If you want to carry retro games with you wherever you go, then there are a few handhelds to choose from that may fit the bill. One such handheld is the Anbernic RG35XX, a powerful handheld that manages to support a ton of different consoles and handhelds out of the box. From the NES to the Nintendo DS to the PlayStation 1, it can do a whole lot in a very small form factor.

If you want a powerful retro gaming handheld that's slightly bigger than the Miyoo Mini and has support for RTC, along with a slightly more powerful chipset, then the Anbernic RG35XX is one of the best in the business you can get. I haven't been experiencing any slowdowns in Nintendo DS games on it, unlike the Miyoo Mini, and RTC is a game changer for the likes of Animal Crossing and Pokemon.

However, if you need Wi-Fi support, then you may need to look elsewhere. That's the biggest downfall of this gaming handheld. If you don't care, though, then this is absolutely worth a look.

About this review: XDA purchased the Anbernic RG35XX for the purposes of this review. Anbernic did not have any input into the contents of this review.

Pricing and availability

The Anbernic RG35XX can be purchased globally from resellers and the official Anbernic website. It retails around $60, though exchange rates and other costs may cause it to fluctuate slightly.

Design and build quality

The perfect size for me

The Anbernic RG35XX is an all-plastic build with a beautiful 3.5-inch 480p IPS screen. With that plastic build it manages to cut back on weight, making it easy to carry around in your pockets. The buttons for the power button and volume rocker are tactile, and easy to reach and press while using it. They feel cheap, sure, but this is admittedly a very cheap device.

The buttons themselves are sturdy, though I've read reports of people having issues with the D-Pad inputs. My unit is completely fine, and I read reports from some people that the D-Pad problems were fixed in later production runs of this device, though your mileage may vary. There's a set of ABXY buttons, a start and select button, and a menu button, too. On the back are a set of two R buttons and two L buttons, and on the bottom is a headphone jack and a USB-C charging port. While it may be USB-C, it's limited in what it supports for charging. It only charges at 5V 1.5A, or 7.5W.

What's particularly special about this device is the mini HDMI port at a top, which you can use to output the display to a TV or monitor. That requires you to actually carry around a HDMI cable of course, but the USB-C port also supports USB OTG for controllers, meaning you could feasibly bring a HDMI cable and an Xbox controller with you and game on the go.

I find that the size of the RG35XX is perfect for me, as it's easily pocketable but still comfortable to hold and play for long gaming sessions. It's a big improvement over the Miyoo Mini+ in that regard, as that device is tiny. Finally, there are two microSD card ports here, meaning you can have your apps and emulators on one SD card, and all of your game files on another.

We also don't recommend using the included microSD card, assuming it's not from a name brand, as they tend to be poor quality and have performance problems. In my case, the RG35XX would sometimes even fail to boot when using the included microSD card.

Gaming

What the RG35XX does best

The RG35XX is made for gaming, and it has the hardware chops to do just that. It has an ATM7039S with four Cortex-A9 cores and PowerVR graphics. It can play games on handhelds as recent as the Nintendo DS at full speed, and Pokemon Black 2 runs at full speed. It doesn't support Nintendo DS emulation out of the box, but you can install a third-party port of Drastic to do it.

Otherwise, you get full compatibility with PlayStation 1, NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance, and a ton of other emulators, just to name a few. There's a real-time clock here that you can use for those games that require it, but it doesn't have Wi-Fi support to pull game images or other metadata. The RG35XX now comes with GarlicOS too, which is a custom firmware with more emulators like ScummVM. That's thanks to a partnership between Anbernic and Black-Seraph, and you should just use it instead of the default operating system.

The battery life is the only downside of the gaming experience here, though you can underclock it to extend the playtime by a little bit. I'm getting roughly two to three hours of playtime with Nintendo DS emulation, but you can probably extend it to four or five with an underclocked CPU and playing a weaker console like the NES.

There is one flaw of the RG35XX that I'm not particularly a fan of, and it's that it doesn't support Bluetooth headsets. While gaming over Bluetooth doesn't always tend to be ideal given that there can be an inherent desynchronization, it's a nice-to-have feature that's been left out here. Any headphones that support 3.5mm audio input will work, but as someone who carries exclusively wireless headphones and earphones, it's different from what I imagine a lot of people are used to these days.

Should you buy the Anbernic RG35XX?

You should buy the Anbernic RG35XX if:

• You want to enjoy retro games on the go
• You want to play Pokemon ROM Hacks on what feels like official hardware
• You want a small, portable handheld
• You want to play Nintendo DS games

You shouldn't buy the Anbernic RG35XX if:

• You want Wi-Fi
• You want faster charging

The Anbernic RG35XX is a retro gaming handheld to find fault with, most notably because it achieves the one thing that it's designed for very well. It's a fantastic handheld that you can play any game from the supported library on, and the only thing that's really negative about the experience is the reduced battery life. With more power comes more power consumption though, so it makes sense that it's shorter than other devices that you may be used to.

I wasn't sure what to expect of the Anbernic RG35XX, but it pleasantly surprises with its comfortable build, powerful hardware, and beautiful screen. I love that Anbernic embraced the GarlicOS CFW from Black-Seraph, adding an official toggle in the software to boot between the two. It's a better OS than the default too, so I highly recommend just switching over to GarlicOS and never using the official system again.

If you're looking for a retro gaming handheld and want something smaller than this, then the Miyoo Mini+ is the better option for you. It's a little bit smaller on all accounts, but also has a longer battery life. It's all about what you value in a gaming handheld, and you can weigh up both of them to figure out which is the best for you.