THE BEST HANDHELD - POSSIBLY

THE BEST HANDHELD - POSSIBLY

Let's see if we can produced the ultimate retro handheld, shall we. First we choose our demographic? Possibly a man in his 50s who grew up with a Vic-20 in the living room when consoles, handheld or otherwise, were not a thing. Surprisingly I fit that demographic and have a selection of consoles, handheld and otherwise to take my inspiration from.

Let's go for it, what do I want, specifications, design, games I want to play etc. Why don't we start with my preferred operating system, options are: Windows, Android, iOS or Linux? How about looking back a little at phones I have owned, most have been Android phones, and iOS never really appealed also there is no real hardware available for dedicated handheld gaming for iOS and I knew in advance that it is not what I want. For me Linux and Windows are OK for desktop computers but they never fulfilled my needs when it comes to handhelds. Windows in handheld form is usually very bulky and has an operating system that is not best suited for a handheld device and I haven't found a front end on Linux that I like. So that's the operating system sorted, it's going to be Android.


When it comes to consoles of the past to draw inspiration from I was never a Game Boy (vertical form factor) or Game Boy Color (vertical form factor) fan, but Game Boy Advance (horizontal form factor) is when I first got into handheld gaming and this was shortly followed by Gameboy Advance SP (clamshell form factor). There have been a number of horizontal handheld devices over the years, including some original hardware such as the Atari Lynx and the Sega GameGear but there has always been fewer clamshell devices, In fact the Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS are the only ones I can think of. I do like the idea of a clamshell because no case is needed and they are pocketable without worry of knowing a thumbstick will pop off.


So cosmetically I am going to go with a clamshell of similar size to the Nintendo DS. A pocketable clamshell design can limit the screen size, aspect ratio and resolution. Depending on the type of games you wish to play a smaller screen can be a downfall for the handheld such as playing a game that has subtitles, they may become unreadable also distances to jump from and to may be difficult to judge so will a smaller screen size affect the type of games I wish to play? My gaming genres are quite varied so I'll just select a couple and see where we go from there. Adventures, specifically point and click adventures and how about Lego games of which there are many, I think both genres would suit a smaller screen size. So we have some of the cosmetics a clamshell with screens approx. 4.2" in size, let's make it two screens, both 4.2" in size. I know I could be describing a Nintendo DSi XL but stay with me on this.

How about the processor, I am a sucker for the latest and greatest such as the Snapdragon Elite found in the new AYN Odin 3 but for the gaming intended the Snapdragon Elite is a bit overkill and we can put that in something with a bit more umph at a later time so let's go for the MediaTek Dimensity 1100 for now. The MediaTek Dimensity 1100 can handle Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance and Sony PSP and games for both these handhelds would look perfectly fine on a 4.2" screen, but as I have decided on 2 screens both 4.2” the as a Nintendo DSi XL, can it do Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS? Yes the MediaTek Dimensity 1100 can handle both the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS so it looks like it can be a Nintendo handheld replacement but I want more than that and the addition of being able to play Sony PSP games is a bonus.


Now let's turn to memory and storage. I don't particularly want anything less than 8GB RAM, less might cause some juddering when playing PSP games and that would be a game breaker. Onboard storage is less an issue as a microSD card slot would be included that would cater for card upto 1TB.

I would not want to dock this so video out is not needed as this is purely a console to be taken out and about. Audio must be front facing. Controls are not a serious deal breaker for me in the genres of game I intend playing, both point and click adventures and Lego game don't require anything particularly amazing when it comes to controls.

So to sum up, I'd like a clamshell with something a little less powerful than the AYN Thor using a less powerful processor and two screens the same size and something a little more powerful than the Anbernic RG DS using a more powerful processor. Let's just face it, it doesn't exist yet which is why I like a mix of handhelds such as the AYN Odin 2 Portal and the Retroid Pocket Flip 2.

Maybe I'll give my needs when it comes to a high end handheld console that you can game on, stream, watch Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Write in the comments if there is anything I've missed or if there is anything you would change depending on your playing needs, more powerful, larger screen etc.

Michael