What is the best portable system EVER?

[Gunstar Hero]

What is your favorite portable system? Systems that play home console games like the Sega Nomad and the new portable SNES the Supaboy count too. Feel free to list more than one system (a top 3 list, a top 5 list, etc.). As for my favorite I cannot say yet because I may be getting either a portable NES, a portable SNES, or a portable Genesis soon, and I cannot say my favorite if I have not yet played any of these! As for what I have though, my favorite is the Gameboy Advance... It will always have a special place in my heart as me and my brother used to link ours and verse each other on Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland almost every day... Ah, memories :)

[markusman64ds]

MB Microvision. Without it, it is quite possible that there would be no portable cartridge systems today.

http://geekjoan.com/videogames/microvision.jpg

Thanks!

[Gunstar Hero]

MB Microvision. Without it, it is quite possible that there would be no portable cartridge systems today.

http://geekjoan.com/videogames/microvision.jpg

Thanks!

Cool I haven't heard of that one before! I'm gonna have to check that out.

[jb143]

Other than the fact that the static discharge from looking at it wrong can fry it.

[Drixxel]

MB Microvision. Without it, it is quite possible that there would be no portable cartridge systems today.

The Microvision is of historical significance but, c'mon, it's far from being the best portable unless we're really stretching the subjectivity of entertainment value.

For being truest to portability (i.e. size, durability, battery life, screen visibility) my vote goes for the GBA SP. The compact clamshell design, impressive longevity from a full charge of the internal battery and a good-to-great display (frontlit vs. backlit models) make it tops. While the sticky outie nature of an inserted GB/GBC cartridge is a touch awkward, the seamless fit of a GBA cart makes the GBA SP functionally pocket sized.

For robustness, I choose the PSP 2000 running custom firmware. When combined, the variety of the PSP library, a selection of good quality emulators and the ability to play ISOs of PSX games makes for quite a sprawling library. The only real gripes I have with the PSP are the ghosting of the screen and the somewhat delicate build quality but these are easy to look past/deal with.

For idiosyncratic appeal, the Neo Geo Pocket Color is a strangely satisfying handheld. A cunningly designed bit of hardware (who doesn't love the clicky microswitch thumbstick and crystal clear screen?) with a strong library containing some surprisingly enjoyable Neo Geo translations, the NGPC has enough that's unique about it to stand apart.

For nostalgia, the classic brick Game Boy, Lynx I and Game Gear share the throne. It was (for me, at least) a simpler era of handheld gaming and the flawed designs of these portables were oddly endearing to me at the time.

[nusilver]

1. GBA
2. Gameboy/Color
3. Pokefami DX
4. DS
5. PSP

[markusman64ds]

Well, if the first cartridge based portable doesn't count...

My vote is either the 3DS or the Vita. They both have amazing hardware, and when they are hacked, they should be able to play all of your old game roms.

[Drixxel]

Well, if the first cartridge based portable doesn't count...

Haha, well, it does, but seriously, who busts out their Microvision on a daily basis? Wouldn't you be afraid of breaking it/it breaking itself? Hell, I have a nigh invulnerable LCD handheld of Super Breakout I'd put above the Microvision as far as the overall quality of portable gaming delivered.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Whether we're talking about a DS Lite, a PS Vita, a Pandora or a Dingoo modern portables are pretty sublime. There's so much great stuff going on and they all hit so many great technological beats ... it's almost hard to rank modern dedicated portable game systems. I love them all.

But if we're talking about the infancy-to-silver age of the medium I'm going to have to say my vote for the "best" is a tie between the GameBoy family (original to GBASP) and the Atari LYNX.

Not much I can say about the GameBoy systems that haven't already been said before, so I'll gush over the LYNX.

I'm such a huge Atari LYNX mark.

EPYX made such great hardware for Atari ... it's a shame that it couldn't find a real foothold in the marketplace alongside the GameBoy and the Game Gear, the arcade ports (with tons of gems from Midway and Atari) on the system are phenomenal and the original software like Blue Lighting and Electrocop were better looking than most 16-bit games being released during that time. And the sound chip ... oh MAN don't even get me started on how great that sound chip is ... second only to Commodore 64 in making melodic bleeps and bloops.

I'll still frequently bust out my LYNX and fire up a copy of Stun Runner, Xenophobe, Rampart, War Birds or Battle Wheels ...

If you don't know much about LYNX, check out some videos or find yourself a system+games lot on the cheap. Totally friggin worth owning. An unsung hallmark of portable gaming history.

[Aussie2B]

The backlit Game Boy Advance SP for me. Original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games, all on one tiny, durable unit that has great battery life and protects its own screen. Can't beat that.

[Ryudo]

I have a soft spot for the Turboexpress,Game Gear,Game Boy line and the DS and of course Wonderswan and Neo geo Pocket.

My personal fave is PSP. Mainly because the big 3 Ys games on it. To me sometimes I feel PSP is the system Sega would have made if they still made hardware.

[MarioMania]

I got 3 words for ya

GBA

[substantial_snake]

Objectively the Nintendo DS and the DS lite in particular, no contest.

-Loooong Battery Life
-Backwards Compatible with GBA
-Huge variety of games of all genras
-Great Design that protected most of the control surfaces when closed
-Not yet saddled by constant updates
-Sold somewhere in the 146mil range over model range, basically the PS2 of portable consoles.

I personally preferred the PSP for its many exclusives and multimedia capabilities of the time, but not because it was a better handheld overall. Objectively the DS lite is the current champion thus far and is by far the best portable that I've used on a regular basis. The GBA SP comes close but I feel that the DS library more then makes up for its lack of pre-GBA backwards compatibility. The GBA SP is also more resilient I've found then the DS lites but again the library really seals the deal for me on the DS.

[Leo_A]

The backlit Game Boy Advance SP is easily my favorite handheld system.

[T2KFreeker]

Talk about difficult to pick. I like the Nomad and the GBASP. Both are outstanding consoles. Faves though have to go to the Turbo Express, Lynx, and the Nintendo DS Lite. So much has happened with handheld consoles anymore that it can be difficult to pick. I like the PSP as well, but not a favorite.

[retroman]

For me i would go with TurboExpress or Atari Lynx..Nostalga

[nickerous]

The backlit Game Boy Advance SP for me. Original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games, all on one tiny, durable unit that has great battery life and protects its own screen. Can't beat that.

This was exactly what I was prepared to respond with.

[kedawa]

Gameboy micro is my personal favourite.
Honourable mention goes to NGPC for being the best non-lit portable ever.

[tom]

Lynx is the best of course, it has the best good games - bad games ratio. Hardly any duffs for the Lynx
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/Alison123456789/lynxgames.jpg

Second for sure is Nokia N-Gage, again, this handheld has hardly any bad games.
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/Alison123456789/allNGagegames2.jpg

Neo Geo pocket colour is third, as it had a decent release of games in the UK. Great control, bad screen though.
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/Alison123456789/NeoGeoColorandgames.jpg

and last:
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/Alison123456789/completegamecom.jpg

Great puzzle games.

[o.pwuaioc]

The backlit Game Boy Advance SP for me. Original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games, all on one tiny, durable unit that has great battery life and protects its own screen. Can't beat that.
This was exactly what I was prepared to respond with.

Same here. The 2 generations of backwards compatibility sold me on the unit.

[markusman64ds]

Lynx is the best of course, it has the best good games - bad games ratio. Hardly any duffs for the Lynx
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/Alison123456789/lynxgames.jpg

Showoff.

[BydoEmpire]

I've bought lots of portables over the years, but the only one I ever really spent a lot of time with was the Nintendo DS (and its variants). Screens were bright and clear; tons of awesome games - unique stuff, modern stuff, classic stuff; good battery life (built-in rechargeable, too).

[tom]

Showoff.

Hehe, sold off my complete Lynx collection in 2010.
Started to re-collect now, so far I got 8 Lynx games:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=342921

[markusman64ds]

Hehe, sold off my complete Lynx collection in 2010.
Started to re-collect now, so far I got 8 Lynx games:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=342921

Hey, that's still more than my collection. 0 games and 0 systems and counting :)

[Genesaturn]

This is a tough call - I think there is a best portable and a most important portable

As for the best...I will give the nod to the Gameboy Advance - its what really took portable gaming mainstream...don't get me wrong..I had a regular Gameboy and I loved it..but that was before the advent of the gaming explosion. As for the most influential and important handheld....I always said...Sega was killed by its own ingenuity...the GameGear was way ahead of its time, just like everything else they put out, and I firmly believe it was the GG that influenced Nintendo and other companies to take the route they did with their hand helds.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

The GBA is my personal favorite. It was the last grasp of the classic, 2d era.

[Pantechnicon]

I'm going to go with GBA, but only because of its legacy support for GB/GBC games. I really want to say DS because that's a system that slowly won me over in a big, big, way. But DS's absence of long-reaching legacy support is the deal-breaker.

A close second for me is the Lynx. Lots and lots of personal favorites on that one.

[o.pwuaioc]

don't get me wrong..I had a regular Gameboy and I loved it..but that was before the advent of the gaming explosion.
How old are you again? I had ton of friends who had a Game Boy when I was a kid.

[Aussie2B]

Practically every kid had a Game Boy in the 90s. I mean, they were marked down to $49.95 as early as 1993, which was less than the typical SNES game, so they were really affordable. And when Pokemon came along, they were all the more ubiquitous. Portable gaming was definitely mainstream LONG before the Game Boy Advance, and the "gaming explosion" happened long before that too. So kids these days think gaming didn't take off until past 2000? :?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

A fully modded PSP 2000 or 3000. Full library of PSP games, PS1 games, Gameboy, GBC, GBA, SNES, Genesis, mame NeoGeo Pocket Color, etc etc.

But if that's cheating I gotta go with the GBA SP 2.0. It's still the sexiest handheld ever.

[goatdan]

I'm a portable system fan. Like, I have to catch myself to not buy every different one out there, and I really don't know why that is. A *lot* of portable systems I couldn't give two rips about for the longest time, and then probably about 10 years ago, I kinda started just acquiring them. I'll admit that my taste is weird, but here we go, ranked from favorite to not so much...

1) Nintendo DSiXL - I wish it had the cartridge slot for GBA games, but beyond that this thing is great -- with a screen that is large and bright enough to really see what is going on, and a layout that is the right size for my big ol' hands, this thing just nailed everything. I didn't like and never got a DS Lite or DSi after my original DS because they didn't feel right, this thing does -- and there is a heck of a lot of great DS games to play for it.
2) Game Boy Micro - Okay, so I love the GIANT DS because it fits my hands right, but something about the Micro just fits me right too. I love the fact that I can drop it into a pocket and carry it around with no issues -- perhaps the only portable that is truly really easily portable -- and the screen is just right too. I never owned another GBA because I hated the original's screen and I hated the form factor of the GBASP, but the Micro just works... and by all means, it really shouldn't.
3) PSP - The knock on it has always been that the games are like full sized PS2 games, just fit on a small screen. And that knock is fair, but since you can suspend the game at any point, I don't see what the big deal is. I would rank it higher if there was more to the library, but it seems like it was a flash in the pan for releases, and while it has some really great ones, it simply doesn't have enough to justify ranking it above the GBA or DS.
4) Neo Geo Pocket Color - This was probably the handheld that really got me into handhelds, I bought it right after they announced they would be pulling the inventory. I had been saving up for one (it had nothing to do with collecting and everything to do with really wanting one) and the library has the highest rating of great games to console that I think I have found. The original Card Fighters Clash is amazing, and the clickly stick is simply perfect tech for a portable.
5) Game Boy Color - I got this after I bought my first DS to experience some of the games with. It fits nice, it has a lot of decent games for it (in particular, Super Mario Bros is AMAZING what they did with it), and that's about that.
6) Original Game Boy - I liked the size of this for playing with, although the games drove me nuts. I played the heck out of the one that I had as a kid, but if I had the choice between a real console or the Game Boy, it was the real console every time.
7) Atari Lynx - I love a bunch of the games for the Lynx, and the hardware is cool. Robotron is great. I wish it wasn't so much of a battery guzzler, or it would be higher on the list.
8) 3DS - Give me a game that I am interested in that I don't feel like is a tech demo, please, and I'll rate this one higher. So far, my 3DS has been used to play through the Professor Layton games (not 3DS titles), and I bought Pilotwings and Steel Diver for it, both which feel like they should have been $5.00 downloadable titles from the online store, not cartridge releases. I'm very interested in some upcoming titles, although hardware design issues will probably never move this beyond #3 for me right now, unless a new revision comes calling.
9) Sega Game Gear - I hate hate hate the screen blurring crap this thing does, but I really like a bunch of the games that it has. It's a weird relationship I have with that console... I guess I would put the portable "Coleco" thing I got a couple years ago with a bunch of GG games in it higher than this... THAT thing is cool.
10) Game.Com - I don't really have much nice to say about the Game.Com. But I own a few of them, because they are portable, and I go to portables like a bee to honey, I guess.

I didn't mention the different console revisions, or else I'd have another 10 or so. I also purposely avoided mentioning anything that is really a console game made portable too, as although I have some of those, to me it's a big difference. Gameplay in portables is different than gameplay in consoles, and I really find that I like the differences that make portables... well, portable!

[Flashback2012]

I'm going with the GBA SP. GB, GBC, and GBA all on one system. The back-lit screen makes up for the non form fitting design (it would hurt my hands after playing for a while). That said, the simplicity of the clamshell design made it ideal for dropping in a pocket or bag with no worry of the screen getting scratched up. If the original DS could play GB/GBC games, it would have easily taken the cake.


My top 5 favorites in terms of collecting for are...

1. Game Boy Advance
2. Nintendo DS
3. Neo Geo Pocket Color
4. Playstation Portable
5. Game Boy Color

:)

[hamburglar]

This is my favorite portable...


4477


As far as best, I always loved the Turbo Express, since you could use the actual home system cards, and the thing looked like a portable, unlike the Nomad...
Then the PSP came out, great LCD, great battery life, great control layout.
And as far as the Gameboy systems, they were all very difficult for me to play with because of the poor screens, until the GBA SP backlit model came out.

[o.pwuaioc]

This is my favorite portable...


4477


What have you done to that thing?

[Genesaturn]

How old are you again? I had ton of friends who had a Game Boy when I was a kid.

Growing up I had no other friends with a Gameboy other than my cousin. And if you look at the numbers...between the Gameboys launch in 89 including the color - all the way up to the launch of GBA it sold 118 million units...GBA/SP from 2001-2004 sold 125 million in almost a quarter of that period. And I will be 28 this year.

[kupomogli]

In order, going by only the games released on the system, rerelease or otherwise.

PSP
Gameboy Advance
Nintendo DS
Gameboy

There are games for other portable systems that I like, but there's few games on those systems that make it worth it.

[The 1 2 P]

Best portable ever? The Game.com. Oh wait, you were being serious. In that case, I'm going to have to give it to either the Neo Geo Pocket Color or the GBA. I play my NGPC more than any other handheld but the GBA has so many good games for it that it probably deserves the nod.

[Lerxstnj]

The Sega VMU.

[MachineGex]

Game.com


Seriously, I like the Lynx. Great games and it is ATARI! The Turbo Express always seemed like a top-of-the-line system. It was very well built with an excellent screen and great sound. Sadly, mine needs the sound fixed. It still works with headphones.

[Iron Draggon]

Does my new Android smartphone count?

[Leo_A]

Somehow I posted in the wrong thread, sorry about that.

[tom]

no love for the

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/thomasholzer/gamate.jpg

??

.

[Griking]

My laptop.

[BricatSegaFan]

Vectrex!!!!!

[markusman64ds]

Vectrex!!!!!

I don't think the Vectrex was a portable. You have to plug it into a wall, and it probably won't fit in your pocket. Then again neither will the Lynx.

[kupomogli]

Actually, I retract my last statement of best portable. Made a mistake. Best portable ever would be the PSX with the screen attachment.

Or a PSX and TV on a cart that you can push around for mobility and still play the best games ever. Something like this...

http://mega64.com/2011/06/03/kojimas-secret-transfarring-trailer/

...except PSX games.

[BricatSegaFan]

I don't think the Vectrex was a portable. You have to plug it into a wall, and it probably won't fit in your pocket. Then again neither will the Lynx.

You have to plug a game gear in the wall too lol. I mean 30 min of juice is hardly enough.

[kedawa]

If we're going to get crazy, then the best would be a SEGA R360 arcade cab with a 12VDC power adapter, sitting on the back of a truck.

[o.pwuaioc]

You have to plug a game gear in the wall too lol. I mean 30 min of juice is hardly enough.

It was more than 30 minutes, and you didn't have to plug it into the wall, thus making it technically portable, even if it only lasted a few hours.

[Wraith Storm]

It was more than 30 minutes, and you didn't have to plug it into the wall, thus making it technically portable, even if it only lasted a few hours.

These day you can toss some Energizer 2500 mAh Nimh batteries in the Game Gear and get 5+ hours of game time! That's what I do.

My absolute favorite portables are divided between;

Gameboy - Like the NES, there are tons of creative and original titles across a variety of genres. Just when I think I know everything the Gameboy has to offer me, I stumble across some gem I have never heard of.

Game Gear - Doesn't quite have the variety or selection of the Gameboy, but it does have some fantastic ports and exclusives that have provided me hours of entertainment over the years.

Lynx - In my opinion Atari's best system. It has tons of amazing arcade ports and some like Paperboy, I find to be the definitive version. It has some incredible original titles like Dracula the Undead and War Birds. Also, as some have already said, the Lynx has the best good to bad game ratio of almost any system. Just about every game is worth playing... just about...

[Shingetter]

no love for the

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/thomasholzer/gamate.jpg

??

.

I love that I have one, but the games are terrible. As are the mega duck, and the supervision.

[Parodius Duh!]

@ the OP - I dont think you should include the portable NES, SNES, Genesis, etc systems along with specific Handheld systems. I mean yeah its portable, but its still just a SNES running a SNES game, just instead of having a tv on a hand truck hooked up to a generator you have a convenient system. Its two different worlds. But whatever your thread, anyway



OG Gameboy is where its at. Not COLOR, Not Advanced, the shitty old non-backlit green and grey POS. Great Games. 2 words, Trip World.

[kedawa]

@ the OP - I dont think you should include the portable NES, SNES, Genesis, etc systems along with specific Handheld systems. I mean yeah its portable, but its still just a SNES running a SNES game, just instead of having a tv on a hand truck hooked up to a generator you have a convenient system. Its two different worlds. But whatever your thread, anyway



OG Gameboy is where its at. Not COLOR, Not Advanced, the shitty old non-backlit green and grey POS. Great Games. 2 words, Trip World.

If I were going to stick with the monochrome GB, I would have to say that the Gameboy Light is the best system.

[BricatSegaFan]

Sega nomad!!!!!!!!

[Ryudo]

I could get nostalgic and name something old as I have a few older ones. I have to be honest however.

PSP is my fave handheld ever. Has some of my fave games ever in the Ys series and has many great RPG's.
DS does also but I just prefer PSP.

[Oldskool]

There are a lot of good handhelds out there. I really do love the Nomad (especially with the modded LCD screen), and I have a ton of fond memories of the original gameboy, but my hat goes off to the Nintendo DS. It's absolutely the best handheld gaming system ever made. Tons of awesome 2D action games, shooters, and rpgs. It's like the Saturn or PS1 on steroids. There is very little load time, the graphics are great, and the screen is bright especially with a later model DS. The music is excellent and the variety of games, and cheap prices make this one my favorite for the time being.

But which one have I played the most with lately? Hmm.. oh crap. Android.

[The 1 2 P]

Sega nomad!!!!!!!!

Maybe if it didn't take six AAA batteries.

[DigitalSpace]

Game Boy Advance.

(Honorable mentions: Neo Geo Pocket Color, Nintendo DS, PSP, and the original Game Boy.)

[tom]

The Cybiko showed potential, all games were free to d/l.
What happened? Bad marketing?
I hate the controls, not very responsive.
Nice concept though.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/thomasholzer/cybiko.jpg

[Greg2600]

Gameboy Advance. Plays games from 3 different hand held generations. With a flash cart, can play roms from just about any 8 or 16 bit system.

[Hidden_Darkness]

my favorites are the neo geo pocket color and the gameboy advance.

[Darth Binks]

A lot of the systems mentioned weren't truly portable. It looks like it would be fun, but you would have a hard time fitting the Lynx into your pocket. The best portable system ever is the GBA, hands down.

[BricatSegaFan]

Maybe if it didn't take six AAA batteries.

Well then its the best because it took six AA :-P

[goatdan]

A lot of the systems mentioned weren't truly portable. It looks like it would be fun, but you would have a hard time fitting the Lynx into your pocket. The best portable system ever is the GBA, hands down.

I disagree. A portable system is something that you can take with you and play out of the house easily. If the system shipped with a way to put batteries in it and play it, it's portable. They didn't say that it had to be "pocket sized", and I have very vivid memories of friends who had Game Gears at the height of their popularity taking them on trips.

I don't think it gets much more portable than that.

[123►Genei-Jin]

I have a soft spot for anything PC-engine/Turbo-GraFX so the Turbo Express is my all time favorite.
Anyway, I rank my favorites this way:
1 - Turbo Express
2 - Neo-Geo Pocket
3 - Lynx
4 - GBA
5 - PSP

[Darth Binks]

I disagree. A portable system is something that you can take with you and play out of the house easily. If the system shipped with a way to put batteries in it and play it, it's portable. They didn't say that it had to be "pocket sized", and I have very vivid memories of friends who had Game Gears at the height of their popularity taking them on trips.

I don't think it gets much more portable than that.

I hear ya. In my opinion, when ranking a "good" portable system, it's important for the system to be easy to carry and practical to use in transit. So I don't think a large portable system is as good as one that is more compact. Not trying to cause trouble, just my opinion.

[BricatSegaFan]

@ the OP - I dont think you should include the portable NES, SNES, Genesis, etc systems along with specific Handheld systems. I mean yeah its portable, but its still just a SNES running a SNES game, just instead of having a tv on a hand truck hooked up to a generator you have a convenient system. Its two different worlds. But whatever your thread, anyway



OG Gameboy is where its at. Not COLOR, Not Advanced, the shitty old non-backlit green and grey POS. Great Games. 2 words, Trip World.

Does the Nomad count? It's a portable genesis....

[Black_Tiger]

My favorite to play is the Sega Nomad.

My favorite overall is the Turbo Express.

[goatdan]

I hear ya. In my opinion, when ranking a "good" portable system, it's important for the system to be easy to carry and practical to use in transit. So I don't think a large portable system is as good as one that is more compact. Not trying to cause trouble, just my opinion.

That's fair. Just remember though, when these things came out and a lot of the ones that are being mentioned -- Game Boys, Game Gears, Atari Lynxes, even Nomads... those all were really small for what they were doing at the time.

[TheGam3r]

Game Boy Advance. can play every game in the Game Boy library, region-free, and Pokemon

[RulerStabInTheEye27]

/////

[Hwj_Chim]

Neo Geo Pocket color. I have yet to find a bad game on this system. Plus the clicky joystick on the system is awesome.

[tom]

Neo Geo pocket has ace controls the only think I don't like is the screen

[Kirbz]

SEGA Game Gear Obviously
No Other System Has A Chance

[turbokon]

For me it's easy, since the turbografx is my favorite system that makes the turbo express my favorite portable system. Here is mine modded with a bigger LCD, composite vid out and the ability to add external controller.
http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l594/superkon316/ef8e5c8e.jpg