u/Roi_QV

I bought the New 3DS XL on launch day just for the Xenoblade Chronicles 1 port. I enjoyed it a lot, but I was never really a big fan of the console because it felt pretty uncomfortable to me and I thought I wouldn’t like its games that much. Truth is, I was more of a PS Vita user back then - I loved that handheld- so I stopped using the 3DS for years.

Recently I modded it after the eShop closed, and it’s basically shown me a completely different console. There are tons of community ports and modded games that add dual-screen support (like Minish Cap). More than anything, it’s made me realize how much I love the dual screens and the versatility they offer.

But yeah, in the end I’m enjoying it a ton right now. I’m currently 10 hours into Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (I love RPGs) and I hope to keep playing all the games I missed out on over these years.

1920x1200P

Everything on low (still looks amazing btw)

25W TDP

Intel XeSS Balanced (I think It looks way better thank FSR, I didn't try FSR4 though)

NO FRAME GEN

Capped to 30FPS (or uncapped 30-40fps, maybe more on scenes looking at the sky)

You can play it locked at 30fps or uncapped. Personally I’ve been playing it at 30fps and it runs fine. It has some slowdowns here and there (UE5, you know the usual issues), but overall it performs way better than I expected considering the minimum specs for 1080p/30 ask for a GTX 1080. It’s perfectly playable though.

I even think you can play at 800p at 17-20W TDP with no issues.

P.S Z1E/32GB

I think a lot of you probably get those sudden urges to play a game from a few years ago (I’m not sure whether to call it a classic or retro when talking about a PS3 game).

Basically, I really wanted to play The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. I don’t know if any of you are familiar with it, but it was basically a Star Wars Battlefront-style game set in the Lord of the Rings universe, where you could relive some of the most iconic battles. Unfortunately, it’s a game stuck on that generation of consoles, and there’s currently no way to play it on modern systems, at least for now.

Well, I just found my PS3 from almost 20 years ago, along with that game, and I couldn’t be happier right now. It’s amazing how many memories come flooding back when you return to games from a distant era of your life.

Quick impressions after almost 5h straight:

Better performance in handheld than docked, don't know why but it feels... smoother? Maybe less stuttery.

It actually looks better in handheld than docked (the only difference is 900p vs 1080p, but on the smaller screen it looks really sharp).

I’ve been playing for almost 5 hours straight as I said, and the performance is still the same as it was in the first minute. As some of you know, this is a game that used to get worse the longer you played continuously — that’s not the case on the Switch 2 version, or at least not for now.

There’s a bit of popping in the distance but nothing serious.

You notice some occasional stutters, but I haven’t run into any major issues, no crashes or big frame drops.

Mouse mode works great.

The loading times are surprisingly fast for a semi-open world.

Unfortunately It only support 16:9, but plays great. Hopefully he add 4:3 support so we can use the full screen.

It's insane how much the RG DS gains with Cocoon. Yeah, it's not perfect and the fluidity isn't the smoothest (It also doesn't help that I have over 120 GBA and NDS games, since it has to load all the box arts and everything else), but it's perfectly usable. The amount of options Cocoon offers for dual-screen devices is just ridiculous, everything just works great.

It even has a built-in feature to track your playtime, achievements, and lets you share screenshots of your unlocks on social media. It shows how many hours it usually takes to beat a game and to 100% it, plus dozens of themes to customize your handheld, fully personalizable home screen and fólder, icons, animations, sounds... It's insane.

Man, I loved it so much on PS5 and now having it in handheld at 60fps (on S2) feels incredible and looks absolutely gorgeous!

I read somewhere that PKGj works through Sony’s servers. I don't really know much about how It works but...what’s going to happen to it once they close them?

I'm currently using an Anbernic RG DS and I really love it, but while the screens perform better outdoors than I expected, it's still not ideal.

What handhelds actually have a good bright screen for outdoor gaming? I've been considering the Anbernic RG477M, the Ayn Thor (I'd love this one for the dual screens — how's the brightness on it?), Odin 3...

Any recommendations?

My luck couldn't get any worse...

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Currently 10 hours in and it looks and runs great overall. The only issue is that battles get a bit laggy/slow when high-resolution 3D is enabled. I'd never played it before and it's great, really entertaining.

PS5 https://store.nisamerica.com/products/crossbell-limited-edition

Switch 2 https://store.nisamerica.com/products/crossbell-limited-edition?variant=43053256015920

I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit for this, but since I imagine some of you come from the 3DS scene and know it well, would you trade a New 3DS XL for an Ayn Thor (SDGen2 8+128GB I think that's enough for my use but it's like 350-400€)? I love the dual screens and I know a hacked 3DS can do a lot, but the Thor is on a completely different level. I really enjoy tinkering with retro/classic platforms.

Recently I bought an Anbernic RG DS for €70 and I'm enjoying it a lot playing DS games. Unfortunately, Drastic doesn't support RetroAchievements and 3DS emulation isn't really playable at an acceptable level and even games like Ni no Kuni DS doesn't run well with High Resolution 3D enabled, so I'm thinking about jumping to a Thor... but I'm worried I might regret selling the 3DS. What do you guys think?

It's a small thing but damn, having achievements visible on the bottom screen to track easily or just throwing up a guide for whatever game I'm playing is actually super practical and cool, I think I'm enjoying it more because of the extra possibilities the second screen offers than because it's meant for the NDS.

It's not the most powerful & fast retro handheld out there but you can always make the most of it and have a great time (except vs MasterTyranomon, f*ck him :'D)

Basically, I was eating in front of my monitor when my glasses fell into the bowl and splattered lentil soup right in front of me. Instantly every Reddit horror story about scratched screens and ruined monitors flashed through my mind...But in the end, it looks brand new, 0 scratches. I unplugged the monitor for 20 minutes (it had been on for hours), used distilled water, a slightly damp cloth, then a dry one, and wiped it very gently with almost zero pressure. I think I just passed the trial by fire and overcome my fear.

I currently have a Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme + 32GB RAM). Today I found a basically brand-new Xbox ROG Ally X in a second-hand store for €610, I’m seriously considering trading my Legion Go S for it (I won’t keep both) without spending any additional cash.

On one hand, the Ally X offers better performance at low TDP, much better battery life, and quieter fans but on the other hand, I’d lose SteamOS (I know I can put SteamOS on it, but everything works well?) and especially the 8" screen. I’m worried that 7" will feel too small.I probably won’t see another Ally X at this price anytime soon, so I’m really torn. What do you guys think? Worth the switch?

I found someone locally selling it brand new and sealed for just 90€, and after seeing how well it runs with the new operating systems, I barely hesitated. Now I’m not sure which one to install, Rocknix or Anbernic’s new official Linux build. I’m thinking of trying both and deciding later...