Why buy a handheld console when you can make your own? We've seen plenty of Raspberry Pi portable consoles in the past, ranging from the Steam Deck-esque to the truly "pocket-sized." But rarely do we see them come with two screens, akin to Nintendo's DS and 3DS systems.

Fortunately, when they do come around, they're often very impressive projects that inspire people to make their own. This particular entry is no different, as they've made a truly sleek-looking console that wouldn't look amiss on a shelf alongside other paid products. Seriously, it's just that good.

The DSpi is a DIY homage to one of Nintendo's most unique consoles

Over on the Raspberry Pi subreddit, user True_Shock5764 hit the community with a bombshell as they showed off their latest project. It's called the DSpi, and it's designed to look and feel much like Nintendo's consoles while still being a project you can make at home. Take a peek:

Pretty cool, right? Obviously, the main intent for a console like this is to play DS games using the melonDS emulator, but True_Shock5764 notes that you can just as easily put RetroPie on it and play anything you like.

So, what's under the hood? Well, I'm glad you asked. On the project's GitHub page, the creator describes it thusly:

The DSpi is a Dual Screen Linux handheld powered by a Rasberry Pi Compute Module 5, designed primarily for DS emulation. The device features a 5000mah amp battery, Xbox pattern controller with dual analog sticks, Dual 480p DSI touchscreens, Stereo speakers and a DAC + Headphone amp. I reccomend using the Rasbian system image provided in the above files, featuring retropie for single screen systems, and melon DS for true dual screen DS emulation (System image coming soon).

If you're a little puzzled about what the "Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5" is, it's essentially a Pi 5 but squashed down onto a smaller board and without all the fancy ports that the original model has. While the Raspberry Pi 5 is a great way for someone to get into using SBCs for personal projects, the Compute Module is more designed around being implemented within a product, like a really sweet DS console, for instance. In fact, our resident Pi expert Jeff Butts broke down 11 projects the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) is perfectly suited for.

If you want more retro goodness (is the DS retro now? Actually, don't answer that), check out that one time someone squeezed a PS1 emulator onto a DS cartridge. And if you do manage to make your very own DSpi, why not use the opportunity to play one of the five rarest Nintendo DS games that you may never own.