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MCBanjoMike

Sudden chomper
(He/him)
And if you're thinking of going the consolizer route, just get a MiSTer instead! I've played a whole bunch of Astro Boy Omega Factor on my HDTV and it's pretty rad.
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
If you already have a GameCube, a GB Player and Swiss/Game Boy Interface paired with a good controller is pretty great.
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
I still prefer the original GBA with a modded IPS screen installed, but that'll run you a bit for parts - not including the cost of the Gameboy itself, the IPS screen is about $50-$60 USD, plus you'll have to install it, though you don't have to solder in the brightness control if you don't want to, as the default brightness is plenty bright.

If you want to go this route but don't want to install it yourself and wouldn't mind paying for shipping and parts, I'd be happy to do it for you, as I love doing these mods lol
 

MCBanjoMike

Sudden chomper
(He/him)
I will admit, your thread of GameBoy mods definitely has me wondering if I should swap the screen out on one of my SPs...
 

Beowulf

Son of The Answer Man
(He/Him)
This is probably a ridiculous question, given all the mod questions that come up, but: I actually really liked the non-backlit screen of the original GBA because it was great for playing on the beach or otherwise in direct sunlight. Are those non-backlit screens even a thing anymore?
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
Not really, and the IPS screens are actually pretty hard to see in direct sunlight, but I never play anything outside anyway so it doesn't bother me.
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
Doesn't just the cable to get a GameCube to run on an HDTV cost over $100?

Depends on which cable you mean, but not if you're looking for the cheapest option.

There are HDMI out solutions as well, which start at $75 and go up from there.

Yeah, the Carby is pretty affordable, all things considered. The EON Mk.II has dual output (so you can play on a CRT and stream, etc) and is no-lag on the HDMI. But even if you pay $30 for a Game Boy Player with no disc and $80 for a Carby, you're still $100 down from a MiSTer set-up (at least) or a GBA Consolizer unless you can do the mod yourself. And even then, it's still a little bit cheaper.
 

Super Megaman X

dead eyes
(He/Him)
So, all this recent talk about Shining Force finally pushed me over the edge to getting a portable emulator device. I got an RG350, but right after I bought it I learned there's some other models out there that may be better so I'm debating returning it, since I'm still in my return window, maybe for a 351, or possibly something else? The main targets I'm after are Shining Force CD, Shining Force Final Conflict, and I'm excited to finally play Mother 3, but GBA emulation is pretty much a non-issue these days. So Sega CD is the big one. @ShakeWell @Beowulf I know this is your guys bread-n-butter, so any advice you could toss my way is much appreciated! Thanks guys!
 

muteKi

Geno Cidecity
I can't speak to the specifics of the RG350, but it looks like it supports both Genesis Plus GX and PicoDrive. While the former is usually a more accurate emulator, unless the RG350 is lower-spec'd than the 3DS then PicoDrive should run without issue.
 

Beowulf

Son of The Answer Man
(He/Him)
So, all this recent talk about Shining Force finally pushed me over the edge to getting a portable emulator device. I got an RG350, but right after I bought it I learned there's some other models out there that may be better so I'm debating returning it, since I'm still in my return window, maybe for a 351, or possibly something else? The main targets I'm after are Shining Force CD, Shining Force Final Conflict, and I'm excited to finally play Mother 3, but GBA emulation is pretty much a non-issue these days. So Sega CD is the big one. @ShakeWell @Beowulf I know this is your guys bread-n-butter, so any advice you could toss my way is much appreciated! Thanks guys!
The RG351 seems to have higher specs, but I've found the OpenDingux OS on the 350 easier to work with. If you want GBA emulation specifically, you're fine either way. Both do a nice job with the SNES and PS1. The 351 can handle some PSP and DS games (though with a single screen, so that's tricky). I haven't tested the Sega CD at all, but as muteKi noted, there's no reason Picodrive shouldn't work fine.
 

Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
Which variant of the 350? I think there are a couple of versions, and they have different screen resolutions.

I read somewhere that while the 351P is more powerful, it really just lets you run slightly more, but most of the games on the systems like DC or PSP are still unplayable.
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
So, all this recent talk about Shining Force finally pushed me over the edge to getting a portable emulator device. I got an RG350, but right after I bought it I learned there's some other models out there that may be better so I'm debating returning it, since I'm still in my return window, maybe for a 351, or possibly something else? The main targets I'm after are Shining Force CD, Shining Force Final Conflict, and I'm excited to finally play Mother 3, but GBA emulation is pretty much a non-issue these days. So Sega CD is the big one. @ShakeWell @Beowulf I know this is your guys bread-n-butter, so any advice you could toss my way is much appreciated! Thanks guys!

I appreciate the hat-tip here, but with these emulation devices, I'm not as read up as I am on MiSTer or Everdrives/ODEs, I'm afraid.
 

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
I bought myself an RG351V. I haven't gone to better firmware yet, but I really like it so far. The controls are good, the D-pad is a little firm but is nice and responsive. My big concern before I bought it were the shoulder buttons but they're actually pretty well placed. Mega Drive is a bit hitchy on base firmware, but PlayStation is good. The screen is great although the colour temperature is a bit on the warm side. It's a really high quality piece of kit based purely on build quality.
I'm trying to decide if I'm going ArkOS or 351 Elec. It will be interesting to see what they do for performance, it's definitely not perfect on stock.
 

Beowulf

Son of The Answer Man
(He/Him)
I'm trying to decide if I'm going ArkOS or 351 Elec. It will be interesting to see what they do for performance, it's definitely not perfect on stock.
I'm curious to hear about firmware upgrades. I have a RG351P, but I mostly still play my RG350 instead because I like what I can do with OpenDingux.
 

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
Supposedly ArkOS and 351 Elec are a huge improvement on the default firmware, both in performance and design. I'm genuinely impressed with the design of this thing, it's a pleasure to play with.
 

Becksworth

Aging Hipster Dragon Dad
Still struck with decision paralysis on all these options and have never actually bought one. RG351V and RGB10 Max both look appealing from the current crop, but maybe I should wait for chip refresh that can handle N64/Dreamcast better. Or maybe I should just buy a bigger SD card and load my modded Switch with retro games...
 
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Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
Yeah, my next purchase of one of these will be a relatively affordable one that can do N64 well, which I don't think exists, yet?
 

Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
I'm considering holding off for the same reason. I'd love to get one that can pull off some of the more advanced systems well. Dreamcast in particular. I know a cheap PS2-capable system is a ways off, though.
 

John

(he/him)
Is there a kit where you can slot in a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 into a screen/buttons/battery pack for a DIY handheld? All I've seen is a kit for a RPi Zero, which is fine for Game Boy but probably not much else. I'm guessing the power draw and inrush current would be a bit much for batteries, at least for homemade kits.

Edit: Found this PiBoy DMG kit which kinda fits the bill, and has enough buttons for Dreamcast and N64. No 2nd Analog stick for PS analog support, but if the PSP could do it, you can too.
 
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Beowulf

Son of The Answer Man
(He/Him)
I'm forcing myself not to buy any more of these things for now. What I think I'd ideally want next is one with the two-screen clamshell design that can handle DS games well (and with touchscreen support). I'd love an easy way to play DS hacks/translations on something resembling the original hardware. (I didn't have enough love for the N64 to care that much about emulation for it. PS2 emulation in a handheld would be a kick, though.)
 

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
I still haven't updated mine for stupid memory card reasons but I love the RG351V. After saying how much I hate achievements I've apparently got hooked on retro achievements so thanks for making me into a hypocrite, handheld console.
Supposedly with the latest release of 351Elec and ArkOS gives much better Dreamcast performance, but we're not quite there yet for that or the N64.

The selection of ROMs are a bit weird though, the Mario World one has space jumping and invincibility for some reason. I'll have to chuck most of them out.
 

Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
What a bargain!

Yeah, the internals look like what I'd expect from a hacked together portable. I'm not sure you can completely escape that with most of these sorts of projects.
 

John

(he/him)
Oof, that reminds me of a PSP external battery+case I had that literally doubled the size of the handheld. It made it last for 10 hours, but it was extremely heavy.

I didn't know they were using actual PS2 motherboards as the base. Wonder if those are Slims or cut down OG's, it looks quite a bit larger than the OG ones I used to modchip.
 
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