I've been banned from everything so this is the only way to get the word out about this, so here we go!
I bought the Data Frog SF2000 handheld retro game console (it looks like a Super Nintendo controller).
It's been widely reported that the SNES and GBA emulators are laggy and the games are basically unplayable. However, all you have to do is change your "TV System" in settings from NTSC to PAL. This fixes the SNES lag completely. The GBA still feels slightly off, but is now playable.
@Tfmonkey If you bought the handheld online, you could always send the word while doing a review on the product page.
I've found to have most of my console gaming needs through 3 jailbroken systems: my red chroma original 3DS, my Wii U and my PS3.
It covers my catalogue of games to play on the handheld and on the TV. On top of that, I can play retro on the small and big screen no problem (apart from having to manually swap save files if I need to).
@Wopu I like having the feel of the "real thing". I own a handfull of "mini" consoles and some Arcade cabinets.
I got the SF2000 because it has the feel of a SNES controller. A jailbroken modern handheld just wouldn't feel the same.
I think the SNES controller has the best feel of any old school console. The SF2000 even adds a little thumbstick if you don't want to use the D-pad, which is a nice modern touch.
Plus it's like $20 and comes with all the roms, so you can't really go wrong.
@Tfmonkey Yeah I figured once I looked at the handheld. To be fair you grew up with those gens of console.
If you ever jump into a retro stylized PC game, you may wanna look into USB controllers that are designed to look and feel like older controllers like SNES or Gamecube.
You plug the PC to your TV screen through an HDMI port and it should play seemlessly.
@Wopu I've tried those USB controllers, but they have to be mapped to the keyboard inputs and I like being able to just turn something on and know that it "works" rather than having to adjust things between games.
It was a simpler more innocent time.
@Tfmonkey I'm old enough to understand what you mean.
I grew up with the PS2 and Gamecube era. A dedicated device for fun and good times, before the industry changed horizons to allow new generations of players to play multiplayer online and do more out of their console than just play games.
It still amuses me that at the time of the PS2 release, Sony tried branding their console as a computer. The reason for that is: The EU used to add a tax on consoles shipped to them, but not for PCs.
@Tfmonkey What site did you buy it off of? I'd like to look at similar emulators. Plug and play type of stuff is much easier.
@FinalDresdonation Ali Express. You can't buy them on Amazon because of all the copyrighted ROMs.
Thanks for the info.
@Tfmonkey most retro games are fun to play imo, they've there own kind of charm. They've aged well.
Changing the TV System from NTSC to PAL doesn't affect the other emulators, so you can just leave your settings on PAL and everything will run fine.
For those who don't know, NTSC and PAL settings refer to North American and European TV refresh rates, so game consoles had to be tweaked to work correctly in different regions.
For whatever reason, all emulators can detect and adjust to NTSC or PAL aside from the SNES and GBA emulators, which have to be manually set to PAL or they lag.