Reading time: 4 min
1. Intro — I finally had the guts to buy it, and it finally arrived!
So, I own quite a lot of handheld emulators. Some are decent, some are straight-up garbage.
But then, came the blessing from the retro gods, the Retroid Pocket 5, and it was delivered to my doorstep.
And wow — this bad boy delivers.
2. Finally, Specs that don’t just suck.
This bad boy got a Snapdragon 865 inside. That’s right — not some meditek or some other weird company that suddenly started making chips, not some recycled potato chips from 2012, but the real deal.
It has 8 GB of RAM, fast UFS 3.1 storage, and even active cooling, like an actual working spinning fan, so the damn thing won’t fry itself just by playing Metal Gear Solid.
Also it has:
- Wi-Fi 6 (How else are you playing online or watching videos or even reading this blog without that?)
- Bluetooth 5.1 (Finally, you can connect your precious wireless earpods, without any issues)
- 5000mAh battery (This thing won’t tap out after 2 hours, trust me)
- MicroSD slot (Now you can throw all those ROMs at it, guilt-free!)
3. That screen, Just Unreal.
You get yourself a fancy AMOLED (yes, that’s right) screen. The whole 5.5 inches of it!
And it’s a whopping 1080p. That means blacks are black, the colors are vivid, and your childhood memories will look 15.5 times better than what you actually remember.
It’s so good, and I mean it.
I have a PSP and I grabbed that and compared the graphics of the OG compared to the Retroid, I just returned that PSP back on that dusty shelf.
4. It Doesn’t Feel Like a Brick.
Most of the current handhelds feel like you’re holding a bar of soap, or a nicely sanded brick with some buttons glued on it.
The RP5 actually has some grip to it, and the way it is designed to mimic a PlayStation controller in a way, really got my attention.
It is comfortable to play with, and doesn’t make your hands scream after a couple of rounds with a boss.
You can actually play on the damn thing for hours…
5. It Can & Will Emulate Almost Anything.
If your favorite game existed before the PS3 era, you can probably run it.
- NES? Please!
- SNES, Gameboy, GBA? Of course.
- N64, PSP Dreamcast? Easily.
- GameCube, PS2, Wii? Surprisingly well.
- Even some Switch games if you wanna get freaky.
I saw some lunatics run PC games on the damn thing using Winlator…
Yes, I saw Skyrim running on the damn thing, 30 FPS…
Come on — Don’t tell me that is not just impressive as hell…
So, the sky is the limit, knock yourself out!
6. Setup Took Like 20 Minutes Tops.
It boots Android. You log into your Google Account, open Play Store, download all your emulators and Android games, and guess what?
You are done!
No weird configs, no drivers, no YouTube tutorials!
I would keep it as Android for many reasons, as it just works, and you can just run your Android games easily.
And by Android games I don’t mean Angry Birds…
I mean proper Android games, like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty mobile, Minecraft Pocket Edition, PUBG mobile, Fortnite, League of Legends Wild Rift, Asphalt Legends Unite, Street of Rage 4, etc.
And many of those games run at max settings, and the RP5 won’t even break a sweat.
7. This Is The One!
I’ve owned enough retro handhelds and consoles to build a small museum.
This is the only handheld I’ve purchased that didn’t give me that feeling of wanting a bit more to make it better.
It just works like a dream, ran everything I threw at it, and it was actually made like a proper handheld, not like a toy made by someone who never touched a game in their life!
This is the first time I’ve stopped looking for the “Next Best Thing”.
Because this is the best thing.
8. TL;DR (for all of you flying lunatics, and fast scrolling maniacs):
| Feature | What That Means |
| Snapdragon 865 | Runs everything, including your dreams… |
| AMOLED 1080p 5.5 inches | Retro games look criminally good. |
| Good Solid Exterior Design | Your fingers won’t need to be chopped after a session. |
| Easy Android Setup | You will be up and running before you food delivery arrives. |
| Looks Slick | It looks super good, it’s like a mashup of my favorite handhelds. |
| Overall Recommendation | Get it Now! |
9. Final Thoughts.
Look. I’m not saying it’s perfect. Nothing is.
But this is too damn close to perfection. This is the first time in a long time, I bought a handheld that didn’t disappoint me in any way.
And if that’s not worth bloggin’ about, then I don’t know what is.
Got one? Drop your favorite ROMs in the comments — I’m always down to “TEST” them… you know… for science.
Hey, wanna see what I play from the PS1 and PS2 categories? Check this out: What I Play on RP5 – Pt.1 (PS1-PS2)
Or you can check out my PSP category, those are awesome, go here: What I Play on RP5 – Pt.2 (PSP)
Or you can see what I play from the GBA + Android categories: What I Play on RP5 — Pt.3 (GBA & Android)