4 Best Retro Handheld Emulators in 2023

Specs:

• CPU: Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9
• GPU: Quad-core PowerVR SGX544MP
• RAM: 256MB DDR3
• OS: Proprietary Anbernic OS/GarlicOS
• Battery Life: 2600mAh, up to 6 hours

Starting off with our overall best, we have the Anbernic RG35XX. So what makes this tiny handheld the best in our list? Well, technically, it’s not the most powerful and most capable emulator on this list, but let’s see what it makes up for.

On first look, the Anbernic RG35XX looks amazing, it certainly takes after the design of the original Game Boy. You can also get it in three colorways: Transparent White, Transparent Purple, and Gray. Now the transparent colors are the way to go personally since they give a more modern look to this retro-designed handheld. The gray colorway looks great and it makes the RG35XX look even more like the Game Boy.

The RG35XX is running with pretty low specs on paper, but here’s the thing, the overall system runs great whether you’re running GarlicOS or the stock OS.

The RG35XX can emulate:

• PlayStation 1
• GameBoy Advance
• GameBoy Color
• GameBoy 
• NES
• SNES
• Sega Master System
• Sega Mega Drive
• PC Engine
• Game Gear
• MAME
• NeoGeo
• NeoGeo Pocket Color
• Wonderswan Color
• Final Burn Alpha
• Vertical Arcade
• CP System

Now, does it play those games well? 

From a technical standpoint, yes, of course, it’ll play well, especially if you’re running GarlicOS with the RetroArch backend! 

But what about the experience? Well, I can safely say that most people would have a great time playing with the RG35XX. It has great buttons that just feel great to press, as well as a solid D-Pad that feels solid and tactile and is accurate as well, and you know what? I think the D-Pad would work well even for fighting games!

The RG35XX also goes with an IPS display that has nice color quality and good brightness, I can even use mine outside. The speaker is also loud although a bit tiny for my liking, good thing this has got a headphone jack! And of course, the battery is okay for me, it lasts up to 6 hours which is worth a whole day for me. 

Overall though, with the good form factor, good battery life, a solid display, and a pretty pocketable size, the RG35XX is a great portable device to take your retro gaming everywhere! It can also hold a ton of games with the twin SD card slots! I dubbed this the best handheld emulator to get in 2023 since it’s an affordable device (and I mean dirt cheap for what it can do) and I think most people would be happy to have it in their pockets!

Specs:

• CPU: Unisoc Tiger T618
• GPU: Mali G52
• RAM: 4GB DDR4
• OS: Android 11
• Battery Life: 4500mAh, up to 7 hours

Next up we have the Retroid Pocket 3+ this is an Android-based emulator, that not only can run retro games and Android games, but it can also stream cloud games and even link to Steam or PlayStation remote play! Let’s find out more about why this is one of the best!

On first look, the Retroid Pocket 3+ looks extremely clean and modern with only the D-Pads, four buttons, and joysticks being visible on first look, and don’t worry, it still has a Select and Start button, it’s just hidden away at the top, which is kind of annoying when you use it, but still, I find it very pleasing. 

This console is available in eight colorways: Black, Indigo, Orange, Clear Purple, and Clear Blue. The remaining three are kind of weird, these colors are 16 Bit, 16 Bit US, and Retro, the Retro has a grey shell with maroon face buttons. While the 16 Bit and 16 Bit US, are essentially the same colorways as the two regions that the SNES has.

The Retroid Pocket 3+ has the perfect amount of power in my opinion, it’s energy-efficient, allowing you to have 5 to 7 hours of battery life, and of course, it’s also powerful enough to emulate the DS, PSP, DreamCast, GameCube, Wii, N64, PS2, and even some Nintendo Switch games! Needless to say, it can emulate everything that the RG35XX can. 

So how does it feel? Size wise it’s just a little bit smaller than the Switch Lite so it’s very handy! Although with a horizontal layout, I wouldn’t exactly call this pocket-friendly. 

The face buttons and d-pad feel great, and the shoulder buttons also feel comfortable to use with a stacked layout instead of the inline layout that’s present in more compact consoles. 

The Retroid Pocket 3+ has a secret that sets it apart from the rest; the 4.7-inch display is the same one from the iPhone 6, and the result is a great retina screen that has great color quality and resolution! 

Overall, if you want something a solid Android-based emulator that has great looks, an amazing screen, and a very capable performance, you can’t go wrong with the Retroid Pocket 3+

Specs:

• CPU: Unisoc Tiger T618
• GPU: Mali G52
• RAM: 4GB DDR4
• OS: Android 11
• Battery Life: 4500mAh, up to 7 hours

Next up we have the Anbernic RG405M, one of the best current offerings from Anbernic. Now spec-wise, it is extremely similar to the Retroid Pocket 3+, it even has the same chipsets and battery life. So what makes the RG405M stand apart from the rest? What are its advantages and disadvantages compared to the similar Retroid Pocket 3+?

Before all that, let’s start with the looks, the RG405M is available in Gray and Black colorways both of which have Xbox-style face buttons, but if you’re not sure what to get, I recommend the Black which looks so sleek! 

Now we already know that the RG405M has basically the same chipset as the Retroid Pocket 3+, so what’s the difference? 

Well the RG405M feels so much better in my opinion, it’s made of metal, aluminum to be more specific, so yes it does feel great in the hands, but theoretically, the body should also help with heat dissipation. 

The buttons also feel great in my opinion, but what matters more to me is the fact that this has an Xbox-style layout which has the left joystick above the d-pad instead of below. Sure, it may look goofy and uncomfortable for some, but in the RG405M’s case, it works perfectly, and the layout actually feels better due to the small size of this device. And with a smaller size, this is also more pocketable.

This also has a smaller screen coming at 4 inches, but the great thing is the 4:3 aspect ratio which makes more sense especially if you’re looking to get into retro gaming. 

Now, the RG405M has a certain disadvantage, it’s not well optimized. I mean, if you look at tests, the RG405M doesn’t perform as well with PS2 or GameCube games compared to the Retro Pocket 3+ which again has the same chipset. A lot of people will point to the poor software optimization, which makes the RG405M a tinker’s device instead of a plug-and-play one. 

So, if you want something that’s well built and feels great to play on, but you’re okay with just a bit of tinkering to play games from the higher systems, then by all means, go ahead with the RG405M!

Specs:

• CPU: RK3566
• RAM: 1GB DDR4
• OS: Linux/JELOS
• Battery Life: 4100mAh, up to 8 hours

Now, last but not least, we have the Powkiddy RGB30. It’s available in three colors: Black, Blue, and White, all of which look clean and modern. However, it’s worth noting that the Black and Blue look very similar since the Blue has a very dark tone to it. Lastly, all colorways will have black joysticks, face buttons, and d-pads.

So, how does the Powkiddy RGB30 perform? Well, out of the box, it performs great, especially if you happen to get one that’s pre-loaded with the JELOS firmware (from what I know, most units came out with JELOS). 

It can emulate every GameBoy console, NES, SNES, PS1, and basically everything that the RG35XX can, but since this does have joysticks and a better chipset, it can also play PSP, N64, DS, and DreamCast pretty well. But you do have to know that this device doesn’t have a touchscreen input so you really can’t play DS games that need touch input. 

Now, let’s address that weird 1:1 screen, does it work well? Doesn’t it have black bars with most games? Well, yes surprisingly well. Most retro games are 4:3 which will have black bars with this screen, but it’s not noticeable and you can even force the emulator to take up the 1:1 aspect ratio. It also works well with vertical and arcade games. And of course, we can’t ignore that this has a 720×720 display which is fairly high-res for something this size.

Moving on, how does it feel? Well at first glance, it does have a blocky design with relatively sharp corners and edges, plus the whole back part is flat so there’s basically nothing to hold on to. But it was fairly comfortable to use!

The face buttons feel great and the d-pads have the standard retro rubber conductive pad feel to them which works perfectly for the scenario here. One gripe I have though is the d-pad diagonals are fairly easy to accidentally activate, which does take some getting used to if you’re accustomed to a good d-pad. Plus, the analog sticks feel a bit too sensitive for me. 

Now, if you’re looking for something portable, I’m happy to report that this might be the one for you! Aside from having a compact form factor and good brightness on the display, this also has good speakers and a great battery life of up to 8 hours, I mean it has a 4100mAh battery for a system that runs on relatively low power!