RetroLemmy I’ve been a huge fan of retro handhelds for years — my GBA is still one of my favorite consoles. The problem is, I can’t always carry it around. Sometimes I forget it at home, sometimes it’s just not practical.

But you know what I always do carry? My phone.

That’s when I started searching: “Surely there’s a way to play GBA/GBC/GB/N64 games online directly on mobile?”

I found plenty of emulator websites, but they were almost all built for desktop — clunky UI, tiny touch controls, or just not optimized for phones at all. After trying a bunch, I realized none of them matched what I wanted:

No downloads, no apps, no ROM hunting

A clean mobile-friendly UI with real touch controls

Save states that work across sessions

Simple, private, and instant gameplay

So… I decided to build it myself.

That’s how Moboretro.com was born. It’s a web-based retro console designed for mobile, where you can load up GBA, GBC, GB, and even N64 games right in your browser. No logins, no installs, just pick a game and play.

I originally built it for myself, but then thought — why not share it with the community? If you’ve ever wanted to carry a retro handheld in your pocket without actually carrying one, this might scratch that itch.

Try it out here: https://www.moboretro.com/

Would love feedback from fellow retro fans. Do you think mobile-first retro gaming is the way to go?

    • EvilBit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      10 days ago

      Yeah honestly make it work reasonably well and allow you to load your own ROMs or use a cloud storage or something and charge $5 through Patreon or whatever and I’d like it a lot more than clicking through the sketchiest ads ever.

      • Doctype123@retrolemmy.comOPEnglish
        61·
        10 days ago

        I apologize, I’m turning off all ads. Thanks a lot for your idea, I will try to implement your idea.

        • dukemirage@lemmy.worldEnglish
          8·
          10 days ago

          Ads are fine when hosting a service. Just use an unobtrusive provider (like Carbon for tech ads).

          • Doctype123@retrolemmy.comOPEnglish
            1·
            9 days ago

            Thanks for the feedback. I agree, ads should never ruin the experience. That’s actually why I’m experimenting with ways to keep them minimal and non-intrusive, especially since the site is built mainly for mobile gaming. Carbon Ads seems better… I’ll definitely check it out.

      • Doctype123@retrolemmy.comOPEnglish
        31·
        10 days ago

        I apologize, I’m turning off all ads. Find errors and problems so I can fix it. It is currently in beta 3.0. Thanks for the feedback.