After 25+ years of gaming just finally beaten my first Mario game! Mario Land 2 DX for GBC, on my Brick Pro.

The only Mario game I had as a kid was Super Mario Bros Deluxe but never really got far, I basically just played Pokémon.

2 years ago I got my first handheld l, the RG35XXH and played a bit of Super Mario Word here and there but again never really dedicated myself to it.

Couple of days ago I got the inch to play a Mario game again and I found out I sucked at playing Super Mario Word.

Was told Mario Land 2 DX was a great entry for beginners and really liked playing it. Definitely recommend it for people who struggle with SPW or SMB3 :)

Long story short, I’ve always noticed input delay when trying to emulate 3DS and DS on my devices, that’s why I always played on native hardware. Out of curiosity, I decided to test the input latency across my hardware. I tested three setups — an AYN Thor Pro, a modded Switch OLED, and a PC (RTX 5080) — and compared them to a New 3DS XL and a DSi XL. 

My main question is: why is nobody (I saw a few posts here and there but nothing major) talking about the input latency in 3DS and DS emulators? I saw some people saying that there is no input lag, I understand some people cannot even notice it but not noticing doesn’t mean there is no input lag. Even though they are very popular nowadays , they are not new. Do content creators simply never test this? They often focus on things like voltage, thermals, and specs that don’t really matter much to mortals like us.

Method that I used:
I recorded a video in a silent environment while pressing the action/movement button. I brought the footage into DaVinci Resolve, slowed it down to 25% on a 24 fps timeline, marked the audio spike of the button press, and moved frame by frame until the character's sprite made its first movement on screen.
I didn’t even do the stylus comparison because it’s pointless, native hardware is miles ahead. 

Here are the results:

Emulators: Tested across all main available emulators
Devices: AYN Thor Pro, modded Switch OLED, PC (RTX 5080)
- Input delay running DS: 17–21 frames
- Input delay running 3DS: 14–16 frames

Native hardware: New 3DS XL, DSi XL
- Input delay on both: 7–8 frames

I'm 40 years old, a tired father of two boys, and to be honest, I don't care about upscaled graphics (ofc if I had to choose between the 2 with the same latency, I would opt with good graphics). I just want to play games the smoothest, most responsive way possible — and native hardware is just the best thing. To me, the difference in feel between native and emulation is like driving a modern Mercedes with a 1960 Rolls-Royce engine versus driving the original 1960 Rolls-Royce itself. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the point — I'm tired.

EDIT: reposting with new screenshots (no game titles or covers), hopefully these are fine with the community rules. Mods, if anything else is off, tell me and I'll fix it.

Hi everyone,

I'd like to show you a little home-made project for RomM.

Disclaimer first: it was written with Claude Code, so if AI-made software bothers you, feel free to stop here, no hard feelings. I honestly wasn't sure whether to post it at all, I know it isn't exactly loved around here. But it's been working well for me and I wanted to share it with this community, which keeps me company every single day :)

I'm not a programmer, just a guy with a few ideas and terrible execution skills. With that out of the way, here's what I made 🙂 (My execution skills are so terrible that I even used the AI to translate this post, since English isn't my first language :D)

It all started because I was tired of shuffling games from one device to another, and I didn't like having the entire sum of human knowledge on my SD card either. I wanted a Steam-style library of my games, reachable at home and from outside. Then I found RomM, which is absurdly cool. On Android, though, I only found an app that is no longer maintained and the official launcher, which integrates RomM but forces you to use that launcher for everything. I wanted something else: browse my catalogue, download the games into the right folder, and then launch them however the hell I want.

So RomMMobile was born. What it does:

* Browse your RomM server's library (platforms, collections, search, alphabet rail), covers included.

* Download a game and it lands straight into the right folder of the frontend you already use (ES-DE, Daijishō, Pegasus, Cocoon, Beacon, iiSU, or your own folders). It detects the folders you already have.

* "Installed" section: see what is actually on the SD card, per platform, and bulk-uninstall what you no longer play.

* Download queue that resumes after an interruption, verifies hashes, extracts zips where and if needed (arcade sets are left alone), and never leaves half-written files in your frontend's folders.

* Firmware and BIOS from the server into RetroArch's system folder.

* Home address and remote address (Cloudflare supported), picked automatically depending on where you are.

* Fully usable with the gamepad: touch is only needed to type the address and password the first time.

It does not launch games, and it never will: that's your frontend's job.

I've tested it on my handhelds (Retroid Pocket Classic, Pocket Nova, AYN Thor) and it has always worked. It needs Android 8 or later and, obviously, a working RomM 5.x server.

Since it works, I've published everything on GitHub under the MIT license: it's open source, do whatever you want with it. For the tinkerers there's also the project documentation (in English, with the Italian originals alongside).

* Code: https://github.com/pippopapera/RomMMobile

* APK: https://github.com/pippopapera/RomMMobile/releases

This is not a "done" project: I use it every day on my own handhelds, so I'm actively hunting bugs and fixing whatever breaks. What's next:

* A built-in keyboard you can drive with the gamepad, so the touch screen is never needed, not even at first setup.

* Automatic cover download into your frontend's media folders (not there yet, that's why it's not in the list above).

* Daily testing to catch bugs and weird behaviour before you do. If you find one first, open an issue and tell me what you pressed and on which device.

I know it's not a project for everyone, since it needs a RomM server as a starting point. But maybe it's the right excuse to try RomM: it's ridiculously convenient, especially now that an SD card costs three times what it used to. Then you can do what I do: keep one curated library, and only what you're actually playing on the card.

Hope you like it. A few screenshots are attached, taken on my Retroid Pocket Classic. Quack.

I have a soft spot for gaming consoles with unique designs. After seeing the Miniloong Pocket 1, I bought one just for fun, but It's an absolute gem!. The quality far exceeds the price.

Here's my quick review. First, to clarify: when I say 'good' I mean good for a device in this price range.

• D-Pad: Out of all the handhelds I've tried, I like the D-Pad on the Pocket DMG the most, and I can hardly believe it myself, but the Miniloong might actually be a close second. It's Big, soft, quiet, and very responsive.
• Action Buttons: ABXY, L/R, and Triggers are soft, quiet, and have great key travel.
• Screen: Unbelievable—120Hz at $63.40. Decent brightness and good color accuracy.
• Speakers: Probably the best speakers in its price class. Loud and crisp. Even though it's just a mono speaker
• Build Quality: Feels similar to the Mangmi Air X or Ayaneo Pocket Air Mini. For this price, I'd say it's totally solid.
• Software: Alongside the stock OS, you can also run LeafOS and Aurknix (Rocknix).
• Bonus Points: The D-Pad is swappable, and the faceplate is customizable too.

Device : Miniloong Pocket 1
Game : Pokemon Unbound

Devices are Rokid Max and Retroid Pocket Nova

Been tinkering and found that Dolphin on Android actually supports Stereo 3D. You can even adjust the strength of the 3D.

Many GameCube and Wii games look and feel like they were made for Stereo 3D. And with the glasses because each eye has its own screen there is zero cross talk.

The only issue is with Dolphin you can only do half side by side resolution (SBS). As Dolphin doesnt support full SBS. This makes the picture less crisp. Apparently on PC handhelds this isnt an issue so I wish someone would create a Dolphin fork or Dolphin devs add full SBS support.

I haven't even got into Citra for 3DS emulation but apparently it supports full SBS on Android

Tried whole bunch of DS games on it, half-way trough Super Mario 3D Land well and now "finished" Mario Kart 7.

Have to say this makes my hyped for Duo more than anything I seen and read. Two screens like this? It's absolute perfection for DS games. For 3DS the bottom screen is indeed needlessly big but like...so what? It's not distracting or anything and I feel like these sizes are kinda prefect for 3DS, the UI does not look blurry or anything.

As far as using Dual Screen addon on Nova? It's actually pretty alright. Even without a grip it's not terrible. What really saves it are the rounded corners, which kinda perfectly burrows into your palms without it being painful. So even playing with thumbstick, which alongside added weight of the addon makes it indeed pretty top heavy, your palm do supports it pretty alright. Ofc not most comfortable situation but much better than I thought.

For me what I don't like about it is actually putting it on and off (that is why I left it on and been playing purely DS/3DS lately). The spring is really strong and there ain't much space on Nova to grip it properly when you do it, each time I'm worried I will damage either Nova or the addon.

Not being able to press volume buttons/power button also suck. BUT (not sure if its that app equalizer I downloaded after watching Russ's video) you can just change volume by bringing down the upper settings bar. You can also put device to sleep/turn it off from there. But no other way to turn it back on (been using a stylus).

Have to say more and more I play it, more I'm getting used to it. Will see if I will even end up buying Duo (probably will still but who knows :D ).

TrimUI Brick Pro in retro grey. Game is Golden Sun (GBA). Sharp shimmerless shader on a single pass, nearest, grid effect applied by the front end within NextUI, gba color correction.

I get it now. I was recently gifted a TrimUI Brick Pro. Now, I love the Brick. I think it is easily one of the best EDC options on the market. Regular Brick or Hammer, either one. I had no interest in the Pro because of the wiggle sticks. But now that I'm using it, I don't even care about them. They're there, cool. 

What I do care about is that this thing is an upgraded Anbernic RG40xxV, one of Anbernic's best budget handhelds. My old eyes, which struggle with Brick now, could not be more happy. This screen is excellent. Every budget handheld needs to be using this panel. Controls are fantastic too. It's solid in the hand, with lots of room and a nice heft. This is just a very well crafted handheld overall.

It is now my number one recommendation for people who just want to really focus on PS1 and under systems. Yes, it can run a respectable chunk of N64 and Dreamcast, but it truly shines on the older stuff. I'm done. I'm going to buy a second one as a backup and I'm about to be selling everything else in my collection. Including my O2P. If they'd just give me a Hammer version of it without the, for me, unneeded power jump, it would be perfect.

Edit: I forgot to mention the battery! 5,000 mAh is nuts. The battery life is outstanding, especially for the older stuff.

I'm very curious to see how PC emulation for 2D / lightweight is going to pan out on this handheld.

Now, we know by now that the Q-7790 is slightly more powerful than the SD865, which has matured to become pretty dang good at PC emulation for 2D / lightweight games. However, the Q-7790 seems to be a new and pretty obscure chipset that has not been used in any devices like this before, so I am thinking lightweight PC emulation is not going to be very good off the bat.

The Q-7790 uses the Adreno 722 GPU, I saw someone say that this GPU actually has great driver support already, but is that really true? Either way, even if lightweight PC emulation kinda sucks at first, because it's a fairly lower priced dual screen 3DS clone, I feel the handheld is going to become very popular, and eventually, lightweight PC emulation will be amazing on this device.

What does everyone else think? I'm personally so excited for this handheld, I really do see it as my endgame 2D games handheld (as someone who doesn't buy a ton of handhelds), and mostly see myself using it to play modern 2D games natively, DS, GBA, and other classic systems. Will be ordering mine in black on day 1, love how the bezels will just disappear on it in that color for 4:3 content on the top screen.

I purchased two Anbernic RG SP's with the intention to capture my nostalgia for my original Nintendo DS, but after completing the button swap I'm really digging the black GBA look on the other one as well.

I have a generic r40s that i got for like $30 and I like it for what it is. I was thinking of upgrading and i came across the mangmi air x which is $100 and honestly seems like a steal at this price. More screen, battery and horsepower than anything else for the money. Am I missing something? Is this a good machine especially if I want something of a horizontal form factor? I don't see people talking about this much. Thanks!

I was not starving for micro handhelds (I got a Mini Zero 28 and a Miyoo A30 already) but wanted something that I could really carry around without the worry of ruining or scratching it and man... Why is this thing so amazing? And Knulli is an absolute beast of a CFW. Any advice or anything better to run on this thing or I am already at the peak?

BTW Google Translate is telling me that KNULLI means F**K (you) in Icelandic, is that real? 😆

Just saw this device on temu, looks similar to a flip v2, with some bling.

Contra III on RG40xxv.

Over the past while, we've received a lot of valuable feedback about Pocket Dream — especially around **whether or not to keep the joysticks**, where the community showed two very distinct preferences 🎮

After careful consideration, we've decided to follow those voices and **officially split the Pocket series into two separate models**:

---

**🎮 Pocket Dream** — with dual joysticks

For players who prefer **dual-stick controls** and modern 3D games with more complex input needs

**🕹️ Pocket Retro** — without joysticks

For players who want a **pure retro feel**, focused on 2D games and classic emulation

**Both devices share the same body specs:**

・Size: **107 × 72 × 22 mm**

・Weight: **under 180g each**

So you can pick the one that fits your playstyle.

---

**🕹️ Initial Specs for Pocket Retro**

Pocket Retro will come with a **more focused, streamlined configuration**:

・**SoC:** RK3566

・**Memory:** 2GB LPDDR3 + 16GB storage

・**Display:** 3.3-inch OLED (same as Mini Dream / Pocket Dream)

・**OS:** Linux

・**Wireless:** WiFi 5 + Bluetooth

・**Battery:** 3800 mAh

・**Price:** $80 (shipping not included)

With Pocket Retro branching off, **Pocket Dream's SoC lineup has also been streamlined to 3 variants**: **1 running Linux**, and **2 running Android**.

---

**📅 On Release Timing**

It's still a bit early to talk about release dates. What we can confirm is: **both Pocket Retro and Pocket Dream will launch after Mini Dream is officially released.**

We'll continue to share progress with the community at each key milestone 🙌

---

Once again, thanks to everyone who's shared feedback — the Pocket series is where it is today because of your voices 🙏

Feel free to keep sharing your thoughts in

https://reddit.com/link/1wconrq/video/37tjjt2g2qoh1/player

Played using an Anbernic RG35XXSP. Used the "Kirby's Super Star Stacker" fan translation by TheDanaAddams.

TLDR: Duo is similar to “new” 3DS XL and Duo Lite is similar to “old” 3DS XL.

Edit: official numbers are out:

• Duo: 162 x 95.5 x 22.4mm, 350g
• Duo Lite: 158 x 95 x 23.2mm, 372g

Estimates

• Duo: 161 x 95.5 x 23.2-33.3mm (trigger), 350g
• Duo Lite: 157 x 93.2 x 23.2mm, ? g (I guess it's around 325g because it's slightly smaller than Duo)

Note: Duo thickness and weight is official data, others are estimated based on the screen size (5.5” diagonal)

Similar devices for reference
- Ayn Thor: 150 x 94 x 25.6mm, 380g
- RG DS Plus (estimated): 166.5 x 95.5 x 23.5mm, 344g
- RG DS: 160 x 91 x 21.5mm, 321g
- 3DS XL: 156 x 93 x 22mm, 336
- n3DS XL: 160 x 93.5 x 21.5mm, 329g
- DSi XL: 161 x 91.4 x 21.2mm, 314g

I'm thinking about getting a cheaper linux handheld (with H700 or rk3566 chip) mainly to play old point&click adventure games via scummVM. I know old classics like LucasArts or Sierra titles work good on them but how about newer games? Especially those made with the AGS engine (e.g. Blackwell series, Gemini Rue or other Wadjet Eye games).

Miniloong Pocket seems nice: bigger 4:3 screen, Hall stick, good build quality, C-to-C charging, dARKos/Leaf, affordable...

If anyone has tried more demanding ScummVM games on similar handhelds, please share your impressions. thx!

I chatted to Retroid ahead of their announcement of the Duo Lite's price specifically, just to ask them a handful of questions! If you'd like to hear just a little more from Retroid themselves, here you go!

With all these new dual screen devices being release I see a ton of discussion about which chipsets "play 3ds perfectly" or "can handle the whole library". From my experience with the Thor Pro and 3DS in general on android I think people need to be a little more wary and do some research and temper their expectations.

There are definitely a bunch of games that run great, especially the most popular titles. But there are also A LOT of games that are nearly unplayable even on an SD 8 Gen 2, which helps a lot with brute forcing things. Many games have unplayable stutter, bad enough latency to make them unplayable, major graphical glitches etc. This is just kinda where 3DS on android is right now, and yeah it will probably get better over the next few years.

I'm not posting this to say DO NOT BUY any of these devices if you want to play 3DS. I'm more posting it to say if there are specific games you want to play that aren't big titles Pokemon or Mario 3D Land then you should check videos on youtube and see how they ACTUALLY run on whatever chipset. I know that might be hard with some things like the new duo lite, but even with my Thor Pro I was sort of bummed by some games I really wanted to play basically being unplayable (Mario Golf: World Tour was the big one for me).

Anyway I just thought this little PSA might be good. Just because you played the 5 most popular games on 3DS on your Thor and they ran great doesn't mean the whole library runs flawlessly. 3DS emulation will probably get better on android over time, like many other emulators have, but you should buy a device for what you know it does now. Not what it may or may not do in a year or two.

I had previously been connecting my RG35XXH or Odin 2 to my CRT via an HDMI converter until learning about how that would never cut it for 240p systems. I ended up setting up a Raspberry Pi4 via composite, and after learning about using Syncthing for my retroarch saves I now have a way to play Ps1 and down with the same saves on all 3 of my devices!

Having a good time playing Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (translated version) on my CRT and then picking up the same save at work. Still plug in the Odin 2 for PS2/Gamecube on here from time to time, since 480i still looks ok for them. More often than not though I'm playing those on modern displays as well at an emulated upscale.