👾 Welcome to the Friday edition of The Memory Core newsletter. Wednesday’s newsletter brought in quite a few new subscribers, so I want to thank all of you for joining.

Today’s stories are fairly Android-heavy, but I’ve added a new section to the roundup for FPGA news. I expect a lot of interesting things in the space over the next few months, and they don’t quite fit with handhelds or emulators.

Before we get to the first story, I also wanted to give you a heads up that the next mid-week newsletter will be a mini review of the KONKR Pocket FIT (G3 Gen 3 version). If you have any questions or want me to test something, hit reply and let me know.

And if you're not already subscribed, please consider subscribing to get every new edition directly in your inbox. It's free, no spam, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Now, on to the main story.

Nintendo Switch emulation returns to the Play Store… and iOS?

Even if you’re new to the emulation world, odds are you’ve heard of Yuzu. The infamous Nintendo Switch emulator was shut down by Nintendo in 2024 after an out-of-court settlement.

But despite Yuzu forks taking up the mantle seriously earlier this year, Yuzu was the only one that ever had an official listing on the Google Play Store. This is huge for visibility since sideloading adds an extra level of complexity that many people just don’t want to deal with.

Eden, one of the most promising Yuzu forks, has now followed in its predecessor’s footsteps. The Play Store listing went live last Friday, and it’s already climbed to #5 in the Free Simulation category, which is mostly filled with terrible mobile games (and Umamusume: Pretty Derby).

I had a quick chat with Camille LaVey, the project lead, about the decision to make things official and what might come next.

Despite Google recently announcing that sideloading will require developers to verify their identities starting next year, the team actually started the process way back in July. And although Switch emulation is a hot-button topic on social media, the team didn’t face any major issues in getting approved.

The team's goal is to legitimize the Eden emulator and provide “easy access" for users. The team has taken other steps toward legitimacy, such as sharing a spreadsheet with the project’s full financials.

The listing initally had images featuring cover art from popular Switch games, which likely violated rules or the possibly the law. They have since been removed in favor of images showing the UI.

Camille states that Android has always been the most popular platform for downloads, and estimates the emulator had roughly 400,000 total downloads from GitHub between versions 0.0.1 and 0.0.2. After that, the team changed its workflow and lost download data.

It currently sits at 100,000 downloads from the Play Store, less than a week after launching.

The app is registered under Utopia LLC, a company that doesn’t technically exist… yet. The team’s second-in-command, Carson Reuter, is listed as the dev contact on the listing, but Camille told me that the team still hasn’t decided where to register the company. The current options are the US or somewhere in Latin America.

From a legal standpoint, the Eden team isn’t particularly concerned about the unwanted attention from Nintendo’s legal team:

Of course, the team isn’t hiding anything and he knows Nintendo is paying attention, writing, “they’re seeing everything.” Another Eden contributor, FelesNoctis, expanded on this in a post on Reddit:

She continues:

If you’re an iPhone user feeling left out right now, there’s some good news for you, too. Developer Jarrod Norwell, who has previously contributed to Eden, teased that his Yuzu fork, Sudachi, is now working on iOS, “Back and better than ever.”

Before you get too excited, no, it isn’t on the App Store. It requires JIT, and Apple has removed previous workarounds to enable it on iPhones. In any case, it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Ryujinx iOS port, MeloNX, once new workarounds are discovered.

AYANEO’s first budget handheld is here, and it’s really cheap

I had originally intended to write about the ANBERNIC RG 467H, which I spent a few hours with yesterday and goes up for sale today, but then AYANEO revealed its Pocket AIR Mini handheld, and it’s too big a deal to ignore.

I’ll list the specs below, but the most important thing here is the starting price: $70. Sure, that’s just the “limited-time” price, but even the retail pricing starts at $90, which makes it one of the cheapest new Android handhelds in years.

AYANEO Pocket AIR Mini specs: 4.2-inch 4:3 60Hz LCD display MediaTek G90T processor 2+32GB and 3+64GB configurations Hall-effect sticks and triggers 4500mAh battery, 18W charging Wi-Fi 5, BT 5.0 Android 11

Just last week, I wrote about the MANGMI AIR X, an $80 handheld (again, jumping to $90 after the early-bird deals finish), but the Pocket AIR Mini brings AYANEO's signature design flare. The retro 4:3 screen gives it a different focus than the 16:9 AIR X, but in terms of power, it outperforms any other cheap Android handheld.

From a company like AYANEO, which is best known for ultra-premium flagship handhelds, this is a welcome change. It continues the trend of aggressive pricing the company started with the KONKR Pocket FIT, and it could open its devices to a whole new userbase.

The other good news here is that it’s launching very soon. It’s already available for pre-order in China, with global pre-orders starting next month. At the moment, it also appears that you will be able to pre-order directly from AYANEO, rather than using a crowdfunding site.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this one for testing, but despite the modest specs (2 or 3GB of RAM and Android 11 may be a problem for mobile games), I can see this becoming THE entry-level handheld to buy.

Handheld highlights

🆕 The ANBERNIC RG 476H went up for sale this morning, starting at $150 for the first 72 hours, then jumping to $165 after that. Based on my limited time with the device, I’d say that’s a great deal to game on this gorgeous 120Hz 4:3 display. [ANBERNIC]

🐤 AYANEO announced that the KONKR Pocket FIT is its best-selling device ever in China. To celebrate, it’s keeping the super early bird pricing until the end of the month. That’s just enough time to read my review next week, so send me those questions if you’re on the fence. [Indiegogo]

🤏 At the end of yesterday’s Pocket AIR Mini stream, AYANEO also revealed the Pocket S Mini. Details are slim, but it looks like it adapts the original Pocket S design into a size comparable to the Retroid Pocket Mini. It will have a 4:3 screen and a Snapdragon G3X Gen 2, which is some serious power. It’s expected to launch in March of next year. [AYANEO]

📦 One more story about AYANEO, the company has already begun shipping Pocket DS pre-orders in China. Global orders are still expected to start shipping in October. [Indiegogo]

🐏 The black sheep of the dual-screen handheld world, the OneXSugar Sugar 1, is now available to purchase outside of crowdfunding. Shipping starts September 30, but beyond the novelty, I can’t recommend this one at this price. [OneXPlayer Store]

🔍 The new Xbox ROG Ally devices don’t launch until next month, but Reddit sleuths have already figured out how to enable the new Xbox mode on any Windows handheld, freeing up RAM and boosting performance slightly. [Reddit]

FPGA Focus

⚡ Terasic has released pricing on the DE25-Nano board, which is the follow-up to the DE10-Nano that powers the MiSTer FPGA. It’s only slightly more expensive and offers roughly 25% more logic elements. Time will tell whether or not this is officially adopted as a MiSTer successor. [Terasic]

🥇 The MiSTer NES core is now the most accurate way to emulate Nintendo games after a recent update. The results are based on 100th Coin’s NES test ROM, which you might remember if you watched the YouTube video I linked last week. [Bluesky]

💹 Game Bub, a new FPGA handheld, has reached more than 85% of its crowdfunding goal with two weeks remaining. If you want to support open-source FPGA hardware or play your favorite Game Boy and Game Boy Advance carts, check it out. [Crowd Supply]

🙅 Despite news that the MiSTer FPGA SEGA Saturn core is “100% accurate,” its developer Sergiy Dvodnenko thinks there’s still work to be done, writing, “It’s still far from complete accuracy.” [X]

The Emulator Report

🐬 Dolphin released a huge update that disables dual core mode on desktop by default. It was causing more issues than it was worth, and now that modern processors can handle the load on a single core, it was finally time to put it to rest. It also improved Bluetooth support for Wii Remotes, which is good news for the next news story. [Dolphin]

🏆 The folks at RetroAchievements announced that the Nintendo Wii is coming soon to the platform. Wii achievements are planned to roll out on March 19, 2026, so strap on your Wiimotes and start practicing for those sweet, sweet cheevos. [RetroAchievements]

‼️ If you’re a fan of RetroAchievements and use PCSX2, make sure you update to nightly version 2.5.162 or above today if you want to keep earning hardcore achievements. The stable version will be incompatible with RA until v2.5 releases at a later date. [RetroAchievements]

💮 3DS emulator Azahar released a minor update that fixes a few bugs that can cause the emulator to crash or stop responding. [GitHub]

🖥️ 86Box has been updated to V5.1, with some new features and bugfixes. Check out the release notes to learn more, or download the new version from GitHub. [86Box] [GitHub]

📢 SapphireRhodonite (whom I interviewed last week) has published his dual-screen fork of Cemu. The emulator itself is still a work in progress, but at least users can take advantage of both screens when their Pocket DS units arrive. [GitHub]

🎮 ShadPS4 emulator v0.11.0 released, and the big change here is that Unreal Engine games can now boot. The team says that some are even playable, although PS4 emulation is still in very early stages. [GitHub]

Retro archives

⌨️ MicroProse announced two new throwback titles. The first is a Command and Conquer-style RTS called Dying Breed. The second, Darkenstein 3D, is a first-person shooter inspired by Wolfenstein and Doom. The latter will also be free of charge. [YouTube] [YouTube]

🗾 This week marked the 40th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. Japanese release on the NES, and several new fan projects were announced to celebrate. The first, Super Mario Bros. Remastered, fully remasters the original NES games, with new characters, widescreen support, and more. [GitHub]

🌑 Super Mario: The Legend of Darkness takes things a step further with an entirely new game. Built in SMBX1.5.4, it blends elements of the original games with more modern releases like Super Mario Wonder. [Website]

💨 That’s not all, with more Romhacks featuring Mario in Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario in Castlevania III, and Crash Bandicoot in Super Mario World also dropping this week. It’s a crossover bonanza. [Mario in Sonic the Hedgehog] [Castlevania 3 - Super Mario Bros Sprite] [Crash Bandicoot and the Retro Dimension]

🕰️ Finally, the classic Super Famicom horror title Clock Tower has been ported to the Game Boy Advance to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The game includes both Japanese and English text, as well as an instruction manual and box art mockups. [Archive]

That's all for now. I'll be spending the weekend testing the KONKR Pocket FIT, so send those questions now or forever hold your peace.

Signing out,

Archivist Rowan