How can anyone choose which handheld to buy when better, cheaper hardware appears almost every week? The answer (finally) is the Retroid Pocket 5. However, just like solving a good math problem, it's important that I show my work.
For the past two years, I've been stuck in a loop that I like to call the laptop shopper's dilemma. A YouTube channel, like my beloved Retro Game Corps, would feature an amazing new handheld that emulates virtually every console and platform released before the PlayStation 2. I'd open the store page in a new tab and then spend a week worrying because of the cost of the device and the time it would take to configure it to my liking. When I was finally ready to open my wallet, I would open YouTube and the cycle would begin again as I discovered a new video about a new handheld that promised to be even better than the old one.
Abundance should be a blessing. Companies like Anbernic, Retroid, and Ayaneo have flooded the market with portable devices that appeal to virtually all types of gamers. Want a recreation of your favorite retro handheld? Or maybe you prefer something as powerful as a gaming PC? Or maybe something boxy but beautiful? Intense competition drives prices down year after year.
The rush to lower prices and offer more options, instead of the best option, is my problem. Wearable device manufacturers prioritize different features for each wearable device. Some have great screens, but poor controls. Others have a lot of graphics power, but weak batteries. The best looking handheld devices can be uncomfortable to play on, and those that feel comfortable… well, you get the point.
The Retroid Pocket 5 got me out of this cycle. Compared to its peers, Retroid releases fewer new wearables in a given year, and that focus shows. In the case of the Pocket 5, the system looks as good as it feels. It's small enough to fit in my carry-on bag, yet has a big, beautiful OLED screen that reminds me of the original PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo Switch OLED. It's powerful enough to run everything I ask of it, from Atari to Dreamcast, and it took less than an hour of tinkering to get it working reliably, thanks, of course, to YouTube's plentiful tutorials.
It's so portable, so lightweight, and so fun to play. The plastic case feels light and comfortable in the hand, and games load in a snap. Even the touchscreen proved reliable with Vita emulation. I spent my vacation reviewing retro games that I hadn't taken out of my storage in decades. For the first time in years, my Steam Deck collected dust. And when I used it again, as amazing as Valve's handheld is, it felt big and heavy. So, I've been streaming games I used to play on my Steam Deck to the Retroid Pocket 5 with the help of the handheld's access to Android's Google Play store.
However, the cycle I mentioned at the beginning did not stop. After ordering my handheld, I learned about the Anbernic RG 406H, Odin2 Portal, TrimUI Brick, Ayaneo Pocket DMG, and Anbernic RG 34XX. Some of them are more powerful than the Retroid Pocket 5. Others look better. But for me, with my new handheld, the porridge is perfect.
So do I recommend the Retroid Pocket 5 to get readers out of their own laptop paralysis? Not quite. While I love my new little device, I've realized something else: I would have liked any other handheld I could have bought during the last two years of stagnation. And that's two years I didn't spend playing games I would have enjoyed.
The real conclusion should be that any A modern handheld computer will suffice. Handheld gaming YouTubers don't lie. Each of these is amazing, just in their own way. If you simply want a handheld to play older games, through the ROMs of the games you own, then you can close your eyes, throw a dart and hit a great choice.
Or I guess you could continue watching YouTube videos. It's almost as fun and much cheaper.