I'm impressed with the saturn emulation on this system - I finally bought one and found that on Linux, Saturn games run *far* better - Baroque (a fairly demanding saturn title) runs a buttery smooth 60 with frame skip on, but if you try the same exact game on Android you'll experience noticeable slowdown and somewhere around 50fps, though frequently dipping lower than that. I'm not sure if the extra RAM has anything to do with that but regardless, I was pleasantly surprised! Another nice feature I didn't see much talk of online is the fact that you can use this as a wired controller for your PC - which is great, given that the controls are great for fighting games on the PC! (King of Fighters 13, for example!) Though one thing of note is that though the layout is unmistakably Saturn/Mega Drive, the controls don't feel anywhere near as good as an original Saturn controller. The D-pad's plastic is far too hard and will dig into your thumb, while an original Sega controller has an almost chalky texture which feels a lot better over extended periods of play. Not to mention the bumpers on the ARC-D/ARC-S feel very mushy and gross.
Very good review! I do really like the design of this device as the Genesis and Saturn had some of my favorite controller design. I'm hoping maybe Anbernic can do an updated model to allow for better Saturn game compatibility as this seems like a Sega fan's dream!
can it play tony hawk undeground 2, crash of titans and rachet and clank? It's hard to come by decent psp devices in our country so i might consider this for the bonus games that are available too.
I wish they would do the 6 face button Sega/Fighting game layout but with an analog stick as well. Partly because I've gotten used to analog sticks in fighting games, but also because a 6 face button layout with analog sticks would work for Xbox and N64 and probably the weird Gamecube which never translates well to a regular controller.
Nos 2Gb is recomended for linux, and 4gb for android, there are cheaper devices that have that, here is no excuse. There are performance improvements in psp, n64, others.
If they update the chipset so I can run Saturn games it's a must buy. For now, I'll stick with my miyoo mini plus for retro games and steamdeck for higher end emulation
Hey! I've finally got one of these bad boys and I've been running some pretty demanding Saturn games just fine on the Linux OS included in the box - I got 60 fps playing Baroque, which tends to be a pretty demanding game. Is there any specific game you're worried about? I could try testing some for you, in case you're still interested in the device.
@@KazMoneyMusicI tested Sega Rally Championship (NTSC) and Sega Rally Championship Plus (NTSC-J) and they mostly stuck to 60 fps - it occasionally dips to around 55fps and rarely dips to 50fps. Perfectly playable! It does mean that if you play the European version of the game instead, you'll be playing at full speed the entire time! This is with frameskip on of course, without frameskip there's noticeable slowdown. Hope this helps!
@@MasqueradePW thanks for the input! I've got one of these bad boys in my shopping cart but have not pulled the trigger yet, this may be the tipping point! Thanks again!
I really want one of these for SNES. No analogue sticks, no L2 and R2 and a 4 inch 4:3 screen.
Great looking handheld device
Agree! :)
Looks awesome! 🔥
I'm impressed with the saturn emulation on this system - I finally bought one and found that on Linux, Saturn games run *far* better - Baroque (a fairly demanding saturn title) runs a buttery smooth 60 with frame skip on, but if you try the same exact game on Android you'll experience noticeable slowdown and somewhere around 50fps, though frequently dipping lower than that.
I'm not sure if the extra RAM has anything to do with that but regardless, I was pleasantly surprised!
Another nice feature I didn't see much talk of online is the fact that you can use this as a wired controller for your PC - which is great, given that the controls are great for fighting games on the PC! (King of Fighters 13, for example!)
Though one thing of note is that though the layout is unmistakably Saturn/Mega Drive, the controls don't feel anywhere near as good as an original Saturn controller. The D-pad's plastic is far too hard and will dig into your thumb, while an original Sega controller has an almost chalky texture which feels a lot better over extended periods of play. Not to mention the bumpers on the ARC-D/ARC-S feel very mushy and gross.
Very good review! I do really like the design of this device as the Genesis and Saturn had some of my favorite controller design. I'm hoping maybe Anbernic can do an updated model to allow for better Saturn game compatibility as this seems like a Sega fan's dream!
Yeah would be an instant buy! Thanks for the kind words.
I hope anbernic keep this design for a future release
Yeah it's beautiful!
@@Techcravers yeah, which screen looks better when playing gameboy/gameboy color/gamegear, this one or the rgb30?
@@GeordiLaForgery Well, when the RGB30 works, it has higher resolution so that screen is very nice. But it has so many charging issues.
@@Techcravers thanks yeah I worry about quality control on the rgb30. I want that screen on the arc-d.
can it play tony hawk undeground 2, crash of titans and rachet and clank? It's hard to come by decent psp devices in our country so i might consider this for the bonus games that are available too.
I wish they would do the 6 face button Sega/Fighting game layout but with an analog stick as well.
Partly because I've gotten used to analog sticks in fighting games, but also because a 6 face button layout with analog sticks would work for Xbox and N64 and probably the weird Gamecube which never translates well to a regular controller.
Nos 2Gb is recomended for linux, and 4gb for android, there are cheaper devices that have that, here is no excuse. There are performance improvements in psp, n64, others.
If they update the chipset so I can run Saturn games it's a must buy. For now, I'll stick with my miyoo mini plus for retro games and steamdeck for higher end emulation
Sounds like a good idea :)
Hey! I've finally got one of these bad boys and I've been running some pretty demanding Saturn games just fine on the Linux OS included in the box - I got 60 fps playing Baroque, which tends to be a pretty demanding game.
Is there any specific game you're worried about? I could try testing some for you, in case you're still interested in the device.
@@MasqueradePW thanks for the update! Have you tried running sega rally? If that runs then most games should play alright in my experience 😀
@@KazMoneyMusicI tested Sega Rally Championship (NTSC) and Sega Rally Championship Plus (NTSC-J) and they mostly stuck to 60 fps - it occasionally dips to around 55fps and rarely dips to 50fps. Perfectly playable! It does mean that if you play the European version of the game instead, you'll be playing at full speed the entire time!
This is with frameskip on of course, without frameskip there's noticeable slowdown. Hope this helps!
@@MasqueradePW thanks for the input! I've got one of these bad boys in my shopping cart but have not pulled the trigger yet, this may be the tipping point! Thanks again!