The New $50 Budget King // R35S Review

The budget handheld segment just got a lot more interesting. In this video, we review the new R35S gaming handheld.

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[TakiUdon]

Creating a sleeper hit by cloning a TikTok handheld was not on my 2023 bingo card.

[uncaringbear]

I'm glad Taki reviews these clone and lower-priced units rather than just focus only the bigger names.

[autumn_breeze]

this handheld looks like the kind of thing I used to look up on Youtube as a kid who just wanted to take her favourite n64 games with her. At 50 bucks?? Omg this could become a really cool Christmas gift if it becomes a little easier to find

[Napsteraspx]

Woah. It feels like within only a year or so we have gone from 150 to 200 dollar devices just to run dreamcast, n 64, and psp and such to a 50 dollar device that has a decent chipset for that. I'm excited for next year!

[ratmdex]

This is insane performance for $50! I did NOT expect Dreamcast to run that smoothly

[Opebin]

Armored Core 1 is so sick and I don't usually see it tested, nice showcase

[MarioGoatse]

Okay, you’ve got my attention Taki! This looks really cool. I NEED IT! Edit: This isn’t always the case, but these are really easy to buy in Australia. Found many listings at $91 AUD for the 128GB model which is $58 USD. Shipping is free, and comes within a week. Just bought one lol.

[Pridetoons]

This is what the RK3326 should be used for. It should be used for the bottom floor of Emulation Devices.

[Wizardboz]

Got mine in the mail today. $53 after tax/shipping for the 128gb version. Never owned one of these but it’s working great! The preloaded stuff is gonna be enough for most people

[nave]

Hopefully this pushes the bigger players in the space to offer similar budget handheld solultions.

[markrichardson]

got it today, works fine, only a couple games wouldn't load, but most did and played excellent, but have to train yourself to play shooters as right analog stick doesn't work, but overall worth every penny.

[eyeball]

Both sticks at the top! I love that layout and thought I'd never seen it again after the Wii U.

[j.p.]

Dual USB-C Ports?? Amazing how they can offer this on a $50 handheld but not a $1000 iPhone 15.

[joharakiri]

On paper it looks quite good, possibly even great. But I feel like at the end of the day this is likely a "buy cheap, buy twice" type of deal. Sure it can do some stuff devices like the RG35XX cannot but none of it seems to be at a level where you would genuinely be willing to put up with it. Things like wonky buttons and stuttering are just a deal breaker when it comes to daily use. I feel like if I bought this I'd end up getting a more powerful device just because the idea of playing systems like N64 on the go would then already be in my head. At the rate these machines are being pumped out it's probably worth the wait until we get a decent device that emulates everything up to PS2 for $100 - $120. Once something like that is available that's kind of the limit for retro emulation anyway.

[ProjectGenesisMusic]

Better than I thought it would be, but as expected some games lists are setup horribly and there were a few games that didn't run. I scrapped the sd cards and got good ones and then put my own library of roms and now its exactly what I wanted. Was worried about the buttons, but so far they haven't been a problem and surprisingly don't feel awkward.

[XPimKossibleX]

Considering it randomly appeared at your door from no-one, I do wonder if the reviewer copy has a different processor to the real one...

[RedFlameFox]

Second analog stick is there just for Ape Escape, Apocalypse, Klonoa Beach Volley and PS1 FPS games basically, which is nice.

[zeldafreak]

My wallet has decided getting into retro handhelds was a horrible mistake. Already know imma cave and buy this

[nerdloftgaming]

Incredible value at $50 😳 Definitely an easy purchase for those who don’t already have something like a t618.

[rustkitty]

Thanks, I ordered one! I was curious to try out a DMG type handheld to see if they are a better fit for my relatively small hands, and for this price point I can without much remorse.
*UPDATE* Gotta say the assembly quality is not very good. For a time I thought the D-pad is busted, but I finally bit the bullet and fully took it apart. Turns out the holes on the membrane weren't fully punched out and it got slightly misaligned. Was easy enough to fix it, though reassembly was miserable. Not a fan of having to align internal flex cables while the power and volume buttons keep falling into the body under the board. Also one of the two PCB screws left an impression on the battery! I don't want to explode, so didn't put that that screw back. Just the other one and friction fit should be more than enough to keep the board in place. Definitely not a plug-and-play experience. After putting everything back together, now the D-pad controls are snappy and I had plenty of fun playing so far. The DMG form factor is also a very good fit for me. Worth it if you can put up with the quirks.