You had one job, Anbernic: Modern Nintendo DS emulator.
I expect a flaw or two from the RG DS; it is an Anbernic handheld after all. But to fail at its core function is exasperating. There was concern before launch, with most people understandably concerned about the screen’s resolution not being able to scale to the integer scale of the Nintendo DS.
Anbernic RG DS Specs
Before diving too deep, here’s a quick look at the RG DS specs:
- Displays: 4-inch IPS, 640 x 480, 60Hz
- Processor: RockChip RK3568
- GPU: Mali G52-2EE
- RAM: 3GB
- Storage: 32GB + microSD (up to 2TB)
- Battery: 4,000mAh (~8 Hours)
- Audio: Stereo Speakers, 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
- Extras: Hall Switch Chip (Lid Closing Detection), Gyro
- Dimensions: 160 x 91 x 21.5mm
- Weight: 321 grams
Anbernic RG DS (Direct)Anbernic RG DS (Direct)
Displays
Visual fidelity turned out to be the least of my concerns.
To that end, any fears about scaling that I had disappeared the second a game booted and began running on their pre-configured Drastic install. With the LCD shader turned on, pixels were sharp, colors popped, and when upscaling behaved properly in 3D titles, it was damn near stunning.
Unfortunately, the dual-screen configuration of the device has yet to stop surprising me with new ways to fail. The top screen freezes at random, and swapping the layout of the two screens in DraStic only registers on the bottom display, leaving the upper screen stuck in place. Other times, the upper panel of the device would simply stop working and would not function again until I relaunched the emulator.
Controls
The controls are a mixed bag, too. The face buttons feel great, and everything is pleasantly low profile to accommodate the clamshell design. The sticks are in an awkward no-man’s-land where my thumbs had to fight against three decades of posture, and the in-line triggers remain a “take them or leave them” situation.
For my money, though, the D-pad is the real offender. It looks like the excellent RG34XXSP D-pad, but mine spat out false diagonals like it was a feature.
Battery and Design
It isn’t all bad, though. Thermals were better than I expected. Once I got it to work, I played upscaled DS for quite a while and only reached lightly toasty levels of heat. As for battery life, it’s too early to make a fair judgment, but so far, no egregious draining in sight.
The shell’s design is pretty big, close to DSi XL territory, but impressively thin. The hinge is tight. I’d have preferred something more in line with the snappiness of the 34XXSP, but it’s firm and deliberate instead, good for any viewing angle.
The plastic is extremely shiny, which will either invoke nostalgia for the DS Lite or bring back memories of Fisher-Price toys. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem to pick up fingerprints like most glossy devices do.
Source of Confliciton
Anbernic is kind enough to include a snazzy stylus, but it felt awkward enough that I abandoned it in favor of my finger, and the screen size made most games perfectly playable that way. Latency didn’t seem bad, though I avoided rhythm games because I’m terrible at them and refuse to drag an innocent handheld’s name down with me. It should be noted that our friend the Phawx has also discovered an interesting quirk that can drop one of the screens down to 40Hz mid-game.
All of this leads me to my core problem: I’m extremely conflicted. On paper, this is a nostalgic little miracle. It’s elegant, ambitious, and cheap enough to excuse some quirks. But in hand, it’s big, uncomfortable, and not great at the one thing it exists to do.
The RG DS is fascinating, promising, and deeply compromised. Custom firmware like GammaOS could go a long way toward fixing the software quirks, but if I had a nickel for every time we’ve made that excuse for Anbernic, I’d just buy a Thor.
Anbernic RG DS (Direct)Anbernic RG DS (Direct)
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I don’t think “just buy a Thor” given that it costs 3-4x as much really makes sense. The whole appeal of this device was it’s retro aesthetics, and it’s affordability.
But yeah, it’s disappointing to hear about the lag issues and problems that this thing has, especially given how pretty that blue model is. Maybe CFW or a future hardware revision will fix it, but unless someone is only very casually interested in getting a device that resembles a DS to play around on once in a while, it would be hard to recommend this to anyone. Anyone serious about DS or who wants to really dive into the library, it looks like they wouldn’t have a great time. From what I’ve heard and seen, the 35XX line does a better/comparable job with DS, which is kind of a problem given that’s the whole reason one would want the RG DS.
I really hope that Anbernic can give us a stronger model with better buttons. I’m calling it now – RG DS+/RG DS Pro, watch for it in May
The cheapest Thor is 300. Although, for 3x the price, you get far more than 3x the performance and experience.
If 100 is too cheap, I wonder what improvements that a price of 150 would bring.
I think you missed the point of that comment. It was a joke about how frequently custom firmware is used to fix anbernic’s device flaws. If I were the author, I would probably have written it this way to be more clear:
“but if I had a nickel for every time we’ve made that excuse for Anbernic, I’d [have enough nickels to] just buy a Thor.”
Except we don’t have a nickel for every flaw an Anbernic device has a flaw, so it’s a moot point and the joke doesn’t work. That would be like a car review saying gee if someone gave me money for every time I was disappointed by this Kia, I could just buy a Lexus. It would be better to say that this price point just can’t support smooth emulation for more demanding DS games yet and Anbernic needs to take this disappointing release back to the drawing board, or set up more realistic pre release expectations. You could even admonish them for doing preorders. They don’t usually do that and probably decided to at the last minute. They had to have realized once they had a finished product that it was going to be a disappointment, so sell as many as they can on preorder before people actually get their hands on them and the reviews tank the sales.
My name is also Jim, and I bet I’m more fun at parties
My grandson wants a dsi for Christmas this year
Your best bet for a DSi would be Ebay as they arent made anymore. Just be careful and make sure the listing is for the correct region, your cheaper listings will likely be japanese consoles if a region the listing should specify us/North America in details for the listing.
I’m confused, are these nit tbe $500 DS systems this company just released
I was really looking forward to this one. But those issues with the screens de-syncing are inexcusable.
I was hoping for a 34XXSP but with two screens. Instead it seems they lowered the quality of everything in order to keep the cost down, just to add that extra screen. A shame.
“Just buy a thor” and its 6 times the price 😂😂
Here’s your options:
1) Save up and buy an AYN Thor (obviously).
2) Buy the MagicX Zero 40 (currently the best budget option).
3) Buy the MagicX One 35 (The most versatile budget Handheld in existence).
4) Wait for the RG-DS+ 😒
5) Wait for MagicX’s 2DS Clone
6) Wait for Retroid’s Dual Screen Handheld which will probably exist within a year
7) Wait for GammaOS on the RG-DS if it’s coming.
Either one is better than buying RG DS right now.
“There was concern before launch, with most people understandably concerned about the screen’s ….”
Did you really craft this train wrecked of a sentence? I cant raje this “publication” seriously.
I’m getting a head start on my 2026 resolution of being less antagonistic toward people who bother me, so I hope you have an awesome holiday and consider being less critical of things that don’t matter all that much, and I will try and write gooder.