Retro gaming night tonight?
If, like me, you struggle to choose which emulator, console, or games to play, I have just what you need: the portable Anbernic RG353M console handles it all.
Anbernic is a retro gaming brand established in 2017, based in China. They release about 4-5 devices per year. They’ve built a solid reputation in this field as the brand is very reliable and produces high-quality consoles.
The console measures 14 x 7 cm and weighs around 230 grams, featuring an RK3566 Quad-Core 64-bit Cortex-A55 CPU and 2GB of DDR4 RAM. It has a battery life of about 7 hours, a USB-C port for charging, and a 3.5-inch multi-touch IPS screen with full viewing angles and a maximum resolution of 640*480.
It supports Bluetooth for connecting a controller or headset, and there’s also a micro-HDMI port to connect it to an external screen. It comes with 2 micro SD card slots. The aluminum casing pleasantly surprised me with its grip (with 2 rubber grips on the back) and the smoothness of the directional sticks.
The console is multilingual and has very good quality speakers for its small size, as well as a classic headphone jack. The 2 micro SD slots are explained by the presence of 2 OSes (an Android system on the internal memory and a Linux system on the first SD card). The second card is used to store ROMs.
The standout software for this console is RetroArch, which is open-source and allows you to emulate many retro games. However, if you’re not convinced, you can install alternative operating systems like ArkOS or Recalbox.
I loved playing Mario Bros and Pokémon Red on this console; both ran smoothly without any lag or slowdown. But be warned, if you want to play PSP games, running at 30 FPS is fine, but at 60 FPS, it becomes a bit unstable and unpredictable.
Of course, you can’t play recent games like Mario Odyssey on the Switch… it’s still a retro gaming console ^^!
For an additional cost, Anbernic can provide a 64-gigabyte SD card filled with games, but unfortunately, they are exclusively in English.
The Linux mode is very comprehensive for gaming and serves that purpose only. On the other hand, the Android mode is more versatile. I use it to watch videos on YouTube, read books, or listen to audiobooks and music. However, you can only add apps in APK format (no PlayStore unless you root it, sorry).
What’s cool is that it’s also available in other form factors, like those of the Game Boy or PSP, for example.
Honestly, I loved taking it everywhere with me and playing classics from the DS or Nintendo 64. For this summer’s vacation, it’s going to be perfect! However, for some games, I find the controls a bit small, but by remapping them in the emulator, you can regain some comfort.
The console is available on Amazon for around €220.
