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!
Looks great. I might be interested in something like that. In your article you mention it’s running Android, so I immediately started wondering… how will this and similar devices be impacted by the upcoming ‘sideloading’ restrictions? And honestly, any potential future changes to Android’s policies.
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?
Yes. I very much remember it being uncontroversial to call the N64 retro in 2010.
Bruh. The GameCube was practically retro in 2010
Who said that?
I don’t miss the crab claw pain trying to play with anything in the DS form factor and that d-pad placement looks rancid.
For sure you’d need to get grips immediately for it to resemble a controller.
Review Sample? You’re an influencer now :P
Does it have a 3D display?
No, Nintendo is the only one who managed that! This is just straight AMOLED
That’s not true, there are other companies making glasses free 3D displays. For me, no 3D is a deal breaker for a device like this
I mean… The 3D idea was pretty cool, and it worked surprisingly well, but I realistically never used it other that for fun occasionally.
I’ve just hacked and started reusing my old 3DS and it’s great fun! Can download most games abs cool hacks/mods to modify them.
Is this able to hook up with the same software as 3DS so I could do the same on it?
You don’t need that same software. The principle is still the same though, you’re loading ROMs of games on there. The 3DS console method simplifies it because they created their own freeshop, but with this, you’re going to load the ROMs yourself.
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!
The temptation to get the 12gb model has been so bad… I would love it…
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.
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:
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.
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.
Does it have a HDMI port to connect to a TV? Since it’s Android, I suppose pairing a new controller would be easy, so stuff you emulate from home consoles can be played with 2-4 people
No HDMI port but does support video over its USB c connector and full support for multiple controllers. Most handhelds that start around probably $150 and are android based will most likely have this functionality as well.
Some Android support video out over USBC so it’s not a stretch
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.
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!
Wait, it runs Android? One one hand ewww, on the other ooo F-droid store!
The next DS we wanted but never got. Seems cool!
I want this
