| GB300 Game Console Price: $12 – $25 Find it on: AliExpress, eBay, Amazon  |
Rating: 9/10
Pros: Cons: |
If you’ve followed along with this blog, you know that I am big into finding excellent value, especially at the super-ultra-budget level (which I’ve classified as anything $15 and under). There have been some devices in this range that I’ve reviewed before, including the RG-FC250 ($10) and the RS-60 (also $10). I thought very highly of both of them, and rated them 8.5/10 each. The SUP+ GB300 blows every device in this price range out of the water for a variety of reasons. The device falls into this ‘super-ultra-budget’ classification because it is listed for $12 (!!!) on AliExpress, though if you want it faster, Amazon will ship it to you for double that price in two days.
What makes it so great? Where do I start? Most handhelds in this price range play strictly 8-bit games, and such is not the case for the GB300. Aside from NES, it also plays Genesis, GameBoy, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, Genesis and SNES. It comes preloaded with 6,000+ games, which encompasses the majority of the libraries for each of those systems. If, on the off chance, you want to play an additional game that isn’t among the preloaded library, you can simply add it to the preloaded MicroSD card. And each system features four save/load states, which is another unheard of feature for this price range.
In reality, the FC250/RS60 are not really the best comparisons for this device. The GB300’s contemporary is the DataFrog SF2000, which is another device that I’ve also reviewed very positively (9.0) though that handheld was more expensive ($25) at the time. It has all of the same features (16-bit emulators/save states/card expansion), just in a different form factor. The GB300 resembles a GameBoy, while the SF2000 is a spitting image of an SNES controller. I personally have an affinity to vertical form factors, which is why I picked up the GB300 despite already owning the SF2000. I also picked up the GB300 for the purposes of keeping this device in my car’s glove box knowing that if it breaks, I can replace it for less than the cost of lunch.
Comparing those two devices, the SF2000 has the edge in build quality, which makes sense given the higher price. I found the plastic casing on the GB300 to be cheap. If you’re really deciding between the SF2000 and the GB300, one huge factor to consider is that there is significantly more community support for the SF2000. I was able to easily find documentation on how to customize the SF2000, though the firmware on both devices are closed, meaning there’s only so much you can tinker with it (load screen, menu music, UI skins). To be sure, the GB300 does have some support, but there is simply not as much enthusiasm for this device comparatively.
The weakest part of the GB300 came in the controls. The action buttons and directional pad were far too squishy. When I was playing Super Mario Bros. 2, I was trying to jump directly upward but because of issues on the directional pad, my character ended up fading to the left. I took this device on a week-long trip and completed ToeJam & Earl on Genesis. My left thumb paid the price for it, unfortunately, because of the repeated force I had to use to get the directional pad to fire correctly. The shoulder buttons were also stiff and clickly, though it was really only used for SNES.
Speaking of which, like the SF2000, there were the most performance issues with this system. But for the major hits like Super Mario World and Super Punchout, I experienced no issues. I saw the most stutters on higher demand games like Mario Kart. On the Genesis side, I played Sonic, David Robinson’s Supreme Court, Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball, Streets of Rage and the aforementioned ToeJam & Earl, all without issue.
I had a chance to play all of those for the low, low price of $12. In the ultra-budget range, there is simply no beating the value you get.