Retro Handheld: Top Pick of 2025 (Part 2)
ANBERNIC RG353V
Tiny Time Machine
I’m not much of a gamer anymore.
I don’t spend long evenings grinding levels or chasing achievements. But when I was younger, my Game Boy went everywhere with me. They weren’t just something you played; they were places you went. Worlds you disappeared into.
As an adult, that feeling is hard to find again. I’ve tried. Modern games are impressive, bigger, louder, and more cinematic, but they rarely hit the same emotional note (exceptions exist, of course, looking at you, BG3 and Senua's Saga). Something always felt missing.
Then I started thinking about the games that shaped my childhood.
Advance Wars. Golden Sun. Metroid Fusion.
I owned those cartridges. I played them endlessly. And today? I have no idea where my old Game Boy Advance is. It was probably sold years ago during a yard sale my parents held…
Discovering Retro Handhelds
At some point, YouTube’s algorithm did its thing and started showing me videos about retro handheld consoles. Suddenly, a whole new world opened up, with modern devices built specifically to preserve and replay classic games.
Some of them are incredible. They’re also expensive. Three hundred dollars. Four hundred. Sometimes more. That was far beyond what I wanted to spend.
Then I came across the Anbernic RG353.
What immediately caught my attention was the vertical form factor. It might seem odd, since the GBA itself was horizontal, but I always preferred playing on my Game Boy Color.
Pure Joy
For the first time in years, I felt the same emotion I felt as a kid playing video games. That quiet excitement. That sense of comfort. Amazing!
Is it nostalgia? Absolutely.
Is it because I’m playing the same games I loved as a child? Probably.
Since getting the RG353, I’ve:
Finished Advance Wars
Finished Metroid Fusion
Played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
Played Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Made it halfway through Golden Sun
A Console That Fits Adult Life
Most days, I play for about 30 minutes.
Sometimes an hour on the weekend.
Often during lunch breaks, while at work, or when commuting.
The device is small enough to:
Bring to the office
Play in bed while my youngest naps.
Pick up instantly, with zero friction
That’s the key—it fits adult life.
Then there was Pokémon FireRed.
That one really did something to my brain.
Playing it felt like time travel. Back to the late ’90s and early 2000s. Familiar, but clearer—like revisiting a memory that’s been restored rather than remade.
Not a Review—Just a Recommendation
I’m not a hardware reviewer or a tech YouTuber. There are far better breakdowns online if you want deep dives into:
Other Anbernic models
The Retroid Pocket
The Odin handhelds
I mostly wanted to share that these devices exist. I didn’t even know about them until this year, and discovering them has been genuinely meaningful.
Final Thoughts
The Anbernic RG353 isn’t just a gadget. For me, it’s a small, plastic time machine. Easily one of the best purchases I made this year.
Resources
Thank you so much for reading. Let me know what your favorite video games were when you were growing up. Cheers!
🔴 P.S. I recently started a YouTube Channel, take a look here