Which handheld should you buy?

Answer 5 questions and get a short ranked list of the handhelds that fit you, out of 249.

1What do you want to play?
2Which shape and size?
3Which screen shape?
4Must haves
5Budget at launch price

249 handhelds fit

  1. 1Retroid Retroid Pocket Mini
    Retroid

    Retroid Pocket Mini

    • Plays everything up to PS2 and GameCube well
    • 3.7 inch AMOLED 4:3 screen
    • $189 at launch
    • 4,000 mAh battery, 215 g

    Specs and owner notesCompare with the Retroid Pocket 5

  2. 2
    AYN

    Thor

    • Plays everything up to Switch well
    • Two screens: 6 inch and 3.92 inch AMOLED screen
    • $290 at launch
    • 6,000 mAh battery, 380 g

    Specs and owner notesCompare with the Retroid Pocket 5

  3. 3Retroid Retroid Pocket 5
    Retroid

    Retroid Pocket 5

    • Plays everything up to PS2 and GameCube well
    • 5.5 inch AMOLED 16:9 screen
    • $200 at launch
    • 5,000 mAh battery, 280 g

    Specs and owner notesCompare with the Retroid Pocket Mini

  4. 4Retroid Retroid Pocket 4 Pro
    Retroid

    Retroid Pocket 4 Pro

    • Plays everything up to PS2 and GameCube well
    • 4.7 inch IPS 16:9 screen
    • $199 at launch
    • 5,000 mAh battery, 261 g

    Specs and owner notesCompare with the Retroid Pocket Mini

  5. 5AOKZOE AOKZOE A2
    AOKZOE

    AOKZOE A2

    • Plays everything up to Switch well
    • 7.0 inch IPS 16:10 screen
    • $599 at launch
    • 48.5 mAh battery, 649 g

    Specs and owner notes

Best rated puts handhelds released from 2022 on ahead of older ones, then sorts by RETROPULSE score. Budgets use launch prices, not today's prices. Fits a jeans pocket means the front is no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm); handhelds are thicker than a phone. Upcoming handhelds and original consoles are left out.

Ready-made lists

Questions

Which retro handheld should I buy?

Start with the hardest system you want to play, because that sets the chip you need. Then pick the shape and screen you like, add your must haves such as two sticks or Wi-Fi, and set a budget. The picker above filters our database of handhelds to the ones that fit and ranks them.

What screen shape is best for retro games?

Home consoles from the NES to the PS2 were 4:3, so a 4:3 screen fits them with no bars. GBA games are 3:2, Game Boy games are close to square, and PSP and Switch games are 16:9.

Why does the budget use launch prices?

Launch prices are the one price we can check for every handheld. Prices today change from store to store and on the used market, so check current listings before you buy.

Specs, emulation scores and launch prices from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. Scores out of 10 are our own RETROPULSE score.