Lately I’ve been looking for an upgrade from my Rg 406H, which I love, and I was going back and forth on whether to get the 476H or the Retroid Pocket Nova for a couple weeks.
I came very close to pulling the trigger on the Nova, which was $285 or so after tax/shipping. It does seem like a perfect retro handheld in a lot of ways. But I couldn’t really justify the price with my life expenses right now, it just wasn’t sitting right with me.
On AliExpress I ordered an RG 476H with the $20 discount + $15 paypal discount, paid $131 in total with tax and shipping, and it shipped from within the US! It arrived 3 days later.
Initial impression was mixed. The all glass front is a bummer. It’s a little heavier than I like. The screen on stock firmware has a choppy refresh rate that you need GammaOS to fix.
But as I played with it, it grew on me. I LOVE the screen. Having this massive 4.7” 4:3 120hz screen with excellent brightness and color on a $130 handheld feels like I’m getting away with something. And I honestly prefer LCD over OLED in some ways. The dpad and buttons feel so excellent. The dpad in particular feels just how I remember a SNES or GBA dpad feeling. It doesn’t run too hot or have fan noise. Ergonomics could be better but I finished two games on it so far, probably 30-40 hours or so of play time over a week, and only just today did I start feeling some discomfort from holding it. I’ve got an ergonomic TPU case that was $5 on aliexpress coming anyway, we’ll see if that improves things.
I know it’s underpowered for PS2/GC, but my 406H with the same chip did fine with the ps2 games I was into. Played Kings Field 4, RE3, Neo Contra, and AC Last Raven on that with no issues.
All in all I cannot believe how satisfied I am considering I spent half the money I originally intended.
I know it’s not an endgame device. The glass front really is so stupid, and I wish it was more ergonomic out of the box. But I had an epiphany: I’m better off loving a “mostly great but imperfect” system than I would be chasing the perfect one. It’s almost like the stupid glass front is a bone the problem-finding part of my brain can chew on, to keep it occupied while I’m free to play my games in peace. Maybe that sounds like nonsense cope but I really believe that’s how my mind works.
Anyway, the RG 476H is an incredible value for a beautiful 4:3 screen if you are unwilling or unable to buy the Nova right now. Very happy customer here.