Honey, I Shrunk the RetroPie
Zapdan_54 built a portable, battery-powered RetroPie console using a tiny Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, an LCD, and a custom 3D-printed case.
Running RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi is a tried-and-true method to build a little arcade to scratch your retro gaming itch. Flash an SD card with the operating system, connect the HDMI cable to a TV, plug in a USB gamepad and off you go. But Redditor Zapdan_54 took this classic combination to a new level in a recent project.
Zapdan_54 went with a tiny Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and instead of hooking it up to a TV, used a small LCD display. With that, Zapdan_54 had the perfect base for a handheld vintage gaming console. A 3D-printed case was designed to house the components, and it was ready for use anywhere and everywhere.
Well, almost ready. A portable does have a few additional requirements over a home-based arcade. Zapdan_54 also had to incorporate a D-pad and buttons into the design in place of a USB gamepad, and the system also needed a battery and charging circuit. As far as sound is concerned, there is both a speaker and a headphone jack.
Unfortunately Zapdan_54 has not released build instructions at this time, but the hardware side of the equation is about as simple as it gets. If you have a little experience with 3D printing, a similar handheld would be pretty easy to whip together in a few days time with this inspiration.