Despite the fact that we’ve been covering them in the news for quite a while now, this is officially the second GameMT review to hit the RH website, and the second one I’ve done personally. Why’s that? Well, to be frank, their early, budget line of handhelds were pretty poorly done; at least to me.
The original E5 line ran the gamut from “Almost Famiclone” to “Solid chip with horribly questionable controls” with its wide-screen vertical handheld setup. It wasn’t terrible, but the stick top was bad, and the dpad was worse. At least the original 3566 version. The E6 was slightly better, but still had issues in its Max variant with missing advertised fans and a questionable Android build.
But thanks to both Royibelia and GameMT for sending it over, I can finally take a look at their latest budget offering. The GameMT E3 Vigor. Is it any good? Is it worth your money? Well. It sure is their latest budget handheld.
GameMT E3 Vigor Specs
Checking out the Royibelia website, the E3 Vigor starts at $59.99 and jumps to $79.99 if you want the 128GB version of the micro SD card. Depending on who you are, that’s a decent deal. But that $79.99 price creeps close to a lot of the newer budget handhelds in the market. So I’d recommend the cheaper version. But do the specs even make it worth it?
| Hardware | |
| CPU | MediaTek MT6592 |
|---|---|
| GPU | Mali-450 MP4 |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Display | |
| Screen Size | 3.95-inch |
| Resolution | 720 x 720 |
| Aspect Ratio | 1:1 |
| PPI | 257.78 |
| Storage | |
| Internal Storage | 8GB eMMC |
| External Storage | microSD |
| Battery | |
| Battery Capacity | 5000mAh |
| Est. Battery Life | 4-8 Hours |
| Connectivity | |
| Wi-Fi | 2.4GHz |
| Bluetooth | ❌ |
| Ports | 3.5mm Audio Jack, microSD, USB-C |
| Additional Details | 2.4G Wireless Dual Controller Connection |
| Controls | |
| Sticks | Analog |
| Triggers | Digital |
| Shoulder Layout | In-line |
| D-Pad | Bottom Left |
| Audio | |
| Speakers | Stereo |
| Speaker Location | Bottom-firing |
| Headphone Jack | Yes |
| Software | |
| Operating System | GAMEMTOS (Android) |
Build Quality & Ergonomics
Starting off with the usual things, the GameMT E3 Vigor feels cheap, but also decently built. The white plastic is pretty smooth, and unfortunately, it came with a couple of marks out of the box that don’t seem to wipe away. It feels hollow, but it’s also solid enough that it doesn’t seem creaky and easy to break.
While not a personal experience, Nick on the team received his with what appeared to be a broken shoulder button. Something that I experienced on the E6 Max. So it seems the QC issues haven’t fully escaped GameMT yet.
As for ergonomics? It’s surprisingly good. The device is curved around the edges, and from front to back, so I don’t feel any corners digging into my hand like on the EX8. My index fingers land cleanly on the shoulder buttons, and my thumbs rest nicely on the left stick and face buttons. If I want to use the D-pad, I do have to lower my thumb down to it and claw the thing. Otherwise, though, ergonomics gets a pretty decent pass here. It is something I could sit and play for a while without concern.
Controls
Controls here are a bit hit or miss. Shoulder buttons are clicky, with L1 and R1 being even louder than L2 and R2. Face buttons are squished tightly together and click similarly to the EX8 as well. There’s practically no travel, and personally, I feel these buttons could be fatiguing over time. The sticks themselves are Switch styled, and while not impressive, are passable.
But whoever decided the left stick needed to be on top, I just want to talk. And ask why? This is a low-powered device. The D-pad should’ve been on top because it’s actually decent. I like this D-pad more than the one on the GameMT EX8. It has a nice pivot, and it actuates quickly. This is likely one of GameMT’s best D-pads to date.
Finally, a mention for the bonus buttons. Volume, Home, and Power are all located on the sides of the device, right under the shoulder buttons. While not easy to press accidentally, I certainly wonder why they chose this location. These are also clicky buttons, with the top slot being quieter than the bottom. But whatever.
Screen
The screen is familiar. That same 3.95” display we’ve seen on everything from the RGB30 to the ZPG A1 Unicorn, all the way up to those random clones like the XF40H. It’s square, which is perfect for something like Pico-8, and it’s 720p, so it’s got decent pixel density.
But it’s not bright.
I’ve left the display on the E3 to max the entire time I’ve had the thing, and even then, it still feels a bit dim at times while I’m inside. This is by no means an outdoor screen, but it’s also not unusable. It’s great in every regard, except for brightness.
Software
Where can I start with this one? It’s “GameMT OS”, but it’s also just Android underneath. From turning it on to connecting to Wi-Fi to turning it back off when you don’t want to stare at the thing. The E3 is running a decent frontend over an older version of Android. And while I’d love to dive deep and see what’s going on, I couldn’t get it connected to Wi-Fi.
No matter what network I used, I would always receive an authentication error. That means no profiles, no updates, and no scraping or anything similar. Be warned, I’m on new wifi since my last handheld review, but I don’t think that’s preventing me from connecting to the network on this device.
Software itself is fine otherwise. It can just take a minute to update box art when you’re scrolling through the lists on each system. It’s not perfect, but I’ll certainly take it over some of the stranger front ends.
Gameplay
So here’s the thing. You can’t add systems to the stock software, meaning what they give you is what the E3 will play. And honestly? It plays everything on here decently. From Game Boy Color to Polygame Master to PlayStation 1. It’s all tolerable.
What I will note, though, is that the inclusion of Nintendo DS is a bit of an odd one, considering this device doesn’t have a touchscreen, and the screen layouts are a bit weird. But back on playing the games, systems that are 4:3 out of the box, like SNES or Genesis, have some cheesy border art that you can take or leave it.
Personally, I would use the menu to just turn them off… if you actually could. That’s right, it’s either full screen or full on borders. I hope someone comes through with some random custom firmware on this thing. While things like adding my usual copy of Buster Bros. for PS1 were working just fine, this system is incredibly bare bones. Especially at the price.
Final Thoughts
Is this worth your money for $59.99? I mean. It’s essentially the definition of “a handheld”. It works out of the box and does what it promises to do at the same time. But at the same time, the Powkiddy RGB30 on Royibelia’s website is only $10 more. $69.99 for what I think is a better handheld overall, even with the charging quabbles. The Anbernic RG CubeXX is usually around $65 on AliExpress, and in my opinion clears both of them with customization and software.
The GameMT E3 Vigor is competent. Don’t get me wrong on that. But I think it’d be more competent at its original asking price, back when it came out. Originally, Rob the Retro Tech Dad and I pre-ordered these for $44.99. At that price, I think it’d be incredibly fine, as it undercuts a lot of options by 25% or so. But at its current price, the E3 is simply too expensive. 3566’s are abundant and $10 more. Get that.
