The hugely popular RetroGame RS-97 from December 2017 has already seen one update in the form of the RS-97 Plus, which features an “analog” nub tacked on to the lower left corner. Unfortunately for the early adopters this first version of the Plus model also swapped out the LCD for one locked at 30hz. This meant that many games suffered from screen tearing and the community developers refused to support the hardware due to this.
Newer versions of the Plus variant now have the 60hz LCDs in them and aren’t a bad choice if you really want that analog nub.
But this week has seen yet another new variant of the device hit the shelves, the RS-97 Plus V3.
Currently this version is only available in the “Anniversary Edition” colourway which features a transparent purple shell and some rather tacky silk screening on the front and the back.
The V3 has the analog nub seen in the Plus models, but it also comes with a real LCD upgrade in the form of a 60hz 320×480 IPS panel.
The IPS panel promises superior colours and viewing angles over any of previously released versions, and due to this is around $15 more expensive currently costing just over $70 on Aliexpress.
If you’re in for the upgrade but aren’t sold on the Anniversary Edition colourway, there should be some more standard colours released in the coming days or weeks. I’ll update this post once they’re available too.
This version should have developer support so you can expect to be able to flash a RetroFW variant to it shortly.