The ANBERNIC RG35XX H is the newest addition to the RG35XX family, and it has a lot of people perplexed. Why the "RG35XX" label? It looks nothing like the original RG35XX or the RG35XX Plus.

The reason behind this decision is the RG35XX H has the same internal specs as the RG35XX Plus, but the "H" stands for horizontal. So this handheld will be getting identical emulation performance as the RG35XX Plus, but there are some important changes in both design and controls.

In this review we'll go over the most important information regarding the ANBERNIC RG35XX H, starting with a brief overview, then going into emulation performance, and then finishing off on the quality of its controls and a conclusion. Let's go!

ANBERNIC RG35XX H

The ANBERNIC RG35XX H comes in at around $75, which is a pretty expected price for a handheld of this caliber. It's still somewhat budget, but you will be getting noticeably better quality and performance than in a much cheaper handheld such as the R36S.

Right off the bat, you can see that his handheld is different than the other RG35XX retro handhelds, most noticeably its horizontal form factor and the inclusion of two analog sticks. But you still get a nice-looking 3.5" 640x480 IPS screen that we also saw on the RG35XX Plus.

ANBERNIC RG35XX H

The ANBERNIC RG35XX H is very powerful for a budget handheld and comes at a fair price. Especially with the inclusion of analog sticks, this is a no-brainer for people looking to play more 3D consoles such as Dreamcast and N64.

Check ANBERNIC RG35XX H Prices Here

Other than a few buttons being moved to different locations, the RG35XX H is pretty standard when it comes to an ANBERNIC handheld. It has Glossy ABXY buttons, a D-Pad, four shoulder buttons, and the volume keys, power and reset button, as well as the function button on differing sides of the handheld.

I will delve into the quality of the controls at the end of the article. Make sure to stick around for that because there are important differences between the RG35XX H and the other RG35XX handhelds when it comes to the quality of the controls.

Emulation Test

What consoles and games can the RG35XX H run? It has the same internal specs as the RG35XX Plus, so if you own one or have seen reviews of it, there will be no surprises whatsoever here. But if not, below I've included a list of the harder-to-run consoles that more people will be curious about on the RG35XX H.

Dreamcast

Often budget retro handhelds can have trouble with Dreamcast emulation, but the RG35XX H can handle quite a bit of it. Lighter and moderately demanding Dreamcast games will run well. When it comes to harder-to-run Dreamcast games, the frameskip option will generally make the game playable the majority of the time. When it comes to the hardest-to-emulate games, you may experience some slowdown.

You can even lower the resolution to achieve better performance in certain games, but they still look great on the 640x480 screen. I wouldn't say that this handheld is a perfect portable Dreamcast, but the performance is still very impressive for the price.

PSP (PlayStation Portable)

PSP emulation is certainly tempting on horizontal handhelds like the RG35XX H, as they bear a certain resemblance to the PSP. Unfortunately this handheld is not a perfect replacement for your PSP, but it can still play a large amount of PSP games! Many low to mid-tier games will run perfectly fine, and are more convenient to play as you have analog sticks instead of just a D-Pad like the other RG35XX handhelds.

When you attempt to play harder-to-emulate games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, you will notice significant slowdowns at certain points throughout the map. But there are some surprises such as Ridge Racer, which looks super great and performs well the majority of the time.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend you use your RG35XX H as your go-to PSP emulation machine, but lower-end games like Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X will work completely fine.

Nintendo DS

DS emulation works very well on the RG35XX H! Pretty much every DS game will be able to run well here. Even using the Drastik emulator's enhanced graphic setting, most games will run well. Of course, there are often problems in emulating Nintendo DS because we don't have two screens or a touch screen, so certain games will not really be playable without that feature.

But don't fret, a large amount of DS games are still completely playable without too much use of a touchscreen. When you need to use the touchscreen for some light navigation, you can use your analog stick to emulate the stylus.

PS1 (PlayStation One)

PS1 emulation on the RG35XX H is great! This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to you, as even the original RG35XX boasted good PS1 performance. But with the RG35XX H, you have the ability to play PS1 games at a 2x resolution consistently. And with 3D games, you have an analog stick as an added bonus!

If you want to relive memories of your youth, but at an enhanced resolution, PS1 emulation on the RG35XX H is a treat. Not to mention the vivid 640x480 screen makes these games look even better.

N64

Before getting into Nintendo 64 emulation performance, I should say that you can achieve better performance by changing the Graphics Plugin to "rice" in your RetroArch settings. After this, N64 emulation is pretty good! Not perfect, but pretty good.

Games like Super Mario 64 will run well the majority of the time, and other games such as F-Zero X will run well consistently. Unfortunately, this isn't the case with every N64 game, as harder-to-emulate games will struggle more and won't be super enjoyable.

Lower-End Emulation

Anything below what I mentioned above (ex. GameBoy Advance, SNES, etc.) will run fine. When it comes to most arcade games, 8-bit, 16-bit systems, etc. everything in this tier will run perfectly.

Controls

ANBERNIC is usually known for making retro handhelds with good controls, and for the most part, the RG35XX H is no exception.

Analog Sticks

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the dual analog sticks, as they are a first on an RG35XX series handheld.

The analog sticks feel good, and make it a lot more comfortable to play 3D games on the N64 or Dreamst. Certainly, more premium analog sticks exist, but they are perfectly sufficient for playing retro games here.

Buttons

The buttons on the RG35XX H are the same glossy buttons that we're used to on ANBERNIC handhelds, and there's nothing to complain about here! I don't really know what else to say about these buttons, they work well and are fairly uninteresting.

Shoulder Buttons

We have inline shoulder buttons on the top of the handheld, which isn't my favorite design, but it makes sense so that the RG35XX H can be more pocketable.

They are not analog, but that doesn't really matter for anything that his handheld can emulate.

They are also very clicky, and borderline too loud, but it isn't so bad that I would recommend against you purchasing this handheld.

D-Pad

The D-Pad is where a slight problem arises. At first glance, it looks like there are no problems. It has the same smooth responsive D-Pad as the RG35XX Plus does, but there is one important difference.

That difference is that the RG35XX H does seem to have somewhat of a higher propensity towards accidental diagonals. Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad, but some more observant users might notice this more when playing certain platformers.

I would say the majority of the time in most games, it won't be noticeable at all. But I figured I'd mention this, as it is a distinct difference between the RG35XX H and the RG35XX Plus, which doesn't have this issue.

Final Thoughts

For about $75, the ANBERNIC RG35XX H is a great handheld! It can play a decent amount of games from 3D consoles such as N64 and Dreamcast and gives you two analog sticks, which is a feature missing from many other handhelds in its price range.

Not to mention it boasts features that are sometimes missing from other handhelds in the budget tier, such as HDMI out, internal WiFi and Bluetooth, and a growing catalog of custom firmware options.

Barring a slight issue with the D-Pad, the controls are great! Paired with a sharp vivid screen, and a premium-looking horizontal design (which comes in multiple colors), this handheld is a great choice for first-time retro handheld buyers or someone looking for a new device to add to their collection.