I recently went on a work trip, and took some handheld devices with me. Here is a summary of my experience, and some tips and tricks I learned along the way.
Backpack
Travel cable organizer
Battery pack
Steam Deck
PS Vita (eBay)
Miyoo Mini
The eBay link above is an affiliate link for which I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Continue reading “Traveling with Retro Handhelds”
Last updated: 12JUL2024
UPDATE: PortMaster has recently created a one-stop shop for all things related to running ports on retro handhelds. I recommend checking out their website and my most recent PortMaster guide instead of the guide below; I’m leaving this page up for posterity’s sake only. To get started, head over to their Games tab, find the game you want to run, and check out their instructions on that page. If you run into any issues, their discord server is also a great place to start.
Finally! A port of Celeste is now available on retro handhelds, so you can natively play this little platforming gem.
The installation process is a little trickier than other (PortMaster) solutions, due to the fact that the game requires closed-source libs that cannot be redistributed. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to add them yourself, which we’ll do in this guide. Note that you will also need to be running PortMaster on your device in order to install certain mono files which will allow sound to work properly.
Update (29MAY2022): This guide now works on RK3326 devices as well as the RG503, when running on a compatible firmware like ArkOS, JELOS, and AmberELEC! Below is a list of devices that should be able to run the game. Big thanks to developer JohnnyOnFlame for getting this port up and running; please consider buying him a coffee for his hard work.
Anbernic RG552 (AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG503 (JELOS, ArkOS, TheRA) *when available
Anbernic RG351P (AmberELEC, JELOS, ArkOS wuMMLe fork)
Anbernic RG351M (AmberELEC, JELOS, ArkOS wuMMLe fork)
Anbernic RG351V (ArkOS, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351MP (ArkOS, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
PowKiddy RGB10 (ArkOS)
GameForce Chi (ArkOS)
RK2020 (ArkOS)
ODROID Go Advance (ArkOS)
ODROID Go Super (The RetroArena, RetroOZ)
PowKiddy RGB10 Max (The Retro Arena, RetroOZ)
For best results, make sure you are running the most recent version of ArkOS, AmberELEC, or JELOS, and the latest version of PortMaster. The Anbernic RG552 will provide the best gaming experience (see notes below).
Note that the “Final” version of ArkOS for the RG351P and RG351M will not support the game due to an outdated SDL2 library. However, wuMMLe’s fork of ArkOS may be updated in the future to support it. In the meantime, I recommend using JELOS or AmberELEC for those two devices instead, since they are in active development.
Continue reading “Guide: Celeste on Retro Handhelds”
The new Anbernic RG503 has a few neat features, such as the PS Vita’s OLED panel, 5GHz WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity — and it comes in at a very decent $135 price point. So is it worth picking up?
Continue reading “Anbernic RG503 Review and Initial Setup Guide”
The new MoreFine S500+ (Ryzen 7 5700U model) is quite a capable little gaming PC, and has some surprising emulation performance, too. In this video we’ll see how it performs across a broad spectrum of games, and determine whether it’s a good fit for you.
Non-affiliate link
Use code “Retro Game” for a discount
Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:05 unboxing & impressions
02:31 specs & pricing
03:37 teardown
06:06 setup & power profile
07:20 PC gaming
09:11 GameCube, Wii U, Switch
12:11 PSP, PS2, PS3, Xbox
16:10 Batocera Linux
18:15 summary (likes & dislikes)
20:33 conclusion
The PowKiddy V90 has a new color, and so let’s take this opportunity to give this device an updated review in the context of 2022 and a more saturated handheld market.
Buy one here (AliExpress)
Find it on Amazon (faster shipping)
![The Tiny But Mighty SER4 [Ryzen 7 4800U] Review](https://retrogamecorps.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ser4-rgc.png?w=720)
At the current starting price of $620 on Amazon, the new Beelink SER4 packs a lot of punch. It features the same Ryzen 7 4800U processor as some recent handheld devices (like the ONEXPLAYER AMD and the AYANEO Retro 2021), and so we’re going to take a deep-dive look at what this little chip can do when not tethered to a battery and power constraints.
Continue reading “The Tiny But Mighty SER4 [Ryzen 7 4800U] Review”
UPDATE: PortMaster has recently created a one-stop shop for all things related to running ports on retro handhelds. I recommend checking out their website and my most recent PortMaster guide instead of the guide below; I’m leaving this page up for posterity’s sake only. To get started, head over to their Games tab, find the game you want to run, and check out their instructions on that page. If you run into any issues, their discord server is also a great place to start.
The indie classic game Timespinner has recently been ported to various handheld devices, thanks to community developers and the awesome PortMaster tool. Here are the systems that can run the game as of making this guide:
Anbernic RG351P (ArkOS final, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351M (ArkOS final, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351V (ArkOS, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351MP (ArkOS, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG552 (AmberELEC, JELOS)
PowKiddy RGB10 (ArkOS)
GameForce Chi (ArkOS)
RK2020 (ArkOS)
ODROID Go Advance (ArkOS)
ODROID Go Super (The RetroArena, RetroOZ)
PowKiddy RGB10 Max (The Retro Arena, RetroOZ)
Setting up this game is similar to other ports such as Shovel Knight, Undertale, and Iconoclasts. Big thanks to developer JohnnyOnFlame for getting this port up and running; please consider buying him a coffee for his hard work.
Note that you will need to have PortMaster installed and updated on your device. Here is my PortMaster guide.
Continue reading “Guide: Timespinner on Retro Handhelds (PortMaster)”
The new GMKtec NucBox 5 is a huge upgrade from previous tiny PC models: it has an 11th-generation Jasper Lake N5105 processor, WiFi-6, Bluetooth 5.2, and lots of new ports. Let’s take a deep dive into its potential for PC gaming, retro emulation, and as a dedicated Batocera machine, too.
Buy it on Amazon
15% off on Amazon this week
GMKtec website
Discount Code: 15%OFFEaster (good for one week)
This will bring the final price to $254.99 (256GB) or $339.99 (512GB)
Continue reading “GMKtec NucBox 5 Micro PC Review: Fantastic Price to Performance!”
After a few weeks of tinkering, I finally have my Steam Deck set up exactly the way I like. This video will show you my setup, which is a combination of EmuDeck, EmulationStation, Xbox Cloud Gaming, standalone Linux games, and my Steam library.
EmuDeck
EmulationStation
Xbox Cloud Gaming setup
Itch.io Linux games
SteamGridDB
Several months into its lifecycle, the Anbernic RG552 finally has some great options when it comes to improving the user experience. Let’s take a look at three different firmware options (two on Linux, and one on Android) which will give you better gameplay performance and some nice quality of life upgrades, too.
Buy one here:
AliExpress ($227 before sales)
Amazon Prime ($249 with fast shipping)
Retro Game Corps 