Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week, we saw a bunch of news in 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, and catch up on what’s happened this week in the world of Retro Handhelds.
Table of Contents
Hardware
If there’s one thing we know about retro handhelds, it’s that there is always something new around the corner. Seriously, it’s “worse” than smartphones, as some companies release new handhelds every other week. On the bright side, at least there’s no shortage of options.
ASUS Signals 2026 Price Increases, Blames AI and the New Normal
ASUS has made it official, their prices are going up in 2026. In a year-end letter to customers (translated by VideoCardz), the company announced planned price adjustments for certain products starting January 5, 2026, citing cost pressure across the supply chain. If the language sounds familiar, that’s because its the same pit the industry has been circling, now framed squarely around AI.
GAMEMT E3 Vigor Pre-Orders Open, Starting at Just $45
After more than two months, the GAMEMT E3 Vigor is finally available for pre-order over at the Royibeila website. Pricing starts at $55 for the 64GB model, and bumps up to $65 for 128GB of storage, with both configurations being available in either Purple/White or Black. However, if you use code ROYIBEILA02 at checkout, you’ll knock $10 off the price, making the price either $45 or $55.
OneXSugar Wallet is First Android Handheld with a Foldable Screen
OneXSugar Wallet Open
OneXSugar, the company behind such oddities as the transforming dual-screen Sugar1, has released a video on BiliBili for an upcoming handheld called the OneXSugar Wallet. In keeping with their unique handheld portfolio, the Wallet is a foldable, single-screen clamshell device. Yes, you read that correctly.
AYANEO Releases Screen Details and a Kickstarter Page for the Pocket Play
AYANEO Pocket Play Feature
As we reported earlier this month, AYANEO is coming out with a gaming phone known as the AYANEO Pocket Play, marketed as “A Gaming Phone with a Handheld Soul.” This is AYANEO’s first crack at a gaming smartphone, and one that looks curiously like an Xperia Play, so many people are understandably interested in its development.
More Hardware News
- Legion Go 2 Listing Now Mentions SteamOS Support
- GameSir Swift Drive Controller Features Built-in Steering Wheel
Apps and Software
Don’t get me wrong, hardware is definitely fun and exciting to talk about. But what good is an awesome handheld if it doesn’t even work? That’s where software and custom firmware come into play, so here’s everything you might’ve missed this week.
Pocket8 Makes PICO-8 Playable On Your iPhone
Pocket8, the native PICO-8 emulator we’ve discussed here and on the channel (below), has evolved from a promising fan project into an officially endorsed companion app for iOS, giving mobile players a proper way to experience the fantasy console’s sprawling library without fighting browser limitations.
NHL ’94 Finally Gets In The Fightin’ Spirit
For over thirty years, arguably the most-cherished 16-bit sports game stood with one glaring omission: fisticuffs. NHL’94 on the Sega Genesis was beloved for its tight skating and physics-based thrills, but unlike its predecessor, NHLPA Hockey ’93, it lacked the knuckle-bustin’ brawls that made arcade hockey feel authentic. That’s now changed with the release of NHL’94: Fight Edition, a glorious ROM hack that puts fights back into the game where they belong.
Another Day, Another Asinine Sony AI Patent
Sony’s recent patent for an AI-generated “ghost” tutorial system is framed as a player-friendly quality of life feature. On paper, it looks like a hint system that watches how you play and steps in when you get stuck, but, in practice, it fits neatly into a broader pattern in how Sony appears to be thinking about AI, one that prioritizes platform-level mediation over player or developer intent.
touchHLE Now Compatible With 300+ Early iOS Games
In another win for the preservation of mobile gaming’s early years, iOS app emulator touchHLE has reached a major milestone, with over 300 games supported. Unlike most other emulators that emulate entire systems in a virtual machine, or via low level hardware simulations, touchHLE is a high-level emulator, implementing pieces of the older iPhone OS frameworks allowing early iOS binaries to be executed natively on desktop platforms and Android, without ever running the proprietary Apple system code.
PS2 Remake of Ys V Now Playable In English
Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand has always been the ugly stepchild of the Ys series, and not because of its gibberish title, which is actually par for the course for the Ys series. Released in 1995 for the Super Famicom, Ys V arrived at an awkward point in the series’ evolution, experimenting with new ideas while quietly slipping past much of the audience that would later define Ys fandom in the West.
Before the SNES version was translated by fans, it remained one of those entries people talked around rather than about, largely because it simply was not playable in English without caveats. That has now changed again, this time with a new fan translation targeting the PS2 remake.
More Software News
- Emerald Dragon Finally Breaks Free Of Import Jail
- Macross M3 for Dreamcast Gets English Translation
- PortMaster Roundup: December 16 – December 31
- JarPlay Brings J2ME Emulation to the iPhone and iPad
- Lost NES RPG Resurfaces In Seven Minute Video
- melonDS-android v0.5.0 Black Lines Fix (Pokémon, etc.)
- Cemu Android v0.3.1 Dual-Screen Support + Versioning Update
- ES-DE Second Screen Companion
- Public iiSU Alpha 0.0.4.1 Quality of Life Update
- Hydra v0.3.0
- Vita3K v0.2.1 – Android is now officially included in the master branch alongside the other platforms
- NVIDIA to add Linux support for GeForce NOW
From the Writers
While there’s always a lot of news to cover and talk about, we also try to take a step back and give everyone something a bit different to enjoy. These are the more editorial-styled articles and reviews that you might have missed over the course of this week.
AYANEO Refuses to Accept Responsibility, Puts Blame on Everyone Else for Delays
For as much as we joke around about how many devices Anbernic releases every year, at least they are actually being released. It’s a far cry from what AYANEO keeps doing, where it will announce a device, wait for funding to be fulfilled, ship domestically, and then drag their feet on global orders.
Many of us in the space, reviewers and otherwise, are frankly tired of the game that is constantly being played. It’s something that we’ve been harping on via the podcast in recent months, and Zu even made a whole dedicated video on this very topic.
Game of the Month: January is for the Backlog
GotX Feature
For January, Retro Handhelds is doing something a little different for its GotX program. While this is technically the second year in a row that we’ve done this, we are doing a callback theme; you can play any three past winning Games of the Month or Games of the Quarter for your standard three completions. You do not have to follow the usual early, mid, and late date ranges, and can instead play any set of three previous winners you wish from any time period.
AYN Odin 3 Setup Guide
The reigning king of Android power, the great Odin 2, has been dethroned by his own son. The latest heavy hitter from AYN has finally arrived and has more power than I currently know what to do with.
I’m a few days in with the AYN Odin 3, and even without full community driver support, it seems to absolutely chomp on whatever I throw at it. The future for the Odin 3 will be very bright, and I cannot wait to follow the progress. For now, though, let’s get you up and running.
Manba One Review: An Odd One
There’s not a lot you can continue to change about a controller. You can swap the sticks out for Hall or TMR, you can give the triggers stops, or you can be crazy and have magnetically swappable button locations. However, what if we want to go a step further? Forget the PC software; you don’t want to install it and do it all on the controller. But how?
Game Over: Mattel’s Hyperscan “Console”
Mere weeks before the launches of the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii, Mattel stormed confidently back into the console wars with an idea nobody had asked for since 1992: “What if we needed to scan cards to play our video games?”
On the YouTubes
Don’t think that the writers are the only ones getting things done. The RH video team is constantly working on new videos, and now’s the best time to subscribe.
Looking for Deals?
Another week, another set of deals to be had. Hit the button below to check out our favorite deals of the week. We know how much everyone loves a good deal, so we’ve been cooking up something to help you get the best deal possible.
Retro Handhelds Deals of the WeekHandheld.Deals
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Why continue mention News from AYANEO if you guys are staying away from them?