Anyone played or have an opinion about…. But with video games

Ok so realised there wasn’t an equivalent to the board game counterpart.

5 Likes

Mainly due to being stuck in the house a lot recently I’ve been trying to get through some older games which led me down a retro game hole. I learned that I completely missed the retroid and other similar devices, I had no idea that they existed.

Has anyone bought any of these retro handhelds and how did people find them? Were they easy to setup and get games for?

1 Like

I haven’t got a retro handheld but I have a Steam deck which I recommend, very good for planes and hotels.

3 Likes

Another vote for the steam deck. I’ve been in since the early days and it’s revitalised pc gaming for me. Best purchase in years.

3 Likes

Do those things act as a generic PC, or are they strictly tied to the online Steam service?

(I.e. Can you use a Steam Deck without Steam?)

1 Like

They are a Linux pc which you can do whatever you like with. Valve have invested a lot in the proton compatibility layer that lets windows games run in the Linux environment. This still works even if you use epic/gog/standalone installers. Steam is just the default (and therefore most convenient).

Emulators are all managed separately through either the Linux package manager (like an app store) or something like Emudeck (another program) that sets them all up for you.

Edit:
Currently at the play centre with the little monster making the most of the break!

7 Likes

I recently bought a R36S handheld, was only $28 (AUD). It emulates Capcom 1-3, MAME, PC Engine, Family Computer (no idea what this is), Super Famicom, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Mega Drive, Dreamcast, Game Gear. Neo Geo, Playstation, PSP, and ScummVM (but there are no games actually loaded for it).

It’s got a 3.5 inch screen, 2 sticks as well as a dpad, and triggers on the back (which I haven’t found a use for). Cheap and cheerful. And I get to play my favourite arcade game Elevator Action.

8 Likes

I remember Elevator Action on the NES. Awesome game for the time!

3 Likes

I put a Trimui Smart Pro on my wishlist as a result of this thread. My dad bought it for me for Christmas (and it took a little extra time to arrive).

I’m having a ton of fun with it. The worst thing about it is the awful SD card it comes with, which is absolute garbage. A new, brand-name microSD card later, it’s just amazing to use. I can’t decide which of the many options to spend my spare time playing, so I keep bouncing between the many options.

I might need to set up a dedicated gaming desktop (rather than my hybrid multi-monitor workstation/gaming rig of my main desktop) for the Moonlight streaming function because Steam Big Picture keeps getting confused by my monitors (or something).

But the streaming function aside, it’s totally worth it for the emulation options (SNES, GBA, NDS are seem rock solid; PSP, N64, PS1 and DC all seem pretty good but not perfect)

5 Likes