Is The Original…Better? GBA SP vs. RG35XXSP

Howdy neighbor, I'm thinking about vintage handhelds and their OEM brand equivalents—the real deal, you know—while I sit on the can in my morning meeting. We've been so engrossed in the pocketable/hand feel/button quality sauce that I'm nostalgic for the RP2 or the notorious RK2020, as well as even the most reprehensible members of the community (based on our Facebook list of banned individuals).

I can now look into the abyss of outdated Android versions or Open Dingux and recollect with a kenotic sense of dread. Feeling conflicted about selling the device to another tweaker after spending four hours modifying the N64 to increase the frame rate by a few frames per second.

However, the focus of this article is not on the recent past; rather, it is on the velvet curtain of our childhoods and how wonderful they were, even in sepia. We need to discuss something, even though it's far too late to review the RG35XX SP Kool-Aid I recently sipped.

Since my role as a journalist is to A: Post Cringe and B: Write something new, I can't bring myself to write a comprehensive review of the device because I don't have anything original to contribute to the review space that could fill a thousand words or more. This is more of a discussion than a review—a ponderance.

I adore the original 2003 offering, which I own. Has my requirement for the GBA SP been replaced by this new Anbernic device? Is having a powerful emulation device more useful than the actual hardware's turn-on-and-play capability? Answering this question should be simple, but it's not. And I'll explain in at least a thousand words. Let's sit down, talk by the fire, have a heart-to-heart, discuss where we are in this zeitgeist, and ask ourselves one thing. Was the first one superior?

Are The Original Games Better?

Let's be clear: it's fantastic to have thousands of classic games at your fingers that are flawlessly playable. Except for Good Boy Galaxy, where you spend over $70 for a copy of Final Fantasy VI that might or might not include Cheeto dust, the cost of cartridges is excessively exorbitant and is only available on the used market. The collecting scene is akin to the Wild West, and it has only become worse due to utterly arbitrary pricing structures. Examine the average cost of any Pokemon GBA game, such as Emerald.

With or without a functional battery, that will set you back at least USD 110. This must be a unique title, right? A small niche, a diamond in the rough. The game sold 7.06 million units. 7.06 million copies in the wild, pouring from the trees of a neglected basement collection belonging to a person aged 30 to 40. For DS, Pokemon HeartGold? 12.72 million units in the wild (split with soul silver) compared to $130+. Pokemon? Like poke-nuts, actually. It's more akin to an excess of Pokemoney.

I wanted to stress that these titles aren't as accessible in any other form than emulation, but I'm not here to go into great detail on the cliched subject of retro collecting. A: Only available online, B: Dead (3DS, DS, Wii U), or C: Kinda Terrible (SNES, NES Classic systems) are the official offers of the original company. I don't support piracy but don't care enough about it to have a strong view.

Is Anbernic's practice of preloading their consoles with an SD card unethical? Yes, without a doubt. I typically remove the complete library they supplied me and swap it out for my even denser ROM collection, which I acquired ethically from my 10,000-cartridge collection. It's absurd that everyone has a collection of over 10,000 games and the resources to discard them despite the exorbitant pricing of these vintage titles.

And we gripe about the RG Cube's cost. Yes, I enjoy playing Super Mario 3 while my wife is giving birth to a boy, and these gadgets ensure I can do so. Well. Nevertheless, what do you value more? Looking through a well-maintained directory and launching a ROM, or dropping your childhood copy of Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario Bros 3 into your favorite modified Game Boy Advance SP and exclaiming, "Wahoo!" while you wait for your back pain prescription to be filled and Rite Aid?

Physical ownership. Does have an impact. It is valuable, has weight, and is how the game should be played on the console. Additionally, focusing only on the games you enjoy and/or are interested in increases the time you spend playing a game on the device you're using. There could be thousands of games with nothing to play or fifteen hits vying for your attention.

We only have so much time, after all. Try not to worry about it because you cannot experience everything. Since everyone enjoys Metroid and you haven't played any of them, do you suffer from FOMO? Don't stress over it. Be content with what you have, attempt something you believe you'll like, or play what you enjoy. Given that Everdrives are available for the GBA, this is a better use case for more miniature ROM packs—just something to consider.

Were We Better Off With No OS?

Once, when you turned on the computer, a game started to run. The standard 2x bilinear scaling video shader integer filter scaled from 2:3 to a 4:3 display (wat) was not considered, nor was it concerned with the operating system or RA version you were using. Before you hit the can, you were in a game where you said, "Okay, time for a poop break." It has the expected responsiveness and appearance. On the other hand, it's wonderful because if you take the time to have everything set up correctly, you can flip that guy up and be right back where you left off in seconds.

Alternatively, you can turn it on, wait for it to fully boot up, select a game, launch it, and then let it run. In contrast to turning on my GBA SP, which I hadn't used in two years, the console might be dead because it slept for too long, and the battery died even though it was almost complete when you used it a few days ago. It was a simpler time, and simpler is preferable. The convenience of improved sleep features, rewind/fast forward, save states, randomization, and custom controls makes them impossible to abandon. Software is a mixed bag, but with the original, you always know what you're getting: Maybe enough, but not much.

I used a custom build of the vanilla OS that was altered by cbepx-me (available here) for my 35XX SP. Regards, Andy. Why are #THEBEANS being used? I can rely on the sleep mode in this OS more than muOS because it walks you through all the greatest "set it and forget it" prompts at the restart, such as how it handles save states and the hinge for configuration purposes. Turning this guy in isn't as simple as flipping a switch half the time, but it completes the task without any hiccups, and I still take too long to get into a game.

Does Build Quality Hold Up?

We all know and adore the pure and heavenly THONK that comes with our Game Boy SPs being closed. It's better than the Switch Joycon. Take that now, and update the RGSP with new Hall Effect closing technology. It is nothing more than a magnet. But magnets are lovely. This sensation, and nothing else, is what Anbernic truly got right. Sort of.

As any review will tell you, this brick's main problem is the feel and sound of the buttons. And I tell you the truth—the absolute truth—which is that it's not that horrible. Though a tad too loud, the thock and click of the face and shoulder buttons are actually rather enjoyable.

Conversely, the rigidity... Not too awful. I tried the tape tweak that the video nerds suggested, and while it had almost no effect on the stiffness, it DOES slightly reduce the sound. However, it's not that significant. Buttons on the original SP were designed to be pressed by a 7-year-old like myself without getting an owie. I am seven years old. For me, no owie.

The way this gadget feels in the hand is one feature we take for granted on earlier models. Whenever I hold the 35XXSP, I wish I had something slimmer and thinner—and cobalt blue, too. On the other hand, our original SP might still fit comfortably in your pocket and your hand as intended. Though it may be a matter of taste, the original SP has a better hand feel than the 35XX SP, which is bigger.

The GBSP's IO is its most significant original defect. I've enjoyed modifying my GBSP for years and am content with my Funnyplaying V2 display. However, it's not worth it to make other modifications for a USB type C port and a headphone jack; if not the soldering, then it would destroy the original SP shell, which I prefer to aftermarket. Like any new console, the 35XXSP only has these.

So is the Original Better?

Please don't stone me. The GBA SP is a more well-designed gadget that accomplishes its goals as well as possible: It only plays GB, GBA, and GBC titles. You can use it to charge it on a dumb proprietary bit, use headphones on another dumb proprietary bit, pocket it, make the lid THONK, look good at the lunch table, and pretty much anything else. The RG35XX SP is an excellent console that may be enhanced with hardware and software modifications. However, a second handheld with improved controls would be preferable.

I find myself reaching for the original, affectionate, Japanese gem of a console—the Nintendo Switch OLED—even though this one is at its best when it mimics Nintendo's homework with its hinge design and layout. But why the Switch? I had already started The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap on it, which is completely unrelated.

A recent Facebook poll showed that we almost unanimously (not unexpectedly) support saving our hungry GBA fix for a compact, portable emulator of choice. However, that comes in second. In addition to everything else, a modified GBA is intriguing, but I'm not surprised.

This is more of an admission that there is still much space for improvement than a critique of "Retro Handhelds." Perhaps the RG35XX SP is what you're looking for, and I'm ecstatic about it. However, there might be a better option coming up.

Do I suggest the RG35XX SP? It's lovely, inexpensive, and plays almost anything with little setup. However, I suggest you try the GBA SP if you have the money. Get it modded, buy a cart or two, and lose yourself in a 20-year-old game. It's a stable console with a good selection of NES and SNES games to complement your Gameboy dribble.