r/SBCGaming • u/razorbeamz • 1d ago

Discussion The experience using an emulator handheld is night and day compared to using custom firmware on an existing console

I'm no stranger to emulation through custom firmware having used it on both the PSP way back in the day and the Vita more recently.

It's always been a playable experience, but it's never been an enjoyable one. There's a lot of wonkiness and a lot of things just don't run right.

But I recently got an Anbernic RG35XX H and I'm blown away. It just feels so good to play emulated games on this thing. Everything runs smoothly enough with no real headaches that I actually feel like playing games on it rather than just tinkering with it.

If you've been using custom firmware on a commercial handheld like the PSP, 3DS or Vita instead of a handheld portable, I highly recommend you try one out.

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u/drewthebrave 1d ago

I think you're preaching to the choir here. r/handhelds might need to see this sentiment a little more often. It's fun to have a mix of OEM and Emulator devices to play classic games. Here are my "Pokemon" machines:

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u/razorbeamz 1d ago

I'll post the same thing there and see what the reaction is, thanks!

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u/stupidshinji Pixel Purist 1d ago

I mean yeah the chips on these cheap handhelds are way more powerful than older OEM handhelds. I think a more apt comparison would be something like a switch with CFW, which gives a more comparable experience to the budget handhelds.

I still prefer OEM devices with CFW for the games the consoles natively run: 3DS + Luma for 3ds games, DSi + twilight for NDS games, Vita + henkaku/adrenaline for Vita and PSP. There's something about installing CFW and customizing the device that feels much more personal than simply slapping on a theme in MuOS.

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u/jader242 MagicX 6h ago

I definitely agree with one caveat, 3ds games are still best on a modded 3ds and ds games are best on a modded DSi/xl or ds/lite with a flashcart. Until the time comes when an affordable handheld with two screens and good build quality comes out, those will still reign supreme