I don't use retro achievements because games are supposed to be fun rather than about checking boxes.

Seconded. Have the Gamesir g8, love it.

I personally use a PS4 controller with a phone mount. The weight distribution is maybe a bit less comfortable depending on what angle your hold it, but it's pretty compact and the controller itself is great quality this way.

Like this:

collapsed inline media

PCSX2 supports Retroachievements.

I picked up a gamevice a while back and love it. Wish they still made it cause it supports phones with cases.

https://gamevice.com/products/gamevice-for-android

Yup, though I want to add that SteamLink on android is a step further. I've exclusively been playing this way ever since.

You get the convenience of mobile with the power of your desktop, plus most phones have Oled screens these days so even better. Also why I don't own a Steam Deck, as this is just the better option for portable gaming imo.

I highly recommend the Scuf Nomad. It’s a bit more expensive than other options. I think it’s worth it. I play a bunch of games on my phone and can’t be happier. In the past I used GameSir products and think those are pretty rad for budget options.

I do not recommend SteelSeries at fucking all. They used to ship the Stratus with known issues. Support would actively admit the problem. Sometimes you could get a replacement. Sometimes you couldn’t. I have no idea if their newer products are better; I have stopped buying them since then.

I have the Razer one. It said it was for Android, and I do have an Android phone, and it basically works, but back then, iPhones were using Lightning. For whatever reason, it does not support iPhones. My iPhone has a bigger screen (6.9" vs 5.8") and is more powerful. The Android phone is good enough for retro emulation, of course, but iOS wins Nintendo emulation with Delta, due to the Google Drive backup feature. I have a Flygrip on my iPhone, and I have an 8bitdo Bluetooth controller that can pair to the iPhone. I think Xbox controllers can, too. My old Xbox One controller pairs to my Macs just fine. Maybe it'll pair to iPhone.

Fortunately RetroArch is on iOS as well. I don't think it can use all the cores, but it can use the ones that count (like PS1 and prior). I know on Android you get all of them, including PS2, PSP, Wii, NGC, and so on. But my Android phone is a Galaxy S10 (2019), so I wouldn't expect it to run the newer games. My iPhone 16 Pro Max is capable, but won't run the actual cores due to iOS restrictions.

I wonder how hard it would be to homebrew a Raspberry Pi, a custom screen, and a custom controller. Though for what you'd spend doing it (and the value of your time!) there are existing devices (mostly from China, I think) that are meant to do exactly that. But I wouldn't know where to start with those.

I can even play games on my Apple Watch, but you gotta think, with only one hand controlling it (assuming you're wearing the watch), you can't play too many games. I have Zelda, as a proof of concept, but Pokemon is far more likely.

These days, just about anything can emulate. Not too many of them can do it well. A good example is, the original Super Mario Bros.. The latency is way too high to play it like you can on original hardware, and it sucks that as advanced as our tech is, the game is virtually unplayable in any emulator. It feels like you're playing on an ice level (like in Mario 2) almost with how slow the game is to react. We didn't have this problem in the 80s playing on an actual NES. Even the newer Nintendo consoles are just emulating, and they are subject to the same latency issue. Even first-party Nintendo games on modern consoles can't beat the latency. For example, on Animal Crossing — fucking Animal Crossing — fishing is impossible to do if a fish has 3 (of 5) stars of rarity or higher. The fucking second it bites, you press the button, latency got ya — you were too late. But undock the Switch and I can catch 5 star sharks, whale sharks, the fucking Coelacanth — every time. It's a game for grade school kids. It's not hard. But latency makes it go from "tricky" to "what the fuck why is this game so hard?" real quick.

I have a similar one but these days I'm wanting something smaller. The spring slide on this style means the minimum size is rather large.

I used a similar setup for a while but the input lag from emulators on android is noticeable, made far worse through a Bluetooth controller connection :( I went back to using my old PsP and had a blast retro gaming!

Thought I'd miss the ease of use, everyone always has their phone with them after all. But the controller attachment is far bulkier and less pocketable than the entire PsP!

Now I use the original Switch to scratch that retro itch

These are great. I've got one that I use with my Switch 2 because the joycons are ass.

I have the BSP-D8