What’s the best plug and play way to play emulated games?

The latest pcsx2 as well psp emulator but don't remember it's name, it's written in Java. In terms of hardware I'd pick anything,

Laptop, plugged
raspberry pi, if you know what you're doing
Desktop, with 40" + monitor as a TV or on your desk.
 
I think EmuDeck or RetroDeck are as "plug and play" as you can get. You don't need a SteamDeck for them; you can use them with a MiniPC as well.
 
I just recently bought a Mac Mini M4 for emulation, among other things. It is powerful enough to be able to use shaders with older systems and it runs and looks beautiful. Using Emulation Station with RetroArch on it. Also recently picked up an 8BitDo Arcade Stick, and also use a Dual Sense.
 
I purchased the BattleEXP G350 on impulse, although from Amazon. It took a bit of tinkering in that I swapped out the OS for something better (I chose ArkOS) and needed to replace the SD card with a better quality one so I picked up a cheap 128GB from Amazon. Once you have it fully set up, it's a wonderful portable emulation console with amazing battery life that fits in your pocket and easy to throw into your briefcase or backpack when traveling.

I really wish it had an extra GB of RAM and a slightly better CPU for Dreamcast and PSP titles, but might have to wait for 2026 at this price point for that.

Currently mostly playing Legend of Dragoon, Golden Sun, Daxter, Soul Reaver on it at night and occasionally boot up an old platformer like Super Mario World and Sonic & Knuckles .

It does not have Bluetooth or WiFi, so I use a USB-C Ethernet Dongle to download artwork and OS updates and a 3.5mm headphones for audio.

I'm shocked it has not been more discussed on GAF given how popular it has been.
 
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I purchased the BattleEXP G350 on impulse, although from Amazon. It took a bit of tinkering in that I swapped out the OS for something better (I chose ArkOS) and needed to replace the SD card with a better quality one so I picked up a cheap 128GB from Amazon. Once you have it fully set up, it's a wonderful portable emulation console with amazing battery life that fits in your pocket and easy to throw into your briefcase or backpack when traveling.

I really wish it had an extra GB of RAM and a slightly better CPU for Dreamcast and PSP titles, but might have to wait for 2026 at this price point for that.

Currently mostly playing Legend of Dragoon, Golden Sun, Daxter, Soul Reaver on it at night and occasionally boot up an old platformer like Super Mario World and Sonic & Knuckles .

It does not have Bluetooth or WiFi, so I use a USB-C Ethernet Dongle to download artwork and OS updates and a 3.5mm headphones for audio.

I'm shocked it has not been more discussed on GAF given how popular it has been.
Those came out recently and i've seen them on aliexpress for $25 on sale. I have the r36s and it's got the same cpu and ram so i dont feel the need to switch over to that. All these sub $100 devices have either the RK3326 or RK3356 and are saturating the market right now. I'm holding out for a handheld <$100 that can do GC/PS2. I'm not spending $200 on a random cheap junk handheld with zero support.
 
Those came out recently and i've seen them on aliexpress for $25 on sale. I have the r36s and it's got the same cpu and ram so i dont feel the need to switch over to that. All these sub $100 devices have either the RK3326 or RK3356 and are saturating the market right now. I'm holding out for a handheld <$100 that can do GC/PS2. I'm not spending $200 on a random cheap junk handheld with zero support.
Agreed. If they added an RK3366 and bumped the RAM to 2GB for LPDDR4, it would breeze through all PSP and Dreamcast titles, which would make these handhelds much more attractive while allowing for a sub $50 price point. However, it would take a RK3576 to reliably run PS2 and GCN titles, which is still viable if they went to around $80 or less. OG XBOX is still out of the question, but the emulators for it currently suck anyway.

I would love for them to release a device with the RK3366 and 2GB of RAM in the fall. If that was the case, would you be more tempted seeing as you could run all PSP and Dreamcast titles?
 
Not sure I'd recommend the Deck for GameCube emulation. The few games I tried on it had issues (F-Zero GX) or ran incredibly poorly (Eternal Darkness).
 
I just saw this. New Android device coming out starting at $69. 1080p IPS screen, 4gb ram, snapdragon 662, hall triggers and joysticks. It has an adreno 610 so it should be able to play some or most PS2/GC games. Seeing youtube vids that it can handle some switch games as well.
 
I just saw this. New Android device coming out starting at $69. 1080p IPS screen, 4gb ram, snapdragon 662, hall triggers and joysticks. It has an adreno 610 so it should be able to play some or most PS2/GC games. Seeing youtube vids that it can handle some switch games as well.
That is a really good price for what they are offering. Considering tariffs it will be much higher in US, but for everyone else might be worth a shot if they don't screw up software.
 
For pure "open the box, plug it in and play". The Amazon 500 in 1 systems are the way to go. Illegally packed with every game from the 8 bit and 16 bit era. With all the handheld stuff thrown in for good measure. Zero effort required. No looking for ROMs or keys or any of that shit.

Is it the most perfect emulation out there? Nope. But you can totally play F-Zero and Star Fox 3 minutes after the guy drops your package off.
 
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