EmulationStation-DE Releases NEW Android Version!

EmulationStation-DE has published a brand-new Android version of its front right after EmuDeck's most recent Android release. Is it worth a try, though? Let us tell you the specifics!

Let's start by talking about where you can find this. This is a premium app, in contrast to all other ES-DE versions. The cost of acquiring those adorable themes to run on your brand-new RG556 or Retroid Pocket 4 is $5.39 (as of this writing), and it can only be purchased through the Amazon App Store. The developer claims that the Play Store has been "unwilling" to let them publish; given Google's ambiguous and frequently inconsistent standards, this is hardly shocking.

Since ES-DE for Android is identical to the desktop version, all your games, themes, collections, and scraped media can be synchronized between your devices. The Android version also maintains ES-DE's extensive emulator support, which includes the Vita emulator Vita3K, among many others.

Issues to Keep In Mind

However, there are some issues with the front end. Most significantly, the AYN Odin 2 has two significant problems. First off, the system's handling of directories containing periods in their names has some issues. This turns off capability in FPse, FPseNG (PS1), and Saturn.emu (Saturn), Play! (PS2), and M64Plus FZ (N64). You're not entirely out of luck with RetroArch, NetherSX2, ePSXe, DuckStation, and Yuzu, though, as it appears to function well with those systems.

Though they offer a remedy in the documentation, the developer points out that this is not an exhaustive list, so your experience may differ.

Unfortunately, there is no remedy for the second problem; some emulators won't launch with ES-DE. Among these are Speccy (ZX Spectrum) and My Boy! (GBA), My OldBoy! (GBC), fMSX (MSX), iNES (NES), MasterGear (Master System/Game Gear), ColEm (Colecovision), and Redream (Dreamcast). There are substitutes for each emulator, either standalone or in RetroArch. It still stinks for those of us who own and adore any of these emulators. Fortunately, it's not a complete show-stopper; you might need to modify your setup to accommodate ES-DE's constraints.

Other Android handhelds also have problems. At startup, some devices perform abnormally poorly. However, this problem appears to go away on its own after around 30 seconds. When using physical controllers and keyboards, Android's touchscreen keyboard also creates rendering problems. To counter that, the built-in keyboard of ES-DE is used instead of the normal Android keyboard.

Overall, they are pretty little problems that shouldn't significantly impact the settings of the majority of individuals. Additionally, they don't take away from the excitement of finally having one of the best emulation frontends on our Android smartphones. In the words of fellow RH author Andrew, "This is why I never imagined that my phone would be running EmulationStation.

The Android frontend scene is getting lively with the addition of EmulationStation and EmuDeck, as well as community favorite Daijishou, the quickly changing Beacon and Console Launcher, and, of course, our longtime partner RESET Collection (which you can get for free with our Discord memberships!).

Update (2/28): EmulationStation Gets Booted from Amazon Appstore

Following the announcement that Nintendo was suing Yuzu, EmulationStation was taken off the Amazon Appstore, dealing another blow. The rationale is that "The app facilitates emulating and pirating of games from third-party sources without explicit authorization from those sources," according to a statement in the ES-DE Discord.

Naturally, we are unsure whether this is related to Nintendo's decision to sue Yuzu. However, it's odd that Amazon would take down an app only a few days after it was accepted.

This is a fluid scenario; thus, there are many moving components. It won't simply vanish if you already have the ES-DE for Android app installed, and you won't get any updates either. You can still get ES-DE for Android from the new Patreon, a temporary change.

Patreon memberships are different, though they typically grant access through monthly subscriptions. You can "sign up" for the ES-DE Frontend Patreon membership and receive the most recent Android build for $5.50. You can then cancel your membership or stay enrolled to support development. The creators state that "you will still receive future APK updates" regardless of your selected option.