/vr/ - Retro Games

>>10957803
I did this with my Samsung Galaxy M30, so a way weaker smartphone than the A52 you've got, it's a shame since PS2 is really tough to emulate, but PSP still works fine... other systems like N64 and Saturn also give me trouble, but Dreamcast and PS1 do well, I imagine that with the A52 it's be a lot smoother. I think it's still valid to go for one of these dedicated handhelds if you want still.

I mean, a lot of people like them thanks to their novelty and charm alone, the form factor and the aesthetic... but function? A smartphone is just as good, as long as you use a good controller for it.

t. Samsung Galaxy M30 and MOCUTE 060 user. It's nothing crazy, but this is cheap and works.

>>10895760
It's good to see us smartphone users getting a bit of love around here. How are you all doing? I've been posting on /vr/ a lot less sadly, as life just finds things to throw at us when we start working and all, it's a pain, but whatever. Right now I'm still with my Galaxy M30, which I'll keep for the rest of my life since it's the smartphone I had when I began talking to my GF for the 1st time, and I have the feeling I'll marry her for sure, and then there's the MOCUTE-060, which despite not indicating its battery level properly anymore, it still works well, so I really can't complain much.

I'm probably going to replace my laptop at some point this year or the next, for a tablet, probably a Samsung since I'm familiar with them, I used to prefer desktops and laptops over smartphones or tablets before, but recently they've seriously been growing on me, my GF's iPad certainly helps with that... and I think I might just have the tablet be my main machine for everything, plug it into a TV for a more console feel, and use a telescopic controller for a handheld feel, it feels like a nice and cheap Switch like emulation machine, and a laptop at the same time if I attach a keyboard.

>>10515487
Well, it's a situation where I sort of have to pick my poison really... let me explain, I'm using this current setup, instead of a dedicated handheld, because I had an old smartphone I still wanted some use for, and I found a decent looking pad for cheap, it ended up being way cheaper than getting an actual handheld, but the screen is a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, instead of 4:3 or 1:1 (Ideal).

Now, what that means is that, if I use a 1:1 or a 4:3 aspect ration, I'm going to have a 25cm wide device with about 5cm of actual screen, most of the screen will be negative space and it's awful...

So, instead of going with 1:1 I tried 4:3 and it still looked off and had mostly negative space, so I just gave up and stretched it full, but the round corners bothered me... so I finally just went with a 16:9 stretched aspect ratio, it doesn't bother me as much as having 90% of the device being negative space, even though it isn't ideal, it still works well enough for me, even if it's a real sin.

>>10489968
I'm surprised at how well my MOCUTE-060 is still holding up for a cheap Chinese controller, about a year now, or something like that, and I've been using it a lot since this is the only handheld I have to use afterall. It's great to see these controllers getting more popular too, hopefully they keep getting better, and cheaper... only real issue is having to deal with such a wide aspect ratio here.

I still think that, if it's around the same price, it's probably best to get a dedicated handheld, due to controllers often having their own battery, or risking damaging the USB-C port to plug it in...

Also, it's a pain if you're playing and someone calls you or something, I use an old smartphone, so I don't have to deal with that, but I wouldn't use it on my main smartphone, having a proper dedicated handheld also probably feels more SOVL, but I digress. If you're in the same place I was in though, having an old smartphone laying around, and found a cheap controller, go for it.

>>10310881
I agree, my main fear was actually the input lag, but maybe I got lucky since it's been fine for me so far. It's a pain having separate batteries, but for most of these controllers they last long on a single charge, so it isn't too much of an issue in the long run, only in those scenarios where one battery is low while the other is fine, which I do admit is quite a pain and breaks the fun of it all.

I've been running a phone + controller setup for a few months now, and I figured that giving my impressions could be helpful to those looking into this setup. Now, we have 2 separate things to look at, the phone and the controller, let's look at them one at a time.

So, for the phone, if you use your daily driver, you could get calls/messages while playing... but then again you can also have some major power depending on your phone... as for an old phone, it avoids that issue, and there's a higher chance of it being 16:9, which is helpful to avoid having negative space, which to me is the major issue of this method since most phones are ultrawide, though if you don't mind some stretching, or run your ROMs at 16:9 with things like Genesis Plus GX Wide, then it's manageable, but still an issue. As for the emulation, RetroArch is pretty much perfect for most systems, though I recommend standalone emulators for N64, Saturn, and all 6th generation consoles besides PSP.

We also need a controller, and if you already have an old phone, just getting a controller can be cheaper than a handheld, though the cheap controllers might not feel good, you get what you pay for. Also, if you want a telescopic controller, I haven't found a single one with the PlayStation layout, which I find to be ideal, only Wii U and XBOX styled... but if you prefer using an actual controller instead of a telescopic layout, that's not an issue... the other major issue is with Bluetooth controller, they may have input lag, though I haven't had issues with it, and it's also a separate device with its own battery, so you might run into situations where your phone is charged, but the controller isn't.

I'd say that if you have a phone with good specs, or an old phone, or just prefer to spend less, getting a controller can be better for you than a handheld, but for most people here it's probably better to just go with an actual handheld. I hope this can be helpful to someone.