With so many options to choose from in the Retro Handheld world, ANBERNIC has just made the choice for prospective buyers a bit easier. The new ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus hit the market late last month, and has been making waves with its improvements on its already famous RG35XX handheld.

While much could be said in comparing the two models, many people looking to purchase the RG35XX Plus want to make sure it can play the consoles and games they love the most. Here we’ll dive into what can run on the RG35XX plus, and which consoles’ performance leave something to be desired. Let’s check it out!

The ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus

The ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus is the successor to the wildly successful RG35XX, and only improves on the already amazing handheld. It comes equipped with everything you’d expect with a vertical handheld: ABXY buttons, super comfortable shoulder buttons, a great feeling D-Pad, Start and Select buttons, and a function button for opening RetroArch settings while in game.

Not to mention the vivid and bright 640×480 3.5″ display, as well as a loud and balanced speaker. All of this for around $70 shipped is certainly one of the better deals in the Retro Handheld scene today.

ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus

The new ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus is a solid handheld, and is truly a great option for first-time buyers or for someone looking for an upgrade.

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Which Games and Consoles Can The RG35XX Plus Run?

The ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus comes pre-loaded with many games, and of course you have the option to bring your own ROMs over to it via a MicroSD card. Many games and consoles will run great, but as with any retro handheld, others will not play perfectly.

So after testing the RG35XX Plus out myself and seeing what others in the community have also reported, here is a guide on what you will be able to get out of ANBERNIC’s budget-ish handheld.

Dreamcast

Good performance on Sega Dreamcast games is something that has always been tough for budget Retro Handhelds to achieve, but this hurdle has been overcome by the RG35XX Plus. I was truly excited by the ease with which this $70 handheld was able to play Dreamcast games. Whether it’s your favorite Sonic game, or a personal favorite of mine Crazy Taxi 2, ANBERNIC’s new handheld was able to handle any game I threw at it.

In order to reach full speed and a good framerate, some games have to be played at a slightly lower than native resolution, but these games will still look very good on the handheld’s 3.5″ screen. Of course, many games will still run fine at Dreamcast’s native resolution of 640×480. Overall, I love playing Dreamcast on this handheld, and was genuinely surprised how well it handheld the vast majority of the console’s library.

PSP (PlayStation Portable)

Many people will be surprised to see that the RG35XX Plus can emulate PSP games at all, but the proof is in the pudding. Upon turning on the handheld, you will see that ANBERNIC includes a small selection of PlayStation Portable Games, some of which work well, and some which don’t. This shouldn’t be too shocking if you consider the price of this handheld.

But what is shocking is the games that do work well with a budget handheld like the RG35XX Plus. Lower-end PSP games will run great with no hiccups (most of the time), but you will start running into some slowdowns if you attempt to run higher-end games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

I wouldn’t recommend attempting to make the RG35XX Plus your go-to PSP emulation machine, but it will do great if you want to play some more basic games like Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. Just keep in mind you will only be playing with a D-Pad (although you have the ability for it to function as an analog stick when necessary).

Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS emulation is always difficult to quantify because even if certain games run great, it can be tough to navigate them without a touchscreen. This no-touchscreen dynamic is certainly present with the RG35XX Plus, but that doesn’t stop it from being able to easily play many DS games very well! With the ability to switch between the top and bottom screen with the tap of a button, many games like New Super Mario Bros. as well as many other DS favorites are a breeze on the RG35XX Plus.

If you don’t mind having to navigate certain parts of a game while using the D-Pad as a stylus, you will love DS emulation on this handheld. I didn’t encounter any slowdowns or games that weren’t playable while testing the DS, and was even able to increase the resolution through the Drastic emulator in some games.

PS1 (PlayStation One)

Simply put, PS1 emulation on the RG35XX Plus is almost flawless. This shouldn’t be too surprising considering the original RG35XX also boasted very good PS1 performance. But something that is new with the RG35XX Plus is the ability to play many (if not most) PlayStation One games at 2x the native resolution.

So if you want to relive your childhood memories of playing your favorite Crash Bandicoot games, you can now do so in a way never seen before. Playing PS1 games at 2x resolution not only runs great on the handheld’s hardware, it also looks great with the RG35XX Plus’ 3.5″ screen. So whether at native or 2x resolution, the RG35XX will be able to handle any PlayStation One game you can throw at it.

N64

While all of the aforementioned consoles had a lot of games that will run great on the RG35XX Plus, the Nintendo 64 is the one that struggles the most. At some points certain games (such as Super Mario 64) will run at full speed and with a good FPS, you will frequently encounter slowdowns and overall poor performance. Other games will just be completely unplayable.

While you can do some tinkering around with the settings in RetroArch to improve performance, I wouldn’t recommend the RG35XX Plus for doing a lot of N64 emulation. Some lower-end games will likely run perfectly fine, but it’s certainly a small selection of the N64 library that will actually run well.

Low-End Emulation

So now knowing the ease with which the RG35XX Plus can run Dreamcast, Nintendo DS, and the occasional N64 and PSP game, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it will easily be able to emulate just about any console less powerful than these. The RG35XX Plus comes loaded with so many games from so many consoles that it would be too time-consuming and repetitious to name them all here.

Just to name a few that will run flawlessly: the Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Color, Gameboy, NES, SNES, Genesis, various arcade games, etc. will all run amazingly on the ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus. So there’s no need to worry if your favorite Pokemon game for the Gameboy Color will run well on here, this handheld has you covered.

What it CAN’T Run

While the RG35XX Plus can run much more powerful consoles than its predecessor, there is still quite a bit that it can’t run. While for example it will have trouble with most N64 games, but still be able to play some, there are other consoles that will just require too much power for the RG35XX Plus to emulate at all.

Just to give a few examples of these consoles, you will not be able to emulate: PlayStation 2 (PS2), 3DS, GameCube, XBOX, or anything similar or more powerful than these. If you want to be able to play these consoles, you will need to spend a bit more money on a retro handheld than $70.

Final Thoughts

With all of this in mind, the RG35XX Plus is a great Retro Handheld for the money. At just around $70, you get great performance in many games and consoles that you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near with similar handhelds.

The controls feel great (and definitely are improved from the original RG35XX), and the 640×480 3.5″ screen looks amazing. Not to mention the 3300mAh battery will give you an advertised eight hours of use. The RG35XX Plus is truly a fantastic option in its price bracket, and I can’t recommend it enough!

ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus

The new ANBERNIC RG35XX Plus is a solid handheld, and is truly a great option for first-time buyers or for someone looking for an upgrade.

Check Price Now