Just got my RG SP today, loaded up Slot with Russ from Retro Game Corps's guide, and this thing is so cute, and powerful, and lovely, and every positive adjective. I'm so happy🥰

It's crazy to me that we were getting games like Chrono Trigger, Yoshi's Island, Super Metroid, SOTN, etc. while the industry in general was rushing towards 3D.

I know these games aren't everyone's cup of tea. My kid keeps asking why on earth I like this stuff when he can play 4K on his Switch 2. I tell him he has no taste /s. But really the late 90s, early 2000s were obviously a peak time for 2D. They still hold up so well today, while a lot of early 3D games look pretty rough. I guess we were just all so excited by 3D at the time.

Sure, I chose some of the more extreme examples in my "showcase". It can't just be nostalgia, because I love a heap of 3D games from back then too, but I just don't think they hold up as well visually. I would love someone to prove me wrong with some examples though.

Device in first pic is an RG40XXH playing Popolocrois Monogatari with an english translation patch (in case it isn't obvious/anyone cares).

I'm reposting this because I had an image that I did not want up. Like I said in my previous post I woke up to the smell of smoke. I'm not exactly sure when I had this on the charger but I know that I've had it off the charger for over 12 hours when I found it. I'm pretty confident it wasn't even turned on

I've been buying different handhelds for the past 5 years, last one was the Nova. But this gotta be one of my favorites, and by far the one I was most excited to open. Glad I waited for this color, Onyx Ice. Always remember wanting a custom GBA but not having the money for, i feel like this was a special release for me.

i dyed the official TPU of odin 3 using Ritz Royal Purple, im trying to get a gummy bear purple/gengar , it WORKS!

Recently picked up this 4:3 handheld for $200 and it came with 3 cases as well. This is the RG477M 12gb ram, 256 gb internal storage version.

This will be my dedicated ps2 device and gba with black frame insertion with newpixie crt shader device. I love the silver metal look with the black sticks and dpad, but the original colorful buttons ruined that vibe.

I couldn’t find any free online 3d files of ps buttons so I made it myself. 3d printed them with black and white pla and I think it looks pretty good! Thankfully, there are already online files for the stacked triggers, so I also 3d printed them and installed onto this device.

Buying used handhelds and tinkering with them is so satisfying lol. This “mod” was fairly easy too, the internals of the RG477M were so nice to take apart and put back together.

Thanks to everyone that panic-cancelled their Retroid Pocket Duo's and pushed my order up in the queue.

I'm telling yall, LET IT COOK. This will be the best dual screen in 2026.

RP Nova Air & Brick Backplate Mods — My Design Journey

The idea started with my love for the original DMG Game Boy. I’ve always loved chunky handhelds, so I wondered: Why not give the Retroid Pocket Nova a thicker, brick-style backplate?

After months of experimenting, tweaking the design, and refining the fit, the Brick Backplate was finally finished last week!

But I also wanted the opposite: a super-slim version inspired by the Anbernic RG477M. So I went back to the Brick design, trimmed down the thickness, and refined the edges to create the Nova Air Backplate.

A lot of attention went into the little details, especially the fit between the backplate and the original shell. I wanted the gaps to be as tight and consistent as possible. The Air version also has no rattling or loose shoulder buttons.

Now, both versions are ready!

- Brick: For those who love a thicker, chunkier handheld feel.

- Air: For those who prefer a slimmer, more streamlined design.

Both are now available to order from my Etsy shop, currently in black and light gray.

This started as a personal design idea, and it’s exciting to finally share both versions with the community. I hope other Nova owners enjoy them as much as I enjoyed designing them!

https://portableplaypalace.etsy.com

Every time I compared handhelds, specs like "7 inch" or "4:3" told me nothing about how big the screen really is. So I built a small tool that shows the screens and bodies at actual physical size on your monitor, with the black bars you get when running retro systems.

You can pick the system (4:3, 3:2, NDS/3DS dual layouts, etc.), add the second-screen accessory, and share a link to your comparison. It's free, no ads, no account.

Retro Screen Compare

Tip: use it on a desktop or laptop browser to see the true 1:1 size. On a phone it works, but the real-size view is meant for a computer screen.

Chassis measurements are cross-checked but a few are approximate. If you spot a wrong one, tell me and I'll fix it. Feedback welcome!

Quick guide

1. Add consoles

Use the search and filters on the left (brand, ratio, inches, panel) and press + to add a console to the comparison. "Selected consoles" lets you remove them, or use Clear all.

2. See the real size

Turn on Show at real size (1:1) and pick your monitor size in the calibration window. For better accuracy, fine-tune with a real object (credit card, Magic/Pokémon card or 2 € coin). Best on a desktop or laptop browser.

3. Top bar

• Compare / By ratio: switch between the real-size comparison and a view grouped by aspect ratio.
• Retro system: pick the system you want to see (4:3, 3:2, 16:9, NDS/3DS layouts...) and how the screens are split. With NDS/3DS you can add the 5.5" second-screen accessory to single-screen handhelds.
• Image: test image, retro scene or My screenshot (upload your own). Choose to keep the ratio (black bars), stretch, or crop.
• View: Chassis shows or hides the body of each console, Outlines draws only the contours, Stack overlaps them centered, Center lines them up vertically.
• Data: a table with size, resolution and ratio for the selected consoles.
• Units: cm or inches.

4. Move things around

Drag any console to place it (it snaps to edges and centers, hold Alt to disable snapping). Double-click to reset, arrow keys for fine adjustment.

5. Share

• Copy link: gives you a short link to your exact comparison.
• Download PNG: saves an image of it.
• Import: paste a link or code to load a comparison.

Your last comparison is saved in your browser, and you can switch ES/EN at the top.

Disclosure: this project was built with the help of AI (Claude). I designed it, tested it, and verified the console measurements myself, and I keep maintaining it. It runs entirely in your browser, with no account and no data sent anywhere.

These are the last two Sandisk 512GB cards I bought from Amazon (Oct 2024 and May 2025), and the price to biy the same card today, just about 18 months later - over 3x the price. Can someone ELI5 me how AI servers are using microSD cards and forcing up the price so rapidly, or are we just being gouged?

Previously, I'd heard people mention that their Better Buttons had cracked after being dropped, so I wanted to try making a set out of metal.

I asked Vincent for the STL files, and he kindly provided them for personal use only. Nice! CNC machining would've given me a much better finish, and maybe I could've just popped them in without any modifications, but I was quoted over $100, which didn't make sense. I got another quote for about $30 to have them SLM-printed (Selective Laser Melting) in stainless steel.

During the order review, the engineer pointed out that the middle sections of the L2/R2 buttons were rather thin and could cause issues. I said I accepted the risk, since these are buttons that only experience a few grams of pressure. The original PLA buttons were durable enough, and stainless steel should be even more so.

Well, the irony! The day after I placed the order, I found a piece of the L2 button on the couch. I hadn't even realized I'd been playing without it! It had broken exactly where the engineer had warned me it might be too thin. LOL.

A couple of weeks later, the metal buttons arrived, and they were rough—literally. They also didn't fit, of course. Since they looked pretty ugly and unfinished, I ground down the rough spots with 60-grit sandpaper and worked my way up through the grits to 10k sandpaper, and polishing them to 120K grit with paste.

The original PLA buttons fit really smoothly and snugly, so I had to bore out the holes in the metal buttons slightly. The 2 mm holes weren't quite big enough, so I opened them up to 2.1 mm using carbide bits. I'm glad I bought a multipack because the first bit burned out on the fourth button.

With that done, all four buttons slipped right over their posts and work great!

The only downside is that they're a little clackity/rattly, which is understandable given the weight of the metal. I may add a little tape to the shell-facing side of the buttons if the noise becomes bothersome.

For reference, the four original PLA buttons weighed about 4 grams total, while the four metal buttons weigh about 32 grams. So they're significantly heavier, but they're also considerably more durable now!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

Over the last few days, my wife and I have started playing through the campaign of Halo CE together thanks to this android port !

As you can see, there are some visual glitches in this particular cutscene, but once you get in-game , everything works flawlessly. I haven't noticed any other scenes with this issue so far in our playthrough.

There is also online multiplayer with pretty full lobbies every time that I've gotten on, no matter what time of day.

This is one of the coolest showcases of what these ports can be. Ever since we sold our Xbox last year and purchased our handhelds, the wife and I haven't played nearly as many games together.

But now we can each sit in our own chair with our handhelds and play Halo together! How freaking cool!

https://retrocatalog.com/retro-handhelds/retroid-pocket-flip-2-sd865#review

It’s a very short and concise written review about the flip 2 written by me. I also added some images in this post.

I wrote the review back in May and even then it was about a year after Flip 2 has been released so I never thought about sharing it more broadly. But recently I mentioned about these reviews on Discord and some people think that long term reviews are appreciated for people who are looking to buy the devices now and encouraged me to share on Reddit. So here I am :)

And in case you missed it, Retroid is running a clearance sale for the Flip 2 for $189 which is an awesome price. (It also means that if I don’t share the review now, it will be obsolete)

Please let me know what you think about the review. I have a few more in the backlog that I hope I can finish in the next month or so and then I can write about more recent devices like the Nova and the Duo.

Controller : Gamesir x5s

Device : moxee tablet 2

Snapdragon 680

3gb ram variant

DS Looks excellent on this budget Tab, got this tab for 60 usd

I recently installed TortOS on my GKD Pixel 2, and honestly, it feels like the definitive OS for me. The fast boot times, its usability as a DAP (digital audio player), and the feature to turn off the side LED indicators are all amazing.

However, there's one issue I really hope can be improved: the Fast Forward functionality.

I understand that hitting a full 4x speed might be beyond the RK3326S hardware capabilities, but on my unit, the game actually seems to lag/slow down more the higher I set the fast-forward speed multiplier.

Back when I was using PlumOS with the same mGBA core, fast-forwarding worked fine at around 2.5x speed. Is anyone else experiencing this, or is there any potential fix?

Iv printed some accesories for my new RP5, instead of buying a tpu case from a chinese company i thought it would be nicer to support local bussiness and send the files to a 3D printer shop. it cost me around 15 bucks the 2 units. Both are amazing but the one who serves as a stand its a bit sturdier, the other one feels more like a PS2 joystick which is nicer ergonomic-wise but idk, i will rotate between them

Here are the links in case anyone is interested!

chunky one

PS2 thingy

I'm looking at buying my first handheld (not counting Switch) mostly for retro gaming. I don't want to say price doesn't matter, but I am treating myself.

I was comparing the Retroid Pocket 6 vs the ROG Ally. I know there's a big difference in power, but no I do see that the 6 has an OLED and the Ally has an LED.

How big of a difference is the OLED? Does it push the needle in that direction (again, in terms of retro gaming)? Or is it a marginal improvement and the power difference outweighs it?

Hi all. I’m new to this whole scene but in my journey to play Pokémon ROM hacks in the least jankiest way, I have found myself here - buying a retro handheld console. Can’t believe it took me this long. I started on the OG Game Boy so after some reading I’ve ordered the TrimUI Brick Pro. I haven’t got it yet but I wanted to ask your advice: is there anything I need to know before it arrives?

Please feel free to discuss your favourite front ends, emulators, limitations, or just anything you think is useful for me/people to know who are completely new to this level of retro gaming.

I’m so excited for it to arrive and would love to hear your advice.

EDIT: So I probably didn’t articulate myself very well here, so let me clarify. I did research different consoles within my budget range and from what I read/watched, the TrimUI Brick Pro ticked most/all the boxes for what I want. However, I know this community has so much experience in getting the most out of these consoles that I was looking for advice because I’m new to this, and it’s something I want to look deeper into.

I might sound insane, but , hear me out. I use to have a 3ds and I sold it to get the ayn Thor do I love my ayn Thor yes , me and my gf are exchanging Christmas lists soon and I’m thinking of putting a n3dsxl on it. Why? Because I’ve owned my Thor for a year now and my hinge is already failing ( I babied my Thor like it was a newborn baby) I’ve messaged ayn and they are sending me a replacement pivot shaft. That and a plethora of other reasons like 3ds home menu , the 3ds touchscreen and that there are some 3ds games that require a lot of tinkering on my Thor that I just don’t want to deal with. I guess my main underlying issue is that I just don’t trust the Thor to last trough heavy usage like I would trust a 3ds.

Anyways , what yall think ? Am I crazy or what?

😼

Hey so I've been looking into all the clamshell handhelds out there, and most of them seem to be made for GBA or DS games. I'm personally more interested in PS1 games though, so if anyone knows what clamshell device is best suited for playing PS1 games, could you help me out? (Also, ideally I don't want to spend more than $100)