I always get the gaming itch this time of year... guess the kid in me still lives. We have a PS5, a Switch 2, and still keep our old PS4 and PSVR in another room but no one plays them these days.

Given that my kids will often dominate TVs over Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I like the idea of playing something besides my iPad.

Have seen brief posts on this before (i.e. Steam Deck, etc.). Lots of options out there and some of the cooler stuff like a Steam seem great but I don't have a library of games I can immediately download. I will acknowledge I have done zero research on what it would take to obtain a game library for a Steam or the like.

A bit of research makes something like the R36Max handheld seem simple and straightforward. And it's not expensive.

Any strong opinions here? Am I being too short-sighted to only examine an R36Max and equivalents? Better options or experiences you have had?

Thanks in advance.

Use the Switch 2.

Can't tell you about the R36. I have a Steam Deck. It's been awesome. Yes I have a decent library, not a ton but more than I need and I'll get through it all... sometimes. There are free games out there and some stuff like Rivals and other things out there. Does fine. You can dock it but the quality on a 4k screen won't be impressive. On the Deck it's awesome.

Another nice thing is it's able to be repaired very easily. I dropped mine and had to replace the sticks, it was ~$25. That was great.

Strongly recommend and you'll regularly get games at a cheaper price. With Sony looking at some cross platform availability on both PC and PlayStation (they've walked that back a little bit but it will come in some fashion) you'll be able to get your Sony stuff back on PC. Probably not the other way, but the cost of a day 1 PS title will get you 4-10 solid titles on Steam.

If you travel it's a great system.

Not sure if they'll have an updated version anytime soon, but really enjoyed it and definitely got my money's worth. The switch was a waste of money for my family, but lots of people love them even if they hate Nintendo.

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/gamesir-g8-plus-bluetooth-mobile-game-controller-nintendo-switch-switch-2-ios-android-tablets-hall-effect-joysticks-triggers-black/J3Q5QYHZ9L/sku/6625298?utm_source=feed?extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=20510845600&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20510847514&gbraid=0AAAAAD-ORIiKMOJbiuknvI7TASyLhEjwm&gclid=CjwKCAiAlfvIBhA6EiwAcErpyeL-0zWEYrC71PIzcDvBXK1P1Xs6iicnlNEQaCVGqnPVM42XGlXBahoCdGYQAvD_BwE

GameSir G8 Plus.

Enable mobile/remote gaming on your PS5 and use this controller.

I've used this on planes through plane internet to game on my PS5 on business trips.

No idea what an r thirty six is and if you'd linked to one I'd be 99% sure you were an astroturfing bot for it but now I'm only 75% sure.

Another vote for the Steamdeck. The hardware is a bit outdated at this point but it supports such a massive library and that's not including what it can do in emulation and whatnot. Games are constantly on sale, it will play any indie title you throw at it, and there's tons of those. Even some new AAA games work. The new Sonic kart racing game that came out this fall is phenomenal and works great on the deck.

I think we don't see Deck2 until 2027 or 2028 at the earliest. They're waiting for a massive leap in gpu/cpu power before they make another, plus in many ways the deck exists as a proof of concept to get other handhelds and machines to use SteamOS, kinda like the old Google Nexus phone/tablet series.

If you're considering one of the cheap chinese handhelds, its also worth mentioning that the Steam deck is also fantastic for emulation.

If you just want to play your PS5 games, i guess the Playstation Portal is also worth considering. You can get used/refurbished units pretty cheap sometimes, around $125.

I have the Switch 2 and the Steam Deck.

Switch 2
Pros

• My wife is strictly Nintendo so it's nice to play some games with her between both our systems and share games with Nintendo's unique game share system for digital games or share the carts.
• The screen is big and vibrant compared to the LCD Steam Deck.
• The device is slim and I love the magnetic detachment for controllers.
• Has a kickstand
• The UI is buttery smooth compared to the Steam Deck and easy to use.

Cons

• The games are expensive
• Like AI Slop, the store has a lot of game slop of cheap low quality games to lure children into buying. Steam has slop to but they deprioritize with a ratings system.
• Digital game sharing is a process that you have to do in-person
• The controller is not ergonomic like the Steam Deck so as an older person, my hands cramp (I'm in my 30s)
• The microSD Card required is some special high speed card Nintendo and SanDisk had to invent so it's expensive. You can just go buy a cheap A1 1TB microSD for $80.
• No Achievements

Steam Deck
Pros

• Bigger library of quality games
• Steam games are cheap when they go on sale. You can buy games through 3rd party easily and they may have better deals. You can buy digital Switch games through third party, but Nintendo 1st party games usually never go on sale and they won't go beyond 30% off.
• Your games will work on PC. If you buy a Steam Machine later, it's all there.
• The controller feel is very ergonomic like an Xbox controller if you have big hands. You can play for a very long time.
• You can use any type of microSD but the faster the better.
• You can modify the system and access the file system.
• The battery life might actually be better than the Switch 2.
• You can mess around with performance settings.

Cons

• Less plug and play
• Not all steam games work and Steam's Deck certification system is messy. There's a lot of games that work that steam claims doesn't work. You have to mess around with proton settings to get some stuff to work.
• You can't play Nintendo games but you can illegally.
• This thing is big and there are other PC handhelds that are even bigger.
• Software can be buggy at times. Over time, SteamOS has bricked a 500GB USB Drive and a 1TB microSD in my time of use.

Bottom line
The Sedan (Point A to B): If you are a casual gamer and won't play games for very long periods, the Switch 2 is for you.
The SUV (Off-roading): If you are a gaming enthusiast and plays games for a long time, the Steam Deck is for you.

I saw the Portal mentioned...in my experience it's not that great. It has some common connectivity issues that make it a bit frustrating at times. It's weird because the Vita worked great at remote play on the PS4 so not sure why the portal struggles. They should have used Wi-Fi Direct for the connection to the PS5 when in close proximity. The streaming function is relatively knew and I haven't tried it much.

Appreciate the feedback thus far. Especially @double aught's incredible insight to play a console I already have. Wish I had been smart enough to consider just such a plan of action.

And to be clear, my youngest (14) claims the Switch 2 as his given that it was a birthday present. Yeah, I can play it but it would default to him.

Duly noted on mentioning an option without a link... just Amazon or Google search for R36Max handheld and you will see that to which I am referring. Basically a GameBoy on steroids with a ridiculous volume of retro games.

I hadn't come back in a while to consider portably playing the PS5, so I will consider that. However, part of my concern is potentially having issues while traveling. Even going to my in-laws can be dicey for WiFi.

I guess I need to do some research as to what it would take to compile a Steam library... seems like I just create an account and start downloading/paying. But to go back to a typical mid-life issue, I am largely looking for simplicity and minimal time commitment to set up. I just want stuff to work, especially since downtime is not plentiful.

I'd even gotten on my wife's FB Marketplace to see if anyone is selling a Steam. That can always be iffy, but I've struck gold before going that route for a purchase. Yes, I can easily afford my own brand-new model. But a bit concerned I won't play a ton beyond the holidays.

Historically, I would heavily play sports games (whatever was in season) and spent most of my time on college football. It was the only way to get our Ags into a good bowl or a Natty.

Dabbled with Skyrim Elder Scrolls and enjoyed it. But that was hard due to time constraints as my boys got older.

It'd be great to play more modern games on a portable device, but they get pricey quickly. I realize the R36Max previously mentioned essentially taps out at PS1, though it would fun and nostalgic to play some old games (GoldenEye, Ken Grifffey baseball, old Maddens, etc).

WGann, thanks for the willingness to help out.

CaptAmerica03 said:

---

Duly noted on mentioning an option without a link... just Amazon or Google search for R36Max handheld and you will see that to which I am referring. Basically a GameBoy on steroids with a ridiculous volume of retro games.

---

After some googling, it seems like people mostly suggest going with something like an RG35XX or RG35XXPro, or one of the million other Anbernic handhelds, over the R36Max. I have one. It's a pretty cool little device if older retro games is all you're looking for.

If you're mainly looking for something inexpensive and easy to pick up and play, the R36-type handhelds are totally fine. They're great for classic games, the setup is simple, and the price makes them low-risk. But note that they're best suited for retro systems.
If you're open to spending more, devices like the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally give you a much wider range of modern games and a much better overall experience.
Another middle-ground option might be a Switch Lite, especially since you already have Switch 2 games. It keeps you in the same ecosystem and is genuinely portable.
I'm also thinking about getting something like this for Christmas, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money because I prefer playing on my PC. Besides, there I can play online games, which are not that accessible on other devices. For example, lately I've been drawn to slot games, and they are particularly interesting to me at the moment. I also came across this guide that introduced me to GameStop and its purpose. I don't have a lot of experience with online casinos, but it's good to know more because, for me, as a person who is going to play more, it's really important.

Thanks all. Much appreciated. I elected to start with an R36 Max to get going. Pretty inexpensive, so will be a small mistake if it doesn't work or satisfy.

I may travel more for work in coming years, so very possible I upgrade to a Steam in the not-too-distant future.

I'll pop back on this thread with a short review in case I got anyone else curious. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and BTHO t.u.

Cap

I see a bunch of ads for those R36 type things, was curious if they actually worked or not. Really just want to play NES and SNES games, anything else would be bonus.

I can't speak to the R36 specifically, but Anbernic devices are surprisingly nice for the price

Yeah, if you really enjoy the cheaper handheld experience, you can always upgrade later. Emulation has come a long way and it's so much easier to do in todays world, but it's still far from a plug and play experience. Never a bad idea to try it out on a smaller/cheaper device first.


For me, there really is no comparison to the Steam Deck. Having all my favorite childhood games available along with the power to play more modern games in a handheld is pretty sick.

How well do the Anbernic devices work for mutliplayer if you buy 2? I'm thinking of games like Gauntlet, Contra, Ikari Warriors, Mortal Kombat. Do the cheat codes still work the same?

I don't own any Anbernic devices but I'm pretty sure it'll work just fine, especially if you buy two of the same devices. Those types of games you're mentioning are going to run through Retroarch which I'm fairly certain is going to be running on the stock Anbernic firmware. As long as you have the same version of Retroarch running on both devices, you should be able to get netplay running.

I was able to get two different Android based retro handhelds (Odin 2 Pro and Retroid Pocket 3) to play online games together. My 7 year old and I played through Turtles In Time on SNES from across the room together, pretty cool experience.

Just make sure the games you want to play aren't split screen like Mario Kart 64 or something. It's pretty awesome what these devices can do, but they can't magically take an old game that was split screen like Mario Kart 64 or Goldeneye and let you both have your own individual screen. They're going to still split your tiny little screen.

CaptAmerica03 said:

---

I always get the gaming itch this time of year... guess the kid in me still lives. We have a PS5, a Switch 2, and still keep our old PS4 and PSVR in another room but no one plays them these days.

Given that my kids will often dominate TVs over Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I like the idea of playing something besides my iPad.

Have seen brief posts on this before (i.e. Steam Deck, etc.). Lots of options out there and some of the cooler stuff like a Steam seem great but I don't have a library of games I can immediately download. I will acknowledge I have done zero research on what it would take to obtain a game library for a Steam or the like.

A bit of research makes something like the R36Max handheld seem simple and straightforward. And it's not expensive.

Any strong opinions here? Am I being too short-sighted to only examine an R36Max and equivalents? Better options or experiences you have had?

Thanks in advance.

---

I would use your Switch 2 for now and wait 2 years for a Playstation 6 Handheld that is pretty much confirmed to be launching in 2027 and will play your Playstation library.

It will have all the latest tech in it and be a pretty big improvement from any handheld curently on the market. Every handheld on the market is currently pretty ancient.

Also doesn't make sense to start building up another library on a separate platform, IMHO. Lots of the games you already own will be playable on the PS6 handheld.

I'd wondered what Sony's response to the Switch 2 and XBox handheld would be... but hadn't heard anything.

Most of our PS library is hard copy, with a few exceptions.

Unboxed the R36Max last night. Didn't have a lot of time to mess with it yet. The sheer volume of games is impressive, though much like cable TV, worthless for the majority of options.

Some of the games (i.e. Monday Night Football) that sucked to play on Nintendo or SNES equally suck (if not more so) on a handheld. Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball was OK and will come back to it.

Hoping some basics like Mario Kart or TMNT games are fun enough to justify keeping it. I never was allowed a ton of screen time as a kid, so something like the Zelda franchise never worked for me due to only having an hour or so at a time. Wondering if I will be able to better enjoy a few of those with some concentrated time.

Anyway, will offer more if it merits letting you know. Good board for expertise here.

And duly noted that one does not simply acquire a Steam library... naturally a LOTR reprimand on here.

Use the switch 2 or buy a steam deck. Never too late to start building a library on that platform and the big seasonal sales will give you a good boost, especially with Christmas coming up.

PS Portal for me. Remote play from my PS5 or now with recent update cloud gaming with premium subscription. I also have a Retroid Pocket 5 that I have set up to basically be a PS Vita. I play all pre-PS3 games on that with emulators.

I asked for the PS Portal for Christmas because I saw a recent video that the newest update makes it be pretty much a portable PS5 and you don't even have to turn your console on to use it anymore. That plus the Black Friday sale prices caused me to ask for it. We'll see if I get it lol.

I've had good luck using the cloud gaming services when I travel (Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna) with my phone and a blue tooth controller. I have a mount that clips to an xbox series x controller that hold my phone up for me.

WGann3 said:

---

I don't own any Anbernic devices but I'm pretty sure it'll work just fine, especially if you buy two of the same devices. Those types of games you're mentioning are going to run through Retroarch which I'm fairly certain is going to be running on the stock Anbernic firmware. As long as you have the same version of Retroarch running on both devices, you should be able to get netplay running.

I was able to get two different Android based retro handhelds (Odin 2 Pro and Retroid Pocket 3) to play online games together. My 7 year old and I played through Turtles In Time on SNES from across the room together, pretty cool experience.

Just make sure the games you want to play aren't split screen like Mario Kart 64 or something. It's pretty awesome what these devices can do, but they can't magically take an old game that was split screen like Mario Kart 64 or Goldeneye and let you both have your own individual screen. They're going to still split your tiny little screen.

---

Is there a brand that's better than another? Looking on Amazon there are a ton of them that all look the same. I'd bet they are all made in the same factory, just curious.

Definitely are some more respected/premium brands than others. AYN, Retroid, and Anbernic are all well thought of but there are some other devices from other companies that have emerged that are perfectly fine.

Amazon is the safest and fastest way to buy some of these devices but you're going to pay more there. If you have the patience to wait a couple of weeks I'd say buy devices directly from the manufacturer's website or AliExpress.

If you have something you're interested in I'd be happy to give you some feedback on the price and device in general. I love this stuff and enjoy talking about.

Thanks. I'd really just like to play the Mega Mans, Link to the Past, etc and other random NES and SNES games, so probably don't need a high end device, just want something that will work.

Look into Miyoo Flip V2. I'm looking to get one of those.

https://lomiyoo.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqoSeK2r0i5s7gBBS58Ey-wgBnwWRV9QtFF4b_BdWD0i5mnI9vk

I've got the Miyoo Mini Plus. It's a solid emulator. I recommend installing OnionOS.

If you want to risk it, you can get it for around $50 on AliExpress. That's where I got my Mini Plus.

Some awesome AliExpress Black Friday deals. Here's a spreadsheet breaking the deals down that a Reddit hero puts together when big sales happen. Some all time lows in here.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x_PmVHiQNHyw5t05peEDG1DcCKDCvH_UPd3p7yCw4xg/htmlview

Mean to reply to you with my last post and say the Flip V2 can be had for $33 at the link I sent.

TXAG 05 said:

---

Thanks. I'd really just like to play the Mega Mans, Link to the Past, etc and other random NES and SNES games, so probably don't need a high end device, just want something that will work.

---

Your cell phone can likely play all of those and they make controllers that wrap around your phone case or controllers that have mounts for your phone.

permabull said:

---

TXAG 05 said:

---

Thanks. I'd really just like to play the Mega Mans, Link to the Past, etc and other random NES and SNES games, so probably don't need a high end device, just want something that will work.

---

Your cell phone can likely play all of those and they make controllers that wrap around your phone case or controllers that have mounts for your phone.

---

If you have an iPhone. Manic Emu is a pretty easy way to play NES/SNES/Sega/PS 1 games.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/manic-emu-game-emulator/id6743335790

And a backbone for controls.

https://backbone.com/ You can also Bluetooth a ps/xbox controllers

TXAG 05 said:

---

Thanks. I'd really just like to play the Mega Mans, Link to the Past, etc and other random NES and SNES games, so probably don't need a high end device, just want something that will work.

---

WGann3 seems to be the resident specialist...

FWIW, the R36Max I bought has been fun and can be had via Amazon. I forgot how bad sports games were back then, but went down a rabbit hole of games I'd never played this weekend. I've never been a MegaMan guy, but the R36 seems to be solid for NES/SNES/GameBoy games, and Sega as well.

Delta app for iOS with a Bluetooth snes/nes controller.

With these I play ninendo games on my iPad.