No your eyes do not deceive you. This is not an RG353P, but rather it’s something older, something larger, and probably something a bit goofier if you haven’t heard of it. The Hyperkin Supaboy is a line of handhelds from Hyperkin that has been producing as far back as 2012. Released to be a way to play your Super Nintendo cartridges on the go, the Hyperkin Supaboy has been a steadily evolving piece of machinery over the course of the last 14 years.
While the Supaboy is 14 years old since the day of release, there have only been two updates since the original release in both 2016 and 2018. And since 2018 the only changes we’ve seen have been the introduction of new colors including their most recent “Hyper Beach” colorway which would remind most people of the Synthwave genre instead. As of today though, Hyperkin has announced two more colorways for the Supaboy in the form of the Crimson and the Prime. So what do these do when compared to the older releases?
Well that’s going to be a pretty good question. As far as we know nothing has changed outside of the new SNES, and Super Famicom themed colorways. That means you’re still getting the same controller ports, the same fuzzy 16:9 display, and the same massive honking cartridge slot in the back of a handheld. And more than likely, you’re going to end up seeing the same System on a Chip style setup that they’ve been using since this originally came out. So don’t expect this to be a top tier experience.
As a whole, it’s awesome to see companies like Hyperkin continue to support handhelds that play original cartridges. But in the heavily prevalent world of emulation handhelds, this one may be one of the harder sells out there, especially considering the high $119 price tag without the benefits. These new updates will be coming out in Fall of 2026, but if you want to know what’s changed, we’ll just have to wait and see.
