ANBERNIC RG SP Review: Refined Clamshell Goodness

Do we need more GAME BOY Advance SP-inspired clamshells from ANBERNIC? Absolutely not, but are they welcome? Yeah, especially when they refine it in such a way that makes the handheld better and more appealing for retro gamers, as well as keeping the same $65 price tag.

That said, it's going to be a tough sell for those that already have the previous RG34XXSP or the RG35XXSP. If you don't have those, then I'd like to introduce to you a great little device that will scratch that nostalgic itch in a portable and affordable way.

• Release Date: August 2026
• Price: $64.99
• Where To Buy: ANBERNIC's Official Website

RG SP Specifications

• 3.4-inch IPS Display, OCA full lamination (720 x 480)
• Allwinner H700, quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz CPU
• Dual-core ARM Mali-G31 MP2 GPU
• 1 GB RAM
• Linux OS
• 3,300 mAh Battery
• WiFi/Bluetooth

Build Quality & Buttons

There's no denying that this resembles the GBA SP in many ways. It's exactly the same in size, and almost the same in weight, using a number of metallic shells that resemble the colour choices of the console back in the 2000s. Every inch is designed to look like the iconic Nintendo clamshell, even down to the new ANBERNIC logo on the top. Though if you look closely, there are some areas that are slightly different, such as the on/off button, instead of a switch.

The GAME BOY Advance SP's shoulder buttons sit slightly higher out of the shell and have more movement, whereas the shoulder buttons on the RG SP are lighter, have less travel and sit flush with the shell, hidden in a way, with the addition of R2/L2, which sit higher out of the shell for distinction. The volume button is not a slider, and there's also a headphone jack on the RG SP, whereas we all know the GBA SP doesn't have one.

The clamshell hinge itself is also designed in a similar way and remarkably has a very close feel and sound to the original when opening and shutting. They must have taken the GBA SP apart and re-engineered the hinge in a way that replicates the old console, because it's very hard to tell the difference here, which is high praise for ANBERNIC's product design team. The hinge is nostalgic AF and feels great. The rubbers at the top help with the locking sound when shut, and the firmness of the hinge when pushing it out of its "angled slot" is also the same. Touché, ANBERNIC!

The buttons are a lot different, though, even if they are surrounded by GBA SP touches such as the embossed circle, 16 speaker holes, the side LED lights, the menu button and start/select embossed text. The DPAD is thicker and bigger, has a deeper click to it, but minimal movement. The same goes for the action buttons; the RG SPs are big, bouncy, can be moved in multiple directions, which the GBA SPs do not, and they are clicky, low travel and sensitive.

The menu button feels similar: super click, no travel, and the same goes for the start and select buttons, so there is repetition in some areas, but the buttons look and feel a lot different in comparison, which I know will annoy many looking for something that feels nostalgic too. Overall though, impressively close, it keeps the portable charm, and it's somewhat comfortable for a few hours of gameplay, though we all know that the GBA SP hurts the inner palm after a long day of use, and so does this. There's little to no ergonomics here, but that's expected.

The Display

The display has had a facelift, or rather, a chinlift, hiding more of its display under the larger metallic shell, making the display have less visible bezels, which offers a more minimal look if you ask me, but it's not fooling anyone! It's the exact same display used in its RG34XXSP, just slightly more hidden.

And that's not a problem because the display is as good as you'd want on a size and format like this if you want to pay less than $70. They could have gone for a higher resolution and something better, but that would have increased the price. This will emulate GBA games at 2 - 3x native resolution, making things look a tad crispier, and the same goes for PS1 emulation at 2x upscaling, though you will get some borders due to the PS1's 4:3 ratio.

In terms of screen quality, it's not going to impress you in any way; more so, it'll make do. The contrast settings are a little off, making darks a little too dark in certain games, which an OLED display would solve, but I did notice that some areas of some games are too dark to be easily visible. It's not a major issue, but worth noting for those who want to explore dark games like Metal Gear Solid or Resident Evil.

The clamshell closing shut will turn off the display and put the console in sleep mode. It will take about two seconds for it to do so, so the first time you try it, you'll likely open it quickly thinking it hasn't gone to sleep, but you have to give it some time, and shutting it will indeed put the device to sleep, which is a nice feature, one the GBA SP didn't have. You can trick the console into sleeping when open, though; simply opening and closing it on purpose fast will slip it up, but you can reset it by closing it for a few seconds and opening it slowly, so sometimes you may have to do that, but it happens rarely.

OS & User Interface

The RG SP uses a Linux OS, making it incredibly easy to explore with very little setup; all it requires is for you to insert your Micro SD card filled with ROMs to then sync it to the correct folders. This Linux OS makes it easy to gift to friends or family who don't want any new customisations or modifications like what's possible on an Android OS. This is super simple... maybe too simple for me personally.

ANBERNIC's Linux frontend does the job; it groups your games into consoles, offers a very small ammount of customisations to colours and themes, and it will take box art to make your list look a little neater, but again, it just does the job; it's not exciting in any way, nobody remembers how great it was, it's very plain. ANBERNIC needs to work on something a little more modern, but in all honesty, most people who buy this aren't going to care that the user interface is a little bland. If you want that, Android is for you; Linux handhelds are and will likely always be very basic from an OS/UI perspective.

Linux pairs with RetroArch, the pre-installed emulator that will run all of your ROMs again. As mentioned in many of my reviews, RetroArch is very reliable, is renowned for offering customisations and in-depth modifications, but it is the blandest of them all. It simply a list of text, and the same goes for the menus when you're in games. Saving, loading, and changing settings is boring, but it gets the job done. There's no magic here; software-wise, it's dull, bland, and those who you gift it to will say "this looks like Chinese tat", so it's a shame that ANBERNIC isn't doing anything here to make newcomers to the scene feel more welcomed with modern UI enhancements.

Emulation Performance

Right, so what can this emulate? Everything from PlayStation 1 and older. PlayStation 1 is as far as it can go, even if it has the ability to emulate Nintendo 64, Dreamcast and PSP, because, quite simply, it lacks an analogue stick and enough power to make those games run reliably.

Some will say, "I've seen this run Dreamcast". Yeah, it can run some Dreamcast games, or some Nintendo 64 games, but the experience is cramped, uncomfortable and not enjoyable, so I'm stating it can't emulate them, because you wouldn't want to.

PlayStation 1 is fun to experience on a small clamshell form factor like this, even if it does have small borders on the side. The DPAD can get you through most games naturally, alongside the four shoulder buttons on the top, which have likely been added specifically for playing PS1 games. And actually, the action buttons are large and bouncy enough to kinda feel like the PS1's, just not glossy and colourful.

GAME BOY Advance, GAME BOY Color, GAME BOY, Neo Geo, NES, Game Gear and Mega Drive are all a pleasure to experience, and that's where the RG SP performs best, in this territory. If these are all of the consoles you want to emulate on a pocketable, clamshell formfact then I can comfortably say this will be a fun, reliable handheld for you.

Though, I primarily found myself playing GAME BOY Advance games on here, more specifically Pokemon ROM Hacks. Heck, if you solely want to play GBA games on here, I still think it's a good buy, thanks to its nostalgic form factor, 2x upscaling and ability to easily explore fan-made games and ROM hacks with save states, speed up and cheats at the push of a button. It really makes you think twice about buying a modded GBA SP when something like this exists for $65, which is almost one third of the price.

Battery Life

Internally, this has a 3,300MAH battery, which doesn't sound like a lot in comparison to many handhelds on the scene, but it actually lasts between 4 - 6 hours on a single charge because I found myself not putting the CPU and RAM under a lot of stress with these smaller games.

Which pushes it into the category of handhelds that you can take on a weekend away without a charger and you'll likely be fine. Charging isn't fast at all, and you'll notice the device gets a little warm when doing so, but again, this is pretty normal for devices of this price.

Overall Opinion

Overall, I found the RG SP to be a charming and refreshing take on the GBA SP. Aesthtically being incredibly close to the design, enough to trip up anyone who sees you playing on it; heck, even the sound when shutting it takes you back to the 2000s. Though the buttons don't feel the same, and the power/volume buttons would have been nice to be sliders instead. This lovely, sleek, nostalgic hardware is then hit by a contrast of poor software design that stands out like a sore thumb.

It's simple, yes, and easy to understand, but lacks magic and charm, and you'll likely come across a bug or two over the months using it, because that's just a common occurrence on Linux handhelds running RetroArch.

But when you finally get into the gameplay, it does feel like a GBA SP with modern enhancements when it comes to the screen and gameplay, offering a unique nostalgic experience with many quality of life enhancements that make you feel like the investment was worth it, and that's because it was.

The price forces me to look past some of the minor niggles, and this is genuinly a device you can take anywhere with you thanks to its clamshell portability. I didn't think I'd like the refinements, and I still don't believe it's worth "upgrading" if you have another RG SP, but for those wanting a portable, not-so-powerful emulation device that's nostalgic AF, this is one of the most charming of them all, and it won't break the bank.