Miyoo Mini Review: Near Bezel Less View

POSITIVES

✓ Ridiculously Compact

Fits in pockets of all sizes

✓ Near Bezel less display

Great to look at

✓ Simple to Use

Not a lot of customization offered

Negatives

x Tight layout

Can strain the hands

x Not great for all retro

Can only handle up to around PS1

x Terrible Speaker

Just play muted

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Purchase Price: $69.99

Back in January of 2022, I bought what was at the time a retro handheld console that I thought would entertain me for a couple of weeks and end up in my pile of almost exactly the same devices that have been growing over the years. While these nifty spiritual successors to the Gameboy form factor have greatly improved in overall experience over the years, they all eventually blend in together if you start owning a bunch of them. I’m extremely excited to say that the Miyoo Mini has exceeded all of my expectations and half a year later, it is still my go to in emulation consoles.

What makes it great?

So what exactly makes the Miyoo Mini so great in my eyes? It’s literally what I see in my eyes. I absolutely love the display on my first generation Miyoo Mini. I say first generation as there was a recent refresh with a laminated display called the Miyoo Mini V2. Not much else is different on the newer model, but I’m plenty satisfied with the console I have with its 2.8 inch IPS display. It’s a resolution of 640x480p, but unlike a lot of other retro consoles using a wide aspect ratio like the Powkiddy RGB10S, Miyoo squeezed in a nearly bezel-less square screen. It’s quite honestly a genuinely handsome handheld that is fully accented by the screen. When you add in how bright and compact the pixels are due to the squarish aspect ratio, then this viewing experience rockets to the top of retro handheld list placing under the Analogue Pocket. While the display could have had a better showing when it comes to blacks, I was more understanding of what it did present with the library of games that I played on here. Unlike newer Resident Evil titles, brighter or slightly washed out dark shades seem acceptable to me on 32-bit games like Resident Evil 3 which is so pixelated anyway that aesthetic color accuracy on such a small viewing scope would make little difference to the playing experience. It’s not like we’re playing on a 4K 50-inch television here where we can see immense detail. I bought mine for $70 and I’d take this over some $150 handhelds I’ve owned for the viewing experience alone. The screen is that good in my opinion.

I’m also a fan of the form factor for the most part as this is basically what a Nintendo Gameboy Classic would have looked like if Nintendo ever did continue on with those types of products. The Mini has such a compact form factor that it fits directly into the palm of my hand. It’s such an easy device to slip into a pocket of just about any size, wherever a pocket resides on your body on a given day. Even though the housing is made of plastic, the Mini is put together firmly and has a mixture of premium feel in conjunction with user convenience. There aren’t any creaks or cracks when gripping it.

This original Miyoo Mini has a 1900 mAh removable lithium battery that supports recharging through a USB-C slot. The battery adds a little extra weight to the Miyoo Mini, while the ridges of the compartment it’s stored behind gives it a sturdier grip for your hands to feel up. I did find the compactness to have a downside as I couldn’t get into a comfortable gripping position without experiencing a straining fatigue. I love how compact the device is, but a bit more separation between the D-pad and the X,Y,A,B buttons would have allowed for a more relaxed layout for my thumbs. I found that my right thumb began straining during gameplay upon input due to insufficient resting space for it to rest on. The same goes for my index fingers which naturally wanted to reside behind the console on the recessed shoulder trigger bench. The R1,R2 and L1,L2 triggers are so shallow upon input and awkwardly sized that my index fingers flare out in order to press them. Luckily, many older retro systems don’t use shoulder triggers for controls so I found that my index fingers innately began resting on the top of the Miyoo Mini frame as extra grip support.     

Awkward sizing aside, the main input controls feel terrific though. The X,Y,A,B buttons have a colorful glossy scheme that feel nice on the fingertips. The D-pad and start/select buttons have good tactile responses without filling mushy like some cheaper priced competitors. The only major hardware embarrassment lies with the mono speaker on the bottom right corner of the face. It’s the equivalent to listening to someone clawing a chalkboard. I could only stand keeping audio at about a quarter level. I do like that there’s a physical volume scroll wheel to control audio levels on the left side of the frame. Fortunately, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the frame that does make listening to soundtracks in the game a bit more tolerable. 

So How Does it Play?

Miyoo preloaded 13 emulators on the console that match with games filled up in a 32 GB microSD card. You can of course manage your own portfolio of games and emulators as the console supports up to a 128 GB card. Retroarch works quite smoothly on the Miyoo with menus and settings operating along without any hitches. Unlike the preloaded software on the Powkiddy RGB10S, you can’t really personalize the UI. Regardless of that omission out of the box, I do find the lack of customization in the Miyoo Mini to be beneficial to the overall experience. It really is a pick up and play device that anyone ranging from veterans of these handhelds to first time buyers can understand how to navigate.

As for gaming performance, as expected from a 32-bit ARM processor, systems up to around PS1 will play effectively well. For me personally, since this resembles a Gameboy form factor, I did find myself enjoying GBA games especially more so here. I kept going back to the Miyoo Mini over my shiny new Steam Deck to progress with a cherished JRPG from my childhood: Lunar Legend. I’ve been trying to complete another play through for a couple of years now spanning various devices, but the Mini has clearly been the most convenient and enjoyable. I love being able to whip this device out of my pocket and jump into the GBA’s criminally underrated library of classic RPG games. Playing titles like Summon Night, Final Fantasy VI, and Golden Sun on a bright beautiful screen like this truly elevates my desire to continue playing. Continuing off where you stopped previously on a journey without having to boot back up is also another hugely beneficial trait these portable handhelds have over the original Gameboys. I’ve legitimately played about 4-6 hours of GBA games consecutively on one charge. The Miyoo Mini is truly a modern Gameboy for those of us who don’t have the Analogue Pocket yet. 

As far as PS1 emulation goes, I found performance to be better than that on the Powkiddy RGB10S I recently reviewed. Games like Resident Evil 3 and Tekken 3 ran at consistently high frame rates to qualify as more playable over that counterpart. The back of the device where the battery is housed did get a little warm after about 45 minutes of PS1 gameplay, but it was still safe enough to hold onto. Not all PS1 games will see the same result, but overall I think the Miyoo Mini should be able to handle most of the classics we 90’s kids love reliving.

I’ve played hours of Lunar Legend (GBA) on the Miyoo Mini

Should You Buy it?

There’s a whole array of retro emulation handhelds hitting the market this year, but when it comes to pure portability at a certain emulation threshold, I really like the Miyoo Mini. It’s not the perfect device as I found various grip issues holding it back from being my dream device. However, the Mini has so much going for it behind its aesthetically pleasing screen and pocketable demeanor that lives up to its name. If I’m to recommend a console in this category, I would vault the Miyoo Mini to the top of any short list for buyers looking to play emulation up to PS1.                

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