this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2024
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Handheld Linux Retrogaming recommendation? [solved-ish] (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by wjrii@lemmy.world to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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I figure it will be a good thing to throw onto a wish list for whatever holiday is coming next. In a perfect world, it would run a Linux-based OS, be moddable, have decent ergonomics for an adult, and kinda just generally not suck. Is a hundred bucks a reasonable price point? One hundred fifty? I grew up in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras but never completely stopped gaming, so I'd be interested in emulating somewhat newer stuff too. I normally just plug in a controller and find a desktop emulator, but portable could be fun, especially if it had potential for general SBC computing.

Edit: I think I have a better idea what I'm looking for now. The Anbernic devices seem to more or less match up with what I am looking for, so I'll start there with a more informed search. Thanks! Happy to get more suggestions and tips, though.

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[–] GrappleHat@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I have an Anbernic RG353M & it sounds like it fits your needs. Emulates up to PSP. Moddable: I run ArkOS which is Debian-based - so I can SSH in, apt install programs, run custom bash scripts I wrote, etc. I also ported a desktop game to run on it. So moddability points are high! Also dual-boots into Android, so Android games are available if that's your thing. It comes with the Android dual-boot right out of the box!

Downsides:

  • It can be a little small in my hands for long play sessions. I have a custom 3D printed handle extension which works great and solves this problem.
  • There's a hardware problem involving the 3.5mm audio jack output where chip noise gets in the audio. Annoying, but ignorable. Switching to Bluetooth headphones is a fine workaround too.
  • In long play sessions when the device gets hot horizontal bar artifacts show up on the screen. Like the audio thing, they are annoying but ignorable. When they show up I normally interpret it as a sign I've been playing too long and take a break while the device cools down.

Overall, it's got those hardware quirks above but I still like it and I don't regret it for the price (something like ~$100 a couple of years ago I think). Battery life is very good, even for graphics intensive games. It can go many hours without needing a charge, and generally it has better stamina than I do!

[–] wjrii@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you find you are able to emulate much that can make use of the analog sticks? The RG Arc-S and -D have similar internals and a nice screen, but they seem to have been consigned to the discount pile for lack of analog sticks (and maybe being late to the game for RK3566 models). As a Genesis kid, I always liked the Sega controllers of that era.

[–] GrappleHat@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 months ago

Yeah, for sure. The analog stocks work flawlessly & I love them. I use them for games where they're native (i.e. ZDoom & mods), where they emulate a mouse (i.e. Minetest), or where they emulate a d-pad (i.e. psx games). All cases work great! For d-pad games I find myself switching back and forth between d-pad and sticks depending on the application (i.e. Tetris needs precision & is better with d-pad, NBA Jam needs adaptivity & is better with sticks).

[–] wjrii@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Thanks! That class of device is probably where I'm leaning, having now poked around some other sites as well. Honestly, those issues are about what I'd expect from this pricepoint/feature combination, but they don't seem like dealbreakers and sounds like it's a usable SBC in a gaming friendly package, which is about what I'm after.

[–] GrappleHat@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 months ago

Sweet! You've probably already found this, but if you're interested in these devices the Retro Game Corps channel on YouTube is an invaluable resource. That guy does a beyond excellent job reviewing options and giving quality advice!