RG35XXSP Review: King Clamshell

[@RetroGameCorps]

A couple updates: - I filmed more USB charging footage but forgot to include it! The charging experience is the same as always -- USB-A to C cables will work, C-to-C cables may work if you use a (non-PD) charger, and some lower PD chargers may work but most won't. Anbernic really needs to add the proper resistors to their board to standardize the charging process. - You can play HDMI with the shell closed but the device needs to be plugged into power at the same time. Shoutout to The Phawx for figuring that out! - I said "3.3x integer scale" etc in my scaling/screen section, but that's not correct, I should have just said "3.3x scale". Please don't be mad.

[@xXSuperGXxx]

You have stuff like 2.7x integer scale on the screen too... This is surely also in error?

[@RetroGameCorps]

@@xXSuperGXxx yes I was referring to all of those figures, and used 3.3x as the example.

[@Xirtamani]

Something else to add maybe: Batocera runs on the RG35XX Plus/H, so it should run here too and it can use bluetooth audio. Also, what actual resolution the HDMI is using would be a useful info. Aspect ratio correction can also be done via the Screen/TV settings (screen sometimes, TV usually)

[@kenkwok83]

and here I thought muos is minUI in short form lol

[@pakudesu]

So about the charging... will it damage the device if I use my 45w Ikea plug with my 100w USB-C to C Anker cable or will it just not charge at all?

[@GurlDreamer50]

It's my first "Gameboy". I'm 53 years old and am so excited waiting for my order like a little kid!!!!

[@PongbyAtari]

This 63 year old can't wait either really looking forward to this one. Not my first Gameboy bought the original SP back when it launched 😊

[@MrFernand0007]

same here with 101 y/o

[@jinstinky501]

Almost 50 and I would grab one were it not for the shaky shoulder buttons.

[@georgehancock2307]

Replace the microsd card...the one the comes with it will fail

[@brandonnazelrodt2819]

Goodluck getting the games lol

[@EricCarter12]

At 8:20 I was the one that commented on your original video about the clapping sound of the GBA SP. Thanks for listening to my comment!!

[@RetroGameCorps]

You bet!

[@Jan-nk2dg]

@@RetroGameCorps To be fair, you were comparing it to an aftermarket SP case/buttons which are indeed a bit different than the OG shells.

[@goodshowmanythanks]

Gonna have to find an early 2000's cool tribal sticker for my silver one to match the SP I used to have.

[@jimmyconte2009]

Etsy will definitely have these in the next few weeks specifically for this device 😂

[@RyanBounedara]

gonna slap a Famous Stars and Straps sticker onto it to completely ruin it 😂

[@CurrySoSpicy]

@@RyanBounedaramine was an “I voted” oval sticker my mom gave me when she came home from the polls.

[@joseph011296]

The Mario Ad for that is the best. Love that it came with a download for an exclusive Winamp Skin!

[@CupOfNoodlesMusic]

accurate lol!!! freal, every other silver one had that, I swear XD

[@travismarshall3089]

This channel has every "feel" of a channel that should have north of 1million subs. From production value to overall presentation, I'm always doing a double-take at the sub count with shock and awe that I'm not seeing 1.5million subscribers. I love this channel. You'll get there, though!

[@desoIate]

I ordered 3 of these on launch day haha One for me to tinker with, and the other 2 will be gifts later in the year to my nephews once a good CFW and other kinks are sorted out.

[@NukeBomB3000]

Would have loved to do the same but anbernic takes 12 PER unit for shipping to europe.

[@joepage5000]

Top notch uncle ❤

[@christopherstonehill3445]

@@joepage5000 OH!...how I would love to do the same, for my nephews, but my sister REALLY doesn't want me to...so I will respect that. Did get to have a session with the older one (14) when I visited them (in another country) for the first time in far too long last October. My rp3+ connected to a TV. 2 Bluetooth controllers. Amongst other games we played quite a bit of Streets of Rage...2?...or was it 3?...Shock Troopers, Xeno Crisis...and then he enjoyed some driving games. THAT was very fun!

[@xsrplayerx]

@@NukeBomB3000 Plus a lot of taxes :(

[@afistfulofpimples1745]

I ordered 37

[@FluxFimbulvetr]

I really appreciate you mentioning the lack of bluetooth audio. I was on the fence about it, but learning this is a dealbreaker for me at this stage. I really hope we see bluetooth audio hit these cheaper handhelds soon to compensate for those on-board mono speakers and clicky buttons!

[@raph84]

Are you actually using any such devices with Bluetooth Audio? I find the delay too irritating when gaming and expecting immediate audible feedback, so I'd rather get wired Headphones just for Videogames

[@Englebert3rd]

​@@raph84This and the latency is terrible at times. Definitely not a deal breaker for me.

[@FluxFimbulvetr]

@raph84 during my commutes to work I rely on my bluetooth headphones a lot. I wouldn't say I'm sensitive to latency with that setup, which occasionally has me running dolphin. I would probably have considered this as an upgrade to my MM+ just purely because I would have used bluetooth audio frequently for my main use case.

[@alexcallender]

​@@raph84Same, can't imagine using Bluetooth headphones while gaming. Still rocking my good old wired Audio Technicas.

[@andrerodriguesuzmakiuchiha1059]

Your explanation is great. I really wanted this RG35xx SP. It was my dream, especially the blue color. My original was stolen by my addicted friend. He glued it without me. This console is great, but I can't afford to buy it for several reasons. When it turns out that this product is available, my entire childhood was liberating. I'm from Brazil. tumara translator is great from google😊

[@kaedeshirtoto]

I ordered 3. 2 silver (1 for friend), and 1 blue....I have been longing for Anbernic to do this for so long the v90 well we wanted it to be good missed the mark on many occasions and im glad Anbernic hears the cries. I also am so HAPPY its not cluttered with analog sticks. I have other devices for those games yhat require them

[@MarcusIIFerreira]

Could you be my friend?

[@sambagogo777]

Bravo for the detailed segment re: loud and clicky buttons. Some other KZbinrs have been all too keen to heap unfettered praise on this product and then, of course, direct viewers to use the affiliate link in the description. This review had integrity.

[@marcwilliams9824]

I've got an Odin 2 but ordered one of these because? I don't need a reason. I just want one.

[@3godzilla3]

Same here!! Odin 2 freaking rocks, but this thing is just too cool to pass up, haha

[@marcwilliams9824]

Plus I often don't take the Odin out because it's just a little too big/fragile (screen) to be thrown in your pocket and forgotten about until needed.

[@joepage5000]

Makes perfect sense to me! You’d need jnco jeans to carry an Odin 2 around in your pocket 😂

[@victorguerreiro9055]

Same here! I picked before a retroid pocket 3+ that i play dreamcast/n64 games, than got odin 2 pro to play gamecube/ps2/wii games and now i ordered this gba like play gbc/gba/snes games

[@JonathanVoyce]

Also, pocketable and durable

[@RigardKruger]

Thanks Russ. I found that to be a particularly good review today - maybe because I ordered one already and you got into all the areas I'm curious about. Thanks for the work you put into these.

[@xman7337]

Always so thorough! Thanks for the review, got mine ordered! 🤙🏽

[@Loknath009]

The silver one really makes me nostalgic for my old SP that should still be around somewhere, and I’m definitely going to pickt it up as soon as there is a nice sale, because at $100 with shipping, I’ll keep playing my H.

[@senorsombrero]

Good to see muOS getting some recognition after you crapped over it the last time you mentioned it in the rg35xx days.

[@quartercast]

Waiting for "Miyoo SP"

[@emaheiwa8174]

Miyoo is overrated AF

[@D4C413]

A30 was a disaster

[@LifeIsRecusive]

Keep waiting

[@jeremy__hopkins]

​@@D4C413 Did you try one? I found the A30 isn't great but I've used worse for the same price in the past. With the firmware update to improve brightness settings and dpad tape mod fix, it's usable but nothing really excuses the battery. Problem with the A30 and no custom firmware out of the gate along with serious competition from other companies, for a few dollars more in a horizontal layout it's possible to get the RG35xxH which is superior and not much larger. For that reason I can't really buy into the RG28xx either without at least wifi. Generally, there's no rush for any of these handhelds save for the original Miyoo Mini which people still try to resell for ridiculous prices as 'rare.'

[@Drivenby]

I wouldn’t buy it . Miyoo has been using the same underpowered chipset since forever .

[@dudubenabou]

Thank you for again a great review. I am still going to wait and see what the competition for a clamshell are going to be. Because if I would consider PSP, i would really love a stick or two for ridge racer. This will truly differentiate my original SP with IPS and everdrive. 🙏

[@beanut7759]

i've never bought a retro handheld emulator before, and this device is really making me want to buy one lol

[@shadow_dancer25]

Thanks for the video! Mine is arriving soon, and thanks Spawn Wave for linking your video 😊

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

It's something I absolutely won't consider buying cause I have another H700 Anbernic, but I want to touch it. I want to find a brick-and-mortar vendor, or just someone with this unit and just, play it for 10 minutes, maybe 20, and then be done with it.

[@joepage5000]

Buy one for a friend, problem solved 😂

[@pipedream690]

Fingers crossed that I'll be starting a new job in a few months. It's mainly WFH but a couple of times a month I'll be catching a train to the office, a 3 hour trip. This is a must buy if I get the job. Fingers crossed.

[@dragon2knight]

This is the flip you're looking for. It's simply perfect, it allows for all the goodness that is a Gameboy SP with more chops to play all you'd ever want to play on this form factor. I happily preordered (transparent black) and can't wait for it to get here 😊

[@raineyjayy]

I got mine yesterday. I have no complaints. I used it for like 5 hours on a plane and only went down to half battery playing Smash TV and Pokemon

[@MrQuicksand75]

Great video. I just ordered the blue transparent one. My first gameboy was the blue sp.

[@TheTechUpdate-ui1fh]

Getting more and more excited about this form factor as i go through the review video's. But i gotta agree with Russ would rather opt for the H if i could get one. Like the fact that the SP basically protects itself by closing up so a case should not be as neccesary when you carry it around.

[@marciomladenoff7912]

So excited to get mine that transparent blue is so clean... Maybe do a quick video or put in your written guide how to add those paper images to the shell russ definitely interested in doing that

[@jakesmith5278]

Already have the RP 2S and the Miyoo mini plus but wanted this one too. Never have a clam shell growing up.

[@Schatten.mensch]

Looks like I'm going to wait and see after all despite how excited this one had me - I love the formfactor, I love clicky dpads, I love clicky buttons ... but 20 seconds of boot time is a lot, even the 15 seconds for OnionOs on the MMPlus are sometimes annoying if you just have a few minutes to kill many times per day. If they'd used an soc capable of proper deep sleep (like a lot of android devices use) on this one it might have been the perfect device for me - open it up, directly into the game, close again a few minutes later. I'm going to hope that one of the custom OS manages to implement support for the hinge magnet and drastically cuts down on the start time (or less likely: improve on the sleep function) and wait a bit longer.

[@jakemueller6173]

I’m so excited for this, but I think I’m gonna hold out for hope of a similar product with two analogue sticks at the bottom for N64 and Dreamcast 👀

[@Genesjss]

Have you heard if the Retroid Pocket Flip? I've got one of those myself, and I'd totally recommend it.

[@henrywilliams6927]

miyoo is rumored to be making one like the rg35xxsp but with thumb sticks

[@hugojmaia]

I see clicky buttons as a plus to a device. Definitely a personal preference thing.

[@xSoNiCcRaCkErSx]

I bought a RG35XX some time ago but got an Odin right after so I didn't get much use out of it. (Thanks Ayn, LOL) After seeing the talk about this device, I went back to try my RG only to find that the thing is completely dead and doesn't even take a charge anymore. Can't say the same about my many other cheap devices so I am now very wary of this company.

[@FedericoNuñez-u3t]

I really wanted a GBA when I was a kid so this is an instant buy for me

[@Keitarooou]

The dpad is clicky like a series x controller? If yes this is good

[@spacepirateivynova]

you can also usually set the aspect ratio on most monitors/tv's if you want to get rid of wide screen modes on the 4:3 native systems

[@godminnette2]

One of my two GBA SPs has a tiny bit of a squeak to it at a similar angle! Been like that for like 20 years.

[@RadzKiram]

Mad beats at 9:45.

[@kouyasakurada5547]

Lmaoooo Russ who plays with a hinge like that, that’s so wild hahahaha

[@podracer35]

I never had a GBA SP and was always a little jealous of my cousin and friend that had one because of the lit up screen. The 35XXH is appealing because I like the horizontal form factor, but the look of the SP is so close to the GBA SP that I'm leaning a bit towards this one. I still want to wait and see what the hinge durability is like and if the buttons can be modded to be more silent. Those factors are gonna be the deal breaker for choosing between this and the H.

[@patsville731]

Perfect timing as I'm currently eating late-night dinner.

[@fernandaraphaela4313]

Me encantan los botones clicky 😍😍 Ojalá no tarde en salir la miyoo flip.

[@8instantramen]

15:20 yeahhh I dont think they should've promoted that aspect of the model, if you have unscrew and tear down a bit of the handheld just to access it, I think its a feature a lot of people won't bother to use.

[@9unslin9er]

There's just something off about how Anbernic does their screen saturation. I've been with them since the RG351M, and quite frankly, the screens always look bad. My Miyoo Mini+ can't compare power-wise, but the image is amazing.

[@PC_TV_73]

This is one of the few devices I bought in the last year or so. I realized all the other ones I bought and I do have about 40 of them. I know it’s stupid, but they all basically for my purposes did about the same as long as they could play a few key games And was comfortable and fit in my pocket. It was all that mattered. Even the steam deck I do love it but it’s a little big or a lot big and gets a little more complicated than I would like sometimes. I’m going to put up a video of all the ones I own and I also have a few that I’m gonna give away just to give away as long as you’re in the lower 48 states and if you’re out of that then maybe you’ll pay for shipping, sometimes it’s not even shipping. It’s just trying to get the address correct the cities and states and ZIP Codes could get very confusing, but we’ll see. I’m actually sitting in my truck and I’m gonna see how I like it now. Check out my videos I will be probably half a dozen of them for free in the next month or two.

[@vincentvega3093]

I use a RG353P for snes emulation on the go. For GBC i modded with the OLED kit, for GBA i modded ips v5 screens into the SP and original GB. I prefer playing the cartridge or if games are too expensive the everdrive. Playing PSP on PSP Go and Vita. I love the SP form factor, but i'll wait for a revision or long term report for now.

[@Jackbarrany]

Instead of going all over the place, ambernic should focus on refining this and a couple other models. Make it thinner, a little less rattley, and make the buttons better.

[@Bizzletron25]

Custom firmware guide please

[@TDawggggg]

I have so many fond memories with the SP but the size is just too small for comfort as an adult imo.

[@lazyox]

17:19 why you didnt select 4:3 in the first place? its the first option on top.

[@RetroGameCorps]

4:3 will stretch it to 16:9.

[@earthcoolsoncemore]

Would be great if the device went to sleep when you closed the device and then shut down after x minutes which you can set. That way you can close it for a few minutes, which happens to me a lot, and then shut down completely and save state after an extended amount of time in case I forgot or need much more time than a few minutes.

[@ahrjaydee7001]

Surprises me that none of the retro game youtubers are talking about what a v2 of this one will look like. Maybe get 2 sticks on this with the same chip in 8-12 weeks?

[@joles-gaming]

Fantastic review. Personally holding off, as I would just be buying another product that's the same atm.. but in a different form factor so I can't justify it yknow!

[@BassRacerx]

clamshell is awesome in this use case protect the screen when not in use.

[@STR82DVD]

Anbernic's best work with the exception of the RG350. Period.

[@guardianbeardizer6361]

Facts! I still play my RG350P all the time...mainly because it's easy to transfer game saves & I mean so easy it's drag & drop & they magically work lol, plus the thing was built like a tank

[@Kiyoshi_9606]

8:7 ratio = 1.143 If that's a little bit too wide, and 1:1 (1.000) was too narrow... you might try something between 1.000 and 1.143, like 16:15, which is 1.067, and the only other option I see

[@chifurbr]

11:18 yeah but it's gonna be a little harder to find finger replacements if the spicy pillow explodes in your hands, people shouldn't take the battery issue lightly

[@Cantimule]

Is there a system like this but horizontal and without thumbsticks?

[@johnsducks9816]

At some point I really want a gameboy inspired handheld to use the slightly offset button layout like the rg300x so I can actually play gb and gba platformers using a and b

[@CaptainEseesE]

Hey, i've seeing a lot of garlic os. Any pointers?? I wanna install a CfW and his guide doesnt mention it.

[@Shake91172]

This will be perfect for me at work, I have alot of downtime and this will fill that down time, I find it difficult to to use my iPhone for retro games, the on screen controls are iffy at best, I need the physical buttons

[@KEKW-lc4xi]

How is its wireless / trading capabilities? Like if I'm playing a gba pokemon game would I be able to trade someone else having the same system etc? retroArch has got to be one of the most unintuitive emulation hubs I have ever used so I'm a little bit concerned there too haha

[@naughtpoh]

Would you not expect a brand new device to have crisp clicking buttons, compared to what I have to imagine is a well worn-in SP? I feel like the clicking would weaken with regular use over several months.

[@PapaBPoppin]

Looks like it might finally be time to upgrade my powkiddy v90

[@march15th]

firstly, i'm still holding out for the miyoo mini flip. fingers crossed they get the joysticks included and ergonomically functional, without adding too much bulk. i don't think i would like the added bulk of the xxsp here, so that's another reason i'm passing on this. also, i just saw the announcement for ayaneo's new unit with a trackpad. i'm curious to see how trackpad functionality works with these things. If it's good, i think a trackpad would be a way to add dual-stick movement without adding bulk to the unit. we are probably about 2 years out from something like that though, assuming it would actually be a good fit. Thoughts?

[@samh5886]

Does this get the same performance in PSP as the rk3566 devices? Or worse?

[@RetroGameCorps]

It's slightly worse than the RK3566 when it comes to PSP.

[@RedBeardRetroTech]

Thanks for the video❤

[@zosonte129]

This level of clicky buttons is perfect for clickmaxxers like me honestly

[@KawikaLee408]

i really like this device but i would appreciate analog sticks just to make emulating those higher end systems more appealing. i've been really looking forward to the miyoo flip for a while now but for some reason i have a funny feeling about it now. maybe their last device didnt inspire too much confidence. i'm really leaning toward the xxh now. just waiting for the flip realease to make the final decision. im ready to move on from the miyoo mini v3

[@knightsabre2k]

If it had even a single analogue stick, it would have been perfect. Still, at that price, I may just bite anyway. Loved the GBA SP back in the day. Still got mine, tho it's scratched to hell & back

[@seraph4581]

What a bummer, I was really looking forward to an easy slide in and out experience.

[@maxheadroomsfan]

I don't know why the rg35xxh gets rated so highly for when there are better handheld out there that give better performance like the 405m

[@gaminglizard9]

The 405m is also twice the price

[@cruckel]

Have devs been able to work on a more native link cable support for GB/GBA games? I’d love a handheld retro machine that I can trade with my kid.

[@jumplify]

I hate clicky buttons but i love the design, ill wait until someone comes with a fix before i buy it.

[@astralazzy]

I don't know if it's the same with the SP, but at least with the Plus on muOS you can put the device to sleep by holding the power button for a few seconds.

[@TheAppleFanBoyAppleArchivesUS]

Great video 😊

[@ChrisGagner]

16:33- I'm sure Tech Dweeb will customize his device, but he'll need to get his mom's permission first.

[@washuai]

The fact you would pick the H over the SP makes me even more sad I got a dud. There's even the printed case and grip to handle shell duty.

[@ReavoEnd]

You must have a ton of micro SD cards floating around. How do you keep them organized??

[@RetroGameCorps]

I have a little jewelry/bead box that I put them in, and then I put them in full SD card sleeves (like those that often come with microSD cards) and then I write on that SD sleeve so I know what it is.

[@retrogamingnmore2513]

Russ in this review you showed Knulli Working on the SP Do you have a link to that I don't see it for the 35XX SP Only the two 28xx

[@Masatshi]

Quick Question: Can I just buy a 128GB mini SD card, format it and copy everything from the SD card that came with that system to this new card and it will work? I see the card that came with the system is only 45GB and full, so I cannot add roms...

[@minimoe2807]

Do we know when these will start to ship? I haven't seen any updates other than "your order is confirmed." It was ordered on launch day.

[@thomasnewfield9950]

I'll be waiting on what Anbernic will release next week 😂

[@Xuvier]

Babe wake up, new Bob Russ review is up!

[@AronGKatz]

I like anbernics devices but I would prefer to wait for a miyoo clamshell. I have the feeling they get better support since miyoo doesn't make that many devices like anbernics. I bought the A30 but I just like collecting these beasts

[@joelsebastiansilvestri9005]

i like this model but i Bought a RG35X PLUS 2 months ago...is it worth it? or just keep mine, cheers

[@mattyice1095]

I went on the garlic OS guys Patreon and it says that it should work already for the SP is that true?

[@RetroAdam]

Youll do a starter guide for this one too?

[@BrosephMerrick]

How would you compare it side by side with the Powkiddy clamshell handheld? (Can't remember the model number off-hand but I'm sure you know the one I mean)

[@raiwet]

4:3 is at the top!

[@RetroGameCorps]

4:3 is what it was set to in the beginning, it gets stretched to 16:9. That’s why we have to choose a squarish aspect ratio to offset the HDMI stretching.

[@raiwet]

@@RetroGameCorps oh sorry, I missed that then! Thanks for the video, it’s very tempting, but I just bought a New 3DS XL after watching one of your recent videos so I think I’m set for awhile.

[@lumpylumpyloo]

How does the clickiness of the buttons compare to the xbox series d pad? That's the loudest buttons I have access to and they sound fine up me

[@kaedeshirtoto]

If they did transparent red and purple id buy two more!

[@chinoloco13]

I have both the blue and silver one want to change the screens on them to make a transparent blue top silver bottom sp 😂😅

[@zakknafein3216]

I ordered the silver and blue.

[@justinmercado1185]

Already have the H. I might be dumb enough just to get the blue sp just for Megaman games. I get the hype but this system should be dedicated only for 16 bit games

[@ThePhxRises]

I feel like a PSP style left analog slider would've made this device perfect for me, until something like that exists I'm sticking with my RG353v

[@cs2n845]

As a primary GBA purist... I was disappointed by this. If someone could bring out something like this that is primarily for GBA emulation and scales better then that would be awesome!

[@cactusmanbwl1990]

MIniUI!?!?! I love that OS.

[@absolking1]

How does the battery compare to the 35xx h?

[@brysonthor]

Hi Russ are you an employee of Anbernic?

[@Juan-yg6qs]

you can play with 2 bluetooth player?

[@JeffreyGrubb]

This is the thing that will fill that empty hole in my heart

[@imsteevin]

I got 2 so I'm going to be happier than ever

[@magic3383]

My granny told me that hole in my heart needs Jesus.

[@Deathscythe91]

until the battery explodes and you have a new hole

[@FlatEarthDisciple]

What? That's not Jesus Christ. lol

[@JeffreyGrubb]

​@@FlatEarthDiscipleGBA SP was absolutely Jesus