So recently I picked up a retro handheld console, specifically the Miyoo Mini+. This machine comes preloaded with hundreds of games from old systems, up to and including PS1. I had a few problems with it, however, namely I found it perhaps a little too small to hold comfortably (I have bigish hands). I could have lived with this, but the deal breaker for me was the screen was too dim. I might have had a defective model - some googling suggested my mileage may vary with the screens on this device. So, back it went and in its place I ordered the Anbernic RG35XX and I am certainly not disappointed!
Out of the box it comes with a basic operating system installed, and again hundreds of ROMs. The ones I played all seemed fine, although it included some weird versions of games and some strange naming.
It comes with a 64gb memory card included. These cards are cheap and apparently prone to failure, so I ordered a high quality replacement 16gb card, and another 128gb card (it can hold 2). I'm surprised how cheap microSD cards are these days, I paid under £30 including a good quality USB card reader. On the 16gb card I installed a custom OS, called GarlicOS, leaving me the other 128gb card entirely for new ROMs.
These extra steps weren't really necessary as the default OS and roms are fine, but GarlicOS comes with some really nice features so it is worth the effort. For one, it includes a sleep function for fast restarts. Secondly, upon closing any ROM by pushing the menu button it creates a save state (with a nice screenshot) and adds it to the list of your recently played games. You can then scroll through your list and within seconds get back into the game, or launch right back into something you were playing earlier.
Of course, this is a super useful feature for handheld gaming and makes it way, way more accessible than something like a Mega Drive mini to get your retro fix.
Anyway, I thought I'd leave a few words here as I'm really happy with this device, I have so much to play - personal favourites from back in the day and classics I missed out on that I can now easily play for the first time.
Here's a short video of me viewing the save states and switching between games:
PROS
*Surprisingly good overall build quality, nice solid feel in your hands
*Nice bright screen
*Comes with a 64GB storage card and lots of ROMs so you can get started straight out the box
*Very easy to upgrade to Garlic OS, and this is a gamechanger
*SO easy to toggle between games and pick up where you left off in Garlic OS
*Super smooth emulation up to and including PS1. I found the most taxing game so far to be Gran Turismo 2 where I had a little slow down until I boosted the CPU in the menu (overclocking it, at the expense of some battery life)
*Includes a HDMI out port if you want to play on a TV/Monitor
*Has some controller support, this doesn't seem very user friendly though. I have not tried it myself yet.
*CHEAP - this thing is £70!
CONS
*Battery life potentially could be a problem for some, although I seem to be good for at least 4-5 hours. It'll depend on whether you're playing PS1 or SNES, the brightness of the screen and the volume. That said, the battery is upgradable without too much fuss. I have read that the battery life indicator is not very accurate too, so you may have more or less juice than you think.
*The speaker is pretty basic. There is a standard headphone jack if that's your preference, though.
*The screen protector that comes with it is a little too small. I am using it for now but I'll get another. Struggling for negatives here, I mean it's nice of them to include a screen protector at all - my Switch didn't come with one at 3 times the price!
@Bentleyma would happily buy a lot of these games if I could, and in many instances I have, but the only alternative to many of them now is eBay. Plus, the majority of games I have a current interest in playing I already own or owned and paid for at some point - I’ve supported the industry most my life and will continue to do so. Funnily enough this came about because my Gameboy Micro has faulty buttons and I can’t buy the parts I need. But sure, I can see why that might be a hang up for some people.
@kyleforrester87 My issue isn’t even the legality of it all really, more that in my mind it not being an officially licensed product means that quality of it will not be very good. I’m not judging you for using it or anything incase it came off that way!
@Bentleyma it’s another valid point and to be honest, my expectations were pretty low going in but I did a bit of research to see how it performed and for the price I was happy to take a punt. The OS uses (the highly rated) Retroarch as a front end for whatever “emulator cores” you use - there are quite a lot of those available, but the popular ones are very good. I would say it’s been essentially a flawless experience in that department, the hardware handles up to and including PS1 very well.
@Bentleyma (if you mean the quality of the hardware itself, as opposed to the performance of the games, I understand that too! I had some reservations. It’s not perfect, corners were cut on the supplied memory card for sure but it’s much higher quality than you’d think for the money. It’s not worse in my hands than a 3DS or something - but Vita it is not! Anberic make a lot of these types of consoles and seem to have a good rep.)
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Topic: Anbernic RG35XX Retro Handheld
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