Build Your Own Handheld Retro Gaming Console!

By Chris Rabkin

March 8, 2024

Handheld Game Play on a Raspberry Pi!?!

If you’re like me and love retro gaming, reliving those classic moments from your childhood, you don’t have to scour eBay for old games consoles. Instead, you can build your own retro gaming system. Let us guide you through the process of creating a portable DIY retro gaming console with a Raspberry Pi using the open-source RetroPie software.

256gb Batocera Raspberry Pi 4 Image from Derek’s Pixeltorium and Quoc Le

What’s the appeal of crafting your own RetroPie gaming console?

Well, RetroPie is a fantastic open-source software suite that transforms your Raspberry Pi 3, 4, or Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W into a nostalgic gaming powerhouse.

With a diverse array of emulators like Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and even PlayStation 1 & 2, RetroPie lets you dive into a treasure trove of classic games.

Constantly evolving thanks to dedicated enthusiasts and community developers, RetroPie offers a plethora of customization options, empowering you to tailor your Raspberry Pi into the ultimate retro gaming experience.

What you need for this memorable mobile gaming experience:

A GamePi43 Accessory Kit
18650 Rechargeable Battery Lithium 3.7 Volt Li-Ion Batteries High Capacity 9900mAh
The Victagen Battery Charger for 3.7 Volt Li-Ion Batteries
A 4gb Raspberry Pi
A few TeamGroup 256gig to 1TB (depends on how many games you want to play on the go)
Raspberry Pi Imaging Software such as Raspberry Pi Imager found here or Balena Etcher found here.

Once you have acquired the hardware pieces it is now time to assemble this mobile mega retro gaming marvel.

Following the instructions found in the Pi43 box, mount the Raspberry Pi4 board inside. Next charge your batteries, making sure they have a full charge before you begin to work with any image and your micro sd cards. Grab your PC or MAC and your preferred image etcher and your RetroPi image, install the imager on your computer then unpack the compressed pi image untill you see a file that has the extension .img on the end.

retro pie raspberry pi image

Once the image has been written and verified, pop that micro sd card into the spring port on the raspberry pi inside the GamePi43 case and power it on. It should boot and give you an option to press any button/key to expand the storage space to fill the rest of the card. Once that is complete you can enter the game image setup and map your controlls.

Map Controls in RetroPi Image

Have fun!!!

GamePi43 Accessories Kit for Awesome Handheld Retro Game Play!

Here’s a list of products that you will need to assemble your own walking RetroPie Arcade!

Click here to check this baby out!

Here are the batteries you need to power this little walking mega retro gaming marvel!

Click here to view

The brains of it all, the mighty single board computer; your raspberry pi4

Now I have one of these in an Atari Dual Fight Stick and it drives all the games in my Batocerra image with no problems or lag. The 4gb version works perfectly fine but you are free to grab an 8gb version if you like.

Click here to view

Last but not least the micro sd card you’ll need for this dandy little handheld system.

I really like these TeamGroup ssd and micro sd cards. I have several TeamGroup SSD Drives, 64gb of TeamGroup SODIMM drives my Ryzen 9 PC, and I use their high endurance and regular micro sd cards are awesome! The high endurance ones are as good if not better than name brand high endurance cards for dash cams. Mine has been humming along for 2 years with no issues at all.

I am a big fan of Batocerra game images and have 2 or 3 on separate cards. Raspberry Pi’s are fantastic because you just swap cards and have a whole different experience instantly!

Arcade Punks has a huge collection of game images that you would download and image a micro sd card instead of fiddling with the standard retropi download.

Visit Arcade Punks Here

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