Handhelds have always been one of our greatest passions. Some of our earliest memories were with the Game Boy DMG and the Game Gear, eating through AA batteries like some sort of power-hungry goblin as we tried to collect rings with Sonic and Pokémon in Kanto. But with so many influential retro handhelds out there in the world that we hold dear to our hearts, we wanted to put it to you, the Retro Dodo community, to pick the best of the best.
16 consoles entered a tournament that, if we're being honest, was way more exciting than the World Cup. The Ultimate Retro Handheld Championship saw the Game Boy going up against the PS Vita, the Atari Lynx taking on the Wonderswan, and a showdown between the Nintendo DS and the PSP that got people very animated, Brandon included.
People called the Game Boy Color or the PSP winning right from the start, but after 15,000 votes, the final came down to the Game Boy Advance vs the Nintendo DS. I honestly thought that it would be Nintendo's dual-screen, stylus-wielding marvel that took the prize, but with an overwhelming show of love, the Game Boy Advance took the ultimate prize as the ultimate retro handheld.
To be honest, it's not hard to see why. The GBA was ergonomically brilliant, and the horizontal form factor was a breath of fresh air after the vertical years of the DMG and GBC. I know the GBA SP (AGS-101) was better with regard to the backlit screen, but when I think back to the most loved handheld of my childhood, other than the Tiger Electronics Toy Story handheld that I played to death, it's the GBA that pops to the front of my mind. It had some amazing games to choose from too!
So, Nintendo, I think you need to give yourselves a pat on the back for winning our Retro Handheld competition - I know that's one accolade you're going to want to stick on the office fridge!
