Nintendo’s influence on the gaming world certainly needs no explanation; While the Japanese company did not ‘invent’ video games, they did more than establish many ground rules for the medium. It is therefore a little surprising that so many companies find Nintendo when it comes to creating their own gaming endeavors and nowhere is that truer than in the realm of Chinese-made emulators.
We’ve seen people who like 8BitDo ‘tuning’ iconic NES and SNES controllers to their range of Bluetooth controllers and PocketGo S30 (co-designed by a member of 8BitDo) is essentially an SNES board with a display and emulator power. The current, Anbernic – arguably one of the leading forces in the field – is back with another nostalgic mobile device and it essentially looks like an upgraded version of the PocketGo S30. Say hello to the RG353P.
Of course, Anbernic is most famous for its symbolism RG351, is considered by many to be one of the best devices of its kind. The company has produced similar products since then – including RG351V, RG503, RG300X and RG552 – but there’s a slight sense of discontent among fans who are still patiently waiting for the ‘real’ successor to the RG351. As much as we talk about it, the RG353P probably isn’t that machine – but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a look if you’re looking for one of these portables.
The biggest news, of course, is the SNES-style design. The RG353P is larger and heavier than the PocketGo S30, but feels almost the same in pure build quality – and that’s a good thing, as the PocketGo S30 boasts premium construction and materials for a device as cheap as it is. so.
The RG353P’s D-Pad is nice and responsive, as are the four main face buttons. There are four buttons on the shoulder (which is also good), as well as four other function buttons on the front: Start, Select, Function, and Power. They’re arranged around a 3.5-inch IPS display, but thankfully they’re small enough that you won’t accidentally bump them while playing. Rounding things off are two similar bars, which look and feel very similar to those on the Nintendo Switch (that might not be a good thing, of course).
The stereo speakers are powerful and are placed on the bottom edge of the device, in a position where you can hardly crush them with your palm. In addition, located on the bottom edge are two MicroSD card slots and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Interestingly, there are two rubber pads on the rear of the RG353P, which means you can place the device on a table without slipping around. These look a bit odd at first, but are very welcome – we’d love to see this on more mobile consoles, if we’re being honest.
While the RG503 boasts a gorgeous OLED display, the RG353P has an IPS LCD panel, which means it doesn’t turn on. completely so much. It’s still a decent display, though, and the 640 x 480 resolution is perfect for vintage-style gaming. It also has touch support, which is very neat; this is because the RG353P has a dual boot feature, which means you can use the Linux or full interface for full Android 11. Android needs touch controls to really work, so included here.
Like the RG502, the RG353P is powered by the new RK3566 quad-core chipset, clocked at 1.8GHz. There’s 2GB of RAM, which means performance is significantly improved over the RG351 series of systems. You still won’t get 100% full speed across the entire N64 and Dreamcast libraries, but the vast majority of games for those consoles will run fine – and anything before those formats is smooth (( except for the Sega Saturn, which is notoriously difficult to emulate on cheap hardware). If you’re looking for something that really matters in the 8 and 16-bit eras, you’ll have no complaints here.
Factor in 5G Wifi, Bluetooth 4.2, HDMI-out, two USB-C ports, and a good 3500mAh battery for around 4-6 hours of gameplay and you’ll get a so many of bangs for $140 RG353P purchase cost. All of these make up a machine that can really considered the successor of RG351? Unless you’re super into the idea of being able to boot into Android, it probably isn’t, but there’s no denying that the RG353P is a stellar entry into the world of mobile emulation – and the fact that Anbernic suffices. brazenly copying Nintendo’s design means its design looks good and is comfortable to use.
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