Retro Handheld Resolutions & Aspect Ratios: The Complete Chart
Table of contents
- Getting it right
- How to Read the Retro Handheld Resolutions Chart
- Why Whole-Number (Integer) Scaling Matters
- Matching the Aspect Ratio to Your Screen
- FAQ
- What is 8× resolution?
- How much do I need to upscale to reach 1080p?
- Should I always use the highest upscale my handheld can handle?
- Why not just stretch the game to fill the whole screen?
Getting it right
Getting retro handheld resolutions and aspect ratios right is one of the trickiest parts of emulation.
Every system was built for a different shape and pixel count.
What were the original ratios?
If I upscale, how much do I need to hit 1080p?
What about 4K?
What exactly is 8× resolution?
Let’s answer all of that below.
How to Read the Retro Handheld Resolutions Chart
Each row shows a system’s native aspect ratio and native resolution, the shape and pixel count the original hardware actually output.
The four columns after that (720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p/4K) are the whole-number upscale you set in your emulator to fill a screen at that resolution.
For example, the PlayStation renders at 320×240.
To pass 1080p you’d set a 5× upscale (240 × 5 = 1200, just over 1080).
We always round up to the next whole number because a 4.5× “upscale” isn’t something most emulators can do cleanly, and forcing it leaves you with a blurry, uneven image (more on why below).
If your handheld’s screen falls between two targets, pick the higher one and let the display scale it down because that always looks better than scaling up to a fractional number.
Once you know the upscale you need, you’ll set it in your emulator. See my ARMSX2, Dolphin and Azahar guides for where those resolution options live.
| System | Native Aspect Ratio | Native Resolution | 720p | 1080p | 1440p | 2160p (4K) |
| Atari 5200 | 4:3 | 320×240 | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Atari Lynx | 1.57:1 | 160×102 | 8x | 11x | 15x | 22x |
| ColecoVision | 4:3 | 256×192 | 4x | 6x | 8x | 12x |
| MSX | 3:2 | 256×192 | 4x | 6x | 8x | 12x |
| MSX2 | 3:2 | 256×192 | 4x | 6x | 8x | 12x |
| Neo Geo | 10:7 | 320×224 | 4x | 5x | 7x | 10x |
| Neo Geo Pocket/Pocket Color | 20:19 | 160×152 | 5x | 8x | 10x | 15x |
| Nintendo 3DS | 15:9 (top), 4:3 (bottom) | 400×240 (top), 320×240 (bottom) | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Nintendo 64 | 4:3 | 320×240 | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Nintendo DS | 4:3 (both) | 256×192 (both) | 4x | 6x | 8x | 12x |
| Nintendo Entertainment System | 4:3, 8:7 | 256×240 | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Nintendo Game Boy/Game Boy Color | 10:9 | 160×144 | 5x | 8x | 10x | 15x |
| Nintendo Game Boy Advance | 3:2 | 240×160 | 5x | 7x | 9x | 14x |
| Nintendo GameCube | 4:3 | 640×480 | 2x | 3x | 3x | 5x |
| Nintendo Switch | 16:9 | 1280×720 (handheld), 1920×1080 (docked) | 1x | 2x | 2x | 3x |
| Nintendo Wii | 4:3 (all), 16:9 (some) | 640×480 | 2x | 3x | 3x | 5x |
| Sega Dreamcast | 4:3 | 640×480 | 2x | 3x | 3x | 5x |
| Sega Genesis | 4:3 | 320×240 | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Sega Master System | 4:3 | 256×192 | 4x | 6x | 8x | 12x |
| Sega Saturn | 4:3 | 320×240 | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Sony PlayStation | 4:3 | 320×240 | 3x | 5x | 6x | 9x |
| Sony PlayStation 2 | 4:3 (all), 16:9 (some) | 640×480 | 2x | 3x | 3x | 5x |
| Sony PlayStation Portable | 16:9 | 480×272 | 3x | 4x | 6x | 8x |
| Sony PlayStation Vita | 16:9 | 960×544 | 2x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
| Super Nintendo Entertainment System | 4:3, 8:7 | 256×224 | 4x | 5x | 7x | 10x |
| Wonderswan | 14:9 | 224×144 | 5x | 8x | 10x | 15x |
Why Whole-Number (Integer) Scaling Matters
This is the part that trips most people up.
When you scale a retro game by a whole number like 2×, 3×, 5×, every original pixel becomes an even block of pixels on screen.
That’s integer scaling (also called “pixel-perfect”), and it keeps the image razor sharp with no shimmering or uneven lines.
Scale by a fraction like say 3.75× to exactly fill a 720p panel and the original pixels can’t divide evenly into the new grid.
Some get doubled, others don’t, and you’re left with wavy text, uneven scanlines, and a faintly smeared look.
It’s the number-one reason a game can look worse on a sharp modern screen than it did on an old CRT.
Every figure in the chart below is a whole number for exactly this reason.
Matching the Aspect Ratio to Your Screen
Native resolution tells you how sharp to make the image; aspect ratio tells you what shape it should be.
Most retro systems are 4:3, squarer than the 16:9 screen on most newer handhelds.
Stretch a 4:3 game to fill a 16:9 display and everyone looks short and wide, which is why the correct way to play most of these systems leaves black bars on the sides.
A few systems break the pattern: the PSP and PS Vita are natively 16:9, the Game Boy is a tall-ish 10:9, and the 3DS uses different ratios on each screen.
The chart lists each one so you can match the original hardware instead of guessing.
FAQ
What is 8× resolution?
It means the emulator renders the game at eight times its native resolution in each direction. An 8× upscale of a 320×240 game is 2560×1920, more than enough to fill a 1440p or even 4K screen with a clean, sharp image.
How much do I need to upscale to reach 1080p?
It depends on the system’s native resolution. For most 4:3 systems around 320×240 (PS1, N64, Genesis, Saturn), a 5× upscale passes 1080p. For lower-res handhelds like the Game Boy (160×144) it’s 8×. The chart lists the exact figure for every system.
Should I always use the highest upscale my handheld can handle?
No, match the upscale to your screen. Going far beyond your panel’s resolution just wastes performance and battery for no visible gain. Pick the smallest whole number that reaches your screen’s resolution.
Why not just stretch the game to fill the whole screen?
Stretching to a non-native aspect ratio distorts the image, and stretching to a fractional resolution breaks integer scaling and adds blur. A correctly-proportioned image with a few black bars almost always looks better than a “full screen” one.