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.
🕹️
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.
🎮 The guts behind the glory
- Xbox 25th Anniversary Prices Leak: According to billbil-kun from Dealabs the Xbox Series X25 special edition is shaping up to be a whopping $899 on release. If you aren’t aware, that’s another $100 more than the standard edition Xbox Series X, and basically the same as what the PS5 Pro costs in the United States.
- Genki Manta Goes Live on Kickstarter: Genki has been putting out high-quality products for a number of handhelds for years at this point, and it looks like they’re finally trying out something new with the latest release of the Genki Manta. The Kickstarter campaign is live, with the Manta starting at $189 for the "Super Early Bird" tier.
- GPD Win Max 3 Pricing Revealed: After weeks of leaks and teasers, GPD has finally revealed pricing and pre-order details for the Win Max 3. Once the Kickstarter campaign goes live on September 2, the base configuration (388/32GB/1TB) will start at $1,750, with the highest config (395/128GB/2TB) coming in at $3,499.
More Hardware and Industry News
🕹️ Your gateway to pixel-perfect worlds
- Bazzite Drops Their Biggest Update Yet: The biggest SteamOS alternative has been chugging along for the past few years, steadily getting better with every last update they push out, and in case you’ve missed it, they just put out one of their biggest drops yet. Bazzite Deck 44 is the latest drop, and while it brings a lot to the table, it also brings discussion towards Bazzite 45 and a simultaneous update across all images.
- Nintendo DMCA's More Switch Emulators: It seems that someone at Nintendo woke up and chose violence, as the company filed more DMCA notices with GitHub, taking down "more than 400 Switch emulator repositories in one coordinated campaign." This includes forks of Yuzu, Suyu, and even Skyline.
- There’s a Breath of the Wild Demake for the 3DS, and It’s Kind of Playable: A few days ago, another Breath of the Wild demake for the 3DS surfaced over on the 3DS Homebrew subreddit. According to the post, “it’s unknown who the developer is of this ambitious port,” as it came into the hands of u/Standard-Brick-2776 by way of “someone I met on a server.”
More Software News
- Pokemon Heart and Soul 2.0
- OpenROM v2.2.0
- romm v5.2.0
- Apply Community Configs for GameNative Right From the GameNative Website
- Cocoon Beta 3.0.4
- Earthbound Beginnings Remake SNES ROM Hack Now Supported by RetroAchievements
- Proton 11.0-2 Fixes a Bevy of Bugs and Improves Game Compatibility
- The Minish Cap - Dual Screen v1.2
- NOMM (Native Open Mod Manager) v0.12.2
- GoldenEye64Recomp v1.0.0 — macOS
Emulation Corner
Latest Emulation Updates
- GameNative v1.2.0-prerelease
- ARMSX3 v0.9.4
- EmuCoreC is Another New PS3 Emulator for Android
- EmuCoreV v0.1.9
- snes9xrd v0.3
- MAME4droid 2026(0.289) 1.38.3
- Xenia Manager v4.3.2
- Vita3K+ Brings 'Additional Game Compatibility and Rendering Fixes'
- Ryujinx-Nextendo 1.7.7
- RPCS3-iOS Preview 0.4
- Winlator 11.2 Beta
- Flycast v2.7
- Eden Nightly Adds Lossless Framing on Android
- RetroArch is now officially Steam Deck Verified
- SharpEmu v0.0.3-release.3
- NetherSX2 (Slushii's Turnip Fix) v12812639
- BachataS4 v0.1.8
- XaviXEmu 0.3.1
- Xenra v0.3.5
- YDrive-Emulator v1.1.2
- X360 Mobile 0.6.3 + X360 Companion 0.1.0
- Azahar 2126.1 Alpha 1
Custom Core
Latest Custom Firmware Updates
👾 Game of the Month: Adaptation August
Game(s) of the Week
RPG of the Quarter (7/1 - 9/30)
✍ Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Write
Retroid Pocket Nova Setup Guide | Retro Handhelds
The complete Retroid Pocket Nova setup guide covers everything from accessories and emulators to 4:3 patches, Obtainium packs, apps, ports, and much more.
andrew
Abxylute S9V: When a Giveaway Becomes Bribery | Retro Handhelds
Why should Amazon reviews be taken with skepticism? A Discord promotion for the Abxylute S9V offers a troubling example of manipulated feedback.
Ban
Aolion K30 Review: So Close to Greatness | Retro Handhelds
Aolion is back with their latest and greatest K30 controller. With TMR sticks and new features it stands up well. But does it hold up at its higher price tag?
Ban
How Much RAM is Enough For Your Handhelds? | Retro Handhelds
RAM is the muscle of your SOC and is lately getting more expensive by the week, so how much of it do you actually need?
Joe White
📺 On the YouTubes
RH Partners
💸 Achievement Unlocked: Big Savings
The latest AliExpress Sale is here, providing the opportunity to save up to $85 on your next AE purchase. So be sure to check over at handheld.deals for all of the discount codes once the sale is live, but here are a few that we already know about:
AliExpress Discount Codes
- USBS03 - $3 off $15+
- USBS06 - $6 off $36+
- USBS12 - $12 off $79+
- USBS20 - $20 off $119+
- USBS40 - $40 off $239+
- USBS55 - $55 off $369+
- USBS75 - $75 off $499+
- USNS85 - $85 off $599+
Deal Highlights
- AliExpress Back to School Sale
- Retroid Pocket Nova
- 8GB: $224(USBS40)
- 12GB: $264 (USBS40)
- Anbernic RG SP: $67.78 w/ code USBS06
- A10 Mini (Miyoo Mini Clone): $46.85 w/ code USBS06
- KONKR Pocket Advance at AKNES
- 3GB/32GB: $98.10 (Save 10%)
- 4GB/64GB: $116.10 (Save 10%)
- AYN Odin 3
- Base: $353.06 (USBS55)
- Pro: $448.55 (USBS75)
- Max: $494.74 (USBS75)
- AYN Thor
- Base: $315.27 (USBS40)
- Pro: $385.57 (USBS55)
- Max (512GB): $436.66 (USBS75)
- Max (1TB): $540.39 (USBS85)
- MagicX Fall Sale
- Newegg Game Sale: Save up to 90%
- Anbernic Back to School Sale: Save up to 60% off
🗣️ Stay Connected
Want more classic gaming goodness? Join the Discord, or follow us on YouTube for live podcasts and reviews every Monday at 6pm Pacific. Your feedback, mods, and stories make this community what it is, so keep sharing!