Anbernic RG353PS Review: The Ultimate Budget Retro Gaming Device

[@retrohandhelds]

The 353PS (and other Anbernic handhelds) happen to be on sale today! This is now under $90. Check our description for link.

[@sevenfacedsin]

I find the ABXY buttons to be incredibly comfortable. It’s pretty much identical to my 2ds XL. If you use one of those, this will feel right at home.

[@KyleRuggles]

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants to play Dreamcast and below that doesn't break the bank. I'd get this if I haven't had an RP3+, an Odin and an RG351V. Great review!

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

I just got one of these, and it's perfect for my needs. I previously had an RG35XX. It was a great device, but I had trouble playing PSX on it because it's awkward to hold while using the shoulder buttons. The RG353PS is just about perfect in every way; comfortable to use, great OS (Batocera based), great screen, good battery life, and easily powerful enough for the systems I want to emulate.

[@retrohandhelds]

It's definitely a nice little package glad you're enjoying it

[@syfamilytv]

Very nice video! This is the only review so far which discussed the shortcuts which is very helpful and handy in the future. Now I'm decided on getting the RG353PS. Thanks a lot and more power!

[@retrohandhelds]

Awesome! Thanks for watching I'm glad the video was helpful 😁

[@JakeSulinjr]

Dude, you're getting a sub & bell from me for sure! I'm super busy, and while I like some of the other retro emulation handheld reviewers, they tend to make long drawn-out videos with the information I need scattered throughout them. I was able to click this and get all the information I needed right upfront quickly with no BS. Thanks so much!

[@retrohandhelds]

Thanks man! Welcome to the channel, we're happy to help!!

[@renpamatian6472]

Bro this is the most detailed review that i found for rg353ps, im buying it because of you 👌, already hit the like, bell and subscribe, keep up the good work 👍

[@wordsmith451]

It is awesome for price performance and a return to form. Solid budget device. For me, however, i find it absolutely worth it to spend almost double and buy a 405M. It's even more pocketable, premium, and powerful, and it does just about everything I want it to, plays great with long battery life, and is small enough I can lose it in my pocket. Can't lose. Worth the extra.

[@y2jelly]

I love watching reviews while I'm waiting for the real thing arrived, almost ordered RG351P before I saw RG353PS is on sale, only less than $10 difference in between

[@alpmaster0076]

This handheld looks awesome 😊

[@dbozgt]

I have it love my grey unit.

[@mattstemle3963]

Outstanding review and greatly appreciate the details.

[@leelee7334]

I love this design. I would rather have it the same dimensions as the S30 or the Data Frog but it’s good. I couldn’t stop hitting the power button. I also agree this would be good with a T618 in it. I actually like the small screen versus a 7 inch. I do believe this isn’t the last controller handheld. I’m pretty burnt out on 3566 devices. It’s sad that this get beaten by the RP2+ in performance.

[@dudesk099]

I definitely feel that. Crazy how far ahead RP2+ was even now.

[@jedewitz]

These remind me of the old STD controllers. I love the layout and setup.

[@themadmoderator8465]

just got it today nice little handheld

[@Gonzalo-zs7er]

this will be more than enough to play looney tunes bball from the snes and also with a nice controller layout, nice vid!

[@retrohandhelds]

Thank you glad you enjoyed it.

[@mr.n476]

i just ordered one. been rocking the OG RG350 for years now and i love the device, and i can play my games just fine. but i just cant enjoy ps1 games on the old RG350 due to the inline shoulder buttons. so really, just buying this for the sake of a better shoulder buttons placement and for a "slight" upgrade since i already owned a steam deck.

[@ComeJesusChrist]

If you regularly want to play PSP, get a Vita or a Retroid Pocket 3 Plus. If you want Android, get the Retroid. This is still an amazing little device and at the price, it’s a bargain. I’ve got one and it’s better than any other handheld for the money as it’s currently around £68-90, depending the offer you may find.

[@SonofSun100]

Bought it a bit back. Stilling at my UPS store. Picking up tomorrow.

[@retrohandhelds]

Great little handheld

[@Frilleon]

Rg353ps is the best horizontal budget handheld Rg35xx is the best vertical budge handheld For higher specs obviously the rg353v or rp3+ or steam deck is the next step Rg353ps is insanely good for the price. I love playing mine

[@dadou193]

Hey Frilleon, do you know if Tomb Raider 1 and 2 work well on the RG353PS? I am excited about playing those games with the HDMI feature, assuming they are run smoothly and are playable confortably with this handheld. Can you do a quick check for me and reply here? thanks in advance

[@Frilleon]

i don't have it to check atm but iirc it played all ps1 games without any issues @@dadou193

[@markhead21]

I have the 353P, and while I don't use android much at all, I've found it useful for directly downloading roms from other devices, cloud storage and the internet. I think I'd rather have it than not personally.

[@vhsretrogamer1664]

Same. But I like these bezels and face buttons more than 353p

[@PokeCactus]

Do you have any OS issues? Mine freezes and act strange all the time

[@markhead21]

@@PokeCactus No , not personally. It's been fine running ArkOS.

[@PokeCactus]

@@markhead21 is ArkOS the stock software? Mine like freezes, gets stuck loading, save state 0% and all types of issues

[@markhead21]

@@PokeCactus No, it's custom firmware. There's plenty of videos on here explaining how to do it. Stock is usually worse and more unstable.

[@dadou193]

Anyone else having issues connecting to HDMI? My Samsung 2020 tv doesn't seem to recognize it. I tried all 3 hdmi, hdmi 1, 2 and 3. Nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

[@KermenTheFrog]

Oh wow JELOS works didn't know that. I Installed ARKOS the rg353m version which was recommended. Really enjoying my 353ps great value really nice screen and great build quality

[@retrohandhelds]

Both are great options, I just like how clean jelOS looks.

[@GohanSSJII]

Can you tell me if I can use otg port to connect to PC ? So I can transfer roms without unplug sd card

[@Pridetoons]

I NEED Anbernic to bring us a Circular D-Pad, like the Sega Genesis or Sega Saturn.

[@retrohandhelds]

That would be awesome!

[@Gamster_007]

Thank you for this high quality review. I ordered this device today and I appreciate your tips about the user interface and about custom firmware also. Now all I need is the console to arrive in mail :)

[@retrohandhelds]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@heinhtettunoo]

How did you find the ergonomics on this? I'm thinking about getting one too.

[@michaeldemers2716]

This one covers all the bases. I need Bluetooth and HDMI out. Dreamcast has a ton of games. Ikaruga is awesome and Resident Evil Code Name Veronica too. Plus I like Ultimate Ghosts n Goblins and Dracula X for PSP. I may get this but I want an Orange Pi 800 so I don't know what part of my brain will win. I think it will be the Pi. I may go for Android 12 OS.

[@rorivers180]

It is on sale now, Are the sticks full 360 degrees a la 405m or 8 cardinal points ala 35xx-H?

[@retrohandhelds]

Full 360. -Aish

[@rorivers180]

@@retrohandhelds Thanks!! it was a bummer in the RG35XX-H to have full 360, but only 8 cardinal "usable"...

[@Lumen_Blasphemer]

I'm thinking about getting this. Maybe a rg350p. I think I want a dedicated PSX machine that has analogue sticks.

[@retrohandhelds]

I would suggest going with something in the 353 line vs the 350, you'll just get better performance and not have to worry about setting on any PSX games.

[@mg_in_minutes]

I have archOS on mine. How do I change the color of the original gameboy to the native green?

[@retrohandhelds]

Go into quick settings then core options, you should see a colorization option in there. -Aish

[@mg_in_minutes]

@@retrohandhelds Thank you! That worked!

[@dadou193]

Is there a guide for the DS patches that you mentioned at 13:20 (to play without the need of the bottom touch screen)?

[@retrohandhelds]

I'm not sure if there's a guide, I patched mine a long time ago. If you already have the game I would just look "dpad patched (game name)" version online. -Aish

[@dadou193]

@@retrohandhelds can you explain a bit better and assume that i am a complete newbe as i am just starting my retro handheld journey. Didn't understand what you meant. Thx

[@dadou193]

can you please tell us how Tomb Raider 1 (PS1) and Tomb Raider 2 (PS1) perform on the on RG353PS? Especially with HDMI we can play those Tomb Raider games on a big screen- if it works?! Let us know please!

[@dadou193]

maybe you don't see your notifications? let us know thx

[@ANTONIO-wt5df]

Kuya ano pong tawag dun mga controller nayun san nakaka ili nun yung kulay Violet and Green Nung opening ng video

[@dadou193]

What about sega saturn? Will it work on it ? Curious!

[@retrohandhelds]

Ah yes it will, not every game will run 100%

[@samsungtv4u]

Is it possible to connect this to play multiplayer with the Miyoo mini plus???

[@motauseef1563]

If I have a modded ps vita are ready would this still be worth owning? What I would like is to have a handheld that can play Dreamcast games mostly that can be connected to tv if I wish, this rg353ps has the nicest design in terms of ergonomics ( and colour scheme of the dmg) would this be a good fit for my self? I was thinking the retroid pocket flip but the hinge cracking issue is a major put off. Don’t want anything expensive or big, something that has a retro vibe I can put in my pocket and not notice. Any recommendations , the retro handheld market is flooded with so many now with slight differences that I’m not even sure what is and isn’t a good buy.

[@robinandersson9510]

Can you play unreal tournament dreamcast on it?

[@johnsducks9816]

Personally i really wish they would have stuck with the chocolate bar anbernic design for this one. This one looks cool but just ends up being so much bigger and less pocketable

[@retrohandhelds]

I agree it's less pocketable but I would argue it's more comfortable.

[@samsungtv4u]

Is it possible to play multiplayer?????? with miyoo mini plus?????

[@dadou193]

and what are the pros/cons of having no internal drive on this PS model? is that bad? so games are just saved on a card instead on internal drive?

[@SlowMovingSaddles]

Great review! I like what I see 😊 Question: Is it possible to play C64 and Amiga games? I didn’t see these systems in the video.

[@retrohandhelds]

You should be able to since RetroArch supports them, just not sure how well the controller set up would work.

[@SlowMovingSaddles]

@@retrohandhelds thanks for your reply!

[@mobilegamercapone]

Shenmue is the game to test on DC

[@reshiramwings5000]

This is interesting. I might get this. Though how would you add homebrew and romhacks to it? An example of what I am thinking of would be Pokemon FireRed Rocket Edition or Pokemon Sweet Version.

[@retrohandhelds]

You just drop the rom hack in the right folder, for example FireRed rocket edition goes in the GBA folder and that's it it runs like any other GBA game.

[@ondrej1893]

Are there any pre-set rom collections for each system so I don't have to handpick? I honestly just want maybe top 30 or top 100 games for a system - GBC, GBA, NDS, PS1, N64...first I'll install ArkOS via RGC video and then the roms.

[@matematicaemvinteminutos448]

Hello mine does not Works with jelo os. Even with the Last version it chashes on instalation. How you did it?

[@retrohandhelds]

Did you make sure the card was formatted to FAT32?

[@RickyLittleton]

Does it come preinstalled with super Mario, Castlevania, Mortal Kombat, Flashback, Killer Instinct, Super Metroid, etc

[@johnhinkleman9757]

Yes to call except Mario

[@rizkynuguraha3875]

how to add PSP emulator? mine is not there yet

[@STR82DVD]

Retroid changed the game with the release of the RP2s with analog triggers as stock on a $99 system. Anbernic is really not going to have much choice when it comes to handheld design. When you fail to innovate, when you fail to bend to market pressures, you just fail. This unit is a good example of Anbernic pushing out another retro handheld with little perceptible innovation from the last unit that looked pretty much the same as this.

[@dadou193]

except the RP2s is about 20$ more (80 instead of 100), and more importantly the shipping cost is quiet high on their website, for some countries it's like 30-40$ shipping, compared to the anbernic device which has free shipping to most countries on their website. So it's a bit unfair to compare them considering the price difference. For the same price, you are probably right, but if you can get this anbernic one for USD 80 free shipping compared to the RP2s at 100+40 =140 USD. That's a huge difference.

[@STR82DVD]

@@dadou193 All great points in favour of Anbernic to be sure. I think at this point, both company's product lines are solid and really, it's a matter of which design ethos you buy into. I'm a Retroid man myself but I also have a number of Anbernic units that I felt needed to be in my collection as well. I win, as the consumer, either way.

[@dadou193]

@@STR82DVD cool, nice to hear

[@hiraethcoffee]

I can't connect to wifi any help

[@bilditup1]

If the buttons are to remain this small then they need to be spaced further apart, and if they’re not gonna be space further apart then they need to be made even smaller so that they don’t all fit under your thumb. That’s almost acceptable in a very small device or even an RG35XX/Miyoo Mini+ but here it’s really disappointing

[@retrohandhelds]

Yeah it's really not ideal but it's not something that would keep me from using it, I just wish they would have made that change.

[@l3oomll7]

JELOS did not official support 353PS, Did you get any issue?

[@retrohandhelds]

This is the same as the 353p just without android, so that version works on this.

[@Pekkuツ]

Hi, how is this compare to RG35XX H? Thank you!

[@retrohandhelds]

This is more powerful and arguably comfortable, but the 35xx H is more pocket friendly so it depends on what you value more. -Aish

[@Pekkuツ]

​@@retrohandheldstysm for the reply! Great vid btw!

[@iamnotyourbuddyGUY]

Took a break from ToTK to play retro games?

[@Pridetoons]

I've mostly gave up on Modern Gaming.

[@retrohandhelds]

It's called balance 😂

[@mauricemaingot5633]

Only here for the Pokémon DS games but finding out it has God of War am sold 😂

[@M_CFV]

same, definitely getting this

[@goblack3661]

Does this fit well in a child’s hands? Like 5 years old.

[@retrohandhelds]

Yup and it's nice and sturdy, it looks chunky but all the buttons are easily accessible.

[@victorg3338]

I’m in between RG353V or RG353P what do you recommend? And what is the difference?

[@retrohandhelds]

Just the shape everything else is the same, but it really comes down to if you prefer vertical or landscape.

[@victorg3338]

@@retrohandhelds thank you so much I was wondering what was the difference if it’s just that then I’m leaning towards RG353V

[@Un4GivNX]

Put hall joysticks on it and i'll buy three!

[@Pridetoons]

Honestly, I'd buy this over Powkiddy's offerings. Sorry Powkiddy. 😥

[@darkastronaut2603]

I'm still rocking my Powkiddy RGB10 in 2023 and it's still awesome! A very good and nice console.

[@minimoe2807]

​@@darkastronaut2603 lol! I LOVE MY powkiddy v90 still and have the RGB Max2

[@catsandstuff1765]

Should i buy this or the new rg35xxh

[@retrohandhelds]

The 353ps is more powerful and has better shoulder buttons, but I've enjoyed my time with the H more. -Aish

[@catsandstuff1765]

@@retrohandhelds Which one do you think is best to just sit down and play.

[@chriscawley3676]

The analogue sticks on this device are shockingly uncomfortable. This is a shame as they are really helpful for 16 and 32 bit beat em ups which this device has droves of. Why they are recessed is a mystery. When you move them to the furthest point from centre your thumb meets plastic. After about an hours play I decided for the games i wanted to play this wasnt going to suit me. The analogue stick is actually nuch better on the £20 Sf Data frog 2000.

[@northsouthy74]

The Powkiddy X55 is about the same price with more memory and a bigger screen that is much more suited for GBA and PSP

[@retrohandhelds]

True but it seems like the jury is still out on the x55. -Aish

[@BigFatCone]

But that's a.. cheap Powkiddy... And this has a certain charm with its form factor and colour scheme. I don't usually let design be the deciding factor, but pretty much everything at this price point is equally good.

[@redorblue8124]

hey. @ 12.30 your playing Mario. where can I find this game? and 14.06 Mario kart?

[@shaaaakezula]

HOW DO U ADD GAMES TO FAVORITES PLEASE

[@BingbongRecto]

Or get the rk2023 wifi for 75 USD :)

[@chucknorris-ec1pt]

Dose it play sega cd

[@retrohandhelds]

Yes. -Aish

[@deathtooglobalists6891]

After two years of watching videos I think I am finally going to buy one. You mentioned at the end of the video that are better options if I am willing to pay more. So what would I be curious about that plugs into the TV possibly bigger screen like 5 inch or bigger for handheld preloaded of course that plays what this one doesn't? Like Dreamcast and N64 and so on. I especially love RPGs. I hear the 405m is good but the screen is small and it doesn't connect to the TV. Thank you for any opinions about my questions. Also is there a card for the 353ps that has more than the 4k of games. I think this one has only 78 PS1 games and almost no Sega choices mostly just a big chunk being SNES which is awesome but still, thank you

[@อัจกิตการพานิช-ซ4ฤ]

How to Save State .

[@cheflui6088]

I lost all sd games. Help!

[@RetroMan-]

Batocera > JelOS

[@retrohandhelds]

As far as I know there's no batocera image for the 353p or ps.

[@RetroMan-]

@@retrohandhelds The anbernic OS that it ships with, is a custom version of Batocera. I dont know how well it runs. But another youtuber said they can't get Pico-8 to run. Mine is on the way from Aliexpress so I hope I can get it to run since Pico-8 has some good games.

[@ajcics]

That thing is hideous

[@retrohandhelds]

It's nostalgic....

[@estusflask982]

no u are

[@eurosoe]

Question for the viewers: Which custom firmwares do you guys like for this and why?

[@RoMEBlitZ]

Does this have the same save state problems as the others?

[@retrohandhelds]

What save state problem ? -Aish

[@RoMEBlitZ]

@@retrohandheldsThe anbernic I have will work fine then suddenly it will say saving state 0% and gets stuck

[@DUCKYDUCK862]

Gl shiny hunt with this xD

[@retrohandhelds]

Not a terrible idea 😂

[@DUCKYDUCK862]

@@retrohandhelds 😂😂😂