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Anbernic RG ARC-S & ARC-D review with video – Classic SEGA Saturn controller inspired retro handheld (DROIX Blog)

2 min read

Summary

DROIX blog review of the anbernic-rg-arc. Published 2023-11-29 on droix.net.

Emulation Notes

  • The emulators menu is for emulators independent of RetroArch, these include SEGA Naomi Arcade, Dreamcast, Saturn and PlayStation Portable.
  • And the RetroArch menu is a fuller list of compatible emulator cores which include various handhelds such as the Game Gear and WonderSwan, 8 bit consoles including the Master System, in between with the PC Engine, and 16 bit systems such as the Genesis / Mega Drive. You can also find Arcade systems and emulators including CPS, MAME, Neo Geo etc.
  • Anbernic RG ARC S ARC D RetroArch menu
  • While running a game from the RetroArch selection, and some of the individual emulators you can tap the Function button to bring up the menu. For RetroArch in particular you can access all the usual functions such as saving and loading states, take screenshots, restart the game, change the controls and so on.
  • And moving into more recent systems. For the Drastic emulator we get decent overall performance. Keep in mind for the Anbernic RG ARC-S model there is no touchscreen support so you may have issues with games that require it.
  • Once loaded it will have sorted your game collection into the respective systems. You can then browse with the touchscreen or D-Pad and run a game. Like Linux, it uses a mix of RetroArch and individual emulators for the supported systems.
  • For the Drastic emulator we get the same performance on Linux which is very good. With touchscreen support on this classic gaming handheld it does make many more games playable which is definitely a bonus.
  • There are also Dolphin and AetherSX2 emulators but again with this processor you will not get any but the most basic games running at playable levels.
  • Both models overall see the same performance across all of the emulators. The Anbernic RG ARC-D portable retro gaming console does have more RAM and internal storage, though this is mainly for use by Android. Having a touchscreen may be an important factor if you prefer navigating with that, or for playing more games with the Drastic emulator.

Source

Full review available at: https://droix.net/blogs/anbernic-rg-arc-s-arc-d-review-with-video/

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