The R36S is the base model of the R36 family. Its RK3326 chip runs NES, SNES, Mega Drive, GBA, PS1, and arcade systems flawlessly. N64, Dreamcast, and PSP work for many titles but not all. A solid, affordable entry point to retro handheld gaming.
| Console | Games | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|
| NES | 4,073 | Perfect |
| Famicom | 1,540 | Perfect |
| SNES | 837 | Perfect |
| SFC | 113 | Perfect |
| Mega Drive | 2,939 | Perfect |
| Sega Genesis | 892 | Perfect |
| Gameboy Advance | 1,083 | Perfect |
| Gameboy Color | 552 | Perfect |
| Arcade | 358 | Perfect |
| Capcom Play System I | 37 | Perfect |
| Capcom Play System II | 1,927 | Perfect |
| NeoGeo | 124 | Perfect |
| NeoGeo Pocket | 10 | Perfect |
| NeoGeo Pocket Color | 82 | Perfect |
| PC Engine | 294 | Perfect |
| PlayStation 1 | 85 | Perfect |
| Nintendo 64 | 192 | Playable |
| Nintendo DS | 139 | Limited |
| PSP | 50 | Limited |
| Dreamcast | 18 | Limited |
| Sega NAOMI | 7 | Limited |
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models. Entire library supported.
Identical hardware to NES. Full-speed emulation on all R36 models.
Full-speed emulation including special chips (Super FX, SA-1) on all R36 models.
Identical hardware to SNES. Full-speed emulation on all R36 models.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models. Mega Drive and Sega Genesis share the same hardware.
Identical hardware to Mega Drive. Full-speed emulation on all R36 models.
Full-speed emulation. The entire GBA library runs flawlessly on all R36 models.
Full-speed emulation including original Game Boy games on all R36 models.
Classic arcade games (pre-1995 hardware) run full-speed. Very demanding 32-bit arcade hardware may have issues on RK3326.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models. CPS-1 hardware is well within RK3326 capability.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models. The entire CPS-2 library is well supported.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models. NeoGeo is a great fit for this hardware.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models.
Full-speed emulation on all R36 models, including CD-ROM titles.
Excellent emulation on all R36 models. Nearly the entire PS1 library runs at full speed.
On R36S (RK3326): popular 2D-heavy N64 titles run well; complex 3D games may have slowdowns (~60% library). On R36 Max/Ultra (RK3566): compatibility improves to ~80%. Not every game runs perfectly on any model.
On R36S (RK3326): only lighter 2D DS games run acceptably; demanding 3D titles struggle significantly. On R36 Max/Ultra (RK3566): most of the library becomes playable.
On R36S (RK3326): simple 2D PSP games and some lighter 3D titles work; demanding games like God of War or Monster Hunter Freedom Unite have performance issues. On R36 Max/Ultra (RK3566): most PSP games become playable, though a few very demanding titles may still struggle.
On R36S (RK3326): 2D-heavy arcade titles (CPS2 ports, fighting games) run reasonably; demanding 3D games like Shenmue or Sonic Adventure 2 have noticeable slowdowns. On R36 Max/Ultra (RK3566): most Dreamcast titles become playable.
Same compatibility profile as Dreamcast — shares the same underlying hardware. Simpler titles work better on R36S; full experience on R36 Max/Ultra.