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.

🎮 The guts behind the glory

• The ROG Xbox Ally X20 Turns the Xbox Ally X Into a 20th Anniversary Showpiece: The ROG Xbox Ally X20 is being announced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ASUS ROG brand. To commemorate, along with the changes we’ll outline below, the Xbox Ally X20 sports a brand new translucent shell, complete with gold-colored buttons, and an Xbox Mode button that actually glows green.
• SEGA Might Release a New Retro Handheld, Cartridges and All: According to u/SeraphHS on Reddit (via Time Extension), “a company that’s done licensed Sega hardware before” is looking into launching a new retro handheld.
• Anbernic Board Revisions on RG40XXH (and other XX handhelds): It’s more bad news for those who’ve recently picked up an Anbernic H700 handheld. More proof has been provided by members of the community that Anbernic is downgrading the RAM in its handhelds. This time, an RG40XXH was found using a revised board, with the handheld now using DDR3 RAM instead of DDR4.

🕹️ Your gateway to pixel-perfect worlds

• GameNative Finally Reaches 1.0 (Pre-Release): If you’ve been following the x86 emulation scene, the community has essentially landed on two main competitors: Gamehub and GameNative, with the OG Winlator and its forks still growing in the background. GameNative, originally forked from Pluvia, has been a major community effort to bring x86 emulation to the mainstream on Android with ease, and May 30th marks the pre-release of version 1.0, bringing many changes.
  • Stable Release
• Anbernic Releases an Update for Its Entire RG XX H700 Lineup: Anbernic has been on a roll as of late, releasing new updates for the RG477V, RG477M, RG DS, and now, practically the entire RG XX lineup. With this release, Anbernic is aiming to improve the overall stability, and as such, it includes a bunch of different bug fixes.
• Pokémon Crystal Inheritance Released With Time-Travelling Johto Story: Pokémon Crystal Inheritance, a ROM hack of the Game Boy Color classic built by developer dwg, has reached its full v1.0 release. The hack had been in beta since January and clocked over 1,000 downloads before its official launch, which arrives with a full suite of quality-of-life updates and a polish pass befitting a finished product.
• Armada is An Upcoming SteamOS-like Linux Distro for Android Handhelds: It’s not often that we see a new custom firmware arriving as an alternative for Android handhelds. However, Armada made its first appearance last week, with the creator saying it’s “built on the same foundation as Bazzite with device support borrowed from ROCKNIX.” Armada is currently touted as being a “prototype software,” but it can be tested on the Odin 2 family and the AYANEO Pocket EVO.

Emulation Corner

Custom Core

👾 Game of the Month: Mobile May

Game(s) of the Week

RPG of the Quarter (4/1 - 6/30)

✍ Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Write

Year One of the Nintendo Switch 2 | Retro Handhelds

The fabled Nintendo Switch 2 just turned one! Does it hold up to Nintendo’s lofty promises, or is this just the Wii U 2? Let’s get into it.

Retro HandheldsJoe White

Fantech Zenith Pro Review: A Personal Upgrade | Retro Handhelds

Fantech is back again with their latest high-end controller on a budget: the Zenith Pro. With all its features, is it a standout? Or just a stand-in option.

Retro HandheldsBan

Racing Retrospective? Forza Horizon 6 Review | Retro Handhelds

If there’s one modern game Ban can’t shut up about; it’s Forza Horizon 6. So how’s the game holding up? And is it worth it for you to pick up yourself?

Retro HandheldsBan

PortMaster May Roundup | Retro Handhelds

This month’s PortMaster offerings include some legendary PC offerings, a hidden gem FPS, a rhythmic shmup and a “single-player co-op” game.

Retro HandheldsJim Gray

Building an Always-On RomM Server with the Acemagic Kron Mini K1 | Retro Handhelds

Mini-PCs like the ACEMAGIC Kron Mini K1 are perfect for self-hosting, especially when paired with ZimaOS, RomM, and your retro game library.

Retro HandheldsNick

Game of the Month: June Was Doomed From the Start | Retro Handhelds

Doomed June takes over Retro Handhelds GotX with classic games from consoles that missed the mark, including Saturn, Dreamcast, and GameCube.

Retro Handheldskalkeg

📺 On the YouTubes

RH Partners

💸 Achievement Unlocked: Big Savings

The AliExpress Summer Sale kicked off on June 1 at 3 AM EST, bringing with it a bunch of new discount codes and ways to save big. We've listed the RH-specific codes below, but you can head over to Handheld.Deals to grab even more!

Deal Highlights:

AliExpress Summer Sale: Big Savings on Anbernic, Retroid, AYN, and More | Retro Handhelds

Stack PayPal savings, Rakuten cash back, and discount codes during the AliExpress Summer Sale for deals on handhelds from AYN, Anbernic, Retroid, and more.

Retro Handheldsandrew

• New 8-Bit All-Stars Bundle: 30 NES Games for $30 (Regularly $289.87)
• Gravity Circuit: Free until June 14 on Steam (PortMaster Game)
• DSPico: $9.93 at AliExpress
• Anbernic RG Rotate: $77.56 w/ code RHH14
• Anbernic RG DS: $87.21 w/ code 18RHHSS
• Miyoo Mini Flip: $49.54 w/ code RHH8
• AYN Thor: From $290 w/ code 58RHHSS
• MagicX One35: $72.14 w/ code RHH8
• Retroid Pocket 5: $162.92 w/ code 29RHHSS
• AYN Odin 3: From $295.52 w/ code 58RHHSS
• MANGMI Air X: $95.16 w/ code 18RHHSS
• GAMEMT PSK5000: $84.93 w/ code 18RHHSS

🗣️ Stay Connected

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