Anbernic RG34XXSP Retro Handheld Review – The GBA SP returns

Sometimes modern devices are designed to inspire the most intense nostalgia possible. While many of the big-hitters have launched mini renditions of their older consoles to fill that gap, in the handheld space it’s generally been left to companies like Miyoo, ModRetro and Analogue to fill that gap. One of the clear big hitters here is Anbernic, and with their snappily named RG34XXSP they’ve released one of the best Game Boy Advance SP-like devices since… well, the original.

To all intents and purposes, the RG34XXSP looks and feels like a Game Boy Advance SP. It tickles all of those primary coloured gaming memories, instantly taking you back to the incredible hours spent with games like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. However, as a modern emulation device, the Anbernic RG34XXSP is capable of much, much more.

Our review unit came in glorious yellow, and really, all it needs is a Pikachu face emblazoned on the top, and it’d be perfect. The main body of the case is made of sturdy plastic, while the folding metal hinge ensures that the top screen panel feels sturdy and locked in place. Compared to Miyoo’s recent Flip, the RG34XXSP feels much more rugged and sturdy, and where I was loathe to take that anywhere without popping it in its hard case, the RG35XXSP has bounced around in my bag for weeks without any noticeable side effects.

Opening it up reveals the 3.4-inch IPS screen in a 3:2 ratio which perfectly matches the original GBA screen. It’s clear and bright, with a good colour balance that feels authentic to the original games it’s displaying. With a 720×480 resolution, it’s a huge jump from the original Game Boy Advance’s 240×160, which makes it all the better for emulating more powerful consoles than simply the one it’s physically imitating, although the screen ratio means that consoles aiming for the 4:3 standard will have pillarboxed frames either side of the display.

There’s more controls here than you would have found on a GBA or SP. There’s a great-feeling D-pad, which instantly stands out as your key point of interaction with the handheld, while each of the four face buttons gives a strong, meaningful click with every press.

There are also two inset analogue sticks here, which are ideal if you want to emulate anything past the 16-bit era. They feel pretty good considering their short travel distance, but they would definitely have benefited from some grip or textured surface, just to help during more action-packed moments.

Around the outside edge, you’ll find four shoulder/trigger buttons, as well as a USB-C/OTG port and a mini-HDMI out for playing on a big screen. Additional controls come in the form of a volume rocker, reset switch and power button, with the front of the device rounded out by a 3.5mm headphone socket. Anbernic have packed everything you could want in here, and they’ve done it to a higher spec than their immediate rivals in the £50 price range.

There’s magnets installed in the top screen panel, so not only is the RG34XXSP capable of closing extremely firmly, it also initiates a sleep mode, letting you simply close your game when you want to take a break, before flipping it open to continue later on. This is a great quality of life feature, and one which made a huge difference during our testing, as it lets you jump in and out of games at a moment’s notice.

The small form factor also helped with that, and the RG34XXSP has become my go-to device to travel with over the last month, taking up virtually no space in my bag or hand luggage, and it even fits into your actual pocket. Imagine that! It feels genuinely great to take it out on the train and be able to leap back into one of your favourite games of yesteryear. The original Game Boy Advance SP remains one of my favourite consoles of all time, and the RG34XXSP hits all the right notes in bringing a similarly flavoured device to 2025.

To be clear, you should only be emulating games that you already own, and emulation devices like this are just a means to collect and categorise your libraries. With that out of the way, it’s great to see the RG34XXSP capable of emulating devices up to and including the Sony PSP and Sega Dreamcast. Some titles for both of those platforms will push it pretty hard – I found things slowing down occasionally in Marvel Vs Capcom 2 when there were a lot of characters on screen – but overall, the RG34XXSP dispenses itself well thanks to its quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 chipset and 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM.

Really, I can imagine a lot of people using it to return to their Game Boy Advance libraries, and it’s ideal for that, particularly with two micro-SD slots for taking every game you own with you. I obviously went straight back to playing Fire Emblem, followed swiftly by Advance Wars, and the included Retroarch software worked perfectly for emulating both titles. Retroarch is also the avenue to various screen filters that might get the games looking more like you remembered them, instead of the crisp upscaled look that we’re now more accustomed to.

The Anbernic launcher that sits over the top of it all is basic, but functional, and if you’re not interested in tinkering with it, it’ll do everything you could want in terms of curating your emulation experience. Where the Anbernic RG34XXSP is weaker is in its speaker setup. The mono speaker at the centre of the front panel can certainly pump out plenty of volume, but it’s pretty harsh and can become distorted at higher volumes. It also seems to emphasise any emulation issues, and at times the overall audio was pretty poor compared to the rest of the package. It’s fine for quiet, everyday use, but I’d recommend using a wired pair of headphones to get the best out of the audio.

The RG34XXSP’s main competitor is undoubtedly the Miyoo Flip, and while I think I’d give the edge to Miyoo’s stock OS – LITNXT’s own version – the build quality of the RG34XXSP is a clear step above Miyoo’s. However, if you’re looking to play titles beyond the Game Boy Advance’s extensive library, the Flip’s 3.5inch screen is bigger, and boasts a more traditional 4:3 ratio.

Thank you to LITNXT for providing our review unit for the Anbernic RG34XXSP.