Best retro game consoles in 2024: Evercade, Analogue & more

❘ Published: 2024-03-07T16:42:12

Freepik

The retro gaming scene has exploded in popularity in the past few years. If you are looking for a hit of gaming nostalgia, these consoles should be able to provide it.

The market for retro gaming nostalgia is pretty huge, and those who want to collect old hardware will inevitably end up forking over significant amounts of cash to relive their childhood glory days. This is particularly true of rare or obscure devices such as the Neo Geo AES or Pioneer Laser Active.

In addition, much of that hardware dates from the early 90s or earlier. The fact remains that as time passes, these classic machines will be increasingly prone to failure. Even for those who are handy with a soldering iron, it’s a race against time to keep these old machines functional.

There is an alternative, however. There are now several modern devices that can provide a fairly accurate recreation of the retro experience, without needing to shell out big bucks on hardware that might fail a few weeks or months down the line.

Whether you are looking to stomp some Goombas in Super Mario Bros, blast through Green Hill Zone as Sonic, or even chomp some power pills as Pac-Man, one of these devices is likely to be the right for you.

1. Evercade EXP: The best handheld retro game console

Buy the Evercade EXP

The Evercade first launched as a fairly simple handheld device, but behind that veneer of simplicity was something quite remarkable. The Evercade and its successors like the Evercade EXP and Super Pocket use a cartridge system. Any Evercade device can use these cartridges, and each cart is packed with a huge range of games, all of which are officially licensed.

Namco, Atari, Codemasters, Team17, and DataEast are just a small number of the companies that have given official approval to have their games on Evercade devices.

Another advantage of the Evercade is how easy it is to get hold of these carts. The most popular ones can often be found in large toy stores or ordinary game shops. This makes it incredibly easy to just get right into the action. Find your favorite game, buy the cart, plug and play. This remains to be one of the only ways to get officially-licensed retro titles today, so support the scene with Evercade’s valiant efforts.

2. Analogue Pocket: The best handheld FPGA console

Buy the Analogue Pocket

Though Analogue is a relative newcomer in the gaming hardware market, it has quickly attracted a reputation for building high-quality retro systems. The major advantage of Analogue devices is that they use FPGA technology.

FPGA stands for Field Programmable Gate Array. What this means in practice is that the electronics can be programmed to act as if they were a specific type of circuit. Devices that contain FPGA chips can provide extremely accurate emulation since the hardware is disguising itself as the type of circuitry the software is expecting. The use of this technology also means users can use their original games and controllers with Analogue devices.

The downside is that Analogue devices are quite expensive, and are only produced in small batches. These two things can make Analogue hardware quite difficult to get your hands on, especially if you want a full set to accurately emulate, NES, SNES, Genesis, and Game Boy, which will need four fairly expensive devices.

3. SNES Classic: The best official mini console

Since the introduction of the NES Classic, tiny versions of retro consoles have been a hit amongst gaming fans. We’ve since had the SNES Classic, Mega Drive Mini, Mega Drive Mini II, Neo Geo Mini, and even the C64 Mini. Each with built-in games and remarkably accurate controllers.

The nice thing about these tiny consoles is that they often have remarkable attention to detail, like the inclusion of the MegaCD port on the Mega Drive Mini. They also often have a standout selection of classic games. The SNES Classic is particularly notable here, as it not only has amazing titles such as Earthbound and Super Mario RPG, but it even includes the previously unreleased Star Fox 2.

These devices plug easily into any modern TV via HDMI cable, but they do use software emulation. These two factors can introduce some measure of input lag, which is not ideal for titles that need frame-perfect timing.

4. Polymega: The best retro console

Buy the Polymega

The Polymega is an unusual device. It is a retro console that has been designed as a modular platform capable of supporting a wide range of different systems, including both cartridge and CD-based consoles.

In its default configuration, it supports PlayStation, Saturn, Mega CD, PC Engine/Tubografix 16 CD, and Neo-Geo CD. There are also ‘element modules’ you can buy to provide access to different devices, such as one that provides compatibility for Mega Drive, NES, SNES, and PC Engine/ Tubografix 16 HuCards. Modules for other systems are also in development.

As a result, it is possible to use your original software and controllers on the Polymega, provided you have the correct module installed. In addition, the Polymega comes pre-loaded with a huge database of cover art, screenshots, and descriptions that cover every support game library. This allows users to dump backups of their games into internal storage. This saves disks and carts from additional wear and tear and lets users build a digital game library how they want to.

The only real downside is that the Polymega uses software emulation, so it is a little lacking compared to devices that use FPGA. There have also been some supply issues in the past, though these seem to have largely been resolved.

5. Miyoo Mini Plus: The best emulator handheld

Buy the Miyoo Mini Plus

Handheld gaming has surged in popularity thanks to the Nintendo Switch and Valve Steam Deck. As it turns out, portable devices are great for retro gaming. If you are stuck waiting for a train, or in a doctor’s office, pulling out a tiny handheld and whiling the time away with a few levels of Bubble Bobble or Turrican can be a great stress reliever. This is where the Miyoo Mini Plus can come in handy.

This tiny device is unassuming but packs enough power to emulate anything from the 8-bit era right up to non-Dual Shock PlayStation 1 titles like Tekken 3 and Metal Gear Solid.

Since the device runs on Linux, there’s even a vibrant homebrew scene dedicated to getting new games to run on the Miyoo Mini Plus, providing even more variety for users. You can quickly see that it got top marks in our review for a good reason.

Honourable mention: RetroPi

The advantage of the Raspberry Pi is that it is a remarkably versatile and programmable device. Modern Raspberry Pi boards are easily capable of running anything right up to the PlayStation 2 era with relative ease. However, the very factors that make the Raspberry Pi so flexible can also work against it.
Using the RaspberryPi ‘RetroPi’ installation uses EmulationStation, an extremely powerful emulator OS that is very robust once it is properly set up. This process can be a bit fiddly sometimes, especially if you are not overly familiar with Linux and its command line.

RetroPi is an excellent option for emulation for those who have the time and inclination, but it is a far cry from many of the much simpler ‘plug and play’ devices listed above.

Also, make sure to check out our other guides:

If you click on a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission.