Mobile gaming devices were once a major feature of every family day out and holiday abroad, with the Nintendo Game Boy acting ‘in loco parentis’ to keep the kids quiet. The rise of mobile gaming on Android and iOS smartphones once posed a threat to the handheld market. Thankfully, manufacturers have fought back with devices that blow even the best smartphones out of the water. Or in the case of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, take advantage of smartphone processing power to redefine the mobile and handheld space.
Here's a line-up of some of the best available:
The best handheld consoles at a glance:
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch Lite
Razer Kishi
Nintendo 3DS XL
Nintendo 2DS XL
PlayStation Vita
GPD XD Plus Android Tablet
Best handheld consoles
The ultimate handheld gaming device is so much more than that moniker suggests. At home, you can hook it up to the TV like a regular console and when it's time to go out, you quickly pop it off its dock and carry on gaming. The Switch can be held in a traditional handheld configuration, or the Joy-Con controllers can be removed and the screen act as a mini television for mobile multiplayer gaming. The games are home-console quality with a brimming catalogue of titles for adults and kids alike: the epic Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, superb Super Mario Odyssey and cutesy Animal Crossing: New Horizon are reason enough to buy into this system. It's not the cheapest, but this hybrid console is by far the best.
Rrp: £229.95
As a follow-up to the Switch came the Switch Lite - a low-fat, trimmed-down version of the regular model. While the standard Switch is for both TV and handheld use, the Lite can only be used as a handheld device. Other than that, the differences are as you'd expect: it'll play the same games, but the Lite is a bit lighter, has a slightly smaller screen (5.5 inches compared to 6.2), and no detachable Joy-Con controllers. But the Lite still has a 1280x720 LCD screen like the regular Switch.
3.
Razer Kishi
Given the recent leaps and bounds of smartphone software, and the emergence of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a phone can now be used as a proper handheld gaming console with the addition of a smartphone gaming controller such as the Razer Kishi. It's an ergonomic and intuitive controllers that connects into the phone's charging port. It gives you zero lag and can be plugged in during gameplay to charge the device.
Read more on the best Game Pass games to play
Nintendo have quite a heritage in mobile gaming, and before the Switch came along the 3DS was a leading example of the craft. To this day, it still ranks amongst the great consoles. Featuring an extensive library of games from some of the world's top developers and a big market for second-hand game cartridges, this is a great system for gamers on a budget. While the DS consoles are no longer made, there are plenty on the second-hand market in tip-top condition.
The 2DS XL console runs every game available for the 3DS but lacks the 3D screen. This makes it quite a bit cheaper and an ideal console for kids, with a huge range of titles from ages five and up. Like the 3DS, it's no longer in production, but by all means, the second-hand market has 2DS consoles in excellent condition.
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Sadly discontinued but readily available second-hand from various retailers, the weird-but-wonderful Vita is worth tracking down. Retro-gaming fans love it for the wealth of original PlayStation games and smart tie-ins that can be played on this mobile device, and it can also be connected to a PS4 for remote play.
What about old handheld console games?
There is a growing market of emulators for classic and retro games. This is good news for those who wish to play old games. Emulators are legal if you own a hard copy of the game, because they usually maintain their copyright. In essence, these are handheld devices onto which you download software that allows you to play digital copies of your classic game.
This is an excellent example of such a machine. 720p HD Ready screen; 32GB of internal storage; 4GB RAM; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity; and a large 6000mAh battery.