Why not separate apps?
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2026
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If I have to use separate apps, I'll settle for that.
You didn't mention RetroArch, have you had any issues with that one? I know people have opinions on it, but it's always worked for me.
I have Opinions about RetroArch, but I've downloaded it now and it seems to work fine.
I used to really dislike Retroarch, but ever since they started defaulting to the ozone UI, I have less complaints about the usability of it. Still prefer standalones because their performance is usually better, personally, but it isnt as bad as it used to be IMO.
As long as they don't go above N64/PS1. I would say that RetroArch is great. Get some core recommendations, some are better than others.
On the SoC in their phone, even N64 through Retroarch is a stretch for many games. PS1 will generally be OK, but I'd still recommend a stand-alone emulator for that, too. Everything earlier than that generation should be fine, though.
I have a retroid 4 pro and it plays PS2 fine. The Qualcomm chips in many phones are more powerful than it's MediaTek Dimensity.
I use RetroArch for all the systems mentioned. It's not a simple, pick-up-and-play app, but I don't think it's too hard to get the basics working, and there's plenty of documentation and community support online.
RA maps physical controllers (configurably) to a logical internal "RetroArch controller", which is then mapped in turn to the specific emulated controller by each emulation core. So as long as the phone's mini controller pad connects to Android as a standard controller, there should be no problems, including remapping however you wish.
Tried Lemuroid but it doesn’t take input from the physical buttons and can’t hide the on-screen buttons.
You can definitely hide the on-screen buttons, and I'm fairly sure it has controller support as well but you may need to mess around in the settings for it to work. Your other option is probably RetroArch but don't get it from Google Play because that one is outdated, get it from the official site.
Lemuroid has controller support, but it won't recognize my phone's built-in physical buttons. I guess I'll give RetroArch a try, thanks.
If separate aren't a deal breaker, I've been using Nostalgia emulators for a while. They work great with my 8bitdo controllers. NES, GBA, GG and GB/C versions are available. No SNES or Genesis, unfortunately.
Not FOSS and not free for the Pro versions, but free versions are available to see if they work for you.
No update since 2024. The dev does not respond to any comment in Google Play Store.