As you can see from the image above, this portable console incorporates 2 analogue joysticks, a directional pad, the usual four buttons (in this case Nintendo style) and four triggers on the back, as well as the keys Select, Start, an additional Fn button, volume rocker, power on/off and reset.
Unboxing and external analysis
The Powkiddy RGB20S is packaged in a rigid yellow cardboard box, outside of which only the branding is visible and, on one side, the color.
When you open the packaging, you will find a small instruction booklet, stickers to “transform” the orange console into a kind of lion, the USB power cable and, of course, the console.
The instruction manual is extremely concise and also half in Chinese, so say goodbye to understanding everything about how the console works because you won’t find it there.
The console was protected by a white polystyrene panel at the top, to prevent damage to the screen during transport.
The first impression that we took when we have the Powkiddy RGB20S in our hands is that it is made of “plasticorro”, and in fact as soon as we move it a little (and even less than we shakes) there are several ringing components. .. after looking at it carefully, we figured out it was the 4 rear triggers, which isn’t like they’re too tightly attached and they have quite a bit of “dancing”.
We have already seen it in the sketch, but now we show it to you again. On the right side we have the volume buttons and the micro SD slot with the memory card for the operating system.
On the opposite side are the power and reset buttons and the other micro SD slot, in this case for games. In both cases you can see that it is indicated, so that we do not make mistakes by inserting the card where it is not.
On the back we have the 4 triggers which, as already mentioned, move a lot. Also, when you put the console on a table, be very careful because it will rest on these triggers.
In the lower area we have two USB-C ports, one for charging and the other for OTG, in addition to the 3.5mm minijack connector for headphones.
As we indicated at the beginning, the console already comes with two micro SD cards, also clearly identified.
There’s not much more to say about the console’s exterior either, so we’ll just keep firing it up and see what it has to offer.
Powkiddy RGB20S Review
To start, it must be said that the start of the Powkiddy RGB20S is long… about a minute between the start of the operating system and the interaction. Initially a menu appears in which we can select the platform on which we want to play, and once inside it will show us the list of games; This can be changed in the menu, it has several ways to show us the main menu and we can select the one we like the most. In our case, we leave the one that comes by default because it seems quite comfortable to use.
The screen is stunningly beautiful, and despite its low resolution, the fact that it’s IPS and so small makes it look phenomenal.
The two joysticks are quite nice to use, as well as the four main buttons and the D-Pad…they will surely last for many hours of use without issue. However, the rear triggers are undoubtedly the weak point of the console, since as we noted some time ago they are quite loose and dance a lot. Also, their position in line makes them somewhat difficult to hit.
The performance of the console is more than adequate, all games run without any performance issues and in fact, although they don’t say so, it gave us the impression that it runs at 60 FPS without issues, including in the Nintendo 64 titles they would be the most hardware demanding. That’s to be expected, after all, all games come from fairly old consoles that worked well on far less hardware than this console has (remember the phrase that your smartphone is more powerful than the PC than the brought to the moon?, something similar).
The menu is quite extensive, although a little inconvenient due to the location of the options. It is translated into Spanish, although partially, and we can find some options in English (see, for example, Display settings or Emulator settings).
As for the battery, the manufacturer says that it should give us 8 hours of autonomy, but the reality is that it is more like 6 hours. However, even with these 6 hours we must already have a good afternoon of “vice” without problems.
Conclusion and judgment
Overall, the Powkiddy RGB20S performs extremely well in terms of performance, its battery life is acceptable and the user experience is quite good. The console is comfortable to use (if you use the rear triggers), and it’s worth noting that the screen looks really luxurious.
As negative points, we must mainly mention three: on the one hand, the aforementioned rear triggers, which are quite fragile and uncomfortable to use. On the other hand, it takes a long time to start, plus the manufacturer recommends not turning it off suddenly, but you will have to go to the menu and turn it off from “Exit”.
The third negative point is that there is no way to leave the main menu, and if you want to leave a game to play another or simply to turn off the console, you will have no choice but to press the Reset button, forced to Wait again almost a minute for the console to turn on again.
This console costs around $73 on AliExpress, while on Amazon Europe we can also get it with next day delivery for around $115, taking into account that it includes a discount coupon.
Really, considering the experience of using it and the result it gives and with the price it has, we consider it a highly recommended purchase for all fans of retro games who want to remember the games of their childhood… and of course you have games for a while. For this reason, we think this Powkiddy RGB20S deserves our silver award, as well as our value for money recommendation despite the quality flaws that are obvious (the award is basically for the price, of course).