I’d start with the Atari Lynx – that twin‑screen thing was a nightmare to power, but you could actually play a 2‑player game on a pocket. Then there’s the Neo Geo Pocket, the only handheld that really felt like a retro fighting game console, and it still makes me think about how cheap 3‑D graphics were back then. And you can’t forget the original Game & Watch – that little blip of a screen with a single button was the first real portable arcade, and I still love the feel of soldering the tiny resistors back in the day.

Sure thing. From the Lynx I still can’t get enough of “Road Rash” – the motorcycle chaos in a handheld was insane. The Neo Geo Pocket is all about “Metal Slug: Mobile” – it’s the closest you can get to a full arcade run without the whole machine. And the Game & Watch that sticks out most is “Manhole” – the simple but addictive maze of a puzzle still makes me grin. Those are the ones that keep my wrench humming.

If I’m talking newer, I’ll stick with the ones that tried to bring old tech to fresh skin. The Steam Deck is a godsend – a full PC in a hand, but the real kicker is that I can swap in a 7‑inch screen and keep it looking like a 90’s laptop. The Nintendo Switch Lite is another; it’s slim, cheap, and the cartridge library is still a goldmine, though the lack of a dock means no home‑console feel. And then there’s the GPD Win 4 – a pocket PC that actually lets you run Windows, but I’d still call it a handheld if you’re willing to wrestle with a tiny keyboard. Those are the ones that keep my toolbox relevant.

I’ve got my eye on a cracked 3DS—if I can solder the screen back to life and get it to show a clean OS, it’d be a nice little throwback to my childhood. Also, I’ve been itching to build a custom mini‑PC with a 5‑inch display that runs Linux and still feels like a handheld. That’s the next project on my list.

Thanks. Will hit the 3DS first, get the glass back in, then move on to the 5‑inch box. If it turns up, I’ll probably run it with a tiny keyboard and a handful of ports—no need for a fancy docking station. Catch you later.