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 :)

all 12 comments

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[–] 15 points 2 months ago (10 children)

I wonder if we'll ever have a 3D screen compatible device for real 3DS emulation. I know a lot of people didn't like the 3D gimmick but I personally loved it.

I'm scared my 3DS and 3DS LL are gonna die eventually...

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Outrun (the arcade version) was amazing in 3D! I loved the new layer the 3D added to an old favorite so much more than I expected!

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago

    the AGES 3D Super Hang-On even had gyro controls with an option to have the picture rotate to always be level. that's about as good of a job you could ask from a handheld to simulate taikan machines

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    That’s the single feature that would nail down my Final device. I’ve been eyeballing the Thor for that purpose where I can say “Anything I care to emulate runs pretty much perfectly on this and I’ll never need another device except just on whim.” I might be tempted by a cute form factor or interesting design, but there would always be that device that I can move into forever. The Thor is SO CLOSE. Give me a Thor 3D and I’m sold instantly.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    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

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    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

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago

    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.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 2 months ago

    I hope so too! I really enjoy it, but as we all know, the prices on original 3DS consoles are just constantly going up (esp the 'New' series)

    After all, this kind of dual screen device was thought impossible just two years ago, so there's always a chance we'll see some kind of true 3D brought in at some stage :)

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    I think the 3d is interesting, but 30 seconds of it makes my eyes feel like they've run a 50k desert marathon on a planet with 8x normal earth gravity.

    a minute of it basically makes me bedridden for a couple hours.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    Those buttons are very cute :D

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  • 29 comments in c/games@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] 18 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I'll save this to read later. But just wanted to comment it feels heartwarming watching her smile, really enjoying her work. In contrast to soulless anti-consumer gigacorps, this feels nice for a change.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Good article! It's always interesting to see the ecosystems that spring up around these devices, even if the Thor itself doesn't interest me (my main console growing up was the 360).

    Just a heads up, the first link in the article (the metrics one) 404s.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    I wish it had an embedded stylus.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Same I'd gladly pay for it, I'd love to be able to play stuff like Pokemon Ranger on it.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah I play a bunch of picross on my modded 3ds. Not sure if its worth selling the 3ds to buy a thor

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    If you're only gonna be playing 3DS games, then it's better to still use the native device since emulation has latency even if it's relatively low. I got my Thor as I wanted to emulate multiple platforms plus PC games. I still have my 3DS for when I want to play stuff like Ranger or Rhythm Heaven.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Yeah, it would he 3ds and older games. The main appeal for me has been upscaling 3ds and the better screen colours.

    But that's a good point about emulation latency I wasn't aware of

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    I love my Thor but man the way it sounds when closing the lid makes me worry some times. Anyone know of a way to soften the impact?

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    I'm pretty sure the official TPU case does a lot of the work to keep it even when it closes:

    https://www.ayntec.com/products/thor-tpu-shell

    Back when I reviewed the Pro before release, that was a main point of concern for people (well, not so much the force of it as you write, more how it all hinges on one center point to diffuse the force!)

    This case is raised on the edges, so when you close it, the edges of the screen rest on it, rather than having the sides of the top screen not in contact with the base of the handheld

    I hope this makes sense with how I am describing it

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago

    I was hoping they'd implement the hinge the same way Nintendo did which doesn't have the same issue. I'm not a fan of TPU cases as they add extra bulk and tend to turn yellow after awhile but I get what you mean. I've experimented with sticking round silicon pads (not sure what they're actually called) but it looks pretty rough.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago

    It’s really cool hardware, and the community behind it is awesome! The flexibility of a dual screen is great for a handheld.

    I’ve had my eye on the Thor for a while, but android is a bit of a hangup for me. Maybe I’m overly critical, or judging it unfairly, but I’d really prefer Linux. From my perspective, it seems like the glory days of android are well behind us.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (9 children)

    I love my Thor! I've used it more than my Steam Deck over the past year because it's more portable and I can play my Steam games on it. The DS really was my favourite form factor from all the gaming devices I own, anyone that's the same should look into this.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (7 children)

    Just got mine two days ago and I am currently more focused on DS games, but interested to know what Steam games you would recommend for it? I have a pc, but just trying to think what games would perfect for handheld.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Never owned a console, but how strong is that Thor? There are games in the list which are really demanding. Do they then run in extreme potato mode with like 40fps or so?

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 2 months ago

    If you followed the link above, that is for the Thor Pro, which runs them really quite well.

    Plenty of YouTube demonstrations if youre curious. It has a strong chip, so it handles them well. Not quite Odin 3 levels (SD Elite), but, really well. PC emulation is a big thing for these handhelds.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Lots of indie games work well, especially if they're pixel art or 2D.

    Things like Hades 1/2, Dead Cells, Ball x Pitt.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    Always love to see a Dead Cells shout out. Looking forward to the new Castlevania in the next couple months!

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Man I just realize my comment sounds like an ad, oops. But I was so frustrated with the state of "mobile gaming" in the last decade where my options are "touchscreen, cellular brick", "underpowered, colourful heavy brick" or "powerful, heavy monochrome brick" that "light, foldable, powerful, colourful brick" really seems refreshing to me 😭

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Oh this is so effin rad. Thanks for sharing!

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  • [+] -6 points 2 months ago (2 children)