The World of Insufficient Light

This is just an R36S in a horizontal format, which means it strongly resembles the Anbernic RG35XX-H and earlier 3.5” screen/horizontal form-factor line. It has pretty much exactly the same internals and software; to the point I suspect you could swap cards between them--It’s running ArcOS and EmuElec and plays most things decently, including managing some N64 and weaker PSP titles. (“Tier 2” is the standard for anything but the bottom-level crap at this point—even the $30 devices are playing SNES perfectly with cheat codes and fast-forward options.)

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Overall: While the build quality of the RG35XX-H is a little better, and the stock software is arguably a little better, there’s a lot to be said for getting this at half the price to fit the same form-factor and run basically all the same things.

I dropped $40 on this knowing that it was a knockoff intended to capitalize on the success of Anbernic’s XX line (like when Powkiddy made the X350); I just wanted to see how bad it was. And it’s…mediocre hardware running really crap software. I’m strongly reminded of the M17, actually.

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Overall: Absolute rip-off waste of money; glad I effectively got it for free.

So, in terms of the firmware, the performance, and the capabilities of this device, it’s actually really easy to review: Refer to my RG35XX-H review. Full, fast and smooth Retroarch integration with cheats and hotkeys readily available plus a dedicated menu button. It’s got an HDMI output and a proper headphone jack, and two SD card slots (again, pretty much the same as the rest of the XX line).

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Overall: It’s bigger than the RG35XX-H, but not enough to be useful, if that makes sense. The weird screen shape means you’re not actually getting that much more real estate for games; the larger body is a little more comfortable to hold but means it’s harder to carry around. DS games are a little more playable with the bigger screen and better sticks, but there’s still no touchscreen. Given that both devices run in the $50-60 range on AliExpress, I think the smaller device is actually the more versatile choice. That said, it’s a great device, it’s just redundant to my existing options.

The makers of the Miyoo Mini bring us this tiny little horizontal candy bar with a 2.8 inch screen; clearly they believe that smaller handhelds are the ideal. This is the smallest system I’ve used since the original Trimui Mini; it’s even more compact than the Powkiddy Q90, and it’s shockingly good.

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Overall: This is finally something that I think can take the place of the Powkiddy Q90, a candy bar that's reasonably comfortable to play on that can fit into pretty much any pocket, but is cheap enough you don't mind if something happens to it. It plays more systems and fixes a bunch of flaws the older system had (it plays SNES perfectly, it upscales GBA properly, and can even manage some N64 and DS). And even buying a fresh SD card to load separately, you can’t argue with the price. ($30 on AliExpress)

This is the knockoff Playstation Portal that I got on a lark when it dipped to $30 on AliExpress. (And yes, I know I said I was pretty much finished with handhelds, but I was bored and they were cheap and seemed like I’d get a few hours of entertainment out of some weird new things.)

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Overall: This was a blast from the past (...five whole years ago), but in a world where you can get a R36S for basically the same price and it’ll run real RetroArch and everything up to DS well (And even PSP/N64 badly), there’s no reason anyone else should ever buy it.

Folks, I'm not sure I dare to believe it, but I think we might have reached the end of the cheap retro handheld project, because I think I have everything I want.

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Overall: I really don’t know what else to ask for at this point. We’ve passed the point where there are systems out of reach that you’d want to play on this size screen—who wants to play PS2 or Gamecube on a 3.5” handheld? I think we’ve perfected the cheaper, smaller form-factor as the technology has caught up to it.

I got this in a Black Friday sale on AliExpress for $42—I wasn’t expecting much and I didn’t think it was worth it for the $60 price tag I was generally seeing it at. It’s sort-of a clone of the Anbernic 353V, a vertical handheld with a 3.5” screen and enough power to play Tier 3 (N64, DS, PSP).

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Overall: I don't want to like this, because it physically feels like a cheap knock off and it has a fake menu button, but there's a lot here. This has most things you’d want right out of the box (except N64) and requires very little tinkering, so it’s solid price point competition for the RG35XX or Miyoo Mini Plus. (And for the discounted $42, it's a DAMN sight better than the m17!)
 

I had been keeping an eye on this one for a while: It’s yet another fan-made OS for the Anbernic RG35XX, and it’s better than GarlicOS for most purposes.

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Overall: This loses a little of the “pick-up-and-play” aspect that the stock OS had and GarlicOS maintained—if you loved the OnionOS/GarlicOS auto-save state and recents menu, you’ll be disappointed here. And GarlicOS has a much better sleep mode. But this gives you working cores for a LOT of systems and runs several that I never thought this device could manage. I like it!

This was listed as “VILCORN SNPRO Retro Game Consol 3 Inch IPS Srceen Portable Gaming Players Mini Consoles for Gameboy GBA SEGA SNES Kid Gift”, but it’s the same device as the Data Frog SF2000. I had actually purchased a differently-branded one a few months ago, but it was DOA and despite opening it up with hopes it could be resuscitated, there was nothing to be done. Fortunately, this one works fine.

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Overall: I wish I could remove the SNES collection entirely because it’s a trap taking up space, but otherwise we've finally found something really cheap but genuinely worthwhile for the price.

Since I last took stock, I’ve properly added the Retroid Pocket 3, RG35XX, Miyoo Mini+, and PowKiddy V90. I also got a My Arcade Go Gamer Classic (Family Sport 220-in-1) and My Arcade Go Gamer Retro (Nice Code Museum) which I cataloged for Talking Time, and was gifted a Pro 200 which got its own thread. The latter three are all getting given away when I can find a taker for them.

The PowKiddy X2 also got a Talking Time thread, this one going through the ridiculously-translated game titles. It’s currently the device with the biggest screen (7”), but it stretches everything to that size and only plays the lower-end systems. I think I’m going to look for something with the big screen but a bit more power and flexibility to replace it.

The Anbernic RG350 remains a workhorse, with over 300 hours and more than half of my total emulator handheld logged usage time. I think it’s shifted to the “sooner or later it’s going to die, but I’ll be okay with that” niche, as I’m now in my second summer of bringing it to the beach. I think it’s going to be interesting to see which (if any) system challenges its usage record over the next few years.

The Retroid Pocket 3 has surpassed the Anbernic RG552 as my go-to for SNES or NES games with cheats, and has become the default choice for DS and PSP (despite the slightly smaller screen). It’s more comfortable to hold, more customizable, and it has significantly better battery life without requiring the C-to-C high-power charger. The RG552 taught me how an Android device could be awesome, but the RP3 gives me access to the Play Store, so I can play Android games, easily stream Steam games, and update to the latest versions of DraStic and PPSSPP which have cheats built in. And especially as I continue to build out my “ideal rom list,” having the device be pre-loaded is less important. The downsides so far are that the RP3 takes a full minute to boot up, is too big for a cargo pants pocket, and I have continuing issues with the PS1 emulation quality on Duckstation.

The Retroid Pocket 2+ does everything the RP3 does, just with a smaller screen and somewhat more awkward form-factor. I keep upgrading it but keep not playing it. Time will tell whether it ever sees heavy use. (I recently figured out that I could clear a 15-GB “Games” folder from the SD card that I think was only relevant to the Retroid Pocket 1 before I upgraded it. So now it can fit all the games I’d actually want to play.)

The Powkiddy V90 isn’t a form-factor I really enjoy playing on, and it doesn’t do anything new, so it will also be going on the giveaway pile.

The Miyoo Mini+ has proven to be a nice side-system for ARR, because the smaller grip is fine for his hands and the ability to use cheats for any system (particularly GBA) makes him happy. I’m keeping it as the “throw in the bag when I want to distract him but don’t want to bring the Switch”; but meanwhile I’m not that crazy about long-term play on it myself specifically because of the “big hands” problem.

But the Anbernic RG35XX is the most interesting disruption to the ecosystem, especially with the improvements to GarlicOS. Now that it can play systems like Lynx, Game Gear, Pokemini, Atari 2600, and Pico-8, it can rival the capabilities of the reborn Powkiddy Q90; and it does them with a much better screen. (I don’t have a belt holster for it, but even in the case it’s still nicely pocket-sized.) For that matter, in terms of cheat capabilities it now rivals or beats the RG350 (native cheats for NES, Genesis, and PS1; ability to import hacked save files for SNES, GBA) and again, it has a nicer screen (though it doesn’t have analog sticks). The original device was great for pick-up-and-play but comfortable enough for longer sessions; the additional systems and cheat capabilities (and working fast-forward) make it potentially the new “train ride” choice.

I’ve built out my “Ideal roms list” for 15 systems now, though the Sega Master System and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive still need to get sorted out, as do all of the arcade and Neo-Geo titles. The priority has clearly been on either systems I actually owned (Nintendo and Sony ones) and portables that play really well on my handhelds (Lynx, Game Gear).

Overall: I suspect the RG350 still has life in it, but the RP3 and the RG35XX are the current hotness. And I think I need to give away or sell a bunch of the older systems at this point.