Note: Here's how you remap the R button to your favorite frontend. joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/anbernic-rg-cube-setup-guide/#Remap_R_button. Keep in mind, other guides use a different app that does not work properly.
Solid review Joey! Definitely a niche device and I agree that the 556 is probably an easier general recommendation for someone looking for an all-rounder device.
Depends on what you want. The RG Cube is for people like me that want a Handheld with a Screen Resolution for Retro Gaming. The RG556 is great for PSP and PS Vita Emulation however almost anything less than 16:9 leaves huge black bars on the sides of the game. Many of us don't like this. Also 16:9 isn't a resolution many of us want to play DS games on. None of these Handhelds are all rounder Handhelds it really depends what you want to play and what you're looking for.
Random anecdote, but my day-1 purchase from Anbernic directly has absolutely no light bleed. I feel for anyone who got saddled with a bad unit, though. One of my favorite emulation handhelds in a long time, absolutely amazing for vertical content.
I'm going to defend this device because I love it 😂 You have to go out of your way to see the light bleed. The plastic on mine has held up great to general scuffing. The analog issue needs to be cleared up in software but the location is perfect considering the size of the device and the systems it intended to play. My biggest complaint is that they give us a dedicated button on the front of the device that opens up a front end I don't want to use. This thing is the perfect GameCube emulator for me.
@@Pridetoons appreciate that. This dude is full of all sorts of helpful information. A setup dijisho and emulation station I think I'm leaning towards emulation station
@@Saltykernel- I've had really good luck with "Beacon Launcher" from the Play Store. I don't remember how much I paid; I think it's like $3 or something. It's been well worth the money. The developer is still actively working on it too. Joey did a video on Beacon back in March-ish if you're interested.
Glad to see you did not experience any light bleed, hopefully they have fixed it. Seems buying from Amazon makes sense for the option of returning if you have light bleed. Though it is much expensive at around $225-230 range. Also I agree while I appreciate that it is able to handle PSP, PS2, GC games, I prefer to play these in 16x9.
Hello Joey’s retro handhelds I have found out how anbernic have fix these new batches of the rg cube I have took mine apart and found out this whole time it was just two screws the top of the metal plate behind the lcd screen was causing pressure so what they did to permanently fix this was they removed the two screws however the only issue that they did that is if you were to apply pressure to that top left corner it slightly pushes in the screen but only vary little bit and it’s extremely minor other then that it’s good that they finally fix the issue thank you for such amazing videos keep up the good work 😊👍
Yeah, I also fixed mine with a replacement front shell Anbernic sent. I would've liked if they used those washer type screw spacer behind the metal plate so that there is some gap between the plate and the screen.
I have been holding off on getting a 4:3 handheld mainly for games upto the PS2. Was about to pull the trigger on this one and then the Retroid Pocket Mini was announced, so now I will wait and see.
Waiting for my next two checks to purchase! I can’t wait to play Skies of Arcadia since I never been able to and some Tales of games that are PS2/PSP era.
I followed your guide for folder sync and it’s working great on the cube after loading a backup of my sync options. You just have to know where to tap in the app to reset the proper folders since it’s hard to see with the 1:1 screen. Now I love going back and forth between my Odin 2 and cube
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds just put foldersync on my rgcube and they have updated the app so that it now works on a 1.1 screen, I installed it when I got mine and couldn't cope with the wonky interface but out of curiosity I tried again and it looks much better
Thanks for another great video I primarily play upto the 32bit era of games on my handhelds so I'm good with the PK RGB30 for now. I'm suprised that you said the plastic feels cheap definitely not the norm for Ambernic.
Thanks for another honest review, buddy. I am sure this is a great device however I just don't think it needed that much power as this screen shines with older stuff... Honestly the price and the looks though comfy (I'll be honest I find it plain ugly from the day they announced it) is what holds it up... In my humble opinion just a direct competitor to the RGB30 would have been enough as currently I don't see why people would take this over the 556 or the RP4 but well I might be wrong.
Excellent review and congrats on hitting 30k subscribers. Also, thanks for that pinned comment with the button remapping app. I can't try it at the moment; but, it's on my wishlist and later I intend to see if it'll remap the GameSir Mode button on my X2 Pro to open Beacon on my phone. It'll be slick if it works.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds - I just got around to trying the Button Remapper app. It works pretty well. I'm currently fiddling around with Tasker. I've heard about it for years; but, never used it. I'm a complete noob and it shows. I did get the Motorola style "Chop-Chop" flashlight working on my LG, which feels like a bit of an accomplishment. I'm struggling to get Beacon to launch when I plug in my controller though, so if your offer is still available then I'll have to take you up on it over on Discord.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds - I just got around to trying the Button Remapper app. It works pretty well. I'm currently fiddling around with Tasker. I've heard about it for years; but, never used it. I'm a complete noob and it shows. I did get the Motorola style "Chop-Chop" flashlight working on my LG, which feels like a bit of an accomplishment. I'm struggling to get Beacon to launch when I plug in my controller though, so if your offer is still available then I'll have to take you up on it over on Discord.
I have no first hand experience; but, reviewers from other channels have said that GoGameGeek guarantees that they only have later stock without the light bleed issue.
Ordered mine on launch, no light bleed. The RG556 I bought b4 though, bricked in less than 10 minutes. The squeekiness on the Dpad on this RG Cube freaks me out. It feels as my fingers are on corn starch, its awful. Anyway I ran GammaSqueeze fixes so I am using the analog sticks, so Im good.
you should see the light bleed on premium laptops that have come out over the decades ;) .. a little bleed on a handheld like this is not that big deal to me
This seems really nice, but I don't get the point of video out if you cant have power in at the same time. I wouldn't play my PS5 on the TV if I had to charge it first.
Was hoping youd play some genshin impact, Minecraft, call of duty mobile, and starsew valley for the android games. I've been searching all over for someone to play those for like couple of minutes and show us. (Since it has android on it why not play some android games toos :3 ) But hopefully you will succeed in your channel :) also congrats to 30k by the way :3 i subscribe to your channel :3
Il buy it soonish if going for good price as my rg28xx got bricked for literally installing muos and changing theme to red one 😩 android way easier to work with I only wanted doom quake and wolfenstein on it cheers man I'm in 🇬🇧 tho absolutely gutted man 😩
Pros: The T820 in the Cube is a pretty big step up in power from the T618 in your 405M. Plus this has active cooling so you can push it harder without throttling. And the Cube has analog triggers for all five Dreamcast games that took advantage of it as well as GameCube's "Mario Sunshine". The Cube is more ergonomic for comfort. Cons: Despite both being 4 inches; the screen in the Cube is going to be effectively quite a bit smaller than the 405M's for most content, unless you're willing to use hacks to get your emulators to output a 1:1 signal. And, your 405M is metal so it looks and feels premium whereas this Cube, according to Joey, doesn't. The 405M is probably a lot more pocketable too. Conclusion: As someone who doesn't own either, for around the same money I'd probably opt for the Cube and use Dolphin MMJR's 1:1 screen hack to make the most of it, unless the 405M goes on a pretty steep sale. However, you already own the 405M. Unless you really need analog triggers for some reason, are madly obsessed with Game Boy and Pico-8, or there are a handful of unplayable PS2 games that you really want to play on an Anbernic device that isn't a 556; then I don't see the point in upgrading. What you already have will do everything under PS2/GC just as well and the screen is a much better fit for most retro content. If I were in your position I'd enjoy the 405M I already have and save my money for the seemingly inevitable "406" with a 4:3 panel.
at least you are up front being subjective in your review than objective. title should be "It's Good! But...." and this... and then there's that....." : )
I just can’t do 16:9 anymore. The black borders on the side kill the whole experience for me. It just makes no sense for these retro handhelds to have widescreens. 4:3, 3:2 or even this 1:1 screen should be the only screens out there unless your as powerful as something like the Odin 2. The dream is a 4inch, 4:3, 720p screen in the 405m body and a snapdragon chip.
I can't wait fir mine to arrive. I have the Powkiddy RGB30 and love the form and screen. I also have the Anbernic RG556 and really l8ke the chipset. This is the best of both worlds and that d-pad looks like the one on the Sega Genesis 6 button controller ❤.
Thanks for this video Joey, I heard about the light leak problem on Russ' channel. That's the first reason I didn't order it. The second reason is the price, with only $20 difference I prefer a RG556, PSP games are full screen!!! It's just perfect! Have a great day Joey.
The RG556 has the Unisoc T820 which is powerful enough to play 98% of GameCube games, 90% of PS2 games, over 90% of 3DS games, and some if not most Wii games at Native resolution. Most of us don't care about Upscaling and Upscaled Textures, however Widescreen would be great.
Can't remember if you mentioned that you were getting/already puchased the Powkiddy V10, would love to see your review on it. Its relatively cheap and I mainly play GBA anyways so I was thinking of getting it. Gratz on the 30k!
I wonder if GammaOS will be able to fix video out so we don't have to use desktop mode? Being able to charge at the same time would be a bonus, but i didn't know if that's limited by hardware or not.
Did you get the one with an sd card? Are you using the emulators that came with the device? Joey has a setup guide for the cube and 556 that helps you set up each emulator. I realized for me it was switching from Vulkan to OpenGL and a few other settings but he guides you eloquently in that setup video.
RU-vid has been glitching lately. I'm used to the Automod immediately yanking them for unknown reasons; but recently I've had a few comments on multiple channels just kind of disappear into the ether after a couple of hours. Luckily they were low effort comments so, meh.
Hello joey! Since you mentioned it in the video, do you have a guide for Pico on Android? I have the rg556 and I thought it wasn't possible 😨 Also, congrats on 30k! Highly deserved
