The best pocket friendly retro emulation handhelds

As regular readers will no doubt be aware I am a big fan of emulation handhelds, they are a great way of playing classic games across a huge variety of systems so thought today I would detail three of what I consider to be the best pocket friendly devices starting with……

Miyoo Mini Plus

The sequel to the ridiculously successful Miyoo Mini the Miyoo Mini Plus offers the same excellent performance on systems up to and including PS1 but in a larger and more comfortable form factor than previously.  The Plus has the same great bright and vivid screen with minimal bezels around the edge and now supports the fantastic OnionOS custom firmware offering a raft of features such as themes, icons, a box art scraper (unlike the original Mini the Mini+ has WiFi) and a very useful Game Switcher launcher.

The machine is thicker and chunkier than the original but that is fine as it’s much more comfortable to hold than the original and also boasts better and more responsive shoulder buttons on the back of the machine.

For me the Mini+ is my favourite device for playing GameBoy, GameBoy Color and GameBoy Advance mainly due to the form factor, it really does feel so right and natural to be playing these three systems on here.

Out of the three machines in this feature this is probably the most pocket friendly of them and comes highly recommended.

Anbernic RG353M

Anbernic are well known for producing well made and great looking devices and for me the RG353M is their best, it’s metal so feels great and has a nice weight to it, and, like the Mini+ plays all systems flawlessly up to and including PS1 but comes with the added bonus of being able to play N64, and some PSP, Dreamcast and Saturn too.

Another advantage of this device are the dual analogue sticks which are well made and extremely responsive as are the face buttons and the d-pad,  the screen is bright and sharp and the perfect size for systems such as SNES and Megadrive due to it being a 4:3 screen.

I am also pleased to report that the brilliant ArkOS custom firmware is supported which has a variety of themes, an efficient box art scraper and improved performance. 

WiFi is also available meaning keeping ArkOS updated is a quick and simple process.

Another extremely pocketable device although maybe not as much as the Mini+ due to the slightly protruding analogue sticks.

Anbernic have really nailed it with this device, it’s just brilliant!

Retroid Pocket Flip

I’ve always been a sucker for as good clamshell handheld so was really excited when I read that Retroid were releasing one and it doesn’t disappoint.  It’s a surprisingly small device that packs a lot of power beneath it’s shell.  

Setting up the machine is simplicity itself as you have the option of installing many of the emulators you will need during the set up process and Retroid also offer their own launcher (although I prefer to use ATV Launcher Pro available from the Google Play Store included as it just looks more attractive and is simpler to use).

It’s an Android device running Android 11 meaning native Android games can also be played such as Asphalt and Call of Duty Mobile.  

Out of the three devices here this is the most powerful meaning all systems up to and including PS1 as well as PSP, Dreamcast, N64 and Saturn can be played perfectly along with a small number of Gamecube and PS2 but don’t go buying this expecting to be able to play 100% of these titles and not all will perform well.

Unlike the RG353M the Flip uses slider sticks instead of analogue sticks, something that always divides opinion but personally I don’t mind them, they’re responsive and once you’re playing a game they don’t really feel much different, they’re also clickable for use as L3 and R3 buttons.  The d-pad and the face buttons are perfectly fine and on the top of the machine are stacked L1, R1, L2 and R2 shoulder buttons.

If you’re going to be playing the device for long periods it is well worth purchasing the grip (pictured) as it’s really well designed bit of kit and makes the machine feel really great to use but it’s not essential.

Due to the stacked shoulder buttons on the top of the machine this is probably the least pocket friendly of the three devices although if you have large pockets you’ll still find this a comfortable fit.

An excellent, great looking and powerful clamshell device.

So there you have it, my three favourite pocket friendly devices, you may have your own choices but any of these come highly recommended and are well worth checking out!