I Tested 5 Retro Handheld Consoles So You Don't Have To
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I'll be honest — I didn't expect to fall this deep into the retro gaming rabbit hole.
It started with a simple question: what's the best way to replay the games I grew up with? A few weeks and several handhelds later, here's what I actually think.
The one that blew me away: Retroid Pocket 6
I wasn't prepared for how good this thing looks. You pick it up, turn it on, and that 5.5" AMOLED screen just... pops. Colors are vivid, motion is buttery smooth at 120Hz, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside handles everything I threw at it — PS2, PSP, even some Switch titles — without a hiccup.
The Hall-Effect joysticks are the real unsung hero here. No drift. Ever. If you've ever had a controller slowly drift into uselessness, you'll appreciate this more than anything else on the spec sheet.
Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Also yes — if you're serious about this hobby.
The tinkerer's dream: GKD Miniplus
This one surprised me. It's small — fits in your palm — but it's loaded. 10,000+ games ready to go out of the box, WiFi and Bluetooth built in, and the open-source software means you can customize basically everything.
Performance tops out around PS1 and N64, which honestly covers 90% of the classic games most people actually want to play. If you're not chasing PS2 emulation, this hits a sweet spot that's hard to argue with.
For the living room: Super Console X Cube
Not everything needs to be handheld. Sometimes you just want to sit on the couch, plug something into the TV, and hand a controller to whoever's next to you. The X Cube does exactly that — HDMI out, up to 4 players, up to 256GB of games. It's become a permanent fixture next to my TV.
→ Shop the Super Console X Cube
For the fighter fans: HD Wireless Arcade Console
Two joystick controllers, HD output, classic arcade feel. Setup took me about 4 minutes. My friends who grew up in arcades immediately understood what this was about. It's not trying to be anything more than what it is — and that's exactly why it works.
→ Shop the HD Wireless Arcade Console
The wildcard: 400-in-1 Mini Handheld
At under $10, I expected nothing. I got... actually something? It's tiny, the screen is small, and it's pure 8-bit nostalgia. I gave one to my nephew and he hasn't put it down. Sometimes simple is enough.
→ Shop the 400-in-1 Mini Handheld
All of these are available at Retro Mini Handheld. If you're not sure where to start, the GKD Miniplus is the safest first pick — and the RP6 is where you end up once you're hooked.