In a world where analogue control is now seen as more important than digital, we've recently seen some emulation handhelds (AYANEO Pocket S, we're looking at you) get their input layout completely wrong, placing the all-important D-pad below the left-hand analogue stick—which might be the accepted practice on the Nintendo Switch, but makes far less sense on a device where you'll be focusing on digital control first and foremost.

Thankfully, PowKiddy is more sensible with its new X35H handheld; the D-pad is exactly where it belongs, sitting above the analogue stick, precisely where your thumb naturally rests.

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Last year, I was lucky enough to go hands-on with a prototype of the Octopus TR Fight Stick, an all-in-one arcade stick which eventually raised over $150,000 via Indiegogo.

That particular sample came in a 3D-printed case, but it nevertheless left a very positive first impression. I've now got my hands on the final version, which has not only undergone a redesign but is also made from aerospace-grade aluminium, offers broader system support and much, much more.

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While Steam Deck's humble sales have illustrated that the handheld gaming PC market is smaller than many believed, that doesn't mean there's not an appetite for these monstrously powerful portable beasts.

Before Valve entered the market with its aforementioned device, we'd already seen several examples from the Chinese firm AYANEO, and the company has been a truly innovative force in this sector of the market since then, producing handlers with sliding keyboards and dual screens.

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The world of emulation handhelds has given us numerous clones of the Nintendo Game Boy, but Sega systems have been curiously underrepresented. Sure, Anbernic gave us the Saturn-style ARC, but we haven't had all that many devices that take inspiration from Nintendo's bitter '90s rival—until now, at least.

The $99 Game Kiddy Bubble ($99 from MechDIY) is clearly inspired by the Game Gear, Sega's answer to the wildly successful monochrome Game Boy. Released in the early '90s and based largely on the 8-bit Master System hardware, the Game Gear offered a full-colour illuminated screen but suffered from the same shortcomings as the Atari Lynx and NEC PC Engine GT: battery life.

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The Sega Nomad wasn't a commercial success, yet it remains one of the best ways to experience Genesis / Mega Drive games; it can be used in portable form but also connected to the TV—almost like a Nintendo Switch, but two decades ahead of time.

The big issue with the device back in 1995 was the fact that it required a whopping six AA batteries, and those would only deliver around three hours of gameplay—and they had to be placed inside an external battery pack which bolted onto the rear, making an already bulky device even larger.

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Namco's Pole Position is rightly regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time. The first racing game to feature a real-life circuit and a qualifying lap, it was also notable for offering a degree of realism that previously hadn't been encountered in arcades, combining large sprites viewed from 'behind the car' viewpoint and a smoothly-scrolling track.

As such, Pole Position is the perfect game to launch My Arcade's new mini-cab range, dubbed the 'Racing Player'. This new design comes with an analogue steering wheel and gear lever and will be reused when My Arcade releases its OutRun cab later this year.

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When it comes to creating appealing emulation handhelds, one typical objective seems to be to make the device as similar to a previous system as possible. This is a solid tactic; nostalgia is a powerful tool, and consumers are more likely to take a punt on a product that reminds them of a beloved piece of gaming hardware.

To this end, we've seen many classic Nintendo portables cloned by Chinese manufacturers, with Anbernic in particular producing imitations of the Game Boy (RG35XX) and Game Boy Advance SP (RG35XX SP).

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The market for pocket-sized Game Boy-style emulation handhelds is pretty saturated right now, with devices like the Miyoo Mini Plus and Anbernic RG35XX already offering solid performance at a reasonable price. You wouldn't think there was any room for other options, but the TrimUI Brick (which starts at $80) proves that, with the right approach, it's always worth being open to alternatives.

TrimUI isn't a company that has the fame of rivals such as Anbernic and Retroid, but it produces solid products nonetheless – and the Brick certainly feels like a cut above many other alternatives when it comes to design and build quality. The multi-colour LED lights on the front and rear are truly eye-catching, and the unit has a solid feel to it that isn't often present in handhelds in this price range. The back panel, for example, is made of metal.

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Accessory maker Genki has a track record for identifying gaps in the market and producing handy gadgets which are both innovative and reasonably-priced. The ShadowCast 2, for example, is something I carry around in my laptop bag at all times, as it allows me to capture HD video and screenshots from any HDMI-ready device with the minimum of fuss.

The company's next trick is the SavePoint. Compatible with Steam Deck, Windows, iOS and more, it's essentially an M.2 2230 SSD enclosure which connects via a super-fast 10Gbps USB-C cable. It also offers 100W passthrough charging, allowing you to quickly top up your device's battery at the same time.

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For an entire generation of British gamers, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum remains a legendary machine.

Host to hundreds of classic games and a hugely important stepping stone for many European developers, the rubber-keyed wonder's influence cannot be understated – so it's little wonder that there's a lot of interest in Retro Games Ltd's latest micro-console system, which is based on the Speccy.

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AYANEO already has a few Android-based gaming handhelds under its belt in the form of the Pocket Micro and Pocket S, but it's fair to say that its next effort in this arena has attracted the most interest out of all of them.

The AYANEO Pocket DMG is shamelessly inspired by the Nintendo Game Boy, right down to using the same colourway (on the model I reviewed, at least) and even having a boot screen which mimics the pea-soup LCD display of the original 1989 DMG-01.

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It might seem like a relic from a bygone age to your typical smartphone-using teenager, but the humble Game Boy still has the power to captivate and entertain, even after decades of technological progress. We've seen a community grow up around modding and upgrading Game Boy systems, and Nintendo has tipped the hat to the handheld's legacy on more than one occasion, making Game Boy games available digitally on its 3DS and Switch consoles.

However, one thing Nintendo hasn't done yet is produce a modern-day variant of the system, as it did with the NES and SNES Classic Editions. That has left a gap in the market for a wide range of options, from cheap Chinese-made emulation devices to higher-end alternatives, like the FPGA-based Analogue Pocket, which is even capable of accepting original Game Boy and GBA cartridges.

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Blaze's Evercade range covers both the home and portable markets thanks to its Evercade VS and Evercade EXP products, and it recently expanded into the lower end of the handheld sector via subsidiary HyperMegaTech's Super Pocket devices.

The company's next move was always going to be noteworthy, and the announcement that the next member of the Evercade family would be a tabletop arcade machine was met with a reasonably positive response from fans.

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While there are a few FPGA options on the market, the one that has attracted the most attention and support over the past few years has to be the open-source MiSTer FPGA project.

Built around an Altera Cyclone V FPGA, MiSTer has grown in stature over the years, covering a wide range of consoles, computers and coin-ops and seeing support from a passionate community, all of which makes it one of the most desirable retro gaming solutions money can buy.

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When Kazuhiko Nishi introduced the MSX computer line in 1983, he aimed to offer something different to other 8-bit micros on the market.

His vision of a standardised computer system allowed any licensed manufacturer to launch an MSX-compatible computer while also adding their own variations. Some offered optional disk drives, some boasted additional cartridge slots, while others were even more specialized, with unique features like LaserDisc compatibility.

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If you've heard of the Flipper Zero before – a device described by its manufacturer as a "multi-tool for geeks” – then there's a good chance that's due to the various negative news stories which have risen up around this pocket-sized hacking system.

There have been various videos published online which show the Flipper Zero – a tiny white candybar device with a monochrome display – doing things like spamming people's phones with Bluetooth requests or opening electronically secured doors without a key fob. Add this footage to reports that the Flipper Zero can perform other devious acts – such as cloning car keys and credit cards – and it's easy to understand why this diminutive device has gotten a bad rap.

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The Sega Dreamcast is a memorable console for many reasons, but its Visual Memory Unit memory card feels like one of the most significant innovations, certainly for the time period in which it was released.

While Sony had popularised the idea of a portable means of saving game data with its PlayStation console (and would come up with its own VMU-style device in the shape of the PocketStation), Sega's approach sought to bridge the gap between a memory card and a fully-fledged handheld gaming system, offering players the ability to indulge in mini-games while they were away from their main system. Furthermore, when connected to the console, the VMU offered each player their own "personal" screen, on which unique information could be displayed.

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AYANEO clearly knows its audience when it comes to its 'Remake' range of hardware. A selection of products that take inspiration from past classics, it includes a Nintendo DS-style dual-screen gaming PC, a power bank shaped like a Super Nintendo and even a Game Boy-style handheld.

Today, however, we're taking a look at the Android-based AYANEO Pocket Micro, a member of the Remake line which aims to stir up nostalgic feelings about the Game Boy Micro, Nintendo's abortive attempt to create the most pocket-friendly handheld imaginable.

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While names such as Anbernic, PowKiddy and Retroid are pretty famous in the world of handheld emulation these days, there are other companies on the fringe of the market who are starting to make themselves known, one of which is MagicX.

The company's latest handheld, the XU Mini M, is a significant release because it was promoted as showcasing the Rockchip RK3562, a chipset which hasn't been seen in one of these devices so far. However, as we've since discovered, this isn't the case.

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The trusty Rockchip RK3326 has powered a wide range of emulation handhelds over the past few years, and generally offers decent performance if you're sticking to systems like the Game Boy Advance, SNES, PC Engine and Neo Geo.

It's slowly but surely being replaced by more capable chipsets, but PowKiddy has revived it for one more ride around the track in the V10, a curious little handheld which costs just $45.

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Anyone who has dabbled in the world of emulation will know that it's something of a double-edged sword.

Yes, you can have entire libraries of games at your fingertips, but sometimes, too much choice can be a headache; how many times have you fired up an emulator only to spend more time scrolling through lists of ROMs than actually playing something?

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There's really never been a better time to be a retro gamer. Thanks to digital stores, micro consoles and DIY emulation boxes, we now have access to decades of gaming content – most of which can be played on our modern-day HD televisions without having to invest in expensive custom AV cables or dust off original hardware. The appetite for vintage gaming has arguably played a huge part in this deluge of content, which means that, should you feel the urge to sample the classics of yesteryear, then it's not hyperbole to say you're practically spoilt for choice.

Of course, not all of these options are created equal. The NES Classic, for example, is the perfect entry point for casual players – it offers excellent emulation and comes with an authentic controller; another big plus is that it's created by Nintendo itself so is legally watertight and buying it allows you to reward the copyright owner of the original games (before reading on, yes this piece will indeed be talking about the shady practice of using ROMs, so if that kind of discussion brings you out in hives, we'd advise you navigate away from this page immediately). However, critics will point out that, although the emulation is superb, it's still software-based and therefore cannot be considered totally accurate – you're also limited by the fact that the NES Classic cannot be (officially) updated with new games.

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When it comes to flash carts and ODEs, the Sega Saturn has had more than its fair share of options. In the past few years, we've seen the Fenir, MODE and Satiator all come to Sega's 32-bit console, offering fans the chance to give the console's ageing CD drive a rest and load up an entire library of games without having to invest thousands in original copies on the secondary market.

There's a new kid on the block which aims to shake up this sector of the market, however. While the aforementioned options can cost a pretty penny, the open-source SAROO cartridge (which, like the Satiator, blurs the line between a flash cart and an ODE, as it's technically both) is available for around $60 (that's roughly what we paid, but you'll find prices can vary quite wildly, depending on where you order it from). Despite the fact that it has come to market behind all of its rivals, it's actually a project which has a decade of development behind it – so is it the best ODE option for your Saturn?

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Epilogue is a Romanian company which has been in the headlines recently thanks to the fact that it's currently working on a device which will allow you to play your original SNES and Super Famicom carts directly from your computer – as well as preserve your save data and check if a cartridge is legitimate or not.

There's a lot of interest in this new product, which should be out soon, but we thought it would be the perfect time to check out Epilogue's previous release, the $50 GB Operator. This device has been available for a couple of years now, but the software behind it has been evolving at quite a steady rate, making now the ideal opportunity to give it a spin.

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We don't want to labour this point too much, but any games console with an optical drive inside it is effectively a ticking time bomb. Sure, the same could be said of all consumer hardware, but systems which use optical discs – CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays or even GD-ROMs – are likely to fail much faster than those that use cartridges or game cards.

As a result of this, we've seen a sharp rise in the number of Optical Drive Emulators (ODEs) on the market. These replace the optical drive with a clever piece of hardware which (as the name suggests) mimics the actions of the drive, usually loading ISO files from solid-state media, like a MicroSD card or USB thumb drive.

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