Beyond the obvious classics, retro handhelds open up a much deeper library than most people realise. A few worth tracking down.

Arcade classics beyond the usual suspects

MAME support on devices like the R36S covers arcade hardware well beyond the handful of games most people remember, including plenty of genre gems that never made it to home consoles at the time.

Import and region-exclusive titles

Plenty of SNES, Mega Drive and PS1 games were never released outside Japan or Europe. Once you're set up with the right firmware, that entire library opens up alongside the games you already know.

Deep cuts on well-known systems

Every classic console has a long tail of well-reviewed games that got overshadowed by a handful of blockbuster titles at the time. Digging into best-of lists for SNES, Mega Drive or PS1 turns up genuinely great games most people skipped.

Homebrew and fan projects

An active community continues to build new games and translation patches for classic systems, some genuinely excellent, all playable on the same hardware you already own.

Not sure what your device can handle? Check our honest emulation guide before you go hunting.