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Check out our thoughts on the latest retro handhelds, and retrospectives on ones we still can’t put down.
The Latest
A1 Unicorn vs. RG Cube: Which One?
If you’ve been following handhelds for long enough, you’d know that for the longest time, 480p 3.5” handhelds were not only the norm, but the dominating form factor in the space. So when Powkiddy came out of left field with a 4” 1:1 720p handheld in the RGB30 I was...
My Plea to Powkiddy: A New RGB30
As the river of handheld releases continues to flood our consumerist minds, it's important to not just focus on the hype of the moment, but the handhelds that have stood up and made a name for themselves in the crowded pack. The Powkiddy RGB30 is barely a year old at...
Retro Handhelds Weekly: Retroid Pocket Mini, Anbernic RG40XXV, and Much More!
Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week saw a bunch of news in both the world of hardware and software, our writing team continues to be on an absolute tear, and there’s even a surprise or two sprinkled in! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee,...
Are Fanatical Mystery Bundles Worth It?
If you have been in the world of buying cheap Steam keys, then Fanatical and their mystery bundles are no stranger to you. The idea is you can pay different tiers to get a bundle of mystery keys. This is always so enticing and I have fallen victim to it many of times,...
Anbernic RG40XXV First Impressions
I am going to be honest. The Anbernic fatigue has been setting in at this point of the year for me. I felt little excitement from the RG40XXH despite the 4:3 screen being enjoyable to use. When I heard the news of yet another XX device releasing, I felt like I had...
The Actual Best Way to Play Majora’s Mask
Reddit will argue over these. by Joe This article is a sequel. And not just any sequel, but one that reuses the same assets and flips them to save on development costs and time and recontextualizes the entire experience. Yes, I know what you're thinking, just like...
Delver: A Roguelike Like They Used To Make
We love talking about older games around these parts, whether they're what we're playing this week, or old memories waiting to be relived. Today, though, I'd like to cover something a bit more recent - a little game called Delver. Delver is a game that first came out...
GKD Pixel: 7 Months Later
Released in January of this year, the GKD Pixel wasn’t really all that popular out of the gate. Too expensive, the hardware was old, and if you really pushed the device you could feel it get warm in your hand. Skip all the way to August and, well none of those are...
How to Upgrade ROG Ally X SSD
With the ASUS ROG Ally X, there are more than a few meaningful upgrades that have been implemented to improve the experience. One such example is the ability to use a traditional 2280 M.2 NVMe drive, as opposed to the 2230 form factor from the original Ally. With...
Kinhank K36 Review: Good Bones, Shaky Software
Unlike most of the folks here at RH, I don't need Ban to convince me to jump at potential e-waste budget handhelds. I possess that instinct (curse) all on my own. So when I found out that Kinhank was making their own clone of my beloved R36S, I was on board...
Retro Handhelds Weekly: SteamOS on ROG Ally, GKD Bubble, Lime3DS, and More!
Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week saw a bunch of news in both the world of hardware and software, our writing team continues to be on an absolute tear, and there’s even a surprise or two sprinkled in! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee,...
The Zotac Zone is Finally Available for Pre-order
After making its grand entrance at Computex, the Zotac Zone is finally available for pre-order. This is just the latest competitor attempting to dethrone the Steam Deck OLED and ROG Ally X, but it carries the same price tag as ASUS’ offering. The difference here is...
ASUS ROG Ally X Review: The Best Handheld, For Now
For reasons I can't quite explain, I was surprisingly excited about the release of the ASUS ROG Ally X. It's not like I don't have enough handhelds to play around with, as I own the Steam Deck OLED, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw. And that's not counting the Android...
XBPlay Makes Xbox on Handhelds Awesome
Xbox has recently raised the prices for GamePass, but the service is so awesome. If only there was a way to enjoy these titles on a handheld in a comfortable way. There is! It is an app called XBPlay. What Is It? XBPlay is an app that you can easily install on...
Next MagicX Handheld Might Feature a Familiar Processor
MagicX, exclusively on the Retro Handhelds Discord has announced that future releases of their devices will feature an Allwinner SoC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p3OhX9wK50&t=2s Not much information has been shared, but it looks like tensions have reached a...
The Best Way to Play Majora’s Mask
You’ve been met with a terrible framebuffer emulator, have you? Prepared by Joe You are itchy. An itchy itch that feels… itchy. An itch from your childhood, or even an itch nostalgic for the forgotten era of 2015. You long to scratch it, but that scratch is playing...
Valve Releases Windows Drivers for Steam Deck OLED
Valve has finally released drivers that allow Steam Deck OLED players to install Windows on their devices. Hello WinDeck fans! We’ve just shipped APU, Audio, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth drivers for Windows on Steam Deck OLED. You can find the updated drivers and notes here:...
Anbernic RG40XXV Arrives on August 26
At this point, it probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but a week after surprising everyone with a video of the RG40XXV, Anbernic has shared everything there is to know. Which includes the continued reliance on the Allwinner H700 chip. This is despite...
How to Emulate the N64 Transfer Pak
Greetings friends and fellow enthusiasts! This is Mikhailov from Team Retrogue, where we like retro games and the devices that bring them to us. In my younger days, I was in awe of the N64 Transfer Pak. Utilizing this controller attachment, one could plug in their...
Powkiddy V10 vs RGB20: Come Here Often?
Picture This: It’s the end of 2020, and the Rockchip RK3326 is all the rage. Hardkernel released their Odroid Go Advance back in June, Anbernic released the RG351P in September, and Retroid put out their Pocket 2 back in January. So what does Powkiddy do? They release...
6 Back to School Games You’ll Love
The season of family getaways, swimming, and sunshine is once again wrapping up. August was always bittersweet as a kid, as it represented the end of summer vacation and a return to another long year of school. As soon as those back-to-school sale commercials started...
Retro Handhelds Weekly: 4 Years of RH, RG40XXV, Clones of Clones, and More!
Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week saw a bunch of news in both the world of hardware and software, our writing team continues to be on an absolute tear, and there's even a surprise or two sprinkled in! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee,...
ROG Ally X Thoughts from an ROG Ally Hater
I was so excited about the original ROG Ally. Heck, I sold so much of my collection to be able to afford it and I preordered it. Luckily, I even got it a few days early before release (unlike a lot of these handhelds)! My excitement was unmatched until I finished...
The SJGAM M21 Is Another Clone of a Clone
Are you the type that likes to throw your money at any e-waste handheld that lands on AliExpress? Well, get your wallet ready as the SJGAM M21 is expected to arrive any day now. In true SJGAM fashion, the M21 is another clone hitting the market. But instead of cloning...
3 Ways to Pause Elden Ring
This is a ‘Git Gud’ Safe Zone Prepared by Joe We’ve all been there when you are untethered by Radahn area attacks in phase II and you are completely telegraphed into his move set, torch in hand, ready to pounce once your 1-2 second attack window is achieved and...
MagicX Testing Designs for Mini 2, Touch One, and Touch Two
Exclusively on the Retro Handhelds Discord, MagicX has shared a video showing that testing stages for the MagicX XU Mini 2, Touch One, and Touch Two devices have officially begun. Testing stages for devices often come in quick succession. Most of this is due to how...
Anbernic RG40XXV Confirmed in ‘First Look’ Video
It's been a little while since the last Anbernic device was released, but it seems that the wait for something new is almost over. After a leak gave us a look at a new Anbernic handheld, the company published a "First Look" video on its YouTube channel. This...
‘Timeless’ Retro Games You Should Play
Greetings friends and fellow enthusiasts! This is Mikhailov from Team Retrogue, where we like retro games and the devices that bring them to us. What is a "timeless" game? According to Merriam-Webster, the word "timeless" is an adjective defined as "not restricted to...
Abathor: A Solid Classic Experience
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, I have a handheld problem. I also have a controller problem. But one thing I haven’t mentioned is my steadily growing game problem. In Steam alone I’ve managed to pick up 540 or so games and still counting. While I may have...
Emulated Games in Armoury Crate!
Gary's Note: This article is intended as a companion piece to the video tutorial located here. One of the best parts of a Linux handheld, be it a Steam Deck or something like the RG351P, is the unified front-end experience. It's one of the things people comment the...