Hands on: Anbernic’s RG300X is a hardened Game Boy Micro that runs emulators

We’ve covered the exploits of Chinese firm Anbernic on Nintendo Life before, thanks to our coverage of their excellent RG351 handheld. The company has become popular in recent years due to the fact that it combines great design with solid ergonomics, and its systems are pretty decent when it comes to replicating classic consoles through emulation.

Anbernic’s latest effort, the RG300X, seems to follow the same pattern. It is clearly a clone of the Game Boy Micro in terms of design, it even copies the style of the ‘Famicom edition’ seen on a Japanese exclusive version of that particular Nintendo handheld, but it is slightly larger and has a size larger than 640×480 pixels 3- inch screen. It also includes two additional front buttons and two additional side buttons for good measure, oh, and it charges its 2,500 mAh battery with USB-C.

The D-pad is excellent, as are the buttons, but the LCD screen is somewhat disappointing. It looks faded and dull, especially compared to the RG351’s screen. On the bright side, it has an aspect ratio more suitable for retro gaming than the displays seen on many other handheld devices of this type.

At the heart of the RG300X beats the same 1.0GHz dual-core JZ4770 processor found in many of Anbernic’s handhelds. Many fans expected the company to move towards a faster chipset, but given the chip shortage currently gripping the world, that’s perhaps a bit optimistic. It means that, performance wise, the RG300X isn’t going to beat the competition, but at least it means that the 8-bit and 16-bit emulation is solid. There’s no analog stick to speak of, so you’ll probably want to stick with pre-N64 titles anyway.

The unit that was sent to us for review (by an online reseller DroiX) uses the Linux-based OpenDingux operating system, which is quite old and outdated by modern standards, especially compared to the EmuELEC operating system used in other Anbernic devices. There is a chance that someone will release custom firmware for the RG300X in the future, of course, but at the moment navigating the system UI is occasionally very cumbersome, and it goes without saying that most retailers supply the drive without ROMs included, so you will need to purchase them yourself, legally if possible.

For the asking price of around £ 70, a bit less than what the RG351 sells for, the RG300X is certainly worth a look, especially if it’s sold in the Game Boy Micro-style design. We have to say that it is without a doubt the most attractive aspect of this product. Emulation is generally decent, assuming you want to stick with NES, SNES, Mega Drive, and GBA titles. It’s a shame that the screen is below average compared to Anbernic’s other products, and that its operating system feels like a relic of the past.

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