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.

[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...rring-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...

[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.

[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.)