3 Favorite Handhelds along with 3 favorite games

[SNKnicotine]

I was speaking to my buddy about what handheld he plays the most and was extremely surprised to find out his favorite handhel console (that he mostly plays was the Atari Lynx!. It got me thinking what would others answer.

My answer

1.Sony PSP
a.Joan D'arc
b.Final Fantasy/Ogre Tactics
c. Mega Man Maverick/Powered up

2.Nintendo 3DS
a.Zelda OOT/LBW
b. Super Smash Bros.
c.Pokemon Series

3. Sega Gamegear
a.Sonic 2
b.XMen: GameMasters Legacy
c.Mortal Kombat II or Columns

[Ziggy]

Ahhh, a list thread. Every body loves them (don't lie!).

My top 3 handhelds are easy to list, since there's really only 3 that I put time in to.

1. Gameboy
A. Tetris
B. Super Mario Land
C. Pokemon Red.

I never had a lot of games for GB. In fact, those three were really all I had back when. For that reason, they're the three I put the most time in to, and thus the only three I can really put on the list.

2. PSP
A. Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles
B. Emulators
C. ?

I like the PSP a lot, I just don't play it often at all. I only bought it for Dracula X Chronicles, but I love how much you can do with one (emulators and such). I keep meaning to dive more into the world of PSP games, but pretty much all of my time spent on a handheld these days goes to...

3. 3DS XL
A. Super Mario 3D Land
B. LoZ Link Between Worlds
C. New Super Mario Bros. 2

The GBA would probably be on the list. I got the original when it first came out but hated that it didn't have a back lit screen. I traded it in, and really wanted to get the SP when it came out but it was sold out every where for a while. I never got one (until some years later). If I did, the GBA would probably bump the original GB or PSP spot.

[ninjainspandex]

#1 GBA by a long shot really a perfect handheld in my eyes

a The Castlevania games (I can't be forced to choose one)

b Golden Sun 1+2 (they both part of one story)

c Yu Gi Oh Eternal Duelist Soul (bet you didn't see that one coming but I put a couple hundred hours into that game in highschool)

#2 Gameboy/GBC

a Ninja Gaiden Shadow

b Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal

c Legend of Zelda DX


#3 Sega Game Gear

a Jurassic Park (such a hidden gem on the system, no one ever talks about it)

b Sonic 1+2

c Batman Returns (another hidden gem)

[the7k]

Neo Geo Pocket Color
- SVC: MOTM
- SVC: CFC
- Gals' Fighters
That clickie stick is so damn great. I don't think there is another handheld that did arcade genres so well, and arcades are where my heart lies. My only problem with it is the lack of a TV output.

Sega Game Gear
- Tails' Adventure
- Sonic Drift 2
- Sonic Triple Trouble
I'm not even a huge fan of Sonic games, but I loved what was there on the Game Gear. It felt a lot different from the stuff on the Genesis. If only there was a way to play Game Gear games on a TV - I mean, sure, a lot of the games were also on the Master System, but it's not quite the same thing.

Sony PlayStation Portable
- Guilty Gear Judgment
- Jeanne D'Arc
- PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe
Unlike most non-Nintendo handhelds, this one actually had decent 3rd Party support! If only Guilty Gear Judgment made it to arcades instead of that rather meh Isuka... anyway, good stuff here. Controls were terrible, but that's pretty much par the course for handhelds. At least there's Component Video out on this thing. Jeanne D'Arc was definitely the game that sold me on this handheld, but I'm sure I put in more time with GGJ and PJMD.

[foxhound1022]

GBA

1. Super SF ll Turbo Revival
2. Super Ghouls N' Ghosts
3. River City Ransom EX

3DS

1. Super Smash Bros.
2. Mario Kart 7
3. LoZ: LBW

PSP

1. Dracula X Chronicles
2. Gradius Collection
3. Gran Turismo

[fastbilly1]

GBA
1. Sabrewulf
2. Car Battler Joe
3. GT Advance

DS
1. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Echoes of Time
2. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
3. Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Tapwave Zodaic
1. Little John Palm
2. Z Pak: Adventure
3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

[SNKnicotine]

GBA


Tapwave Zodaic

What I don't think I've heard of that console.

[KalessinDB]

GBA


Tapwave Zodaic

What I don't think I've heard of that console.

That's because I think they sold about 12 of them. (Obviously I'm being facetious, but Wikipedia puts it at <200k, 3rd worst-selling handheld of all time)

Is it seriously that good, fastbilly? I mean there's only like 20 games for it (+ homebrew, but I never include that when I'm discussing systems) so if you're putting it on your top list, that means they gotta be pretty high quality.

[fastbilly1]

The tapwave zodiac was a palm 5 handheld with a joystick and six buttons. It was a portable emulation powerhouse (Little John is like Retroarch it is an emulation suite). It smoked the GP32 and the GP2X the two big alternatives. It may have been a soso palm pilot, but its games were top notch graphically and gameplay wise. Dual SD card slots (up to 2gig), hard controls, and the ability to play most Palm OS5 programs, made it a power house. The fact it was made out of metal just made it cooler.

Spy hunter is widely considered the best game on the console, here is a bad video of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2CZRmHlJbw

Zpack adventure however was two pack: Galactic Realms and Legacy.
Galactic Realms = Freespace super light
Legacy = Knock off D&D Eye of the Beholder
Having a those in your pocket, in 2004, was pretty amazing.

I bought four of them when I use to work at a Compusa (2005) mostly for use as an emulation device. I used mine for a all purpose palm pilot, also wrote about two dozen articles for this site on one with the best accessory ever:


My primary one was in my pocket from 05 till 11, went through three batteries for it. My oldest brother and younger brother used one each for a long time to use Pcam (which is now iOS only but at the time was palm only). My older brother still uses one to play NES games at work. They were hard to find for a while since they were used as a prop on Stargate SG1 for awhile:

[Exhuminator]

Game Boy
Gargoyle's Quest = Super awesome atmosphere and innovative platforming mechanics.
Link's Awakening = It's Zelda with maximum charm and cleverness packed in every tile.
Bionic Commando = Futuristic take on the NES version with all that sweet sexy swinging in full effect.

Nintendo DS
Hotel Dusk = Greatest adventure game ever made with a smartass protagonist and wonderful NPCs to converse with.
Soma Bringer = A mishmash of Secret Of Mana + Diablo with the best OST on the DS.
Ghost Trick = Wildly creative puzzle adventure hybrid with a tear jerker story and possibly the most fluid 2D animation ever to grace a video game.

Sony Playstation Portable
Ys Seven - Kick ass action RPG that moves at turbo speed with plenty of huge bosses to take down.
Metal Gear Ac!d 2 = Crazy cool strategy game with lots of variety for tactics and a graphical neon sensibility that sets a unique tone.
The 3rd Birthday = Yes the plot is terrible but everything else is fantastic with frantic battles and amazing graphics and destructible clothing.