Welcome to the Retro Handhelds Weekly newsletter! Whether you’re a seasoned modder or just getting started with classic gaming on the go, you’re part of a passionate group that keeps the retro handheld scene vibrant and fun. Dive in for the latest reviews, guides, and community highlights.
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Game of the Month: Join our monthly club to play curated retro titles and compete for RH merch. Get involved by joining our Discord community.
‼️Pre-order Alert
Retroid Pocket Duo
- 8GB/128GB: $249 w/ code DUO (Save $20)
Retroid Pocket Duo Lite
- 4GB/64GB: $135 w/ code DUOLITE (Save $14)
- 6GB/128GB: $155 w/ code DUOLITE (Save $14)
Anbernic RG DS Plus
- $84.99 for 72 hours (Save $10)
- 8GB/128GB: $249 w/ code DUO (Save $20)
Retroid Pocket Duo Lite
- 4GB/64GB: $135 w/ code DUOLITE (Save $14)
- 6GB/128GB: $155 w/ code DUOLITE (Save $14)
Anbernic RG DS Plus
- $84.99 for 72 hours (Save $10)
🎮 The guts behind the glory
- Anbernic RG DS Plus
- Anbernic RG DS Plus Preorders Open Soon With a $10 Launch Discount
- Anbernic RG DS Plus Unboxing Reveals Full Specs and More
- [UPDATE: Pricing Release] Anbernic RG DS Plus Officially Revealed, Equipped with Larger Screens and Built-in Stylus for ‘under $100’
- Anbernic Shows Off RG DS Plus Gameplay and Its New DS Emulator
- Retroid Pocket Duo
- The DSPico is Back and Better Than Ever with the DSPico IR: Well, it seems some sleeves are getting rolled up because the DSPico IR has just been shown off in a recent Macho Nacho video, and thanks to production from Phenom Mods, it seems the best flash cart is getting even better.
More Hardware and Industry News
🕹️ Your gateway to pixel-perfect worlds
- Steam’s Latest Client Beta Drops with Bigger Art than Before: Because of the success of SteamOS, Steam Deck, and the Steam Machine, Big Picture mode has been getting regular updates alongside the OS, and they’ve been adding more and better features because of it. Well, the latest update adds something we’ve seen a lot of if you’re a CSS Loader user. And that’s Big Art Mode.
- Ubisoft Drops Connect Requirement for Steam Games: Thanks to a recent update from Ubisoft on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown it has been confirmed that the Ubisoft Connect Services Steam Tool is being updated to continue offering functionality while removing the Ubisoft Connect PC Launcher requirement. At the same time, they’ve also announced that they’ll be continuing to evolve this service, and hope to bring it to more games in the future as well.
- Ghostship Drops Their Latest 3.0 Update, and it’s a Big One: Dating all the way back to January in terms of its release, there have been a lot of people looking at this one as it steadily adds support, features, and more, all in the hopes of righting this Ghostship. Well, with the latest release of Nautilus – Alfa 3.0.0, it seems they’ve done that with a massive update.
Emulation Corner
Latest Emulation Updates
Custom Core
Latest Custom Firmware Updates
Ports/Decomps/Recomps
- TriAevum v0.6.0-alpha.1c
- Mario Kart 64 3DS v1.5
- Snap64 Recomp 1.0.4
- Pinyon Shift 0.1.2-preview.3
- Ghostship - Nautilus - Alfa 3.0.0
- Gen1Recomp 0.2.56 for Leaf (r2)
- Silksong Android v1.1.0-rc2
- KartPad Android
- Dante's Inferno Android
- Melee Native (macOS/Linux)
- NFS III: Hot Pursuit — Android
- Resident Evil Gaiden: Recompiled (PC / Native)
- Gen1WildCrystal v1.16.0
- Golden Balloon 1.7.0
👾 Game of the Month: Sleptember
Game(s) of the Week
RPG of the Quarter (7/1 - 9/30)
✍ Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Write
Retroid Pocket Duo and Duo Lite: Specs, Price, and Everything You Need to Know | Retro Handhelds
The Pocket Duo and Duo Lite are Retroid’s first dual-screen handhelds, with prices starting at $135 and two very different hardware configurations.
andrew
ACEMAGIC Matrix M5 Review: A Nice Step Up | Retro Handhelds
Acemagic is back again with the latest in their intel lineup of Mini PC’s. The Core 5 220H may not be new, but is it going to be worth the cost over other PCs?
Ban
Anbernic RG DS Plus First Impressions | Retro Handhelds
The Anbernic RG DS Plus feels like the version 1.5 the original needed, with bigger screens, smarter hardware changes, and a price under $100.
Nick
XBOX Wireless Controller in 2026 Review: Ole Reliable | Retro Handhelds
Xbox controllers have been the de facto standard for years in the controller market. But with new controllers every other week; is it still any good?
Ban
Let’s Talk About THAT Ocarina Of Time Switch 2 Showcase | Retro Handhelds
As part of the Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, we finally have our first real glimpse of the Ocarina of Time Remake and I have some thoughts about those changes.
Joe White
120Hz Gaming for under $100: Leaf on the MINILOONG Pocket 1 | Retro Handhelds
120Hz was always possible on the budget friendly MiniLoong Pocket, and it took the developers at Leaf to crack it. Under the hood, Leaf takes the cake on being both user-friendly and super-efficient.
Joe White
📺 On the YouTubes
RH Partners
💸 Achievement Unlocked: Big Savings
The AliExpress Fall Sale kicks off on Monday, September 14, and there are plenty of discount codes before the sale concludes. Below, you'll find just a handful of codes, but you can head over to handheld.deals to find even more and see what deals might be worth grabbing.
- FSUS02: $2 off $15+
- FSUS04: $4 off $30+
- FSUS09: $9 off $65+
- FSUS15: $15 off $109+
- FSUS23: $23 off $169+
- FSUS35: $35 off $259+
- FSUS55: $55 off $379+
- FSUS70: $70 off $499+
🗣️ Stay Connected
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