This is a review of the Anbernic RG35XX SP, but I was not going to disgrace my blog archive with such an ugly name as a title, so this will do.
I love the Miyoo Mini Plus, itâs a fantastic device with a lovely form factor based on the original Game Boy, shrinked down in size but still relatively comfortable to hold. Not only is it cute and adorable, but it doesnât sacrifice any of its functionality. It does what it wants to do wonderfully. This blogpost is about the console that replaced it for me just a month or so later, why?
It flips.
This is one of the things I was really looking for when I got into this retro handheld emulation bubble, I heard of things like the Retroid Flipâtoo expensive and flimsyâand I eventually found the Powkiddy V90âtoo cheap and weakâthat were going for a clamshell design like the Game Boy Advance SP.
None of these options were exactly what I wanted, there were rumors and leaks of an upcoming device by Miyoo, and some promising pictures are out there at this point, but it had a weird analog stick in it, and there are still no news or release date announcements. However, Anbernic had its own plans.
A bit of backstory
The GBA SP was the first handheld console I ever saw. A kid at church had one and always played awesome games such as Yoshiâs Island and Sonic Advance (1 or 2, no idea). I just loved watching him play those games, and having them on the go was incredible to me.
My parents did not like videogames that much, and we were not in a position to spend money on such things anyway. All I had was some computer games that came with cereal boxes, and one of those handheld clones with a screen and 999 games that were all pretty basic Snake, Tetris or simple blocky games playing on a DMG screen.
I saw a few more GBA SPs and normal GBAs later in my life, it was a fairly popular device after all, and there was a variety of games for it. But of course, the coolest thing about the SP was that it could flip.
At some point when I was 10 or 11 years old, a friend at another church gifted me his Game Boy Advance SP. He didnât have many games, pretty much only Tony Hawk Underground 2, whichâsince it was all I hadâgot played a bunch by me. By then the Nintendo DS and the PSP had been around for a while, but that didnât mean the GBA wasnât fun. I wish I had had more carts, but I was pretty happy.
Sure THUG2 is a nice game with lots of fun missions, cheats and courses to skate on. However a single cart could only last me so long, and eventually I got my PSP, gifted by the same friend, and I stopped caring that much about it.
Despite it all, I always wanted to try more GBA games, which years later led me to installing emulators on my phone and my PSP as well. I managed to complete games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Metroid Zero Mission. But still, playing them on the real thing wouldâve been amazing.
The Anbernic R35XX SP
I caved in with this device a month after it came out, I just saw it for 50 bucks on AliExpress and decided to just go for the silver modelâsince itâs the most nostalgic one for meâand patiently waited for it.
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with it, I saw tons of reviews praising it and I could see why. The hardware is good, although it feels slightly cheaper than an original GBA SP, it is still perfectly serviceable.
The buttons are clicky, not squishy like on the Miyoo Mini Plus, and while some reviews say theyâre too noisy and hard to press, I donât really consider it a problem.
Of course, the main feature of the XXSP is its form factor. Being almost identical to the GBA SP, it can be opened and closed, protecting the buttons and the screen from scratches and other dangers.
The lid has a magnetic sensor that can put the device to sleep when closed, and closing it shut is extremely satisfying.
The default OS is alright, but I pretty much swapped it immediately for MuOS, which is a pretty minimalistic alternative that works really well for a lot of Anbernic devices in the RGXXXX line.
It has quite a bit of features, such as
Custom behaviour when the lid is closed. Shut down after X minutes, etc
Resuming games and auto-savig when turning the device on/off
RetroArch and everything that implies
A variety of themes
Honestly, it can do pretty much everything OnionOS does, except for the quick game switching. However, theere is a history section which can work as a replacement. It still lacks a bunch of features such as Bluetooth functionality, Activity Tracking and a few others, but the essentials work really well.
The device can emulate up to PS1 with power to spare, and can run some Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 and PSP, but the performance is not the best.
The RG35XX SP in all its glory, Metroid Fusion was the first game I beat on it
Finishing thoughts
I must admit, I am extremely happy with this device. Recently, my sister borrowed my Miyoo Mini Plus and proceeded to never give it back. I do miss some of the features, especially the Activity Tracking that allowed me to see how much time I played my games, but other than that, I have absolutely no problem with this being my only retro handheld.
Anbernic has been releasing tons of devices ever since the SP came out, the RG40XXH, the RGB40XXV, the RGCube, the RG406V, and many more. But the SPâs form factor remains unmatched, and even if one with a 4 inch screen came out, I donât think it would hit the nostalgia factor as much as this one does.
Maybe the only form factor that really interests me is that of the Retroid Pocket 5, which already has pre-orders available. This is an Android based device and it can emulate much more powerful devices from a pretty much perfect PSP performance up to light Switch games, time will tell if I actually purchase it.
In the end, what I wanted was a GBA SP with tons of games, and Anbernic gave me that and much more, at the cost of a horrendous naming scheme.
