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RG35XXSP
In what I like to imagine as an Ocean’s Eleven-style delivery, my Anbernic RG35XXSP (hereafter SP) arrived to its new home two weeks or so ago with its then-current sales price intact, e.g. no surprise tariffs. Unfortunately for anyone currently reading this, Anbernic is suspending shipments to the US. They supposedly have a warehouse in the US they can ship from, but for how long remains to be seen.
Anyway, here is the SP next to the Mini+:
There are plenty of Youtube videos out there with detailed analyses between the two, so I won’t get into that here. What I will say is that if I had to do it all over again… I would have gotten an emulator with a thumbstick. In probably a horizontal orientation. So… maybe just a Retroid Pocket 5.
To be clear, the main “problem” I have is probably N64 envy. When I was looking at the curated list of 100s of games from my youth, the first thing that came to mind to try was Super Mario Kart (SNES). While that was nice, it was also, well, extremely basic. Which, of course it was. So then I moved up to Super Mario Kart Advance (GBA) and that felt a bit better with more interesting tracks and items. And then I took a detour into Super Mario 64 and that… didn’t feel that great. It actually played just fine on the SP, but obviously you have to use the D-pad as an analog stick.
As a somewhat related aside, I’m not sure if this is a handheld issue or an emulator issue or something I’ve just forgotten about in the intervening decades, but holding down B to run and pressing A to jump while moving is… hard? Like, I’m talking in the original Super Mario Bros. If you let go of B in mid-air, you lose any momentum you have when you land, if not while airborne. Did we all just smoosh our thumb-meat inbetween those two buttons and rock it 45 degrees when you needed to jump? I’m tempted to change the controller scheme to add one of the shoulder buttons as a Run button.
Aside from Nintendo, one of the other games I have surprisingly been playing is Xenogears. At first, this felt a bit awkward on the SP considering Xenogears is a 3D game with a spinnable camera and even a jump button… until I realized that the PS1 didn’t have analog sticks either. Oh my. In any case, I’m not certain that I will continue playing Xenogears much on the handheld devices, specifically because when I have the opportunity to do so, I usually can’t have the sound cranked up. Probably half the nostalgia of these games – and especially Squaresoft ones – comes from the soundtrack, so it’s a big loss. All of which brings up my reminder about your use case for emulation. Bring some headphones, at least.
In any event, what I can say is that between the SP and the Mini+, I do prefer the SP. There is an argument that the SP might have a hinge problem in the future, but there is something deeply satisfying about being able to close the clamshell at a moment’s notice and forget about the device in your pocket without having to baby it. I bought the Mini+ with a carrying case, but at that point the “pocket portability” aspect is diminished. The SP is probably not good for my 6-year old who would undoubtedly just open and shut the lid a 1000 times absentmindedly, but it’s certainly safer from a screen point of view once he’s older.
/Sweat
Got this email yesterday:
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Got this email earlier today:
So… what’s the over/under for whether the RG35XXSP will make it to my door as-is versus a letter saying it now costs $112.21? Or maybe de minimis applies and it’ll just be 30% higher… or an extra $25. Or both. Or neither.
Weeee.
Handheld Emulation
Let’s talk handheld emulation for a bit. I recently purchasing a Miyoo Mini+ after watching a bunch of Youtube videos, so I am, of course, now an authority on the subject. If you want to be one too, let’s go.
TL;DR?
If you’re new to the hobby, just buy one of the cheap models and live with it for a few weeks. It’s very easy to get lost in the sauce when there are like 50+ models across an entire spectrum of price-points, form-factors, and capabilities. If you find yourself not using it, great, you’re only down the cost of one AAA game or whatever. If you find yourself using it a bunch, or wishing you had a different model because you want to play X game on Y console, then congrats on the certainty.
For myself, I bought the following (prices as of today):
- Miyoo Mini+ w/ case ($55 Amazon; $40+$3 AliExpress)
- Anbernic RG35XXSP Flip ($80 Amazon; $60 AliExpress)
Why did I get another one? Although the case is nice with the Miyoo Mini+, turns out that portability takes a hit if you try to bring both. Having something with a clamshell design (RG35XXSP) seems much more intuitive and portable to me. Plus, the RG35XXSP is supposedly able to play some N64 games, and that is intriguing even though it doesn’t have analog sticks.
I haven’t received it yet, so the verdict is still out if it was a good idea.
Keep the Ceilings in Mind, Though
Unless you just like collecting gadgets, there are a few logical “ceilings” to consider. For example, I’ve bought two handhelds that cost a combined $135. That’s creeping up on the following alternatives:
- Switch Lite – $199 + $50/year sub
- Steam Deck – $399 (or $549)
- Odin 2 Portal Pro – $399
- (future) Switch 2 – $449 + $50/year sub
The Switch Lite is up there not because you can easily hack it to play ROMs – I don’t consider micro-soldering “easy” – but because the Nintendo subscription thing will grant you a Game Pass-esque access to a bunch of games up to N64. Does it have everything? Nope. But if your nostalgia is focused on Nintendo, well, it has most everything (non-Pokemon, non-Squaresoft) you could want.
Beyond that, you’re looking at $400+ and needing to decide how easily to play Steam games.
Final Thoughts
If you want to do your own research, I recommend the Retro Game Corps channel. All of his videos are very detailed, down to how the buttons feel to push, and he has covered pretty much every device.
Not to encourage any FOMO – and it’s probably being priced in already – but this particular hobby might end up collapsing soon due to the removal of the de minimis exemption:
Shipments under $800 that are sent through the international postal network will be “subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item after June 1, 2025).”
I did a lot of Googling to try and figure out if “whichever is lower” (or higher, possibly) was accidentally left off, if both apply, or what. Assuming it’s just the 30% though, well, all of these devices are getting 30% more expensive extremely soon. Along with everything else too, of course.
Anyway. Back to the escapism.
In An Age 