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Most folks make their own with a Raspberry Pi and a "RetroPi" installation. You source the ROMS yourself.
There are pre-loaded kits, but they are many times more expensive than DIY.
$400 on Amazon: https://a.co/d/ibaXWkT
vs.
Raw board for $80 to kits from $155 to $165:
https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-5-8gb.html
Then install RetroPi:
And supply ROMS to it.
You don't need an 8GB Pi for gaming. Most of these run on a 1GB Pi3
Future proofing. ;)
Typically Amazon or Ali Express. RetroGamesCorp has created a couple review videos on them.
Even then you could get an old computer (or laptop) and install Lakka on it and just download the ROMs yourself. The whole setup process can be done in a weekend. After that you could just get some cheap knock off Xbox 360 controllers.
Yep, this works well. I used to have a cheap, old, secondhand ultralight notebook that I used for work, and I installed Lakka to a tiny bootable USB drive so that on evenings when we planned to gather at one colleague or another's house after work, I could just throw the drive and a couple of controllers in my bag and we could have a nice, clean, 100% emulation-focused system to game on. Even a 10-year-old laptop with Lakka should smash a Raspberry Pi 4's cost/performance ratio.
I usually plugged in power and a display, but of course as a laptop it was fine for using on the go, too. Not quite a handheld, but still very portable.
Another option is one of the cheaper ARM-based handhelds with a USB port and HDMI output, so you can still play on a big screen at home. I later got a Retroid 2 for this, which also worked well, but needed a bit more technical fiddling than the Lakka laptop, and couldn't emulate a few things at full speed. The Retroid 3 should be better, or there are other options such as Ambernic, Game Park, and PowKiddy.
Now, I just use my phone with a Bluetooth controller, and optionally an HDMI output dongle when I'm at home. If your phone doesn't support HDMI over USB-C natively (mine doesn't), look into a DisplayLink compatible USB dongle. If you check specs carefully you can even find some that work over USB 2.0 for older/cheaper phones. They have a free app for Android phones.
I have EXACTLY what you need! It's a mini SNES that's loaded with nearly every ROM from Atari to SNES, and even a few PlayStation and N64 (but they don't always ruin quite right.
I bought two from this user on eBay. Highly recommend!
I adore my mini NES and really wish I had gotten a mini SNES when they came out.
I originally had the mini NES fully loaded with ROMS, but one of the kids factory reset it. I went shopping for another and found the SNES version.
Don't tell the kids, but I'm secretly glad they gave me an excuse to upgrade!
I was looking at the SNES version just the other day and it's in the hundreds of dollars now.
Looks like someone is ready to start enjoying retro gaming! For real beginners I recommend Data frog SF2000, for about €15 you get device that can run 6k games (and it arrives with RCA cable too) and doesn't require poking Retro arch settings. Once hooked you can search and find dedicated device that can run more advanced consoles, can be plugged directly into HDMI port of your TV, etc.