Good retro-handheld for a child?

[Question]

Good evening (or morning or bon appétit)!

My little one started to be interested in video games, as most kids do probably. As her first console, I would like to give a handheld to her. My good old Gameboy did wonders while traveling or waiting for my parents to finish whatever-they-were-doing and my child should have the same luxury to entertain herself. :)

The problem is, modern handhelds (3DS or Vita probably) don't have the charme and gameplay of the older ones in my eyes. The machines seem to be more fragile to me, there are more buttons, updates and other things that make them ill suited for a small one that needs to find her own taste in video games. Plus, as I said, simple games you can pick up fast (as she is not going to play for long stretches at her age) and without the need to read a lot of text are a great plus.

As modern handhelds (and smartphones) are out, the solution seem to be "go retro". I have looked at the following possibilities:

*Buy an old Gameboy Advance - and the games as I only have normal GB cardridges available

*Buy a dedicated retro handheld - the problem is, I don't know which and whether such a fragile machine can survive the gruesome kid-hands

*Build a handheld for the little one with a raspberry pi - I don't have much experience, but I am willing to try

Is there anything I have overlooked and what should I try? I am enough of a geek to throw a bit of money and time at the handheld-idea, but in the end it's about the kid. Any collectors (maybe with kids themselves) out there who would share an idea or maybe their experience with me?

in retrogamingby ZenArmisael

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5.4y

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RIKI_MINAJ

5.4y

My input as a collector of retro handhelds reproduction and original, my opinion is as follows; -

1) buy an old GBA - cheap enough, although the decent games are getting expensive (as expensive as the console itself in the UK). Screen im dim as hell and not really playable by todays standards. Where your kid might be used to modern screens on portable electronics the old GBA wont cut it. Choices there are either fit an AGA screen mod or buy one pre modded, but this puts up the price considerably.

2) a GPD XD. most expensive option, and probably the best. basically a fairly powerful android tablet in the form factor of a 3ds XL. Will emulate everything up to PS1 and modern andoird games, emulators done by android app emulators. bonus is that it has built in functionality to map the buttons to screen presses so it even allows you to play touch screen only games with said buttons. comes in different GB versions (16/32/64 etc) but all are expandable by microSD and will take up to at least 64GB cards so it can carry pretty much full collections of every console desired. This also increases the cost somewhat as well as the slight costs of the proper emulators on the google store (generally £2-3 each).

3) Building a handheld - pretty much a no. Unless you're very comfortable constructing micro-electronics then i wouldnt go here. I can generally build small electronic devices and i fell flat on my face when attempting this myself. Option is to buy pre built but these generally come around the same price as the GPD XD and thats a way better option.

4) ODROID GO - Sort of come under the building a handheld option, but is limited to NES, Game Gear, Master System, Gameboy and Gameboy Colour. (plus a few others in upcoming firmware). While technically this is building your own console, the kit that you get (for around £40) is so easy to build it might as well be a lego set. takes about 30 minutes without even reading the instructions and half that if you watch a youtube video guide. I have photos of mine if you wish to see a built version. Honestly though, these things get rave reviews but ive found the software to not work very well at all, and it not really been able to use it properly. I fully expect this to be rectified in future firmware updates as its still a very new device. Main downside of this however is that there is no headphone socket, and device volume is controlled by software (no hardware button/wheel to change volume). Expect noisy as hell car journeys or your kid getting used to classic handhelds silently.

Personally, id also look at buying a second hand DS Lite. They are so cheap these days you can pick them up for as low as £5 if you look on facebook market (at least round here) and they have the added bonus of having a GBA slot, while the screen is way brighters and actually playable. I'd use a cheap R4 cartridge/flash cartridge from gearbest or other available chinese electronic website to get your homebrew emulators on there. Plus the original DS lites were kid friendly by design and can take a beating, plus super cheap to replace if the need be.

ZenArmisael

5.4y

That's a detailed answer, thanks a lot. For the small one, the DS lite seems to be the best option (mostly because you said it can take a beating ;) ).

As for the GPD XD, how sturdy is it built? It seems very interesting for myself, to be honest, but I am a afraid that it could be to fragile for daily use. For reference, I own a PSP and a Vita, and both needed a thick bag and tender loving care to survive the day-to-day hardships.

RIKI_MINAJ

5.4y

I'd say they are slightly more fragile than a 3ds XL. They're pretty much a rip off design wise except the hinge is a bit cheaper and looser. However, mine came packaged with a hard rubber case (that wasn't advertised as doing so) but mine was a first model so I'm unsure if the newer ones do. Worst case they don't any standard 3ds case would fit anyway and they aren't particularly expensive.