The Guide to Aspect Ratio’s & Resolutions on Retro Handhelds

Aspect ratios and system resolutions are one issue we've encountered while utilizing vintage handhelds. Which ratios were the original ones? How much does it cost to upgrade to 1080p? How about 4K? The software doesn't explain what 8x resolution is. What is that resolution?

Here, we'll address all of that and more.

The upscale required in the emulator to pass those resolutions is shown by the values below 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p. To prevent partial upscales, all figures are rounded to the closest whole number.

System-Native Aspect Ratio-Native Resolution- 720p -1080p- 1440p-2160p(4K)

Atari -52004:3320×2403x5x6x9

AtariLynx-1:57:1160×1028x11x15x22

ColecoVision-4:3256×1924x6x8x12

MSX-3:2256×1924x6x8x12

MSX2-3:2256×1924x6x8x12

Neo Geo-10:7320×2244x5x7x10

Neo Geo Pocket/Pocket Color-20:19160×1525x8x10x15

Nintendo 3DS-15:9 (top), 4:3 (bottom)800×240 (top), 320×240 (bottom)3x5x6x9

Nintendo 64-4:3320×2403x5x6x9

Nintendo DS-3:2 (both)256×192 (both)4x6x8x12

Nintendo Entertainment System-4:3, 8:7256×2403x5x6x9

Nintendo Game Boy/Game Boy Color-10:9160×1445x8x10x15

Nintendo Game Boy Advance-3:2240×1605x7x9x14

Nintendo GameCube-4:3640×4802x3x3x5

Nintendo Switch-16:91280×720 (handheld), 1920×1080 (docked)1x2x2x3

Nintendo Wii-4:3 (all), 16:9 (some)640×4802x3x3x5

Sega Dreamcast-4:3640×4802x3x3x5

Sega Genesis-4:3320×2403x5x6x9

Sega Master System-4:3256×192

Sega Saturn-4:3320×2403x5x6x9

Sony PlayStation-4:3320×2403x5x6x9

Sony PlayStation -24:3 (all), 16:9 (some)640×4802x3x3x5

Sony PlayStation Portable-16:9480×2723x4x6x8

Sony PlayStation Vita-16:9960×5442x2x3x4

Super Nintendo Entertainment System-4:3,8:7256×2244x5x7x10x