Retro handhelds have been all the rage in the last few years, and last year was a big year for the Miyoo Mini. However, due to a ton of supply issues, not many people actually got to purchase one. And that’s too bad, since they ceased production on it indefinitely.
Enter 2023, where now we have a not-so-mini Miyoo Mini called the Miyoo Mini Plus. This was created because they had to discontinue the Miyoo Mini due to lack of screens.
Let’s dive right into how this is a bigger and slightly better Miyoo Mini.
Build Quality
The first thing I noticed when I opened my Miyoo Mini Plus was how well the build quality feels compared to the Miyoo Mini. When holding it in my hand, the casing actually feels sturdy, like it can survive some drops (though I would not recommend dropping it for obvious reasons). Whereas the Miyoo Mini felt like my daughter could destroy it with one drop, this one feels more withstanding to a toddler.
The D-Pad and buttons are responsive and feel very good, though for those with bigger hands, it’s kind of uncomfortable for fast motion games like fighting games (my main genre). The shoulder buttons are definitely an improvement over the Miyoo Mini, but they are still not great. The improvement is that 2 of the shoulder buttons are larger now so they sit apart from the flatter shoulder buttons, but because of the rectangular shape of the unit, it’s still crampy to use. I could tell you that you can get better shoulder buttons on Etsy, but what’s the point if you are modifying a portable system with non-portable buttons?
In terms of lighting and visibility… The screen is as pretty and sharp as ever. You’ll not be disappointed with the screen with this device. However, my unit is the purple translucent one and there’s this weird white light on top of one of the buttons that shines through. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s an odd inclusion on an otherwise pretty solid build quality and experience.
Due to the screen size being larger, it makes the device slightly larger. This reduces its ability to be pocketed, but not by a lot. It’s now probably the size of an extra cell phone, whereas the Miyoo Mini was like a pack of playing cards. I think it’s still pocketable but it does lose some of its charm at being a really mini device powerhouse.
GUI and Customization
Like the Miyoo Mini before it, the stock firmware is… fine. It is simple, clean, and comes preloaded with the cores you need for all the emulators. I was surprised to hear the 3DS background menu music when I loaded up the Miyoo Mini Plus. It gave me a good chuckle. Otherwise, nothing to phone home about.
Where it gets really great is custom firmware. If you are familiar with OnionsOS on the Miyoo Mini, the Plus has its own version too. Once you install OnionOS, the unit becomes so much more usable and functional. The menu button launches into gameswitcher which loads save states in a scrollable format, allowing you to drop back into the last game you played pretty seamlessly. If you press the menu button twice, it quick switches to the last game you played. My favorite thing about the custom firmware is setting it up so that when the unit boots up, it boots directly into the gameswitcher so you can resume your last games rather than having to navigate through the menus again from the start.
Emulation
This device seems to emulate just the same ones as the Miyoo Mini. What this means is you can expect great emulation for all your typical systems like NES, SNES, Megadrive/Genesis, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, and some arcade systems like Neo Geo and the CPS systems from Capcom. Emulation is pretty solid for most of these. Where I get a little bit of issue is with PS1. Most games on PS1 work perfectly, but there are some where it loads strangely or you get some sound crackles.
In terms of tweaking, I think for the most part you don’t need to tweak the settings of the emulators too much to get playable gameplay. In that sense, this is a very nice and easy pick-up-and-play system for newcomers to retro gaming emulation.
Availability
When I was trying to get the original Miyoo Mini, I had to talk to people who knew people who knew when drops were happening, then I had to wait overnight for those drops to happen to attempt to buy it but kept missing a few times before securing one because they always sold out in SECONDS! It was ridiculous!
For the new Miyoo Mini Plus, I literally just searched for where to purchase it, and although there are some places that have it sold out, there are others that have it readily available to purchase without having to wait for some ridiculous 10 second window of purchasing in the middle of the night.
Pros and Cons
To summarize, here’s a list of my pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
| – Beautiful screen – D-pad and buttons are responsive – Good battery life – Good build quality and sturdy shell – Color options are really nice | – Not that much different than Miyoo Mini – No analog stick – Shoulder buttons uncomfortable – Odd light leaks or unnecessary lighting – Packaging doesn’t not come with a free case like the Miyoo Mini |
Overall: 8/10
If you are looking for an introductory device to retro emulation, and you aren’t too concerned with it being super miniature, then you should benefit from the Miyoo Mini Plus. Given that the Miyoo Mini is no longer available, this is a viable and good option to play retro games up until PS1. The stock firmware is fine for starters, but the device also allows you to install custom firmware like OnionOS for a significantly improved experience. However, if you already own a Miyoo Mini, this isn’t really worth the “upgrade”. This one is really just a slightly larger Miyoo Mini with a wifi chip, and that’s all the discernible end-user differences you can really experience. Save your money if you are thinking of this as an upgrade.