The R36S retro gaming handheld thread

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shadow_man

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Huh - what's this guy talking about:

I've grabbed a R36S gaming handled (retro gaming yay) off Takealot:

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com

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1.) Ordered 2x Samsung Evo Plus SD cards (1x OS, 1x ROMS) which should arrive tomorrow (the SD card in the unit is trash and dies/corrupts - in fact mine was a dud on delivery (just showed a black screen and a blinking _ cursor at boot) so throw it out!)

These don't seem to be hit and miss like some of the Sandisk one's:
docs.google.com

R3XS TF2 Compatibility List

docs.google.com docs.google.com

2.) Looking at the unit I received - it's legit and not a knock off / clone as described here:
handhelds.miraheze.org

R36S Clones - Handheld Database

HomeR36S OverviewR36S ClonesR36S Buying GuideGuides ‐ Tutorials ‐ How‐To'sCustom FirmwareHotkeysCompatibility ListsHow to transfer filesThemesBootlogos and Loading...
handhelds.miraheze.org handhelds.miraheze.org

Some tell tale signs it's legit:
- Runs ArkOS
- Has 2 RAM chips
- Has the correct EASYROMS partition
- Key fonts are correct

- Has the correct firmware and shows as a Panel 4 model as seen here:
github.com

Home

Another rockchip Operating System. Contribute to christianhaitian/arkos development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com
github.com

GitHub - AeolusUX/ArkOS-R3XS: Community Maintained Image of ArkOS for the RetroBox Console / Game Station / Game Consoie R35S / R36S / PowKiddy RGB20S

Community Maintained Image of ArkOS for the RetroBox Console / Game Station / Game Consoie R35S / R36S / PowKiddy RGB20S - AeolusUX/ArkOS-R3XS
github.com github.com

Which Screen Do I Have?

aeolusux.github.io

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3.) When the SD cards arrive I'll add some ROMS (for now I just used a spare card to test ArkOS grabbed from the github above).

For now some decent ROM sets can be found here:
archive.org

Tiny Best Set: GO! : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

***************************************************************************************************** NOTE...
archive.org
archive.org

Done Set 3 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

...
archive.org

I'll document the journey here for anyone who cares.

Happy retro gaming - 10 year old me would have never believed me if I'd said that adult me would have a play all you want handheld for +-$40 (Takealot was a little more expensive, but you pay that for convenience etc).
 
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Nerfherder said:
I keep seeing these and would like to know which one is worth it... following.
Click to expand...
I suspect it will come down to the form factor you prefer old school vertical style Gameboy or horizontal style Switch.

With regards to the R36S editions (it's all panel difference - and you'll see some side by side's here):
https://www.reddit.com/r/R36S/comments/1f0e3ax/v1_original_screen_vs_v5_panel_4_comparison

The unit I linked on Takealot is legit and works - I added a YouTube video showing it in use too (not me).
 
shadow_man said:
I suspect it will come down to the form factor you prefer old school vertical style Gameboy or horizontal style Switch.

With regards to the R36S editions (it's all panel difference - and you'll see some side by side's here):
https://www.reddit.com/r/R36S/comments/1f0e3ax/v1_original_screen_vs_v5_panel_4_comparison

The unit I linked on Takealot is legit and works - I added a YouTube video showing it in use too (not me).
Click to expand...

Just a question here, following the takealot link shows that the seller is "SOLAR OCEAN" but your screenshot of TAL shows the seller as "Ikun Trading". Safe to say it's actually the link and not the screenshot?
 
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I bought myself an Anbernic RG353M a while back. Hall-effect thumbsticks, it really feels premium. Worth it IMO.

I mostly play old JRPGs (Chrono Trigger etc.). Currently playing Final Fantasy VIII.
 
animehero said:
How much did you pay for it back then? Also where did you get it from?
Click to expand...
Direct from Anbernic back in 2022. Overpaid a bit, the 64GB card isn't worth it. The SD cards they ship with are crap (so are the ROMs, rather use Tiny Best Set), you'll want to replace them anyway.

The amount I use it justifies it for me though.

Screenshot 2025-02-04 081127.png
 

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dabean said:
I bought myself an Anbernic RG353M a while back. Hall-effect thumbsticks, it really feels premium. Worth it IMO.

I mostly play old JRPGs (Chrono Trigger etc.). Currently playing Final Fantasy VIII.
Click to expand...

Im still sporting the RG350M

anbernic.com

ANBERNIC RG350M

Brand Name: Anbernic Certification: CE Origin: CN(Origin) Color Display: Yes Display Size: 3.5 Touch Screen: No Model Number: RG350M Package: Yes Communication: USB ROM: 16G BATTERY: 2500MAH CPU: 4770 dual 1.0 GHz Function: Opendingux / music/video
anbernic.com anbernic.com

I enjoy it from time to time, mostly when taking the Mrs shopping. Does its job.

Paid R2000 for it back in the day over at:

Shop

retrogames.co.za retrogames.co.za
 
EL'Diablo said:
how many hours you got into FF8?

Playing it for the first time since i was a teen, does the Rom you have support the speed boost ?
Click to expand...

Only around 20 hours so far. It's one of the games I never finished as a kid (got to disc 4 and got stuck, never understood the Junction system at the time).

Currently wrapping my head around the card game.

Edit: Sorry, not sure about the speed boost.
 
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dabean said:
Only around 20 hours so far. It's one of the games I never finished as a kid (got to disc 4 and got stuck, never understood the Junction system at the time).

Currently wrapping my head around the card game.
Click to expand...
im 31 hours in and have all the cards besides Phoenix, cause i screwed up the queen of cards, the rules will be the death of you, try not spread the kak ones to other regions.

once you in the end game castle and if you have done the cc group quest earlier you can find all the cc members on Ragnorok, they carry ALL the cards in the game,

5 pack unbeatable deck:

Squall
Seifer
Edea
Minotaur
Sacred
 
animehero said:
Just a question here, following the takealot link shows that the seller is "SOLAR OCEAN" but your screenshot of TAL shows the seller as "Ikun Trading". Safe to say it's actually the link and not the screenshot?
Click to expand...

Good eye.

Both are correct - the link is the one straight from my order page and the screenshot is from when I was going to add to cart.

It got shipped from IKUN TRADING.

(I suspect Takealot has just changed the seller on the page, or the seller has changed their name - not sure).

Either way you've got some tell tale signs to look out for if they send a fake/clone - and TL return policy is very good.
 
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