So she sends me this clip for something called Retro Snap, I do a little reading up on it and discover that it’s overpriced, cheap hardware, made by a “business” that ghosts you when you need support, takes down negative reviews and even tries to bribe mods to take down critical posts. For starters. So fuck them.
Looking for alternatives, I learn about Anbernic, and as I’m reading up on them I very quickly feel overwhelmed by the huge variety of consoles on the market and vague info on what games you’ll get or how to get the ones you might want (yes I understand why but still).
So you, smart people, can you help a brother out?
Check out the Youtuber Retro Game Corps. Excellent in-depth videos on these devices with a focus on price relative to quality.
This is his most recent overview video of the best handhelds in each price/performance category.
You can feel good about buying any of these, and not feel the need to go any deeper, but the video is 3 months out of date, so if you really want to determine what the absolute best is for you, you may want to watch some of the corresponding more recent vids for the price class you’re interested in.
Edit: My ideal was ultimately to buy a controller to attach around my phone (RGC makes these vids as well, and add-on controllers’ quality is surprisingly high nowadays) instead of buying a dedicated handheld, so you may also want to consider whether you can get the experience you want with the hardware you already have as well.
+1 for this channel, it’s great. Personally I have a Retroid Pocket 3+ and love it. Since then they’ve only gotten better, you’d benefit from the improvements if you want to emulate higher-end systems or play more demanding Android games. Otherwise pick up a previous-gen unit at a discount if possible as they keep pumping out new ones!
Eh. That channel seems like paid marketing to me in retrospect. I bought the Anbernic GBA clamshell clone based on his glowing recommendation, and was very disappointed.
I almost got one of those but landed on something else. Curious about what was disappointing
Uncomfortable to hold. Buttons are too clicky, even after the tape mod. Screen is too tiny for games intended to be played on TVs.