Here’s a quick rundown of what I did with the stock OS that came with my GKD Pixel to improve its overall look and feel. This is all totally subjective, and is likely to change as new versions of the Pixel’s IUX firmware are developed.

Switch to EmulationStation, set it to the default launcher

When you first boot the console, it will launch their IUX menu system, which looks to be a reskinned version of GMenu2x, which was a common UI back in the 2019-2020 era of retro handhelds. This is a totally serviceable menu system. To navigate around, just pick whatever category of gaming you want to play (arcade, handheld, etc), then navigate to the system and press A to see a list of games that are loaded on your card. From there you can launch each game.

Personally, I prefer the more robust options afforded within EmulationStation, especially since this stock OS is forked from ROCKNIX with a bunch of additional configuration options available.

To switch to EmulationStation as your default launcher, go into the Settings section within IUX and choose the Settings app. Under “Launcher”, change it from IUX to EmulationStation. Press B to exit the Settings app, it will ask you to save the settings. Press B again to get to the main menu, then press START then R1 to reboot the device into EmulationStation.

If you ever want to get back to IUX from EmulationStation, press START and select Quit > Enter IUX. You’ll need to go back into the Settings app and change the Launcher back to IUX if you want to boot into IUX in the future, otherwise it’ll take you back to EmulationStation upon the next reboot.

Hide unwanted systems

If you are seeing systems you don’t want to see, press START to bring up the Main Menu, then navigate to Game Collection Settings > Systems Displayed and disable any you want hidden.

Add your own games

My review unit card came with a bunch of pre-loaded cards, but depending on where you buy it from, you may get a card that isn’t preloaded with anything other than the OS. If you’d like to add your own games, remove the card from your device and then insert it into your PC (you may need a USB microSD card adapter). There will be two partitions on your card, one called EMUELEC and the other called ROMS. Open the ROMS partition and navigate to the “roms” folder within. This will contain over 100 different folders of supported systems, and you can add your games directly there. For a more detailed list of the systems and what file types and BIOS are required, check out the “Systems” section of the ROCKNIX wiki.

Get a USB WiFi dongle and adapter

To really take advantage of your device, a WiFi dongle is super handy. For the purposes of this video, I used this adapter, mostly because it’s known to be compatible with a lot of lower-end devices like those that use the RK3326 chipset. Other adapters might work as well! You will also need a USB-C adapter to interface with the GKD Pixel’s USB-C port.

In EmulationStation, press START to bring up the Main Menu, then go to Network Settings > Enable Network > ON. Once you have turned it on, press B to back out the Main Menu. You should see the light on your adapter (if it has one) light up; if it doesn’t, sometimes you need to unplug the adapter and plug it back in. Go back to Network Settings > WiFi SSD and you should see a list of your nearby networks. Choose the network of your choice, then enter the password under WiFi Key below that. Back out of the Network Settings menu, give it a minute, and it should connect. You will know your device is connected when you get a WiFi network symbol on the top-right of your screen and/or if you see an IP Address listed in your Network Settings menu.

Add new themes via network

The first thing I did with my device was to change out the theme to something a bit more personalized. I tried a bunch from the Batocera repo and Jetup’s gallery, but many of them don’t work properly with the EmulationStation configuration that GKD has released. The one I ended up liking the most is the Switch Theme which is a few years old but still really nice and clean.

To install this theme (or any other), go to its GitHub page, then click on the green “Code” button near the top-right. Select “Download zip”, and then once downloaded, extract that folder (it should be named “es-theme-switch-master”).

Now we need to connect to our device over WiFi, I recommend using a Samba share since it’s really simple. On your device, go to Network Settings and ensure that “Enable Samba” is turned on.

• PC connection: open a Windows Explorer window, and in the navigation bar type in “\\RK3326” or “\\192.168.86.XXX”, with XXX being the IP address specific to your device (which you can find in your device’s Network Settings once connected to WiFi). When trying to open one of the folders that appear, you will be prompted for a username and password, use “root” as the username and “rocknix” as the password.
• Mac connection: open Finder and in the top Menu Bar select Go > Connect to Server… and in the address bar that appears, type “smb://RK3326” or “smb://192.168.86.XXX” with XXX being your device’s IP address. When trying to open one of the folders that appear, you will be prompted for a username and password, use “root” as the username and “rocknix” as the password.

Once connected, navigate to emulationstation > themes and drop your folder into there. After the transfer is complete, you should find that theme under UI Settings in your EmulationStation menu.

Manually scrape boxart

The boxart with your stock card (if there is any) will be relatively haphazard. Since I removed all of the stock games and replaced them with my own, I scraped my own boxart as well. The Stock OS doesn’t have a functioning scraper option, so you will need to do it offline with an app called Skraper. I actually made a video about this process nearly four years ago and it still works fine, you can find it above!

PortMaster

PortMaster will be preloaded on your Stock OS and surprisingly, it actually works! This is most likely because GKD is using the Anbernic RG351MP version of ROCKNIX as their OS base, and that also has working PortMaster functionality. Make sure that you are connected to your network, then go into Tools > PortMaster. You will be prompted to update your PortMaster on first boot.

Note that if your device comes pre-loaded with some ports (mine came with a few), updating PortMaster will likely break them. To fix this, go into PortMaster’s “Manage Ports” section and reinstall the ports. If that still doesn’t work, delete the ports and reinstall them with your own commercial files.

Music player

Once connected with PortMaster, you can find the GMU Music app in the “Ready to Run” ports section of the app. Download that and then put your music files in the roms > ports > gmu-music-player > music folder on your card (each album can be put in its own subfolder). Now, on your device navigate to Ports > GMU Music Player to launch the app. You’ll be greeted by a quick start guide which will walk you through the controls for the app.

The only real bummer I’ve found from this GMU Music App (including the version that comes with the OS) is that the usual way of turning off your screen (SELECT/MENU + Up on the d-pad) doesn’t seem to work.

Game streaming

Yes, it is possible to use Moonlight to steam from a PC to your GKD Pixel 2. To do so, I recommend using the Moonlight New app available on PortMaster, and following the Apollo guide instructions in the video above. I wasn’t able to get controls working on my device while testing, so further investigation is needed.

Add native Pico-8

There will be a Pico-8 section installed on your Stock OS, but it hasn’t been properly configured. To do so, follow the ROCKNIX wiki page on the subject, and add the commercial files to the roms/pico-8 folder on your device. Once you have your files added, be sure to go to Main Menu > Game Settings > Per System Advanced Configuration and set the Pico-8 emulator to Pico-8: Pico8 (and not Fake08).

You should now be able to go into the Pico-8 section on your device and launch Splore (with an internet connection to download games). You can also add your carts (png files) manually to the Pico-8 folder (download them directly from Lexaloffle here).

Make a version of StarkOS?

Something to consider is that because we are using the Switch theme on the GKD Pixel, we could further simplify the OS experience by creating a tailored version of boxart to match that theme. I did something similar with “StarkOS” last year, creating an OS that was tailored for non-reading kids and those who aren’t tech savvy. Check out the guide here to see what might be possible. The only distinction is that Stock OS (and ROCKNIX) doesn’t have a quick shutdown and resume function like ArkOS, so it won’t be a perfect match. But still fun to think of the possibilities!

Changelog

01FEB2025
– published guide

It’s been a few years since I made a proper PortMaster guide, and there have been lots of updates to the platform since then. PortMaster started as a way for the ArkOS developer to easily collect various PC port options on their OS, but it has now grown to its own platform independent of any particular OS. This guide will help you get started with PortMaster on your favorite handheld device.

Table of Contents

What is PortMaster?
Supported devices
Installation
Port installation process
Installation examples
Porting other games
Notes

Changelog

What is PortMaster?

In a nutshell, PortMaster is a program designed for Linux-based handheld devices that organizes and simplifies the installation process for hundreds of PC ports. In its most simple form, you open the app on your device, download the PC port (and maybe add some commercial data files if necessary) from its user menu, and then launch that new PC port on your handheld once it’s been installed. These games run natively on the device, as opposed to the typical emulation you expect on these types of handhelds.

If you want the latest information about this awesome tool, I would recommend checking the official PortMaster website, which is maintained by their fantastic development team and other enthusiasts. They also have an active discord server for help with troubleshooting or if you want to help develop for the platform. Also, if you have the means, please consider donating to the project as a show of thanks for all the wonderful gaming opportunities they provide to the community.

Disclaimer: PortMaster (and porting PC games in general) is an experimental and fun project, but not perfect. The team does their best to test and confirm that these ports will be universally compatible with the 30+ handhelds that work with the platform, but there will be hiccups from time to time. It’s a complicated process, as the games, runtime files, firmware options, and the PortMaster app itself are all under constant development and improvement, which can cause bugs from time to time. If a game is not launching as expected, I would recommend checking out the PortMaster discord server to see if there are any insights from the community.

Long story short, I would not recommend buying a PC game at full price solely to play it on PortMaster, since there is a small risk that the game will not work properly on your favorite device or operating system. But if you already own the game, or you also want to play it on PC, or maybe there’s a killer sale on Steam, then it’s probably worth trying!

Also, please keep in mind that PortMaster is developed with Linux-based handhelds in mind. Android-based devices (like those from Retroid) have all sorts of excellent features and perks, such as Play Store games, effortless sleep and streaming, and more — but PortMaster is not available on Android.

Supported devices

The list of devices that are supported by PortMaster is constantly growing, and thanks to development work from the custom firmware community, it is often a matter of days before a new device has PortMaster support. There is an official list of supported devices on the PortMaster website, but it is not up to date as of making this guide (like I said, the list is constantly growing!).

Instead of focusing on an individual list of supported devices, let’s organize it by operating systems that support the platform:

• ArkOS: the initial release of PortMaster was designed by the ArkOS developer, but since then it has expanded to other communities. Thankfully, PortMaster continues to work on ArkOS!
  • Supported devices: Anbernic RG351* and RG353** series, PowKiddy RGB30 and RK2023, R35S and similar handhelds, GameForce Chi, and other legacy devices like the PowKiddy RGB10, OGA, etc.
  • * The Anbernic RG351P and RG351M devices were dropped from ArkOS support prior to PortMaster’s inception, so you will need to use the WuMMLe versions of that OS to bring PortMaster onboard.
  • ** Not all Anbernic RG353 devices are supported by ArkOS, only the RG353M, RG353V, and RG3553VS (plus the RG503, which has the same chipset). The RG353P and RG353PS devices will still generally work with the RG353M build of ArkOS, but aren’t officially supported by the developer.

• AmberELEC: formerly known as 351ELEC, one of the lead PortMaster developers also works on the AmberELEC team and so they are synced very well. Development on this OS has slowed over the years, but it’s still a solid experience for the devices work with it. Also, if you install the latest pre-release version of the OS, it will expand support to other handhelds like the R36S.
  • Supported devices: Anbernic RG351P, RG351M, RG351V, RG351MP, and RG552; PowKiddy RGB20S, XU10, R35X, R36S, D007 Plus

• ROCKNIX: formerly known as JELOS, this OS has a large range of supported devices, and some very robust Linux kernel foundation, making it streamlined and powerful.
  • Supported devices: Anbernic RG351 and RG353 series, RG-ARC, RG552, R35S and similar handhelds, PowKiddy RGB30 and X55 (among others), ODROID devices, and the GameForce Ace.

• UnofficialOS: this is a fork of JELOS that provides support to RK3326 and RK3566 devices. It no longer appears to be in active development, but PortMaster should still work on it for most games.
  • Supported devices: Anbernic RG351 and RG353 series

• The Retro Arena: this custom firmware (often stylized as TheRA) is based on Ubuntu and has various levels of support on a variety of handhelds. Many of their OS builds are in beta or unfinished states, so compatibility with PortMaster is relatively inconsistent. Your best bet is to consult their website and YouTube channel to see what projects they are currently working on.

• muOS: this OS is focused on Anbernic devices that use the H700 processor. There are some compatibility limitations with this chipset and PortMaster (many of which get better each day), and among the H700 OS options this one has the most compatibility with PortMaster.
  • Supported devices: Anbernic RG35XX Plus, RG35XX H, RG28XX, and RG35XX SP.

• KNULLI: this OS is a fork of Batocera focused on handheld devices, to include H700 chipset handheld with plans for more in the future.
  • Supported devices: Anbernic RG35XX Plus, RG35XX H, RG28XX, and RG35XX SP; TrimUI Smart Pro
  • By default, KNULLI uses an EXT4 file system for storage, which improves functionality with PortMaster. This is a Linux-readable file system, which means you can’t just plug your microSD card into a Windows/Mac computer to transfer files; instead, you will need to transfer files via a network connection (detailed in my RG35XX starter guide). If you are prioritizing PortMaster functionality on your KNULLI handheld, then keeping it at EXT4 is recommended; otherwise, it is possible to format the file system to exFAT for easier file transfers on Windows and Mac computers. More information on this subject is available in the Add Games and PortMaster sections of the KNULLI wiki.

• CrossMixOS: this is an enhanced version of the stock TrimUI Smart Pro OS, with baked-in PortMaster support.
  • Supported device: TrimUI Smart Pro
  • Note that the TrimUI Smart Pro is missing 32-bit drivers so many games (especially those with gmloaderr and box86 backends) will not run
  • Note you can also make PortMaster work on TrimUI Smart Pro’s stock OS using these tools
  • For commercial ports, their gamedata files will need to be placed in the Data > ports folder

One final note: while this guide is focused on handhelds, PortMaster is increasing support for TV boxes and SBCs within OS options like ROCKNIX. So be sure to check out the respective OS pages in case other devices you own are supported!

Installation

Note: PortMaster requires you to be connected to the Internet in order to work as intended, so be sure to connect to your local network before using it.

For most of the supported operating systems, they will already have PortMaster installed as part of the setup process. In general, you can navigate to the Ports section of that OS and find a link to the PortMaster app, and launch it from there. There are some exceptions: for example, in muOS, you can find PortMaster under their “Apps” section, and it’s in the “Tools” sections of ArkOS and ROCKNIX.

For KNULLI, you will need to run a built-in PortMaster install script the very first time. Head to Ports section on your device and choose “Install PortMaster”; once complete, it will restart EmulationStation, and under the Ports section you should now just see the PortMaster app.

If the OS doesn’t have PortMaster listed (for example if you updated from an older version of that OS), you can manually install PortMaster. There are two methods to this: you can add a custom installation script that will install PortMaster, or you can install the “full” version of this script which will include all of its runtimes (usually these are installed as needed when you install individual ports, so this just saves you that extra step later).

• Head over to the PortMaster GitHub Releases page
  • Download the latest “Install.PortMaster.sh” or “Install.Full.PortMaster.sh” file onto your computer
  • Insert your device’s microSD card (if you are using a dual-card setup, it will be whatever card you use to store your ROM files)
  • Place the .sh file of your choice into the “Ports” section of your device’s microSD card (it will usually be listed in the same section as the rest of your ROMs folders, which can vary by OS).
  • Eject your SD card and place it in your device, then navigate to the Ports section of your OS and launch the “Install PortMaster” script.
  • Once complete, you should see PortMaster in the Ports section of your device; if not, try restarting the device and checking again.

That’s it, you should now be able to launch PortMaster! If it’s been a while since you last launched the app, it will likely have an update waiting for you, and will restart the app when ready.

Port installation process

Note: PortMaster requires you to be connected to the Internet in order to work as intended, so be sure to connect to your local network before using it.

When you open PortMaster on your device, you will be be greeted by their main menu:

• Featured Ports: these are recommended ports curated by the PortMaster team.
• All Ports: this is a full list of all ports available on the platform, all 500+ of them
• Ready to Run Ports: these are freeware, open-source, or games that PortMaster got express permission to distribute. These ports fully installed directly from the PortMaster interface, no commercial files required
• Manage Ports: this will allow you to reinstall or uninstall your current ports
• Options: here you can adjust the language, theme, and sound of the PortMaster app. This section also has a Runtime Manager app, that lets you install or reinstall runtime files to make sure your games are working properly
• Exit: this exits the app, of course! You can also just press the “B” button on your device while in the main menu to exit the app

Installing “Ready to Run” ports: this process is very simple, it’s just a matter of navigating through the Ready to Run Ports section, choose your game, and install it from there. Next, exit PortMaster and you should find it in your Ports section (if you don’t see it, you may need to refresh your games list or restart the device).

Installing commercial ports: Navigate to the “All Ports” section in PortMaster, choose the game, and install it. Note that this will only install the package/wrapper and any necessary runtime files for the game, not the game itself. After that, you will need to manually add the commercial files to your microSD card. For specifics, I recommend going to the PortMaster Games page on your computer, then find your game, and click the “Details” button for that game. This will show you instructions for where to put your commercial files, and whether you need to get the game from a specific store (like Steam vs Epic vs GOG).

Installing without WiFi: if you are using a device without network connectivity, you can still install ports. To start, make sure that you install (or update) PortMaster using the latest “Install.Full.PortMaster.sh” file explained in the Installation section above. After everything is installed and updated, you will find a PortMaster folder inside of your ROMs > ports folder on your device’s microSD card. Inside that PortMaster folder, you’ll see a folder named “autoinstall”. On your computer, browse the PortMaster Games section of their website, click on the game of your choice, then click the “Download” button to download that game’s zip file. Place the zip file in the PortMaster > autoinstall folder, and then next time you start PortMaster (even if not connected to the internet) the game will install into the appropriate location and be playable.

Because the installation process for commercial ports can vary, let’s go over a few examples that will demonstrate some of the main ways to install these games.

Installation examples

Here are some installation examples for various methods and operating systems:

Simple drag-and-drop (Windows): Half-Life

For a good chunk of games, you simply need to grab your game’s data files after installing it onto your Windows PC. Most PortMaster games will work with a Steam installation, but some others may specify if it needs to be from an alternative source like Epic, GOG, or Itch.io.

• Install Half-Life on your Windows PC via Steam.
• Within your Steam client’s “Library” section, right click on the game and select Manage > Browse Local File.
• Navigate to the “valve” directory, and drag this folder’s contents to the Ports > Half-Life > valve directory on your microSD card
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

Simple drag-and-drop (Mac): Balatro

Sometimes the simple drag-and-drop process will work on Mac without any issue. Balatro is an easy example.

• Install Balatro on your Mac via Steam.
• Within your Steam client’s “Library” section, right click on the game and select Manage > Browse Local File.
• In Finder, you will see an app called Balatro.app. Right-click on that, then select Show Package Contents > Contents > Resources
• Find the Balatro.love file, and drag this into the Ports > Balatro folder on your microSD card
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

For games that require the Windows files specifically, you can still get them via Mac, by following the “Install Linux version via Steam (Mac)” section below but with the Windows version of the game instead.

Install Linux version via Steam (Windows): Shovel Knight – Treasure Trove

Sometimes, the port will require the Linux version of the game. It’s still possible to grab those files from a Windows PC, and it’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Let’s use Shovel Knight as our example.

• On your Windows PC, press WIN + R to bring up the Run command
• In the Run window, type steam://open/console and press ENTER
• This will open up Steam into a new tab called “Console”
• Head over to steamdb.info and search for the game (Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove in this example)
• Make note of the App ID of the game (250760), then click on the Depots section on the left and note the Linux file Depot ID (250764 as of making this guide; this number may change with future updates to the game)
• Back on the Steam Console tap, type download_depot 250760 250764 and press ENTER
• Wait a while for the game to download (it can take upwards of 20 minutes), then the console window will show you the location of the file depot
• Copy that location, then paste it into a Windows navigation bar to go directly to that folder
• Copy the folder contents (in this case it should be subfolders named 32, 64, and data) and drag them into the Ports > shovelknight > gamedata > shovelknight folder on your microSD card as specified in the PortMaster game page
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

Install Linux version via Steam (Mac): Undertale

Installing the Linux version of a game via Mac is also possible, and it’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it. This can also be used for ports that require the Windows version of the game when you are on a Mac. Let’s use Undertale as our example.

• On your Mac, open the Terminal app (it can be found in your Applications folder)
•  Exit out of Steam if you have it open, then type the following command /Applications/Steam.app/Contents/MacOS/steam_osx -console and press ENTER
• This will open up Steam into a new tab called “Console”
• Head over to steamdb.info and search for the game (Undertale in this example)
• Make note of the App ID of the game (391540), then click on the Depots section on the left and note the Linux file Depot ID (391544 as of making this guide; this number may change with future updates to the game)
• Back on the Steam Console tap, type download_depot 391540 391544 and press ENTER
• Wait a while for the game to download (it can take upwards of 20 minutes), then the console window will show you the location of the file depot
• Copy that location, then go to Finder > Go > Go to Folder and paste it in. You may get an error, if so you can navigate to /Users/(NameOfMac)/Library/Application Support/Steam/Steam.AppBundle/Steam/Contents/MacOS, then go to steamapps > content > app_391540 > depot_351544 and you will find your game data files
• Navigate to the assets folder, and drag this folder’s contents to the Ports > undertale > assets folder on your microSD card as specified in the PortMaster game page
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

Compatibility version (Windows or Mac): Stardew Valley

For games like Stardew Valley, you will need the compatibility (32-bit) version of the game.

• On your PC or Mac, open Steam and go to the Library section
• Right click on the game and select Properties
• Navigate to the Betas tab, then click on the drop-down menu and select “Compatibility”
• The game will update in Steam to download and install the required compatibility files
• Once updated, right-click on the game in your Library and select Manage > Browse Local Files
• Drag and drop these content files to the Ports > stardewvalley > gamedata folder on your SD card
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

DLC (Windows or Mac): TMNT Shredder’s Revenge

Some ports also support the DLC for that game, including TMNT Shredder’s Revenge. The process is mostly the same, other than an additional step of downloading the DLC files. Note that you will need to have purchased the DLC ahead of time.

• Follow the same instructions as above for installing the Linux version of a game (like Shovel Knight or Undertale above).
• The DepotID for this game will be download_depot 1361510 1361511
• Next, do the same for the DLC DepotID, which will be download_depot 1361510 2348930
• Go to the individual game data folders on your computer, then add their contents to the Ports > tmntsr > gamedata folder on your device’s microSD card
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

Port from an Android game: AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake)

Some ports, like AM2R, require the Android apk for the game. These apk files are generally available via the Internet or by using an APK extractor app if you already have the game installed on your Android device.

• Find the AM2R apk file online, there are various places to find it (although it can be a challenge due to various takedowns over the years).
• Once you have the file, rename it to am2r.apk and add it to the Ports > am2r > gamedata folder of your device’s microSD card
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section

Port from a ROM file: Render96ex (Super Mario 64)

Some ports require a ROM file to build everything. Games like Ship of Harkinian (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) have a more involved process, while others like Render96ex (Super Mario 64) are more straightforward; instructions are below.

• You will need the US version of Super Mario 64, its SH1 sum is 9bef1128717f958171a4afac3ed78ee2bb4e86ce
• Re-name your ROM file to baserom.us.z64
• Place the ROM file in the Ports > render96ex folder of your microSD card
• Eject the SD card, put it back into your device, then launch the game via your Ports section
• You’ll be prompted to compile resources (done automatically by the app) and install some optional add-ons, consult the Render96ex PortMaster page for additional details
• By default, this port only uses the analog stick to control Mario (and navigate the menus). D-pad-only devices will not be able to navigate the menu. Two solutions: if you are using an OS that lets you swap between d-pad and analog stick input (like muOS), then tap the POWER button to toggle to the analog stick and remap your buttons by pressing Start then R1 while in the menu; or, if you have a device that can run the same firmware and has an analog stick, load the game on that device then remap the buttons, and then put the card back into your d-pad-only device.

Note that as of making this guide, Render96ex background music is not working properly on muOS, so skip that additional add-on when first booting the game. The muOS team is aware of it and working on a fix.

Porting other games

The process of porting a game is rather complex due to the game’s engine, dependencies, OS compatibility, and more. Most games will generally require a Linux version to exist as well, which isn’t always possible. So just because a lightweight game might sound like an awesome fit for PortMaster, it doesn’t mean that a port of the game is actually feasible. A great example is Animal Well — it would be perfect on these handhelds, but it is a DirectX12 game that only runs on Windows.

If you want to suggest a port, check out the PortMaster Suggestions page. Here you can create an account and submit suggestions, and also vote on other suggestions. Before submitting, the PortMaster team recommends consulting their portability chart.

You can also filter the Suggestions page to include rejected claims, and then read about why porting them is not possible. Some good examples include Pokemon Infinite Fusion, Guacamelee, and Hades.

If you are a developer or hobbyist and want to try porting a game on your own, they have comprehensive tutorials and resources on their website to help you get started.

Notes

• If a game keeps crashing on you, there is a log.txt file generated in each port’s folder; you can reference that log (or share it on their discord) to see why the game isn’t working on your device/OS.
• PortMaster has a bunch of themes which can enhance your browsing experience, check them out! They also have a guide if you want to try making your own theme.
• For those wondering about the PC port of Celeste, that one is a little trickier, as it requires a more involved process. Here is my written guide on the subject — some of the references to devices and operating systems are outdated, but as long as you have a device with PortMaster installed, there’s a good chance this process will work on your handheld.

Changelog

24JUL2024
-added note about TrimUI Smart Pro CrossMix OS port gamedata location

13JUL2024
– added note about Android-based devices
– made a separate “porting other games” section

12JUL2024
– published guide
– added context for SM64 on muOS

Let’s imagine you have a child you’d like to introduce to your favorite retro games — but maybe they can’t read yet, or navigating through a complex interface is overwhelming for them. Or maybe you have a friend (or parent!) who can barely change the input signal on their television, let alone understand the difference between EmulationStation and RetroArch. Going even further, maybe you want a SUPER simple interface for yourself that focuses on the games while curating the look and feel of the box art. In this guide I’m going to show you how to perfectly curate a retro handheld to transform it into a foolproof handheld console of their dreams.

Before we get started, let’s clear the air — this is not an effortless project. It requires some work to get everything dialed in perfectly, and YOU are the one who is going to do that work. I’ve tried to make it as painless as possible with this guide, an accompanying video, and a pre-configured software image, but it’s still going to take a little work to dial everything in. The joy in this project comes from a job well done, and from easing the recipient’s gaming experience. So, is this process easy? Not really. But is it worth it? Yes.

Table of Contents

Recommended devices
Recommended microSD cards
Why ArkOS?
Installation
Configuration
Beautification
Clean everything up
Add a custom boot logo
Pre-made microSD card image (StarkOS)

Changelog

Recommended devices

There is no shortage of handheld devices on the market, in a variety of shapes, sizes, and prices. For this project, I am going to recommend devices that are currently supported by the ArkOS custom operating system, for reasons I’ll explain later. There is a good variety of handhelds supported by this OS, but in particular I think that the Anbernic RG353PS might be the best fit. It has a nostalgic SNES form factor, is relatively comfortable for a variety of hand sizes, and has button placement that make it perfect for our needs.

Devices supported by ArkOS:

Ironically, the Anbernic RG353PS is not officially supported by ArkOS, because the developer doesn’t own one of these devices. Thankfully, their software build for a similar device (RG353M) will work just fine. Just bear in mind that if you run into any problems, the developer doesn’t have any RG353PS-specific support.

Note that there is another device similar to the RG353PS, called the RG353P. This one is almost identical other than that it can also dual-boot into Android. We’re not going to need that feature in this setup, but if there is a specific RG353P color you prefer, then the RG353P might be a good alternative; just bear in mind that it’s a little more expensive than the RG353PS.

* The RG351P and RG351M devices were dropped from official support in 2021, so while those builds will work with this setup, they will lack the Quick Mode option.

Recommended microSD cards

The majority of the devices you can use (especially those from Anbernic) will come with a dual microSD card setup. The idea is that you can use a smaller card for the operating system, and a second, larger card to store your games. The benefit here is that you can swap your second card between ArkOS-supported device, or if you need to re-flash the OS card you won’t have to mess with your games card.

For this particular project, I recommend doing a single-card setup. The idea here is that because this device will be played by children, it reduces the risk of one of two cards being lost! Of course, if you are familiar with how to set up ArkOS, you can always use a dual-card setup too.

The size of your card will depend on how many game you plan on loading onto the device. If you plan on just focusing on old cartridge-based systems, a 16GB card is plenty, since those file sizes are small. If you plan on adding CD-based systems (like Sega CD, PS1, Dreamcast, etc), then the file sizes will get larger. Because the price differences are relatively minor between them, getting 128GB card will provide you with lots of space for games without breaking the bank.

Here is a list of cards I recommend, based on their durability and reliability.

16GB cards: 
SanDisk Ultra  

32GB cards:
SanDisk Ultra
Samsung Pro Endurance

64GB cards:
SanDisk Ultra
Samsung EVO Select

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

Why ArkOS?

There are PLENTY of operating systems out there for retro handhelds, and many of them are very beginner-friendly. For example, you could load up a Miyoo Mini Plus with OnionOS or MinUI and that will likely work well for most people (check out my guide here if you’d like to go that route). Similarly, GarlicOS on the Anbernic RG35XX is a great combo, as is Knulli on the RG35XX Plus and H handhelds. Other OS options, like ROCKNIX or AmberELEC, have EmulationStation frontends and settings menus, giving you a unified experience for many handhelds.

But we’re going to use ArkOS for a few reasons:

• It has an EmulationStation frontend and is pre-installed with a specific theme called Switch, and when configured properly, it can give you a game-browsing experience that puts the games first and foremost, and is easily curated to your needs. This will make the experience very simple for those who cannot read.
• It has a feature known as “Quick Mode” which will allow you to power down the device almost instantly, and resume the game when you power back on.
• This OS provides for a lot of freedom when configuring RetroArch, giving you the ability to easily customize hotkeys and more to your liking.
• If you’d like, you can create a custom boot logo for your device to give it a more personalized look and feel for whomever you are gifting the device to.

Installation

I have a full ArkOS installation and setup guide on this website, but for this project we’re going to revisit the process again.

• Head over to the ArkOS wiki page and scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you will see a listing of devices and links via GDrive and Mega to download an SD card image. Find your corresponding device and download the file to your computer. The file will be in img.xz format.
• If you’d like, you can use a decompression tool like 7Zip (Windows) or The Unarchiver (Mac) to extract the .xz file into .img format. It should be around 8GB in total size after extracting it. This step isn’t necessary but some have found that flashing the image when it is uncompressed can sometimes avoid errors.
• If you are not using a brand new microSD card, I recommend formatting the card using the sdcard.org formatter tool (available for both Windows and Mac). This is an extra step but I have found that it often saves me headaches later down the line.
• Using a flashing software tool like Rufus or Win32DiskImager (Windows) or ApplePiBaker (Mac) to flash the img file to a microSD card. Balena Etcher also works for Windows/Mac but there have been reports of it not working well with ArkOS.
• Once you have flashed the card, eject it from your computer and place the card in the SD1/TF1 slot on your device. Boot the device up, and it will resize your partitions. When it is done initializing the system, you will see the main ArkOS page.
• If you are going to use a two-card setup, insert a blank microSD card (if it is not a brand new card, you can format it first on your PC using the sdcard.org formatter just to be safe), then navigate to Options > Advanced > Switch to SD2 for ROMs. This will populate the cards with all the appropriate ROM folders. Note that after making this switch, you will need to have both cards in your device to boot with this setup.
• Connect to WiFi: In order to scrape boxart and update the system, you need to be connected to WiFi. While on the main ArkOS menu, navigate to Options > WiFi and follow the prompts to connect your device to your WiFi network. Some devices (like the RG351P, RG351MP, and RGB10) do not have WiFi chips, so you will need to use a USB WiFi dongle.
• Update ArkOS: Navigate to Options > Update to update the OS to the latest version. You’ll need to be connected to the internet for this to work.

Next, we’re going to add our game and BIOS files. I would recommend adding more games that you plan on putting in the final game list, so that you have some choice to swap around games as needed.

• Turn off your device by pressing START and going to Quit > Shutdown System. Eject the SD1 card from your device (or SD2 if using a dual-card setup), and insert the card into your PC. You can now start adding your ROM and BIOS files to the EASYROMS partition on your card, and be sure to use the ArkOS emulators page to see the appropriate folder, file format, and BIOS files for each system. Once you are done, you can eject the card, re-insert it into your device, and start playing games.

Note that if you are an advanced user, yes you can get in the weeds when adding games! You could load up your favorite ROM hacks, the standalone native Pico-8 console, or even some ports via PortMaster.

Configuration

Next, we need to tweak ArkOS so that it will be easier to use for the end user.

Turn on Quick Mode: Go into Options > Advanced > Enable Quick Mode to set this up. This allows you to press the Function key + Power to quickly turn off ArkOS, and it’ll save your progress at the same time if you’re in the middle of a game. When you start the device back up, it will boot back to the game you were playing, or the main menu if you weren’t in a game. Note that for devices without a dedicated Function (F) button, the hotkey is generally the R3 button; so you would click down on the right analog stick and tap Power at the same time.

Set all games to run via RetroArch: Some systems, like N64, will run via a standalone emulator by default. We need them to run via RetroArch so that they will work properly with Quick Mode. Press the START button then select Emulator Settings, and go to Nintendo 64 and set the Emulator to RETROARCH. That’s it. Most of the others will be already preconfigured, other than some outliers like Sega Saturn. Pico-8 is the one exception, you can launch the native app and still use Quick Mode, no need for RetroArch.

RetroArch configurations: Many RetroArch settings are configured out of the box, but there are a few that I like to do with a fresh ArkOS installation. To get started, navigate to the RetroArch section and choose to open “RETROARCH” (the 64-bit version). Note that you will also want to do the same adjustments with RETROARCH32 (the 32-bit version, mostly for PS1 emulation).

• Configuration file: this is the most important file, which will save your changes in RetroArch. Once you have made any of the changes below, be sure to go to Configuration File > Save Current Configuration.
• Quick Exit: To exit out of any game running via RetroArch in ArkOS, you need to press SELECT + START twice. Personally, I like to only press it one time. To set this up, go to Settings > Input > Confirm Quit and toggle it off.
• Hotkeys: Go into Settings > Input > Hotkeys to make any adjustments from the ArkOS defaults. Personally, I like to adjust the following (diagram above):
  • Fast Forward (Toggle): R2
  • Show FPS (Toggle): Y button
  • Reset Content: B button (should be mapped by default)
  • Manual save state (SELECT + R1) and load state (SELECT + L1) are already configured in ArkOS.
• Auto Save/Load: Go into Settings > Saving > and toggle ON these two settings: Auto Save State and Load State Automatically. Now, when you close out of a game, it will save your spot, and then when you load the game, it’ll resume that same place.
• Fewer notifications: RetroArch will by default give you a bunch of notifications when you start up the game, which is great if you like data, but not great for kids. I recommend going into Settings > User Interface > On-Screen Notifications > Notification Visibility and toggle OFF the following options:
  • Display Framerate: OFF
  • “Load Content” Startup Notification: OFF
  • Save State Notification: OFF

Once you have made your desired changes, be sure to save your configuration by going to Configuration File > Save Current Configurations. If you mess up your RetroArch settings, you can go to the main ArkOS menu and go to Options > Advance > Restore Default RetroArch Settings.

Another element you may want to tweak are core options. For example, you can adjust colorization for Game Boy, or remove sprite limits for NES. You can access these by opening a game and press SELECT + X to bring up the RetroArch Quick Menu, and scroll down until you find Core Options. You can also set up shaders for certain systems as well, which are explained in my RetroArch guide.

Beautification

Now that we have configured the settings how we want, we are going to add custom boxart, and then hide all of our work to give the end user a more seamless experience. Setting up the boxart is a two-step process, because we’re going to make art that is of uniform shape and size to enhance the navigation experience.

Scrape artwork: We’re going to start by scraping boxart, not because we need it, but because it will create the right image file names for each of our games, as well as an XML file. To start, you will need a free account from screenscraper.fr. Next, connect your device to WiFi, and then press the START button and navigate to SCRAPER. Here you can adjust the parameters (for example I prefer to have “Box2D” as my Image Source, then add your username/password from screenscraper. Next, choose “Scrape Now”, determine which systems you want to scrape art for, and then choose “Start”. It may take some time to scrape everything if you have a large collection. If you prefer to keep your device offline or if you have a device without WiFi capability (like the RG351MP), you can scrape the boxart using a Windows PC (here is my guide).

Replace the artwork with your own: Now that we have the preliminary art added, shut the device down and eject the SD card, then put it into your computer. Now, go to SteamGridDB and find a good image for each game. What I prefer to do is search for the game, then look at the “Grid” images, and pick one that is 600×900 resolution (which is most of them). One note is that the image should be in PNG file format (they usually are). On my computer I’ll have one window open that is navigating the ROM SD card, so I can easily see what game(s) to search for, and then once I have the image I like, I save it directly into the SD card, overwriting the existing boxart (and using its original filename). This is probably the most mundane part of the project, and another reason why you don’t want to have a LARGE file library for your system. I also find this to be really fun, because I can choose boxart that I think will appeal to whomever I am gifting the device to.

Make a FAVORITES list: Navigate through your game libraries, and choose which games you want to appear in the main games list. We’re going to manage this via the Favorites function. When you find a game you want to add to the main collection, hover over it and press the Y button, you should get a notification that it was added to your Favorites list.

Change and configure the system theme: Press the START button and choose UI Settings > Theme > ES-Theme-Switch. Then in the UI settings, make the following changes:

• UI Mode: FULL
• Transition style: SLIDE
• Game launch transition: FADE
• Start on System: FAVORITES
• Visible Systems: ADJUST AS NEEDED
• Boot on Gamelist: ON
• Hide System View: OFF (for now)
• Quick System Select: OFF
• Carousel Transitions: ON
• Show Clock: OFF
• On-Screen Help: ON
• Show Battery Status: ICON AND TEXT
• Everything else: OFF

Now, go to UI Settings > Theme Configuration and make the following changes:

• Gamelist View Style: GRID
• Default Grid Size: AUTOMATIC
• Theme Color: DARK
• System Icon Style: DEFAULT
• Detailed Gamelist View Style: NO METADATA
• Gridview Selection: DEFAULT
• Show Top and Bottom Bar: YES
• Force Uppercase: NO

Now, when you go back to the ArkOS interface, you should automatically be in the Favorites section. If the box art doesn’t seem to be of a uniform size, try restarting the device and checking again.

Clean everything up

Now that everything looks nice, let’s hide some of the more advanced configurations. It’s for their own good.

• Disable WiFi: While on the main ArkOS menu, navigate to Options > WiFi and choose “Delete existing connections”. Once that is done, turn off the WiFi, and exit the menu.
• Press START and select UI Settings > Hide System View > ON. This will make it so that the only list the user sees is the Favorites menu.
• Back out to the main menu and verify that you are in the Favorites section, and that everything is working properly.
• Press START and select UI Settings > UI Mode > KID. You will get a warning, just confirm that you want to proceed. Now when you exit the menu and press START, nothing will happen, and the user is not able to remove any games from the favorites list either. They just need to know that in order to power the device down, they can press F + POWER.
• Note that while this makes the user interface pretty foolproof, it doesn’t prevent the user from accessing the RetroArch Quick Menu, by pressing SELECT + X at the same time while in a game. Hopefully they don’t do that.

To reverse these settings, you can disable KID mode by typing in the Konami code on your device (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A). It should work with the d-pad, but if it doesn’t, use the analog stick. From there, go to UI Settings > Hide System View > OFF, and you can now access the whole game library.

One last note: this current setup still allows for access to the RetroArch Quick Menu while playing a game, if needed. I tossed and turned whether or not to remove that hotkey to further lock the device down, but I assumed that it might be rare that someone would press SELECT + X at the same time. If you’d like to remove the possibility (especially if you’re handing this device off to a child), you can disable the RA Quick Menu hotkey by going into RetroArch > Settings > Input > Hotkeys and then press the Y button on your device while hovering over the “Menu Toggle” option. Save your RetroArch configuration file and you are good to go. Then, if you ever need to get back into the system, once everything is fully set up, you could remove the EmulationStation kid mode (following the instructions in the blue box above), then boot into RetroArch directly from the ArkOS menu, then re-set the RA Quick Menu hotkey. It’s a bit of extra work but that would fully lock it down and still grant you access to it when needed.

Add a custom boot logo

If you would like, you can manually create your own boot logo for ArkOS. It is an advanced procedure, and requires you to have a GitHub account. Here are the instructions.

Pre-made microSD card image (StarkOS)

In addition to building this software image from scratch with the instructions above, I’ve also made a specific software image that you can download and flash to a microSD card. This will have the preconfigured settings ready to go, but you will need to add your own ROMs/BIOS files, and also add the boxart yourself. But it does have a couple nice perks, like a custom Retro Game Corps boot logo, and a special loading screen.

This software image is the latest version of ArkOS as of making this guide (April 2024), but you can also update it yourself via the online updater after you’ve flashed it to a microSD card. It’s designed to be used with a 16GB card. This image was made with the ArkOS developer’s permission, although he wanted me to emphasize that the RG353P and RG353PS are not officially supported devices by ArkOS, so if you run into any issues, you’ll need to troubleshoot them yourself without his assistance. I’m calling this image “StarkOS” — Simple, Tailored ArkOS — to avoid confusion between the two.

Note that this StarkOS firmware image is for the Anbernic RG353P, RG353PS, and RG353M devices only. If you want to use this setup with a different ArkOS-supported device, you’ll have to set it up manually since it will require a different SD card image.

Instructions:

• Download the StarkOS image and save it to your computer. You can find it via Archive or Mega. Mega will be faster but because the file is over 5GB, it will prompt you to sign up for their Pro tier or wait a number of hours before finishing the download. Archive is more stable.
• If you’d like, you can use a decompression tool like 7Zip (Windows) or The Unarchiver (Mac) to extract the .xz file into .img format. It should be around 16GB in total size after extracting it. This step isn’t necessary but some have found that flashing the image when it is uncompressed can sometimes avoid errors.
• If you are not using a brand new microSD card, I recommend formatting the card using the sdcard.org formatter tool (available for both Windows and Mac). This is an extra step but I have found that it often saves me headaches later down the line.
• Using a flashing software tool like Rufus or Win32DiskImager (Windows) or ApplePiBaker (Mac) to flash the img file to a microSD card. Balena Etcher also works for Windows/Mac but there have been reports of it not working well with ArkOS.
• If you are using a card larger than 16GB, you can try to resize the EASYROMS partition using an app like MiniTool Partition Wizard.
• Connect to WiFi: In order to scrape boxart and update the system, you need to be connected to WiFi. While on the main ArkOS menu, navigate to Options > WiFi and follow the prompts to connect your device to your WiFi network. Some devices (like the RG351P, RG351MP, and RGB10) do not have WiFi chips, so you will need to use a USB WiFi dongle.
• Update ArkOS: Navigate to Options > Update to update the OS to the latest version. You’ll need to be connected to the internet for this to work.

From there, you will need to add your ROMs/BIOS files and artwork following the steps above. You won’t need to adjust hotkeys or RetroArch settings, since those are preconfigured. Same thing with the theme options. Once everything is added, follow the “Clean Everything Up” settings and you’ll be good to go.

Changelog

29APR2024
– added Archive.org link for the StarkOS image
– added instructions on how to resize the StarkOS EASYROMS partition if using a card larger than 16GB
– fixed typos
– updated device list

28APR2024
– published guide

ArkOS is a custom operating system that is available for many retro handheld devices. It features optimized performance, a simple user interface, online updates, and a very stable experience thanks to years of development work.

This guide will help you get set up with ArkOS, to improve your handheld device in just about every way. Don’t worry, it’s pretty easy.

If you would like to support the developer and their work, please consider leaving them a donation for their time and effort over the years.

Table of Contents

Compatible devices
Recommended accessories
Build your own ROM and BIOS collection
Install ArkOS
Add ROM files and scrape artwork
Getting to know ArkOS
RetroArch configurations
HDMI, bluetooth, and external controllers
Tips and tricks

Changelog

Why ArkOS?

custom firmware options (click to enlarge)

There are many custom firmware options available for handhelds, and my recommendation is to try as many as you’d like until you find one that suits you the best.

For me, I appreciate ArkOS because it has a simple user experience and wide device support, but also gives you a lot of freedom to tweak the settings as you please. However, it doesn’t have some standard community support options, like a dedicated Discord server, so you will need to consult their wiki page (or guides like this one). For more information, check out the video below, or the images above.

Compatible devices

The following devices are officially supported by ArkOS:

* Ongoing support for the RG351P and RG351M devices was discontinued in 2021. However, it has been forked and receives regular updates thanks to wuMMLe Gaming. Here are instructions on how to update to this fork, and their GitHub page has a Changelog if you want to read up on any updates. Alternatively, I recommend using AmberELEC for these two devices, since they are officially supported and have a robust user support platform.

Some other devices are unofficially supported. For example, the Anbernic RG351MP ArkOS image will work on the PowKiddy RGB20S, R35S, and R36S devices, and the Anbernic RG353M image will work with the Anbernic RG353P. The PowKiddy V10 also works with the PowKiddy RGB10 software image.

Unofficially supported devices may have some controller/input inconsistencies, and you are generally on your own to troubleshoot issues since they do not have official support.

Recommended accessories

Your device will likely come bundled with a single microSD card, and in some cases two SD cards, but they are from a generic brand and will be prone to failure. In most cases, the “TF1” slot on your device holds the system firmware, and for that card 16GB is ideal. The “TF2” slot is for your game files, so you will want a larger card for that one. Your safest bet is to replace your cards with microSD cards from a well-known brand. I recommend you store that original card somewhere safe in case you run into any issues in the future, and buy new SD cards from a reputable brand like SanDisk or Samsung to use in your device.

In general, I recommend the cards listed below, in order or preference. The prices fluctuate all the time, so keep an eye out for deals. In general, I would expect to pay $7 for a 16GB card, $20 for a 128GB card, and $30 for a 256GB card. A 128GB card will allow you to load EVERY 8-bit and 16-bit game out there, all of the arcade games that work, and quite a few PS1, Dreamcast, PSP, and Sega CD games (those systems have the largest file sizes). A 256GB card will allow you to store even more of those larger games.

16GB cards: 
SanDisk Ultra  
SanDisk Industrial (more reliable but pricey)

128GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

One more accessory to consider: if you don’t have a reliable microSD to USB adapter, you might want to think about getting one. A nice adapter like this one from Anker will give you the fastest transfer speeds possible, and won’t cause any corruption issues with your card. I’ve owned one for several years and have never experienced an issue, even after flashing hundreds of cards.

Build your ROM and BIOS collection

One of the most important parts of setting up a retro handheld is to build your ROM and BIOS collection.

Building your ROM library can take some time. If you have a large collection of cartridges, you could use something like the Save the Hero cartridge reader to carry over your games (and saves). But for most people, you’re likely going to the Internet. ROM files are copyrighted and will not be shared on this website. As you are building your collection, I recommend consulting the ArkOS emulators page, which will show all the supported systems, the file types that are compatible, and any requisite BIOS files. Speaking of which…

Collecting BIOS can be more challenging. These are copyrighted system files that are generally extracted from original consoles. If you don’t already have these files, then you can pull them from the SD card that came with your device. Inside the first (“TF1”) SD card you should find a GAMES partition, and within that will be a series of folders, and one should be named “bios”. Copy all of the contents of this folder onto your computer somewhere for safe keeping. If you do not see the GAMES partition, you may be using an older version of Windows (for example, Windows 7 or 8); in which case, you’ll want to use a program called “bootice” in order to see the GAMES partition. More info can be found in this guide.

If you are sourcing your own BIOS files, these are the files I recommend using. For a full listing, check out the ArkOS emulators page.

GAME BOY (for boot logo):
gb_bios.bin

GAME BOY COLOR (for boot logo):
gbc_bios.bin

GAME BOY ADVANCE:
gba_bios.bin

PLAYSTATION 1:
scph5501.bin

SEGA CD:
bios_CD_E.bin
bios_CD_J.bin
bios_CD_U.bin

SATURN:
saturn_bios.bin (optional)

DREAMCAST:
/bios/dc/dc_boot.bin
/bios/dc/dc_flash.bin
(place in a "dc" subfolder)

NEO GEO:
neogeo.zip
(place a copy in neogeo ROM folder too)

Install ArkOS

Installing ArkOS is relatively straightforward: simply flash the ArkOS image to an SD card. Here are the steps:

• Head over to the ArkOS wiki page and scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you will see a listing of devices and links via GDrive and Mega to download an SD card image. Find your corresponding device and download the file to your computer. The file will be in .xz format.
• Use a decompression tool like 7Zip (Windows) or The Unarchiver (Mac) to extract the .xz file into .img format. It should be around 8GB in total size after extracting it.
• If you are not using a brand new microSD card, I recommend formatting the card using the sdcard.org formatter tool (available for both Windows and Mac). This is an extra step but I have found that it often saves me headaches later down the line.
• Using a flashing software tool like Rufus or Win32DiskImager (Windows) or ApplePiBaker (Mac) to flash the img file to a microSD card. Balena Etcher also works for Windows/Mac but there have been reports of it not working well with ArkOS. I recommend using a 16GB card if you have a dual-card setup, or 128GB (or larger) in you are using a single-card setup.
• Once you have flashed the card, eject it from your computer and place the card in the SD1/TF1 slot on your device. Boot the device up, and it will resize your partitions. When it is done initializing the system, you will see the main ArkOS page.
• If you are going to use a two-card setup, insert a blank microSD card (if it is not a brand new card, you can format it first on your PC using the sdcard.org formatter just to be safe), then navigate to Options > Advanced > Switch to SD2 for ROMs. This will populate the cards with all the appropriate ROM folders. Note that after making this switch, you will need to have both cards in your device to boot with this setup.

Considerations for the R35S and R36S handhelds: For these devices, I recommend installing the RG351MP ArkOS release. Download the RG351MP install file as well as this dtb file from the developer. Once you flash the image to your SD card as instructed above, open the “BOOT” partition on the card (you will have to eject/insert the card again if you flashed with Balena Etcher), then copy over the rk3326-rg351mp-linux.dtb file onto your PC for safe-keeping. Next, open the zipped dtb file that you just downloaded and move that new dtb file into the BOOT partition, overwriting the old file. Now insert your card into the device and do the initial boot, and it should work.

Additionally, if you want a more frequently-updated software image, there is a team who maintains a community image of ArkOS specifically for the R33S, R35S, and R36S, which you can find here.

After that, you are ready to add games!

Add ROM files and scrape artwork

In this section we’re going to add your game files, and then add their boxart so the user interface looks nice and fancy.

• Add game files: Turn off your device by pressing START and going to Quit > Shutdown System. Eject the SD2 card from your device (or SD1 if using a single-card setup), and insert the card into your PC. You can now start adding your ROM and BIOS files, and be sure to use the ArkOS emulators page to see the appropriate folder, file format, and BIOS files for each system. Once you are done, you can eject the card, re-insert it into your device, and start playing games.
• Connect to WiFi: In order to scrape boxart, you need to be connected to WiFi. While on the main ArkOS menu, navigate to Options > WiFi and follow the prompts to connect your device to your WiFi network. Some devices (like the RG351P, RG351MP, and RGB10) do not have WiFi chips, so you will need to use a USB WiFi dongle.
• Scrape artwork: To start, you will need a free account from screenscraper.fr. Next, connect your device to WiFi, and then press the START button and navigate to SCRAPER. Here you can adjust the parameters (for example I prefer to have “Box2D” as my Image Source, then add your username/password from screenscraper. Next, choose “Scrape Now”, determine which systems you want to scrape art for, and then choose “Start”. It may take some time to scrape everything if you have a large collection. If you prefer to keep your device offline or if you have a device without WiFi capability (like the RG351MP), you can scrape the boxart using a Windows PC (here is my guide).

Getting to know ArkOS

It might take some time to get acclimated with the ArkOS experience. To start, there are three main places to make configuration changes.

EmulationStation Menu: While browsing through the main system interface, you can press the START button to bring up the EmulationStation Menu. Here you can set the theme, adjust your emulators, and more.

Options Menu: As you navigate through the systems, you will see a section called OPTIONS. This section contains all the ArkOS options, like setting up WiFi, Bluetooth, and more. You can also boot into other apps like PortMaster and ThemeMaster from here. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the EmulationStation Menu, this one might have it.

RetroArch: The majority of emulators run using RetroArch, which is a multi-system emulation frontend. You’ll want to enter this program to make specific configurations (detailed in the section below).

Now that you’re oriented with the places you will need to go to make tweaks, let’s go over some ArkOS basics.

• The devices that run ArkOS should be considered little computers, and as such, they need to be properly shut down. To turn off the device, press START while in the main menu, and then select QUIT > Shutdown System.
• Updating your ArkOS installation is very easy. First, you need to be connected to WiFi, then go to Options > Update and follow the prompts.
• To adjust emulator settings, press START > Emulator Settings. Here you can set the default emulator for each platform, although the default settings are well optimized already. If you want to adjust a specific game’s emulator, hover over the game in the menu and press SELECT and choose “Edit this Game’s Metadata”. Within that menu you can set that game’s emulator.
• You can change the system theme by pressing START and going to UI Settings > Theme and choosing one of the pre-installed themes. You can also download new themes by going to Options > Tools > Thememaster.
• After scraping boxart/media, you can use the screensaver function. Press START to bring up the ArkOS menu, then navigate to UI Settings > Screensaver Settings. Here you can set Screensaver Behavior > Random Video. Now if you leave the device idle for 5 minutes while in the main menu, videos will start appearing. You can also initiate the screensaver by pressing SELECT while in the main menu. While a video is playing you can press SELECT to go to the next video, or START to being playing that game.
• If you transferred over you games using MacOS, you may have a bunch of duplicated files in your ArkOS menus, with a “._” prefix. You can remove these by going to Options > Remove ._ Files.
• On the RG353 devices, you can press START to go to the main menu > Display Settings and adjust screen parameters, like saturation and contrast. This is awesome.

RetroArch configurations

Many RetroArch settings are configured out of the box, but there are a few that I like to do with a fresh ArkOS installation. To get started, navigate to the RetroArch section and choose to open either “RETROARCH” (the 64-bit version) or RETROARCH32 (the 32-bit version, mostly for PS1 emulation).

• Configuration file: this is the most important file, which will save your changes in RetroArch. Once you have made any of the changes below, be sure to go to Configuration File > Save Current Configuration.
• Menu driver: by default, the ArkOS RA menu is rgui, which is the boxy UI with green text. You can change this to something else by going into Settings > Drivers > Menu and choosing from your options. I like the xmb menu myself. You will need to save your configuration and exit/enter RA to see the changes.
• Quick Exit: To exit out of any game running via RetroArch in ArkOS, you need to press SELECT + START twice. Personally, I like to only press it one time. To set this up, go to Settings > Input > Confirm Quit and toggle it off.
• Hotkeys: Go into Settings > Input > Hotkeys to make any adjustments from the ArkOS defaults. Personally, the two I like to adjust are:
  • Fast Forward (Toggle): R2
  • Show FPS (Toggle): Y button
  • Manual save state (SELECT + R1) and load state (SELECT + L1) are already configured in ArkOS.
• Auto Save/Load: Go into Settings > Saving > and toggle ON these two settings: Auto Save State and Load State Automatically. Now, when you close out of a game, it will save your spot, and then when you load the game, it’ll resume that same place.
• Achievements: You can set up RetroAchievements by going into Settings > Achievements and entering your username/password from a retroachievements.org account (which is free to set up). Be sure to disable hardcore mode if you want to use save states while playing.

Once you have made your desired changes, be sure to save your configuration by going to Configuration File > Save Current Configurations. If you mess up your RetroArch settings, you can go to the main ArkOS menu and go to Options > Advance > Restore Default RetroArch Settings.

Another element you may want to tweak are core options. For example, you can adjust colorization for Game Boy, or remove sprite limits for NES. You can access these by opening a game and press SELECT + X to bring up the RetroArch Quick Menu, and scroll down until you find Core Options. Check out the video above for a demonstration.

For a more in-depth look into how RetroArch works, check out my RetroArch guide.

HDMI, bluetooth, and external controllers

If you have a device with video out, you can potentially “consolize” the device by hooking it up to a TV via HDMI cable, and you could use it with an external controller or a bluetooth controller (if the device supports it). This setup will work best with RG353 devices.

For HDMI out, you will need to insert the cable with the device powered OFF or restart the device before HDMI out will work. ArkOS scales the 4:3 image properly which is a great feature.

For controllers, you have two options. You should be able to hook up most x-input or d-input USB controllers, but bear in mind they will need an OTG adapter to plug into the device’s USB-C port. Once connected, navigate to the EmulationStation options by pressing START, and select “Configure Input”. This will allow you to map the buttons to your controller, and it will automatically work with EmulationStation and RetroArch emulator cores. Standalone emulators (like PPSSPP) will still need to be re-mapped manually.

For bluetooth controllers, the process is the same, but you will need to connect to the controller first. To confirm that BT is on, press the START button in the main menu and look at the bottom of the EmulationStation settings screen. If it says “BT: On” then you are good to go. If not, press the F button + R3 and it will toggle it on.

To set up bluetooth (either for controllers or headphones), go to Options > Bluetooth and launch the Bluetooth Manager app. Here you can toggle on/off Bluetooth, connect to a new device, delete any device, or check to see what is currently connected.

If you are experiencing audio delay while using bluetooth headphones, you can try reducing audio latency in RetroArch. To do so, open RetroArch and select Settings > Audio > Output > Audio Latency (ms) and adjust it down from the default 128, all the way down to 64, to see if that improves the experience.

Tips and tricks

Here are some more advanced tricks to help you get the most out of your ArkOS installation.

• The SD2 cards are generally interchangeable between handheld devices. For example, you could use the same SD2 card with your Anbernic RG353M and RG351V devices to play the same games on each platform. Note that your RetroArch configurations are on the SD1 card, and so they won’t be interchangeable. This means to have a seamless experience where you can resume your auto saves/loads from one device to the next, each device will need to be configured for auto save/load (more info in the RetroArch configuration section above).
• A great new feature of ArkOS is “Quick Mode”. You can enable it by going into Options > Advanced > Enable Quick Mode. Once enabled, any time you are playing a game that is running on RetroArch (or Pico-8 standalone), you can press and hold R3 + POWER to safe shutdown the device, and it will save your game in the process. Now, the next time you power on the device it will boot directly into the game at the exact spot you were in when powering off!
• PortMaster is a wonderful service that will allow you to download and install ports directly on the device. You will need to supply your own commercial files for certain games, but many are freeware and can be downloaded and launched immediately. Check out the PortMaster wiki for specific instructions for each port. I also have several videos and guides for various ports, which you can see in my Ports category.
• ArkOS has its own battery indicator setting. The power LED will turn red when battery life is below 20%, and will blink red every second when battery is below 10%.
• ArkOS will generate a .m3u file for multi-disc PS1 games. Load your cue/bin or chd files into the folder, and each multi-disc game should have the word “disc” as part of its file name (disc 1, disc 2, etc). Boot the system up, go into Options and choose “PS1 – Generate m3u Files”. If you add games later, use the same tool to delete your m3u files and then generate them again.
• For a more stripped-down version of ArkOS, you can use BaRT (Boot and Recovery Tools). Hold down the B button while booting the device, and you will get the BaRT menu. From there you can choose “RetroArch” and the device will boot into just RA and nothing else. This limits certain emulators (like DraStic, PPSSPP, etc) but will also give you a very pure RetroArch experience. This setting will persist between boots, so if you want to go back to the standard ArkOS interface, press and hold B again while booting, and choose “EmulationStation”.
• Be sure to check out the FAQ section for your device on the ArkOS wiki, it is full of useful information like how to set up your own background music, enable rumble with certain emulator cores, and more.

Changelog

18JUL2024
– added note that RGB10 image works on PowKiddy V10
– added link to ArkOS-R3XS image for R33S, R35S and R36S handhelds

27NOV2023
– added “Considerations for R35S/R36S” text box with instructions in the Install ArkOS section
– added Quick Mode instructions in the Tips and tricks section

11APR2023
– added the RK2023 as an officially-supported device

27MAR2023
– published guide

Buy a Miyoo Mini
or via KeepRetro

Buy a Retroid Pocket 2+ (or 3)
Retroid Pocket 2+ starter guide

Buy an Anbernic RG531V
or via Anbernic.com
RG351V starter guide

Buy an Anbernic RG353P
or via Anbernic.com
RG353P review and guide

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
02:01 Miyoo Mini
03:58 Retroid Pocket 2+
05:24 Anbernic RG351V
06:42 Anbernic RG353P
09:12 conclusion

More info here (ships in 2023): https://www.analogue.co/pocket

Other devices featured in this video:
Miyoo Mini
Anbernic RG351V
Anbernic RG552

Links and features mentioned in the video:

Sakura Retro Modding (stickers and stand)

RetroPatcher (for creating .pocket files)

To check the MD5 Checksum of a file, head over to this website and drop your ROM file inside. You can then compare it to the MD5 in the RetroPatcher website to see if your ROM file is compatible with the tool.

The Pocket Patches website also has a list of patched GB/GBC games and a list of working hacks.

Pokemon Prism patch file (in pinned post)
Official Pokemon Prism website (with patcher tool)

In order to create a Pokemon Prism ROM file you will need to download the patch file, and then add an original Pokemon Crystal (Rev 1) ROM + the patch file into the official patcher tool. It will output a ROM file that you can then use within RetroPatcher to run on the Analogue Pocket.

Everdrive GBA mini via Krikzz (out of stock as of video release)
Everdrive GBA mini via eBay (higher price but available)

The eBay link above is an affiliate link for which I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

AmberELEC is the new custom firmware that replaced 351ELEC for devices such as the Anbernic RG351P, RG351M, RG351V, RG351MP, and RG552. This video and guide will walk you through its setup as well as showcase new features in this release.

AmberELEC webpage
AmberELEC discord server

Recommended tools

The most important aspect of getting started is to use reliable microSD cards. Often the cards that come with retro handhelds are generic cards that are prone to failure. Instead, I recommend using these cards:

16GB cards: 
SanDisk Ultra  
SanDisk Industrial (more reliable but pricey)

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

The RG351M, RG351V, and RG552 devices come with built-in WiFi, but the RG351P and RG351MP do not. Luckily, many sellers will bundle their RG351P with an OTG adapter (basically a USB-C to USB-A adapter) and a USB WiFi module. Together, these two adapters will allow you to connect your device to your home network and take advantage of its NetPlay, media scraping (image/boxart downloading), cheats, and Retro Achievements functions. So I recommend you check with the seller to see if your device is going to come with an OTG and WiFi adapters; if they aren’t I suggest you buy them so they’re available as soon as you open up your device.

I have personally tested the WiFi adapter linked above and can verify that it works well on the devices; it also has a nice (subtle) blinking light to let you know when it is accessing data. My other favorite WiFi adapter is this one from TP-Link, which can reach speeds of up to 5GHz on some devices.

One more accessory to consider: if you don’t have a nice microSD to USB adapter, you might want to think about getting one. A nice adapter like this one from Anker will give you the fastest transfer speeds possible, and won’t cause any corruption issues with your card.

Install AmberELEC

To install AmberELEC, head over to their Installation Page and follow the instructions (as demonstrated in the video above).

Load BIOS and game files

After you have installed AmberELEC, you will need to load the BIOS (system) files so that certain systems will run properly. Here is a recommended list of files to add to the “bios” folder on your SD card. You will likely find these files on the card that came with your device, or you may need to search the internet from them. More information can be found on the AmberELEC site.

SEGA CD:
bios_CD_E.bin
bios_CD_J.bin
bios_CD_U.bin

FAMICOM DISK SYSTEM:
disksys.rom

GAME BOY (for boot logo):
gb_bios.bin

GAME BOY COLOR (for boot logo):
gbc_bios.bin

GAME BOY ADVANCE:
gba_bios.bin

NEO GEO:
neogeo.zip

PLAYSTATION 1:
scph1001.bin

TURBOGRAFX-CD:
syscard1.pce
syscard2.pce
syscard3.pce

Once you have the BIOS files sorted, you will need to transfer game files onto your device. The primary method is to directly add your game files to the corresponding folder on the SD card. I recommend consulting the AmberELEC Systems page to find the system, then see what file types are accepted, and go from there. Additionally, you could use the LaunchBox Importer function that was recently introduced into AmberELEC, which is demonstrated in the video above.

After that, it’s time to have fun with the device. I recommend checking out the “Getting to know AmberELEC” page to show you some of the ins and outs of first getting set up.

Recommended tweaks

AmberELEC is a pre-configured operating system, which means that you don’t need to adjust any settings out of the gate. However, here are some recommended adjustments that I like to do when first setting up the system:

RG351P and RG351M:

• For 4:3 retro home console systems like NES, Genesis, and SNES, I recommend one of the following screen settings. To set these, open the system’s game list and press SELECT, then choose “Advanced System Options”.
  • Set RGA Scaling > ON for an improved image with no performance degradation. Note this will make the pop-up notifications from RetroArch hard to read.
  • Set Shader Set > Interpolation / Sharp-Bilinear-2x-Prescale.glslp for a slightly sharper and balanced look, with little performance degradation
  • Set Bilinear Filtering > ON and Filter Set > Normal2x.filt for the most sharp and balanced look, but with a little more performance degradation
• For GB, GBC, and GBA, make sure it is set to Integer Scaling > ON

RG351V and RG351MP:

• For 4:3 retro home console systems like NES, Genesis, and SNES, I recommend one of the following screen settings. This will also work well with GBA. To set these, open the system’s game list and press SELECT, then choose “Advanced System Options”.
  • Set Shader Set > Interpolation / Sharp-Bilinear-2x-Prescale.glslp for a slightly sharper and balanced look, with little performance degradation
  • Set Bilinear Filtering > ON and Filter Set > Normal2x.filt for the most sharp and balanced look, but with a little more performance degradation

RG552:

• For most systems, it’s best to keep them at Integer Scaling > ON. It will result in minimal black bars for some systems, but the image will be sharp, clear, and balanced without any need for shaders or filters.

Other resources

Your journey with AmberELEC is now ready to begin. Be sure to check out their website for even more features and fun tweaks. Here are some other guides that are mentioned in the video above:

PortMaster guide
Pico-8 guide

UPDATE: PortMaster has recently created a one-stop shop for all things related to running ports on retro handhelds. I recommend checking out their website and my most recent PortMaster guide instead of the guide below; I’m leaving this page up for posterity’s sake only. To get started, head over to their Games tab, find the game you want to run, and check out their instructions on that page. If you run into any issues, their discord server is also a great place to start.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge has become a massive hit, and for good reason. It’s a perfect mixture of old-school beat-em-up and modern control schemes, and it has plenty of fun stuff to unlock, too. In this guide we’ll get the game running on various handhelds so you can play this game anywhere.

This should work in any PortMaster-compatible retro handheld. For best results, make sure you are running the most recent version of ArkOS, AmberELEC, or JELOS, and that you have installed the latest version of PortMaster. Here is my PortMaster guide.

Note that the “Final” version of ArkOS for the RG351P and RG351M will not support the game due to an outdated SDL2 library. However, wuMMLe’s fork of ArkOS has been updated to support it, but there are some script changes needed (see the notes below). If you want the latest for those devices, I recommend using JELOS or AmberELEC, since they are in active development.

Setting up this game is similar to other ports such as Celeste, Shovel Knight, Undertale, Timespinner, and Iconoclasts. Big thanks to developer JohnnyOnFlame for getting this port up and running; please consider buying him a coffee for his hard work.

Installation instructions

Note that you need to have the most updated version of PortMaster installed on your device for this to work. Additionally, you need to run the install script of one of the following games within PortMaster: Timespinner, Owlboy, or Stardew Valley. This will install a mono package that is necessary for TMNT to initialize. You don’t need to actually install those ports onto your device, but the process will allow TMNT to work properly. This isn’t shown in the video, sorry about that — I didn’t realize it was necessary since I already had the mono package installed on my devices.

Alternatively you can manually grab the mono package here and place it in PortMaster/libs on your SD card.

While many people are playing this game via Game Pass, you need to own the PC (Steam) game files themselves to port the game to your retro handheld. Luckily, the Windows version of this game is compatible with the port, so setting it up is as easy as installing the game to your Windows PC.

• Purchase the game here via Steam
• Install the game onto your Windows PC
• Locate the game files. You can do this by right-clicking on the game in your Steam library, then select Properties > Local Files > Browse and it should take you directly to where the files are stored. If you want to find them manually, typically they will be in the following directory
  • Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > TMNT
• Download this TMNT port package and extract its contents. You should have two files: an .sh file and a folder.
• Inside that package folder you should see a subfolder named “gamedata”.
• Copy the contents of TMNT into the gamedata folder. You will get a prompt that there is already a file named “TMNT_GameIntro.ogv” and it will ask you if you want to overwrite that file. DO NOT overwrite it; instead, choose “Skip this file”.
• Once the files have moved over, now we can add them to your device’s SD card. For this you will want to use the second card (if using a two-card device), or just the main card if using a single-card setup. Inside that card you should see a “ports” folder. In there, add the package folder and .sh file.
• Insert the card back into the device and turn it on. In the Ports section you should now see the game, and you can start it up. It will take upwards of 20 minutes to load the game the first time, as some of the files are compressed in order to properly run. Every subsequent boot will be much faster, less than a minute. I’ve seen reports where this will sometimes take up to 30 minutes, and it appears to “freeze” the game. Don’t worry, just let it run the initialization — don’t touch it!

Manual Installation instructions

If you want to grab the game files WITHOUT installing the game onto yourWindows PC first, here is how to do that:

• Buy the game on Steam so that it is associated with your Steam account.
• On your PC, press Win+R and type: “steam://open/console” (Steam will now show console command). For best results do this command with Steam closed.
• In the Steam console, type: “download_depot 1361510 1361511” (just copy and paste this line into your command line)
• After several minutes, it will show you the location of the game files on your PC. Be patient, some games take longer to download than others. Navigate to that location and grab those files!

MacOS instructions

1. Buy the game on Steam so that it is associated with your Steam account.
2. Make sure Steam is closed on your Mac, then open Terminal and run the command “/Applications/Steam.app/Contents/MacOS/steam_osx -console”
3. When Steam opens, there should be a “Console” tab on the top right
4. In the console (which will look like a Terminal window), type “download_depot 1361510 1361511″ without the quotation marks
5. It’ll take about 20 minutes to download, but then it will show you a path to where the folder is located. It’s pretty deep in the MacOS file system, the easiest way to do that is through the Library folder. To access Library, you need to go to the Menu Bar in Finder (at the very top), click on “Go” and then press the Option key to make the Library appear in that menu, then navigate to where the Steam console says to go.
6. Download the tmnt.zip package file, then unzip it. Inside the tmntsr folder will be a gamedata folder. Inside that folder, there should be a Content > Video folder, and in there a blank .ogv file. Move that OGV file somewhere else on your Mac, like onto the desktop. Copy all the files from your MacOS tmnt download folder into the gamedata folder, and if it asks, overwrite the OGV file when prompted (this is different from the video). After the copy is complete, grab that blank OGV file from your Desktop and move it BACK into the tmntsr > gamedata > Content > Videos folder, replacing the one that’s in there. The reason we are doing this roundabout step is because the copy/paste mechanism in Mac is different than in Windows.
7. Move the tmntsr folder and the TMNTShreddersRevenge.sh file to the Ports folder of your SD card.
8. Boot up your device, then go into the Tools folder and find the command that says “delete ._ files” and run that program.
9. Go into the Ports folder and run the TMNT game. It will take upwards of 20 minutes to boot that first time, but afterwards it should work fine. If you get an error it’s likely because you don’t have the most recent version of PortMaster installed and you haven’t run the Owlboy etc. install script as mentioned in the written guide above.

ArkOS RG351P or RG351M instructions

Reddit user seouljah760 gave these helpful tips for those using ArkOS Final:

If you haven’t moved from ARKOS Final, or using Wummle’s ARKOS fork on 351P/M devices, you need to do a couple things to fix the install:

The TMNTShreddersRevenge.sh script needs a small change:

if [ -d "/opt/system/Tools/PortMaster/" ]; then
controlfolder="/opt/system/Tools/PortMaster"
elif [ -d "/opt/tools/PortMaster/" ]; then
controlfolder="/opt/tools/PortMaster"
elif [ -d "/roms/ports" ]; then
controlfolder="/roms/ports/PortMaster" << CHANGE to “/roms/tools/PortMaster”
elif [ -d "/roms2/ports" ]; then
controlfolder="/roms2/ports/PortMaster"
else
controlfolder="/storage/roms/ports/PortMaster"
fi

That directory does not exist in both ARKOS Final, and Wummle’s fork. I repeat, just having Wummle’s fork is not enough, the script needs an edit. The PortMaster and lib folders do not reside in the “ports” folder, it is in “tools” for the ARKOS default program locations.

Then you need to download:

https://github.com/PortsMaster/PortMaster-Hosting/releases/download/large-files/mono-6.12.0.122-aarch64.squashfs

Copy that into your roms partition in the tools/PortMaster/libs folder, pop the SD back in and run the game in the Ports category. You may or may not already have this, depending on what other ports you’ve installed previously. This script does not install it for you, as it does in other port scripts.

Add the intro video

By default, the intro video is removed from this port because it will make the game crash. However, community member MrFaust was able to figure out how to re-encode the video file so that it will work on your device. It may result in some slight glitching on certain devices (like the RK3326 devices) during video playback, but it’s still pretty cool to see. Here is the full walkthrough via PDF file.

Hardcode controller inputs

The TMNT port uses the default PortMaster controller database configuration, which is excellent for simple and streamlined gameplay, but will also result in needing to remap the controls in the options menu every time you start a new game. However, if you don’t mind making some quick text file adjustments, you can permanently adjust the controller inputs so that you don’t have to mess with it again. Thanks to discord user 4554551// for the fix. Here we go:

In the TMNT Shredders Revenge.sh file
replace
source $controlfolder/control.txt
with
source $controlfolder/control2.txt

Then go into Portmaster folder.
Make a copy of control.txt and rename it to control2.txt
Make a copy of gamecontrollerdb.txt and rename it to gamecontrollerdbturtles.txt

In control2.txt replace all instances of gamecontrollerdb.txt with gamecontrollerdbturtles.txt

Then open gamecontrollerdbturtles.txt and make your adjustments specific to the game. It may require some trial and error, but generally it will just require you to swap the A and B, plus X and Y input codes.

Notes

• The Anbernic RG552 will provide the best gaming experience. It looks amazing.
• The game will have swapped the A/B and X/Y buttons, but this is an easy fix within the Options menu. The controls won’t save though, so you will need to do this every time you start a new game.
• For RG351 devices, the game will run at 30fps and expect some slowdown in later stages.
• If using a 3:2 device (RG351P, RG351M, RGB10), I recommend going into the settings and changing the following:
  • Display Mode: Borderless Fullscreen
  • VSYNC: OFF
• If you are getting a “Failure performing first time setup, report this” error, see the note in the green box above.

Recent updates

As of September 2023, recent updates to ArkOS have broken compatibility with this port. A fix is explained here.

Changelog

11FEB2024
– updated the package file

15SEP2023
– added “recent updates” section to account for SDL updates for ArkOS

14JUL2022
– added intro video guide
– added hardcode controller adjustment section

12JUL2022
– added ArkOS Final instructions
– added MacOS instructions

11JUL2022
– published guide
– added mono package instructions

Buy one here

Other devices mentioned in the video:
Anbernic RG351V
Anbernic RG280V
Miyoo Mini
PowKiddy RGB10 Max 2

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:00 unboxing & impressions
03:18 ergonomics
04:54 comparison with other handhelds
06:50 tiger time
07:49 teardown
08:49 software experience & gameplay
14:07 custom firmware options
16:21 summary (likes & dislikes)
17:58 conclusion

The indie classic game Timespinner has recently been ported to various handheld devices, thanks to community developers and the awesome PortMaster tool. Here are the systems that can run the game as of making this guide:

Anbernic RG351P (ArkOS final, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351M (ArkOS final, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351V (ArkOS, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG351MP (ArkOS, TheRA, AmberELEC, JELOS)
Anbernic RG552 (AmberELEC, JELOS)
PowKiddy RGB10 (ArkOS)
GameForce Chi (ArkOS)
RK2020 (ArkOS)
ODROID Go Advance (ArkOS)
ODROID Go Super (The RetroArena, RetroOZ)
PowKiddy RGB10 Max (The Retro Arena, RetroOZ)

Setting up this game is similar to other ports such as Shovel Knight, Undertale, and Iconoclasts. Big thanks to developer JohnnyOnFlame for getting this port up and running; please consider buying him a coffee for his hard work.

Note that you will need to have PortMaster installed and updated on your device. Here is my PortMaster guide.

Download the Timespinner Linux files (Steam or Humble Store)

Purchase the Steam version of Timespinner from their store, and then make sure you have Steam installed on your computer (and that it is signed into your account). If you’d like, you could also buy the Humble Store version of the game, which will come with a code to redeem on Steam as well. This is a great option in case you can find it cheaper there.

• On your PC, press Win+R and type: “steam://open/console” (Steam will now show console command)
• In the Steam console, type: “download_depot 368620 368621” (just copy and paste this line into your command line)
• Once that download completes, type: “download_depot 368620 368624” (just copy and paste this line into your command line)
• After several minutes, it will show you the location of the game files on your PC. Be patient, some games take longer to download than others. Navigate to that location and grab those files!

For future reference, this method can be done when trying to download the Linux version of other games via Steam. The App ID and Depot ID of the game can be found on the site steamdb.info. When you search for a game on this site you’ll immediately see the App ID. Scroll down a bit and click on Depots. Here you’ll find all the available OS versions of the game and the corresponding Depot ID. The download command in the steam console is: “download_depot <appid> <depotid> <manifest_id>” — see the infographic above for an example. The manifest ID is not always required.

If you are using a Mac, the process is the same, other than how to open up the Steam console. To do so, open the Terminal app and type the following line of code:

/Applications/Steam.app/Contents/MacOS/steam_osx -console

If you are on Linux, you should be able to install the game onto your machine and then pull the game data files directly from there.

GOG-specific instructions

If you happen to already own the game via GOG.com, it’s theoretically easy to extract the Linux data files. Once you have purchased the game from GOG.com, it will show up in your library. Go into the Games section on your profile, and click the arrow at the bottom-right of your game, and select “View Downloads”. Change the system to Linux, and then click on the link under “Download Game Installers”. 

The downloaded file will be in .sh format. All you have to do is change the file extension from .sh to .gz, and then open it with 7zip. Note that I haven’t personally tested this method, but the method generally works in this way.