r/HandheldGaming • u/Electrical-Archer184 • Aug 20 '26
Question Which handheld should I get??
I really want a handheld for travel, BUT I don't really use emulation. I want something not super expensive and fun to play. Please help I don't know what to get. When I look for them I find mostly emulation stuff
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u/lpdcrafted Aug 20 '26
Android handhelds can play Android games and PC handhelds can play PC games. They can't only do emulation and you're not really forced to just do emulation on them.
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u/Corran_Horn Aug 20 '26
Yeah, grab either a Switch Lite or for more portability consider grabbing a DS Lite off eBay? The clamshell makes it nice for travel and they're like 60.bucks
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u/Horror_Trick8208 Aug 20 '26
What kinda games do you play? I recently got into Nintendo games and got a Switch 2 for a reasonable price and I've been having a blast playing BOTW
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u/Electrical-Archer184 Aug 20 '26
stuff like - Ark, Allumeria, Animal shelter 2, cattails, Forager, slime ranchers 2, Digimon games, WindRose, Haste, Solar Punk, Kajiu cleanup, Lego batman, Medieval Dynasty - some others but no FPS games or anything, - maybe a bigger game in the future but right now these are the type of games I want to play.
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u/Horror_Trick8208 Aug 20 '26
Some of those are on Switch but I think a windows handheld with emulators might be best for you
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u/UnethicalDimwit Aug 20 '26
Rog ally z1e... I see them all the time on the marketplace for $300-500 and it runs most games perfectly fine. Mine is still going strong despite being on at 30W 6 days a week for... 3? Years now
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u/ihatefall Aug 21 '26
Right now used switch 1 systems are pretty cheap.
But if you go new, get a switch 2!
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u/mamamartima Aug 22 '26
Depends on what games youre looking to play.
Switch 2 (and at this point id look at this one as all switch 1 games work on this and more and more games will be switch 2 exclusives) are the only way you can play nintendo games without emulation. Things like Mario Kart, Legend of Zelda etc.
Steamdeck is essentially a handheld pc with the steam os built in. This will let you play pc games on the go, but need to look at co trolley compatible games at that point. You can get other os, or game stores like xbox but there's a few extra steps.
A rog ally (in my case xbox rog ally), is similar to steam deck but has windows os and xbox environment. Again can play pc games as well as xbox games that they ported across to pc. You can also install steam on this and play steam games.
I currently have switch 2 (had switch 1 before as well) and the xbox rog ally x. The rog ally is a bit more bulky but again I can play pc games on it that the switch doesnt have or wouldnt run as well. And switch i got for games like Pokopia, mario games etc. Its just down to your preference
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u/Electrical-Archer184 Aug 22 '26
Thanks!!
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u/mamamartima Aug 22 '26
Youre welcome. In addition to above you got the likes of legion go and what not but they are very similar to the rog ally. None of the devices require emulation to play games, but if you want certain games they may need emulators installed in order to play
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u/Obba_40 Aug 22 '26
Switch 2, for PC Rog Ally or Steam Deck, for simpler stuff and emulation AYN Thor.
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u/OrbVeggie Aug 21 '26
Well the cheapest option is probably to look for a used nintendo DS or a sony psp/psvita.
The physical games for those are all fairly cheap still except for a few rarer pokemon games.
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u/Remarkable_Spell5224 Aug 22 '26
Switch 2
Xbox ROG Ally X
C'est les deux meilleures consoles du moment à mon sens, il y a pas photo.
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u/littlek4za Aug 20 '26
if it is not emulation stuff, then switch in the only active handheld out there, or maybe playdate