Odin starter guide

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
02:15 tech specs
03:12 price and availability
06:31 unboxing and impressions
09:44 LTE (cellular data) testing
11:27 comparison with Pro (WiFi, screen, battery)
17:08 HDMI video out
18:01 retro game emulation testing
19:23 Saturn, N64, Dreamcast, PSP
21:51 GameCube, PS2
25:10 3DS, Switch (Skyline)
27:13 Android gaming
27:52 streaming (Xbox, PlayStation, PC/Moonlight)
30:23 summary (likes and dislikes)
33:37 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

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

** Note that when making the video the Innocn OLED monitor price was $680, but it is currently being sold for $560.

Items used in the review:
Innocn 4K OLED monitor
Innocn also sells a 1080p, non-touch, non-battery OLED monitor for $350

AWOW 1080p LCD monitor
AWOW monitor review video
Note that the AWOW monitor is now sold out, but Innocn makes a similar 1080p LCD portable monitor for $150

Lamicall tablet stand
Lamicall official site

• use code RussFS02 for 30% off
  They will also be holding a 30% off Father’s Day sale (more info in their social media channels)

ACEFAST charger (black)
ACEFAST charger (white)

• use code “ACEFASTa19” for 10% off the charger through 30JUN2022 (black model only)

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:47 the setup
04:33 OLED monitor
07:01 testing the LCD setup
09:49 testing the OLED setup
13:17 summary (likes and dislikes)
16:57 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:

The AYN Odin handhelds are a perfect storm of emulation gaming goodness — they provide excellent performance for their price, great battery life, and a nice screen, all will solid controls and ergonomics.

This guide will work with any AYN Odin and Odin 2 model, with notes for each distinct device when necessary.

Because the AYN Odin runs on an Android platform, setting up the device is similar to setting up any other Android device for the purpose of game emulation. I already have complete Android and RetroArch guides on this website, which will serve as the foundation of setting up your Odin. There are some unique setup aspects for the Odin which we’ll cover in this guide, to complement the two guides above, but I would highly encourage you to check out those two guides if you want to take a deeper dive into the platforms.

Are the Odin devices pre-loaded with games? No, the devices ship as a general Android phone or tablet, with only essential apps (Play Store, Chrome, etc.) pre-installed. You are on your own to find the emulated game files (ROMs) to play on this device. There are no copyrighted files on this website.

Table of Contents

Choose your model
Recommended accessories
Build your ROM (and BIOS) library
Startup and orientation
Recommended emulators
Button mapping and hotkeys
Increase rendering resolution in 3D-based games
Advanced emulation considerations
Streaming apps
Android frontends
Upgrade the hardware
Dual boot mode for Odin Base/Pro

Changelog

Choose your model

There are essentially two main models of Odin: the Odin (which released in 2022), and the Odin 2 (which released in 2023). Within each of these main models, there are some different buildouts:

Odin Lite: The Odin Lite is AYN’s budget listing. It has the same shell as the Odin Base/Pro, but runs a different chipset: the Dimensity D900. Surprisingly, this chip actually performs very similarly to the Odin Base/Pro models. For more detailed specs about the two units, here is a great guide made by the Odin community.

Odin Base/Pro: The Odin Base has now been discontinued, so only the Pro model remains (the difference was only RAM). This one runs an overclocked Snapdragon 845 processor.

Odin 2: The Odin 2 comes with the beefy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips, and wholesale improvements in ergonomics, battery, controls, and more. It has three options, with different RAM and internal storage options: Base (8GB/128GB), Pro (12GB/256GB), and Max (16GB/512GB). Of note, the RAM amount may affect performance with higher-end emulators (Yuzu) and Android games. For best results, consider the Pro or Max model or the additional RAM. Finally, the Base model only comes in black, so if you want any fancy colors you will need to look at the higher tiers.

All models are available directly via AYN’s website. Shipping will be an additional charge and varies by region.

Recommended accessories

There are many accessories that work with the Odin, but here are some of my favorites.

The AYN Odin will not come bundled with a microSD card, but it will have at least 64GB of internal storage, or up to 512GB if you pay for an upgrade. However, it also has an SD card slot for cheaper storage. What I typically will do is use the SD card for storing my ROMs, and the internal storage for Android games (some of them can take up a lot of space). I recommend using a card from reputable brands 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. A 128GB card will allow you to load EVERY 8-bit and 16-bit game out there, just all of the arcade games that work, and quite a few PS1, Dreamcast, PSP, GameCube, PS2, and Sega CD games (those systems have the largest file sizes). A 256GB or 512GB card will allow you to store even more of those larger games. And yes, 1TB microSD cards will also work, if you want to load up a ton of games.

As far as model (“Extreme” vs “Ultra”, etc), this won’t matter when it comes to playing games. Some cards may transfer files more quickly (like when adding ROMs to the card), but the difference will be negligible. Instead, shop around for the best deal based on your desired amount of storage!

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB microSD:
SanDisk Ultra
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
Samsung Pro Plus

512GB microSD:
SanDisk Ultra
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
Samsung Pro Plus

1TB microSD:
SanDisk Ultra
SanDisk Extreme
Lexar Play

When adding your microSD card to the handheld, the Odin may prompt you to reformat the card if the card is currently using a file format that isn’t compatible with the device. In general it is best to use exFAT file format for your card, since FAT32 format limits each file to 4GB or less

Another accessory to consider: if you don’t have a nice microSD to USB reader, you might want to think about getting one. A nice adapter like this one from Anker will give you fast transfer speeds, and won’t cause any corruption issues with your card. There is also a fancy new USB-C/A adapter now available!

Additionally, the Odin doubles as a pseudo home console, thanks to its HDMI output function as well as the ability to connect to controllers via bluetooth or USB. On the Odin Base/Pro and Odin 2, you can also provide video out via its USB-C DisplayPort, with an adapter like this one. The HDMI adapter is smaller than the standard size, so you will either want to grab a micro HDMI cable like this one from Amazon Basics, or a micro HDMI adapter to use with an existing cable.

Speaking of controllers, there are plenty of options out there, but I prefer to use something that’s somewhat retro-friendly. You could use a bluetooth controller like the 8BitDo SN30 Pro, or the 8BitDo Ultimate Controller. Note that in order to use a USB controller, you will also need an OTG adapter to plug the controller into the device’s USB-C port (you could also use a USB hub to plug in multiple controllers at once!).

The original Odin Super Dock (for the Base/Pro/Lite models) has been discontinued, but the new Odin 2 Super Dock is available for that device. This functions as a USB-C hub that is capable of video output and charging. This may sound too good to be true, and it kind of is, because the Android platform isn’t well attuned to using a device with a hub like this. The end result is mixed, since you will have to toggle or re-map your controls as you plug in the Dock (or unplug it). Here is a roundup of my experience with the SuperDock.

Finally, I tested out quite a few cases for the original Odin, and here were the results. In general, cases made for the Switch Lite are too small for the Odin/Odin2.

Build your ROM (and BIOS) library

If you haven’t already, you will want to build a ROM library for all of your favorite games. These files are copyrighted and won’t be shared on this website.

When organizing ROM files, I recommend using the “No-Intro” naming convention, which is the standard naming used for ROM sets within RetroArch and other emulation communities. By using no-intro naming, you will be more likely to get box art automatically added when you load up your games in RetroArch or most frontends. If you have a question as to how a game should be named, I recommend checking out the Libretro thumbnails directory, which is what many emulators pull from for their media files. If your game name matches the thumbnail name found in this directory, chances are that it will properly download the media for it.

To save space, you can also compress your ROM files using some methods demonstrated in this guide.

A note on Nintendo Switch emulation: when considering emulating Nintendo Switch games, the proper way to set them up is to mod a Switch and dump your cartridges and/or eShop games. The Yuzu team has an excellent quickstart guide which details how to dump your cartridges. This in no way condones pirating games (e.g. downloading ROMs from the internet without owning the game).

Additionally, an important component of a ROM library is maintaining BIOS files. BIOS files are system files necessary for some emulators (GBA, Sega CD, or PS1/PS2), and are helpful in improving accuracy with other systems. These files are also copyrighted. Note that PS2 BIOS files can be easily extracted from the PS3 firmware file following my guide. Here is more information about BIOS files.

Recommended BIOS files:

GAME BOY (for boot logo):
gb_bios.bin

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

GAME BOY ADVANCE:
gba_bios.bin

SWITCH:
prod.keys

PLAYSTATION 1 (many options!):
scph5501.bin

PLAYSTATION 2 (many options!):
SCPH-70012.bin
SCPH-70012.MEC
SCPH-70012.NVM

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

DREAMCAST:
dc_boot.bin

NEO GEO (also place in Neo Geo ROM folder):
neogeo.zip

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

Startup and orientation

When first booting up the Odin, it will take you through a series of prompts to choose your language, time zone, and WiFi connection. You will have a choice of AOSP (Android Open Source Project) or the Odin Launcher layouts for your home screen, I recommend AOSP so that you can get the device set up first before using a frontend.

From there, I recommend going to Settings > System > Updates and run a system update so you are using the most recent version of the Odin image. Then, you can go into Settings > Odin Settings and adjust them as shown in the guide video above. If you don’t see the Odin Settings option when you first turn on your device, it needs to be rebooted at least once initially for it to appear. I recommend the Xbox ABXY button layout if you plan on playing Android games or streaming game content (Xbox, PS, etc). While in the Settings menu, also go to Display > Screen timeout and change the timeout from 1 minute of inactivity to something more reasonable (I personally set mine to 30 minutes), and turn off notifications by enabling “do not disturb” mode. Finally, within the Security settings you can disable the need to swipe the screen every time you wake the device from sleep.

After you have the system settings tweaked, the next step would be to orient yourself with the top and side menu bars.

Top and Side Menu Bars on Odin Base/Pro/Lite (click to enlarge)

To get to the top menu bar, swipe down from the top. This will look similar to any other smart phone or tablet, especially if you’re familiar with Android. Here you can make adjustments to the Performance Mode and Fan settings. I personally set my device to “High Performance” mode, and the Fan to “Smart”, so that it will overclock the CPU and speed up the fan when needed. If you plan on playing a long session of something that isn’t CPU-intensive (like SNES), then you can turn off High Performance mode to potentially save on battery life. Also within the top menu bar you can adjust the ambient LEDs, and the remove the floating icon (side bar). There are additional options within the top menu, which are more focused on smartphone functions like night mode.

In the side bar, you can set up screen mapping for Android games, turn on system alerts, browse AYN’s guide, monitor performance, and more. To access it, swipe from the right side towards the left while a game or emulator is running.

Recommended emulators

Now comes the fun part, we’re going to install all the apps we want to run on the Odin. To start, I would focus on the emulators, since those are fundamental to running your retro games. The apps I recommend are the same as the ones featured in my Android guide, so I recommend browsing that list because it will also dive into the recommended tweaks and settings for each app, too. Additionally, check out the community-driven compatibility sheets so you can see expected performance (and tweaks) for your favorite systems and games:

Odin Lite compatibility sheet
Odin Base/Pro compatibility sheet
Odin 2 compatibility sheet

When emulating on an Android device, I prefer to use RetroArch whenever possible, to take advantage of universal hotkeys, cheats, and Retro Achievements. However, performance on RetroArch can sometimes be less optimized than on standalone emulators. For the Odin in particular, I recommend using RetroArch for everything up to PS1. There are some systems that will perform well enough on RetroArch (Saturn, NDS, PSP, N64, and Dreamcast) for many games, but in general the standalone emulators are preferred.

Some apps are not available in the Google Play Store, or their Play Store counterparts perform worse. So for those, I recommend downloading them directly from the website and then side-loading the APK. This can be done by either browsing and downloading the APK file directly on the device (like by navigating to this page on the Odin itself), or by downloading the APK on your computer, putting it on an SD card, then inserting the SD card and navigating to that APK via a file manager app on the Odin.

Recommended emulators:

On Play Store:
Duckstation (free) -- PS1
Mupen64Plus FZ (Pro version available) -- N64
Yaba Sanshiro 2 (Pro version available) -- Saturn
Redream (free, in-app upgrade available) -- Dreamcast
DraStic (paid) -- Nintendo DS
PPSSPP (Gold version available) -- PSP
Yuzu -- Switch

Not on Play Store (free):
RetroArch (latest Aarch64 nightly build) -- classic systems
AetherSX2 (alpha build) -- PS2
AetherSX2 (v1.5-3668) -- PS2
NetherSX2 (more info below) -- PS2
Dolphin (development build) -- GameCube & Wii
Dolphin forks -- GameCube & Wii (for Odin Lite/Pro)
Citra Canary/Nightly (discontinued) or Lime3DS -- 3DS
Citra MMJ -- 3DS (for Odin Lite/Pro)
Skyline -- Switch
Vita3k -- PS Vita
Yuzu (GitHub version) -- Switch

Please note that as of March 2024, the official Yuzu and Citra apps have ceased development and were pulled from their sites (more info here), so you will need to find an archive of them to install.

UPDATING EMULATOR APPS: For apps that you installed via the Play Store, updating the app is as simple as going to the Play Store and then updating the apps under the “Manage Apps” function. For those you sideload, it’s often just a matter of going back to the website, downloading the latest APK, and then installing it — most apps will notice that you already have an older version installed, and will install the new one without messing with your settings or save data. Some apps may give you an error (“this app could not be installed” or “installation failed”), if that happens, you can uninstall the old app (be sure “not to delete your data files”keep app data” when prompted), then install the new one. You may have to reboot your device between installations if it doesn’t work the first time around. Another resource for updating sideloaded apps is Obtainium, which is explained in my Advanced emulation considerations section below.

Custom GPU drivers (Odin 2): There are custom (“turnip”) GPU drivers for the Odin 2 that work in many emulators (Dolphin, Citra, Vita3K, Yuzu, and Skyline). Be sure to download the latest release and install it from the emulator’s settings menu. Keep the file in .zip format!

Regarding Dolphin on the Odin Lite/Pro, there are several forks that may give better performance with certain games over the official app, but will introduce hacks to get them working. I would recommend using those forks only if the official app’s performance is not to your liking. The MMJR 11505 (final) and MMJR2 17878 versions are generally the best among that group.

If you’d like to try out running native Pico-8 via the Winlator app (which creates a Windows container to launch the app), check out this written guide.

For RetroArch, I recommend using the nightly build (directly linked above). Once you have installed the app, I strongly recommend going through my RetroArch Starter Guide to orient you to the platform itself. I consider this to be a necessary part of the process when it comes to mastering emulation on an Android device, particularly for retro games. It has a learning curve to it, but once you get the hang of it, you can use these skills for a variety of devices that use RetroArch. The Odin 2 starter guide video will show you the very basics to get started.

Recommended RetroArch cores:

Arcade (FinalBurn Neo) -- fighting games and beat'em ups
Arcade (MAME 2003-Plus) -- all-around arcade emulation
Commodore Amiga (PUAE)
DOS (DosBox-Pure)
NEC PCE/TG-16/PCE-CD/TG-CD (Beetle PCE)
Nintendo GB/GBC (Gambatte)
Nintendo GBA (mGBA)
Nintendo Virtual Boy (Beetle VB)
Nintendo DS (melonDS)
Nintendo NES (Nestopia)
Nintendo SNES (BSNES or Snes9x Current)
Nintendo 64 (ParaLLEl or Mupen64Plus)
ScummVM -- point-and-click PC games
Sega Master System/Genesis/CD (Genesis Plus GX)
Sega 32x (PicoDrive)
Sega Saturn (YabaSanshiro or Beetle Saturn)
Sega Dreamcast (Flycast)
SNK Neo Geo (FinalBurn Neo)
Sony PlayStation (SwanStation)
Sony Playstation Portable (PPSSPP)

Button mapping and hotkeys

When it comes to setting up hotkeys, these are the keys I recommend in RetroArch.

Reduce Input Latency: Another note specific to RetroArch is that you may experience some input delay with the Odin’s built-in controller. Some people may experience this more than others, especially when it comes to retro games. If it bothers you, then you will want to make the following adjustment in RetroArch:

Settings > Latency > Run-Ahead to Reduce Latency > ON
Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration (to save the setting)

From there, you can set up Run-ahead as a hotkey (as demonstrated in the diagram above so you can easily toggle it on/off while playing a game.

One of the biggest challenges in setting up the Odin is mapping the controls to mimic the original controllers from retro systems. For many, the control setup will be intuitive: it’s easy to figure out how SNES, PS1, PS2, or Dreamcast games should be mapped, since their control schemes are not too different from the Odin’s. The rub comes with Nintendo systems like the Wii, or six-button layouts like the Sega Saturn.

The images above are what I personally use for mapping, but there are many ways to do this depending on personal preference.

One note when mapping Dolphin on the Odin Lite/Pro: go into Settings > Interface > System Back and map a seldom-used button to that command (like R3). Now when in a GameCube or Wii game, you can press R3 once to bring up the menu, or you can press it twice to exit the game. Super handy! The Odin 2 has a dedicated Back button so this isn’t an issue.

For N64, go into Profiles > Controller and tap the “New” option at the top-right, then name it something like Odin Gamepad. Then, map your buttons as you see fit (I’ve made a diagram above). I recommend putting the Z button on both triggers and one of the face buttons, since that button can be used in a variety of contexts. Note that for the Menu, Back, and Exit hotkeys, you must hold them down for a couple seconds. Once you have mapped everything to your liking, go to Profiles > Select Profiles > Controller 1 profile > Odin Gamepad to make it the default control scheme for your device.

Increase rendering resolution in 3D-based games

Because the Odin is so powerful, you can increase the rendering resolution for 3D-based systems to improve the sharpness and overall fidelity of your games. For best results, consult the Odin community spreadsheet where you can check to see if certain games have specific recommended tweaks. Here are some quick general recommended settings for systems:

• Sony PlayStation 1 (DuckStation or SwanStation RA core): Increase resolution to 5x (1080p) and turn on Geometry Correction to reduce pixel wobble. On the Odin Lite/Pro, you may need to reduce the resolution to 4x in order to get some games to play in full speed.
• Nintendo 64 (Mupen64Plus-FZ): Display > Rendering Resolution > 1080p. On the Lite/Pro, some games will need to be set to 720p (like Goldeneye).
• Sega Saturn (YabaSanshiro 2): You can increase rendering resolution up to 1080p but I don’t recommend it for some games as it will sometimes look too crisp and results in a poor gameplay experience. I prefer the original rendering or 2x instead. See here for a guide from the app developer specific to the Odin Pro.
• Sega Dreamcast (ReDream): Upscale to 960p or 1440p (must pay for in-app upgrade). After launching a game, tap the three-dot pause button on the top-right, then select “EDIT CHEATS”; most games will have the ability to toggle ON widescreen hacks.
• PlayStation Portable (PPSSPP): Upscale to 4x resolution (1080p), keep graphics backend on OpenGL, toggle off the touchscreen controls, and reduce the rendering resolution for games that struggle with 4x on the Odin Lite/Pro.
• Nintendo DS (DraStic): Video > High Resolution 3D Rendering > ON (will provide a 2x upscale)
• Nintendo GameCube/Wii (Dolphin): On the Odin 2, the vast majority of games will play at a 3x upscale, which is beyond a 1080p resolution. Just bear in mind that you will need to set the device to high performance mode with certain games. On the Odin Lite/Pro, some games may run at 2x resolution, but most will be best at 1x. Also, try toggling the hardware renderer from the default OpenGL to Vulkan backend, since that will improve performance on some games.
• Sony PlayStation 2 (AetherSX2): On the Odin2, most games will run at a 2.5x resolution, which is a little higher than a 1080p resolution. The games will look and play great, but be sure to set the device to high performance mode if you experience any issues. On the Odin Lite/Pro, some games may run at 2x resolution, but most will be best at 1x.
• Sony PS Vita (Vita3k): This emulator doesn’t do well with upscaling, I recommend keeping it at the default settings.
• Nintendo 3DS (Citra): Most games can run a a 4x resolution on the Odin2, but for the Odin Lite/Pro, don’t expect many games to run at an upscaled rendering resolution.
• Nintendo Switch (Yuzu). Most games will run best with Docked Mode turned, off, but some lightweight games may be playable with it turned on. Toggling that switch while the game is running won’t do anything, you have to exit the game, make the settings change, then enter the game.

Advanced emulation considerations

While this starter guide is meant to help you get initially setup with the device, there are some other features worth exploring if you want to dive even more into emulation on this device.

Cloud saves – you can use apps like AutoSync and Syncthing to sync your save folders with a cloud storage service (like Google Drive or DropBox) for backup, and then also pair the same setup with other handhelds to create a cloud save environment. This is a pretty advanced topic simply because it gets very complicated as you introduce more and more handhelds and operating systems, but is definitely possible! Here is an example video showing both Android and Linux-based handhelds.

NetherSX2 – this is a community-driven app solution for AetherSX2, which has been abandoned by its developer. This app will remove ads, disable Play Store update prompts, and enable its use with frontend launchers like Daijisho. There are two options: NetherSX2 “patch” (4248) and NetherSX2 “classic (3668). The installation process for each is the same — just download the latest GitHub release to a Windows PC, and then run the batch file. It will download AetherSX2, patch it, and output a new AetherSX2 apk file. Note that performance between the 3668 and 4248 versions can vary — some games just run better on one over the other (for example, Sly Cooper runs better on 3668). Sadly, you can’t have both installed on the device at the same time, so you will have to swap between the two.

Riivolution patches – many Wii games have special patches to inject new levels or control schemes. There isn’t a good repository online of all the patches, so you will likely have to find them yourself or pull them from the Riivolution app on a modded Wii. If you do have some patches available, here is a guide on how to install them on an Android-based device. Some patches worth considering include Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 classic controller mods, Neo Mario Galaxy for new levels, and some of the many Mario Kart Wii tracks. Riivolution patches are put in the Dolphin > Load > Riivolution folder, in a subfolder named “riivolution” that you will have to create.

Texture packs – there are a bunch of interesting texture packs available for GameCube and PS2, which will further “remaster” the experience of playing these older games at a higher resolution. Texture packs are available throughout the internet but can sometimes be hard to track down. The YouTube channel RoeTaKa has some great GameCube and PS2 texture pack guides.

Auto-update apps – for apps that you sideload, you can use Obtainium to manage and install new updates as they become available, instead of manually installing each one. This will work best with APKs that are hosted on GitHub, and I have gotten it working well with Yuzu, Dolphin, RetroArch, Citra Canary, and Vita3K. For Dolphin, set the URL to the Dolphin downloads page, and then within Obtainium be sure to turn ON the option that says “Sort by file names instead of full links”. For Retroarch, set the URL to the buildbot Android page, then under “Custom APK Link Filter” type in RetroArch_aarch64.apk. Note that there is also a handy update script that will auto pull the apps for you, thanks to dev RJNY. Once you have downloaded the json script onto your Odin 2, open Obtanium, tap on “import/export” then “Obtanium import” and find the json file you downloaded. It will auto-load all of the emulators for you.

OdinTools – this app provides quick access to a number of essential control functions. For example, once sideloading and installing OdinTools, you will have quick menu items for adjusting the controller profile (Odin vs Xbox), L2/R2 style (digital vs analog vs both), and you can also use it to adjust the screen saturation and determine whether the Home button needs to only be clicked one time. It also has per-app overrides, so that it will remember your optimal settings depending on the app you are using in the foreground. To install, head over to the OdinTools GitHub and download the latest release, then install it on your device; open the app and from now on it will auto-start when you turn on the device.

Streaming apps

In addition to being a capable emulation device, the Odin is well-suited for streaming apps, too. The Odin devices have analog trigger inputs, which will make a big difference in streaming racing games like Forza Horizon 5. Moreover, the Odin Lite features WiFi-6, and the Odin 2 has WiFi-7, which will provide a more stable wireless connection (provided you use a router that supports it).

Recommended streaming apps:

NVIDIA GeForce Now (PC cloud streaming)
Shadow (PC cloud streaming)
Moonlight (PC remote play)
AMD Link (PC remote play)
Steam Link (PC remote play)
Parsec (PC remote play)
PSPlay or Chiaki (PS4 & PS5 remote play)
Xbox or XBXPlay (Xbox One/Series remote play)
Xbox Game Pass (Xbox cloud streaming)

If you plan on streaming from your PC or console to the Odin, I recommend connecting your PC/console to your router via wired ethernet for the most stable connection.

Android frontends

Once you have your emulators, streaming apps, and Android games set up, you may want to consider a frontend to organize your collection and simplify the browsing experience. I have an extensive writeup on Android frontends in my Android guide, and I recommend checking that out. In particular, I prefer to use EmulationStation or Daijisho as my frontends on the Odin.

The other launchers linked below are excellent and worth your consideration as well. Note that the LaunchBox app recently increased its price to $40 for their forever license, which now makes it hard to recommend at that price point.

Recommended frontends:

EmulationStation ($5.99)
Daijisho (free)
Beacon Game Launcher ($2.99)
Reset Collection ($4.99)
Pegasus launcher (free)
ARC Browser ($7.49)
ATV Launcher Pro ($2.99)
LaunchBox ($40)

The Odin also comes with its own “Odin Launcher”, which basically just organizes your apps in an easy-to-navigate interface. One strength of this launcher is that it has unique sidebars on both the left and the right. The left side menu bar allows you to alter the performance mode and LEDs, and organize your apps into four drawers: Games, Entertainment, Productivity, and System Apps. The right menu bar gives you quick access to brightness, storage, TV settings, and sleep. Note that the top menu bar is disabled when using this launcher.

Add Android Apps and Games to EmulationStation: on its own, ES-DE doesn’t have support for individual Android apps. I have a couple workarounds in my ES-DE video above, but there is also a way to integrate the apps directly into the interface using a third-party app called ES Applauncher. Just head over to that page and follow its instructions. Additionally, if you would like to re-add Yuzu as an available emulator app in ES-DE (it was officially removed after the app was pulled from development), you can re-add it using this custom systems XML file.

Once you’ve set up your Android apps, you may find it is difficult to scrape boxart for them because Android games rarely show up in the scraping databases. Instead, you can add them manually. To do so, navigate to ES-DE > downloaded_media > androidgames (or however your android folder name was saved) > covers and add your boxart. Make sure that its name is the same as the .app files that are in your androidgames folder within your ROMs directory (SotN.app should have a SotN.png boxart name). Next, if you want to add metadata, go to ES-DE > gamelists > androidgames and modify the gamelist.xml file to account for the apps that you added. It should look like this for each game entry:

<game>
		<path>./SotN.app</path>
		<name>Castlevania: Sympthony of the Night</name>
		<desc>The iconic game from the beloved Castlevania series finally comes to mobile. This direct port of the classic console action RPG lets you jump, dash and slash your way through Dracula’s vast castle as Alucard while encountering a unique array of enemies and characters along the way.</desc>
</game>

If you get stuck, I would recommend looking at a gamelist.xml file from another system to see how they are organized.

Upgrade the hardware

My two main complaints about the original Odin Lite/Base/Pro devices are their shallow/flimsy analog sticks, and the long travel distance of their face buttons. In this video above I demonstrate how to upgrade each of these components for an improved gaming experience.

Gulikit Hall sensor sticks: Amazon // AliExpress
Sakura Retro Modding buttons: Etsy

Dual boot mode for Odin Base/Pro

The Base/Pro models have the advantage of booting into Windows 11 for those who are interested, although real-world results are mixed (see the video above for a demonstration). Between the two, I recommend the Pro model because its 8GB of RAM will make it snappier in Windows. There is also a community-driven compatibility sheet so you can get an idea of what Windows/PC games play on the device. Just bear in mind that most people have found that this concept is neat in theory, but poorly implemented in practice.

Here is the full guide:

Finally, above is the previous (Odin Pro/Lite) starter guide video for posterity.

Changelog

30APR2024
– added links to ES-DE tools for adding Android games/apps to the frontend
– added instructions on how to manually add boxart and metadata to ES-DE

05MAR2024
– removed links to Yuzu and Citra

17FEB2024
– updated NetherSX2 section with links to NetherSX2 “classic” and “patch” versions

05FEB2024
– general cleanup to better complement the Retroid Pocket guide

28JAN2024
– added OdinTools in Advanced emulation section.

05JAN2024
– added quick menu controller toggle option in Advanced emulation section

08DEC2023
– added Advanced emulation considerations section

07DEC2023
– updated links and graphics

06DEC2023
– updated guide to accompany Odin 2 starter guide video

04DEC2023
– added references to Odin 2

13APR2023
– updated wording re: Portable and Internal SD card storage

05APR2023
– updated links to Dolphin and AetherSX2 builds

16FEB2023
– added hardware upgrades section

06NOV2022
– added Daijisho frontend video guide

27AUG2022
– added Odin Lite guide
– updated starter guide to account for Odin Lite factors (like updated screen)

13AUG2022
– added link to Skyline (Nintendo Switch) emulator. For the full guide, check out the Android Starter Guide.

15JUN2022
– added Windows 11 dual boot guide

29MAY2022
– added user-submitted Wii controller setup
– added N64 mapping notes and diagram
– added instructions for Dreamcast widescreen

28MAY2022
– published guide

Install Windows 11
Taki’s installation video
Community feedback sheet

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:39 setup
02:28 Windows options
03:13 game testing
15:19 summary and conclusion

The Android operating system is found everywhere — on phones, tablets, retro handheld devices, media streaming devices, and even some TVs. This guide is meant to help you get acquainted with game emulation on any number of Android devices.

Table of Contents

Recommend accessories
Prepare your ROM library
Compress your ROM library
Storage options
Android frontends
Game streaming
Recommended emulators
RetroArch -- classic systems
RetroArch vs standalone emulators
PlayStation 1 -- Duckstation
Nintendo 64 -- Mupen64Plus-FZ
Sega Saturn -- Yaba Sanshiro 2 (Pro)
Sega Dreamcast -- Redream
Nintendo DS -- DraStic
PlayStation Portable (PSP) -- PPSSPP
PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) -- Vita3K
Nintendo GameCube and Wii -- Dolphin
PlayStation 2 -- NetherSX2
Nintendo 3DS -- Citra or Lime3DS
Nintendo Switch -- Yuzu
Pico-8 -- Winlator

Changelog

Recommended accessories

Some Android devices will have a microSD card slot, which is handy for storing game files. I recommend using a card from reputable brands like SanDisk or Samsung to use in your device.

In general, I prefer 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 $20 for a 128GB card, $30 for a 256GB card, and $60 for a 512GB. A 128GB card will allow you to load EVERY 8-bit and 16-bit game out there, just all of the arcade games that work, and quite a few PS1, Dreamcast, PSP, GameCube, PS2, and Sega CD games (those systems have the largest file sizes). A 256GB or 512GB card will allow you to store even more of those larger games. You can use a larger card than these but then you’ll have a card that costs more than the device itself, and are you really going to play more than 512GB of games at once?

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

512GB cards:
Samsung Evo Select
SanDisk Ultra

Another 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.

Additionally, some Android devices have video-out capabilities via their USB-C port. You will want to check the manufacturer specs to see if it’s possible. I would recommend getting a USB-C to HDMI adapter or a USB-C hub with HDMI output, so that you can turn your device into a home console to play on your TV. The hub might be worth the extra cost, since you can also use it to power the device, connect to a microSD card, and connect wired controllers all in one.

Speaking of controllers, there are plenty of options out there, but I prefer to use something that’s somewhat retro-friendly. You could use a bluetooth controller like the 8BitDo SN30 Pro, or a wired controller like the Betop BD2E. Note that in order to use a USB controller, you will also need an OTG adapter to plug the controller into the device’s USB-C port (you could also use a USB hub to plug in multiple controllers at once!).

If you are using an Android phone, then I recommend a telescopic controller like the GameSir X2. This USB-C controller will wrap around the phone and provide a more seamless experience than clipping a controller to your phone. This controller also has a power passthrough, so you can charge the phone while playing (sadly the USB-C passthrough does not support video out).

Prepare your ROM library

Another important aspect of retro gaming is to build your ROM library. Here is a general list of systems that can be played on Android. Those noted with an asterix cannot play every game at full speed, and so performance may vary. For PS2 and GameCube on lower-end Android devices, I recommend getting PAL region ROMs, because they cap out at 50Hz which will give you better performance than struggling to reach the standard 60Hz found in NTSC region ROMs. ROM files are copyrighted and will not be shared on this website.

When getting ROM files, I recommend using the “No-Intro” naming convention, which is the standard naming used for ROM sets within RetroArch and other emulation communities. By using no-intro naming, you will be more likely to get box art automatically added when you load up your games in RetroArch or most frontends. If you have a question as to how a game should be named, I recommend checking out the Libretro thumbnails directory, which is what many emulators pull from for their media files. If your game name matches the thumbnail name found in this directory, chances are that it will properly download the media for it.

Additionally, an important component of a ROM library is maintaining BIOS files. BIOS files are system files necessary for some emulators (GBA, Sega CD, or PS1/PS2), and are helpful in improving accuracy with other systems. These files are copyrighted so you are on your own to find them, but a quick search for a RetroArch bios pack should get you on your way. Note that PS2 BIOS files can be easily dumped from your PS2, or you will need to find them elsewhere. Here is more information about BIOS files.

Recommended BIOS files:

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:
scph1001.bin

PLAYSTATION 2:
SCPH-90001_BIOS_V18_USA_230.ROM0

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

SEGA SATURN
saturn_bios.bin

SEGA DREAMCAST
dc_boot.bin (renamed to boot.bin)

NINTENDO SWITCH
prod.keys
title.keys

Compress your ROM library

When building your ROM library, another handy trick is to compress your files to save on storage space. This guide will walk you through how to compress many of the CD-based systems PlayStation, Sega CD, Saturn, 3DO, Dreamcast, Jaguar, and TurboGrafx-CD (PC Engine CD).

Storage options

If you have a microSD card slot on your device, you may have some decisions to make regarding how the storage works. When using Android 10 or below, you may get prompted to “set the SD card up” when first inserting the SD card. It will ask you to choose between the default portable storage option, or using the card as internal storage. Portable storage means that you will be able to freely take the SD card out of the device and plug it into your PC, as demonstrated in the video above. If you set it to Internal storage, you will then be able to install apps on the SD card to save space, but you won’t be able to plug the SD card into your PC — instead, you will have to plug the device into the PC and transfer files via USB instead. Internal storage is a good solution if you want to install a LOT of Android games onto your device, but in general I recommend portable storage for its flexibility.

One other note to make: plugging the SD card directly into your PC to transfer files will give you much greater transfer speeds, about 4x the speed of USB file transfers. So I recommend removing the SD card and plugging it into your computer whenever you have a large batch of files to transfer; USB transfer works fine in a pinch for smaller transfers.

With Android 11 and above, you will get the same prompt, but file permissions settings are different on these more modern OS versions. This is because these OS versions use scoped storage, which provides apps with file permissions without having to request it of the user, while also protecting the user’s data. For apps that have been updated to accommodate scoped storage, this transition is seamless. But for apps that haven’t been updated, they will not be able to access the microSD card if the card has been set up as portable storage. Thankfully, most apps have been updated to accommodate scoped storage, so this is becoming less and less an issue over time.

Note that if you use a USB-C dock like the one featured in the Accessories section above for storage (by plugging in a USB flash drive or SD card), that will also be treated as portable storage.

Android frontends

There is a staggering amount of frontend options available for Android devices. Here is a quick summary of some of the most popular options, and the pros and cons of each. Personally, I would recommend trying some of the free options like Daijisho, ATV Launcher, LaunchBox (trial version), DIG, and/or Pegasus, and see if one of those are a good fit for your play style before you shell out money on something you may or may not like.

Daijisho

Daijisho is easily the best Android frontend available today. Check out the video above for more details, but in a nutshell, it’s 100% free and does a great job of simplifying the setup process. It also has handy tools like widgets to personalize your experience. This one can also act as your default home app, which means that after you have it set up, you will never have to see the Android interface again. It will consolize your device’s navigation experience. Note that for best results, you should set up your emulators first before adding them via this frontend. Also be sure to use “No Intro” romsets to ensure your media is properly scraped.

ATV Launcher (Pro)

ATV Launcher is an Android frontend most commonly used with TV boxes and tablets. It transforms the standard Android interface into a tile-based one, and has some nice features like widgets and the ability to hide or customize each tile. This allows you to make a clean interface that resembles a gaming console, and also works well when using controllers. There is a free version that works well, but the paid version ($3) is necessary to remove ads and have the ability to hide and customize the tiles. This option is a good choice if you don’t mind still having to navigate through standalone apps and emulators; it’ll still definitely feel like an Android device…but a prettier one.

LaunchBox

LaunchBox is the priciest option when it comes to Android frontends — there is a free version that is limited to 100 games, but a lifetime license costs a whopping $40. Thankfully, this license can be used on multiple devices, so you will be able to use it on any Android device going forward.

Cost aside, LaunchBox is a nice all-around frontend for those who want a clean interface with minimal work. There’s not much in the way of themes or customization options, but its media scraping function works surprisingly well, and the fact that it is in active development (changelog here) means that just about every emulator on the platform is fully supported. The user interface is relatively smooth and fast, and you can even export your LaunchBox PC library directly to the Android version, with media and everything. Unfortunately this app doesn’t have the ability to re-match an incorrect media scrape, and so for that reason if you are having issues I would recommend building your roms/media in the PC version of LaunchBox first, then export it to Android using the link above.

DIG

DIG is a free emulator frontend that is one of the easiest to set up. It will find your games on the device and organize them into their own sections. You can use a number of different themes for the frontend, but my favorite is this one here, called Alek-a-Like. This frontend has a fair amount of customization options, it runs pretty quickly, but doesn’t feel as polished as something like LaunchBox.

Pegasus

Pegasus is also free, and is much more customizable than the alternatives. The interface can be very snappy and sharp looking, but will get bogged down with large collections (over 1,000 games). This one takes a lot of work on the backed to get set up; for example, in order to see game boxart, you must scrape it from a Windows app like Skraper, and then convert the .xml file to something readable by Pegasus. Luckily, someone has created a handy tool called Pegasus Installer that is optimized for Android-based handhelds like the Odin, Retroid Pocket 2+, and the Anbernic RG552 — and it works on Android phones, too. This tool will install the app, download and configure your apps, set hotkeys, scrape media, and provide bezels, too. Note that it seems to work best on Android 10 and lower.

One neat feature about Pegasus is that if you go through the setup of your device using the Pegasus Installer, it will pre-configure RetroArch for you with updated video features (like Game Boy colorization) and bezels. So even if you end up using another frontend, I recommend running through this installer script at least once so that you can take advantage of these configurations.

Reset Collection

Reset Collection is a paid ($5) app with some nice features. You can add your systems one-by-one, and it will add the media for you. The interface is clean but won’t scale super well on devices with smaller screens; on phones and some retro handhelds, the browsing experience can feel limiting. The app is in active development, and so most Android emulators are supported (or support is in the works). The scraping experience works well — it uses the LaunchBox database to pull the data, and downloads the media quickly. It also has an advanced search function, video snaps that autoplay from YouTube (saving storage space), and a unique game randomizer option that will pop you into a random game from your library. It is also possible to add skins to the frontend to customize your experience, but unfortunately it only has the one single theme. For more details, check out the Reset Collection YouTube channel.

Arc Browser

Arc Browser is a paid ($8.50) app that is similar to DIG in its feel, and Reset Collection in its setup. It does have an active development community within Discord and a comprehensive website that can walk you through some of its customization options. You have a choice of classic and modern UI examples within the frontend, and the app seems particularly designed to be used with a controller, which is great for Android-based handheld consoles.

Game streaming

While this is an emulation guide, it’s also important to recognize that many Android tablets and phones can double as streaming consoles, too. In addition to streaming PC games from your computer or the cloud, you can also use remote play apps to play modern gaming consoles. If your Android device isn’t quite powerful to emulate some higher-end systems, you could run those systems on a computer and then stream your computer to the device instead.

Recommended streaming apps:
NVIDIA GeForce Now (PC cloud streaming)
Shadow (PC cloud streaming)
Moonlight (PC remote play)
AMD Link (PC remote play)
Steam Link (PC remote play)
Parsec (PC remote play)
PSPlay or Chiaki (PS4 & PS5 remote play)
Xbox or XBXPlay (Xbox One/Series remote play)
Xbox Game Pass (Xbox cloud streaming)

Recommended emulators

In the sections below, I’ll go through the list of recommended emulations and my suggestion configurations. But for ease of use, here is a list of all the recommended emulators all at once:

Recommended emulators:

On Play Store:
Duckstation (free) -- PS1
Mupen64Plus FZ (Pro version available) -- N64
Yaba Sanshiro 2 (Pro version available) -- Saturn
Redream (free, in-app upgrade available) -- Dreamcast
DraStic (paid) -- Nintendo DS
PPSSPP (Gold version available) -- PSP

Not on Play Store (free):
RetroArch (latest nightly build) -- classic systems
NetherSX2 -- PS2
Dolphin (development build) -- GameCube & Wii
Dolphin forks -- GameCube & Wii 
Citra Canary/Nightly (discontinued) or Lime3DS -- 3DS
Citra MMJ -- 3DS (low-powered devices)
Vita3k -- PS Vita
Yuzu (discontinued) or its forks -- Switch

RetroArch — classic systems

RetroArch is a kitchen-sink emulation program available on a variety of platforms, including Android. RetroArch can play dozens of emulated systems while standardizing options like hotkeys, controls, screen settings, and more. The platform is uniquely challenging to set up, and so for that reason I created a standalone RetroArch starter guide. So when setting it up, I recommend following the guide to get oriented.

When setting up RetroArch for Android, there are a few items to consider:

• There are two versions available in the Google Play Store: RetroArch and RetroArch Plus. The first app is optimized for compatibility while RetroArch Plus is 64-bit and designed for devices running Android 8.0 or later. Funny enough, I don’t recommend using either of these apps. Instead, go directly to the RetroArch website and download the latest 32-bit or 64-bit nightly apks directly (the ones at the very bottom with no date), and then side-load the applicable apk onto your device. To side-load, simply navigate to the RetroArch website using your device’s web browser and download and install the app. If your device doesn’t have a browser, move the apk to your device’s storage (via SD card or USB connection) and then install it via a file manager app.
• Once you have installed the app, open it one time to create the file directories on your device. From there you will find the directories in a folder named RetroArch directly in the root folder of your device. Here you can find your save files, screenshots, thumbnails, and more. There is also a “system” folder where you can place your BIOS files (or set a new BIOS directory as demonstrated in the RetroArch starter guide).
• In addition to the RetroArch folder in the root directory, there is another file system location on your Android device, which you can find in the Android > data > com.retroarch.aarch64 (or similarly-named) folder. Within this folder you will find a “files” folder, and inside there will be your retroarch.cfg file in case you want to back this up to another device in the future.
• A bug in some versions of RetroArch (like the Android build) occurs when mapping the A button as a hotkey using controllers that don’t have an embedded controller profile. This will break the use of the A button within the menu. So in some cases you may not want to map the A button to a hotkey at all.
• Devices running older Android versions are sometimes notorious for having input delay, which can be very annoying when playing classic games. The best fix is to use a device with a built-in controller, or one that provides a direct connection, like the GameSir X2. If using a bluetooth controller, you can mitigate input latency by using the RUN AHEAD feature which will reduce latency on certain setups. Like with the rewind feature, this has a performance tax and should only be used on systems that would benefit from it (like SNES and below). Assuming you have already set up your device by following the RetroArch starter, guide, we’ll use a core override to set this up. First, start up a game (like an NES game), and then press SELECT + X to bring up the Quick Menu, then navigate to the Latency section within the Quick Menu. Now select Run-Ahead to Reduce Latency > ON. Now you can go to Quick Menu > Overrides > Save Core Overrides, which will enable run ahead support on all NES games running that emulator core. Note that this is one of many advanced features to improve latency; here is more information.
• Finally, on many versions of RetroArch (specifically those with touchscreen capability, like in Android), they may have a TOUCHSCREEN BUTTON OVERLAY on your screen when starting up a game. If you have a controller you likely do not want to see this overlay. To turn it off, go to Settings > On-Screen Display > On-Screen Overlay > Display Overlay > Hide Overlay When Controller is Connected > ON. Be sure to save your current configuration to make this setting stick.

So yes, when setting up RetroArch, I strongly recommend using my starter guide to get you going. This will orient you with the software and give you the fundamentals to understanding its interface.

My preferred RetroArch cores for popular systems:

Arcade (FB Alpha 2012) -- for low-end devices
Arcade (FinalBurn Neo) -- fighting games and beat'em ups
Arcade (MAME 2003-Plus) -- all-around arcade emulation
Commodore Amiga (PUAE)
DOS (DosBox-Pure)
NEC PCE/TG-16/PCE-CD/TG-CD (Beetle PCE)
Nintendo GB/GBC (Gambatte)
Nintendo GBA (gpSP or mGBA)
Nintendo Virtual Boy (Beetle VB)
Nintendo DS (melonDS)
Nintendo NES (fceumm or QuickNES)
Nintendo SNES (Snes9x Current)
Nintendo 64 (ParaLLEl or Mupen64Plus)
ScummVM -- point-and-click PC games
Sega Master System/Genesis/CD (Genesis Plus GX)
Sega 32x (PicoDrive)
Sega Saturn (YabaSanshiro or Beetle Saturn)
Sega Dreamcast (Flycast)
SNK Neo Geo (FinalBurn Neo)
Sony PlayStation (DuckStation, SwanStation, or PCSX ReARMed)
Sony Playstation Portable (PPSSPP)

RetroArch vs standalone emulators

RetroArch can emulate a variety of systems, but that doesn’t mean it will be the ideal app for every situation. To its advantage, RetroArch has universal settings which make things like button mapping a breeze, but it can also be less optimized than standalone emulators. This can be especially apparent when using an Android device that isn’t super powerful. Here are some considerations:

• When playing SNES and below systems, RetroArch will almost certainly be the best app to use. In general, only PS1 and above systems should be considered for standalone emulators.
• If you plan on using a frontend like LaunchBox or The Reset Collection, RetroArch is beneficial because you can set up a universal hotkey to quit RetroArch — very few standalone emulators have this feature. What this means is that when using RetroArch, you can press a key combination to quit the game and go right back to your frontend to navigation to another game; on standalone emulators, you will need to tap or swipe on the screen to bring up the app’s menu, then choose to quit the app. This sounds like a minor inconvenience on paper, but in real life it can become annoying and will make your Android device feel less like a true “retro console”. So if the navigation experience is important to you and you want to use a frontend, then RetroArch will provide a better setup.
• RetroArch is free, while many standalone emulators cost money (or have certain features hidden behind a paywall). A good example is Sega Dreamcast. The standalone Flycast emulator is free and can upscale the graphics, but the interface is clunky and difficult to navigate. The standalone Redream emulator is much more intuitive and clean, but you will need to make a one-time in-app purchase to unlock upscaling (more on that in the Dreamcast section below). Meanwhile, the RetroArch app has a Flycast core that can handle both upscaling and widescreen hacks with ease, as long as your device is powerful enough to handle it. If your device is struggling to perform using the RetroArch Flycast core, consider using Redream as you will likely get better results.
• In some cases, the RetroArch cores are simply nowhere near as performant as a standalone emulator. A prime example is Nintendo DS; there are multiple core options within RetroArch for NDS, but they all pale in comparison to the (paid) DraStic emulator.

Bottom line: plan on using RetroArch for everything below PS1, but if you have a device powerful enough to run them, you may want to consider using RetroArch for PS1, N64, PSP, Saturn and Dreamcast so you can take advantage of the universal hotkeys (to quickly jump in and out of your games), saves, upscaling, and more. Otherwise, stick with standalone emulators for those higher end systems.

PlayStation 1 — Duckstation

Duckstation is a powerful PS1 emulator that is more accurate than the PCSX-ReARMed RetroArch core. There are also Duckstation and Swanstation RetroArch cores, which work well. The standalone Duckstation emulator requires more performance power than the RetroArch core, so depending on your device, you may want to use RetroArch instead. Some have reported that ePSXe runs better on lower-end Android devices, so if Duckstation is giving you a hard time, maybe try that one too. Duckstation is available in the Google Play Store for free.

When first booting the app, it will ask you to map the controls. I recommend doing that as your very first thing. Here are the recommended changes:

• Controller settings > Auto-Hide Touchscreen Controller > ON
• Controller settings > Port 1 > Controller type: Analog Controller (DualShock)
• Controller settings > Port 1 > Use Analog Sticks for D-Pad in Digital Mode > ON

Under App Settings, not a lot needs to be changed here. I recommend going to the Enhancements section and adjusting the Resolution Scale depending on how much you want to upscale your 3D graphics. For reference, 3x is 720p and 5x is 1080p. Also in App Settings > Enhancements, turn ON the PGXP Geometry Correction to reduce wobbly polygons; this may negatively affect performance so you may have to adjust as needed.

BIOS: Duckstation requires bios files, I recommend using scph1001.bin as your file. Go into Settings > Import BIOS and navigate to your bios file on your storage.

Recommended file types: Duckstation supports .bin/.cue, .iso, .img, .chd, .pbp, and .m3u file types. I recommend converting your bin/cue and iso files to .chd to save on file space, and using .m3u files or .pbp files for multi-disc games. You can learn how to do that by reading this guide.

Widescreen: This emulator supports widescreen hacks. To set them up, go into App Settings > Display > Aspect Ratio and set it to your desired aspect (16:9 for something like the Odin or a TV, 20:9 for modern smartphones, etc). Then go to App Settings > Enhancements > Widescreen Hack > ON. Note this won’t work for some games, and so you’ll have to manually adjust those. Most in-game menus will appear stretched, but the gameplay itself A good game to test this with is Ridge Racer, it looks amazing in widescreen.

Nintendo 64 — Mupen64Plus-FZ

This app is the best Nintendo 64 emulator available on Android, and is in active development. There is a free version as well as a paid version ($4) that removes ads, and also provides cloud saving and netplay features.

To improve the navigation experience, go into Settings > Input > Show in-game menu > When slide gesture is used. Now, you can swipe from the left side of the screen to bring up the Mupen64 side panel when in a game, to easily save your game, exit, etc.

By default the N64 A and B buttons may be mapped to buttons that don’t feel natural to you. If you want to adjust your mappings, you will need to copy the Android Gamepad controller profile and make your own mapping. From there, go to Profiles > Select Profiles and change the Controller 1 profile to the one you just made.

Under Settings > Display > Rendered Resolution, you can adjust your rendered resolution to whatever your device can handle. I do not recommend using a resolution that is higher than your device’s display. To change the resolution on a per-game basis, tap on a game then select Settings > Rendered Resolution and adjust it there.

The default emulation profile is Glide64-Accurate. In general this is the best profile to use. If you want to change it to a new default profile, go to Profiles > Select Profiles > Emulation profile and make the change. To change it per-game, tap on a game then select Settings > Emulation profile and adjust it there.

BIOS: not needed

Recommended file types: .z64 and .n64 files.

Widescreen: Only one emulation profile in Muper64Plus-FZ has the ability to use widescreen hacks, it is the GlideN64-Accurate profile. To set this up, go into Menu> Profiles > Emulation > GlideN64-Accurate. Tap on it and select “Copy”, then rename it to something like “GlideN64-Accurate Wide”. Tap OK to bring up the profile settings, and go to General > Widescreen hack > ON. Now go to Menu > Profiles > Select Profiles > Emulation Profile and change it to that widescreen profile we just created. This will automatically adjust the aspect ratio, so no need to adjust those settings. A great game to test this on would be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Note that some games (like 2D games) may not look good with this emulation profile; in this case, I would change that game’s emulation profile back to the default Glide64-Accurate profile. Additionally, you can use patches and cheats to enable more accurate widescreen in some games, here is a good roundup of alternative options.

Sega Saturn — Yaba Sanshiro 2 (Pro)

Yaba Sanshiro 2 is a standalone Sega Saturn emulator that is in active development. There is a Pro version ($5.60) which disables ads and prompts to upgrade. This app will provide the best emulation performance, but if you have a powerful enough system, you could also try the RetroArch Yabasanshiro core to take advantage of the integrated and streamlined settings available within RetroArch instead. Note that the standalone Yaba Sanshiro emulator does not work with most Android frontend apps, so in that regard RetroArch may be more ideal for your setup.

The navigation menu for Yaba Sanshiro 2 can be a little weird looking on some devices (like smartphones), so one quick fix is to go into Settings > Game Select Screen > Force Android TV Mode. That might look better on your device.

The developer for Yaba Sanshiro 2 owns an AYN Odin (Snapdragon 845), and provides suggestions for the best performance on the device in this blog post. Here is a quick summary of the recommendations:

• Use version 1.7.4 of Yaba Sanshiro 2 or above
• Use CPU affinity > OFF
• Use Computer Shader > ON
• Polygon Generation type > GPU Tessellation
• Sound time synchronization mode: Real time
• Additionally, to improve the L2/R2 button operation, the developer recommends setting the L2/R2 mode to “Both” within the Odin settings.

When using the Yabasanshiro RetroArch core, I have found that trying to save a save state in Android will crash the app. Additionally, if you have RetroArch set to Auto Save State/Load on exit, that means the app will crash every time you close a game. This is bad because it will affect your in-game saves and RetroArch Quick Menu core options. To work around this, you should open a Saturn game, then back out into the RetroArch settings, go to the Saves section, and turn OFF auto save state/load on exit options. Then go to Quick Menu > Overrides > Save Core Overrides. Now the app won’t crash when you close a game, but you will need to rely on in-game saves in order to record your progress.

With either the standalone emulator or RetroArch core, you will want to remap your controls for optimal gameplay. I recommend using YBA for ABC, and L1, X, R1 for XYZ buttons.

BIOS: If you want the original Saturn boot video sequence within the standalone emulator, you must place the BIOS file (saturn_bios.bin) in the yabause/bios folder on your internal storage (this folder will only appear once you have opened the app at least one time). You can achieve the same result with RetroArch by placing the BIOS file in the RetroArch system folder.

Recommended file types: .chd files. See my CHD section for instructions on how to convert other file types files to compressed .chd files using CHDMAN.

Widescreen: Yaba Sanshiro 2 (and Saturn emulation in general) doesn’t support widescreen hacks, but you can go into Settings > Aspect Ratio > Original and that will output the display in a 3:2 aspect ratio that looks good without stretching the image too much. Some games support anamorphic widescreen out of the box.

Sega Dreamcast — Redream

Redream is an excellent Dreamcast emulator, and my favorite. It is free from the Google Play Store but you will need to upgrade to the Premium version (via in-app purchase, $6) to be able to upscale your resolution. This one-time purchase will be linked to your Google Play Store account and work on any device you use that account on. If you want a free app that allows for upscaling, you can try the Flycast app, or RetroArch if your device is powerful enough.

To set up Redream, go to Library > Add Directory and point the app to your Dreamcast file directory.

When configuring controls, go to Input > Input Device and select the controller input you prefer. Then go in and bind your controller to what you prefer. Make note of the “Exit Emulator” shortcut, you can bind that to a key (like L3) to quickly close a game (and the app) when using a frontend, to improve the navigation experience.

Recommended settings:

• Video > Game Resolution will allow you to upscale the resolution if you have paid for the Premium version
• By default, Redream runs an auto frameskip (found in Video > Frame skip) that works really well. If you have a powerful system and want a perfectly smooth experience, set this to OFF.
• Video > Frame rate counter > vblanks per second if you want to see the frame count while playing a game
• Video > Vertical Sync > ON
• Video > Polygon sort accuracy > per-strip will work fine in most situations. If you have a powerful device, you can set it to per-pixel instead, but this provides little improvement while requiring a lot of system resources.

BIOS: not needed, but if you add the bios file to /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/io.recompiled.redream/files/boot.bin on your internal storage, it will show the original Dreamcast boot logo when starting up a game. Note that the bios file must be renamed to “boot.bin”. This will also allow you to boot into the bios to manage the VMU storage devices on your app.

Recommended file types: .chd or .gdi files. See my CHD section for instructions on how to convert .gdi files to compressed .chd files using CHDMAN. Also, .cdi files will work but that is a legacy file type that can omit important game information.

Widescreen: Some games will feature cheats that will force-enable anamorphic widescreen. To set this up, open a game, and then press the three vertical dots on the top-right to bring up the pause menu. From there, select “Edit Cheats” and see if there is a widescreen cheat/hack option, and turn it ON. You will likely need to restart the game in order for it to go into effect. If using RetroArch instead of Redream, you can enable them in the Core Options menu, as demonstrated in my RetroArch starter guide.

Nintendo DS — DraStic

When it comes to Nintendo DS emulation on Android, the only viable option is the DraStic emulator. It is a paid app, and costs $4.99. Another standalone option (which is free) is MelonDS, but its development is not as far along as with DraStic.

Recommended settings:

• Video > Frameskip Value > 0 for most devices
• Video > Fast-Forward Maximum Speed > Unlimited (or lower) to increase the fast-forward speed (good for RPGs)
• Video > High-Resolution 3D Rendering > ON for most devices
• General > Show FPS if you want to see the framerate while playing
• General > Autosave > On Pause/Suspend if you want the game to save every time you pause the game. You can also set it to auto save at 5, 15, or 30 minute increments
• General > Resume Last Save… > ON when you want to auto load your save state every time you open a game
• General > Default Layout > Landscape x:1 to have one large screen and another smaller screen. You can also choose another layout if you so desire
• System > Nickname and Birthday to set a unique UserID which will work in certain games like Mario Kart DS
• System > Always use System Time for RTC > ON if you want a real-time clock synced to your device (good for Pokemon)

To set up controls, go to External Controller > Select Key Mapping > Generic Gamepad then select “Map Control”. Map your buttons as desired; I recommend mapping L2/R2 as your L/R buttons on the console. Then, select “Map Special” and select L1 for “Screen-swap”, L3 for “Fast Forward”, and R1 for “1/2 Screen Swap”. For all the other commands you can tap “Skip” (unless you want to map them to something else). This will allow you to use the shoulder buttons to swap screens and alternate between screen modes.

When playing a game, you will see on-screen buttons. To remove those, start up a game and enter the Menu, then select Edit Screens and Virtual Pad. Here, choose “Landscape Aspect” > Menu > Edit Controller Layout. Go through and tap on each button and then disable them (all but the Menu button), then select Apply. When that is complete, select Menu > Save as global layout. Repeat this process for the “Landscape 1:1” layout as well. This will remove the buttons altogether so they don’t inhibit touchscreen gameplay.

BIOS: not needed.

Recommended file types: DraStic can read .nds as well as .zip and .7z (compressed) files if you want to save on storage space.

PlayStation Portable (PSP) — PPSSPP

PPSSPP is a standalone emulator available in the Google Play Store for free. You can purchase PPSSPP Gold ($5) in order to support the developer and to get a nice shiny golden app.

This app works well by default, but there are some tweaks you can do to improve performance or graphical fidelity.

• Graphics > Backend > OpenGL or Vulkan. In general, OpenGL will give you the most accurate emulation, while Vulkan will sometimes perform better but may have more graphical glitches (especially in game menus). I recommend trying OpenGL first and then adjusting as needed to Vulkan.
• Graphics > Mode > Buffered rendering. You can choose “skip buffer effects” in some cases to improve performance, but this can also seriously glitch (or crash) your game.
• Graphics > Frame skipping > OFF. This can be turned on to improve performance, but should only be considered on very low-end devices. The “auto frameskip” option will theoretically skip frames only when needed, but in practice it can create a yo-yo effect with game speed. Setting the frame skipping to a set number (like 1) will provide a more fluid experience, but without smooth gameplay.
• Graphics > Rendering resolution. Adjust this setting as much as possible to get the best 3D-rendered graphics. 1x resolution will only look good on very small screens, since that is the original PSP resolution. 3x resolution is the equivalent of 720p, and 4x is 1080p; I recommend not adjusting the resolution to higher than your device’s actual display.
• Graphics > Texture upscaling > Upscale level. This will adjust the non-3D graphics in your games, and will sharpen menu text. However, the upscale type (like xBRZ) can also provide an odd smoothing effect to the text.
• Graphics > Anisotropic filtering. This will increasing the rendering quality of 3D graphics but requires memory bandwidth, something that is hard to come by on mobile chipsets. This should only be used on more performant chips and on large displays where you can see the difference.

By default, the on-screen touch controls are enable on this app. To disable, go to Controls > On-screen touch controls > OFF. Additionally, I recommend going into the Controls > Control Mapping section and map your controls so that they mimic the PSP’s buttons. Be sure to assign a button to the “Pause” function, so that you can quickly bring up the PPSSPP menu with a keypad press (I generally assign this to the L3 button)

BIOS: not needed.

Recommended file types: PPSSPP can read .iso, .pbp, and .cso files. In order to save space, I recommend converting .iso files to .cso files using this guide.

Widescreen: not required since this system played at a resolution very close to 16:9 already.

PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) — Vita3K

Vita3K is a standalone emulator that recently released, and is currently available via their GitHub releases.

To get started, you will need to dump your own games or acquire NoNpDrm copies of your games. Here is a quickstart guide from the Vita3K development team. I personally used NoNpDrm dumps of my games and then zipped their game folder (named as the Title ID of the game, like PCSA00029 for Uncharted: Golden Abyss), which can be found within the “app” folder of your game directory.

When starting up the app, it will ask you to download the PS Vita firmware and font pack, with handy links directly to those files within the app. From there, you can create a faux account/ID and browse the menu.

Vita3K is still in early development, and many games will not play accurately. For a full list of compatible games, here is a list of their retail games, as well as homebrew games. For best results with Snapdragon/Qualcomm devices, try to add custom drivers compatible with your device. Here is a list of driver releases.

Nintendo GameCube and Wii — Dolphin

There are many different versions of the Dolphin emulator available for Android. The primary app, which you can find in the Google Play Store or their website, is the most accurate of the emulators, and has very good performance with the OpenGL backend. However, in the past it required a powerful device to run properly, and many forks were created of this app to focus more on performance than accuracy. Over time, the official Dolphin team has implemented a lot of optimizations to their app, and now the official app stands toe-to-toe with some of the more performance-focused options.

Regardless of Dolphin’s variety of forks, my recommendation is to try the official app, and then branch out to the others if you want to see if there is improved performance. The app can be downloaded directly from the Google Play Store, but it is only updated once a month, or you can try the most recent development build for the latest version (albeit with some expected bugs).

Official Dolphin emulator:
Development Build (recommended)
Beta Build (from Google Play Store)

Dolphin forks: Recently, some forks have stopped releasing updates, or have completely closed their GitHub pages. An archive of these forks is available here if you would like to try them (I would recommend starting with MMJR build 11505 first). Note that performance will vary greatly between them, and will not be consistent per game. Some forks will allow you to apply sub-standard rendering (below 1x) to try and squeeze out performance at the cost of graphical fidelity.

The Dolphin apps work with both GameCube and Wii games. Wii games are more demanding than GameCube, and you will want to go into each individual game and configure the controls. Since each Wii game had unique controls, you’ll want to see what combination works best for you — nunchuck + Wiimote, Wiimote on its side, Classic Controller, and so on. To make per-game input changes, long-press on the game and select “Wii Input”. This is also how you would make per-game input changes for GameCube games.

The Dolphin emulators have the ability to save per-game settings. To make per-game settings, long-press on the game in the main menu, and then make your adjustments. This is handy if you want to enable widescreen for only certain games, or adjust the upscaled resolution for the games that work best on your device. Additionally, I use this feature to adjust the controls for certain games like Wind Waker or Spyro, so that the c-stick (right analog stick) moves in the opposite direction of the default settings (simply map up as down, and left as right) to create a more modern feel.

Some Dolphin tips:

• If you have a low-powered device, use PAL region ROMs (sometimes referred to as European versions) instead of NTSC region ROMs. PAL ROMs generally give you the option of running the game at 50Hz (frames per second) instead of the standard NTSC 60Hz. This means that PAL games can generally reach full speed more easily than with NTSC ROMs.
• These are my recommend default official Dolphin settings if you are using a lower-powered device:
  • Config > Interface > Use Panic Handlers > OFF
  • Config > General > Enable Savestates > ON
  • Config > General > Fallback Region > PAL
  • Graphics Settings > Shader Compilation Mode > Hybrid Ubershaders
  • Graphics Settings > Compile Shaders Before Starting > ON
• The latest development builds of the official Dolphin app now support VBI Skip, which can be found under Graphics Settings > Hacks > VBI Skip. Turning this on can significantly improve the gaming experience on lower-end devices like the Retroid Pocket 3+ or AYN Odin, by reducing audio stutter. Note that some games (like Twilight Princess, Luigi’s Mansion, and Wind Waker) will not work with this setting turned on, so you may need to experiment. I usually will turn this setting ON and then turn it off on a per-game basis for the games that don’t work with it.
• Go to Settings > Graphics Settings and switch between OpenGL and Vulkan as the Video Backend to see which one performs best with your device. It may vary by game, but generally one graphic backend will run better than the other on each chipset/device. Vulkan can often run faster, but will cause more graphical anomalies.
• There are a few tricks you can do while playing a game to see if you can improve performance on the spot. While a game is loaded, go into the Config menu at the top-right and adjust these two options:
  • Immediately Present XFB > ON
  • Sync on Skip Idle > OFF
• It is also possible to adjust the emulated CPU clockspeed for certain games (found in the Config > Advanced menu), but this setting is very hit-or-miss depending on the game. Some games run better with a faster clockspeed (F-Zero GX works best at 300), while others like Super Mario Sunshine can perform a little better with a slower clockspeed. I consider this to be a last resort setting tweak, and it highly variable.
• Once you have found settings that work best for each game, you can long-press on the game in the selection menu and make per-game settings changes

BIOS: not needed.

Recommended file types: You can use .iso, .gcz, .wia, and .rvz files with Dolphin. For best results, convert your .iso game files to compressed .rvz files. The easiest way to do this is to install the desktop version of Dolphin on your Windows PC or Mac, and then right-click on the game and select “Convert File…”. You have several different options, but .rvz files work well in all versions of Dolphin past 5.0-12188, and the default compression level will reduce file size by about 10-20%. You can also convert your game files directly in the app if you are using the official Dolphin app from the Play Store. More information is available here.

Widescreen: There are three ways to play GameCube games in widescreen.

1. Many GameCube games had support for 16:9 aspect ratio, as the console was released at the same time that TVs were transitioning from 4:3 to 16:9 displays. My recommendation is to go into the game’s settings first and see if there is a widescreen option (here is a list if you want to check ahead of time). If the game supports widescreen/16:9, turn that on, and then go to Settings > Graphics Settings > Aspect Ratio > Force 16:9.
2. If the game doesn’t have a widescreen option, you can still enable this “Force 16:9” and then also go to Settings > Graphics Settings > Enhancements > Widescreen Hack > ON and see how the game looks with that setting on. Some games (like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker) will look awesome, while others will have textures popping into the sides of the screen that can be distracting (this phenomenon is called culling). If the widescreen hack doesn’t work well, you have a third option.
3. You can also use Gecko or Action Replay cheat codes to enable widescreen compatibility with many games. This will often provide the nicest result, but is a more advanced user setup. First, in the Dolphin MMJR app go into Settings > General > Enable Cheats > ON. Then, go to this Dolphin page and find your game, and then make note of the Gecko or Action Replay code for widescreen (the easiest way to do this is to browse to the Dolphin page on the device itself and copy the text). Next, long-press on the game in your Dolphin menu, and select “Cheat/Ini Editor”. Tap the “Edit” graphic at the top right of the screen, then under [Action Replay] or [Gecko] paste the code (including the $NameofCheat part) and tap Done and then Save. Finally, go back into the Cheat/Ini Editor and you should now see the name of the cheat listed; click on it so that it is checked, then press Save.

PlayStation 2 — NetherSX2

The most advanced and feature-rich PlayStation 2 emulator was called AetherSX2, and until 2023, it was under steady development. Since then, development has ceased and now the recommended emulator is called NetherSX2.

NetherSX2 is a community project to bring some non-performance updates to the AetherSX2, now that AetherSX2 development has discontinued. There are two options: NetherSX2 “patch” (4248) and NetherSX2 “classic” (3668). The installation process for each is the same — just download the latest GitHub release to a Windows PC, and then run the batch file. It will download AetherSX2, patch it, and output a new AetherSX2 apk file. Note that performance between the 3668 and 4248 versions can vary — some games just run better on one over the other (for example, Sly Cooper runs better on 3668). Sadly, you can’t have both installed on the device at the same time, so you will have to swap between the two.

PS2 emulation is exceptionally tricky, I recommend a Snapdragon-845 or equivalent device for the best performance (four big Cortex-A75 cores would be a good example). Devices with Adreno GPUs work best, and Mali or PowerVR GPUs will have degraded performance.

When first start the app, it will run the Setup Wizard. In there, it will allow you to set Optimal/Safe or Fast/Unsafe defaults. Use Optimal if you have a powerful device, and Fast if you don’t. If you want to re-run the Setup Wizard at any time, tap the three dots on the top-right of the screen when in the App Settings menu.

Of all the apps in this guide, this one will rely most heavily on per-game settings. You can set this up by long-pressing the game in the main menu, then select Game Properties > Game Settings and make your changes there. You can also adjust settings while in the game itself, by tapping the info button on the top-right corner to access Game Properties.

Performance tips:

• If you only have two big (Cortex-A75 or equivalent) cores on your device, like with Snapdragon 700 chipsets, you should disable Multi-Threaded VU1 in the System settings. If you have more than two big cores, turn this setting on.
• Under System Settings > Advanced > Enable Fastmem and Affinity Control
• For some games, you can try enabling the Settings > Graphics> Preload Textures and GPU Palette Conversion options to improve performance.
• You can also adjust Settings > Graphics > Disable Hardware Readbacks for improved performance, but this may also create glitches.

BIOS: You will need PS2 bios in order to use this app. You will be on your own to find them, and I recommend using the SCPH-90001 or SCPH-70001 bios files.

Recommended file types: For the simplest setup, most ROMs will be bundled as .iso files, but you can use .chd or .gz files for reduced file size. To convert ISO files to CHD, check out my guide.

Widescreen: This emulator supports widescreen patches. To set them up, go into App Settings > Display > Aspect Ratio and set it to your desired aspect (16:9 for something like the Odin or a TV, 20:9 for modern smartphones, etc). Then go to App Settings > Display > Enable Widescreen Patches > ON. Note this won’t work for some games, and so you’ll have to manually adjust those. Most in-game menus will appear stretched, but the gameplay itself A good game to test this with is Okami. Note that some games may have built-in widescreen support, like God of War II, which you can find in the game settings menu.

Nintendo 3DS — Citra (MMJ)

Citra is the main 3DS emulator for Android but it was discontinued in March 2024. There are some forks still around; for example, there is also a Citra MMJ version that is more suited for lower-end devices and seems to be updated frequently. There is also a Citra Enhanced app that carries some unique features as well.

For most devices, I recommend Lime3DS, which is a fork of the official Citra emulator and runs well, especially on more powerful Android devices. If using a high-end handheld or phone, this has an excellent overall user experience.

Recommended settings:

• Use Dual Core > ON
• Screen Layout > Default (one big and one small)
• Internal Resolution > as desired (and what your device can handle)
• Enable Hardware Shader > ON
• Shader Type: Normal Shader with Cache

Once you’ve started a game, swipe from the left to bring up the in-game menu. This will have a separate set of settings that will be helpful for certain scenarios. You can also set up a custom layout to better match the two screens to your device’s screen, and exit the game from this menu. To hide the on-screen controls, be sure to enter the in-game menu and select:

• Settings > Hide Input Buttons > ON

BIOS: not needed.

Recommended file types: 3ds (decrypted) files are my preferred type, but others may work too.

Nintendo Switch — Skyline

Update: Skyline emulation has stopped at this time.

Switch emulation requires a lot of CPU power, so expect to use a SnapDragon 845 device or higher. SnapDragon devices appear to have the best success with running these games as well. For the most part, Nintendo eShop games (indie titles) have the best compatibility and performance. To see which games are working, check out the Skyline official game compatibility list, or if you’re using the AYN Odin, you can consult the community spreadsheet.

To get started, download and install the latest apk file from their website. If you are using a SnapDragon-based Android device, I recommend downloading the latest open-source Turnip drivers for the best performance. To get them, join the Skyline discord server and go into the #general chat channel, and in the pinned comments you’ll find a thread for “Drivers”. Additionally, many of them are hosted on this GitHub page. For a demonstration, check out the installation video below. You will also need to supply your own prod.keys and title.keys files (more info below). After that, just add your ROMs and map your keys and you will be good to go.

Recommended settings:

• Show Performance Statistics: ON (if you want to see FPS data)
• Docked Mode: OFF (leave ON for high-end Android devices)

If you’d like, you can long-press on any individual game in the Skyline menu and add a shortcut to your home screen, so that you can access the game directly without having to launch the emulator first.

BIOS: prod.keys and title.keys from a Nintendo Switch. These will need to be imported within the Skyline settings (demonstrated in the video above).

Recommended file types: nsp or xci

If a game has an update file, you can follow the steps in this video guide to run Will Faust’s patcher tool. Here is a screenshot of the written instructions, courtesy of the Skyline discord server (credit: Kimchi, 2D Enthusiast, Lunar, and Shutterbug 2000).

Pico-8 — Winlator

If you’d like to try out running native Pico-8 via the Winlator app (which creates a Windows container to launch the app), check out this written guide.

Changelog

20AUG2024
– minor updates to 3DS section

21JUN2024
– added Pico-8 written guide link
– updated PS2 section
– added Lime3DS link

05MAR2024
– removed links to Yuzu and Citra

06DEC2023
– updated links

22JUN2023
– updated links, added Yuzu

08MAY2023
– updated links to AetherSX2

13APR2023
– updated wording about scoped storage now that many apps support it
– updated GameCube section to include VBI Skip recommendations for low-powered devices
– Link updates to file compression guide

05APR2023
– updated Dolphin section to reflect changes in emulator availability
– updated PS2 section to reflect change in AetherSX2 ownership

13FEB2023
– added links to ROM compression guide
– added PS Vita section
– added direct link to Adreno/Turnip drivers in Vita/Switch sections

06NOV2022
– added Daijisho video and links/description

08SEP2022
– updated links and some housekeeping

13AUG2022
– added Nintendo Switch (Skyline) guide

08JUN2022
– added widescreen cheat and patch information for N64 and GameCube

07JUN2022
– added instructions for widescreen for all standalone emulators

29MAY2022
– added instructions for Dreamcast widescreen (ReDream)

23MAY2022
– switched to nightly RetroArch build links
– minor changes

13MAR2022
– published guide

Odin community spreadsheet
Get the Odin here

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:08 homescreen + launcher options
06:30 RetroArch screen settings
08:25 other streaming options
12:45 keymapping fix & Android games
15:46 GameCube and Wii testing
23:43 PlayStation 2 testing
29:53 summary and conclusion

And in case you missed it, here is my Odin review:

The device is still being sold via its Indiegogo page. Please note that the prices are listed in Hong Kong dollars.

Odin compatibility spreadsheet

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
04:14 unboxing and tech specs
07:12 hardware and impressions
17:28 software orientation
23:44 screen impressions
27:15 Android and retro game testing
30:00 DS, PS1, N64, Saturn
31:26 Dreamcast and PSP
33:05 GameCube and Wii
35:29 PS2 and 3DS
37:55 Xbox and PS streaming
41:38 Stadia and Moonlight
43:08 Summary (likes and dislikes)
47:12 conclusion