AYN recently got in touch with me, asking if I’d like to review the AYN Thor in an article, and…naturally I said ‘yes’. I’ve been super excited, seeing that there’s a new boom in DS retro handhelds, hoping that this might mean a viable alternative to the older genuine Nintendo hardware.
I’ll just give you a tldr here:
For me, this really is the alternative. There are some caveats, but they’re so few, and those it does have really don’t affect me much. This can handle all the consoles I need, I’ve been enjoying Wind Waker HD, MGS 2, Mario Odyssey and so many DS and 3DS games (Metroid: Samus Returns has been a blast!)
Regardless, this is a handheld I recommend if you can afford the higher price point!
The temptation to get the 12gb model has been so bad… I would love it…
Does it have a 3D display?
No, Nintendo is the only one who managed that! This is just straight AMOLED
What is the game UI you’re running in the top picture?
Or is it a different retroarch theme?
Daijishō is the launcher up top!
I want this
Hol up, DS is now old enough to be considered retro‽
Why does my back hurt so much? Unrelated I’m sure.
The original DS released almost 21 years ago. Because of that, the patent is now in the public domain, hence why products like this can be sold now
Better lie down for this fact: 3DS is considered retro.
2011 is not retro, dammit!
14 years ago, man.
Edit: I fogor how to count
Was N64 retro in 2010?
Bruh. The GameCube was practically retro in 2010
Who said that?
I’m so happy we’re finally getting a handheld that’s genuinely portable! I watched a disassembly video and really appreciate that the battery isn’t glued down, too. And have you all seen gameplay videos? Ocarina of Time 3D at 7x native resolution looks about as close to those Unreal 5 Zelda tech demos as we’ll likely ever get.
I skipped the Nintendo Switch line, but I’d eventually pick the Thor up to replace my 3DS. (If I don’t hold out for an Ayn Freya 😅 .)
often I think to myself “damn, i should buy one of these dual screen handhelds to emulate 3DS games!”
…and then i remember that i have a 3DS lol
Damn it can play Mario Odyssey?? I am a little surprised it can emulate Switch games, but damn that’s cool.
I understand why it’s Android but that also feels so limiting in a way…
Yes! It depends on which Switch games, of course Switch emulation is a slippery slope of diving into drivers, settings and builds. But a lot of games run well!!
Even more surprising was WiiU (since that emulator is quite recent on the scene!), and PS3! WipEout HD: Fury was fun to play!
Little edit: I’ve actually got an article on Eden emulator coming up soon, I interviewed two of the devs, and I’m writing things up now. So if you’re interested in the ‘main’ Switch emulator being built and maintained, then keep an eye out for when I post it! You can just bookmark my author link here and when it’s up, it’ll appear there
The next DS we wanted but never got. Seems cool!
Super super cool. I don’t have a need for this since I have a nice modded 3ds lite, but the youtube on one screen and gaming on the other is absolutely sick. The screen size and color depth looks great too.
Does it have an SD card slot? I didn’t see it on their site but I assume so.
It does, yes! I’m running all my ROMs from a Samsung SD card on there.
I wish it (or something similar) had a cellular modem for calls/sms. I would love to replace my phone with something like this, even if it’s a bit large
…That’s an N-Gage.
Relegate all the telephony stuff to a smartwatch/earbuds pair and that would be great.
SBC gaming and Emulator handhelds have rekindles my zest for gaming. Mainstream consoles are dull and uninspired monetization machines while PCs are overrun with GPU fetishists and Steam cultists.
I’m really interested in getting my hands on one of these. Really wander if it’s better than my Flip 2. For DS games it’s a clear winner but I also got a DS for 50 bucks refurbished. The screen looks legit!
I didnt read your article (I did goto their page on the device) but I was wondering to anyone that did, did they disclose what type of sticks they use. For this price if its not hall effect and we get drift (even tho I am sure they would give us better access to the sticks and we could map a custom dead zone to fix it) I would be upset.
never mind I just saw in the buying text (not the specs area) ‘hall sticks’. Sorry for being a dolt.
Glad you found the info!
For a handy stats sheet, this was included too:
Neat! Can it run WiiU games as well?
Yes, but the WiiU emu on android isn’t that great, and you’d be better off using a switch emu, as the best wiiu games were ported to switch anyway.
Wait, it runs Android? One one hand ewww, on the other ooo F-droid store!
Exactly this!
CEMU on Android is still very new to the scene, so some things work and some don’t. I’d consider it just an added bonus (like Wind Waker!) when things work!
