BEST Retro Gaming Handhelds for Your Buck!

Tier 1 ($60-$100) - Budget Handhelds

Anbernic RG35XX Plus

Screen

3.5-inch IPS full viewing angle, OCA full lamination/ 640*480

CPU

H700 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 1.5GHz frequency

GPU

Dual- core G31 MP2

RAM

LPDDR4 1GB

3300mAh Battery (Up to 8hrs)

The Anbernic RG35XX Plus packs a powerful punch at it's price-point, and can handle most retro games through the PS1 and Dreamcast era. I personally think it's perfect for the earlier retro consoles (such as GB, GBC, GBA, NES, SNES, SEGA, Atari, etc), but I think Anbernic's newest model in 2024 might be a better option if considering playing retro systems that required sticks (N64, Dreamcast, PS1, PSP).

Anbernic RG35XX H

Hardware is the same as the RG35XX Plus, now in a landscape form with added thumb sticks and design tweaks! They also offer a metal design for a few more coins if you're into that sort of thing. I think this is an excellent entry handheld worth a hard consideration at it's price-point! The dual thumbsticks make it more enjoyable to play systems such as N64, Dreamcast, PS1, and some PSP!

TrimUi Smart Pro

The TrimUI features a 16x9 4.96" 1280x720 display making it the largest screen in my recommendations under $100! Some settings may need to be adjusted to play PSP as it's not quite powerful enough to handle all games at default settings. Everything prior should be capable of playing (if you don't mind black sidebars or widescreen stretching!). It's also worth noting that it lacks L3+R3 functions and it's not a touchscreen, so keep that in mind when selecting games!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Most Pocketable - RG Nano Pocket Mini

This cute miniature Game Boy Color replica called the RG Nano wins my vote for most pocketable and perhaps most unique handheld! While it won't be able to handle ALL retro consoles, I think it plays the earliest console games (prior to sticks) just fine. This design is very unique and perhaps niche, however I thinks it's a technological marvel at how tiny and lightweight we've been able to merge all these games/consoles onto 1 device smaller than the palm of our hand! I would love to see them create an updated "GBA replica" while maintaining focus on smallest form factor.

Powkiddy RGB30

The Powkiddy RGB30 features a 4" 1:1 aspect ratio 720x720 display. I believe this runs on Linux OS (not Android like previous models above) which some people prefer. I've heard it runs up to PS1 just fine, and they got a lot right about it's design (such as it's start and select button locations!) It give's you lots of screen real estate for older games while maintaining a smaller pocketable form factor! 

Check out the MOST COMPETITIVE Retro Gaming Handhelds in Tier 2 ($115-$200)