ANBERNIC RG353M review: Handy retro console to take with you

2023-06-03 05:48:12

Old games handy? With the ANBERNIC RG353M you get a handheld that offers you many emulators. You can read more in the review!

Den ANBERNIC RG353M is there with 64 GB of storage space and with 256 GB of storage space, and apart from the color (blue or purple) and storage space, there is no difference. With this device, you can expect a strong retro emulator that, thanks to a preinstalled Linux system, a powerful A55 chip, and a 3.5-inch IPS screen, can easily present old games to you. Whether you want to enjoy games from the Game Boy Color era, titles from the NEOGEO era, games from the Nintendo 64, Dreamcast or even the PSP console, this product is there. We’ve tried out the retro emulator, so let’s jump right into our test!

About the ANBERNIC RG353M

When unpacking, one is surprised by the strong form of the console. The CNC-manufactured aluminum housing is completely torsion-resistant and feels very good and of high quality in the hand. The dimensions also fit the product quite well, the ANBERNIC is for small and medium-sized hands RG353M best for. The usual suspects await you on the front when it comes to the controls: There are two analog sticks, a directional pad, four buttons, a start and a select button, but also shoulder buttons like L1 and L2 as well as R1 and R2. So it quickly becomes clear that this device is also suitable for emulating PlayStation titles! But anyone who dismisses it now and thinks it’s all too complicated: Don’t worry.

This product (both in the 64 GB Variant like them too 256 GB-Version) comes to you with a veritable selection of pre-installed software. A complete listing can be found here – but rest assured that the sheer scope is beyond any bounds. While you are provided with hundreds of games in the Game Boy section, there are over 30 PSone games, a few N64 titles and also a handful of PS2 and Wii games. That sounds impressive in itself, but the Sega Mega Drive (3650), NES console (3900) and Super Nintendo system (5740) easily put the total number of playable games in the thousands. And if something is missing from this selection, you can easily reload the game onto the microSD card.

The first turn on

Once you have charged the product and pressed the standby button on the right side, the Linux portion of the ANBERNIC appears in no time at all RG353M. It has a very graphic structure and is very reminiscent of the user interface on other handheld devices. You will quickly find your way around and can browse through the large number of pre-installed titles. This list is of course freely configurable, so you can sort it by name or platform, and there is also the option of marking individual games as favorites. If you then select a game, it starts immediately and brings you straight into the game.

As a user of an ANBERNIC, you will notice that the topic is technically quite complex RG353M absolutely not. No struggling with the underlying emulators, no BIOS files to search for, and no settings to complicate your life: just boot and go. This simplicity is also what makes this product so accessible, you never have to deal with a Linux, an emulator or anything else. But despite all the simplicity, you have to say: Ultimately, this is a niche product for geeks, and accordingly there are a multitude of options.

Many settings on request

Because while you can easily work with the default settings, there is of course the possibility to go into the options just about anywhere and dig really deep there. Things like the language (English is set by default), firmware updates and the connection to the in-house WLAN are all part of the good thing, but that’s not even half of the whole thing. Because, as already mentioned, the topic of emulation is actually a highly complex one, so you can use different emulators for one and the same title, or apply a wide variety of filters. Unfortunately, nothing is made easier for you here, you quickly lose yourself in menu trees. This is the price you pay for high flexibility!

This is of course also the case with a device like the ANBERNIC RG353M the case: If desired, optical filters and a large number of other fine tunings can be carried out on the emulators. You can also create save states, even if the game does not provide a save point at this point, you can use cheats – if available – and much more. So if you want to dig really deep and customize your experience down to the smallest detail, as is typical for Linux, this product gives you the chance to do so, it just gets confusing quickly. But it should be said again: Even if you just want to buy the device and operate it without any adjustments, the whole thing works excellently and smoothly. Either way, it meets every requirement!

Top-class at ANBERNIC RG353M

Now we have already mentioned that there are thousands and thousands of titles in the game selection of the ANBERNIC RG353M gives. But is there anything really worth playing? I can reassure you: due to the sheer size of the selection, there is something for everyone here. Started from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Castlevania 2, Star Fox, Viewtiful Joe, Tekken 5 and Tekken 6 also come games like Crazy Taxi 2, Sonic Adventure 2, Soul Calibur, Crash Bash, Ridge Racer 4, Silent Hill, Suikoden, Tomb Raider 2, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Nintendogs, Pokémon Dash, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy 4 bis 6, Breath of Fire 1 and 2various Pokémon-Games and more in the palm of your hand.

Of course, these are all older years, but having all of these titles in a convenient, portable format makes perfect sense. The ANBERNIC RG353M make your eyes light up when suddenly a Hamtaro-Title appears in the list, or you’ve been forever lost Pokemon–Cartridge der Yellow edition mourns. Of course, 90% of the pre-installed titles are just there to be there, Japanese originals and unknown Far East titles in particular will only be able to gather a small following in this country. But how does the handheld fare in everyday life?

The retro console in everyday life

In addition to the already mentioned ease of use, there is little to complain about in use. The buttons react quickly and easily to your inputs, and even more demanding games (I’m looking at you, Disney’s Tarzan!) can be done with enough skill without any problems. The ANBERNIC also lacks endurance RG353M not – the product actually lasts quite a long time. While I couldn’t quite get the specified seven hours of battery life, I always managed around five hours of playtime before having to plug a USB-C cable back into the appropriate port. Stronger console emulations (such as the PSP) need a lot of power and sometimes stutters occur.

Also, adding games that aren’t bundled with the device is actually an easy matter. There are websites like Retrostic or WowRoms, all of which offer their downloads with the proviso that you own the original games. After downloading such a file, all you have to do is copy it to the microSD card of the ANBERNIC RG353M to pull, and then the title is also recognized. Even if you are not otherwise familiar with the topic or have never dealt with it before, it is made extremely easy for you to get started here. That’s a very good thing and of course it helps nostalgics to be able to experience beloved titles again! You have enough space, whether you decide for die 64 GB-Version or the 256 GB Variants decides.

The technology of the ANBERNIC RG353M

This product is available in blue and dark purple, and the CNC machined aluminum alloy case ensures a solid build. The screen of the ANBERNIC RG353M is a 3.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 640×480 pixels, which is more than enough for retro titles. An RK3566 quad-core processor with a clock speed of up to 1.8 GHz is used as the processor, which is also sufficient for emulating old games as well as the generous 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM. Both a JELOS Linux and an Android 11 installation can be found on the handheld, so there are two memory cards in the device. There are two variants, you can use the device my 64 GB or my 256 GB create storage space.

WLAN is available as both a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network, Bluetooth 4.2 ensures the possibility of connecting to possible peripherals, and then there is something from the hardware. Because the battery with a capacity of 3,500 mAh joins the support of up to 512 GB memory cards, and a built-in Hall joystick should ensure an analog stick without dead center and without any drifting – I can only confirm that! Powerful stereo speakers, mini-HDMI, streaming properties and a 3.5 mm jack are also part of the package, as is a gift box for loved ones. Finally, here are the dimensions: 14.5 x 7.05 x 1.59 cm with a weight of 232 grams.