Pico-8 is an awesome fantasy console, and one of its biggest strengths is that it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and any number of Linux-based handhelds with ease. Unfortunately, getting it to run natively on Android devices is not as simple; there are some excellent Pico-8 emulator cores available for RetroArch, but none of them replicate the thrilling experience of navigating the Splore menu and downloading/playing carts directly within that native environment.

In this guide we’re going to trick our Android devices into running a Windows environment that will launch Splore. Once set up, it takes a couple extra taps to get running, but it’s pretty neat.

Note that this will require a somewhat powerful Android device to run, I would recommend something like the Retroid Pocket 3+ or higher. Also note that running Pico-8 through a Windows container on Android like this is inherently buggier than running it natively on Windows, Mac, or Linux. There will simply be some moments where the app or controls will freeze. It’s not perfect!

This guide was inspired by redditor jtischer1979’s post; thanks for the tips!

Add Pico-8 to your device

• Download the latest Winlator APK from their releases page, and install it on your Android device.
• If you haven’t already, purchase Pico-8 (generally $15 USD), then download the windows.zip version (not the “setup.exe” version). Image below.

• One you have downloaded the .zip version of Pico-8, unzip the package so that you have a folder named “pico-8”. Now you want to transfer this folder to the Internal Storage > Download folder of your device. There are many ways you can do it, but the simplest may be to transfer the folder onto your device’s microSD card, then within your device’s Files app, copy the folder to Internal Storage > Download.

Set up Winlator

• Start up the Winlator app on your device, and enable all permissions requirements at startup. It will install some System Files, which might take a minute.
• In the Containers heading, you tap the “+” button on the top-right.
  • Rename the Container to something memorable (like Pico-8)
  • Under Screen Size, you have a few options:
    • For 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio devices, I recommend 800×600
    • For 1:1 devices like the RG Cube, I recommend “Custom” and 720×720
  • For Graphics Driver, you have a few options depending on the device and it’s chipset
    • In most cases, I recommend VirGL (Universal)
    • For Retroid devices, LLVMpipe (Software) seems to work best
    • For Odin or other Snapdragon devices, try Turnip (Adreno)
  • For Audio Driver, choose ALSA
  • In the Win Components tab, choose DirectX > Direct Sound > Native (Windows)
  • In the Advanced tab, you can remove CPU cores under “Processor Affinity”, although I have found the default settings work well.
• One you have made these adjustments, click the blue check mark on the bottom right to save the container settings

Make a Pico-8 shortcut

Now that the container has been created, click on the hamburger (three dot) menu and select “Run”. This will create a Windows desktop environment. To navigate in this environment, think of your device’s touch screen as a laptop’s touchpad; press and drag your finger to move the mouse cursor, and tap to click (and tap with two fingers to right-click).

• Once in Windows, an Explorer window should appear, showing multiple storage drives.
• Navigate to the D: drive, then open the Pico-8 folder that we previously added to the device’s internal storage. Inside, find the pico8.exe file, then right click by tapping with two fingers, and choose “Create Shortcut”.
• This will create a shortcut on your desktop. Verify it is there, then navigate to the Windows Start > Exit Desktop to exit the Windows environment.

Boot into Pico-8 Splore

Back in the main Winlator interface, tap on the Menu icon to the left of the word “Containers” in the top menu bar, and select Shortcuts. You should now see a Pico-8 shortcut in this menu, but it needs some additional configuration.

• Tap on the hamburger (three dot) menu button on the right, then select Settings
• Scroll down to the tabs, choose Advanced > Exec Arguments and add “-splore” (minus the quotations) in the text box.

In an ideal world, that should be it. You can press OK and then tap on the pico8 shortcut to boot into Splore and enjoy Pico-8!

To exit out of this environment, hover over any game within the Splore menu and select Options > Shutdown Pico-8. After a moment it should boot you back into Winlator.

From now on, getting into Pico-8 is pretty fast. Open Winlator, navigate to Menu > Shortcuts, tap on the pico8 shortcut. DONE.

Troubleshooting issues

Depending on your device and how its controller / graphics profiles were programmed, you may run into other issues. Here is a (not comprehensive) list of things you could do to make sure it’s working properly.

Graphics issues?

• In Winlator, go to Menu > Shortcuts and to the right of the pico8 shortcut, tap the hamburger (three dot) menu button on the right, then select Settings
  • Adjust the graphics driver. For example, for the Anbernic RG Cube, changing the Graphics Driver to Turnip (Adreno) allowed Splore to boot
  • Adjust the DX Wrapper. I have found that WinD3D seems to work best, but it’s worth toggling the others to see if they work
  • Under the Advanced tab, set the Box86 and Box64 presets to Compatibility

Controller issues?

By default, the app should detect your device’s controls, but with some devices (especially those from Anbernic), it may not. Let’s set them up manually.

• In Winlator, go to Menu > Input controls
• Under Profile, tap the “+” icon and create a new input profile of your choice (“RGcube”, etc).
• Once created, click on the drop-down menu under “Profile” and choose the one you just created
• Under the External Controllers heading, you should see the name of your controller input (“retrogame_joypad” for Anbernic devices), tap on that.
• Now, in this next section, you can press a button on your controller, and then map it to whatever you’d like.
  • I have found that for Anbernic devices, which don’t seem to properly detect xinput controls within Winlator, it’s best to map the controls to keyboard inputs, which work great in Pico-8. Here is the input mapping that I used for the RG Cube:
    • Button A: Keyboard X
    • Button B: Keyboard C
    • Button Start: Keyboard ENTER
    • Dpad Up: Keyboard UP (and so on)
    • Analog stick Up (Axis Y+): Keyboard UP (and so on)
• Now that the controls are set up, let’s assign this profile to your Pico-8 shortcut.
  • In Winlator, go to Menu > Shortcuts and to the right of the pico8 shortcut, tap the hamburger (three dot) menu button on the right, then select Settings
  • Under the Advanced tab, select Input Controls > Profile and choose your control profile. Set the DirectInput Mapper Type to XInput.

Running Pico-8 through a Windows container on Android like this is inherently buggier than running it natively on Windows, Mac, or Linux. There will simply be some moments where the app or controls will freeze. It’s not perfect!

Other resources

In addition to my written guide, there are two other helpful YouTube videos. The first is a setup guide video from Adin Walls going through a process very similar to this written guide (albeit with an older version of Winlator, so there may be some inconsistencies). The second option is to manually install the fake08 RetroArch core, using ET Land xoxo‘s video.

Alternatively, if you just want to try out a few games, you could always navigate to the Pico-8 cart repository on your device’s browser and play the games from there. Just note that it’s a slightly miserable experience, with crackly audio, virtual controls taking up screen real estate, and a fullscreen mode that will often make the image *smaller* rather than larger. Below is a demonstration of the experience.

Changelog

21JUN2024
– published guide

In this guide I’ll show you how to set up widescreen for many beloved SNES games. Not every game will work with this setup, but many do, including some of my personal favorites.

To enable widescreen, you must use the BSNES standalone emulator or the BSNES HD Beta core within RetroArch. For this guide we will focus on the BSNES HD Beta RetroArch core.

You will need a somewhat powerful machine to run the BSNES RetroArch core. For retro handhelds, I recommend something like the Retroid Pocket 3+ at the very least, but the AYN Odin or Logitech Cloud will work even better.

Table of Contents

BSNES core options
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Steam Deck instructions

Changelog

BSNES Core Options

To start, you will need to install the BSNES HD Beta core on RetroArch, which you can find under Online Updater > Core Downloader.

Choose between 8:7 and 4:3 aspect ratio. By default, BSNES HD Beta will run games at a native 8:7 aspect ratio. If you prefer the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio found in CRT televisions, you will need to change this core setting manually. To do so, start up any SNES game using the BSNES HD Beta core, then enter the Quick Menu and select Core Options > Pixel Aspect Correction > ON. From there you can exit the menu and your changes will be saved for the entire core.

Mode 7 widescreen. Games that use Mode 7 technology will run those scenes in widescreen (generally 16:9) by default. So games like Super Mario Kart and F-Zero will naturally play in widescreen as soon as you boot up the ROM in the BSNES HD Beta core. Easy! I’ll list some of my favorites at the end of this section.

By default, Mode 7 graphics will upscale from 240p to 480p. This will cause slowdown if your system can’t handle it (like on the Retroid Pocket 3+, AYN Odin, or Logitech Cloud). To remove the upscale, go to Quick Menu > Core Options > HD Mode 7 Scale > 240p (1x). Alternatively, if you have a powerful device you can upscale the graphics even further than 2x/480p (you can also turn on HD Mode 7 Supersampling to smooth out the graphics).

Manual widescreen. For other games that are widescreen compatible but not Mode 7 titles, you will need to force widescreen mode within the settings. To do so, launch the game with the BSNES HD Beta core, then enter the Quick Menu and select Core Options > Widescreen Mode > Enable for all scenes. Below that there is an option for Widescreen Aspect Ratio, by default this will be set to 16:9, but some games will run better at a 16:10 aspect ratio.

Other notes related to manually setting widescreen:

• For some games, setting it to widescreen will duplicate the menu bar. A good example here is Super Punch Out!!, which otherwise plays well at a 16:9 aspect ratio. To fix a duplicate menu bar, try toggling OFF the widescreen background layers to find the one that fixes the issue. For example, the Super Punch Out!! menu bar can be fixed by going into Core Options > Widescreen Background Layer 3 > Disable Widescreen for this Layer.
• If you are having issues with your sprite disappearing, go to the Quick Menu and choose Core Options > Widescreen Sprites > Render Anywhere (Unsafe).
• Once you have the game adjusted to your liking, go to Core Options > Manage Core Options > Save Game File. This will save those settings for the game without altering the overall BSNES core settings.

Here is a list of some of my favorite games to play in widescreen and their suggested settings. If you test any games and find improved settings please let me know in the comments below and I’ll get them added to the list. Additionally, here is a link to a community compatibility spreadsheet for both SNES and Genesis widescreen games (background info here); the spreadsheet is based on this original list from GameFAQs.

F-Zero (runs at 16:9 by default, no additional changes required)
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (16:9 aspect)
Pilotwings (runs at 16:9 by default, no additional changes required)
Super Castlevania IV (16:10 aspect, some pop-in on the sides)
Super Mario All-Stars (16:10 aspect, some flickering on the sides)
Super Mario Kart (runs at 16:9 by default, no additional changes required)
Super Punch-Out!! (16:9 aspect, disable widescreen for background layer 3)
Super R-Type (16:9 aspect, some flickering on right side)
TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (16:9 aspect, enemies magically appear from the sides)

Android notes:

If a Mode 7 game (like Super Mario Kart) shows black boxes at the top corners, you will need to manually load widescreen mode as well, via Core Options > Widescreen Mode > Enable for all scenes.

If using Daijisho as your emulation frontend on Android, I recommend setting the SNES emulator core to something that is not BSNES HD Beta — I would use Snes9x or BSNES depending on how powerful your device is. Then, when in the SNES menu, select your game and choose Edit Item > Custom Player > ON, and then under Custom Player choose “snes- RetroArch 64 -bsnes_hd_beta” (assuming you are using the latest RetroArch 64-bit version from their website, which I recommend using on Android). That means that non-widescreen games will boot with the regular SNES core and save system resources, and then your widescreen games will use BSNES HD Beta.

Super Mario World

Super Mario World is special in that it needs to be patched to support widescreen. The process seems intimidating but it really only takes a few minutes, and after you are done you’ll be able to use this widescreen version in various devices running the BSNES HD Beta RetroArch core. Note that the patched version of Super Mario World requires more system resources than simply applying a widescreen mode, and so this game will not run at full speed on slower devices like the Retroid Pocket 3+.

• Acquire a ROM file for Super Mario World. It can be in either sfc or smc format.
• Go to this releases page and download the latest zip file, then unzip the file.
• Inside this folder you will find various BPS and BSO files, with example screenshots to help you decide which patch you want to apply.

There are four main ways to play Super Mario World, depending on your preferred width and pixel stretch. The best way to think about this is to consider how you prefer to play Super Mario World in the first place. If you usually play it with an 8:7 aspect ratio, then you will want to use one of the “raw” pixel presets. If you prefer the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio found in CRT televisions, then you will want to use one of the “par” options.

Personally, for 16:9 devices (like the AYN Odin) I use smw-widescreen-par so that my game plays in 16:9 but with the traditional pixel stretch for 4:3 CRTs. For 20:9 devices (like a smartphone or the Razer Edge) I prefer the smw-extrawide-par option to fill out more screen.

If you want to play SMW Widescreen at 16:10 with raw pixels (1:1):
 - use smw-widescreen-raw.bps and smw-widescreen-raw.bso
 - recommended if you like playing on emulator resolution

If you want to play SMW Widescreen at 16:9 with CRT pixel aspect ratio:
 - use smw-widescreen-par.bps and smw-widescreen-par.bso
 - recommended if you like playing on real hardware resolution

If you want to play SMW Widescreen at 16:9 with raw pixels (1:1):
 - use smw-extrawide-raw.bps and smw-extrawide-raw.bso
 - recommended if you like playing on emulator resolution

If you want to play SMW Widescreen at 18:9 / 2:1 with CRT pixel aspect ratio:
 - use smw-extrawide-par.bps and smw-extrawide-par.bso
 - recommended if you like playing on real hardware resolution

• One you have decided your preferred patch, we need to patch the Super Mario World ROM.
  • Head over to this page and drag-and-drop your ROM file into the “ROM file” section. It should provide you with CRC32, MD5, and SHA-1 codes for the game.
  • Drag-and-drop your desired bps file into the “Patch file” section. It should highlight your ROM’s CRC32 code in green and show a green checkmark. If it doesn’t, try a different ROM.
  • Click on the “Apply Patch” button and it should immediately give you a download pop-up screen for your new patched ROM. Save this wherever you would like. Once you have finished this patch, you no longer need the BPS file.
• Once you have a patched ROM file, it needs to be named similarly to the corresponding BSO file. For example, here is how I named my files:

Super Mario World Wide.sfc
Super Mario World Wide.bso

or

Super Mario World Extrawide.sfc
Super Mario World Extrawide.bso

Now, place these two files in your SNES ROM directory and boot the game using the BSNES HD Beta core in RetroArch. More information about this patch can be found here.

Super Metroid

Similar to Super Mario World, this game need special attention. Unlike SMW you don’t have to patch the ROM itself, you just have to add two additional files to the ROM location. Note that the patched version of Super Metroid requires more system resources than simply applying a widescreen mode, and so this game will not run at full speed on slower devices like the Retroid Pocket 3+.

• You will need a specific version of Super Metroid, known as “Super Metroid (JU) [!] (UH).smc“. This file has a CRC32 (cycle redundancy check) name of D63ED5F8. You can check your Super Metroid ROM’s CRC32 using this online tool; if your ROM is not the correct version, you will have to search elsewhere to find the D63ED5F8-labelled SMC file.
• Head to this page and download the BSO and BSP files. You can download them directly by right-clicking on these two links and selecting “Save As…”
  • Super Metroid BPS
  • Super Metroid BSO
• Once you have all three files, they need to be named similarly. For example, here is how I named my files:

Super Metroid Wide.smc
Super Metroid Wide.bps
Super Metroid Wide.bso

Now, place all three files in your SNES ROM directory and boot the game using the BSNES HD Beta core in RetroArch. More information about this patch can be found here.

Steam Deck instructions

There are a couple ways to add widescreen hacks to SNES games on the Steam Deck.

1. If you are playing the games within EmulationStation (either via EmuDeck or on its own), you can hover over the game in the menu, press SELECT > Edit Metadata > Alternative Emulator and choose “bsnes-hd”. Now the game will launch with the widescreen-enabling core, and you can enter the Quick Menu and go from there.
2. If you want to add the game to your SteamOS menu via EmuDeck and Steam ROM Manager, then you can add the game to the snes-hd folder in the EmuDeck ROMs directory. This will automatically launch the game in the BSNES HD Beta core.

Changelog

22FEB2023
– published guide
– added Steam Deck section

Getting started

There are three main guides I would recommend consulting when setting up the RG505. First is my Android Starter Guide, which will help you set up the device from scratch. To get the most of your classic retro games, then my RetroArch Starter Guide will also help you along the way. Finally, to bring it all together, here is my Daijisho frontend guide.

UPDATE: the RG505 now has Google Play Store functionality. At the time of making my review, I had to sideload the apps myself. Below is a list of what I used:

Side-load emulators

RetroArch (latest nightly 64-bit apk): For classic systems, I recommend using the latest Android build directly from RetroArch. It’s available on this page under the name RetroArch_aarch64.apk.

Citra MMJ (latest Antutu Storage Access apk): For Nintendo 3DS use, the latest apk from this releases page, and use the “Antutu Storage Access” version for best results.

Flycast 2.0 (latest apk release): For Dreamcast, use the pre-installed Redream emulator for the best results, but if you want to try to use upscaled graphics outside of the Flycast RetroArch core, here is the standalone version.

Dolphin MMJR: While development has halted on this build, it generally provides the best mix of accuracy and performance on Android. For best results, use PAL region GameCube ROMs.

Mupen64 Plus FZ: This is a mirror of the Play Store version (free version) made by the author. This should work well with Nintendo 64 emulation using its default settings with a 720p upscale.

AetherSX2 (latest monthly release): AetherSX2 releases a monthly release that is more up-to-date than the pre-installed version on the RG505. For best results, set the “Fast Preset” when first setting up the device, but use a 0% underclock unless you need to activate it for certain games.

Skyline (latest release): This Switch emulator is frequently updated. Be sure to set it to “handheld mode” for best results. Do not expect many games to boot, and even fewer to play at full speed.

Other apps to install

Aurora store: This alternative Play Store will allow you to install games but doesn’t host illegal content like the apps that are pre-installed on the RG505. This is good when installing benchmarking apps like Ampere, Gamepad Tester, or Geekbench. You can also install official apps like the Xbox app or Chrome (Beta) from this resource.

Chiaki: This is a free PlayStation 4 or 5 remote play app that works well with the RG505.

Daijisho: This is my favorite Android frontend, you can see my video about it here.

Buy one here

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:46 tech specs
03:32 unboxing and impressions
07:12 comparison with other handhelds
09:52 software experience
11:03 Linux performance testing
15:00 Bluetooth, HDMI testing
15:53 Android experience and streaming
18:20 JELOS and ArkOS testing
20:26 summary (likes and dislikes)
22:44 conclusion

Moonlight streaming. Here is my guide to get PC streaming set up:

Also consider using Castor, a way to stream from your PC that won’t take up your whole PC at the same time:

PortMaster. This tool will allow you to play some select PC ports directly on your retro handheld, including the RG353M:

Also check out my Ports category on this website for game-specific instructions.

Custom firmwares:

ArkOS: To get started, download the RG353V build of ArkOS from the link near the bottom of their wiki frontpage. Flash that firmware to a microSD card (16GB is recommended) using tools like Rufus or Balena Etcher. Once the card is flashed, re-insert it into your PC and you should see a “BOOT” partition. Within there, find the file named rk3566-oc.dtb and copy it to your PC (on your Desktop, for example) as a backup. Next, download this replacement file (right-click and select “Save As”), unzip it, and replace the rk3566-oc.dtb file on your card. Eject the card from your PC, insert it into your RG353M, and it should boot properly. For more information about how to get started with ArkOS, refer to their wiki page.

ROCKNIX (forked from JELOS): To get started, download the RG353P build of ROCKNIX from their releases page (you may need to click on the “show all assets” hyperlink to find the build). Be sure to use the .img build and not the .tar file. . Flash that firmware to a microSD card (16GB is recommended) using tools like Rufus or Balena Etcher. Eject the card from your PC, insert it into your RG353M, and it should boot properly. For more information about how to get started with JELOS, refer to their wiki page.

Buy one here
My Retroid Pocket 2+ starter guide
Shaun Inman’s screen comparison tool

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
02:02 tech specs and unboxing
03:57 hardware impressions
12:40 size and screen comparison
18:41 the software experience
20:46 retro game testing
24:31 PSX, N64, Saturn
26:25 Dreamcast, PSP, PS2, GameCube
30:05 local streaming (PS2/PC)
32:26 cloud streaming
34:35 summary (likes and dislikes)
38:23 conclusion

Written instructions have been added to my Android emulation starter guide

Skyline website
Official compatibility list

More info on the AYN Odin

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
02:07 installation
04:48 Skyline setup
07:15 game testing
10:00 summary and conclusion

The Super Console Arcade Stick from KinHank is one of my family’s favorite gaming devices of 2022, and so in this guide I will show you how to load it up with a clean copy of EmuELEC 4.3, add your own game library, and then tailor it for the best experience possible.

Buy one via AliExpress or Amazon
Replacement arcade buttons via AliExpress or Amazon

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:16 pricing and Batocera
03:28 install EmuELEC
06:06 configure controls
07:46 add BIOS and ROM files
09:00 recommended configurations
15:14 RetroArch hotkeys and remap files
17:45 scraping media
19:26 multiplayer with 8bitDo arcade stick
20:14 summary and conclusion

Get started with EmuELEC

• Download the 4.3 image of EmuELEC. You can find it via their Releases Page or directly via this link. The image file you are looking for is named “EmuELEC-Amlogic.aarch64-4.3-Generic.img.gz”.
• Flash the image to a microSD card using Balena Etcher. For the best results, I recommend using a microSD card that is at least 128GB, from a reputable brand like SanDisk or Samsung.

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

• Once you have flashed the card, eject the SD card and then re-insert it into your PC. You should see a partition called “EMUELEC” that will have some system files inside. Download this dtb.img file, unzip it, then add the file to your EMUELEC partition. There will already be a dtb.img file in that partition, replace it with the new one.
• Eject the SD card from your PC and insert it into the Super Console Arcade Stick, and turn the device on. Follow the instructions in the video above in case it doesn’t boot into EmuELEC, and boots you into the Android image instead.
• EmuELEC will initialize itself, and then you will be in the main menu. From there you can map your arcade stick buttons, and then Quit the app, power down the device, and then put the SD card back in your PC.
• You should now see a second partition on your SD card, called “EEROMS”, this is where you will put your games and BIOS files. If you don’t see this partition, follow the steps in the last half of this video guide. Add your games and BIOS files according to this chart.
• When possible, use romsets that are organized using the No Intro Naming Convention. Additionally, for arcade, try to use non-merged romsets from MAME 2003-Plus and FinalBurn Neo, those work the best with this hardware.

Configuring EmuELEC

For a line-by-line configuration setup, I recommend watching the video above. Consult the diagram above for my preferred hotkeys. Here are some recommended per-system advanced configurations:

Nintendo 64:
– Emulator: Parallel RA core (32-bit)
– Shader: CRT Scanline

PlayStation:
– Emulator: PCSX ReArmed 32-bit

PSP and Dreamcast / Naomi / Atomiswave games are somewhat playable on this S905 chip, but the performance is not very good. I would recommend sticking to lightweight, 2D games, or just focusing on N64 and below systems.

If you’d like to learn more about the Super Console Arcade Stick, here is the original review:

It’s no secret that the Anbernic RG552 is an expensive device. At its initial starting retail price of $227, it can be disappointing that it’s not powerful enough to run GameCube or PlayStation 2 at acceptable levels (thankfully, as of 2024 it can be found for about $175 on sale). Even with that in mind, there are some aspects of this device that really shine — namely its screen and overall feel when it comes to d-pad-centric gaming — and so in this guide I’m going to walk you through all the little tweaks and tricks I use to get the most out of this device.

At the end of the day, the Anbernic RG552 is one of my favorite consoles for RETRO (i.e. 32-bit and below) gaming, and with these tweaks, I think you might agree.

Buy one here (AliExpress)
or via Anbernic.com
or via Amazon Prime (more expensive but fast shipping)

Who should avoid the RG552?

Before we start discussing why I like the device so much, let’s put out some words of caution. If you only plan on buying one device, this may not be a good fit compared to other devices on the market. Let’s go over some of its downsides first:

• Price vs competition. At $227 retail, this is a sizable investment (note that it will often go on sale for $199 if you shop around). If you are most concerned about high-end performance, then you can find options that will give better performance for your money. At the absolutely lowest budget point, the Retroid Pocket 2+ starts at $99 before shipping, and will play about 25% of the GameCube catalog. Its larger sibling, the Retroid Pocket 3, has the same performance as the RP2+ but with a nicer form factor and larger screen for $120 before shipping. And at $199 before shipping, the AYN Odin Lite will play the majority of the GameCube catalog and a good amount of PS2 games, too (just note that shipping times for the Odin Lite are exceptionally bad; I ordered mine in July 2021 and as of this writing it still has not shipped).
• Higher-end gameplay. The RG552 can play a good amount of Dreamcast, N64, Saturn, and PSP titles, but it will take some tweaking to get just right, and you will have to switch between the Android and Linux operating systems to find the best fit (in general, Android will fare better). And even then, those systems won’t play as well on the RG552 as the cheaper devices I mentioned in the previous bullet.
• Not great for FPS or 3D games. The shoulder and trigger buttons on the RG552 are linear, as opposed to a stacked configuration you will find on modern controllers (and the handhelds mentioned above). This means that accessing the trigger (L2 or R2) buttons can be an uncomfortable stretch for most hands. Additionally, the analog sticks rest low on the device, making it very difficult to use a combination of the analog sticks and the trigger buttons at the same time. So when it comes to playing first-person shooters or other games where you rely on that style of controls, it will not be a pleasant experience.
• Not great for streaming. The device comes with a 2.4GHz internal WiFi chip, which is suitable for features like RetroAchievements or downloading updates for the custom firmware. However, that WiFi speed is not sufficient for game streaming. You can use a 5GHz WiFi USB dongle to provide that connection if you’d like, but that will be an added expense.
• No bluetooth. If you are hoping to connect an external controller to the device, or stream music to wireless earbuds while gaming, this device does not have an internal bluetooth chip. Instead, you’ll have to use that 5GHz WiFi dongle that I mentioned in the point above, because it also has BT capability. Side note, you can actually pull the chip from this dongle and solder it to the RG552 board; instructions on how to do that are found in Black Seraph’s Patreon page.
• Battery life with certain systems. When playing high-end systems like PSP, Dreamcast, or Nintendo 64, I would expect only about three hours of battery life, which is quite a bit worse than the cheaper devices I mentioned in the earlier points. This is because the Rockchip RK3399 CPU that runs the RG552 has a tendency to generate heat under a heavy load, which then will cycle on the fan, and then reduce battery life.
• Android update required. The Android that comes with the RG552 lacks a lot of features found in the custom Android image that I feature in this video and guide. So in order to get the best performance in Android, I would recommend updating the image, which will take some time and effort, and will also cost $10 to sign up for the developer’s Patron account in order to access the tool.
• Hand warmer. The device can get warm even under a light load, so if you are prone to sweaty hands, that may drive you bonkers.

Okay, so if I haven’t scared you off yet, let’s talk about why I think the RG552 is an excellent device in the right context.

What gives the RG552 potential?

Now, despite its shortcomings, the Anbernic RG552 can really shine in certain areas. And if those areas are critical to you, then the device might be a good fit for you — warts and all.

• Ideal aspect ratio. The screen on the RG552 is a 5:3 aspect ratio, which makes is a little wider than the traditional 4:3 display, but taller than the standard 16:9 aspect ratio we see today. What this means is that 4:3 games AND 16:9 games (and everything in between) will all look excellent on this screen, with minor black bars on the top and bottom depending on what system you use. This is ideal because no matter what retro system you play — NES, SNES, GBA, or PSP — they will all look well-proportioned.
• High resolution screen. In addition to having a nice aspect ratio, the RG552 screen resolution is 1920×1152. This high resolution allows you to use integer scaling (when you increase pixel scaling by a whole integer) to get beautifully balanced image quality for just about every retro game system. Your home console, arcade, *and* handheld systems will look fantastic with their original aspect ratio and integer scaling. If you’d like to test the aspect ratio and resolution yourself, I recommend checking out this handy tool from Shaun Inman.
• Premium d-pad and buttons. Shoulder/trigger buttons aside, the d-pad and face buttons are very good on the RG552. The d-pad is smooth and responsive, and the face buttons glide easily and bounce back with a classically-retro amount of force. So when playing retro games that rely on a d-pad and face button setup, your gaming experience will be outstanding. Additionally, using the left analog stick for arcade titles is decent — not exceptional, but still definitely enjoyable.
• Decent battery life with retro gaming. While playing high-end systems will only give you an average battery life of about 3 hours, when you do the tips and tricks below on retro (32-bit and below) systems you can expect much better returns. For example, playing the most demanding SNES game (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island) with my recommended adjustments will yield 4 hours and 45 minutes of game time. Additionally, the device is capable of fast charging, so you can be up and running with a full battery in about an hour.
• Android and Linux dual-boot. This is one of the few devices on the market that can natively boot into either Android or Linux operating systems. While this can be annoying when switching between the two in order to find the right emulation setup, the fact that you can do this in the first place effectively doubles your options. With Android you can flash a new clean ROM image to the device, and you have multiple Linux-based custom firmware options, to include JELOS, AmberELEC, and Batocera.
• Linux PC ports. Developer JohnnyonFlame and others from the community have been hard at work porting over PC games to work on Linux-based retro handhelds, and while they will run on other devices, all of these ports look best on the RG552. And it’s no contest, these games are breathtaking on this screen. Some examples include Celeste, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Super Mario 64, Shovel Knight, Timespinner, and Iconoclasts.

So in the end, I’m not trying to convince you to buy the Anbernic RG552. Instead, this guide is meant to show you that in the right settings, this can be an exceptional retro handheld gaming experience. I’ve had the device for about eight months as of making this guide, and it’s still one of my most-played devices.

So with all that out of the way, let’s set up the device.

Use the JELOS custom firmware

I typically don’t like to take sides when it comes to the many custom firmware options that are available for Linux-based devices, but for this guide we are going to make an exception. Currently the JELOS custom firmware provides a number of options that aren’t found elsewhere. All told, this custom firmware will allow us to:

• Set custom overclock profiles on a per-system or per-game basis
• Reduce the number of used CPU cores to improve battery life
• Adjust the fan profile on a per-system or per-game basis
• Adjust the CPU governor to further improve battery life
• A “WiFi PowerSave” features

So the first thing we need to do is flash the JELOS custom firmware to a new microSD card (I recommend a 16GB card like these):

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

Additionally, I recommend a high-quality second SD card to hold all of your ROMs and BIOS files:

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

JELOS configuration recommendations

By default, ROCKNIX (a more recent fork of the now-retired JELOS) uses a lot of really solid configurations for your retro systems. However, there are a few settings I like to tweak in order to maximize battery life and image quality.

Overall GAMES SETTINGS:

• Aspect Ratio: Core Provided
• Bilinear Filtering: OFF
• Cores Used: Little
• Rewind: OFF
• Integer Scaling: ON
• RGA Scale: OFF
• Auto Save/Load: Show Save States if not Empty
• Shader Set: NONE
• Filter Set: NONE

Beyond the system wide settings, some specific consoles have tweaks that can improve the experience. These can be adjusted in one of two ways: a) enter the games list for a system, press SELECT, and choose “Advanced System Options” for the options that can be changed in EmulationStation (ES), or b) enter a game, press SELECT + X to bring up the RetroArch (RA) Quick Menu, and make adjustments here. If making Core Options changes (most likely), they will save themselves every time you make an adjustment, which is handy.

Per-System GAMES SETTINGS:

Game Boy:
– (ES) Shader Set: HANDHELD/LCD3X.GLSLP
– (ES) Colorization: SPECIAL 1
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > Interframe Blending > LCD Ghosting (Accurate)

Game Boy Color:
– (ES) Shader Set: HANDHELD/LCD3X.GLSLP

Game Boy Advance:
– (ES) Shader Set: HANDHELD/LCD3X.GLSLP

Nintendo Entertainment System:
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > Video > Mask Overscan (Horizontal) > ON
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > Emulation Hacks > Remove Sprite Limit > ON

Sega Genesis:
– (ES) Emulator: Genesis Plus GX Wide
– (ES) Aspect Ratio: Core Provided (default is 4:3)
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > Video > Extra Columns to Draw in H40 > 2 to 8 (I prefer 2)
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > Emulation Hacks > Remove Per-Line Sprite Limit > ON
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > Emulation Hacks > CPU Speed > 150% (for games with slowdown)

PlayStation:
– (ES) Cores Used > All
– (ES) Overclock > All – 1992/1512/900/933
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > GPU Plugin > Enhanced Resolution (Slow) > ON
– (RA) Quick Menu > Core Options > GPU Plugin > Enhanced Resolution Speed Hack > ON

Note that when entering the Quick Menu with the XMB RetroArch Menu Driver, there will be some overlapping text at first. To fix this, I press B then A to enter and exit the Quick Menu and that resolves the issue.

Set up a clean Android ROM image

While it’s outside the scope of this guide, you can still definitely set up the Android side for improved performance. To start, I would recommend upgrading to Android 9 or 11 using Black Seraph’s custom solutions. This will give you a number of improvements over the original image, like overclock, proper streaming controls, and more. Note that in order to access those files, you will need to be a $10 Patron for at least one month (so, $10 altogether).

Although there is an Android 9 or Android 11 build option, I recommend the Android 9 version. The Android 11 version has increased security restrictions that won’t allow you to use the SD card interchangeably between Linux OS (like JELOS) and Android. Here is a video where I set up Android 9 (and here is the written guide with links to everything):

In the end, if you want to play the higher-end systems on this device, I would recommend setting it up in Android. Here is my Android emulation starter guide which will help you really dial in the best Android performance. See the video above for expected emulation performance in Android after everything is set up properly. In a nutshell, this is what I would expect:

Make some upgrades!

If you are looking for the 5GHz WiFi and Bluetooth module that will work with all three firmware options, this option is about $15 and has been tested thoroughly. You can even pull the chip from this dongle and solder it to the RG552 board; instructions on how to do that are found in Black Seraph’s Patreon page.

However, if (like me) you are not quite ready to start soldering chips to an expensive handheld device, one of the perks of joining the “Premium” ($10) tier of the Retro Handhelds discord server is that it entitles you to a free hardware mod from Thor. So for $10 plus the cost of shipping your device to/from Thor, you can have him install the chip (which is what I did). The membership tiers also unlock exclusive channels and a free copy of the Reset Collection frontend for Android ($5 value).

Other options

The options above aren’t the only way to enjoy the Anbernic RG552. For example, both Batocera and AmberELEC have custom firmware options available for the device:

Buy one here
AYN Odin shipping dashboard

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:00 unboxing
01:29 first impressions
02:42 purpleness and buttons
03:40 LED check
04:46 comparison with black model / conclusion

GitHub page for installation instructions
Guiformat tool to format your flash drive to FAT32
Community compatibility sheet where you can see performance results for games that have already been tested
My Odin Starter Guide

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:47 download files
03:21 install Google drivers
03:51 flash custom boot installer
05:53 install Windows
07:46 Windows setup
09:55 summary & conclusion

Notes:

• If the Android drivers fail to detect the Odin when you plug it in during installation, some users have noted that installing the Microsoft Media Features Pack onto your PC can resolve the issue.
• When downloading the install.wim file from the instructions/video above, I mention that any install.wim file. Based on community reports, it appears the 22621.1 version seems to work the best (direct link here).
• Setting the Display resolution to 1366×768 will give you a sharper image than 720p with minimal performance cost, and works well with Windows 11’s tablet UI.
• When first setting up your device, be sure to go to the “Essentials” tab of the Community Compatibility Sheet and install all of the plugins listed, as they will greatly improve gameplay performance.
• Developer Alessandro “Locutus73” Miele has created a collection of ARM-based emulators from resources available already, or those that he compiled himself specifically for the Odin. So far he has compiled ARM-friendly builds for Dolphin, PPSSPP, and PrimeHack.
  • Dolphin tips: add an empty portable.txt file to the Dolphin.exe’s directory to create a local settings file, so that it won’t conflict with the PrimeHack settings.
  • Run Dolphin in Direct3D 12, 2x or 3x resolution, “skip drawing”, “defer EFB cache invalidation”, and “immediately present XFB”
  • Expect parity of performance for some games with Dolphin MMJR, but with better accuracy and the ability to set hotkeys. On a few games they might be a bit better than on Android (like Wave Race: Blue Storm), but on others they will be worse (Super Mario Sunshine).
• If you run into any other issues with the installation, I would recommend using the GitHub issues tab to alert the developers.

Here is a performance showcase of Windows 11 on the Odin: