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.



Thanks!

[Gunstar Hero]

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



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


Second for sure is Nokia N-Gage, again, this handheld has hardly any bad games.


Neo Geo pocket colour is third, as it had a decent release of games in the UK. Great control, bad screen though.


and last:


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.