Retro Video Gamer

Retro Gaming => Handheld & Tabletop Chat => Topic started by: Fin on September 06, 2013, 23:29:51 PM

Poll
Question: Which is the best retro handheld?
Option 1: Nintendo Game Boy votes: 2
Option 2: Sega Game Gear votes: 2
Option 3: Atari Lynx votes: 6
Option 4: Neo Geo Pocket votes: 0
Option 5: Game Com votes: 0
Option 6: Nokia nGage votes: 0
Option 7: Quickshot Supervision votes: 0
Option 8: Cheetah Gamate votes: 0
Option 9: Bandai Wonderswan votes: 0
Option 10: Nintendo Game Boy Color votes: 2
Option 11: Nintendo Game Boy Advance votes: 5
Option 12: Other votes: 0
Title: Best Handheld
Post by: Fin on September 06, 2013, 23:29:51 PM
I was surprised this poll hasn't been run yet! I have a sad feeling i know which is going to win.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: TL on September 06, 2013, 23:35:44 PM
I thought we did do this before but maybe not!

Anyway the answer is obvious!

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/538510_116403605198673_346929922_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 06, 2013, 23:39:55 PM
WORD!

Atari Lynx Commrcl."Are u gonna buy the same old Game, Boy?" (//http)
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: zapiy on September 06, 2013, 23:41:16 PM
PC Engine GT.

The holy grail of handhelds and the Lynx is a close 2nd. :113:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Fin on September 06, 2013, 23:42:04 PM
Ah it was run last year, bit hidden, worth a fresh round anyway!
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: TL on September 06, 2013, 23:43:20 PM
Quote from: "zapiy"PC Engine GT.

The holy grail of handhelds and the Lynx is a close 2nd. :3:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: zapiy on September 06, 2013, 23:46:58 PM
No rules were set so it stands lol..

We could be pedantic and suggest all handhelds are mere offspring of previous consoles :113:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: TrekMD on September 07, 2013, 00:47:31 AM
There's only choice...

[align=center:2ncyrwx2](http://amigan.1emu.net/kolsen/pics/lynx2box.gif)
 :113:[/align:2ncyrwx2]
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Shadowrunner on September 07, 2013, 02:59:52 AM
I picked Gameboy last time and I'm sticking with it!
Sure the graphics aren't the best, but the games were fun and I have great memories playing mine as a kid  :)
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 07, 2013, 03:52:59 AM
Quote from: "Shadowrunner"I picked Gameboy last time and I'm sticking with it!
Sure the graphics were abysmal, but Tetris was fun and I have great memories playing it as an underprivileged child  8)
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: tomwaits on September 07, 2013, 04:08:57 AM
Is the N-Gage a valid choice as a retro handheld? It was released in 2003... it's newer than the GBA.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: AmigaJay on September 07, 2013, 07:44:20 AM
Can't believe GBA is not listed? Easily wins imo for the sheer amount of great games.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Fin on September 07, 2013, 09:20:52 AM
Quote from: "tomwaits"Is the N-Gage a valid choice as a retro handheld? It was released in 2003... it's newer than the GBA.


To be honest i just looked at all the devices in my room. The GBA was downstairs at the time!
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 07, 2013, 17:34:58 PM
I just found this old advert that somewhat incredulously promoted the Game Boy on the basis of its graphics -

(http://thegamershub.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/GameBoy-Advert.jpg)

 :21:


Now this is more like it...

(http://www.atarimania.com/pubs/hi_res/lynx_eats_boy_s_lunch.jpg)

 :111:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: TL on September 07, 2013, 21:45:43 PM
Quote from: "AmigaJay"Can't believe GBA is not listed? Easily wins imo for the sheer amount of great games.

It is now! Change your vote!  :4:

The PC Engine GT/Turbo Express, Sega Nomad and the like are later released handheld versions of home consoles and should not count in a dedicated handheld poll, doesn't make sense.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Fin on September 07, 2013, 22:06:30 PM
I swear the list of options has changed 10 times over :P

Still looks 50/50 between Atari and tendo
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: tomwaits on September 07, 2013, 23:12:54 PM
I really like the N-Gage and NGPC, but the GBA has such a huge library of games and homebrews that I had to vote for it.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Bobinator on September 08, 2013, 15:34:53 PM
It's got to be the Game Boy Color for me. The Advance, while a pretty cool system with its later models, really kind of skirts the edge of 'retro' for me. The Game Boy just has such a huge variety of games and genres. I mean, sure, we could compare screen size, and number of colors, but in the end, for me, it all boils down to what you can and can't play on it. The GBC, while never quite as appreciated as its gray-scaled counterpart, has a lot of good exclusives to it, too, and since it can play original Game Boy games, too, basically automatically wins this vote for me.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: TL on September 08, 2013, 16:03:24 PM
[align=center:28tvweq6](https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1185907_198101257028907_851270218_n.jpg)[/align:28tvweq6]
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 08, 2013, 22:01:49 PM
Quote from: "Bobinator"...The Advance, while a pretty cool system with its later models, really kind of skirts the edge of 'retro' for me.

Agreed. We're ranking a handheld released a full year after the launch of PS2 against handhelds released in 1989/'90 - a time when the Atari 2600 was still in production, the Neo Geo was just launched and at least two years prior to the SNES being released in Europe!

That just doesn't sit well at all with me either. From the time of Atari Lynx launching it took Nintendo approximately twelve years to release a handheld, in the GBA, that finally bested it. Even then, I'm not sure the GBA has all the hardware tricks the Lynx was capable of. Yet we're ranking the GBA against the Lynx? Bizarre.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Bobinator on September 08, 2013, 22:29:10 PM
DC, just wondering... is it mostly the hardware about the Lynx that you prefer over the Game Boy's, or is there a certain game or such that the Lynx only has you really like? I know it probably sounds sarcastic, but it's an honest question. I'm just trying to figure out if it's more the hardware or the games people love the Lynx for, really. I mean, of course there's some good exclusives on the Lynx, but if it didn't have the color screen... would anybody have talked about them like they do now?
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Mire Mare on September 08, 2013, 23:18:56 PM
The Gameboy is my favourite handheld for lots of reasons. The PC Engine GT is the best.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 09, 2013, 00:17:18 AM
Quote from: "Bobinator"DC, just wondering... is it mostly the hardware about the Lynx that you prefer over the Game Boy's, or is there a certain game or such that the Lynx only has you really like?

The capabilities of Atari Lynx were far in advance of Nintendo's GameBoy and it had a great selection of games too.

I had/have a GameBoy too and found it just about passable as a budget handheld. GameBoy was more rugged, the rechargeable battery pack I bought for it made it more practical and, erm, it had Tetris. I had zero interest in playing twee RPG-lites such as Zelda, massively pared down versions of Super Mario Bros games from the lowly NES or kiddie nonsense such as the later released Pokemon games. Yes, there were a few GB games I enjoyed in addition to Tetris such as Top Ranking Tennis but there weren't many.

Your argument re: "if it didn't have the color screen" seems bizarre, imo. Being in colour was critical but so was the massively more powerful capabilities of Lynx in terms of pushing sprites, etc., too. Lynx games were NOT of the same incredibly rudimentary standard as most GB games but with a lick of colour! Your point, to me, sounds the same as someone saying "If PS360 games weren't in colour then would they be much better than what was on the ZX81?"!
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: TrekMD on September 09, 2013, 00:20:20 AM
Quote from: "Bobinator"DC, just wondering... is it mostly the hardware about the Lynx that you prefer over the Game Boy's, or is there a certain game or such that the Lynx only has you really like?

For me the hardware beats the original GameBoy not only because of the color screen but because of the screen size, the backlight, the processing power (the Lynx is a true 16-bit system vs the GameBoy's 8-bit), and sound.  It also has a very good game library.  Yes, the GameBoy has more titles thanks to how Nintendo had done their licensing at the time but it's still an inferior piece of hardware.  There aren't many titles to compare head to head but take a look at Lemmings on both systems.  The differences go beyond just a color screen:

[align=center:38hrjror]Lemmings Atari Lynx (//http)
(the sound is a big off due to issues with the emulator being used)

Lemmings Gameboy version (//http)[/align:38hrjror]
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: AmigaJay on September 09, 2013, 08:23:40 AM
I don't know why people are moaning the GBA is here as retro, the ws, ngpc, and gbc were released in 98/99 and the gbc had games releasing until 2003, the GBA came in early 2001 I wouldn't say the gap was big enough to say one is retro and another isn't,  and yet the ngage is here which came out in 2003...  :113:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 09, 2013, 08:39:46 AM
Quote from: "AmigaJay"I don't know why people are moaning the GBA is here as retro...

I've not questioned whether the GBA is retro or not.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Alberto 2K on September 09, 2013, 11:12:53 AM
GBA gets my vote, it has a huge library of classic and awesome games, if the Dreamcast counts as a retro console for it's library I don't know why the GBA shoudn't do it.

I also think consoles like PCE GT or Nomad should count, even when they came from home consoles they're handhelds and retro!

PCE GT was great!!!
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: AmigaJay on September 09, 2013, 16:47:32 PM
Quote from: "DreamcastRIP"
Quote from: "AmigaJay"I don't know why people are moaning the GBA is here as retro...

I've not questioned whether the GBA is retro or not.
No, but you agreed with Bob that it 'skirts the edge of retro' so by that definition the gbc does as it was still being sold then.
Also i don't the problem comparing the two, the power of said machines has nothing todo with it, its about which one in your opinion was the best handheld, doesn't matter which decade it came from or how powerful it was.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Fin on September 09, 2013, 17:43:38 PM
Chilax guy  :15:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Bobinator on September 09, 2013, 20:39:12 PM
I'm just going to go ahead and say that when it comes to the age of consoles and handhelds, I'm personally more concerned about when it came out, not when they stopped making games for it. So, yes, I would consider the GBC retro. They were still making games for it when the Advance hit, like Shantae, so it was an older handheld by then.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: AmigaJay on September 09, 2013, 22:37:20 PM
I agree, also the GBA should be considered retro now, the hardware isn't made any longer, there are no commercial games being made and its been superseded by two generations of handheld, and the fact the majority of games are based òn 16bit games and franchises.
But anyway enough of that, based on the amount of games I play on each system the GBA wins by far, the lynx whilst 2nd imo would have been closer but for that fact it had so many arcade conversions, whilst great at the time nowadays the real arcade game is ònly a click away.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: DreamcastRIP on September 10, 2013, 10:19:53 AM
These sort of threads often pan out better when titled "Your favourite...".

By naming them "The best..." it often serves to inspire a debate of a different nature. Just saying.
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: Fin on September 10, 2013, 17:37:56 PM
Quote from: "DreamcastRIP"These sort of threads often pan out better when titled "Your favourite...".

By naming them "The best..." it often serves to inspire a debate of a different nature. Just saying.

Interesting. I disagree.  :24:
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: zapiy on October 01, 2015, 06:49:59 AM
Always looking to get a real impression into the minds of our members.. a little bump for those still to reply to this..
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: MadCommodore on January 07, 2016, 23:09:56 PM
I picked Gamegear, even though it is a rehash of SMS technology (and Gameboy is NES rehash too I guess) because it is the only one of the original 3 with a decent screen AND decent controls.

The problem for me with ALL versions of the Gameboy was the screen, the GBA has some fantastic arcade games but the screen was unusable. Maybe there is one with a backlight but as it stands I can't get on with the screen of the Lynx or original Gameboy.

Of course for me today it would have to be a PC-Engine LT....I don't like wearing glasses to play games on tiny screens and there are phones with 7" screens today so you can't say the screen is too big :P
Title: Re: Best Handheld
Post by: zapiy on January 09, 2016, 09:08:23 AM
Interested why you picked that over the Lynx though?