Gaming primarily happens on widescreens these days, but the Anbernic RG cube is a handheld hellbent on bringing classic aspect ratios back. Don’t get me wrong, the legacy of square screens still lives on through Game Boy-inspired devices that target early ‘90s emulation. However, Anbernic’s latest device is one of the first that mashes controls similar to that of the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally together with a 1:1 display. Better still, it also makes for a fantastic way to play Nintendo DS games.
I’ll admit, it’d be silly if the best gaming handhelds used square screens as a default. Sure, apps like Tiktok are slowly trying to make vertical 9:16 content a thing (ew), but the gaming world at large normally uses ‘wide’ aspect ratios. I’m someone who still uses a very boxy CRT regularly, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered the RG Cube was a thing. Yes, the Anbernic RG35XX Plus is also an attractive option, but I’d much rather use something the same shape as the Steam Deck OLED.
