TechArt Gaming Diary: Retro episode

I always wanted to have a Gameboy, and I decided to take a handheld to emulate Gameboy and SNES. It would be something lightweight and compact to have with me to play in travels with a huge library of games to choose from.

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Choosing a handheld

There are lots of different options in different form factors and sizes… Too many, actually! How do I choose one now?

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Well, I didn’t spend too much time digging, I wanted something that looks similar enough to the original Gameboy, so I was looking at vertical ones:

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Also it should be not too small so it’s comfortable to play for longer time, not too big so it’s suitable to keep it with me on the trips, and is available in the local stores. Here are few EDC handhelds for survival in cityscape wilderness:

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So, I took RG353V first, as one of the best options available for the price:

It has a touch screen and dual boot with Linux and Android 11, so you can choose which OS to launch, which can be pretty handy. It also has analog sticks — a nice to have.

Here’s some info about specs and performance per emulated platform:

RG353V specs, from https://retroabxy.com/anbernic-rg353v/

RG353V performance, from https://retroabxy.com/anbernic-rg353v/

I took RG35XX Plus next, when it appeared in the store. I like that it looks similar to original Gameboy. It’s a bit smaller than RG353V.

RG35XX Plus and RG353V

Here’s a comparison of sizes with Gameboy and Gameboy Color:

Gameboy, Gameboy Color, RG353V, RG35XX sizes comparison, from https://retrosizer.com/?rg-353v:188,26&rg-35xx:279,35&gb:4,4&gbc:102,18

And here’s a comparison of different versions of RG35XX:

[embed]RG35XX SERIES COMPARISON & SHOPPING GUIDE RG35XX? RG35XX PLUS? RG35XX H? RG35XX 2024 Edition? 🤨 🤔Which one is which one? What’s the differences between them…anbernic.com

Unfortunately this one has some bug with showing its charging, and updates it with delay, which at first confused me into thinking it’s not charging at all. Other than that it’s nice and I like how it feels in hand and its overall quality. Now I keep it with me all the time everywhere. 😄

RG353V vs RG35XX Plus, from https://retroabxy.com/compare-handhelds/

RG353V vs RG35XX Plus, from https://retroabxy.com/compare-handhelds/

They have the same screen size — 3.5 inch (640x480), both have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mini HDMI output.

Miyoo Mini Plus would be quite similar to RG35XX+, but slightly smaller, which might be not too comfortable to hold and play for longer, but it’s just a personal preference. I prefer RG35XX+.

Gameboy, Gameboy Color, RG353V, RG35XX, Miyoo Mini Plus sizes comparison, from https://retrosizer.com/?gb:4,4&gbc:102,18&miyoo-mini-plus:368,44&rg-35xx:279,35&rg-353v:188,26

Miyoo Mini Plus and RG35XX Plus review:

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Here’s a comparison of Miyoo Mini Plus (left) and RG35XX Plus (right) specs:

Miyoo Mini Plus vs RG35XX Plus, from https://retroabxy.com/compare-handhelds/

Miyoo doesn’t have HDMI and Bluetooth:

Miyoo Mini Plus vs RG35XX Plus, from https://retroabxy.com/compare-handhelds/

Miyoo Mini Plus vs RG35XX Plus, from https://retroabxy.com/compare-handhelds/

And there’s also **RG34XX **which looks just like an original GBA:

Gameboy Advance and Anbernic GR34XX, from https://retrosizer.com/?gba:4,4&rg-34xx:157,4

Hardware is exactly the same as on RG35XX+, the only difference is the 3.4inch screen instead of 3.5inch.

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Couldn’t help it and bought it as well. I replaced Stock OS with custom firmware, because it was quite ugly:

RG34XX with Knulli CFW

How to add games

Just check this video:

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To get the box art and descriptions, you can use Skraper, some firmware would also have built-in option to scrape metadata for your games:

scraping in Knulli

Firmware

If you are new to retro handhelds and want a system that just works out of the box, the stock OS is fine on all of them.

I’m not a fan of Anbernic Stock OS, so I started searching for custom firmware. There’s a bunch of different options to choose from. It’s actually pretty easy to swap the os if you want to — you just need to download an image of a system you want and write it on SD card, and for that you can use Win32 Disk Imager or Rufus. I made a few SD cards with different CFW to compare them and try which I would like the most.

Here are few guides for starters:

• Anbernic RG35XX Family Starter Guide
• RG35xx Custom Firmware Guide
• Installing Custom Firmware (CFW) on the RG353
• RG353 CFW Comparison Guide

Batocera is supported on RG353V, but it heavy for lower devices. For those, there are lite versions called Batocera Lite, which is abandoned since 2023, Koriki and **Knulli. **Koriki is an older x86 bit version with slightly less features and Knulli is the currently actively developed, x64bit version. Here’s a list of supported devices:

from https://github.com/knulli-cfw/distribution/releases/tag/20250505

So, I replaced RG34XX’s ugly Stock OS with Knulli. It’s nice. Here’s a guide on how to install it, and also a guide on how to set up the second SD card for the library. And a video guide to get you started:

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In the end, I’m using Knulli on both RG34XX and RG35XX+, and I have the games library shared between them.

I tried **modded stock OS **on RG35XX+, out of curiosity. It looks exactly the same as Stock OS. Pretty much the same thing, but a bit better.

I also tried **MinUI**. It’s installed over the Stock OS, so you keep all your roms that already exist. It’s lightweight, performance is better. There’s no need to navigate RetroArch menus, it’s very simplified, zero distraction. Can be nice if you want to just focus on playing and don’t bother with all those menus and settings.

If you want to switch the SD card with a new one, or want to back it up, here’s a quick guide on how to clone your SD Card:

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To format your SD card, to clean it up or fix after a failure, you can use diskpart (command-line tool, included in Windows, here’s how-to), or SD Card Formatter.

And here’s a list of locations, where you can find the save files on every CFW.

Multimedia

Couple weeks later after buying first two handhelds, I took them with me on a small trip. While packing up, I thought — why not use this thing to watch movies as well?

You can use them to watch videos from SD Card, but if the handheld has Android system, you can also use the browser and install apps from Google Play store, as well as use screen casting.

I launched Android on RG353V and installed Aurora Store (opensource app that lets you use Google Play store anonymously). Then I installed Netflix, Prime and Disney +, and now I can just plug it into a TV in a hotel room and enjoy streaming. :D

By the way, if you haven’t seen it yet, you must watch Tetris movie. I watched it 4 times already.

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Steam Deck for retro gaming

I used to take my Steam Deck with me on the longer trips, and having some retro games on it is a nice addition. It’s not the most compact option, but if I have a lot of free time, it’s saving me at the boring evenings in hotels, and I can play some online coop games with my friends.

https://retrosizer.com/?rg-353v:4,4&rg-35xx:95,13&rg-34xx:490,48&steam-deck:184,13

RetroDeck

The easiest option is to use RetroDeck, and here’s a guide on how to do that:

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Make sure you add it to Steam library and launch it from Steam, not from desktop mode.

On SteamGridDB you can find cover images for the app:

[embed]RetroDeck - SteamGridDB Custom library assets for RetroDeck.www.steamgriddb.com

Note: When you try to launch Retrodeck Configurator in desktop mode, for example, you might think that it froze and Steam Deck is not responding to any inputs, but it just opened the window behind the app. Press L5 to bring up the task bar and you’ll find the pop-up window.

EmuDeck

Another good option is EmuDeck. Here’s a guide on installing it:

[embed]Steam Deck Emulation Starter Guide Last updated: 07APR2025 (see Changelog for details) Valve’s Steam Deck is the perfect storm of handhelds: it has an…retrogamecorps.com

Sidetrack: Hardware and graphics

While watching “best games on…” I got sidetracked to watching videos about Nintendo tech. So let me share a few.

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How Game Boy Color colored original Gameboy games:

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Transparency effects on the SNES:

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Here’s a playlist with a bunch of very interesting videos about SNES tech:

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SNES Mode 7 uses:

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Graphical tricks in classic games:

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Last words

Well, this was a lot of fun digging through this topic, searching and comparing handhelds, custom firmware and replaying old games. I’m definitely going to continue this journey for a while.

If you are new to handhelds, don’t like messing around and want to just enjoy some old games of your childhood, or if you love to tinker and customize your devices — there’s a handheld for everyone. ;)