)

you can make a handheld with a pi??


----------



## Tom Bombadildo (Nov 18, 2018)

Zaphod77 said:


> you can make a handheld with a pi??


Sure, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of case designs and instructions around for making your own Portable Pi. So long as you're half decent at DIY, have moderate soldering skills, and can follow directions you can get it all done yourself sometimes for a little under $150, depending on how you do it/what Pi you end up choosing. 

One of my favorite designs is the PiGRRL2, which would be perfect for your requirements and only costs maybe $110-$120 to do yourself (unless you already own a Pi, that is, and maybe more if you don't have easy access to a 3D printer): https://learn.adafruit.com/pigrrl-2 

The D-pad and buttons will be as good as you want them to be, and it looks close enough to an OG Gameboy that you could probably trick people who don't know any better that it's totally an official Nintendo product (that is, assuming you take care in putting it all together).

The only problem with using a Pi is input lag, generally speaking a stock Pi will hit like anywhere from 8-10 frames of input lag (depending on the game, display, and controller, of course, but this is around the average for the optimal experience without any tweaks). You can, however, reduce that with software tricks (and I imagine using a wired controller in this setup would also help, as well) to around 3-5 frames of input lag which is basically indistinguishable from the real thing at that point.


Assuming you're shit at DIY, or have no soldering skills, I would personally recommend a Vita over the PSP nowadays. They can be had for $100 (most places, anyways), are easy to hack (so long as it's on a firmware under the latest, which is 3.69), you can use Micro SD cards with an SD2Vita, the buttons are quite frankly fantastic, and (as far as I can tell) you get pretty great emulation for 16 bit consoles with little issues thanks to Retroarch at this point. Plus you can play nearly all PS1 and PSP games near perfectly, thanks to Adrenaline. The only thing really missing is N64 emulation, but beyond that it's pretty decent for a portable retro console.


----------



## Zaphod77 (Nov 18, 2018)

I already have the psp.  and i want a sub 100 decent emulator portable that can play 6 button 16 bit games, and Just Works (tm).


----------



## Something whatever (May 30, 2019)

Hmmm right now I would say the Vita if you like ps1/psp and weeb games  if not, N3DS/N2DS emus everything Nintendo  perfectly aswell

This is the cheap option


----------



## Condarkness_XY (Jun 3, 2019)

PSP and Vita are the best. You can basically play most of the history of gaming til n64. Which is just fantastic. Also there is GPD Win 2, which is windows 10 portable. Can play quite a few things, but costs like 800 bucks.


----------



## JuanBaNaNa (Feb 28, 2020)

I have a Sony Xperia Play that I _played _ way too much before I discovered RetroArch... the basterd fell off my desk and now wont turn on.

I think that's the best thing you could possibly get for retro gaming. The buttons feels perfect and it has a decent ammount of power to even play Nintendo64 and some heavy Arcade titles with no real effort.

I think I might fix that smartphone just to play Gameboy games


----------



## jimbo13 (Jul 21, 2021)

If you are trying to keep your pocket weight in check why not your phone and a controller cradle?


----------



## The Catboy (Jul 21, 2021)

Lilith Valentine said:


> I am going with my PSP as the clear winner on this one. I've used the 3DS, DS, and Dingoo for my portable emulation and none of them even compare to the PSP. The closest to the PSP has been the 3DS, but lack of good PS1 emulation really holds it back for me.


Past me would be happy to know that we are finally able to play PS1 game on the New 3DS and that has since become my portable emulation handheld of choice.


----------

