The RG34XX is Anbernic’s 12th handheld release in just as many months. When compared to its obvious inspiration, the GBA, the year-ending surprise has one of the most parallel designs we have seen in retro handhelds.

With a massive influx of new H700 devices being released with every passing day, there are naturally tons of options when it comes to custom firmware, ports, and the way you choose to maximize your usage of the console. But this guide will hopefully be able to assist you in making your decision, guiding you through the alternatives, and making sure you set up your RG34XX in the most ideal way possible.

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• What You’ll Need
• Recommended Accessories
• Choosing a Firmware
  • • Knulli
    • ROCKNIX
    • MuOS
    • MinUI
    • Stock / Modified Stock
• Flashing or Installing Firmware
• ROM and SD Card Preparation
  • • BIOS File Names
• Recommended Games
• Themes, Box Art, and Other Media
  • • Scraping Box Art
    • SkraperUI (PC)
• Wrap-Up

Getting Started

With so many H700 devices having been released in the past year, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to custom firmware. Most devices will be announced, and then minor tweaks and modifications will be made to allow for the various CFWs to run properly on them.

The RG34XX runs at an aspect ratio of 3:2, the same as the original GBA. This changes things when looking at the best way to utilize the device. Although 4:3 content looks “fine” on the device, it may be better suited, in most use cases, as a primarily GBA-focused handheld. Taking that into account, your CFW choice can stay the same, be slightly skewed, or specifically point to whatever gets you to your games fastest.

And for figuring that out, you now have this setup guide.

Anbernic RG34XX Specs

Buy the RG34XX

What You’ll Need

• Anbernic RG34XX
• Micro SD card (larger than 16GB preferably)
• Windows, macOS, or Linux PC
• Package Manager (7-Zip for Windows, macOS and Linux have native managers pre-installed)
  • You can opt to do all of these steps on any mobile device of your choosing, but it will be clunky, harder to navigate, and most likely tedious.

Optional

• Wi-Fi connection
  • Mostly used for on-device scraping of metadata and artwork, updates, or easier downloading of PortMaster titles.

Recommended Accessories

Anbernic ships all RG34XX consoles with a pack-in lanyard and form-fitting glass screen protector. If you lose the screen protector or want some more protection, here are some suggestions.

Film screen protectors usually require some sort of solution to be applied to the screen, glass ones are placed and picked up as one solid unit, so a bit easier to mess with. They’re also stronger by numerous multitudes. A good glass screen protector will absorb any potential hits and take the brunt of the damage. But at that point, you remove it, swap it with another one, and you’re golden.

Most hard cases you’ll find for these devices are simply made to hold the device and be about the same size. The Amazon HD case below, while meant for external hard drives, fits the RG34XX perfectly.  If you wrap your device in a full-body silicone protector and then pop a glass screen protector on, your device is fully protected while still able to be played without having to remove it from any sort of case that you would then have to also carry around.

SD cards are pivotal, but with an H700 device, you don’t need anything too expansive. Of course, you can go wild and put the entire PS1 library on a single SD card if you want, but in reality, your expectations for how many games you’ll store will probably come in with only a handful for each console.

For reference, most GBA games come in under 32MB. The entire library comes in at under 24GB. The remaining 8GB could be used to store whatever games from other consoles you’ve been dying to check out. That 8GB of space should be more than enough for top hits or classics from other supported consoles.

Screen Protectors

• • Mr.Shield Tempered Glass Screen Protector 3-pack
  • Generic Glass Screen Protector
  • Puccy TPU Screen Protector Film

Protective Cases

• • TEHAOUU Hard Carrying Case
  • Amazon Basics External Hard Drive Portable Carrying Case
  • Silicone Full Body Protective Case

Micro SD Cards

• • Micro Center MicroSDXC (16GB – 2565GB)
  • SanDisk Ultra (32GB – 1.5TB)
  • Samsung PRO Plus (512GB)

SD Card Readers

• • UGREEN 2-in-1 SD Card Reader
  • Anker PowerExpand+ 2-in-1
  • uni USB-C SD 4.0 Card Reader

Choosing a Firmware

The biggest choice you’ll have to make when setting up your RG34XX is deciding which firmware you want to run. As mentioned above, each CFW does things a little differently than others, and for H700 devices, it really boils down to preference. Stock firmware even does things a little bit differently in some respects to the custom firmware options, too.

For the sake of reference, I tend to simplify my overall OS management on these devices, trying to get to my games as quickly as possible with the least amount of fuss.

The CFW options are currently split between four different ones: Knulli, ROCKNIX, MuOS, and MinUI. There’s also the stock firmware, the default that comes with the device, and its hyper-charged cousin, modified stock.

In each of the firmware categories below, I have included a list of some hotkeys alongside the default download locations of each of the mentioned firmware. I have also linked to guides written by the fabulous writers here that cover setup processes, configuration, and other pertinent things worth looking into if you find yourself having trouble. Be aware, however, the guides may be written for devices that differ from the RG34XX in different ways.

Something to remember when using the supplemental guides below:

• RG34XX resolution is 720 x 480
• Aspect ratio is 3:2
• Max gameplay compatibility will cap at PS1
• CFW goes on SD-1, storage goes on SD-2

With these things in mind, there are no mistakes you’re likely to make.

KNULLI

Knulli is a fork of Batocera but slimmed down to work in smaller, less power-hungry devices like the RG34XX we’re using today. Its Rg34XX compatible version is currently in beta, only available to those who contribute to the project’s ko-fi. It’s a one-time payment.

Knulli Hotkeys

Supplemental Setup Guide: Knulli on TrimUI Smart Pro: Setup Guide

Download KNULLI

ROCKNIX

ROCKNIX is a fork of JELOS, and functions as its successor. This CFW is also the most-like running a pure Linux handheld. It has some capabilities that other CFWs may never incorporate like VPNs, cloud syncing, and native scraping.

ROCKNIX Hotkeys

Supplemental Setup Guide: Batocera and ROCKNIX Install Guide (only the ROCKNIX section)

Download ROCKNIX

muOS

MuOS is a newer CFW originally based on GarlicOS that received most of its attention during the release of the RG35XX SP. It since has been ported to every other RG**XX device.

muOS Hotkeys

Supplemental Setup Guide: muOS Setup Guide for Anbernic Handhelds

Download MuOS

MinUI

MinUI is the most simple approach to CFW. It has a heavily slimmed-down version of RetroArch, but still has the most needed options, settings, and functions. The OS has a separate menu that can be opened up during gameplay to save, load, and edit other controls and options. Through the Shortcuts option, you can set up quick hotkeys for saving states, loading states, cycling filters, or changing different aspects of the screen size.

MinUI Hotkeys

Supplemental Setup Guide: MinUI for RG35XX Plus and RG35XXH Guide

Download MinUI

Stock Firmware

Stock firmware comes in two main distributions. There’s the stock firmware that is given by Anbernic by default on your device when you buy it, but there’s also a slightly tweaked version, modified stock. Modified stock adds some improvements, and tweaks the way Anbernic has set some things up, but underneath it all, it is still plagued by the issues found in stock firmware.

Download stock firmware or download modified stock

Choosing a firmware can seem like a daunting task. But, the reality is that you can pick any of the above and very easily switch, change, or revert to another. In basic terms, this is how I view all of the available firmware and who they might be most suited for.

• Knulli: Established Linux-based CFW, very much nestled in the Linux ecosystem and relies on Emulation Station
• ROCKNIX: Also Linux-based, but fairly new. Recommended for those eager to see the development process of a CFW and have a hand in something geared directly towards handhelds
• MuOS: Newer, but consistently and passionately developed. New releases are typically teased through Discord with user input dictating what features are added occasionally
• MinUI: Slim design, minimal, easier to use. Setup is fairly easy and would be better suited CFW if handheld is given to a loved one new to the community.
• Stock (or modified) firmware: Useful for those who want to keep handhelds as close to how it was designed, lacks a lot of features and niceties of other CFW options.

Also, over on our YouTube channel, Zu takes a look at all of the various CFW options available for XX handhelds and tries to get to the nitty-gritty of each one. Be sure to check the video out, it may offer some additional insight that can help you choose what CFW to go with.

Flashing or Installing Firmware

Once you’ve chosen a firmware, the process for installing them is relatively the same. You’ll want to source a download, and then flash the firmware to an SD card, and plop that SD card into your slot-1, the slot on the left if your device were to be facing you.

DISCLAIMER: MinUI does not need to be flashed to a new SD card. You do, however, have to start with the stock firmware either on the SD card you’re using or flashed to a new one. Other CFWs are flashed directly to any SD card you opt to use.

Flashing the firmware is a relatively easy process as well, but below, you can find a simplistic, heavily cut-down version of an overall guide on the process. Use it as a refresher if you’ve done this process before.

You’ll need one of three apps:

• Win32DiskImager (Windows)
• Rufus (Windows)
• BalenaEtcher (macOS or Linux)

You’ll open your app, and you’ll be asked to supply the image file. The image file is the firmware file that you’ve downloaded. It typically ends in .img or .img.gz before being extracted.

Once you choose the image file, the target or drive you select is the SD card you’re flashing the firmware file. Be warned though, once you flash the image to the SD card, the SD card will not have any of the files you once placed on it; only the new ones within the image file itself.

After the process is finished, you can pop the SD card into the slot-1 port on your RG34XX. Power on the device, and afterward it will take a few minutes to set up the CFW, but after that, you’re good to go. If it takes longer than 10 minutes, hold the power button to force a shutdown, and try reflashing the SD card.

ROM and SD Card Preparation

When it comes to ROMs and SD card management, I wouldn’t recommend setting things up before choosing and installing your firmware. A problem you may run into is a CFW requesting specific folder names for ROMs and yours being straddled throughout multiple different ones with different names and different formats.  It’s a chore to deal with.

DISCLAIMER: Knulli has a well known and throroughly discussed bug that prevents the SHARE partition from being seen in macOS. This ir regardless of whther or not you format the disk as exFAT (Start > Frontend Developer Options > Format Disk) and as of right now, there is no known fix. 

BIOS File Names

Alongside your ROMs, you’ll want to make sure you have BIOS files for the consoles you’re emulating as well. This can improve performance and, in some cases, be necessary for games to boot. Using the screenshots above as a reference, the BIOS files go inside the bios folder, but with no nested console folders. Just plop the raw bios files into that one folder.

Some consoles have numerous different types of BIOS files available. To save time, here are the suggested names for BIOS consoles on multiple different consoles.

Recommended Games

Since the RG34XX has support for PortMaster on a plethora of devices and supports all the way up to PS1 games, there are a few titles I would recommend checking out. Some of them strike something of an unknown chord that I can’t quite relate to a feeling felt elsewhere. It’s reminiscent of the first time you’ve loaded Super Mario Bros. 3 on a device that wasn’t meant to play it at all, like a PSP. It’s eerie almost.

PortMaster can also run some excellent ports of games as well. Some of them are standout hits, one was ported to 3:2 by a writer here *coughs*, but most are just games that play exceptionally well on a small 3:2 aspect ratio screen.

Themes, Box Art, and Other Media

Most of the CFWs have theme support these days, but some do not. Something to pay more attention to when choosing a theme is the aspect ratios supported. The RG34XX has a 3:2 aspect ratio that is abnormal under most circumstances. Not to say it’s bad, just that most devices do not support it.

If happen to find a theme that supports 16:10, it would be your closest neighbor when it comes to compatibility. 16:10 equates to 3.2:2, so while not exact, potentially workable to make look decent.

Knulli and ROCKNIX are based on Batocera, so you can use the same themes from one to the other. They also allow for downloading themes via Wi-Fi. Hit START, UI Settings > Theme Downloader. Alternatively, you can browse themes from the official Batocera Theme Repository.

MuOS themes can be placed inside the MUOS/themes folder on your slot-1 SD card. They can be downloaded here from the MuOS Theme Repository, but the best way to get them, in my opinion, would be through the MuOS Discord.

Scraping Box Art

Before even thinking about reading this section, head over to ScreenScraper.fr and make an account. You will need it later and, since the main site is mostly made for those who speak French, you may run into momentary trouble.

Knulli, ROCKNIX, and MuOS have on-device boxart scraping. The process is the same for Knulli and ROCKNIX as they’re both based on Batocera. Press START, go to Scraper, Scraper Settings, and input your ScreenScraper login credentials at the very bottom. Then just choose what you’d like to download and what art you’d like to see. Be warned, this process will take a long time.

MuOS has an app called Scrappy built by gabrielfvale that can handle on-device scraping as well. MuOS uses a different file structure when saving artwork, but Scrappy will sort and manage it all for you. Although, just like on-device scraping for any other CFW, it will take a long time.

SkraperUI (PC)

Because of the length of time it takes to do the above, I would highly suggest just using SkraperUI on your PC. SkraperUI allows you to log in, choose the consoles you want to download content for, set different parameters, and since it is run on a computer, you may get faster download speeds. Especially if using ethernet as opposed to Wi-Fi. It may not go blazing fast, though, ScreenScraper does have a particularly slow download speed regardless of what your at-home connection is like. For reference, I have a 1Gbps connection at home, but it still took about 3 hours to work through about 16GB of games.

Box art, to me, is an added bonus that may add a few bits of flare, but isn’t all that important or needed. That isn’t to say there aren’t others who feel the exact opposite. Better yet, if you’re handing one of these handhelds to someone who has no idea what they are or how they function, box art can change how they view the device and its usability. It may be worth it.

You can find more succinct instructions on how themes, box art, and scraping work in the different CFW Setup Guides linked above.

Wrap-Up

There’s not a lot to the RG34XX admittedly. It’s a perfect device for some, a true beacon of the joys of nostalgia. But to others, it is just another H700 device. That being said, the above links, info, and other various guides sourced throughout can help you not only get your device set up the way you want, but they can also showcase the lane that H700 devices are currently in.

Being able to perfectly emulate GBA, at a 3x integer scale, on a device that looks like a GBA is truly something I never would have anticipated 20 years ago when the GBA dropped. Maybe not even 10 years ago. The fact that it’s here today, and we have so many options to explore when it comes to making it our own — is amazing.

Hopefully, this guide can help get your devices going, ROMs playing, CFWs organized, and so forth. Who knows, maybe Anbernic will surprise us with another GBA-inspired device, or maybe even more colors of the RG34XX, but for now, this is truly the crème de la crème.

What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!

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