I realize this is nothing new, but with many of the emulators being pulled from the market, and the somewhat confusing process of getting everything in place, I thought I would post a little guide here on how to get some old school console gaming on our Photons, for people who may not have realized it was possible.
I also would ask that no one flame on about YongZh. Whatever your opinion is of him, his N64 emulator is bar none the best on Android.
Now, with that out of the way, the MoPho is a seriously capable gaming machine for those of you who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Because of the support for bluetooth that Motorola has in their phones, you can interface with the phone with several devices, some of which you may already have. With it's fast processing power, and a solid GPU, it runs emulators smoothly, and with HDMI, you can connect right to your TV. I have tried similar set-ups with the Evo, and the Evo3D, and neither one compared to what I am enjoying with my MoPho.
To start, you will want download some of the best emulators. You need to create a SlideMe account to buy N64oid. You can do that here: http://slideme.org/application/n64oid
SlideMe is safe to give your credit card information. Plus once you have an account, you can download several other emulators for free, like SNES, Gamboy Advanced, etc. For PSX, it's available in the Android market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.emulator.fpse&hl=en
The best SNES app is no longer available in the market. It was Snes9xEX from Robert Broglia. You can still find it here: http://www.explusalpha.com/home/snes9x-ex/downloads
There is an initial investment here of about $10 for the newer consoles (N64 and PSX), but it's worth it if you have the cash. These developers continue to work hard on these emulators, and $5 is a steal for the experience you get.
Second, you will want to download the BluezIME that supports a Wii Controller. Found here: http://code.google.com/p/android-bluez-ime/downloads/list
There are other Wii Mote apps, but this is the only one that works natively with the N64 emulator.
This app will allow you to pair a number of controllers with your device, and it supports true analog movement with the Wii controller analog stick. For those that don't know, analog allows you to control the movement of your player based on how far you bend the stick. Digital is 100% or 0% with a trigger somewhere about half way. Analog lets you push the stick a little, and move a little, push the stick alot, and move alot faster. I hope that makes sense. N64 is really the only console from this era that used it actively. PSX had a few games that did take advantage of it.
Once you have N64oid installed, as well as BluezIME, you can go into N64oid, and connect a Wii controller directly there. Just go into menu>settings>input settings>bluetooth gamepads>controller 1.
Once you are in there, you can hit connect, and it will ask to turn on bluetooth if you haven't already done so. Once it is on, it will say connecting. At this point, hit 1 and 2 on the Wii controller to pair it. The buttons automatically map, but you can change them if you want to. The analog stick should not be mapped in this section. It's already mapped correctly. If you are using the nunchuck, it's mapped to that analog stick. If you are using the classic controller, it's mapped to the left stick.
If you have multiple remotes, you can pair them all up using the other controller slots. N64 had a lot of great 4 player first person shooters. The wonderful advantage to having the MoPho is out of the box mirroring on to your HDTV. Because mirroring uses far less resources than webtop, make sure you just do mirroring, not webtop. It will ensure your emulator runs more smoothly.
Pairing with FPSE is a little different. It doesn't support BluezIME right in the app. So you have to pair with Bluez before going into FPSE. The upside to the N64oid emulator is you don't have to change your input method. So if you pause your game to answer a text, you type with your regular keyboard. In FPSE, Bluez is now your input method and you are mapping to actual keystrokes. Which means you will have to change your system input method if you need to type something, and change back when you re-start your game.
There is another option for a controller, which is the Sixaxis controller app. I don't have that controller, and so I haven't bought or tested that app. If anyone has, feel free to post your feedback here.
The other thing these emulators have is on screen controls, or hardware contols that use the sensor to move or physical buttons to shoot, jump, etc. Again, the MoPho has an advantage here over other phones. The camera button, and the volume up button can be mapped as triggers, and they are placed nicely. Also, because the MoPho has a gyroscope instead of an accelerometer, using the sensor as an analog stick is much more accurate than it was on my OG Evo. You can also map the camera and back buttons if you so choose.
Once you have installed your emulators, you need to get games to play. I have to tread lightly here, because downloading game roms from someone else is illegal. If you already own the game, and make a back up of it, it's legal to play your own copy of your own game with these emulators. You can use Google to find roms to see an example of what your backup will look like. PSX roms are the most difficult to get a solid working copy. This is because they are very large to begin with, and need to be "un-cem'ed" usually. I can tell you there is a good youtube video if you search on how to get PSX roms for your android device. If me saying that violates something, let me know and I will take it out. For FPSE, you will need to install the PSX bios. Again, this is easily downloaded by doing a Google search. If you can't find it, PM me, and I will send it to you.
FPSE is a somewhat complex emulator with a lot of options. For more support related specifically to that system, go to their support forums at:http://www.fpsece.net/forum2/index.php?sid=0fe4c20b809864ad49553f31ba1e9d1a
For N64oid, you can view the discussion here: http://n64oid.forumotion.com
If you have made it this far, here is a list of some games that are fun to play if you re-map the controls. Most of these are games that used the gun, because it can be emulated with a screen tap.
NES
Duck Hunt - Use input method as zapper. Map volume up as select, and volume down as start to navigate initial menus.
SNES
Yoshi Safari - This was a game that used the superscope. So you have to set the superscope as your main controller. If you map the volume up as the up button, and the volume down as the down button, and use sensor as left and right, then you are actually playing it in 2 player mode. The second player controls Yoshi, while the first is Mario shooting. But if you hold your phone in portrait, you can tilt left to right to dodge enemies, and press up to jump on the platforms, and down to slow down and evade obstacles. These instructions should work with SNESoid or Snes9x EX.
Mario Paint - This only works with Snes9x EX. The developer allows you to emulate the mouse.
Mario Kart - Use sensor as left and right, and map Volume up as A, Camera as R. Leave the on screen controls for acceleration. You accelerate by pressing B on screen, steer with the phone, but hop to do power slides with Camera, and fire your weapons with volume up.
PSX
Time Crisis - Change the controller to Guncon, and map L3 to volume up, and R3 to volume down. L3 will come out of cover to shoot, then you can tap on the enemies, and R3 will pause the game.
N64
Star Fox - Use the sensor as your analog stick, map volume up to Z, and camera to R. Map Volume down to C-left (use for boost). Leave the on-screen controls except for the analog stick and L and R. Flying the ship is done mostly from the phone controls, and firing is on-screen controls.
The compatibility lists in the forums for N64oid and FPSE aren't really specific to our phones. I have found excellent compatibility with most games on this phone. FPSE runs almost everything 100%. For N64 here are all the ones I have currently running with no issues that I can see, but I am sure that more are compatible, and the developer is improving this app regularly.
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
Star Fox 64
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Banjo Kazooie
Zelda OOT
Zelda Majoras Mask
I hope that helps some of you enjoy your Photon that much more. If I missed anything or you want to add anything, just let me know.
I also would ask that no one flame on about YongZh. Whatever your opinion is of him, his N64 emulator is bar none the best on Android.
Now, with that out of the way, the MoPho is a seriously capable gaming machine for those of you who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Because of the support for bluetooth that Motorola has in their phones, you can interface with the phone with several devices, some of which you may already have. With it's fast processing power, and a solid GPU, it runs emulators smoothly, and with HDMI, you can connect right to your TV. I have tried similar set-ups with the Evo, and the Evo3D, and neither one compared to what I am enjoying with my MoPho.
To start, you will want download some of the best emulators. You need to create a SlideMe account to buy N64oid. You can do that here: http://slideme.org/application/n64oid
SlideMe is safe to give your credit card information. Plus once you have an account, you can download several other emulators for free, like SNES, Gamboy Advanced, etc. For PSX, it's available in the Android market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.emulator.fpse&hl=en
The best SNES app is no longer available in the market. It was Snes9xEX from Robert Broglia. You can still find it here: http://www.explusalpha.com/home/snes9x-ex/downloads
There is an initial investment here of about $10 for the newer consoles (N64 and PSX), but it's worth it if you have the cash. These developers continue to work hard on these emulators, and $5 is a steal for the experience you get.
Second, you will want to download the BluezIME that supports a Wii Controller. Found here: http://code.google.com/p/android-bluez-ime/downloads/list
There are other Wii Mote apps, but this is the only one that works natively with the N64 emulator.
This app will allow you to pair a number of controllers with your device, and it supports true analog movement with the Wii controller analog stick. For those that don't know, analog allows you to control the movement of your player based on how far you bend the stick. Digital is 100% or 0% with a trigger somewhere about half way. Analog lets you push the stick a little, and move a little, push the stick alot, and move alot faster. I hope that makes sense. N64 is really the only console from this era that used it actively. PSX had a few games that did take advantage of it.
Once you have N64oid installed, as well as BluezIME, you can go into N64oid, and connect a Wii controller directly there. Just go into menu>settings>input settings>bluetooth gamepads>controller 1.
Once you are in there, you can hit connect, and it will ask to turn on bluetooth if you haven't already done so. Once it is on, it will say connecting. At this point, hit 1 and 2 on the Wii controller to pair it. The buttons automatically map, but you can change them if you want to. The analog stick should not be mapped in this section. It's already mapped correctly. If you are using the nunchuck, it's mapped to that analog stick. If you are using the classic controller, it's mapped to the left stick.
If you have multiple remotes, you can pair them all up using the other controller slots. N64 had a lot of great 4 player first person shooters. The wonderful advantage to having the MoPho is out of the box mirroring on to your HDTV. Because mirroring uses far less resources than webtop, make sure you just do mirroring, not webtop. It will ensure your emulator runs more smoothly.
Pairing with FPSE is a little different. It doesn't support BluezIME right in the app. So you have to pair with Bluez before going into FPSE. The upside to the N64oid emulator is you don't have to change your input method. So if you pause your game to answer a text, you type with your regular keyboard. In FPSE, Bluez is now your input method and you are mapping to actual keystrokes. Which means you will have to change your system input method if you need to type something, and change back when you re-start your game.
There is another option for a controller, which is the Sixaxis controller app. I don't have that controller, and so I haven't bought or tested that app. If anyone has, feel free to post your feedback here.
The other thing these emulators have is on screen controls, or hardware contols that use the sensor to move or physical buttons to shoot, jump, etc. Again, the MoPho has an advantage here over other phones. The camera button, and the volume up button can be mapped as triggers, and they are placed nicely. Also, because the MoPho has a gyroscope instead of an accelerometer, using the sensor as an analog stick is much more accurate than it was on my OG Evo. You can also map the camera and back buttons if you so choose.
Once you have installed your emulators, you need to get games to play. I have to tread lightly here, because downloading game roms from someone else is illegal. If you already own the game, and make a back up of it, it's legal to play your own copy of your own game with these emulators. You can use Google to find roms to see an example of what your backup will look like. PSX roms are the most difficult to get a solid working copy. This is because they are very large to begin with, and need to be "un-cem'ed" usually. I can tell you there is a good youtube video if you search on how to get PSX roms for your android device. If me saying that violates something, let me know and I will take it out. For FPSE, you will need to install the PSX bios. Again, this is easily downloaded by doing a Google search. If you can't find it, PM me, and I will send it to you.
FPSE is a somewhat complex emulator with a lot of options. For more support related specifically to that system, go to their support forums at:http://www.fpsece.net/forum2/index.php?sid=0fe4c20b809864ad49553f31ba1e9d1a
For N64oid, you can view the discussion here: http://n64oid.forumotion.com
If you have made it this far, here is a list of some games that are fun to play if you re-map the controls. Most of these are games that used the gun, because it can be emulated with a screen tap.
NES
Duck Hunt - Use input method as zapper. Map volume up as select, and volume down as start to navigate initial menus.
SNES
Yoshi Safari - This was a game that used the superscope. So you have to set the superscope as your main controller. If you map the volume up as the up button, and the volume down as the down button, and use sensor as left and right, then you are actually playing it in 2 player mode. The second player controls Yoshi, while the first is Mario shooting. But if you hold your phone in portrait, you can tilt left to right to dodge enemies, and press up to jump on the platforms, and down to slow down and evade obstacles. These instructions should work with SNESoid or Snes9x EX.
Mario Paint - This only works with Snes9x EX. The developer allows you to emulate the mouse.
Mario Kart - Use sensor as left and right, and map Volume up as A, Camera as R. Leave the on screen controls for acceleration. You accelerate by pressing B on screen, steer with the phone, but hop to do power slides with Camera, and fire your weapons with volume up.
PSX
Time Crisis - Change the controller to Guncon, and map L3 to volume up, and R3 to volume down. L3 will come out of cover to shoot, then you can tap on the enemies, and R3 will pause the game.
N64
Star Fox - Use the sensor as your analog stick, map volume up to Z, and camera to R. Map Volume down to C-left (use for boost). Leave the on-screen controls except for the analog stick and L and R. Flying the ship is done mostly from the phone controls, and firing is on-screen controls.
The compatibility lists in the forums for N64oid and FPSE aren't really specific to our phones. I have found excellent compatibility with most games on this phone. FPSE runs almost everything 100%. For N64 here are all the ones I have currently running with no issues that I can see, but I am sure that more are compatible, and the developer is improving this app regularly.
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
Star Fox 64
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Banjo Kazooie
Zelda OOT
Zelda Majoras Mask
I hope that helps some of you enjoy your Photon that much more. If I missed anything or you want to add anything, just let me know.
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