Retro
Handhelds
Your complete retro handheld gaming source
We’re glad you made it! Retro Handhelds is a news, reviews and guides website, youtube channel, discord and facebook community dedicated to the celebration of classic gaming on the go. Whether you’re replaying old favorites or digging for hidden gems, RH is here to offer camaraderie, support, and news on the latest portable gaming developments!
The Latest
Frozen Classic Midwinter Is Getting a Ground-Up PC Remaster
Midwinter is being rebuilt as a faithful PC remaster in Rust/Bevy, keeping its 1989 mechanics and huge frozen map while adding modern visuals and QoL.
Dragon Quest Creator Gets an RPG-Style Biographical Manga in Japan
Yuji Horii is getting a 160-page, RPG-styled biographical manga in Japan, charting his path to creating Dragon Quest, supervised by Horii himself.
How to Install SpruceOS v4.0: One SD Card To Rule Them All
SpruceOS 4.0 has arrived on the scene to give you a single SD card solution to use across your lineup of Miyoo and TrimUI devices.
Magenta Sky and Welcome 2 The Machine Launch a Neon Rebellion on ZX Spectrum
Radical Reflux’s Magenta Sky & Welcome 2 The Machine form a linked cyberpunk duology for the ZX Spectrum, following rebel-in-training Clark in the u_nvrz saga.
Lord of the Rings: Conquest’s Multiplayer Is Back Online
A new fan project restores online play and DLC for Lord of the Rings: Conquest, giving Pandemic’s ill-fated final game a second shot at multiplayer life.
Catacomb, Commander Keen Cash, and the Leap That Led to Doom
Romero’s new Catacomb 3-D mini-doc shows how id nearly stuck with lucrative Keen, and how one scrappy texture-mapped dungeon pushed them toward Wolf3D and Doom.
The AYN Thor Just Got a Quality-of-Life OTA That Fixes the Annoying Stuff
AYN updates the Thor with better OLED uniformity for dim gaming, smarter Home/Return binding for the active touchscreen, and a volume slider fix for Bluetooth and wired audio.
GameNative 0.7.1 Adds Epic Store Support
Stockpiling free Epic games pays off: GameNative v0.7.1 syncs your Epic library on Android and adds new performance options, dropdown installs, and dual-screen support.
AYANEO’s Pocket Play Is a Brick-Shaped Xperia Throwback With a 165 Hz OLED Screen
AYANEO’s Pocket Play is a chunky slide-out gaming phone with a 6.8-inch 165Hz OLED and Dimensity 9300 power. Kickstarter is listed as “Launching Soon.”
Final Fantasy VII’s 2013 Steam Release Is Being Delisted for an ‘Improved’ Edition
Square Enix is delisting FF7’s 2013 Steam release in favor of a new “improved” PC version, free for existing owners, but saves and many mods won’t carry over.
A Decade of Patches: Ars Goes Inside NVIDIA’s Shield Experiment
Ars looks at how the Shield TV kept getting major Android, security, and feature updates for a decade, making it the most consistently supported Android device.
The PS Vita Lives! Anbernic Reveals the RG Vita and RG Vita Pro
Anbernic drops a surprise RG Vita teaser before the holiday. Expect Vita-style ergonomics, a confirmed 5,000mAh battery, and plenty of speculation.
MANGMI Pocket Max Price and Release Date Revealed
MANGMI Pocket Max: A $199 budget-friendly powerhouse with a 7-inch AMOLED 144Hz screen and Snapdragon 865. Is this the new king of retro handhelds?
SpruceOS Launches 4.0 For A Ton of Devices
SpruceOS 4.0 adds a new front end, one-click installer, and broader device support, with devs urging a fresh install as they “clear the decks” for future work.
MinUI Creator Shaun Inman Is Back With a DS-Only OS for the MagicX Zero40
MinUI dev Shaun Inman has launched DEDICATED OS, a single-system DS launcher for the MagicX Zero40, while also preparing to release his adventure Ratcheteer DX.
Sands of Time PC Mod Is the Remaster Ubisoft Wouldn’t Make
With Ubisoft’s Sands of Time remake canceled, a free PC “remaster” mod upgrades textures, cutscenes, and visuals, making the 2003 classic shine on modern rigs.
GOG’s Preservation Effort Continues With a Free Alone in the Dark Giveaway
GOG is giving away Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy until Feb 5 to spotlight its Preservation Program, making it easier than ever to revisit this classic series.
ScummVM 2026.1.0 Might Be Its Biggest Release
ScummVM 2026.1.0 adds 12 engines, ~194 games, and big QoL upgrades including better keymapping, TTS, SDL3 builds, and improved mobile and desktop builds.
Prefer video instead?
Retro Handhelds Youtube & Podcast
Stubbs & Zu review, mod, showcase & setup your favorite retro handhelds on camera! Also, every Monday night @ 6pm Pacific Time, Stubbs, Rob (The Retro Tech Dad), Ban & Andrew get together for a live podcast where they discuss the latest handheld and emulation news, games they’ve been playing, and interview guests from around the retro scene about their latest projects!