If modern games don't offer what you need and nostalgia keeps pulling you back to the classics of old consoles, your best bet lies in emulation. From a technical standpoint, any computer can take on the role of a platform for such a project, but the combination of RetroPie and the Raspberry Pi is extremely popular. The next step is to place all the components inside a briefcase and create your own portable RetroPie station.
Building the portable RetroPie
A Raspberry Pi, a compatible gamepad, a stable power source, a screen (whether a monitor, TV, or a recycled laptop panel), and a memory card loaded with RetroPie or Recalbox. From there, we have entire decades of video games at our disposal. While it's true that not all systems run at full speed on the Pi (some Nintendo 64 games crawl on the mini computer), we're potentially looking at thousands of titles that run without a hitch. Most users prefer to buy a custom-made case for the Raspberry Pi, but there are those who follow the path of improvisation. User Dagcon decided to give his RetroPie station a touch of portability, and placed all the elements inside a briefcase.
The system uses four wireless Xbox gamepads, although this is not mandatory. The Raspberry Pi was installed behind the screen, taken from a laptop that gave up the ghost. Depending on its specifications, the panel may need a simple controller, or it might also need to be accompanied by a universal inverter (both things are bought on eBay with the exact model of the panel). In this example the inverter is not necessary, however, the power consumption is high enough to rule out the possibility of using batteries. In other words, the station is easy to transport, but you can't play it Game Boy style.
In total, Dagcon invested about 350 dollars, of which 160 belong to the four wireless gamepads. Obviously there's plenty of room to cut costs, and with a smaller panel (say, seven inches) the option of a battery pack would be viable.
