Handheld gaming holds a special place in my heart. I've always been a PC gamer, but my secondary console of choice has generally always been the likes of the Nintendo DS, 3DS, or the more recent Switch and Switch 2. The proliferation of PC gaming handhelds has managed to bridge that gap somewhat, but when it comes to retro gaming, nothing comes close. The Anbernic RG35XXSP is one of the best retro gaming handhelds out there, and it's a better experience than even a Raspberry Pi can give.

The RG35XXSP more than simply resembles the Game Boy Advance SP, a clamshell handheld console made by Nintendo in the early 2000s. In fact, it's basically the exact same design, though given the excellence of the SP, I don't mind it at all. It's a wonderful handheld that only costs about $50, and here's the part that makes it even better than a Raspberry Pi: the mini HDMI port that's built in to it.

You can dock the RG35XXSP to a TV

It's a two-in-one handheld

Putting aside the fact that this is a retro gaming handheld, the part that makes it better than the Raspberry Pi for retro gaming is the fact that HDMI support puts it as a contender in two categories. The first is the obvious one: retro handheld gaming on the go. It's small and portable, with decent battery life, comfortable controls, and a good screen. Its four Cortex-A53 cores and Mali G31 GPU pair nicely with the 1GB of DDR4 RAM inside, though it would have been nice to have that upped to 2GB.

However, the second one is the fact that it also competes with dedicated single-board computers that can be used for retro gaming on a TV, too. The Raspberry Pi is the immediate device that comes to mind, thanks to its fantastic specifications and versatility. Yet the RG35XXSP can play most of the games that you'd want to play on a Raspberry Pi, with the added benefit of being portable and packing its own screen and buttons, too.

And if that didn't already sound good enough, you can even connect a USB-C docking station with passthrough charging to this particular handheld, though you'll still need to use the on-board HDMI port for display output. This works thanks to the included USB-OTG support, so you can connect devices over USB and have them picked up by the system.

Finally, you can install custom operating systems, allowing for even more flexibility. Batocera is one such operating system that's often touted as the best on this handheld, thanks to its custom GPU drivers and user-interface that translates nicely to a bigger display. With support for 512GB microSD cards, you'll have no problem fitting an entire retro library on here if you want to relive all of the classics on the go or on your TV.

There are so many retro gaming handhelds out there

It's all about what you need

Nowadays, many of the most popular retro gaming handhelds run a modified version of Android, and one of the best options out there is the Anbernic RG476H, though I have a soft spot for the Ayaneo Pocket Micro, too. These handhelds are significantly more powerful than the RG35XXSP, but to be honest, the simplicity of the operating system and the hardware is part of the charm. Android-based ones tend to be more expensive and pack better hardware, but you also don't need better hardware in a lot of instances.

The thing is, the "dated" nature of these devices fits quite nicely with the fact that the games they're aimed at tend to be playable on even the weakest of modern hardware. There's no risk of your handheld suddenly not being able to keep up, and the only time you would ever need to upgrade would be if you wanted to play slightly more modern games, such as those from the GameCube era. For retro titles that people most often associate with the term "retro," the RG35XXSP is more than enough.

To be clear, there's an entire world of retro gaming handhelds out there. The RG35XXSP is one of the more "basic" options these days, and for titles on the likes of the PlayStation 1, the RG35XX Pro is a better option thanks to its dual joysticks. The point is, though, that these gaming handhelds are often built specifically for retro gaming. A Raspberry Pi is a good option, and if you have one, it will more than do the job.

With all of that said, if you're looking for something a bit more than a Raspberry Pi connected to a TV, then there are a ton of retro gaming handhelds out there that are worth considering. They range from the very cheap to the slightly more expensive, but the value you get out of each one tends to scale well as it's a highly competitive space. I love the RG35XXSP, and if I were looking to upgrade anytime soon, I'm sure there would be ten other gaming handhelds that would catch my eye as well.