VideoGame_Discussion

Topic Anbernic RG351V

theJaw

* 17-Jul-2023(#1)

NOTE: This topic is about an emulation device. I've seen others mention it in threads in the past, so I figure it's alright to at least discuss. I know emulation is somewhat taboo to some folks, but be assured I won't be sharing any information on how to obtain the device or find the emulators/roms. If your opinion of me drops a bit because I don't have an issue with emulation, my apologies. I simply don't have the money to track down every retro console or game that companies no longer support or sell, but will continue to pump more money than I should into the modern gaming scene. No harm, no foul. If the thread should be deleted, I'll be fine doing so.

Anyhow...

Snagged the RG351V handheld and need to say, I'm super impressed. It plays all the classic retro consoles up to PS1. It CAN run N64, but very choppily and the lack of N64 controller makes it pointless to begin with. It runs PS1 flawlessly for the most part and it's neat to be playing those games again on such a small device. It can run PSP and Dreamcast, but folks warn against those emulators as they're not as good as the others. Personally, I don't have a big problem with either. A tiny bit of adjusting within the emulators themselves help make them both run decently, and they're in no way unplayable.

I've been using it for NES, SNES, Game Boy/Color/Advance, Genesis, 32X, Game Gear, Dreamcast, MAME, Neo Geo Pocket/Color, PS1 & PSP. The final straw that got me to pull the trigger on the device is that it gives me the opportunity to play rom hacks of classic games on a portable, which will ensure that I actually play through them more than if I was constrained to my computer/TV. Been playing a Super Mario World hack that completely reskins the game as a Zelda platformer based off Wind Waker, as well as unofficial SMW "sequels". It's cool to discover "new" games for these old consoles, especially based off the blueprints of games I already love.

The thing I love most about it isn't even the ability to play games though, it's the little previews you can download to it for each game via "scraping". As you scroll through your library, first you'll see a little photo, then a short "normalized video" showing off gameplay, along with player-count and internet star rating. I just think it's such a cool presentation to help decide what to play as opposed to just seeing a list of game titles.

Does anyone else have this handheld? If so, how have you been enjoying it? Any complaints?

Bleed_DukeBlue

17-Jul-2023(#2)

I don’t have the 351V, but I recently got the RG35XX, and I love it. With the Onion OS, it has the cleanest, simplest set-up I’ve seen for everything up to PS1, and it fits in my pocket easily. My Steam deck emulates better, but the Anbernic has great battery life, is more portable, and is much easier to quickly use save states with for fast-paced hard games. I use a modded Dreamcast for all of my Dreamcast games though.

theJaw

17-Jul-2023(#3)

@Bleed_DukeBlue Yah I definitely want a Steam Deck eventually for my Steam library, and would love an emulator device for later consoles, but the 351V running through ArkOS gets the job done up to PS1. Tbh the controls for shooters on PS1 & PSP definitely take some getting used to but I feel like with enough practice, it'll be alright.

What games do you tend to revisit on your 35XX? Any games you specifically picked it up to play?

Scott

17-Jul-2023(#4)

I'd really like to get something like this some day. Most of my game time is handheld these days, so I've not been playing very much retro. It would be so great to have one portable system that can play NES, SNES, GEN, and GB/GBC/GBA. N64 and PSP would be nice as well.

Shane12m

17-Jul-2023(#5)

Even though I don’t have an interest in this right now, this does look really slick and the size seems awesome. Bet it really awesome having a pocket sized device that can play those games for sure

MrBean

17-Jul-2023(#6)

choppily

That is all

Bleed_DukeBlue

17-Jul-2023(#7)

I’ve been using it mostly to play games for badges in the Beat a Game thread while out of town. There are a lot of genres I don’t usually play (like mini-games titles, old-school arcade games, 2-d platformers, etc. that I’ve played on the Anbernic). As far as games I just wanted to play for fun, it’s been neat going back to the Final Fight games. I tend to play longer games on other platforms, but I love the Anbernic for quick pick up and play sessions when I’m traveling. It’s small enough and has enough battery life that I can use it on planes the whole time too.

theJaw wrote:

> @Bleed_DukeBlue Yah I definitely want a Steam Deck eventually for my Steam library,

> and would love an emulator device for later consoles, but the 351V running through

> ArkOS gets the job done up to PS1. Tbh the controls for shooters on PS1 & PSP definitely

> take some getting used to but I feel like with enough practice, it'll be alright.

> What games do you tend to revisit on your 35XX? Any games you specifically picked

> it up to play?

Staraang

18-Jul-2023(#8)

I have the RG353M and it’s an excellent little device. Very convenient to play and beat several arcade games I played as a kid but could never beat because it would have cost way too many quarters. Now I finally get to see the later stages, final boss, and endings I never would have been able to see short of watching it on YouTube.

BucketofJustice

22-Jul-2023(#9)

I’m feeling pretty thankful for this topic. I need some sort of emulation device. I want to play some retro stuff and there’s only 12,000,000,000 things on Amazon that say they have 4,000,000 games and I don’t know where to start. I want it to hook up to my living room TV and some do and some don’t. Maybe I’m better getting a mini PC and one of those hard drives that have 4,000,000 games? I wanna play some SNK and Capcom fighting games and Wrestlefest and console games. Any insight? PM if replying here would be taboo. I don’t wanna break any rules but I don’t know where else to go.

theJaw

* 23-Jul-2023(#10)

@BucketofJustice The RG351V comes preloaded with some games (which is weird to be fair) but it’s a small list and not in alphabetical order or anything, so it’s best to build and load up your own rom collection. To get max potential, custom firmware is key. There are 3 main ones out there. It can be a little confusing to set up but there’s a website/youtube that breaks it down in the simplest way and it’s totally worth it at the end of the day imo.

Lots of folks get these devices specifically for the fighting game emulation so it should be right up your alley in that regard.

I apparently have 18k+ games on mine, though about 10k of those are pico-8 games, which are tiny pixel graphic games that are made and shared by normal everyday folks. Some of them are pretty impressive though, like the tiny remakes of SMB, Another World & Tetris. Otherwise I have a bunch of retro games for other consoles. The only emulators I’m somewhat disappointed in are PSP & Jaguar, and obv NDS for obvious reasons. Otherwise, it’s a very neat little device to have.

Staraang

25-Jul-2023(#11)

BucketofJustice wrote:

> I’m feeling pretty thankful for this topic. I need some sort of emulation device.

> I want to play some retro stuff and there’s only 12,000,000,000 things on Amazon

> that say they have 4,000,000 games and I don’t know where to start. I want it to

> hook up to my living room TV and some do and some don’t. Maybe I’m better getting

> a mini PC and one of those hard drives that have 4,000,000 games? I wanna play some

> SNK and Capcom fighting games and Wrestlefest and console games. Any insight? PM

> if replying here would be taboo. I don’t wanna break any rules but I don’t know

> where else to go.

Best thing is to watch YouTubers who review this kind of stuff. Portable systems are reviewed very thoroughly by Retro Game Corps, Taki Udon, and EVA Prime. If you’re interested in a system that hooks up to a TV I would check out Madlittlepixel. There are many others too you’ll find if you browse a little bit. The RG353M that I have does have a mini-HDMI output to connect it to a TV and even has Bluetooth support for another controller to play 2-player games.

HybridCRoW

10-Aug-2023(#12)

Classmate friend of mine mentioned he got the RG353PS. He liked it for the ergonomics and he sent pics of how things look on it. It looks really great for a handheld. He sent me the link to where he got it and I looked and was like "Woh!! All these different handheld types."

I may get one... not sure yet... too much to go through as it is.