ANBERNIC RG SP
As soon as I saw the teaser for the Anbernic RG SP it seemed a no brainer that I would order one as soon as it went on pre-order. I'm a big fan of clamshell consoles such as the Ayn Thor and the RetroidPocket Flip 2 and my thinking is that this would be more of the same just smaller, which can only be a good thing.Let's examine the origins of Anbernics small form factor clamshells, from the Anbernic RG35XXSP released in May 2024 to Anbernic RG34XXSP released 1 year later in May 2025 and now the Anbernic RG SP a little over 1 year later in August 2026.
Anbernic Anbernic Anbernic Model 35XXSP 34XXSP RG SP Release May 2024 May 2025 Aug 2026 OS Linux Linux Linux CPU Allwinner H700 Allwinner H700 Allwinner H700 GPU Mali-G31 MP2 Mali-G31 MP2 Mali-G31 MP2 RAM 1GB 2GB 1GB Storage 64GB 64GB 16GB Display 3.5" 3.4" 3:2 3.4" 3:2 Resolution 640x480 720x480 720x480 SD Slot 2 microSD 2 microSD 2 microSD Wi-Fi 5G Wi-Fi 5G Wi-Fi 5G Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.2 4.2 4.2 Battery 3300 mAh 3300 mAh 3300 mAh
As you can see from the above the Anbernic RG SP looks like a step backwards and to be totally honest it is. The specifications are either the same or less than the two previous releases. OS, CPU, GPU Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and battery are all exactly the same, sure a boost in one of those would have been a benefit, however for this size of a handheld and the main target audience I personally think Anbernic have it just right this time.On first seeing it I thought “that's a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP”, which I have, so yes that is the road I first thought I would take, simple as that, I just need a small microSD card with Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games and for those three systems a 32GB card will be more than enough to do the trick, however I thought I'd add some other systems such as Master System, Mega Drive, Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System for this I needed a 64GB microSD card, with a total of 8,895 games. Using a 64GB card allows me to add other systems at a later date, such as WonderSwan, Atari Lynx and GameGear.After inserting the microSD card and switching it on it stated “No Files”, so I thought is my Anbernic RG SP broken, no. What have I done wrong? Absolutely no idea until I checked out Tech Insiders page on how to set up the Anbernic RG SP and the issue was something so simple, the folder structure, I had named my microSD card ROMS and placed my GB, GBC, GBA, MS, MD, SNES and SNES folders on the root, however the microSD card needed a folder called ROMS with the emulation folders inside that.Having corrected my file structure error and re-inserting the microSD card, on switching the Anbernic RG SP on once again I find that the MS, NES and SNES folders are missing, could it be that it wants FC instead of NES, SFC instead of SNES and if that is the case what should MS be replaced with? Putting the microSD back in my laptop I see that folders have been created and indeed there is a FC folder, a SFC folder and for Master System there is now a SMS folder. So literally 2 minutes later and the files are moved to their relevant folders and microSD card re-inserted into the Anbernic RG SP and all 7 systems are visible.I played all of the systems for a couple of minutes each apart from Game Boy Advance and I thought each one played pretty well, I then opened Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars for Game Boy Advance and I thought I was playing on native hardware only 3x upscaled and I would feel really comfortable playing this for hours. There are filters that can be applied such as scanlines but I'm not sure I will need them.Would I recommend the Anbernic RG SP?Most definitely, get the Anbernic RG SP, a 16GB microSD card and 1,500 Game Boy Advance ROMS and you are good to go for a truly retro feel as it looks, feels and plays just like the real thing as you could possibly get for approximately £100.00. Could it be any better suited to being a Game Boy Advance SP replacement, I think not.Follow and comment belowMichael
