When some of Nintendo’s home consoles flopped, like the Wii U, they could always count on their handhelds to bring in the big bucks. Unlike the home scene, they rarely had any competition. Sure, rivals like Sega and Sony made several attempts, but none of them saw as much success as the Game Boy or any of its successors.

Well, all except for one, which we will get to. The point is Nintendo is excellent at making portables to keep that gaming high going. We put together a list of their most notable entries, including some iteration on base models, and ranked them by how comfortable they are. This includes weight, button placement, and in some cases the screen.

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14 Virtual Boy

The Virtual Boy launched on August 14, 1995 in North America. It had a short lifespan as it was discontinued less than a year later. It is technically a portable, but only barely so. The red screen hurts the eyes and the controller downright feels jagged. It is the most infamous failure in Nintendo's hundred-plus year history.

13 Game & Watch

The Game & Watch released on April 28, 1980 in Japan. The original game it launched with was called Ball and was a basic juggling game. Every release of this handheld was a new game so it wasn’t like a Game Boy with cartridges, but more like an all in one experience. The games are basic and the edges are a bit sharp, but for the 80s, it was pretty advanced.

12 2DS

The 2DS launched on October 12, 2013 in North America. When it was announced earlier that year a majority of the Internet thought it was a joke. Nintendo is releasing something called a 2DS thus defeating the purpose of the 3D capable 3DS? The name and wedge shape of the handheld made it seem like that was the case, but it was real. It was a real mistake that is. It is a weird piece of tech to hold and defeats the purpose of a portable console.

11 Game Boy

The Game Boy launched on July 31, 1989 in North America. Despite how the handheld looks in this 2D image, the original Game Boy was heavy and fat. On top of that the green monochrome screen was a bit straining on the eyes just like the Virtual Boy, but a little less so.

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The Game Boy Pocket released a year later, alleviated some of these issues as it was a lot more compact and lightweight. Plus the black and white screen wasn’t as nauseating. That said this revision won’t help it rise in the ranks.

10 Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color released on November 18, 1998 in North America. In terms of size, it is a little bigger than the Game Boy Pocket, but the new graphics and colored screen help it rise above its counterparts. Nintendo was finally on their way to true portability.

9 Game Boy Micro

The Game Boy Micro launched on September 19, 2005 in North America. It's a revision of the Game Boy Advance, which debuted four years earlier. Despite its size, it is surprisingly comfortable. The screen may be a strain for some, and to those with beefy hands, playing it might be tricky. However, as a portable, it is literally the perfect machine for one’s pocket.

8 Game Boy Advance SP

nintendo hardware revisions

The Game Boy Advance SP released on March 23, 2003 in North America. As if it needs to be said, like the Game Boy Micro, it is also a revision of the Game Boy Advance. The clamshell design also made it easier to fit in pockets and it finally made the screen backlit, which was a feature desperately needed.

7 Game Boy Advance

3ds history

The Game Boy Advance released on June 11, 2001 in North America. The SP may have the extra lighting and the Micro may be more portable, but in terms of pure comfort, the original GBA is awesome.

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Holding it felt like playing a Super Nintendo all over again in terms of its width. The graphics also made it look like a SNES.

6 DS

The DS launched on November 21, 2004 in North America. The original design was bulky, but it did exactly what Nintendo promised it would, bringing in touch controls to a new generation of gamers. Plus it played GBA games. If it had a backlight it may have reached a higher status.

5 DS Lite

The DS Lite released on June 11, 2006 in North America. The DS Lite is everything one would want in a redesign and more. It added in a better screen with lighting and made the portable sleeker as a perfect rectangle. This is what made the DS line of systems dominate the market.

4 3DS

The 3DS launched on March 27, 2011 in North America. Nintendo’s hubris with the DS Lite is exactly why the 3DS had a rough launch. There were too few games and it was overpriced. After the price dropped and a year passed with better software, sales started to pick up. It’s a bit heavier than a DS Lite, but it kept that same sleek design. It felt great to hold and the 3D actually worked.

3 New 3DS

New 3DS

The New 3DS launched on September 25, 2015 in North America. The name is terrible, but despite that fact, this is a better 3DS model. It is slightly more powerful and weighs a bit less too. On top of that, it added a second analog stick. It doesn’t move, which was weird to get used to, but it works surprisingly well without compromising anything. Plus the 3D Effect was improved.

2 New 2DS XL

New 2DS XL

The “XL” brand started with the DSi XL back in 2010. We didn’t mention the DSi revision since it was too similar to the DS Lite. Anyway since then every iteration of the 3DS has received a XL version as well. Rather than rank them all, we picked the very best one, which is the New 2DS XL. It launched on July 28, 2017 in North America. Sure, it loses the 3D effect, but button layout and the surprising lack of weight make this the best version of the handheld to pick up.

1 Switch

The Switch launched on March 3, 2017 in North America. Yes, while it is not exactly portable as a handheld in that it doesn’t fit neatly in one’s pocket, it's one of the most popular consoles Nintendo ever put out. There is a reason why it is selling like hot cakes two years later on top of everyone clamoring for games to be ported to the system. It is a great blend of Nintendo’s progress with both the handheld and console market. The detachable Joy-Cons working as two separate controllers for co-op, or for motion controls was a stroke of genius. It is not without flaws. The kickstand is shoddy and we wish it had a D-Pad, but overall it is a tremendous accomplishment.

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