I did have to chuckle at the Crazy Taxi bit where you mentioned the built in rumble feature of this handheld feel so nice, my mind went immediately into the gutter on that comment. LOL great review Steve!
Man, its crazy how they keep pumping these out. Could you imagine if consoles came out as fast as these, people would be financially ruined, or only the massively wealthy would be gaming.
You're not wrong. And even now, Anbernic are about to release the RG505, which is much the same as the Retroid Pocket 3+, and renders the RG552 pretty much obsolete... already. I wouldn't mind if there was a coherent pattern and logic to their releases... but there isn't.
@@SteveBenway it's all about making money no thought towards customers,it's getting a dark greedy world,take care mate enjoy your videos ,be warned though anbernic and retroid company showing bad marketing tools ,I shall just enjoy their older products ,won't get no more of my money 💰
Hello Steve! Thank you very much for such a great and detailed review! I recently received the same RG533M console. But in the main menu on Linux there are no some systems that I saw on your screen, for example 3DO... Please tell me how can I add the missing systems to Linux? Maybe you have a guide? Or do you know where I can find such a guide?
To be honest, I don't remember. I made this video several years ago, and it's a long time since I even used the system. I would suggest seeing if there's a 3DO folder for roms, already on the SD card, and if there is, add some roms and bios file to it. It could be that the emulator is already installed, but doesn't show up if no roms are there. I've tried a few systems where this is the case.
After pulling out my Lynx, Turbo Express and Nomad out of storage I found the Lynx and Turbo Express to not be working. I was seriously considering having them recapped and screens upgraded. I put that on hold after buying the RG353M. First, what kept me entertained in the 90’s for hours on end now only keeps my attention for a short period of time. They were great for the time. I really enjoyed being able to play the console games on my Turbo Express and was floored that my Lynx could hardware scale and rotate even my Genesis couldn’t. But am I going to fire up Blue Lightning over After Burner? The only game in the whole Lynx library I think is better than any other version was Xenophobe. Don’t get me wrong. There is something special about playing on original hardware for nostalgia. After a screen upgrade is it really original hardware? In addition, the original hardware while great at the time had no where near the build quality of newer devices. Love your collection, keep up the great videos!
Thank you for another extensive hardware review, Steve! The little portables are getting stronger bit by bit, but the techological progress is not catching up to them fast at all :)
Great points! I own multiple gaming handhelds of varying computing power (Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, AYN Odin Pro, and AYN Odin Lite that I leave at my girlfriend's house) and I bought this one as a daily driver that I can carry around with me everywhere and whip out whenever I need to kill some time. I work construction as well so the metal housing is a big plus for me. Enjoying old retro games from my childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood definitely beats out mindlessly scrolling through social media like a zombie when I'm bored and have nothing better to do.
I'd recommend getting the PAL ROM of GoldenEye, because the game was developed by a British company and the speed of the PAL console is how they intended it to be played. The NTSC version is notorious for its speedup causing the game to be harder because it actually increases enemy accuracy by around 18%.
I've installed Arkos on several other Anbernic devices... it's my favourite by far. I'll be putting it on this one soon and doing a 'How it should've been done' video 😁
Retro for me, being 13 years old in 1985, is all the 8 & 16bit systems, so this is Retro heaven for me , i don't really care to play PSP etc, perfect handled, great review.
Great video! Thank you for testing Saturn. If only they'd make this exact handheld with just a bit more power... Full speed Saturn in this form factor would be wonderful.
After making this video, I side loaded a new version of the Saturn emulator onto the android side, and it runs really nicely. I'll be doing a video to show the stuff that can be improved in a week or so
@@SteveBenway Interesting, thanks. I'll have to check that out. Would you say that Saturn seems to be 100% full speed without frameskip? I'm fairly picky since I play on a real Saturn fairly often.
Thank you for this review, sorry i’m not speak inglés from spain. Tengo varias anbernic y bastante contento, pero hoy en día hay suficiente tecnología para poder mover ciertas plataformas ( mame, n64, saturn, ps1&2, PSP, etc) y además deberían de estar mejor configuradas de origen para no tener problemas de emuladores. No pude jugar de pequeño y ahora con 52 years old disfruto de los juegos clásicos . Pero no sé de software soy de plug & play.. saludos desde spñ 🤙🏼
How did you get all those N64 games❓❓Did you side load those from your computer because the preloaded SD card that comes with it only gives you like 6 N64 games…..and how come they never include any MARIO games on the preloaded SD cards❓❓ Thanks👊🏻✌🏻
I replaced the 2nd SD card with my own, and my own rom collection. You're unlikely to get Mario games in things like this because Nintendo can be very aggressive in protecting their intellectual properties.
They aren't concerned so much with firmware. They know the community will make firmware's to sell their devices for them... No need to spend much money on firmware geeks. Get it playable, cram it with roms and sell it...then move onto another different build of the same specs or ever so slightly greater specs🤣 wonder how long it'll take before people stop fixing these companies goofs n oopsies firmware wise and start holding them accountable for shoddy work.
Video of RG353M with updated Android emulators ruclips.net/video/m8gl0mSddOI/видео.html Video of RG353M running ArkOS is now up at ruclips.net/video/-ePW-2EcVPw/видео.html
Hmm...I stuck my card from a rg351mp into a 353m and it was fine. I found the android side better for me. Took a lot more work to setup, but saturn even runs better on it with standalone yaba sanshiro pro 2.
Yes, 'out of the box', Android is quite weak on here, but after sideloading updated emulators, it's much improved. I suspect it didn't like the SC card from my RG251V as that one is running ARKOS instead of Batocera, so will have formatted it differently.
Say @steve I have a RG351v and I love it, but I was wondering if it's worth it ( form factor "upgraded" hardware)? Should I sell my rg351v and get this? is it more comfy to play than the rg351v?
Neither am I Steve nor does this answer come in time I'm afraid, but no. Whilst the rg353m is a really great piece of tech, owning both, the 351 as well as the 353, I have to admit that the upgrade wasn't worth spending another € 140 for me. If you can find a buyer that will take a pre-loved 351 for let's say 100 on the other hand ...
Nice video, In my opinion, doesn’t make much sense having Chinese handhelds to play PS2, Dreamcast or PSP like, the handhelds are not coming strong enough to justify the price, over $100. Lots of setup, lots of changes, wasted time just trying to play some heavy games. I bought the RBB20s after selling my RP2+ , just because I wanted something easy to play GBA, SNES, PS1 Pick up and play.
I'm still having trouble running PS1 games, they all stutter (even the start up screen music stutters). I've tried all the different PS1 built in emulators but they're all the same. Every video I have seen says this device plays the PS1 games easily!
@@SteveBenway ty for replying, having a hard time deciding if I wanna buy this or the Powkiddy rgb20s. This is the only handheld emulator I’ve seen that plays Commodore 64 games.
The test was done using the 'out of the box' configuration to demonstrate how Anbernic send them out (albeit, with my own game selection). I've done subsequent videos to demonstrate what it's actually capable of, with a little work.
To be honest, I'm not comfortable sticking any handheld in my front jeans pocket. Not because they don't fit, but because it risks scratching the screen, or otherwise damaging the thing if I'm clumsy and walk into something/fall over etc. But in terms of size... it should fit, if the jeans aren't too tight.
I got the rg353m and when I tried golden eye it worked just fine. I think your just not use to the controls. If you want to test the N64 emulator you need to test Body Harvest. Spoiler. It can't handle Body Harvest
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
cool! more system reviews! been watching the very old ones over from time to time, feels good to see new ones still coming out in these kind of days.
I did have to chuckle at the Crazy Taxi bit where you mentioned the built in rumble feature of this handheld feel so nice, my mind went immediately into the gutter on that comment. LOL great review Steve!
lol... given the shape of the thing, and how rarely it actually rumbles... I can't see it being too useful like that 🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂
Man, its crazy how they keep pumping these out. Could you imagine if consoles came out as fast as these, people would be financially ruined, or only the massively wealthy would be gaming.
You're not wrong. And even now, Anbernic are about to release the RG505, which is much the same as the Retroid Pocket 3+, and renders the RG552 pretty much obsolete... already. I wouldn't mind if there was a coherent pattern and logic to their releases... but there isn't.
@@SteveBenway it's all about making money no thought towards customers,it's getting a dark greedy world,take care mate enjoy your videos ,be warned though anbernic and retroid company showing bad marketing tools ,I shall just enjoy their older products ,won't get no more of my money 💰
Completely agree Leahi84
Hello Steve!
Thank you very much for such a great and detailed review!
I recently received the same RG533M console.
But in the main menu on Linux there are no some systems that I saw on your screen, for example 3DO...
Please tell me how can I add the missing systems to Linux?
Maybe you have a guide?
Or do you know where I can find such a guide?
To be honest, I don't remember. I made this video several years ago, and it's a long time since I even used the system. I would suggest seeing if there's a 3DO folder for roms, already on the SD card, and if there is, add some roms and bios file to it. It could be that the emulator is already installed, but doesn't show up if no roms are there. I've tried a few systems where this is the case.
After pulling out my Lynx, Turbo Express and Nomad out of storage I found the Lynx and Turbo Express to not be working. I was seriously considering having them recapped and screens upgraded. I put that on hold after buying the RG353M. First, what kept me entertained in the 90’s for hours on end now only keeps my attention for a short period of time. They were great for the time. I really enjoyed being able to play the console games on my Turbo Express and was floored that my Lynx could hardware scale and rotate even my Genesis couldn’t. But am I going to fire up Blue Lightning over After Burner? The only game in the whole Lynx library I think is better than any other version was Xenophobe. Don’t get me wrong. There is something special about playing on original hardware for nostalgia. After a screen upgrade is it really original hardware? In addition, the original hardware while great at the time had no where near the build quality of newer devices. Love your collection, keep up the great videos!
I agree on a great many of your points. Thanks for watching :)
Thank you for another extensive hardware review, Steve! The little portables are getting stronger bit by bit, but the techological progress is not catching up to them fast at all :)
Great points! I own multiple gaming handhelds of varying computing power (Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, AYN Odin Pro, and AYN Odin Lite that I leave at my girlfriend's house) and I bought this one as a daily driver that I can carry around with me everywhere and whip out whenever I need to kill some time. I work construction as well so the metal housing is a big plus for me. Enjoying old retro games from my childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood definitely beats out mindlessly scrolling through social media like a zombie when I'm bored and have nothing better to do.
Thank you very much, Steve!
I'd recommend getting the PAL ROM of GoldenEye, because the game was developed by a British company and the speed of the PAL console is how they intended it to be played. The NTSC version is notorious for its speedup causing the game to be harder because it actually increases enemy accuracy by around 18%.
the box being smaller is actually also good because you can use the box it came in as an impromptu case instead of an orphaned sock or something.
Arkos is best firmware for this device in my opinion. 🙂 Your reviews rock, my friend! I'm all thumb'd and sub'd up👾
I've installed Arkos on several other Anbernic devices... it's my favourite by far. I'll be putting it on this one soon and doing a 'How it should've been done' video 😁
Retro for me, being 13 years old in 1985, is all the 8 & 16bit systems, so this is Retro heaven for me , i don't really care to play PSP etc, perfect handled, great review.
Great video! Thank you for testing Saturn. If only they'd make this exact handheld with just a bit more power... Full speed Saturn in this form factor would be wonderful.
After making this video, I side loaded a new version of the Saturn emulator onto the android side, and it runs really nicely. I'll be doing a video to show the stuff that can be improved in a week or so
@@SteveBenway Interesting, thanks. I'll have to check that out. Would you say that Saturn seems to be 100% full speed without frameskip? I'm fairly picky since I play on a real Saturn fairly often.
Thank you for this review, sorry i’m not speak inglés from spain. Tengo varias anbernic y bastante contento, pero hoy en día hay suficiente tecnología para poder mover ciertas plataformas ( mame, n64, saturn, ps1&2, PSP, etc) y además deberían de estar mejor configuradas de origen para no tener problemas de emuladores. No pude jugar de pequeño y ahora con 52 years old disfruto de los juegos clásicos . Pero no sé de software soy de plug & play.. saludos desde spñ 🤙🏼
How did you get all those N64 games❓❓Did you side load those from your computer because the preloaded SD card that comes with it only gives you like 6 N64 games…..and how come they never include any MARIO games on the preloaded SD cards❓❓ Thanks👊🏻✌🏻
I replaced the 2nd SD card with my own, and my own rom collection. You're unlikely to get Mario games in things like this because Nintendo can be very aggressive in protecting their intellectual properties.
if you sideload Fdroid and use Fdroid to load up Aurora Store, you can get play store functionality, minus google plays services.
Thanks for the tip.
They aren't concerned so much with firmware. They know the community will make firmware's to sell their devices for them... No need to spend much money on firmware geeks. Get it playable, cram it with roms and sell it...then move onto another different build of the same specs or ever so slightly greater specs🤣 wonder how long it'll take before people stop fixing these companies goofs n oopsies firmware wise and start holding them accountable for shoddy work.
Video of RG353M with updated Android emulators ruclips.net/video/m8gl0mSddOI/видео.html
Video of RG353M running ArkOS is now up at ruclips.net/video/-ePW-2EcVPw/видео.html
Hmm...I stuck my card from a rg351mp into a 353m and it was fine. I found the android side better for me. Took a lot more work to setup, but saturn even runs better on it with standalone yaba sanshiro pro 2.
Yes, 'out of the box', Android is quite weak on here, but after sideloading updated emulators, it's much improved.
I suspect it didn't like the SC card from my RG251V as that one is running ARKOS instead of Batocera, so will have formatted it differently.
Say @steve I have a RG351v and I love it, but I was wondering if it's worth it ( form factor "upgraded" hardware)? Should I sell my rg351v and get this? is it more comfy to play than the rg351v?
Neither am I Steve nor does this answer come in time I'm afraid, but no. Whilst the rg353m is a really great piece of tech, owning both, the 351 as well as the 353, I have to admit that the upgrade wasn't worth spending another € 140 for me. If you can find a buyer that will take a pre-loved 351 for let's say 100 on the other hand ...
Nice video,
In my opinion, doesn’t make much sense having Chinese handhelds to play PS2, Dreamcast or PSP like, the handhelds are not coming strong enough to justify the price, over $100.
Lots of setup, lots of changes, wasted time just trying to play some heavy games.
I bought the RBB20s after selling my RP2+ , just because I wanted something easy to play GBA, SNES, PS1
Pick up and play.
I only bought one of these because I thought It'd be easier than modding my psp. Boy I hope I wasn't wrong (it's still in transit)
I'm still having trouble running PS1 games, they all stutter (even the start up screen music stutters). I've tried all the different PS1 built in emulators but they're all the same. Every video I have seen says this device plays the PS1 games easily!
Check the bios files. If you are missing them the emulator wont play verry well.
2:20 so on hot days does it get really?
Not trying to be a smarty pants, serious question I’d like answered.
We haven't had any hot days recently, given the time of year, so I can't know, but if left in the sun, I'd expect it to get *very* hot.
@@SteveBenway ty for replying, having a hard time deciding if I wanna buy this or the Powkiddy rgb20s. This is the only handheld emulator I’ve seen that plays Commodore 64 games.
I just bought one and I don’t know how to download Roms or nothing, system is confusing
Mines didn’t come with any of the roms you got
@@bigmyri5293 You need to find micro sd card and fill it with ROMs from your PC
Go to android first and update your retroarch cores before you test. Also, a better micro sd will improve performance greatly
The test was done using the 'out of the box' configuration to demonstrate how Anbernic send them out (albeit, with my own game selection). I've done subsequent videos to demonstrate what it's actually capable of, with a little work.
Hey Steve, would you feel comfortable sticking this device into your front jeans pocket? Thanks for the video!
To be honest, I'm not comfortable sticking any handheld in my front jeans pocket. Not because they don't fit, but because it risks scratching the screen, or otherwise damaging the thing if I'm clumsy and walk into something/fall over etc. But in terms of size... it should fit, if the jeans aren't too tight.
I got the rg353m and when I tried golden eye it worked just fine. I think your just not use to the controls. If you want to test the N64 emulator you need to test Body Harvest. Spoiler. It can't handle Body Harvest
It's not a question of not being used to the controls. I'm not the only one who had this issue. Maybe yours was configured differently.
I ordered mine off the anbernic website so maybe they are a bit different, idk. Enjoyed the review.
Google play on a machine like this is nearly impossible to get certification for - Not ambernics fault at all.
what certificate lmao android open source if they wanted they could put it
True, but the Aurora store works like a charm and does what most of us need too.
Can it play Led Zeppelin :)
Probably 😁
@@SteveBenway Then i think i buy it 👍. Good content as usual Steve. I have played The Witcher 3 for a whole week . Have you played that game?
Can you?
Deep Purple only 😂😂😂
Can it play GoW and GoW2
Nope, you’d have to look into the Ayn Odin if you wanted some level of functional PS2 emulation. The RG353M only does up to Dreamcast I believe…
The PSP version works alright.
классно