Anbernic RG-35XX Plus

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Device Overview: Anbernic RG-35XX Plus

The Anbernic RG-35XX Plus is the chip transplant that turned a likeable budget curio into one of the most-recommended entry handhelds of its generation. It keeps the vertical, Game Boy-shaped shell of the original 2023 RG35XX but swaps in an Allwinner H700 SoC, bolts on 5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, and — the reason enthusiasts actually care — opened the door to a deep custom-firmware scene the older model never had. At 186 grams and 117 x 81 x 22 mm it genuinely disappears into a jacket pocket, and at a US$57.99 launch price for the 64GB version it undercut almost everything with a screen this good. This is not a Windows mini-PC or a Steam Deck rival; it is a low-power ARM emulation machine with a very specific job.

Emulation performance, generation by generation

The H700 pairs four ARM Cortex-A53 cores at 1.5GHz with a modest Mali-G31 MP2 GPU and 1GB of LPDDR4. That silhouette tells you the story before you launch a single ROM. Everything 8-bit and 16-bit — NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, GBA, PC Engine, Neo Geo — runs at full speed inside RetroArch with headroom to spare, and PlayStation 1 is fully playable across the library with DuckStation/PCSX cores. This is where the device earns its keep. Climb higher and the ceiling arrives fast. Nintendo 64 through mupen64plus is a title-by-title gamble; lighter games like Super Mario 64 hold framerate, but the absence of analog sticks makes many N64 games awkward even when they run. Dreamcast on Flycast is selective — Crazy Taxi is fine, Shenmue and Sonic Adventure 2 lean on frameskip. Saturn is a coin-flip. PSP via PPSSPP handles 2D and lighter 3D titles but stumbles on demanding games with slowdown and audio crackle, so treat it as a bonus rather than a feature. Nintendo DS through DraStic works but the single 4:3 screen forces clumsy layout choices for dual-screen games, and there is no touchscreen, so titles built around the stylus become a chore. Arcade coverage through FBNeo and MAME is strong up to mid-1990s boards but tapers off once games demand serious 3D. Realistically, buy this as a “flawless up to PS1, hopeful beyond” machine and you will never be disappointed.

Screen, build and controls

The 3.5-inch IPS panel runs 640×480 at a native 4:3 aspect, OCA-laminated so the image sits right under the glass. That 4:3 shape and resolution is a deliberate retro choice: it integer-scales 8- and 16-bit systems cleanly and looks sharper on those than the widescreen panels rivals use. Colours are strong and viewing angles are wide. The shell is unremarkable plastic but assembled solidly for the money. Controls are the honest weak point: you get a d-pad, ABXY face buttons and stacked L1/L2/R1/R2 shoulder buttons, but no analog sticks at all, and nothing here is Hall effect. For the systems this device does best that is a non-issue, but it structurally rules out comfortable N64, PSP and PS1 3D play. The vertical layout is comfortable for short sessions and cramps less-forgiving hands over long ones.

Software and setup

Out of the box it runs Anbernic’s own 64-bit Linux stock OS, which is rougher than the alternatives but perfectly usable if you never want to tinker. The real appeal is that the H700 is exceptionally well supported by community firmware. Knulli, a Batocera fork maintained by acmeplus, is the popular EmulationStation-based pick; muOS offers a cleaner, faster minimalist front-end; MinUI strips everything back to a boxart-free launcher; GarlicOS 2, Koriki/Batocera and ROCKNIX round out the menu. Installation is refreshingly low-risk — most firmwares boot from a second microSD card in the device’s secondary slot, so you leave stock untouched and simply swap cards. Dual microSD slots (expandable to 512GB), a mini-HDMI TV output and Bluetooth for pads and audio round out the setup. Budget an evening to pick a firmware and scrape box art; the payoff is a far better interface than stock.

Price, value and who it is for

At around US$58 the RG-35XX Plus is a lot of confirmed hardware for the outlay: a laminated 4:3 IPS screen, a capable-enough SoC, 3300mAh giving roughly eight hours, wireless, HDMI out and one of the widest firmware ecosystems in its class. It is the right buy for someone who wants a pocketable machine that nails everything from the Game Boy era through PlayStation 1, and who enjoys — or at least tolerates — flashing custom firmware to get the best out of it. Skip it if analog sticks are non-negotiable, if PSP or N64 are your main targets, or if you want a horizontal layout — for those, Anbernic’s own RG35XX H or a stick-equipped sibling is the smarter spend. The main thing that has changed since launch is competition: newer chips like the H700’s successors and Anbernic’s own horizontal models have appeared, but none have undercut this exact combination of price, screen and firmware support. As a first handheld or a cheap retro second, it remains an easy recommendation, and the vibrant custom-firmware community means it will stay useful long after Anbernic stops updating the stock software.