In general emulation is not that mature on Android compared to other platforms, and emulator availability on the Google Play store leaves a lot to be desired. Many emulators are not there at all, or they are present but have been crippled or have not been updated for a very long time. As well many emulators simply don't integrate with a frontend application like ES-DE as they offer no way of launching games from an external application.
Some of the emulators that are supported by ES-DE have to be sideloaded using a manually downloaded APK. But thankfully this is not very difficult to do. The exact producedure for how to install APKs manually is not covered here but there are many resources available online on how to accomplish this.
There is also the [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/) app store as an alternative to Google Play, and this service contains a couple of emulators that are not present on the Play store, or that are present there but haven't been updated for a very long time.
A number of emulators support the [FileProvider](https://developer.android.com/reference/androidx/core/content/FileProvider) API which makes it possible for ES-DE to temporarily provide storage access to the game ROMs on launch. This means that no access permission needs to be setup in the emulator upfront. For those emulators which do not support the FileProvider API, you will generally need to manually provide scoped storage access to each game system directory. Note that it's not supported to give access to the root of the entire ROM directory for emulators that use scoped storage, it has to be for the specific system. For instance `/storage/emulated/0/ROMs/n64` rather than `/storage/emulated/0/ROMs`.
Some emulators like RetroArch are still using an older storage access method and for those emulators this is not something you need to consider.
There is a strange issue on some specific Android devices where some emulators refuse to run games that you place inside directories that contain dots in their names. This is quite problematic as the [directories interpreted as files](USERGUIDE.md#directories-interpreted-as-files) functionality depends on the ability to add file extensions to directory names.
A known problematic device is the Ayn Odin 2 (Android 13) and devices that seem to work correctly are Ayn Odin Lite (Android 11), Google Pixel 4a (Android 13) and Google Pixel Tablet (Android 14).
The issue has been observed with M64Plus FZ, Play!, Saturn.emu, FPse and FPseNG and it's working fine with RetroArch, NetherSX2, ePSXe, DuckStation and Yuzu. Note however that this is not a complete list as not all emulators have been tested for this across multiple devices.
If you run into this problem you can use the _folder link_ functionality as an alternative to the _directories interpreted as files_ functionality. How to use folder links is described in the [User guide](USERGUIDE.md).
## Issues with running some emulators on some devices
Some devices have issues and can't run a number of emulators. It may be related to the previous topic above, or it may be completely unrelated. But the same pattern emerges here, the Ayn Odin 2 (Android 13) is broken and the Ayn Odin Lite (Android 11), Google Pixel 4a (Android 13) and Google Pixel Tablet (Android 14) are working fine.
When attempting to run such an emulator on a problematic device you'll see an error popup with the game name followed by "ERROR CODE -1". The following emulators are affected
* ColEm
* fMSX
* iNES
* MasterGear
* My Boy!
* My OldBoy!
* Redream
* Speccy
## Emulator installation and setup
Below are specific instructions and considerations for all supported emulators.
The RetroArch release in the Play Store is not very good and is therefore not recommended. To get access to all cores make sure to instead manually download and install the 64-bit/aarch64 APK from their website.
You could alternatively install their release on the F-Droid store.
Be aware that you need to manually install every core you want to use from inside the RetroArch user interface, and you also need to install all necessary BIOS files. The Android release of RetroArch is pretty unforgiving and will usually just present a black screen on game launch if the core file or the BIOS file is missing, and it will hang there until Android realizes the app is not responding and displays a popup where you can choose to kill the process.
Although the emulator entry is named AetherSX2 the recommended release of this emulator is actually the NetherSX2 patched version as the AetherSX2 release on the Google Play store doesn't work correctly and probably can't be used with ES-DE at all. You'll need to search for this APK online, the filename you'll want is `15210-v1.5-4248-noads.apk`
The version of Citra on the Google Play store is very old and barely works. Instead download either the Canary or Nightly builds from the Citra website or use the Citra MMJ fork:
This emulator can be installed from the Play store. There is a paid version as well named ColEm Deluxe (ColEm+ ColecoVision Emulator is the store listing name).
Although this emulator supports both the Adam and ColecoVision systems it can unfortunately not do both interchangeably. In order to play Adam games you need to go into the Emulation settings in ColEm and tick the _Coleco Adam_ box. And likewise you'll need to untick it any time you want to play a ColecoVision game. This is true for launching games from ES-DE as well as starting them from inside the emulator GUI.
The Play store version is somehow up to date and could be used, otherwise the F-Droid store version is up to date, or you could download the latest release directly from their website.
In the past there were multiple unofficial ports, but these are not really recommended any longer as most of them don't seem to have been updated in a long time and are likely to have been surpassed by the official Dolphin release.
There does not seem to be a way to launch individual EKA2L1 games from a frontend application on Android, instead ES-DE will simply launch the EKA2L1 user interface and you'll have to manually start your game from there.
These set of emulators also known as the "Robert Broglia" emulators consist of 2600.emu, C64.emu, GBA.emu, GBC.emu, Lynx.emu, NEO.emu, NES.emu, NGP.emu, MD.emu, MSX.emu, PCE.emu, Snes9x EX+, Saturn.emu and Swan.emu
This RetroArch core is a good port of the official PICO-8 game engine which does not exist on Android. It's not shipped with RetroArch by default though so you need to manaully install it. After download you'll need to place it inside's RetroArch's downloads directory and then install it from the RetroArch app. Details on how to accomplish this can be found on the Internet. Fake-08 can be downloaded from their GitHub site.
This emulator can be installed from the Play store. There is a paid version as well named fMSX Deluxe (fMSX+ MSX/MSX2 Emulator is the store listing name).
These emulators can be installed from the Play store as a paid apps. FPseNG is the more modern version so it's probably best to go for that. Note that these emulators do not support .chd files.
These emulators can be installed from the Play store. It's strongly recommended to go for the _MAME4droid 2024_ version as this is updated with a frequent MAME release while the older _MAME4droid_ is using an ancient MAME release.
This emulator can be installed from the Play store but it's quite buggy. Every time you add a new game to the ROM directory you need to start the emulator and manually refresh the game list or you won't be able to launch the game from ES-DE. Filenames containing parentheses also don't work and need to be renamed or they can't be launched from ES-DE. The same is probably true for a number of additional characters.
These emulators can be installed from the Play store as paid apps. There are also free/Lite versions availble for these emulators but they have not been updated in years and don't run on modern devices. As such they are not supported by ES-DE.
Although OpenBOR is working fine on Android it's not possible to properly integrate it with a frontend, you'll instead need to install your game PAKs into the `/sdcard/OpenBOR/Paks` directory and create dummy .openbor files for your games in `ROMs/openbor` and after launching a game from ES-DE you need to manually start it from inside the OpenBOR GUI. There are more detailed setup instructions in the _OpenBOR_ section of the [User guide](USERGUIDE-DEV.md#openbor).
As of writing this, the Basic version of the GBA emulator does not seem to be able to launch games from ES-DE, but the Pro version is working fine. Both the Basic and Pro versions of the GBC emulator are working correctly.
The Play store version of this emulator is getting frequent updates and is therefore recommended. There is a paid Gold version as well which is functionally identical to the free version.
This emulator can be installed from the Play store. There is a paid version as well named Speccy Deluxe (Speccy+ ZX Spectrum Emulator is the store listing name).
Although this emulator supports both the Sinclar ZX Spectrum and MGT SAM Coupé systems it can unfortunately not do both interchangeably. In order to play SAM Coupé games you need to go into the Emulation settings in Speccy and select _Sam Coupe_ from the _Computer Model_ selection screen. And likewise you'll need to change it back any time you want to play a ZX Spectrum game. This is true for launching games from ES-DE as well as starting them from inside the emulator GUI.
The Play store version of this emulator is getting frequent updates and is therefore recommended. There's an Early Access version as well which is also recommended.
| atarist | Atari ST [also STE and Falcon] | Hatari | | Yes | Single archive or image file for single-diskette games, .m3u playlist for multi-diskette games |
| c64 | Commodore 64 | VICE x64sc Accurate | VICE x64 Fast,<br>VICE x64 SuperCPU,<br>VICE x128,<br>C64.emu **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or image file for tape, cartridge or single-diskette games, .m3u playlist for multi-diskette games |
| dreamcast | Sega Dreamcast | Flycast | Flycast **(Standalone)**,<br>Redream **(Standalone)** | No | In separate folder interpreted as a file, with .m3u playlist if multi-disc game |
| easyrpg | EasyRPG Game Engine | EasyRPG | | No | |
| electron | Acorn Electron | _Placeholder_ | | | |
| famicom | Nintendo Family Computer | Mesen | Nestopia UE,<br>FCEUmm,<br>QuickNES,<br>NES.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>iNES **(Standalone)**,<br>Nesoid **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| fds | Nintendo Famicom Disk System | Mesen | Nestopia UE,<br>FCEUmm,<br>NES.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>iNES **(Standalone)**,<br>Nesoid **(Standalone)** | Yes | Single archive or ROM file |
| gameandwatch | Nintendo Game and Watch | Multi (MESS) | MAME4droid 2024 **(Standalone)**,<br>Handheld Electronic (GW) | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| gamegear | Sega Game Gear | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>Gearsystem,<br>SMS Plus GX,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MasterGear **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| gb | Nintendo Game Boy | Gambatte | SameBoy,<br>Gearboy,<br>TGB Dual,<br>DoubleCherryGB,<br>Mesen-S,<br>bsnes,<br>mGBA,<br>VBA-M,<br>GBC.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>My OldBoy! **(Standalone**),<br>Pizza Boy GBC **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| gba | Nintendo Game Boy Advance | mGBA | VBA-M,<br>VBA Next,<br>gpSP,<br>GBA.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>My Boy! **(Standalone)**,<br>Pizza Boy GBA **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| gbc | Nintendo Game Boy Color | Gambatte | SameBoy,<br>Gearboy,<br>TGB Dual,<br>DoubleCherryGB,<br>Mesen-S,<br>bsnes,<br>mGBA,<br>VBA-M,<br>GBC.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>My OldBoy! **(Standalone**),<br>Pizza Boy GBC **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| mastersystem | Sega Master System | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>SMS Plus GX,<br>Gearsystem,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MD.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>MasterGear **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| megacd | Sega Mega-CD | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MD.emu **(Standalone)** | Yes | |
| megacdjp | Sega Mega-CD [Japan] | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MD.emu **(Standalone)** | Yes | |
| megadrive | Sega Mega Drive | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MD.emu **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| megadrivejp | Sega Mega Drive [Japan] | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MD.emu **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| n3ds | Nintendo 3DS | Citra | Citra **(Standalone)** [Play store version or Nightly],<br>Citra Canary **(Standalone)**,<br>Citra MMJ **(Standalone)** | No | Single ROM file |
| nds | Nintendo DS | melonDS DS | melonDS @,<br>melonDS **(Standalone)**,<br>DeSmuME,<br>DeSmuME 2015,<br>DraStic **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| nes | Nintendo Entertainment System | Mesen | Nestopia UE,<br>FCEUmm,<br>QuickNES,<br>NES.emu **(Standalone)**,<br>iNES **(Standalone)**,<br>Nesoid **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| plus4 | Commodore Plus/4 | VICE xplus4 | | No | Single archive or image file for tape, cartridge or single-diskette games, .m3u playlist for multi-diskette games |
| pokemini | Nintendo Pokémon Mini | PokeMini | | No | |
| segacd | Sega CD | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>PicoDrive,<br>MD.emu **(Standalone)** | Yes | |
| sfc | Nintendo SFC (Super Famicom) | Snes9x - Current | Snes9x 2010,<br>Snes9x EX+ **(Standalone)**,<br>bsnes,<br>bsnes-hd,<br>bsnes-mercury Accuracy,<br>Beetle Supafaust,<br>Mesen-S | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| sg-1000 | Sega SG-1000 | Genesis Plus GX | Genesis Plus GX Wide,<br>Gearsystem,<br>blueMSX,<br>MasterGear **(Standalone)** | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| snes | Nintendo SNES (Super Nintendo) | Snes9x - Current | Snes9x 2010,<br>Snes9x EX+ **(Standalone)**,<br>bsnes,<br>bsnes-hd,<br>bsnes-mercury Accuracy,<br>Beetle Supafaust,<br>Mesen-S | No | Single archive or ROM file |
| snesna | Nintendo SNES (Super Nintendo) [North America] | Snes9x - Current | Snes9x 2010,<br>Snes9x EX+ **(Standalone)**,<br>bsnes,<br>bsnes-hd,<br>bsnes-mercury Accuracy,<br>Beetle Supafaust,<br>Mesen-S | No | Single archive or ROM file |
