I’ve just published a different kind of AYN Thor Lite feature, looking at why the lowest-spec Thor makes more sense in 2026 than it might have at launch. Back when this all started, AYN sent me the Thor Pro for review which clearly I loved and reviewed to high heavens, but I thought that with how things are at the moment (current cost-of-living conditions, the RAM crisis making prices skyrocket), the very base model makes more sense than ever. Mostly because the community surrounding the Thor has just grown and grown and grown, the things developers and makers have created are just incredible.
For any who don't know, the AYN Thor is a dual screen retro gaming handheld, which is first and foremost an amazing way to emulate 3DS games, especially with the cost of original systems rising so much these last few years!
So instead of the whole specs and performance angle, I wanted to look at what has grown up around the hardware, and I was lucky enough to speak to, interview and quote a whole bunch of the people making it happen, some of them friends and some of them just so lovely to want to chat with me:
- Moth (lead developer of Cocoon)
- Nathan (lead developer of iiSU)
- PlayTranslate's developer
- Camille LaVey (lead developer/creator of Eden)
- MithrilMods (behind amazing magnetic buttons/d-pads/grips on etsy)
- Kitsabble Creations (who created Pokémon-themed decal front skins for the AYN Thors, also on etsy)
- MagiGamer (whose custom-made buttons are the prettiest damn thing ever made)
Plus a few other community creators and accessory makers.
(Jiayu, one of the replacement button creators I chat to in this article, and her work!)
(as is tradition, my cat and my handheld of focus for the article)
I talked to them all about the software ecosystem, dual-screen development, Japanese games and translation, emulation on the Snapdragon 865, custom grips and controls, handmade buttons, skins, and all the other ways people have taken AYN's hardware and made it their own. My focus for this whole article was how AYN released a near-perfect handheld, but the community around it has now taken it and run with it.
I hope some in here enjoy this, at least to hear from some of the people behind the programs and projects you might know and love :)
That and great Wii U performance. I wanna play 3DS games as intended and portable WW HD at stable 60fps—That’s my emulation endgame. Better buttons and comfortability would be nice too but not 100% necessary. The only reason I didn’t buy a Thor is that I had already bought an RP5. I want to wait another generation of spec upgrades before I ditch the 5 though. So hopefully we’ll see a “Thor 2” or “Super Thor+ LL Slim Pocket Edition SP” someday
That’s fair. I don’t feel a strong need to emulate Switch and beyond, but maybe the next generation of handhelds will include that anyway. By the time you get to the latest couple generations, everything that isn’t just available on Steam is partially online or otherwise obnoxious garbage.
Yeah I honestly feel like the first HD generation is a pretty good stopping point. I just wish ps3 and 360 emulation were at a better place in general. I don’t care too much about switch emulation but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. Tbh I’d kind of love to see BOTW and TOTK with dual screen mods (if that possible?) because games with an exploration focus would be great with a screen just for the map or inventory
Yeah, unfortunately the PS3 and the Xbox 360 were some pretty notoriously weird hardware. The PS3 especially. They’ll take a minute before they’re fully and effectively emulated.
I think we’re in for some interesting times the way recompilation projects have been going. There are mods to play Metroid Prime and BotW in VR. A dual screen mod is certainly not out of the picture, though even compared to the VR user base, the dual screen SBC handheld space is tiny.