The Best Handheld emulator (nes, snes, gba, gen)

[Deferet]

I'm looking for a standalone emulator that plays nes, snes, gen, and gba games. I've found a couple myself, but I want some opinions on what is the best options for this. I would rather have one that plays roms and not cartridges. Any opinion on this?

 

[RevPokemon]

Best is IMO an android as they can emulate any thing up to Dreamcast and have original games.

After that I may would say PSP as its relatively good up to PSX and is a used PSP is relatively cheap

 

[TecXero]

What device are you using? Can't really give you an recommendation for an emulator unless we know what device you want to use it on. Also, it's rare to find a decent all in one emulator, it's normally preferable to just have multiple emulators on your device.

 

[RevPokemon]

What device are you using? Can't really give you an recommendation for an emulator unless we know what device you want to use it on. Also, it's rare to find a decent all in one emulator, it's normally preferable to just have multiple emulators on your device.

Yeah but unless he states he owns one I'm assuming he has none.

 

[Deleted User]

You might want to consider a GCW Zero. I don't own one of them, but for a handheld emulator it looks pretty good.

http://gbatemp.net/review/gcw-zero.122/

 

[TecXero]

Yeah but unless he states he owns one I'm assuming he has none.

Oh, he/she/it means he/she/it's looking for a device to run emulators on.

Personally, I recommend a PSP. They're cheap, have a decent screen, and they have decent feeling controls. Not to mention all the emulators and other homebrew that was developed for it.

 

[RevPokemon]

Personally the PSP is probably the best sub 100 dollar portable emulator you can get but can get an LG Gpad 7.0 for about 120 which with a quad processor and android os that is better for emulation (you can go up to Dreamcast) and general use apps

 

[the_randomizer]

Personally the PSP is probably the best sub 100 dollar portable emulator you can get but can get an LG Gpad 7.0 for about 120 which with a quad processor and android os that is better for emulation (you can go up to Dreamcast) and general use apps

Never heard of that LG device, but it looks pretty cool and relative cheap. Methinks you would get much better emulation than you would on the PSP by a long shot Would that run RetroArch relative well (including the Snes9x Next core)?

 

[RevPokemon]

Never heard of that LG device, but it looks pretty cool and relative cheap. Methinks you would get much better emulation than you would on the PSP by a long shot Would that run RetroArch relative well (including the Snes9x Next core)?

It is android can handle gaming emulation much better than consoles at this point at has different levels depending on your budget.

 

[TecXero]

Personally the PSP is probably the best sub 100 dollar portable emulator you can get but can get an LG Gpad 7.0 for about 120 which with a quad processor and android os that is better for emulation (you can go up to Dreamcast) and general use apps

The PSP can run emulators, but it itself isn't an emulator. Emulators are software (and sometimes hardware) designed to mimic another system to put it simply.

Android is fine and dandy, but they tend to be lacking in the controls department. Yeah, you can carry around a Bluetooth controller or an attachment, but it just makes it far too bulky for my taste. PSP is great for someone just wanting to run emulators up to the GBA and PS1. In my area, you can find an old Phat for $30 to $40. Of course, if the OP wants to emulate anything more powerful, he's better off with any newer smartphone or tablet, it's just they'll be far more expensive. Heck, even the Pandora emulates the N64 decently, with enough tweaking.

 

[purupuru]

Get the Nvidia Shield. It's by far the best. The GCW leaves a lot to be desired. Basically it's a hopped up Gemei a330. The PSP is okay. It's a solid choice but it doesn't have a good MAME emulator but hey you get to play all those PSP games. Then there's the GPD handhelds. Skelton helped out with the development of that and it's the best of the inexpensive Chinese Android lot. The Shield would be my top choice here.

 

[RevPokemon]

The PSP can run emulators, but it itself isn't an emulator. Emulators are software (and sometimes hardware) designed to mimic another system to put it simply.

Android is fine and dandy, but they tend to be lacking in the controls department. Yeah, you can carry around a Bluetooth controller or an attachment, but it just makes it far too bulky for my taste. PSP is great for someone just wanting to run emulators up to the GBA and PS1. In my area, you can find an old Phat for $30 to $40. Of course, if the OP wants to emulate anything more powerful, he's better off with any newer smartphone or tablet, it's just they'll be far more expensive. Heck, even the Pandora emulates the N64 decently, with enough tweaking.

I guess it a concept of lower price and portability vs power and better general use. Also many of the bt controllers aren't that bad in size

 

[RevPokemon]

http://www.jxdofficial.com/jxd-s7800b-7-inch-quad-core-game-console.html

Seems nice with quad and 2 GB ram and would probably be a beast at most stuff

 

[TecXero]

http://www.jxdofficial.com/jxd-s7800b-7-inch-quad-core-game-console.html

Seems nice with quad and 2 GB ram and would probably be a beast at most stuff

At that point, might as well slap down another $50 and just get a Nvidia Shield. Those things are what the Pandora should have been from the start.

 

[purupuru]

http://www.jxdofficial.com/jxd-s7800b-7-inch-quad-core-game-console.html

Seems nice with quad and 2 GB ram and would probably be a beast at most stuff

The JXD is nice if there's a custom rom available which is probably the case. The stock UI is horrible on the JXD but that can be fixed. The GPD has better quality analog sticks. On the JXD they're soldered directly to the board. Is it really worth saving $50 with JXD or getting the Shield portable? I guess that depends if you want something that can slide in a pocket because you're not doing that with the Shield. I have a few Android handhelds and I can say from experience when I want emulation I reach for the Shield

 

[RevPokemon]

The JXD is nice if there's a custom rom available which is probably the case. The stock UI is horrible on the JXD but that can be fixed. The GPD has better quality analog sticks. On the JXD they're soldered directly to the board. Is it really worth saving $50 with JXD or getting the Shield portable? I guess that depends if you want something that can slide in a pocket because you're not doing that with the Shield. I have a few Android handhelds and I can say from experience when I want emulation I reach for the Shield

Yeah the shield is the best handheld for emu(not including tablets) but I'm not sure how much he wants to spend.

 

[the_randomizer]

The PSP can run emulators, but it itself isn't an emulator. Emulators are software (and sometimes hardware) designed to mimic another system to put it simply.

Android is fine and dandy, but they tend to be lacking in the controls department. Yeah, you can carry around a Bluetooth controller or an attachment, but it just makes it far too bulky for my taste. PSP is great for someone just wanting to run emulators up to the GBA and PS1. In my area, you can find an old Phat for $30 to $40. Of course, if the OP wants to emulate anything more powerful, he's better off with any newer smartphone or tablet, it's just they'll be far more expensive. Heck, even the Pandora emulates the N64 decently, with enough tweaking.

Too bad Snes on PSP sucks ass, the sound quality is absolute garbage (and I can provide evidence), if they ported Snes9x 1.52, then my opinion would differ, that version has cycle-accurate audio emulation. The one used now, based off of 1.43, sounds like Zsnes, i.e. bad. Genesis, meh, GBA might be fine, but for better emulation quality, the Shield portable takes the cake.

 

[RevPokemon]

Only reason I see to get a PSP over shield is price but even still I think the extra money is worth it.

 

[the_randomizer]

Only reason I see to get a PSP over shield is price but even still I think the extra money is worth it.

And it has a built in controller, a rarity in Android devices. I've occasionally seen new Shield portables for $150 on eBay.

 

[RevPokemon]

And it has a built in controller, a rarity in Android devices. I've occasionally seen new Shield portables for $150 on eBay.

Also plug in any which I hear works pretty great