Top 3 PS1 JRPG Handhelds Under £120 UK (2026)

🏆 Editor’s Top Pick

Anbernic RG35XX SP

Best for: Best overall for JRPG fans

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There’s a specific magic to PlayStation 1 JRPGs. It’s the feeling of settling in for a long session, the pre-rendered backgrounds of Final Fantasy IX filling the screen, Nobuo Uematsu’s score swelling through the speakers. These weren’t just games; they were 100-hour commitments, digital worlds we lived in for months at a time. The problem in 2026 is that being tethered to a television feels archaic for these classics. The real dream is to have that entire library of epic adventures right in your pocket. This guide is for those of us looking for exactly that: the best handheld for PS1 JRPGs under £120 in the UK for 2026.

For years, this has been a market filled with compromise. You could get a device that played the games, but the D-pad was mushy, the screen was the wrong aspect ratio, or the battery would die before you even reached the first save point in Xenogears. Thankfully, the market has matured. The sheer horsepower needed for perfect PS1 emulation is now cheap, meaning manufacturers can focus on what actually matters for a good JRPG experience: screen quality, ergonomics for long play sessions, and battery life that respects the genre’s demands.

This guide draws on extensive testing of the latest sub-£120 handhelds with a library of PS1 classics — from the cinematic sweep of Vagrant Story to the tactical grind of Final Fantasy Tactics. This isn’t a spec sheet comparison. It’s a practical guide to find the one device that will become your go-to machine for reliving these masterpieces. We’ll cover the absolute best pick, a superb value option, and what to avoid so you don’t waste a single penny.

Product	Price (UK)	Best For	Score	Buy
Anbernic RG35XX SP	~£85	Overall comfort and portability	9/10	Buy →
Miyoo Mini Plus+	~£56.99	Value and customisation	8/10	Buy →
Retroid Pocket 2S	~£89.00	Ergonomics and Android flexibility	7.5/10	Buy →

What Actually Matters for PS1 JRPGs on a Handheld?

Before we name names, let’s establish the criteria. Buying a handheld isn’t just about picking the one with the biggest numbers on a spec sheet. For our specific purpose—playing text-heavy, hours-long role-playing games—a different set of priorities comes to the fore. This is what you should be looking for, and what these recommendations are based on.

The Screen: 4:3 Ratio is Non-Negotiable

This is the single most important factor. The PlayStation 1 outputted a 4:3 aspect ratio image. Playing these games on a modern 16:9 widescreen device means you face a miserable choice: either live with enormous black bars on the sides, or stretch the image into a distorted, chubby mess that would make character artist Tetsuya Nomura weep. For JRPGs, where you’re staring at intricate backgrounds and reading pages of dialogue, preserving the original aspect ratio is paramount.

Therefore, a device with a 4:3 screen is the ideal. A 3.5-inch or 4-inch display with a 640×480 resolution is the sweet spot. This resolution is exactly double the PS1’s native 320×240 for many games, allowing for clean, crisp integer scaling. Text is razor-sharp, pixel art is perfectly defined, and the image fills the entire display as the creators intended. The debate between different screen technologies is also relevant; we’ve explored the nuances in our OLED vs IPS retro handhelds guide, but for this price point, a high-quality IPS panel offers fantastic colour and viewing angles without the premium cost of OLED.

Controls: The D-Pad is King

Analogue sticks were a novelty for much of the PS1’s life. The vast majority of its legendary JRPG library—Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, Suikoden II, Grandia, Chrono Cross—is played almost exclusively with the directional pad. You’ll be navigating menus, moving characters on a 2D plane, and making dialogue choices for dozens, if not hundreds, of hours. A mushy, imprecise, or badly positioned D-pad is an instant deal-breaker. It leads to frustration in menus and fatigue during long sessions. The best D-pads for this task have a satisfying pivot, clear directional inputs without being overly stiff, and are placed in a natural position for your thumb. The face buttons should have a good, responsive feel, but honestly, the D-pad is where 90% of your interaction happens, and its quality should be a primary concern.

Battery Life: Respect the Grind

JRPGs are not a pick-up-and-play-for-five-minutes genre. They are long-haul experiences. A typical session can easily last two to three hours, especially if you get sucked into a dungeon crawl or a series of story events. A handheld that can’t last at least five hours of continuous PS1 emulation is simply not fit for purpose. Imagine saving your game, putting the device to sleep, and coming back the next day to find the battery completely drained. It’s a killer for the kind of spontaneous play a handheld should enable. We’re looking for devices with at least a 3500mAh battery, paired with an efficient chipset, to ensure you can get through several long sessions before needing to find a plug.

Performance and Quality-of-Life Features

By 2026, even budget chipsets are more than powerful enough for perfect PS1 emulation. The real differentiator is the software experience. A good handheld operating system (like OnionOS, GarlicOS, or ArkOS) provides essential quality-of-life features that transform the experience. The most crucial of these for JRPGs is fast-forward. The ability to hold a button and speed through slow battle animations or lengthy traversal sections is an absolute game-changer, cutting down on the genre’s notorious grinding. Other vital features include reliable save states (for saving anywhere, anytime), easy multi-disc game management (using .m3u files), and customisation options like applying CRT shaders for a more authentic, nostalgic look.

The Top Pick: Anbernic RG35XX SP (2026)

For years, we’ve been asking for it, and in 2026, Anbernic finally delivered. The Anbernic RG35XX SP takes the excellent foundation of the RG35XX family and places it in the one form factor that makes the most sense for a portable JRPG machine: the clamshell. It is, without a doubt, the best overall package for this specific task you can buy for under £99.99 It currently retails for around £85 on Amazon UK, and it’s worth every penny.

The moment you pick it up, the appeal is obvious. The clamshell design, heavily inspired by the Game Boy Advance SP, is brilliant for two reasons. First, portability. You can fold it shut, protecting the screen and buttons, and toss it in a bag or pocket without a second thought. There’s no need for a bulky case. Second, ergonomics. When open, the screen is positioned at a comfortable viewing angle, whilst the controls sit in the lower half, creating a balanced and comfortable device to hold for hours. The weight distribution is spot-on, preventing the wrist fatigue that can plague some vertical handhelds during marathon sessions of Star Ocean: The Second Story.

The screen is a gorgeous 3.5-inch, 640×480 IPS display. It’s bright, the colours are vibrant, and the 4:3 aspect ratio is a perfect match for PS1 games. Text is exceptionally sharp, which is a massive boon for dialogue-heavy games. Under the hood, the RK3566 chipset is a reliable workhorse. It handles every PS1 game flawlessly, with plenty of power to spare for quality-of-life features like fast-forward (which works brilliantly) and some of the more demanding CRT shaders. The 4000mAh battery consistently delivers between 6-7 hours of PS1 gameplay, which is more than enough for any journey.

But the controls are where the RG35XX SP truly shines for JRPG fans. Anbernic has used one of their best D-pads here. It has a fantastic pivot and just the right amount of travel, making navigating the complex menus of Vagrant Story a joy rather than a chore. The face buttons are responsive, and the shoulder buttons, located on the hinge portion, are surprisingly comfortable and easy to reach. It’s a device that feels designed from the ground up for the kind of gaming we’re talking about. The stock Anbernic OS is functional, but flashing a custom firmware like ArkOS unlocks the device’s true potential, offering a cleaner interface and more granular control over your emulation.

Who Should Buy The Anbernic RG35XX SP?

This is for the JRPG fan who values practicality, comfort, and a perfect screen above all else. If your primary goal is to have a dedicated, pocketable device for your PS1 library that you can take anywhere without fuss, this is it. The clamshell design is a genuine game-changer for portability, and the ergonomics are best-in-class for long sessions. It’s the closest thing we have to a modern-day, high-powered GBA SP, and it’s an almost perfect JRPG machine.

Verdict: 9/10 — Check price on Amazon UK →

The Best Value Option: Miyoo Mini Plus+ (2026)

The original Miyoo Mini and its successor, the Plus, were legends in the budget handheld scene. The new Miyoo Mini Plus+ continues that legacy. It’s not a radical redesign, but a thoughtful refinement that keeps the price down while improving the experience, making it the best value proposition for PS1 JRPGs at around £56.99 in the UK.

The main upgrade here is a slightly more powerful chipset and a larger 4000mAh battery, addressing the two main weaknesses of its predecessor for PS1 gaming. The performance is now rock-solid across the entire library, and you can reliably expect over 6 hours of playtime. It retains the same fantastic 3.5-inch 640×480 IPS screen, which remains one of the best you can get at this price point. It’s vibrant and crisp, making it ideal for the rich 2D art of games like Suikoden II.

However, the real reason to buy a Miyoo device has always been the community and the software they produce. The Miyoo Mini Plus+ runs OnionOS, a custom firmware that is, frankly, a masterpiece of user experience design. It’s incredibly simple to set up, boots in seconds, and has features that are perfectly tailored for retro gaming. The “Game Switcher” function, which lets you instantly hop between recent games, feels like magic. The way it handles save states, fast-forward, and system settings is more intuitive and streamlined than any stock OS from Anbernic or Retroid. This software experience elevates the device from being just a piece of hardware to a polished, cohesive gaming platform.

The downside? It’s still a vertical handheld. Whilst it’s a very comfortable one, some may find the form factor leads to hand cramps during multi-hour sessions compared to a horizontal or clamshell device. The D-pad is very good, though perhaps a touch softer than the one on the Anbernic SP. It’s a minor complaint, and for most, it will be more than adequate. It’s small, it’s light, and it’s incredibly easy to just pick up and play. The sheer simplicity and power of OnionOS cannot be overstated—it makes managing and playing your JRPG collection an absolute breeze.

Who Should Buy The Miyoo Mini Plus+?

This is the handheld for the enthusiast on a tighter budget who wants the best possible software experience out of the box. If you value a streamlined, customisable, and fast user interface and are happy with a vertical form factor, the Miyoo Mini Plus+ offers unbeatable performance-per-pound. OnionOS is the secret sauce that makes this device feel far more premium than its £56.99 price tag suggests. It’s the “it just works” option, and for many, that’s the most important feature of all.

Verdict: 8/10 — Check price on Amazon UK →

The Widescreen Alternative: Retroid Pocket 2S (2026)

Now for a slightly controversial pick. The Retroid Pocket 2S has a 4:3 screen, but it’s housed in a wider, more modern-feeling horizontal body. At around £89.00, it represents a different approach to retro gaming, one that prioritises comfort and control fidelity, even if it means a slightly bulkier device. For some JRPG players, especially those with larger hands, this trade-off will be well worth it.

Let’s address the screen first. It’s a 3.5-inch 640×480 touchscreen, and the quality is excellent. It’s just as sharp and colourful as the screens on the Anbernic and Miyoo devices. The horizontal layout, however, means the device has a significantly larger footprint. It’s less “pocketable” than the others, but my word, is it comfortable. The grips on the back, the placement of the D-pad and buttons, and the overall heft make it feel substantial and built for long sessions. If you find vertical handhelds cause your hands to cramp up after an hour of grinding in Wild Arms, the RP2S will be a revelation.

The other major differentiator is that it runs Android. This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s more complex to set up. You’ll need to install and configure your own emulators from the Google Play Store (DuckStation is the go-to for PS1). On the other hand, it offers far more flexibility. You can run Android games, use streaming apps, and have access to a much wider array of emulators and customisation options. The Unisoc T610 chip is also a step up in power from the other devices, meaning it can handle other systems like Dreamcast and some GameCube, adding to its value. The hall-effect analogue sticks are superb, though largely irrelevant for most PS1 JRPGs.

For a deep dive into its all-round capabilities, our full Retroid Pocket 2S review for 2026 covers why it’s such a great value package. But focusing purely on its role as a JRPG machine, its biggest selling point is sheer comfort. It’s a device you can sink into the sofa with for a five-hour session without a hint of discomfort.

Who Should Buy The Retroid Pocket 2S?

This is for the player who prioritises ergonomics above all else. If you have larger hands or simply find vertical handhelds uncomfortable for long periods, the RP2S is the best choice in this price range. It’s also for the tinkerer who enjoys the flexibility of Android and wants a device that can play more than just PS1-era games. Be prepared for a slightly more involved setup process, but the payoff is a supremely comfortable and versatile handheld.

Verdict: 7.5/10 — Check price on Amazon UK →

The ‘Almost Great’ Contender: Anbernic RG35XX H

The Anbernic RG35XX H is a perfectly competent device. It takes the internals and screen of the excellent vertical RG35XX Plus and puts them in a small, horizontal shell. It does everything it needs to do for PS1 JRPGs and does it well. The screen is the same great 3.5-inch 640×480 panel, the performance is solid, and the controls are reliable. So why isn’t it higher on this list? Because in the context of JRPGs, it gets beaten on key metrics by the competition.

Its horizontal form factor isn’t as comfortable for long sessions as the more ergonomic, gripped design of the Retroid Pocket 2S. Its software experience, while functional, isn’t as slick or user-friendly as the OnionOS on the Miyoo Mini Plus+. And its form factor isn’t as cleverly portable as the new clamshell RG35XX SP. It’s the jack-of-all-trades in a contest that rewards specialization. It’s a fantastic all-rounder, but it doesn’t have a single standout feature that makes it the best choice for sinking 80 hours into Final Fantasy VIII.

This isn’t to say it’s a bad device. Far from it. If you find one on a steep discount, or if the RG35XX SP and Miyoo are out of stock, you will not be disappointed with the RG35XX H. It’s a reliable, well-built machine that will play your entire PS1 JRPG library without breaking a sweat. It’s just that for a similar price, other devices offer a more refined or comfortable experience specifically tailored to the demands of the genre. Some users do debate its merits against older hardware, a topic we touch on in our Anbernic RG35XX H vs Modded PSP comparison, but against its modern peers, it struggles to carve out a unique identity.

Who Should Buy The Anbernic RG35XX H?

The RG35XX H is for the buyer who wants a safe, reliable, no-frills horizontal handheld from a trusted brand. It’s the default choice. It doesn’t excel in any one area for JRPGs compared to our top picks, but it also has no major flaws. If you find a good deal on it, it’s a solid purchase. Think of it as the reliable saloon car in a world of sporty hatchbacks and rugged SUVs—it’ll get you where you need to go, just without much flair.

Verdict: 7/10 — Check price on Amazon UK →

What to Avoid in 2026 (And Why It’s a Waste of Money)

The sub-£120 market is flooded with options, and many of them are simply not worth your time or money. As a buying guide editor, my job is not just to tell you what to buy, but to steer you away from the expensive mistakes. Here’s what to keep a wide berth from.

Anonymous “50,000 Games in 1” Consoles

You’ve seen them all over Amazon, eBay, and TikTok. They often have generic names like “X7 Handheld Game Player” and boast an impossible number of pre-loaded games. Avoid these like the plague. The hardware is almost always bottom-of-the-barrel, with dim, low-resolution screens, awful D-pads, and batteries that last an hour if you’re lucky. More importantly, the software is stolen, poorly configured, and often filled with bad ROM dumps and games in the wrong language. You’ll spend more time fighting the device than playing games on it. Stick to reputable brands like Anbernic, Miyoo, and Retroid, who have a proven track record of quality and community support.

Devices with Sub-3.5-Inch Screens

There’s a trend for ultra-portable, tiny handhelds like the Anbernic RG28XX or the Trimui Smart Pro. While these are marvels of engineering and fantastic for 8-bit and 16-bit games, they are a poor choice for PS1 JRPGs. The sheer amount of text in these games becomes borderline unreadable on a screen smaller than 3.5 inches. Trying to decipher item descriptions or follow a complex story on a 2.8-inch display is an exercise in eye strain and frustration. Save these smaller devices for your Game Boy and Mega Drive collections; your eyes will thank you.

Last-Generation Hardware at New Prices

The handheld market moves incredibly fast. A top-tier device from 2024 can be outclassed by a budget model in 2026. Be wary of sellers still charging premium prices for older hardware like the Anbernic RG351P or the original Retroid Pocket 2. While these were great devices in their day, their chipsets struggle with some of the more demanding PS1 games, and their screens and battery life have been surpassed by newer, cheaper models. Unless you can find one for a true bargain-basement price (under £50), your money is much better spent on the current generation of hardware recommended in this guide.

Setting Up Your Handheld for the Ultimate JRPG Experience

Getting the hardware is only half the battle. To truly create the perfect portable JRPG machine, a little software-side TLC is required. These tweaks will elevate your experience from simply “playing a game” to having a polished, modernised version of these classics in the palm of your hand.

Emulator Choice and Configuration

On most Linux-based firmwares (Onion, ArkOS, etc.), the default PS1 emulator is a version of PCSX ReARMed. It’s fast and highly compatible. However, if your device supports it, the standalone DuckStation core is often the superior choice for accuracy. It has better compatibility with some obscure titles and offers more advanced enhancement options. For Android devices like the Retroid Pocket 2S, the standalone DuckStation app from the Play Store is the undisputed king. Spend some time in the settings. Enabling “PGXP” can fix the wobbly polygons and texture warping famous on original hardware, resulting in a much more stable and clean 3D image. You can also increase the internal resolution to 2x, which gives a sharper look on a 640×480 screen without a significant performance penalty on the chipsets we’ve discussed.

Mastering Quality-of-Life Features

Don’t sleep on the features that modern emulation provides.

Fast-Forward: This is your best friend. Set a hotkey for toggling fast-forward (often Select + R1). Use it to speed through random battles when you’re grinding for levels, or to quickly traverse areas you’ve already explored. It can cut dozens of hours off a 100-hour playthrough.
Save States: JRPGs often have long, punishing dungeons with save points spaced far apart. Use save states (hotkeys are usually Select + R2 to save, Select + L2 to load) before a tricky boss fight or a difficult section. It removes the frustration of losing 30 minutes of progress.
CRT Shaders: While some prefer the clean, sharp pixels, applying a subtle CRT filter can add a wonderful layer of nostalgia. Filters like “CRT-Geom” or “Lottes” can mimic the scanlines and phosphor glow of an old television, making the pre-rendered backgrounds of games like Final Fantasy IX look even more beautiful.

Managing Your Game Library

PS1 games can be large, and many of the best JRPGs came on multiple discs. To manage this, convert your game files from BIN/CUE to the CHD (Compressed Hunks of Data) format. Tools like ‘CHDMAN’ can shrink file sizes by 30-50% without any loss of quality, saving precious space on your SD card. For multi-disc games like Final Fantasy VII, create a simple text file with the `.m3u` extension. Inside this file, just list the filenames of your CHD files for each disc in order. Load the .m3u file in your emulator, and it will treat the entire game as a single entity, allowing you to “swap discs” from within the emulator’s menu when the game prompts you. It’s a seamless solution to a classic problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best screen size for PS1 JRPGs?

The ideal screen size for PS1 JRPGs is between 3.5 and 4 inches. This range is large enough to make text clear and readable without making the device itself too bulky to be truly portable. More important than the size, however, is the 4:3 aspect ratio. A 4:3 screen will display the game exactly as intended, using every pixel of the display, which is critical for these classic titles.

Do I need analogue sticks to play PS1 JRPGs?

For over 95% of the PS1 JRPG library, you absolutely do not need analogue sticks. Games like Final Fantasy VII-IX, Suikoden, Grandia, and Chrono Cross were designed primarily for the D-pad. A high-quality D-pad is far more important. A few later-era games like Alundra 2 or the 3D-heavy sections of Parasite Eve can benefit from an analogue stick, but it’s rarely a requirement.

Is it worth getting a 16:9 widescreen handheld for PS1 games?

Generally, no. A 16:9 widescreen handheld is a poor choice if your primary focus is PS1 gaming. You’ll be forced to play with large black bars on the sides of the screen to maintain the correct 4:3 aspect ratio. Stretching the image to fill the screen results in a distorted, ugly picture. The only reason to consider it is if you find the ergonomics of a specific widescreen device, like the Retroid Pocket 4, vastly more comfortable and you don’t mind the wasted screen space.

Anbernic vs. Miyoo: Which brand is better for PS1?

Both Anbernic and Miyoo make outstanding handhelds for PS1 emulation, and you can’t go wrong with either. Anbernic typically offers a wider variety of form factors (vertical, horizontal, clamshell) and is known for solid, reliable build quality. Miyoo’s strength lies in its incredible community support and the polished, user-friendly OnionOS custom firmware, which often provides a better out-of-the-box software experience. The choice comes down to whether you prioritise hardware variety (Anbernic) or software polish (Miyoo).

How much storage do I need for PS1 JRPGs?

A 64GB SD card is a good starting point, but a 128GB card is the comfortable recommendation. PS1 games in their original format can be around 600-700MB per disc. However, by converting them to the compressed CHD format, you can shrink them to 300-400MB. A 128GB card will allow you to store dozens of the biggest multi-disc RPGs without having to constantly manage your storage space. For around £15 for a quality card, it’s a worthwhile upgrade.

Can these handhelds play multi-disc PS1 games?

Yes, absolutely. Modern emulators and custom firmwares make handling multi-disc games simple. The standard method is to use an .m3u playlist file. This is a plain text file where you list the file names of each disc’s ROM file in order. You then load the .m3u file in the emulator, and it will automatically know the disc order. When the game asks you to switch discs, you simply go into the emulator’s menu and select the next disc in the list. It’s quick and works perfectly.

Is a modded PSP or PS Vita a better option in 2026?

A modded PSP or PS Vita can be excellent for PS1 games, thanks to their great D-pads and native emulation capabilities. However, they are becoming harder to find in good condition and require more effort to hack and set up than a modern dedicated retro handheld. A device like the Anbernic RG35XX SP offers a better screen, more quality-of-life features like fast-forward, and a much simpler setup process for a similar price. For a deeper analysis, our guide on a modded PS Vita vs modern handhelds is worth a read.

Conclusion: Your Pocket-Sized Nostalgia Machine Awaits

Finding the perfect device to relive the golden era of PlayStation JRPGs no longer requires a huge budget or a series of frustrating compromises. For under £120 in the UK, the market in 2026 offers polished, powerful, and comfortable handhelds that do justice to these timeless classics. After extensive testing, the verdict is clear: the Anbernic RG35XX SP is the best choice for most people. Its combination of a perfect 4:3 screen, excellent D-pad, great battery life, and the wonderfully practical clamshell design makes it the ultimate portable JRPG machine.

If your budget is a little tighter, the Miyoo Mini Plus+ offers phenomenal value, driven by the superb OnionOS software that makes it a joy to use. And for those who need the superior ergonomics of a horizontal device, the Retroid Pocket 2S is a fantastic, if more complex, alternative. Each of these devices is more than capable of delivering a fantastic experience, letting you carry entire worlds in your pocket.

Now that you know exactly which piece of hardware to buy to revisit Midgar, Ivalice, and the world of Spira, the next, more exciting question arises: which 100-hour epic are you going to start with first?

✓ Recommended by Lucy Parker

Recommended based on community testing data, benchmark results, and verified UK pricing — we only link products that earn it.

Anbernic RG35XX SPBest for: Best overall for JRPG fans
Buy →
Miyoo Mini Plus+Best for: Unbeatable value and community support
Buy →
Retroid Pocket 2SBest for: Best for widescreen comfort
Buy →
Anbernic RG35XX HBest for: The reliable all-rounder
Buy →

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