Best Handheld Emulator of 2023 – All Reviewed

The handheld emulator market has seen explosive growth in recent years. These days, we really do have some of the best handheld emulators we have ever seen. Retro gaming fans are always looking for new and improved ways to enjoy their favorite classic games both from the comfort of their homes and while out on the go.

We’ve created this list of the top handheld retro emulators that will allow you to play games wherever you are. Some of the devices listed will play ROMs via emulation and others will play games off of cartridges.

1. Miyoo Mini

The original Miyoo Mini is a retro game console that can fit in your pants pocket and travel with you wherever you go, letting you get down on classic games anytime. In recent years, this little handheld has really boomed in popularity in part because of YouTube videos created about it, but also because it’s a quality device and it can run your favorite retro classics quite well at a fraction of the price of other competitors on the market. We’ve seen plenty of companies attempt to have their retro emulation handhelds hitting it out of the park, but none has really done with the Mini was able to achieve.

It has an overall small structure and some very powerful features under the hood. It’s a great handheld for gamers looking to play games while on the go.

This retro console size measures 3.68 x 2.56 x 0.71 inches is size and only weighs a measly 162 grams, making it super easy to carry around. It has a 2.8-inch IPS HD display aesthetically pleasing screen at 640×480 resolution that looks fantastic.

The Miyoo Mini has gotten solid reviews across the board, with many calling it the best cheap handheld console you can buy; and for good reason too. It has that classic nostalgic Game Boy-like design.

Read our full review here: Miyoo Mini review.

2. Retroid Pocket 2S

The Retroid Pocket 2 is an Android device handheld retro gaming console that garnered a lot of interest from the gaming community. In terms of retro gaming handhelds priced under $100, the Pocket 2 is a great choice.

It can faithfully emulate most retro games up to and including your favorite Gamecube titles. Natively, the Retroid Pocket 2 runs on the Android 11 operating system and can not only run games via emulation but also gives you access to the entire Android library of games as well.

GoRetroid’s future is looking bright with its pocket line of products. This handheld feels like it is a high build quality product, it’s comfortable to use, has a great form factor, is small enough to bring with you wherever you go, and is the perfect companion device for retro gaming fans.

Read our full review here: Retroid Pocket 2S review.

3. Anbernic RG405M

The Anbernic RG405M is an impressive metal handheld game console that has solid performance and can emulate a wide variety of retry consoles with ease. It can handle emulating up to and including GameCube games.

It has a sleek design and a tough exterior metal body that makes the RG405M a reliable device for gamers who want a more high-quality handheld.

The RG405M has some impressive specs under the hood, including a Unisoc Tiger T618 processor and LPDDR4X RAM. It comes with a 4-inch IPS display and runs on the Android 12 operating system.

Coming in at around the $170 price point and with such a high number of other retro gaming device handhelds on the market, the RG405M is definitely one to pick up.

Read our full review here: Anbernic RG405M review.

4. Retroid Pocket 3+

The Retroid Pocket 3 Plus is a handheld retro gaming system that offers affordable power all with a comfortable sleek design that’s perfect for playing games. Similar to the previous model, the Retroid Pocket 3, this handheld also has a metal frame shell that feels high quality and is extremely durable.

It’s available in the following colors: Black, 16Bit, Indigo, Retro, Orange, Clear Purple, and Clear Blue. Retroid went all in on the retro factor here and it truly paid off. The atomic purple color has heavy GameBoy Color vibes and is by far our favorite color scheme.

Before we get into fully reviewing this beautiful little handheld, we wanted to touch on the elephant in the room which is the slight controversy surrounding the device. The company behind the Retroid Pocket 3, GoRetro, apparently was a bit shady regarding their marketing.

You see, back when they made a push for the original Retroid Pocket 3, they weren’t really upfront with the general public that the device would just months later be superseded by the next version that we’re covering in this article.

Read our full review here: Retroid Pocket 3 Plus review.

5. Analogue Pocket

The Analogue Pocket is one of the most highly-rated retro handheld gaming devices. This little handheld device can play games from the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and even the Game Boy Advance.

It was designed and manufactured by Analogue and it’s an FPGA-based handheld console that can play games up to the fourth-gen of handheld consoles. It has a seriously great screen, a large library of supported games, and even a handy sleep feature that is a nice touch. It’s a fantastic device for anyone who loves retro gaming.

When you first pick up the Analogue Pocket, you’ll notice that the device is a bit heavier than you may have expected. It contains a rather large 4300mah battery and its LCD display is 3.5” (which we should mention looks fantastic and is nice and clear when playing games). While it may be heavier than you’d expect, the extra weight adds to the premium factor you’d expect from Analogue products.

The device aesthetically has a minimalistic quality to it both in terms of its physical design and that of the operating system it runs on. It looks like something you’d get with an Apple product and that’s saying a lot for a handheld that’s used to play classic games like Game Boy Color and GBA games. It’s quite clean and sleek.

Read our full review here: Analogue Pocket review.

6. Ayn Odin

The Odin handheld is a portable gaming console that uses the Android OS and is perfect for emulating games. It has impressive specs for its price point and the build quality is top-notch.

It has been crowned as one of the top contenders in the handheld gaming space. Its price point makes it still accessible and the features that it offers are truly next level for retro gamers.

It’s well-designed and contains some powerful hardware under the hood. Many have drawn comparisons to the Nintendo Switch Lite aesthetically, but the Ayn Odin can do much more than just play one console’s games.

Internally, it’s equipped with what you’d expect to see inside of an Android phone or tablet, making it a pretty powerful handheld gaming device. In this Ayn Oden handheld review, we’ll be breaking down the device, its features, and whether or not you should pick one up.

Read our full review here: Ayn Odin review.

7. FunKey S

The Funkey S is a retro-inspired device that was released back in 2020 and has been some tiny-sized waves (pun intended) in the retro gaming community.

It’s a mini Gameboy Advance SP-styled foldable handheld console created by a talented yet passionate team that can emulate games up to the PS1. The system has a pretty simple-to-use UI, although some concerns have been raised about the handheld’s battery life.

Its dimensions are 42.5mm x 44.5mm x 13.8 mm, making this mini handheld the ultimate pocket retro gaming device.

It’s powered by an ARM Cortex-A7 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz and comes stacked with 64 MB DDR2 RAM. The SD card slot can support up to 128GB of storage, more than enough for a solid library of retro titles.

There’s an LCD IPS screen that’s 1.52 inches with a resolution of 240×240 px. The speaker on the device is decent, but it’s not exactly anything to write home about. That’s to be expected for a device this size though. There’s also a handy LED charging light that makes it easy to know when the device has been fully charged.

Read our full review here: FunKey S review.