As the Retron 5 hacking thread is going off topic with discussion on general use of Android devices for emulation and using original controllers, I thought it would be good to start a new thread on this. So - what do you think of emulation on Android devices? What devices run emulators well? What devices don't? What emulators run well? What emulators struggle? What do you think is the best controller to use for Android emulation? Personally, I enjoyed some casual emulation on my old Samsung Galaxy S II. I was surprised that it was able to run Nintendo 64 games reasonably well, although there was some slowdown on Mario Kart. SNES worked, Spectrum worked and GBA was great. I did find the on-screen controller very annoying, so I used a Wiimote with a Classic Controller. A nice controller, and a solution that worked well. I haven't got round to trying emulation on my S5 yet, although it should run better! Feel free to give a review of the Retron 5 (or other similar devices), but bear in mind there is already a Retron 5 thread.
I have an ouya, i play it all the time for my retro emulation. Alot of people diss the ouya but for a retro gaming machine its pretty awesome. It can emulate NES, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS (although abit clunky with alot of games due to a lack of touchscreen), SNES, TG16/PCE, Master System, Mega Drive, 32X Game Gear, PS1, MAME and Neo-Geo all pretty much at fullspeed N64 is still pretty hit and miss, although the AKI wrestling games work on it (and thats good enough for me ). Got a 500GB usb HDD and filled it with complete romsets for most systems. I rarely use my PC for emulation these days because of it, even works with a DS3 out of the box unlike most android devices i've dealt with (not a big fan of the pad that came with it)....not that its too hard to root your phone Side-loading alot of the stuff from the android store is pretty easy too, best way to play the taxman remasters of the original sonic games imo
I enjoy some classic emulation, Genesis works great on my S2, S4, and even my old Motorola Cliq as I remember (I have no idea where that is, I think I sold it). GBA emulation is good, and I've even gotten some decent use out of the Dreamcast emulator on my S4, I'm gonna try it on my Nook HD+ soon.
Android is great for emulation. My Phone is a top spec one with 3GB RAM and QuadCore Snapdragon. It can emulate all 8 bit, all 16 bit PS1, N64, Neo Geo, Dreamcast, Nintendo DS games at full speed, full screen with no frame skip. It also runs Mame very well althoght Sega Model 1 and 2 games while they do run are messed up due to the old version of mame that runs on the Android platform. Android really is an excelent option for emulation IN A HAND HELD! For the home why limit yourself to Android when a laptop connected to the TV can do so much more. I love my Android devices that I use. Nexus 7 in the car, Acer Windows / Android note book and Sony Xperia ZL2 phone. They are all great for gaming on the move with a PS3 pad or other bluetooth pad but I'd never use them at home on the TV because they are limited compared to a real laptop or even a mini desk top connected to the TV.
What's the spec of the device? I don't know what the situation is in Japan, but here in the UK, you cannot go into a supermarket, John Lewis etc. and pick up a tower PC. PC World have a handful. It's now fast becoming that the laptops themselves are looking to be outnumbered by the tablet hybrid things, which are essentially tablets with keyboards. Sure, they may run Windows instead of Android... but it's still worrying from a power user's point of view. It's like the retailers are trying to push us down that road. You can still get laptops direct / online, and from PC World or other computer shops, though.
So glad Japan isn't following the tablet trend. Bloody stupid from a practical point too. Here we can buy tower or build towers from PC stores and Laptops from any electronics store. Laptops are big here. The tablet is a device for on the move, not a replacement for the computer. Stupid if that's what they are thinking in the UK.
Not bad spec for the price, really! Yakumo, I totally agree. Check out the stunning selection from Sainsbury's on their website: http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/sho...tbooks/list.html?SRC=LPCOMPUTER&POD=COMPUTER1 2 all-in-one desktops, 1 Chromebook, 2 tablets with keyboards and 7 laptops - of which, the majority are £230 - £300. Ignoring the wannabe laptops, they have 40 iPads and 23 other tablets.
Isn't Sainsbury's like, a grocery store? I remember when I was in the UK their electronics selection on the whole is crap. Tesco looks to have a pretty decent selection: http://www.tesco.com/direct/technol...60209&icid=technologygaming_visnavstamp_slot3
I have just recently went down the Android route - i got the kids a cheapy android all in one which had a Xbox style controller built in (Gamepad brand i think) and, after initial annoyances, was impressed with the performance all the way up to Dreamcast - albeit not at the most amazing frame rate, but hey... since then i managed to pick up a dirt cheap 32g Nexus 7 2013 model and , again, i'm similarly happy with performance - plus it has wired HDMI out and i've paired it up with a couple of Famicom style controllers and everything works beautifully. I like how Google's marketplace is , well, almost completely ungoverned and a stack of emu options are there - plus Ikaruga and Cave games are on there (though only Ikaruga has controller support) - and Afterburner etc But yes - something like a Nexus 7 with HDMI out and a bluetooth controller has tv out + portability in a nice form factor and the only down side is the lack of expandable storage (or at least -easily usable- expandable storage). A Nexus 7 piece of hardware with a SD slot so that you could have, basically, all the full romsets ? Perfect. Ideally, Tegra-4 shield tab levels so you can then run Dreamcast emu at 60fps and have HL2 / Portal etc. The other alternative is something like the Asus t100 running w8 - i have one of those too as a "travel" pc and it's very capable and can operate as a tablet -or- pc. But then you're doubling cost and i honestly find the Android set up just that much easier for emu even if i can run more demanding stuff like Ketsui etc on the T100.
I've just bought the JXD S5800 and it's awesome enough for me. Has enough power (As powerful as the Galaxy S3 according to Antutu.) and has dedicated gaming buttons. Also has SIM cards so also usable as a phone. Reminds me of my N-Gage which is also a decent emulation device as well.
Well, I got a Nvidia Shield for this purpose, played it for about a couple of days and I have it chuck somewhere in the room. Its rooted with all the emulation software and I think its best of its class in terms of specs for now until the Nvidia Shield tablet comes along.
I currently own a Meizu MX3, and it can run DC emulation very beautifully. Glad I can play Vigilante 8 2nd Offense when I'm not home :>
Sorry for my american ignorance.... but holy shit Sainsbury's is a real store?! I seen it in a show called The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (amazing show btw, check it out sometime if you have never seen), and never would have figured it was a real chain, lol.
I used my Moto G to play Chrono Trigger (which I still haven't completed...) while on a cruise a few weeks ago and had a blast. I don't think touchscreens will ever work well for games that require quick response (chasing the rat in the dome rafters was a nightmare), but for RPGs it's certainly fine. I think controllers like this one are a novel idea, but I don't play games on my phone often enough to justify the purchase. I purchased an Ouya shortly thereafter, but I was not impressed with the system. The controller feels cheap, the interface was poorly designed, WiFi reception is awful (I had the new system with the black controller which was supposed to have improved WiFi reception) and gamma settings were a bit too bright for me. Gamma should be adjustable, but after a few minutes of looking I couldn't find an option to change it. That's not to say it's not there, but I was already not impressed with the system and really just wanted my money back at that point. Long story short, Android is a great platform for emulation if you're not too concerned about accuracy and if you have a controller with real buttons. I decided that I wanted to go the "purist" route and just use a PC with higan for my SNES games (no tube TV and my LCD doesn't have composite inputs, so the SNES is sitting in my closet). I've gone on this recent cycle-accurate emulation kick, so I'll probably just be building a new HTPC soon.
I recently picked up an Amazon Fire TV. They had $15 dollar off sale so I took the plunge. It's been pretty nice so far. Emulation seems great so far. Official Xbox 360 controller seems to work fine for everything (emulators that is, some problems with games), even plugged in a USB PS3 controller that worked, just needed a little remapping. I ordered the Amazon Fire TV Gamepad for it, will get next week. I'm hoping it's works fine with everything and feels fine for emulating. I don't actually like using the 360 controller for emulation because it's digital pad sucks and heavy.
I know the phone is old but you could pick up a Xperia Play. At least it doesn't rely on the touch screen for most games.
If you can find one, Get a Nvidia Shield Tablet. That thing is a ****ing beast. I have one I use for work and it really does laps around 801 qualcomm devices (and latest iPads don't touch it in benchmarks). It also has hdmi out and supports controllers so you can plug it into your tv when you don't feel like using a tablet.
