G350 Game List: Which Systems Run Well

What the RK3326 chip can really do

The G350 is built on a Rockchip RK3326 chip: four Cortex-A35 cores at up to 1.5 GHz, a Mali-G31 MP2 GPU and 1 GB of LPDDR3 RAM. It's a modest platform, and a familiar one in the retro handheld world. It's comfortable when emulation mostly needs consistency, as with systems from the 1980s and 1990s. It hits its limits when the original system relies on heavier 3D or on hardware that's complex to reproduce. No setting really changes that. There's simply less processing headroom.

The stock system is 64-bit Linux with the EmulationStation menu, which sorts games by system. Each system runs through an emulator, sometimes with several to choose from. Results can vary a lot from one emulator to another, and from one game to the next. So it makes more sense to think in system families than to expect a promise for every single title. That's the most honest way to judge what this handheld will do for you.

8-bit and 16-bit consoles, classic arcade and handhelds

This is where the G350 feels most at home. 8-bit and 16-bit home consoles run very well, and so do classic arcade games and handhelds, including the GBA. With these systems, the chip has room to spare, so there's usually headroom for a display filter or save states. The D-pad, the four face buttons in a diamond layout, SELECT and START cover most controllers from those generations. You can just play without remapping everything, which makes short sessions a real pleasure.

The 3.5-inch IPS screen shows 640 × 480 pixels in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Games designed for 4:3, which includes most home consoles from those eras, fill the screen with no black bars. Handhelds whose original screen used a different shape display with bars or scaling, depending on the emulator settings. For arcade games, it all depends on the shape and orientation of each original cabinet's screen.

PS1: a large part of the library runs very well

The PS1 is often the pleasant surprise on a chip this size. A large part of its library runs very well on the RK3326, and the picture sits naturally on the 4:3 screen. The two analog sticks at the bottom of the front panel, plus the four shoulder buttons on the back, L1, L2, R2 and R1 in a single row, let you reproduce a full controller from that generation. You'll sometimes need to check the button mapping in the emulator, especially for the rear shoulder buttons.

"A large part" doesn't mean everything. Some games need a different setting or a different emulator, or still run less smoothly than others. If a game you own doesn't run well, try the emulator options before giving up on it. Also keep in mind that a disc image takes up far more space than a 16-bit cartridge, so your games card fills up much faster.

N64, PSP, Dreamcast and DS: it depends on the game

These four systems sit right at the edge of what the RK3326 can do. How well they run depends heavily on the game and the settings. Some lighter games behave well, while others stay choppy or show graphics glitches no matter what you try. The usual levers are internal resolution, frame skip, your choice of emulator core and sometimes the system installed on the card. Think of these families as a bonus to explore, not the main reason to pick this handheld.

Two practical notes. The DS had two screens: on a single 4:3 screen, you have to pick a layout, side by side, stacked or with one enlarged main screen, depending on what the emulator offers, and none of them is perfect. The PSP had a widescreen display, which shows with bars on a 4:3 screen. Finally, PS2 is not supported: emulating it is clearly beyond what this chip can handle.

Two microSD cards: system on one, games on the other

The G350 has no internal storage. It uses two microSD slots: TF1/INT on the left side for the system and TF2/EXT on the right side for games. The standard version comes with a 64 GB card, and the manufacturer lists support for cards up to 256 GB. The usable space after formatting is always less than the capacity printed on the card. Keeping the system and games apart has a real benefit: you can reinstall the system without touching the card that holds your library.

Community systems are also available, such as ArkOS, dArkOS, ROCKNIX and PAN4ELEC. Some owners install them to try other emulators or settings, especially for the more demanding systems. Switching systems is at your own risk, though, and it pays to work methodically. A few simple precautions can save you time and protect your saves:

• Back up both cards to a computer before changing anything.
• Keep an untouched copy of the original system card.
• Change one setting at a time so you know what actually helped a game.

Why this guide has no game list

You won't find a game list, a title count or download links here. This guide is published by the G350 shop, an independent retailer of the G350. The shop doesn't supply any games, titles or links. As an owner, you should only play games you hold the rights to, and that's the framework behind every tip in this guide. This isn't legal advice: the rules vary from country to country.

There's still plenty to enjoy within that framework. Homebrew games, new titles made by independent developers for classic systems, run in the same emulators as the originals. Many are free, or sold directly by their creators, who spell out their terms of use. For games you own, check the rules where you live before making any copies. Homebrew and legally owned games: that's the only scope of this guide.