Anbernic sent over their latest handheld, the RG Vita Pro. And yes, it’s clearly inspired (or “inspired”) by Sony’s beloved, if not massively successful, PS Vita.
The hardware definitely takes cues from the original design, but it’s important to address the obvious caveat upfront: this will not emulate the full PS Vita library. That isn’t a fault of the device itself, no hardware can. The limitation lies with the emulator, which is still far from a finished state. Right now, nothing is capable of running the entire Vita library reliably.
Over the past few weeks of testing, I’ve seen plenty of criticism online (especially across places like Reddit and Discord) accusing the device of being misleading or even falsely advertised. Personally, I think that’s missing the bigger picture. Expectations around Vita emulation are often unrealistic, and this handheld is simply working within the same limitations as everything else on the market.
The other major talking point is the price. At $149.99 USD, it’s sparked a fair bit of backlash. What’s interesting, though, is that this isn’t an isolated case, it just reflects a broader shift happening across the industry. Prices are rising, and many comparisons are still being made against pre–RAM crisis devices and prices, which isn’t really a fair benchmark anymore. At least, this is what I think and feel.
From my own chats with the reps and teams behind the retro handheld manufacturers, this trend is only going one way. Prices are going up, and in most cases, specs are being scaled back to compensate. It’s the reality the entire space is dealing with right now, and the RG Vita Pro feels like one of the first devices to really reflect this crappiness.
Anyway, on to the device. I love how it is dual boot (Android and Linux), on a new chip to the scene. I love how it plays and upscales PSP games, they upscale cleanly and look SO good on there.
Some Vita games play beautifully, Gravity Rush has been my obsession lately. I never played it before now and I just love how it performs. They created such a nice atmosphere in that game!
PS2/Game Cube and Switch are a stretch. Some games run okay, some won’t run well, and some won’t play at all.
If you’re curious about my review, I also interviewed some developers. Gamma who makes GammaOS, acmeplus who is behind KNULLI. This is a very detailed and long review, so if you do have interest, you can follow my usual link:
In the retro handheld community there’s a big split between those who prefer left stick on top, and those who want dpad on top. In all cases it’s going to be uncomfortable because of the lack of full sized grips as well as the vertical alignment of the buttons - the diagonal positioning of sticks and buttons on modern controllers is crucial for their comfort and ergonomics.
Stick on top is slightly more popular (it’s like a 60/40 split), but I’m in the dpad on top camp. Without proper grips, devices like these are going to be uncomfortable no matter where the sticks are. But with dpad on top, at least dpad-centric, fighting, and arcade games can be comfortable to play without needing added grips.