Traveling with Retro Handhelds

Traveling with Retro Handhelds

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.

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RetroArch Starter Guide

RetroArch Starter Guide

Last updated: 28FEB2022 (see Changelog for details)

RetroArch is one of my favorite programs to use for retro game emulation, because it can emulate many systems. But it does have quite a steep learning curve. In this guide I’m going to demystify some of the more peculiar things about this emulation frontend, and show you how I set up RetroArch on my own gaming platforms.

This guide is meant to help you get set up with various RetroArch iterations. The video will primarily be done on Windows PC, but the same method will apply to MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Vita, and Xbox platforms, and more.

RetroArch really shines on retro systems, particularly PlayStation 1 and below games. For more modern consoles, it is often more efficient to rely on standalone emulators, which are generally more optimized than RetroArch. However, if you are using a system that relies primarily on RetroArch for emulation (like Xbox), or you have a beefy PC that can run well regardless of optimizations, you may find success in emulating higher-end systems in RetroArch, too.

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My Favorite Retro Handhelds of 2021

My Favorite Retro Handhelds of 2021

With 2022 in full swing, let’s take a look back at 2021 and the wonderful world of handhelds from this past year.

Buy the devices here:
PowKiddy X18S
Anbernic RG300X
Anbernic RG351V
Anbernic RG351MP
PS Vita (eBay)
PowKiddy RGB10 (metal)
PowKiddy RGB10 Pro
Anbernic RG280V
PowKiddy RGB10 Max 2
Anbernic RG552
Miyoo Mini
GPD XP (use code BG231d5d for $80 off)
Retroid Pocket 2+

The eBay link above is an affiliate link for which I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Guide: Demons of Asteborg on Retro Handhelds

Guide: Demons of Asteborg on Retro Handhelds

Nearly 33 years after the Sega Genesis released, we have a new game to try out! Demons of Asteborg released last month and can easily work in your favorite retro handheld. If it can run Genesis games (and the Picodrive emulator), it’ll likely run this game, too.

Find it on Steam
Main page (for the demo)

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Guide: PlayStation Vita

Guide: PlayStation Vita

Last updated: 31JUL2024 (see Changelog for details)

This tutorial will show you how to safely and permanently jailbreak/mod your device so that you can run RetroArch or other emulators, plus load backups of your PS Vita, PSP, and PS1 games. Note this will work on any firmware version of PS Vita, up to and including 3.74.

This guide is intended for the PS Vita 1000 and PS Vita 2000 models. The PS TV setup is mostly the same, but there are some slight differences in the process; because I’ve never used a PS TV, I would recommend looking at the VitaHacks guide. This tutorial is written for Windows users, it is possible to jailbreak a Vita using Mac/Linux by following these instructions.

Note that each of these tutorials are written in a specific order. For example, you will need VitaShell installed to run certain tools, and so those instructions are found above the other tutorials. Long story short: if you just jump into a specific section and it references things you don’t understand (like VitaShell, or VPKs, etc.), then scroll up a bit to find those particular instructions.

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Guide: Rewind and Fast Forward on Retro Handheld Devices

Guide: Rewind and Fast Forward on Retro Handheld Devices

In today’s quick guide we’ll show you how to enable and use the rewind and fast-forward functions on a lot of today’s best retro handheld devices. This method will work on any number of RetroArch-capable systems, such as the RG351P (or similar devices like the RGB10, OGA, RK2020), Retroid Pocket 2, and even a hacked PS Vita.

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Guide: RetroAchievements on Retro Handheld Devices

Guide: RetroAchievements on Retro Handheld Devices

I’m starting a new series of quick tutorials for fundamental settings and features. Up first: RetroAchievements! This method can be used for any RetroArch-friendly handheld device, such as the RG351P/M, Retroid Pocket 2, RGB10, (hacked) PS Vita, and more.

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