In the past, when you think of handhelds modeled after something else you think of Anbernic. The RG353P is modeled after an SNES controller, and the RG-Arc is modeled after a Sega 6-button controller. But what about a handheld modeled after a handheld? No. Not the RG35XX SP. The Game Kiddy Bubble is a Sega Game Gear-styled handheld that’s rocking the unkillable RK3566 at the end of 2024.

So join in as I take a look at the Bubble and see if it’s worth your hard earned dollar-bucks. 

GKD Bubble: Specs

• CPU: Rockchip RK3566
• GPU: Mali-G52 2EE
• Ram: 1GB
• Screen: 3.5”, 640×480, 4:3 Aspect Ratio
• Battery: 4000mAh
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 2x microSD card slots, 3.5mm Headphone Jack
• Dimensions: 165 x 83 x 25 mm, 229 grams

GKD Bubble: Design and Feel

When it comes to the design and feel of the GKD Bubble, I think they did it really well. The gritty texture of the back was a bit odd at first, but over time I got used to it. The grips on the back are small enough that, in normal use, I never notice them, however, they at least make it look nice. That’s good, I think. 

On the front of the Bubble, you’re looking at a very Game Gear-esque design, which is definitely good. A huge bezel that houses the two slanted LEDs shaped just right for that Sega styling, and the A/B buttons being larger than the X/Y buttons really tie the look together. Between this and the Anbernic Controller-styled devices, I’d probably put the design as better than the RG353P, but not quite as good as the RG-Arc. And in terms of Ergonomics, I’d put it right there as well. 

Whether you call it a good thing or a bad thing, the design and feel of the Game Kiddy Bubble is probably the best part of the whole handheld. 

Buttons and Screen

Starting off simple; the screen. You’re getting a standard 4:3 screen that’s 640×480 and 3.5 inches. There’s nothing bad about it, but in late 2024 where we’re getting 720p and better in similarly sized and priced devices, it doesn’t stand out anymore. It’s what you should expect for a screen like this in any of the devices around the price or cheaper.

The buttons are a bit of a mixed bag for me. The dual sticks are Switch-styled, and do exactly what you’d expect. I still wish we could move on from them, but considering I played exactly one game that used them, I don’t mind this time. The face buttons are quite nice. Despite being different sizes, all four face buttons have a nice light clack to them when you can push them down with ease. This is in comparison to the in-line shoulder buttons that retain the membrane feel of the face buttons but introduce a louder clack. Loud buttons don’t bug me personally, but it is noticeable on my unit.

And finally the D-pad. It’s a shield-styled D-pad, but this one is very light. It’s super easy to move between directions to the point I feel it’s almost too easy. Doing my usual summit run of Celeste in Pico-8 I found myself running into accidental diagonals in almost every direction I needed to move. I can get to the summit, however not without its challenges. It’s serviceable, but not amazing. 

OS and Performance

Performance? What performance? It’s an RK3566. You’re gonna get solid “up to PS1” performance alongside an experience in N64, Dreamcast, and PSP that I’d call; a bonus. Be happy for what extra you can get but don’t expect perfection in the next tier of emulation. What does make things nice is the simplistic operating system I’ve been using with the Bubble. 

My unit came with no microSD card, which meant I needed to grab my own Operating System. And so the Plum rises up. PlumOS is a pretty simplistic operating system that I left basically stock. That means a black background simple text telling me which system is which, and when I boot into my Game Gear games I get a nice GG-styled overlay to go with it. 

Overall it makes the experience clean and easy to use, with extra features such as Wi-Fi for the usual network transfers making it a surprisingly nice 3566 handheld to use. Though as a whole I still prefer something like ArkOS.

Final Thoughts

As a 3566 handheld, I think the GKD Bubble is solid overall. In terms of pricing if you go somewhere like GoGameGeek you can grab it between $90 and $100 depending on what you’re looking for. If you go through Aliexpress you can grab it for around $60-$70, which at that price point the Bubble makes a lot more sense. But you know what else makes sense? All of the other 3566 devices are at the same price or lower. For a 640×480 screen, you can grab an RG353P, or an RG-Arc for a larger screen. You could grab an RGB20 Pro or RGB30 for a higher resolution screen around the same price. 

If you’re looking for that specific style, the Bubble is second to none. It looks good, and it feels nice in hand. But if you’re looking for something with a solid d-pad and a user experience that gives you everything in one go, you may be better off looking for something that’s a bit more traditional. Powkiddy released 4 3566 handhelds this year after all. I think I’d recommend two of them over this one. Maybe 3? I’d happily tell someone to buy this instead of an X35S. Or an R40S. Or an E6+. You get the idea; there are too many of these things.

Buy the GKD Bubble

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