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11 Best Retro Game Consoles (2023): Evercade, Polymega, Analogue Pocket, and Controllers

Posted on April 29, 2023

11 Best Retro Game Consoles (2023): Evercade, Polymega, Analogue Pocket, and Controllers

  • Photograph: Evercade

    Best Overall

    Evercade VS

    With an authentic, minimalist 1980s aesthetic, this retro-gaming console offers an eclectic mix of classic games from different systems and publishers, including titles like Missile Command, Double Dragon, and Speedball 2. Games come in collections on $20 physical cartridges. There are more than 260 officially licensed games from Atari, Technos, Data East, Codemasters, and Piko Interactive, but new releases are rolling out all the time. Pop the flap and you’ll find space for two cartridges inside. Press the power button and a light strip blinks to life and turns red, followed by synth-wave music and high-resolution box art that gives you the retro feels.

    The rectangular controllers remind me of NES controllers with shoulder buttons, but they are probably the weakest element here—too lightweight and not comfortable for long play sessions. Luckily, you can use most third-party controllers (wired or wireless), and the console supports up to four players. Games run smoothly and mostly look good on the big screen. You also get display options, including the original ratio and artificial scan lines, control schemes with support for remapping, and the ability to save anywhere. All of that at an affordable price makes this the best retro console for most people.

    $130 at Amazon
    $130 at Best Buy

  • Photograph: Polymega

    For Cartridge Collectors

    Polymega

    Whether you’re an avid collector or you happen to have a stack of old cartridges and discs, the Polymega may pique your interest. Designed as the one retro console to rule them all, this modular system has optional add-ons for NES, SNES, Genesis (Megadrive), or TurboGrafx that can accommodate the original cartridges and controllers from those respective systems. The large black base unit also plays Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-CD, and Neo Geo CDs. The controller most resembles a DualShock pad, but the modules each come with an authentic-feeling version of the original gamepad—including a light gun.

    Build quality is excellent, and the software emulation is impressive, with saves and screen-filtering options. I tested the Super module after dusting off my old Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country cartridges, and it has been a blast introducing my kids to these classics. When you first insert a cartridge or disc, you get the option to run it or install it to the internal storage (it has 32 GB out of the box, but you can expand this with an SD card or SSD), which is great for enthusiasts who want to preserve their collections. Real estate under the TV is at a premium, so replacing multiple systems with a single box is appealing. It comes with a handful of obscure titles preinstalled, but it only makes sense for gamers with large physical game libraries. There's an N64 module coming, but just know that orders can take a while to ship. If Playmaji can work out a way to offer its library of classic titles to buy and download, this could be the ultimate retro console, but it's not cheap.

    $549 at Polymega
    $400 at Walmart

  • Photograph: Evercade

    Best Handheld

    Evercade EXP

    The original Evercade (8/10, WIRED Recommends) was a handheld console that debuted in 2020, offering the ability to play titles that were available on old systems like the NES, SNES, the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive), Atari Lynx, and the Mattel Intellivision. The new and improved version, the Evercade EXP (7/10, WIRED Review) supports the same games and still has a 4.3-inch screen, but it's a much sharper IPS panel. There's also USB-C charging and TATE mode for vertical shooters, which makes for a solid upgrade. It's not without its faults. Build quality is questionable and the button layout can be awkward, especially for TATE mode.

    You can still plug it into your TV with a Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. The Evercade runs games smoothly, offers a save function, and has decent battery life. Games are organized into collections on $20 cartridges with booklets that give a short history of each title. All of Evercade’s cartridges work on both the VS (see above) and the original Evercade, too, with the exception of a couple of Namco collections that were only licensed for the handheld. If you want multiplayer and prefer to play on the big screen, the Evercade VS is still a better choice.

    $150 at Amazon
    $150 at Best Buy

  • Photograph: Analogue

    For Game Boy Fans

    Analogue Pocket

    This elegant, modern handheld can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges, so it's perfect for folks who held onto childhood game cartridges like Super Mario World or Pokémon Crystal. The Analogue Pocket (8/10, WIRED Recommends) boasts a gorgeous 3.5-inch high-res display with 10 times the pixels of the original square Game Boy. The D-pad and four face buttons are satisfying to use. Battery life extends beyond 7 hours and there's a USB-C port for recharging. There's also a microSD card slot for saves.

    With two FPGA chips inside, the Analogue Pocket can be trained to mimic many kinds of classic gaming hardware as soon as you fire up a cartridge. Since one of the chips is user-hackable, you may also be able to play games from other systems. On the downside, the volume and power buttons are tiny, the layout doesn't work so well for Game Boy Advance games, and you can expect a long wait if you order one.

    $220 at Analogue

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