RetroQuest
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Which handheld runs PS2?

PlayStation 2 (Sony, 2000) tested on 11 devices, cheapest first.

8 of 11 tested handhelds run PS2 well enough to play, starting at $199.

4 of them hold full speed. Ratings come from 16 publishers who had the hardware; the comparison across all of them is ours.

Cheapest device in this data that handles PS2
Retroid Pocket 4 Pro ~$199

Around 90% of the library runs with upscaling to 1080p and widescreen hacks enabled.

Every tested device

TrimUI Smart Pro

Allwinner A133P @ 1.8 GHz · ~$70
Doesn't run

Not viable on this hardware, regardless of settings or custom firmware.

Tested by: Retro Handhelds Online

Anbernic RG406H

Unisoc T820 (1x A76 @ 2.7 GHz, 3x A76 @ 2.3 GHz, 4x A55 @ 2.1 GHz) · ~$150
Hit and miss

Some titles run untouched at native resolution; most popular ones mean a trip to the settings menu.

  • A few titles need 1x resolution to hold full speed.
  • Some do not work well no matter what is changed.

Tested by: Joey's Retro Handhelds, RetroGameTalk

Anbernic RG556

Unisoc T820 (1x A76 @ 2.7 GHz, 3x A76 @ 2.3 GHz, 4x A55 @ 2.1 GHz) · ~$180
Hit and miss

More variable than GameCube. A per-title question rather than a yes.

  • In one 20-title test, 17 ran at 30+ fps on default settings and 3 needed specific emulator configuration.
  • Demanding exclusives may need the rendering resolution dropped to hold full speed.

Tested by: Retro Handhelds Online, Retro Game Corps

Retroid Pocket 4 Pro

MediaTek Dimensity 1100 (4x Cortex-A78 @ 2.6 GHz, 4x A55) · ~$199
Playable

Around 90% of the library runs with upscaling to 1080p and widescreen hacks enabled.

Tested by: Handheld Index, Retro Handhelds Online

Retroid Pocket Mini V2

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 · ~$219
Playable

Runs reliably as part of the device core library.

Tested by: RetroSpecGame

Retroid Pocket 5

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 · ~$219
Playable

Runs, but expect 30-45 fps on many titles rather than the original 60.

  • The Snapdragon 865 holds peak clocks for roughly 90 seconds before thermal throttling begins.

Tested by: DroiX, Held Games

Retroid Pocket Flip 2

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 · ~$249
Playable

Roughly 85-90% of the library at full speed without significant tweaking.

  • Most titles handle 2x upscaling without slowdown.
  • Fan noise is noticeable under sustained load.

Tested by: Held Games, Android Authority

AYN Odin 2

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (Cortex-X3 @ 3.2 GHz) · ~$299
Full speed

Full speed, including titles that were demanding on earlier Android handhelds.

  • Dolphin and AetherSX2 run demanding titles at 2x to 3x native resolution.

Tested by: RetroResolve, AndroidAyuda

AYN Odin 2 Mini

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 · ~$299
Full speed

Handles the library upscaled to 1080p, without much fiddling or compromise.

Tested by: overkill.wtf, Retro Handhelds

Retroid Pocket 6

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 · ~$299
Full speed

Demanding titles run at 1.5x to 2x native resolution.

  • Need For Speed: Most Wanted is cited as an example of the heavier end running smoothly.

Tested by: Stuff, Retro Dodo

Steam Deck OLED

AMD Van Gogh (Zen 2 + RDNA 2), x86-64 · ~$549
Full speed

Runs as it would on original hardware, upscaled to 720p.

  • Metal Gear Solid 3, Ratchet & Clank and Grand Theft Auto III perform exactly as on hardware.
  • x86 with active cooling avoids the sustained-clock problem that limits mobile SoCs on PS2.

Tested by: Retro Dodo, NerdBurglars

Reading this page

Devices are ordered by price, not by score, because the useful question is usually the cheapest thing that clears the bar rather than the best thing available. “Playable” is where most people should stop reading upward: past that you are paying for headroom and upscaling, not for the game running.

Devices absent from this list have no published PS2 testing found. That is a gap in the data, not a verdict on the hardware.

Sources (20)

Every rating on this page traces to one of these. The compilation is ours; the measurements are theirs.

Other systems

NESGame BoyGenesisSNESGBAArcadePS1N64SaturnDreamcastPSPGameCubeWiiSwitch