Looking for the best portable Atari console.

[rcajun90]

I want to buy a portable retro console for camping and flying.  It seems the Evercade is great but I can’t load my own roms on it and I’m not happy with their Atari selection.  I know about the Flashback and the Blaze but they look cheap.  Please give me your opinions.

Edited April 9, 2021 by rcajun90
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[CapitanClassic]

With portable and ability to load your own roms being your oniy criteria, it is probably best to get a Nintendo 3DS, and soft-mod it so you can run emulators. I dont know if the most recent versions of Stella have been rebuilt for the 3DS, but it should run almost all the the original software (maybe not Pitfall!2) and most of the homebrew.

 

The 3DS is still a rather active Emulation platform so it has the most support for up to date emulators. 

[Wizzard]

I just got PS Vita and I like it, but it needs some tweaking, cause Atari 2600 games are starting longer than 10 seconds in RetroArch.

[keithbk]

Personally, I like the Flashback Portable. ROMS run on an SD card and you can output to a large TV. Is it cheap? Maybe, but it works nice and I've been pleased.

[Swami]

GPD Android may be better than DS, but I'm not sure how used prices compare.

[high voltage]

I love the Flashback Portable, way back I played it at work all the time.

 

I haven't tried my Blaze Retro Handheld Console yet, the sticker is still on the screen and looks so nice.

Edited April 10, 2021 by high voltage

[Dionoid]

I love the Evercade for its screen size and D-pad. Maybe the EverSD cart is what you’re looking for?

[+bhall408]

On 4/9/2021 at 12:49 AM, rcajun90 said:

I want to buy a portable retro console for camping and flying.  It seems the Evercade is great but I can’t load my own roms on it and I’m not happy with their Atari selection.

How about an Android phone or tablet with your favorite emulator? I'm partial to Argon of course

 

If you want physical controls, then add a stand-alone (such as PS4 style) or clip-on (such as iPega) and you are good to go.

 

[Mockduck]

I agree the BEST would be to hack a Playstation Vita and get emulators on it. However, for about $30 the AtGames Flashback Portable is a not bad at all device, and it is super easy to get a memory card into it and play the entirety of the Stella library. It is also a tough little device with a long battery life. The buttons are ok not great but for a camping portable it is close to perfect. It also has a nice little side ability of being able to output video with a basic stereo RCA to 3.5mm jack.