Oh good it’s another Anbernic device.
(Skip to the end of the page if you prefer the video review) 

Oversaturated with retro handhelds?

Too bad, here’s another. This time it’s another Anbernic device, but not just any annbearnic – it’s the RG35 – god that’s a lot of letters and numbers .. but there’s an H in there somewhere which must stand for…holy that’s a lot of value!

Today’s review is another ann bear nic word salad handheld. This one, not to be confused with the RG35XX which was reviewed previously on Gamers’ Generation, is a candy-bar style handheld which delivers some sweet performance in a small and pocketable form.

full disclosure, I was sent this unit for review by Geekbuying, but everything is my own opinion, and no money was exchanged. – so check the links at the end of the review if you’re looking to pick one up.

quick run down:

This device, not to be confused with the 35XX OR the 35XX+, is similar in name and specs to the RG35XX+ in nearly every way save for just a couple of things.

So what’s the same and what’s different? Rather than regurgitate all the specs, let me throw them up on screen and tell you that the Plus when compared to the original 35XX, is an improvement in basically every way, with added wifi, more ram, and bigger removable battery, it does have the same 640x480p resolution display, and if you don’t like horizontal or candybar style handhelds maybe that’s not an improvement.Okay so now onto what I like.One thing I consider an upgrade that I didn’t mention earlier is also the addition of the two analog sticks, while they aren’t hall sensors as far as I can tell, their existence means you can play games that would use those for native input like some PS1, PSP, and even dreamcast games. And speaking of those, something the original 35XX and miyoo mini plus aren’t able to do whereas the rg35xxH and 35xx plus can, is run PSP, dreamcast, and n64 titles. So this is a nice plus – get it? Yeah I really need to stop with the AI generated puns. I didn’t test that many titles on all of those systems simply because there are too many to test, but as far as I have researched, not every game will run well, especially out of the box, but at least half of the libraries on each of those systems should work without any real issues.Besides that, I like the little pads on the back for some sensory relief for my ADHD, and the overall ergonomics of the device feel pretty good. I’ll say that I am biased to this horizontal layout vs. the vertical though. And now onto my dislikes.Actually… I don’t really have any, but what I’ll say in this section is what I know a lot of people hate on with anbernic devices, and that’s the stock OS. To be fair, because I typically review devices on the channel for their out of the box experience, I think that this OS isn’t bad as many might label it, and instead would rather use the term “barebones.” It is functional though in my opinion – but it’s not something I’d hand to someone in my house who wasn’t willing to poke around to start playing – the reality is that even with the addition of the search function – I think the average person who wants a more console like experience would much moreso enjoy the ui or ux of something like batocera with the fancy cover art. Me though, I’m too lazy to install those custom OSes, especialy since they come with their own bugs too as far as I understand.Another dislike I’ve heard about is the d-pad and its inaccuracy. I’ll jsut say that I don’t play many platformers so this wasn’t an issue for me personally but it’s something to know about… just like knowing about the downfiring speakers which IMO aren’t bad.But here, take a look at some gameplay before you completely write off or buy into this retro boy:Now let’s talk about who I think this is for. Really it boils down to 2 things for me. 1. Do you want just a bit more performance and access to more systems and games than say the miyoo mini plus or original rg35xx? Maybe this is for you. As of this video, the price difference is about $20 or so between this and those handhelds I just mentioned and as long as you’re not turned off by the candy bar style, I think this thing is a winner.. And speaking of winners, don’t forget to check out geekbuying.com if you’re planning to pick one of these up, there will be discount codes linked below so make sure you don’t pay full price – just like you should make sure to check out my original anbernic reviews next!