Nostalgia plays a big part in our lives and is often triggered by different forms of media.

A favorite song from your youth, or a favorite childhood movie, for instance.

Here are the best modern retro gaming consoles available right now.

Switch OLED

With a larger, seven-inch OLED touchscreen and the ability to play your games in handheld or docked mode, the Nintendo Switch OLED is a great way to enjoy your favorite Nintendo retro classics. 64GB of internal storage should be more than enough to house all the retro games you can handle.

Despite this, the Nintendo Switch OLED is brilliant for retro gaming.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, Valves Steam Deck is a great place to enjoy retro games.

Steam Decks Linux-based operating system, SteamOS, allows a great deal of versatility for retro gaming fans too.

Valve Steam Deck

Steam Deck is also great for big-screen gaming too and can be easily hooked up to your TV.

Another great modern handheld for retro gaming enthusiasts is the ASUS ROG Ally.

It supports most major launchers (including Steam) and can emulate your favorite retro consoles, too.

ASUS ROG Ally

On the downside, that price tag is a doozy.

Costing the best part of a grand, its a serious investment, which could be prohibitive for many.

An exciting way to play your favorite AAA or retro titles on the go.

PlayStation Classic

You’ll also receive two controllers to team up or go head-to-head against friends and family.

As old as it might make us feel, the original PlayStation console does now qualify as being retro.

And it looks and feels authentic.

SNES CLASSIC MINI

Essentially, its the Mini Me to the SNESs Dr. A miniature version of the same console, roughly one-quarter of the original size.

It aint gonna be pretty!

The number of games included might not be that impressive by todays standards, but the games themselves are.

NES mini

Full of charm and still great fun to playit’s what Nintendo does, after all.

A previous generation rebuild of the classic console with a variety of pre-loaded games for you to enjoy.

However, unlike the SNES version, only one controller is included in this package.

XBox Series X

Whether you plump for this or the SNES version will probably depend on which generation you grew up with.

It doesnt get much more retro than this, though.

you might also marvel at the 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate available for modern-day titles.

Blaze Evercade EXP

But hear us out.

As you might expect, there are several membership tiers to choose from.

Subscription to Xbox Live Gold also includes an EA Play membership at no additional cost.

Retroid Pocket 3 Plus

And Cloud gaming on Xbox Game Pass also supports Xbox gameplay on some of your other existing devices.

Offering the best of both worlds for those that dont mind paying a little bit more for the privilege!

The Evercade EXP is a retro handheld gaming console from Blaze Entertainment.

SEGA Genesis Mini 2

Evercase EXP features a 1.5 GHz processor, 4GB of built-in memory, and stereo speakers.

It feels authentic and satisfying.

One of the cheaper options for retro game emulation is the Retroid Pocket 3 Plus.

It runs on the Android 11 OS, which offers full support for the Google Play Store.

Leading the charge for game consoles in the late 1980s and early 1990s was the SEGA Genesis.

Spawning a legion of classic titles, it was a runaway success for SEGA.

For nostalgia fans and retro game enthusiasts, this mini console is a real treat.

However, its an enjoyable walk down memory lane.

It depends on when you grew up, and what you played back then, too.

Although not the cheapest option out there, you’ll save some money compared to the latest handheld PCs.

Particularly when it provides access to more classic retro games than you could shake a stick at.

Enjoy your favorite Nintendo classics in handheld, tabletop, or docked modes.