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Linux-gaming on a keychain!
Pengling Jan 23
Is this the smallest self-contained Linux gaming device in use on GOL today? (Really, does anyone know?)


Bite-sized gaming!

Having always wanted a true keychain console ever since the Game Boy micro (which was just a bit too big for that use-case - I know, I tried ), I just picked up an Anbernic RG Nano - it's a fully-functional Linux emulation-box on a keyring. It's got a metal shell (I went for the magenta one, which is quite red-looking, but blue and an odd colour that's officially described as purple but looks more like a dark-grey are also available), a 1.5" 240x240 IPS LCD that looks REALLY nice, a surprisingly punchy little speaker, a 1050mAh lithium-polymer battery, and a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 CPU paired with 64MB of DDR2 RAM.

It's a clone of the FunKey S (which is styled after the clamshell Game Boy Advance SP, rather than the classic Game Boy like the RG Nano is, but is similarly-sized when open, though has shallower controls), but otherwise it's more-or-less the same other than the Nano having a bigger battery.


Smol.

As I've found to be the norm with Anbernic devices, you're better off using custom firmware instead of what it comes with, so I'm using the one by DrUm78 ("FunKey-sdcard-DrUm78_RG_Nano.img"). Obviously, this is still built upon the original FunKey OS, but it's just that bit nicer and more up-to-date. Also as is typical of Anbernic, it's really well-built and the controls are really good (though some misinputs on such a tiny d-pad are inevitable at times entirely due to its size).

Though it can handle games up to the SNES and some PlayStation (apparently some games slow down and stutter a lot, and of course the device lacks L2 and R2 buttons and any analogue-sticks), where it excels is with games originally designed for handhelds - particularly 1990s handhelds that had resolutions like 160x144 and thereabouts, whose visuals and fonts are very readable on small displays, accordingly. That said, old home-consoles like the NES work well too, since fitting 256x240 into a 240x240 display by the various means the console provides isn't especially offensive.

Aside from stuff designed for handheld play in the first place, it's also quite a good fit for games, usually shooters, with caravan modes - short 2 to 5 minute experiences that are purely about reaching as high of a score as possible. Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge is another example of this, though Star Fox Super Weekend Competition is a no-go as it really needs controls that're slightly bigger than these to be practical (though the RG Nano ran it fairly well, albeit slightly inaccurately; I have yet to set up PicoArch, so I'll see if that makes a difference to that issue).

A Doom port is available as well, though honestly it's not a game that I think I'd enjoy playing on hardware this tiny and with inputs that aren't really well-suited to it, so I haven't tried it. Likewise, the machine also has media-player functions, but I don't think it's an optimal device for that so I haven't tried that either.


Size-comparison with Steam Deck and Anbernic RG351MP.

Pictures don't fully do justice to how tiny and adorable the RG Nano is! It's only 7x4x1.5cm. I'm a lady with small hands, so I can actually game on this device fairly well, though dudes with big hands might only find utility in this one as a "Look! It really works!" conversation-piece, much like those Tiny Arcades keychains that were around a few years ago.

I've only had it for a couple of hours, and I've already fallen in love with it - I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it when waiting around in places where taking something larger like the Steam Deck or even the Anbernic RG351MP isn't practical. As you can see above, both of those machines are absolute giants in comparison!

It's super-cute, and well worth it if you can get one for a good price and know that you have a use for it.

Last edited by Pengling on 23 January 2024 at 3:56 pm UTC
Quoting: Pengling
Bite-sized gaming!
If you eat it off that place mat do you become a gaming console??.......
Also notice you got the nice pink one.....

Quoting: PenglingI went for the magenta one, which is quite red-looking
Its not pink..... Its lightish red.......

Quoting: PenglingA Doom port is available as well
Well of course there is.... Everything has a port of Doom.... Even the Kodak DC260 Digital Camera........

Quoting: Penglingthe machine also has media-player functions, but I don't think it's an optimal device for that so I haven't tried that either.
What is this???.... A cinema for ants???......

Quoting: Pengling
Size-comparison with Steam Deck and Anbernic RG351MP.
That is a really nice comparison shot to be honest......

Quoting: PenglingPictures don't fully do justice to how tiny and adorable
Thats what I try and tell the ladies as well.... But they dont listen.......

Quoting: PenglingI've only had it for a couple of hours, and I've already fallen in love with it - I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it when waiting around in places where taking something larger like the Steam Deck or even the Anbernic RG351MP isn't practical. As you can see above, both of those machines are absolute giants in comparison!
Glad you are enjoying it..... Im sure There will be lots of pictures of it in the WPC being used in weird and unusual places.......

Quoting: PenglingIt's super-cute, and well worth it if you can get one for a good price and know that you have a use for it.
73%.........
WorMzy Jan 23
That's adorable.

...

I want one.
whizse Jan 24
Super cute! However I would probably need a magnifying glass and tweezers to be able to play that thing. I would also at some point most likely swallow it by mistake...

Aside from things like the Tamagotchi I had no clue keychain gaming was a thing, much less Linux keychain gaming. I guess that's tunnel vision from being a PC gamer for most of my life. The bigger the better. "A disused 40-foot shipping container? Why that would make an excellent case for my next build. But where can I find 1800mm RGB fans?"

Thanks for sharing this with us!
Pengling Jan 26
I forgot to mention this before: The RG Nano is so tiny that it lacks a headphone-jack, as all of the FunKey S clones that I've seen so far do. However, unlike the others...


... It includes a USB-C headphone adapter. And you know what? It works really well, and the hardware can drive earbuds just fine.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIf you eat it off that place mat do you become a gaming console??.......
Hahahaha!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAlso notice you got the nice pink one.....
Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIts not pink..... Its lightish red.......
It's actually sold as red by UK distributor DroiX, and it looks red in person. Anbernic has this knack for making unusual case-colours that are surprisingly difficult to photograph - my RG351MP is what they call "Mint Green", but when photographed it appears more like a dulled metallic gold.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderWell of course there is.... Everything has a port of Doom.... Even the Kodak DC260 Digital Camera........
You can run it using literal potatoes, too!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderWhat is this???.... A cinema for ants???......
Pretty much!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThat is a really nice comparison shot to be honest......
Thanks very much. You can almost fit the two smaller consoles into the space of the Steam Deck's screen, interestingly.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThats what I try and tell the ladies as well.... But they dont listen.......
Oh lord, Spider.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderGlad you are enjoying it..... Im sure There will be lots of pictures of it in the WPC being used in weird and unusual places.......
Probably not - I'm not that interesting. It'll probably give me an excuse to trot out the tiny Bombermen, though!



Quoting: StoneColdSpider73%.........
Har-har.

Quoting: WorMzyThat's adorable.

...

I want one.
Thanks!

For what it's worth, there's a FunKey S clone from PowKiddy (another maker of Linux-based emulation-handhelds) that resembles a Sega Game Gear, instead - it's also very cute and I've had to put my foot down and tell myself that I don't need that one too, haha!

Quoting: whizseSuper cute! However I would probably need a magnifying glass and tweezers to be able to play that thing. I would also at some point most likely swallow it by mistake...
I actually need reading-glasses for a number of things these days, but I've had no trouble viewing this device at all. I must admit, I was a bit surprised by that!

Quoting: whizseAside from things like the Tamagotchi I had no clue keychain gaming was a thing, much less Linux keychain gaming.
Hell yeah it is! Even during the era of the Tamagotchi, there were soon size-reduced versions of those unlicensed "I Can't Believe It's Not Tetris"-type handhelds which contained Tetris and various other games where they could re-use the bricks to create other types of gameplay (e.g., overhead racer, Frogger-alike, Space Invaders clone, that sort of thing), and then by 1998 Nintendo was reissuing some of their 1980s Game & Watch LCD-games in Game Boy-styled keychain form as "Nintendo Mini Classics". I had all of these things and loved them - the RG Nano is so far beyond my wildest imaginings from back then that it's not even funny.


Not my pictures, but these are some examples of late-1990s keychain-gaming. There was a little Bomberman keychain-game too, but I never had one of those, and in this day and age where I can play better Bomberman titles on a keychain I'm not especially inclined to track one down, either.

Quoting: whizseI guess that's tunnel vision from being a PC gamer for most of my life. The bigger the better. "A disused 40-foot shipping container? Why that would make an excellent case for my next build. But where can I find 1800mm RGB fans?"
Haha! But then how would I take pictures like my most recent profile-page hardware shot?



Where am I going to find a Bomberman effigy big enough to be photographed with the shipping-container PC?!

Quoting: whizseThanks for sharing this with us!
Glad to! Thanks very much for reading.
whizse Jan 28
Quoting: PenglingHaha! But then how would I take pictures like my most recent profile-page hardware shot?
That is an AWESOME picture!

Side note: I think I've had that same sofa. Had to break it apart into little pieces when I got rid of it. Quite odd as it fit perfectly through the door when I bought it... One of those Dirk Gently mysteries?

Quoting: PenglingWhere am I going to find a Bomberman effigy big enough to be photographed with the shipping-container PC?!
If they ever did a Bomberman figure in the size of those Macy's Thanksgiving parade inflatables you would buy it, wouldn't you?
Pengling Jan 28
Quoting: whizseThat is an AWESOME picture!
Hehehehe, thankyou!

The only problem now is, they haven't really made any merchandise of Bomberman's sisters, so when I inevitably cave in and buy more weird handhelds, they're still not going to be in the picture.

Quoting: whizseSide note: I think I've had that same sofa. Had to break it apart into little pieces when I got rid of it. Quite odd as it fit perfectly through the door when I bought it... One of those Dirk Gently mysteries?
The world may never know! It's certainly odd how sofas have that habit, though - I've seen it myself, too!

Quoting: whizseIf they ever did a Bomberman figure in the size of those Macy's Thanksgiving parade inflatables you would buy it, wouldn't you?
Yes, yes I would. Then I would have to fly it over my house, and it would look awesome.
WorMzy Jan 31


\o/
Pengling Jan 31
Quoting: WorMzy\o/
Now you know the cuteness too! Enjoy it, and please share how you get on!

Last edited by Pengling on 31 January 2024 at 1:59 pm UTC
Quoting: WorMzy

\o/
Quoting: Pengling
Quoting: WorMzy\o/
Now you know the cuteness too! Enjoy it, and please share how you get on!
Your a bad influence Pengling......
Pengling Jan 31
Quoting: StoneColdSpiderYour a bad influence Pengling......
Maybe so, maybe so, hahaha.
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