Sorry for the delay, the battery life tests took way longer than I expected. Note: I used the Retro-8 core to play the Pico 8 games featured in the "What this does well" section.
This is what worries me and the reason I'm reluctant to buying any handheld just yet (except maybe Steamdeck OLED but I might be willing to wait until their next upgraded SteamDeck 2); because it reminds me of the smartphone company Xiaomi and it's phones that sure, it releases so many with incredible high specs and "affordable prices", BUT...poor unknowing people that gets them then has to suffer so many issues with it and I'm not even talking about low quality hardware malfunction due to cheap components, but software related things that rely on VERY high alert software developers updates to fix and since they're SO busy releasing 5 different devices every 2 days, this urgent update is almost never gonna happen and they have to either become software engineers themselves to fix their system by their own hands tweaking and jailbreaking it, or just literally give up. I know it sounds too farfetched and exaggerated, but I've honestly been there as one of those ignorant buyers...and only after many buys like that did I learn that it's not always about the specs but the quality of their reliance on software security and OS updates. So I'm not saying these devices like the many handheld gaming systems out there are bad, just that, I'm not "rich enough" to buy something that may or may not give me trouble and I can just brush it off and buy another or something like that. I'm so poor I need the closest thing to 99% reassurance of quality that will last me a good while without any further spending.
@@B3nG420 I mean, it's easy for an RGB30 to have no light bleed since there's no pressure on the screen...because the internals of it are pretty empty. I've taken mine apart several times to reset the battery and it's literally a screen, single board, and a battery being used as a heatsink.
complaining about light bleed makes you sound like a spoiled kid lol. What handheld out there plays wii and ps2? I would be excited to own one of these.
@@CheeseshredderI mean there are choices now. To each their own, if it bothers him then so be it! It'll help him narrow down the handheld he'll buy. That's what reviews of devices like this are for.
???? I thought it was an automated thing. I’ve never not been able to enable them even on tiny channels with less than 1000 subscribers. Are you saying that some RUclipsrs flip a switch that denies the ability to view subtitles, or that the ones that have them as an option are all actually uploading transcripts to make that possible? I’m apparently ignorant of how all of this really works. 😅 Thanks.
@@JasonJrake all videos have auto-generated (basically speech-to-text) subtitles, they have a lot of drawbacks and barely work in my opinion. Alternatively, youtubers can opt to manually define subtitles for their videos that can be accurate and potentially provide extra context for non-audio viewers.
@@PS3ClassicGamesHD Yea. Sorry, it's a big eye roll hearing people talk about the price of an emulation device at their expense when I'm pretty sure most of them aren't dumping games they already own.
This is a super niche comment for a super niche device…. But the Rgb30 can handle Caves bullet hell library up to about Ketsui and Dodonpachi DOJ (2003 ish) with little issues…. And the rg cube can handle their entire library including up to Dodonpachi Saidaiojou which I believe was released in 2012 and was their last bullet hell…. That is so cool and exciting to me
I JUST ordered one of these today. Was agonizing between this and the new clamshell SP, but flipped a coin and ordered this one. Excited to see what we can improve on ir over time from the user end. Edit: I should clarify. My handhelds are my Switch, Steam Deck and Miyoo Mini atm. I can't take the switch or Steam Deck to work because they're either the family console or too valuable to toss in and out of a backpack daily. The Mini is amazing for what it is, but trying to game on it too long with aging hands is truly painful. This device seemed like a nice toss in the backpack, work friendly device that can also support being played for an hour or two at a time on the couch.
I throw mine in my backpack every day, using the case that came with it. Steam library, emulation station or gamepass streaming are but a lunch break away 😂
This thing is excellent! I actually got the SP, but then almost immediately turned around and ordered the RG Cube. It definitely handles most games better, and also feels a bit higher quality overall. I do like the nostalgia appeal of the SP, as that as my favorite handheld when I was a teenager. I will keep it around, but it's not nearly as well suited for things like DS, GC, N64, etc. Even PS1 and PSP games don't run on it very well.
A note about Wii, there's a setting that's unfortunately a little "buried" in Dolphin that allows you to set Wii games to a native 4:3 aspect ratio mode with no stretching if that will be more desirable for you - in config > Wii, toggle OFF widescreen. That's it. The easier to find solution is unfortunately "Aspect Ratio" in Graphics Settings with a forced 4:3 that will stretch. I can't exactly tell what Taki did, but since I didn't hear him mention it, I figured I would. I believe a majority of games you might want to play on the device have this, the Galaxy games, Sonic games like Unleashed, Colors, and All Stars Racing, but certain games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii will still be in a forced letterboxed 16:9. Still a worthwhile option to consider if you're going to play Wii at all, and it'd be kind of cool if we had an option that did the inverse of a Widescreen hack in order to get a full 1:1.
Just received mine today. I bought the retro grey one. Build quality indeed feels on par with my RP4 pro. The right trigger has the scrapping feeling as mentioned. Light bleeding wasn't super noticeable, but I'll have to test it more; haven't run any game on it yet. Scrapping is very annoying, I'll have to open it up later today. Edit: Nope, light bleeding is indeed quite bad. On mine there are three spots, two at top and one at bottom.
I'd be so much more interested in this if it were a 4:3 aspect ratio. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but I really just don't like those borders. I love the look of this handheld but I have others with much better screen real estate.
Totally. The square aspect ratio makes this a really tough buy. You're limited to older games despite the beefier hardware which makes this handheld full of lost potential.
@@Mr.GuGuGaCucaSnooch I don't even think Game Boy is going to be perfect on this as it's 720x720 while integer scaled Game Boy/Game Gear will be 768x720 or 640x576
the fan is directly taken from the RG405V and the fan looks like that to emulate a cube look, like damn, never knew the RG405V's fan was foreshadowing for the RG Cube.
Looks great! If the d-pad was digging into my thumb because of the ridges, I would very CAREFULLY file it down a bit, just to take the edges off. No biggie.
On balance I prefer the RBG30. It runs the same 1:1 systems (GB, GBC, NGPC), systems that look fine at 8:7 (NES, PCE, SNES) and the only vert screen console, Vectrex, all at the full frame-rate just like the Cube does. It may not run every DS game at the full frame-rate but its half the price of the Cube and their screen is practically too small to be seeing DS's two screens very well anyway. Sure, the Cube can run DC games at the full frame-rate and it can also run some PS2 and 3DS games but with mixed results. However, playing 4:3 systems on this screen is far from ideal so the extra power will be a moot point to many gamers. As for vert screen arcade games then the RGB30 runs the vast majority of them at the full frame-rate as long as it's left at the default setting of no shader being applied. So overall the RGB30 seems the more sensible choice when it comes to what devices a 1:1 handheld is actually good for. Plus it doesn't have the same light bleed issues as the Cube does and it also benefits from the simplicity of being a Linux-based handheld which will be a huge positive for those who wish to avoid using Android.
The thing I like most about this device is that Anbernic is finally doing step ups in quality. This device alone looks like if they keep this way, more beautifully crafted handhelds are coming from them. Though, I will never agree with clicky shoulders, those are not nice to press or hear.
From transferring the ROMs and setting up the software, testing settings and tons of games, a tear down with a partial fix.. comes a brutally honest review! Seriously that's a lot of work that went into this video and I enjoyed it. Hopefully this helps the community make a better purchase... Or influence the companies to make a better device. 👍😎
I’ve already ordered one, I’m mostly interested in 3DS, but also a few GameCube and Wii titles as well. I guess I’ll have to toy around with it to find my preferred settings.
Dealing with the 1080p out, Anbernic contacted me and showed me a video where it was literally just a button in the settings menu to switch to widescreen output.
Kinda weird to say that the heavier systems aren't suited for a 1:1 display - there's less wasted space playing 4:3 games (like the GC and PS2) on a square display than on a 16:9 display, and the latter would make for a much larger handheld too.
This has been rhe best review so far. All the other first few day reviews haven't cover alot of what he coverd and it was all the stuff i was looking for
So excited to see handhelds that are starting to handle PS2 games well. I can't wait until we get a device that can touch all PS2 games flawlessly and I'll finally be done with my handheld search....assuming whatever device can do that does the rest like this one did with GC/Wii/PSP/DC/etc.
the RG Cube is cool but....... it's pricey compared to the RG405M. like bro! this device is plastic yet it only has slightly more power than the RG405V yet somehow it became 170 bucks.
Looks pretty good, control-wise especialy. The square screen though is a turn off... the Street Fighter bits in the video made the game look weirdly distorted because of it. I'll stick with the RG35xx H for now. Thanks for the review 😀
I must not be paying attention because I didn’t see Street Fighter in the video, but if you’re referring to arcade version then it’s likely a matter of adjusting emulator settings. The CPS-2 arcade hardware had an unusual native resolution for 4:3 CRT monitors that resulted in oblong “pixels”, and graphics were designed accordingly. Rendering it with square pixels on computer displays without adjustment won’t look true to arcade experience. Depending on settings that you’ve been seeing it run with in emulators over the years, many people have probably gotten used to scaled proportions that differ from 90s reality…
Rgb30 was known and praised for pico8. As far as I know Android still does not have native pico8 so it is not the best 1:1 screen device just for that particular reason.
Thank you very much for your candidness and your attention to detail. Its unfortunate that you have to QA these things for the company in the field, they would stand to benefit a lot if they just worked with (and paid) people like you for the effort.
Id like you to know that Anbernic sent me your video as a response when I told them I had light bleed, asking if they'd send me a replacement or give a refund. They asked me if I could "remove the LCD" (which you don't do here) and "see if that helps" and sent me this. I'm waiting for a response on a guarantee if I damage anything if they will replace it, since they are asking me to do it!
Only thing I wish is that all these handhelds had a built-in kickstand in the back so I can bring it to my kitchen and watch stuff while eating, then quickly switch to gaming whenever.
Thank you for looking at the light bleed issue. I was going to get this to replace my RGB30 since the RG Cube has touch controls so better DS/3DS usage, but that d-pad position is less than ideal for my needs. I use my RGB30 a lot for the Game Boys/MD/SNES/Neo/DS etc thanks to that 1:1 screen but does anyone have any experience with long play sessions on the RG Cube with that bottom d-pad?
this device is not that good. 3ds native is 400x240, it is not good for scale up to 720x432, if 3ds emulation is the selling point, it should be a 800x720 screen at least. further 3.95” is too small, it should be large enough to have the same main screen size as basic 3DS. The designer is too lazy to copy from rgb30 but they didn’t study well to provide better gaming experience.
Hey ! Thank you for the quality of your videos, you are doing an amazing job 🙏 Can you help me to chose between the RG CUBE and the RP4 Pro ? My goal is to play N64 / Dreamcast / CG
3:39 I think that's the core of the issue with these emulation devices since the beginning. Many of these companies churn out these devices without really thinking about them any deeper than the initial face value they present. If given more time, and perhaps allowing iterations of some of these models, i'm sure they would knock all preferences out of the park and maybe give maximum value for their given price brackets. I stopped buying these handhelds a long time ago but I enjoy seeing these iterations. RG35XXSP was SO close to being the perfect console for me.... the battery is what ruined it for me.... it had everything I wanted, except that one crucial thing got overlooked and it ruined the entire experience for me.
Idk why they would go by 1:1 instead of 4:3 aspect ratio due to more games being 4:3 especially if it has more power then that means higher consoles can run which all have 4:3
it seems like a very nice console but the profile of it is so high, with those ergo handles and fan bump, that it's impossible to carry in circumstances where you'd want to carry something so small? What makes it better to buy this over an Odin which is a bigger and more ergonomic console, for example?
after watching this review, and many other handheld videos here and elsewhere, i have this opinion as a very new person to these tiny handhelds. if one of the major companies that makes these doesn't ever reach out to you as a product advisor then none of the companies who make these devices care at all about their consumers. it's clear to see that you would correct any issues during design through to pre release production with ease. so, if none of these companies ever reach out to get your opinion at any stage of product development, none of these companies care about the consumers and are only going to make less than perfect devices to keep people in the buying circle.
What a perfect review my man! I'm slowly getting to see all of the recent Anbernic releases. This might be the most thorough review on RUclips. Subscribed for sure.
I want the 406v Coming soon.... Same chipset ... 4 inch screen... But in a vertical form factor... I was going to get the 405v...until I heard the 406 is coming... can't wait.
You should never use 8:7 for SNES/Genesis and others of the time! That is a pixel storage format, display is still 4:3 or 3:2 depending on the resolution of the game. Those pixels have an aspect ratio of 7:6 or some other PAR, so you can't integer scale them without screwing up the geometry (e.g.: Sonic loops will be oval). The emulator needs to set the correct Display Aspect Ratio for the resolution and scale the pixels accordingly. Wii and PS2 480i/p is the same, which were never meant to work with square pixels at this resolution. They output 704 wide, targeting 10:11 sized pixels. Everything will be fat if you display them without scaling. (There are also some Wii PAL50 games that use more than 448/480 vertical pixels, as allowed by the standard.) This is a never ending source of pain that needs to be understood. I purchased Sonic SEGA AGES for the Switch. M2 programmed "normal" and "full" to a mode where everything is skinny. The correct mode on Switch is "dot by dot", which also seems to be mislabeled but I'm not sure if that particular game renders on a 1:1 PAR.
Love the look of this thing, even though I don't know if I will get it. The price itself isn't terrible, but I think the screen might be too small for my eyes, which is kind of a shame. But what you said about Ambernic is spot on. Always got to be something weird or broken
Yeah it’s a pretty nice device but yeah I wish the screen was a bit bigger, I’m probably going to get the powkiddy x55 as that has a nice 5 inch screen and has thousands of games pre installed 😏
I've been waiting for a more expensive 1:1 device like this because I prefer distorted gaming visuals, with the possible exception of 3DS. I could obviously buy a cheaper 1:1 device for GB, GBC and Pico-8 but why not spend more whenever you can? The FOMO is even beginning to convince my lying eyes that black bars look better on top and bottom. So with absolutely no good reason to buy this, I'm buying two for my FOMO shelf so the dust collects on these instead.
Got this a couple of days ago, no mayor screen bleed issues and LOVING it so far… not a big fan of Android and considering just having everything but Dolphin for GC and Cintra for 3DS run through Retoarch Thank you for your awesome review
I really can’t understand why Anbernic can’t get their act together when it comes to things like noisy buttons, weird colours or sharpening on their screens or the light bleed issue. I’ve also seen issues on other devices where the sticks snap to cardinals which might be nice as a configurable option but not all the time. Surely they’ve got no shortage of experience now? Personally I prefer the asymmetrical stick layout as I prefer to play even older games with the left stick. However, with a device that’s powerful enough to run GC, PS2 and PSP I’d have thought that 3:2 was the best compromise between 16:9 and 4:3. E.g. a 720x480 screen.
20:39 The most liked controller layout in the world has to be the Xbox layout and it uses this layout. I’m looking to get a handheld that’s in the $200-300 range and my first priority is playing Dreamcast games and i can’t find one that has this layout that the Dreamcast also used
If the RGB30 made no sense - then this makes absolutely no sense at all LOL. I personally have the RGB30 and I agree the screen ratio not ideal but you won't be playing anything really that takes advantage of wider screens due to performance. The Anbernic is way more expensive and powerful but what do you even need it for with that screen?
the saturation being too vivid could be fixed in Android itself with it's display saturation setting? And wouldnt the external monitor "issue" be fixed too in Android if you go into Developer Settings and change the external monitor setting (IE "Force Desktop Mode" or something similiar)?
Are all of these chinese retro handheld companies the same? Is Anbernic also AYN and Retroid? Since their custom Android has the same OVERLY LARGE quick menu buttons as those two companies. Or just using the same image?
To me this thing kind of makes no sense. For some reason they put all this power in a screen that’s meant to make game boy and game boy color games better. Just weird. It should just have a 3566 in it and cost way less. Side note, playing Sega Genius and PS1 in 8:7 is a travesty lol!
I need Odin 2 content please!!!! Hack or mod a newer windows os and run steam or something cool - maybe even just a cloud gaming overview. Not enough people are talking about streaming on Odin 2, or even android native gaming like Wild Rift. You are the guy, you would absolutely kill some content like that. Enough messing around, time to get dirty again 😎
Confirmed light bleed in same spot. Video out you have to update to desktop mode but it is a bit clunky with a cursor needed to jump into emulators. The ps4 remote with touch pad seems to be a good match. If you could scale gamecube to 8:7 it would be perfect but from my research its only stretch full or original
Another xbox layout. Why are so many retro handhelds using this layout? - A small corner at the bottom is not comfortable for a dpad which requires more pressure to use than a 3d stick. That's why a relaxed grip on the handheld is important, requiring it to go up. - 3d stick on top also makes wiggling movements harder to do than if it's low. - Also playstation was first, is more retro, and is what most retro games are more used to than xbox layout. - Also for those that claw grip, this is not possible when dpad is below. - Retro handheld developers: please understand this.
Twice the cost of the rgb30, worse screen, less than a full generation improvement, and too narrow to take advantage of the better chipset. No FOMO here. If it was priced like a premium rgb30, then sure. But no.
I think this would have be much better if they limit it to GameBoy and GameGear games due to the aspect ratio and set a lower price by also using a weaker SoC or something.
Nah I don't like fiddling with aspect ratio of screens. I still think the Rg35xx plus is enough for me on retro aspects...I mean the more expensive they get I'd rather just buy a anologue pocket for retro.
This is the device i want. It plays what i want and more. My one issue? Screen size. Its too small for my taste. I dont wan a huge screen, just prefer rectangular shaped. If anyones got a recommendation lol ill take it. Bet a new device will come out in a few months and fix my issue though lol
They started developing this device to compete with the ZPG A1 Unicorn, and they released it even before its competitor… I find it kind of ugly but I can’t help but be impressed by Anbernic’s speed here.
but zelda windwaker has a 2-player coop mode with tingletuner, so i stay with my gamecube and the original game + zelda sp for player 2 and enjoy the fullgame together instead of playing alone on this thing and missing alot of features and gamemodes.
Sorry for the delay, the battery life tests took way longer than I expected.
Note: I used the Retro-8 core to play the Pico 8 games featured in the "What this does well" section.
When you think about it, that’s actually a very good thing
How are the analog sticks? They look similar to the ones in the RG556 which a lot of people didn't like.
At the level you bring these reviews you can take the time you need ;)
Were those battery tests with the stick lights on? Just curious.
must have been some good battery life :p
"It's been less than a month since their last release..." never have more accurate words about Anbernic been spoke aloud.
I think that's their company motto as well
They re brand AliExpresss handheld consoles
this applies to ayn too, a new device before anyone even got the last one with the same ryzen cpu
This is what worries me and the reason I'm reluctant to buying any handheld just yet (except maybe Steamdeck OLED but I might be willing to wait until their next upgraded SteamDeck 2); because it reminds me of the smartphone company Xiaomi and it's phones that sure, it releases so many with incredible high specs and "affordable prices", BUT...poor unknowing people that gets them then has to suffer so many issues with it and I'm not even talking about low quality hardware malfunction due to cheap components, but software related things that rely on VERY high alert software developers updates to fix and since they're SO busy releasing 5 different devices every 2 days, this urgent update is almost never gonna happen and they have to either become software engineers themselves to fix their system by their own hands tweaking and jailbreaking it, or just literally give up.
I know it sounds too farfetched and exaggerated, but I've honestly been there as one of those ignorant buyers...and only after many buys like that did I learn that it's not always about the specs but the quality of their reliance on software security and OS updates. So I'm not saying these devices like the many handheld gaming systems out there are bad, just that, I'm not "rich enough" to buy something that may or may not give me trouble and I can just brush it off and buy another or something like that. I'm so poor I need the closest thing to 99% reassurance of quality that will last me a good while without any further spending.
@@gamerman644AYN’s made like 4 product lines since 2021, Anbernic probably has 10x that
The circle d-pad looks like that on the Sega Saturn. Fantastic!
That was my first thought as well, loved that controller.
I love the way it looks. Like some kind of pre-school toy.
Looks like one of those Leapfrog Handhelds Lmao
That's bad!
@@zZiL341yRj736 I don’t think so.
@@UkeofCarl yeah exactly it could bring nostalgia to some people
Pretty much the only reason I'd want it too but at that price point I'll pass.
I'm a sicko who loves how goofy games look when stretched to fullscreen, so I'm definitely gonna get a kick out of this thing
Disgusting
Back to the hole you crawled out from
You maniac!
You monster!
😂
Damn, I had my money on your RG Cube review being titled "It's (Even More) Hip to be Square".
I can picture the youtuber ,Techdweeb saying that lol
It seems like by 2025-2026 we will have ps2 game cube Wii flawlessly performing on 100-150 dollar handhelds.
finnally
The light bleed is a deal breaker for me. Thanks for calling it out.
$160 device should not have that. Rgb30 has little to no light bleed, but qc with is probably just as bad with the battery charging etc.
@@B3nG420 I mean, it's easy for an RGB30 to have no light bleed since there's no pressure on the screen...because the internals of it are pretty empty. I've taken mine apart several times to reset the battery and it's literally a screen, single board, and a battery being used as a heatsink.
light bleeds can only bother you if you look for it, even psp has it
complaining about light bleed makes you sound like a spoiled kid lol. What handheld out there plays wii and ps2? I would be excited to own one of these.
@@CheeseshredderI mean there are choices now. To each their own, if it bothers him then so be it! It'll help him narrow down the handheld he'll buy. That's what reviews of devices like this are for.
Thanks again for subtitles, it's still surprisingly not standard in even medium sized youtubers.
???? I thought it was an automated thing. I’ve never not been able to enable them even on tiny channels with less than 1000 subscribers.
Are you saying that some RUclipsrs flip a switch that denies the ability to view subtitles, or that the ones that have them as an option are all actually uploading transcripts to make that possible?
I’m apparently ignorant of how all of this really works. 😅
Thanks.
Agreed! For some of us who are hard of hearing, this is a big plus.
After RUclips removed the community added captions feature, a lot of RUclipsrs just ignored them and left the captions to the auto generator.
@@JasonJrakeIf they aren't auto-generated, they've been written and uploaded.
@@JasonJrake all videos have auto-generated (basically speech-to-text) subtitles, they have a lot of drawbacks and barely work in my opinion. Alternatively, youtubers can opt to manually define subtitles for their videos that can be accurate and potentially provide extra context for non-audio viewers.
I can't wait until devices like this are 100 bucks or less.
not gonna happen anytime soon. Rp2s is your best bet.
Because you've spent so much money on legitimate copies of games, right?
@drezial Sarcasm?
@@PS3ClassicGamesHD Yea. Sorry, it's a big eye roll hearing people talk about the price of an emulation device at their expense when I'm pretty sure most of them aren't dumping games they already own.
@@lambasted6886 Lol, I guess you're supporting devs by buying PS2 games from Ebay huh?
This is a super niche comment for a super niche device…. But the Rgb30 can handle Caves bullet hell library up to about Ketsui and Dodonpachi DOJ (2003 ish) with little issues…. And the rg cube can handle their entire library including up to Dodonpachi Saidaiojou which I believe was released in 2012 and was their last bullet hell…. That is so cool and exciting to me
These releases never stop do they 😅 Great vids as always!
Anbernic is getting close to affordability and performance. No ps2. I like the form factor of their devices.
I JUST ordered one of these today. Was agonizing between this and the new clamshell SP, but flipped a coin and ordered this one. Excited to see what we can improve on ir over time from the user end. Edit: I should clarify. My handhelds are my Switch, Steam Deck and Miyoo Mini atm. I can't take the switch or Steam Deck to work because they're either the family console or too valuable to toss in and out of a backpack daily. The Mini is amazing for what it is, but trying to game on it too long with aging hands is truly painful. This device seemed like a nice toss in the backpack, work friendly device that can also support being played for an hour or two at a time on the couch.
I throw mine in my backpack every day, using the case that came with it. Steam library, emulation station or gamepass streaming are but a lunch break away 😂
This thing is excellent! I actually got the SP, but then almost immediately turned around and ordered the RG Cube. It definitely handles most games better, and also feels a bit higher quality overall. I do like the nostalgia appeal of the SP, as that as my favorite handheld when I was a teenager. I will keep it around, but it's not nearly as well suited for things like DS, GC, N64, etc. Even PS1 and PSP games don't run on it very well.
@@laughyourashevilleoff2546 I like the cube for form factor and comfort but I’m finding it really unwieldy with the default software.
This white cube looks so clean, love it
I’ve not bought a handheld since the retroid pocket 2 and I’m DEFINITELY getting this
Taki, thanks for this review, the PASS/FAIL review format is really useful for me as a potential buyer!
A note about Wii, there's a setting that's unfortunately a little "buried" in Dolphin that allows you to set Wii games to a native 4:3 aspect ratio mode with no stretching if that will be more desirable for you - in config > Wii, toggle OFF widescreen. That's it. The easier to find solution is unfortunately "Aspect Ratio" in Graphics Settings with a forced 4:3 that will stretch. I can't exactly tell what Taki did, but since I didn't hear him mention it, I figured I would.
I believe a majority of games you might want to play on the device have this, the Galaxy games, Sonic games like Unleashed, Colors, and All Stars Racing, but certain games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii will still be in a forced letterboxed 16:9. Still a worthwhile option to consider if you're going to play Wii at all, and it'd be kind of cool if we had an option that did the inverse of a Widescreen hack in order to get a full 1:1.
"light bleed is not something you want to see on expensive device"
I agree! have you seen the og steamdeck lcd though? that was light bleed x2 vs cube
My lcd steam deck had very minimal light bleed. Ymmv
Just received mine today. I bought the retro grey one. Build quality indeed feels on par with my RP4 pro. The right trigger has the scrapping feeling as mentioned. Light bleeding wasn't super noticeable, but I'll have to test it more; haven't run any game on it yet. Scrapping is very annoying, I'll have to open it up later today.
Edit: Nope, light bleeding is indeed quite bad. On mine there are three spots, two at top and one at bottom.
I was waiting to hear from you before pulling the trigger on this! Excited to hear what you have to say. Thanks for all your work Taki! 🙏🏽💪🏽
The closest visually looking Dreamcast handheld
That aspect ratio absolutely kills the device for me tbh
And that's totally fair because this is a very specific device. You have to want it for the aspect ratio.
I'd be so much more interested in this if it were a 4:3 aspect ratio. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but I really just don't like those borders. I love the look of this handheld but I have others with much better screen real estate.
Totally. The square aspect ratio makes this a really tough buy. You're limited to older games despite the beefier hardware which makes this handheld full of lost potential.
This is good for ds and 3ds only.
@@MegaVSable Cell phones can already do that with no effort. Why put so much power in something that'll only be good for low end games?
@@Mr.GuGuGaCucaSnooch 3DS is hardly low-end
@@Mr.GuGuGaCucaSnooch I don't even think Game Boy is going to be perfect on this as it's 720x720 while integer scaled Game Boy/Game Gear will be 768x720 or 640x576
All i want is a PSP Go like device that can play up to Ps2. But maybe soon technology will catch up to my dreams.
rgb30 is better at that price for the same old consoles the screen is made for
My thought exactly. Agreed. What makes the system interesting also limits the systems that can be played on this. It's a pass for me at this price.
I realise this isn't the point of the video, but I am blown away by how good Spryo looks with 3x especially considering it's age!
the fan is directly taken from the RG405V and the fan looks like that to emulate a cube look, like damn, never knew the RG405V's fan was foreshadowing for the RG Cube.
Looks great! If the d-pad was digging into my thumb because of the ridges, I would very CAREFULLY file it down a bit, just to take the edges off. No biggie.
On balance I prefer the RBG30. It runs the same 1:1 systems (GB, GBC, NGPC), systems that look fine at 8:7 (NES, PCE, SNES) and the only vert screen console, Vectrex, all at the full frame-rate just like the Cube does.
It may not run every DS game at the full frame-rate but its half the price of the Cube and their screen is practically too small to be seeing DS's two screens very well anyway. Sure, the Cube can run DC games at the full frame-rate and it can also run some PS2 and 3DS games but with mixed results. However, playing 4:3 systems on this screen is far from ideal so the extra power will be a moot point to many gamers.
As for vert screen arcade games then the RGB30 runs the vast majority of them at the full frame-rate as long as it's left at the default setting of no shader being applied.
So overall the RGB30 seems the more sensible choice when it comes to what devices a 1:1 handheld is actually good for. Plus it doesn't have the same light bleed issues as the Cube does and it also benefits from the simplicity of being a Linux-based handheld which will be a huge positive for those who wish to avoid using Android.
in use I've found the RGB30's terrible charging and battery situation to be a major downside. Plus poor D-pad and overall cheap feel
The thing I like most about this device is that Anbernic is finally doing step ups in quality. This device alone looks like if they keep this way, more beautifully crafted handhelds are coming from them. Though, I will never agree with clicky shoulders, those are not nice to press or hear.
From transferring the ROMs and setting up the software, testing settings and tons of games, a tear down with a partial fix.. comes a brutally honest review!
Seriously that's a lot of work that went into this video and I enjoyed it. Hopefully this helps the community make a better purchase... Or influence the companies to make a better device. 👍😎
Eww I don’t know how you can stretch the aspect ratio. I’d take letterboxing every time over stretching!
I just noticed the mini family computer console on the upper right of the screen. Where can I get one?
Btw, Ebay has the RG Cube right now for $137, which is nearly $50 cheaper than MSRP + shipping
Thank you for the video. I was literally waiting for something like this when I found out this handheld existed like 5 days ago.
Hey Taki! Try the ps vita it's amazing.
It's one of the best handheld for ports
and retro gaming.And we can't forget
the legendery exclusives.
The light bleed is literally any IPS if you think about it, that’s unfortunately how the panel works.
Shame we haven’t got tiny OLED screens just yet
I’ve already ordered one, I’m mostly interested in 3DS, but also a few GameCube and Wii titles as well. I guess I’ll have to toy around with it to find my preferred settings.
Too bad they don't offer it in Gamecube purple color scheme. It would look fantastic.
WHY is this handheld names The Cube does not have the Purple GameCUBE look? I think that it would sell a billion!
Dealing with the 1080p out, Anbernic contacted me and showed me a video where it was literally just a button in the settings menu to switch to widescreen output.
Anbernic needs to hold off on shipping orders. A $200 device and they can't figure out light bleed situations. Whose passing qc over there.
I can't shake the idea that it looks like a GP32. :)
Kinda weird to say that the heavier systems aren't suited for a 1:1 display - there's less wasted space playing 4:3 games (like the GC and PS2) on a square display than on a 16:9 display, and the latter would make for a much larger handheld too.
we really just need a ds type retro console lol
This has been rhe best review so far. All the other first few day reviews haven't cover alot of what he coverd and it was all the stuff i was looking for
So excited to see handhelds that are starting to handle PS2 games well. I can't wait until we get a device that can touch all PS2 games flawlessly and I'll finally be done with my handheld search....assuming whatever device can do that does the rest like this one did with GC/Wii/PSP/DC/etc.
the RG Cube is cool but.......
it's pricey compared to the RG405M.
like bro!
this device is plastic yet it only has slightly more power than the RG405V yet somehow it became 170 bucks.
Did you test the cardinal snapping on those sticks? The 556 was really bad in that respect.
forthenext have said it uses the same sticks (same issues with the axial deadzones), but I'd wait for other reviews for more confirmation.
Anbernic pretty much always use cardinal snapping sticks
Man, this thing is adorable. No use for one myself, but damn it just looks neat.
Looks pretty good, control-wise especialy. The square screen though is a turn off... the Street Fighter bits in the video made the game look weirdly distorted because of it. I'll stick with the RG35xx H for now. Thanks for the review 😀
I must not be paying attention because I didn’t see Street Fighter in the video, but if you’re referring to arcade version then it’s likely a matter of adjusting emulator settings.
The CPS-2 arcade hardware had an unusual native resolution for 4:3 CRT monitors that resulted in oblong “pixels”, and graphics were designed accordingly. Rendering it with square pixels on computer displays without adjustment won’t look true to arcade experience.
Depending on settings that you’ve been seeing it run with in emulators over the years, many people have probably gotten used to scaled proportions that differ from 90s reality…
Gonna wait 72 hours for the next version
The screen looks amazing. Clean and bright. No need to have an oled sreen.
dang man the gamecube performance...the ps2 performance...crazy!
Rgb30 was known and praised for pico8. As far as I know Android still does not have native pico8 so it is not the best 1:1 screen device just for that particular reason.
Thank you very much for your candidness and your attention to detail. Its unfortunate that you have to QA these things for the company in the field, they would stand to benefit a lot if they just worked with (and paid) people like you for the effort.
Id like you to know that Anbernic sent me your video as a response when I told them I had light bleed, asking if they'd send me a replacement or give a refund.
They asked me if I could "remove the LCD" (which you don't do here) and "see if that helps" and sent me this. I'm waiting for a response on a guarantee if I damage anything if they will replace it, since they are asking me to do it!
Only thing I wish is that all these handhelds had a built-in kickstand in the back so I can bring it to my kitchen and watch stuff while eating, then quickly switch to gaming whenever.
I DIY my own kickstand
Generic phone stands should work and they can be used with anything else. Why watch stuff with this square screen anyway?
Thank you for looking at the light bleed issue. I was going to get this to replace my RGB30 since the RG Cube has touch controls so better DS/3DS usage, but that d-pad position is less than ideal for my needs. I use my RGB30 a lot for the Game Boys/MD/SNES/Neo/DS etc thanks to that 1:1 screen but does anyone have any experience with long play sessions on the RG Cube with that bottom d-pad?
Sticks position really sucks, but battery performance for a retro games is a deal breaker.
Bro you are cooking with these reviews! Keep up the good work!
this device is not that good. 3ds native is 400x240, it is not good for scale up to 720x432, if 3ds emulation is the selling point, it should be a 800x720 screen at least. further 3.95” is too small, it should be large enough to have the same main screen size as basic 3DS. The designer is too lazy to copy from rgb30 but they didn’t study well to provide better gaming experience.
What is the bulbasor square thing on your table what is it ?????
I’m wondering the same thing.. I can’t find it online anything by just doing a broad search lol
Hey ! Thank you for the quality of your videos, you are doing an amazing job 🙏 Can you help me to chose between the RG CUBE and the RP4 Pro ? My goal is to play N64 / Dreamcast / CG
3:39 I think that's the core of the issue with these emulation devices since the beginning. Many of these companies churn out these devices without really thinking about them any deeper than the initial face value they present. If given more time, and perhaps allowing iterations of some of these models, i'm sure they would knock all preferences out of the park and maybe give maximum value for their given price brackets. I stopped buying these handhelds a long time ago but I enjoy seeing these iterations.
RG35XXSP was SO close to being the perfect console for me.... the battery is what ruined it for me.... it had everything I wanted, except that one crucial thing got overlooked and it ruined the entire experience for me.
Idk why they would go by 1:1 instead of 4:3 aspect ratio due to more games being 4:3 especially if it has more power then that means higher consoles can run which all have 4:3
Square screens are so rare that the thumbnail looks vertically stretched
Yeah, it looks strange. I even had to check myself to make sure it was 1:1. It is, but it doesn't look like it is.
it seems like a very nice console but the profile of it is so high, with those ergo handles and fan bump, that it's impossible to carry in circumstances where you'd want to carry something so small? What makes it better to buy this over an Odin which is a bigger and more ergonomic console, for example?
after watching this review, and many other handheld videos here and elsewhere, i have this opinion as a very new person to these tiny handhelds.
if one of the major companies that makes these doesn't ever reach out to you as a product advisor then none of the companies who make these devices care at all about their consumers.
it's clear to see that you would correct any issues during design through to pre release production with ease.
so, if none of these companies ever reach out to get your opinion at any stage of product development, none of these companies care about the consumers and are only going to make less than perfect devices to keep people in the buying circle.
pretty sure he has a professional background in these things and has as much paid work in the industry as he wants
@@GreenTeaViewer what i said still stands even if that is the case
The Cube looks so beautiful ❤
Please run some activision on there I needa know if it can handle Spider-Man 2 and Tony hawks underground
What a perfect review my man! I'm slowly getting to see all of the recent Anbernic releases. This might be the most thorough review on RUclips. Subscribed for sure.
Screen would be great for NeoGeo Pocket Color
I want the 406v
Coming soon....
Same chipset ...
4 inch screen...
But in a vertical form factor...
I was going to get the 405v...until I heard the 406 is coming... can't wait.
If there was a good pico solution, this handheld would be God.
You should never use 8:7 for SNES/Genesis and others of the time! That is a pixel storage format, display is still 4:3 or 3:2 depending on the resolution of the game.
Those pixels have an aspect ratio of 7:6 or some other PAR, so you can't integer scale them without screwing up the geometry (e.g.: Sonic loops will be oval).
The emulator needs to set the correct Display Aspect Ratio for the resolution and scale the pixels accordingly.
Wii and PS2 480i/p is the same, which were never meant to work with square pixels at this resolution. They output 704 wide, targeting 10:11 sized pixels. Everything will be fat if you display them without scaling.
(There are also some Wii PAL50 games that use more than 448/480 vertical pixels, as allowed by the standard.)
This is a never ending source of pain that needs to be understood. I purchased Sonic SEGA AGES for the Switch. M2 programmed "normal" and "full" to a mode where everything is skinny.
The correct mode on Switch is "dot by dot", which also seems to be mislabeled but I'm not sure if that particular game renders on a 1:1 PAR.
Love the look of this thing, even though I don't know if I will get it. The price itself isn't terrible, but I think the screen might be too small for my eyes, which is kind of a shame. But what you said about Ambernic is spot on. Always got to be something weird or broken
Yeah it’s a pretty nice device but yeah I wish the screen was a bit bigger, I’m probably going to get the powkiddy x55 as that has a nice 5 inch screen and has thousands of games pre installed 😏
Seems to be a nice emulator! I wonder how it performs if installed with SteamOS-like systems
I've been waiting for a more expensive 1:1 device like this because I prefer distorted gaming visuals, with the possible exception of 3DS. I could obviously buy a cheaper 1:1 device for GB, GBC and Pico-8 but why not spend more whenever you can? The FOMO is even beginning to convince my lying eyes that black bars look better on top and bottom. So with absolutely no good reason to buy this, I'm buying two for my FOMO shelf so the dust collects on these instead.
Got this a couple of days ago, no mayor screen bleed issues and LOVING it so far… not a big fan of Android and considering just having everything but Dolphin for GC and Cintra for 3DS run through Retoarch
Thank you for your awesome review
Looks much better to hold. Just wish the screen was a little bigger for GameCube
I really can’t understand why Anbernic can’t get their act together when it comes to things like noisy buttons, weird colours or sharpening on their screens or the light bleed issue. I’ve also seen issues on other devices where the sticks snap to cardinals which might be nice as a configurable option but not all the time. Surely they’ve got no shortage of experience now?
Personally I prefer the asymmetrical stick layout as I prefer to play even older games with the left stick.
However, with a device that’s powerful enough to run GC, PS2 and PSP I’d have thought that 3:2 was the best compromise between 16:9 and 4:3. E.g. a 720x480 screen.
20:39 The most liked controller layout in the world has to be the Xbox layout and it uses this layout.
I’m looking to get a handheld that’s in the $200-300 range and my first priority is playing Dreamcast games and i can’t find one that has this layout that the Dreamcast also used
If the RGB30 made no sense - then this makes absolutely no sense at all LOL. I personally have the RGB30 and I agree the screen ratio not ideal but you won't be playing anything really that takes advantage of wider screens due to performance. The Anbernic is way more expensive and powerful but what do you even need it for with that screen?
the saturation being too vivid could be fixed in Android itself with it's display saturation setting? And wouldnt the external monitor "issue" be fixed too in Android if you go into Developer Settings and change the external monitor setting (IE "Force Desktop Mode" or something similiar)?
It looks even worse if you use the other display settings in the display menu.
@@TakiUdon interesting 🤔
Are all of these chinese retro handheld companies the same? Is Anbernic also AYN and Retroid? Since their custom Android has the same OVERLY LARGE quick menu buttons as those two companies. Or just using the same image?
compare with other machine RG Cube, RG556, rp4pro. which one is best to play the follow PS2, wii, NGC, NS emulator is a stable performance?
To me this thing kind of makes no sense. For some reason they put all this power in a screen that’s meant to make game boy and game boy color games better. Just weird. It should just have a 3566 in it and cost way less. Side note, playing Sega Genius and PS1 in 8:7 is a travesty lol!
I need Odin 2 content please!!!! Hack or mod a newer windows os and run steam or something cool - maybe even just a cloud gaming overview. Not enough people are talking about streaming on Odin 2, or even android native gaming like Wild Rift. You are the guy, you would absolutely kill some content like that. Enough messing around, time to get dirty again 😎
Confirmed light bleed in same spot. Video out you have to update to desktop mode but it is a bit clunky with a cursor needed to jump into emulators. The ps4 remote with touch pad seems to be a good match.
If you could scale gamecube to 8:7 it would be perfect but from my research its only stretch full or original
Another xbox layout. Why are so many retro handhelds using this layout?
- A small corner at the bottom is not comfortable for a dpad which requires more pressure to use than a 3d stick. That's why a relaxed grip on the handheld is important, requiring it to go up.
- 3d stick on top also makes wiggling movements harder to do than if it's low.
- Also playstation was first, is more retro, and is what most retro games are more used to than xbox layout.
- Also for those that claw grip, this is not possible when dpad is below.
- Retro handheld developers: please understand this.
Twice the cost of the rgb30, worse screen, less than a full generation improvement, and too narrow to take advantage of the better chipset. No FOMO here. If it was priced like a premium rgb30, then sure. But no.
I think this would have be much better if they limit it to GameBoy and GameGear games due to the aspect ratio and set a lower price by also using a weaker SoC or something.
Nah I don't like fiddling with aspect ratio of screens. I still think the Rg35xx plus is enough for me on retro aspects...I mean the more expensive they get I'd rather just buy a anologue pocket for retro.
I'll pass. I have a Retroid Pocket 4 Pro and RG35XX H as my main daily drivers.
I have many others for various purposes and do want an RGB30.
Since this has Android, it would be nice to try wireless screen transfer via chromecast or mirroring
This is the device i want. It plays what i want and more. My one issue? Screen size. Its too small for my taste. I dont wan a huge screen, just prefer rectangular shaped. If anyones got a recommendation lol ill take it. Bet a new device will come out in a few months and fix my issue though lol
They started developing this device to compete with the ZPG A1 Unicorn, and they released it even before its competitor…
I find it kind of ugly but I can’t help but be impressed by Anbernic’s speed here.
Super fast!
120 for this device and I’d buy it. It’s not worth almost 200 dollars
but zelda windwaker has a 2-player coop mode with tingletuner, so i stay with my gamecube and the original game + zelda sp for player 2 and enjoy the fullgame together instead of playing alone on this thing and missing alot of features and gamemodes.