🫧 Hello and welcome to the Friday edition of The Memory Core newsletter.

This week, I have a big story about one of the most interesting new apps coming to emulation: iiSU. I spoke with both the creator and the lead developer, gathering plenty of new details to get excited about.

It’s also currently a week-long holiday in China, so I wouldn’t expect any major handheld announcements until late next week. After last month, I'm ok with a short break.

Let’s hop right into the main (and only) story, because it’s a long one. The news roundup is at the end, as always.

P.S. If you haven't already, consider signing up to get every new edition in your inbox, free of charge.

The next big thing in handheld emulation

In last week’s newsletter, I included a link to a YouTube video about an upcoming emulation frontend on Android called iiSU. The video had been up for less than a day, but it looked exciting and had already generated some buzz.

A week later, things have progressed faster than anyone could have anticipated, including its founder.

The two-minute-long teaser video (which you should absolutely watch if you haven’t already) now sits at more than 400,000 views. That might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it came from a relatively unknown, but intensely creative, YouTube channel called UsagiShade.

From side project to sensation

Eddie Collazo, aka iShade, started the UsagiShade channel in 2019 as a “fun little side-project,” but it wasn’t until his 2021 video on RetroAchievements that his style really solidified.

By the time his next video about Daijisho was published in 2022, he had already begun experimenting with UI/UX design to create mockups. That would serve as the seed for iiSU, which would grow until it eventually consumed him. He writes:

Regardless, Eddie took a long hiatus from YouTube after that video was published. It wasn’t until late August 2025 that he would publish a half-finished video in a new “Do More With Your Handhelds” series that was initially planned for release years earlier.

At that point, work on iiSU was already well underway, but the video led to two more key members joining the crew. The first is Thaddeus Silva, who created the incredible audio track for the trailer, as well as countless other remixes and original tracks on YouTube. He’ll serve as the project’s composer, “creating the full OST for iiSU, as well as all of the SFX.”

The other team member, Nathan Lohnes, aka Elder Monkey, was coincidentally working on his own dual-screen frontend when the two met last month. Eddie writes:

With that, the design team was complete, and a month later, the team dropped the official trailer.

It was an immediate sensation. Eddie writes, “My Discord server of 7 people grew by the thousands within what felt like minutes.”

Not just another launcher

In a way, the team wasn’t overly surprised by the success. Eddie revealed to me that “everyone collectively knew that iiSU would be a very huge deal and explode once it became public.”

The reason it captured the community’s attention is that it’s just so different from what’s currently available. There are plenty of other frontends, but none of them are as polished as iiSU. And none of them truly recreate the handheld console experience.

Eddie had experimented with different frontends, but none of them were enough. The widgets in Daijisho were a powerful tool, but it wasn’t as visually developed. Beacon looked great (especially with the theme inspired by Eddie’s own design), but something was still missing.

In his eyes, all that extra information takes away from the experience of playing and enjoying games. That’s why he set about creating custom box art for each game that incentivizes you to actually play the game, rather than just browse your collection.

Despite sounding like a new approach, it's actually what his favorite handhelds had always done.

Combined with the simple navigation of the PSP’s XrossMediaBar (XMB) interface, Eddie had a recipe for a new kind of frontend. One that was less about organizing a collection of thousands of ROMs, and more about giving your favorite games the spotlight and giving you new ways to enjoy them.

But the team had a big problem. While Eddie had taught himself Figma for the UX/UI elements, no one had any development experience. If iiSU was going to move from concept to reality, they were going to need help.

Turning design into development

As the video grew in popularity and more people joined the official Discord, interested developers began reaching out. But Eddie, who repeatedly described himself as an outsider in the emulation development scene, wasn’t sure where to start.

Thankfully, his co-designer Nathan took up the mantle, sifting through countless applications. One of the very first applications was huesos_96, aka SapphireRhodonite, whom I interviewed a few weeks ago for his work on dual-screen forks of popular emulators like MelonDS, Azahar, and Cemu.

SapphireRhodonite was the first to join the team and now serves as the lead developer. He writes, “It’s been incredibly rewarding to take on that responsibility, and I’m excited to continue shaping iiSU into a strong, future-proof launcher for the community.”

But again, there was an element of serendipity. Apart from his work on emulator forks, he had also quietly been working on a launcher of his own, called Lair Launcher. Here’s how he described it:

That laid the groundwork for iiSU’s development. Combined with the UX/UI work the team had already done, SapphireRhodonite and his newly minted team of developers could hit the ground running.

Eddie told me that before releasing the announcement video, he expected the iiSU to be released in “mid to late 2026.” Now, he expects a full launch to be possible as early as Spring 2026, with public testing builds available even earlier than that.

But SapphireRhodonite revealed that dedicated fans might not even have to wait that long to try it. Like all of his projects, the earliest builds will be available for his Patreon subscribers. In fact, he expects the first build to be available as early as today, October 3. That’s just one week after iiSU was announced, which is an incredible pace of development.

What’s next for iiSU

While the early builds will be focused on the basic frontend and UI, the team has far more features planned for iiSU. One of the clearest is full integration with RetroAchievements. There, Eddie does have some experience, as he’s been an avid supporter of RA even before his 2021 video on the topic.

While RetroAchievements has been implemented in other frontends, Eddie wanted to try something different. He writes:

And that’s not the only social feature the project has planned. Drawing on the online and local connectivity of the 3DS, Eddie aims to revive the experience of StreetPass and the MiiVerse in iiSU.

That explains the collaboration with PictoVerse, a new app on iOS and Android, which describes itself as “a spiritual successor to Miiverse.” In it, gamers can join communities, create an avatar, and doodle their favorite gaming moments or memes.

As of writing, the team hasn't laid out a complete roadmap of features, but a special "presentation" is planned for late November.

Funding the vision

But all of this will take time, and perhaps more importantly, money. Although there is a Ko-Fi donation page for UsagiShade, Eddie states that “iiSU’s funding is coming out of my own pocket.”

Unlike many emulation projects, the goal is to ensure that everyone is compensated for their work. So far, the donation money has only been used to pay Thaddeus and Nathan for their early work on iiSU. Eddie expanded on this, writing, “My devs aren’t working for free, and I don’t believe in free labor.”

Apart from the Ko-Fi donations page, lead developer SapphireRhodonite also has a Patreon page, where he will share early builds. He clarified this further, writing:

Note that his coding effort includes not just iiSU, but also his dual-screen emulator forks.

In any case, Eddie and the team are still reluctant to ask for money for an unfinished product. The finished app will have a premium tier, but it’s not yet clear what will be paywalled. For reference, other Android frontends typically charge a flat fee. ES DE charges $5 via Patreon, and Beacon costs $3 on the Play Store.

But iiSU is much more ambitious than either of those projects. It’s not just another frontend, it’s an attempt to reimagine what handheld gaming can feel like. If the last week is any indication, the community is more than ready for it.

Handheld highlights

🙈 A “leaked” video of the ANBERNIC RG DS dropped this week, showcasing the company’s first dual-screen device. It later turned out to be a hoax, but it’s only a matter of time before the company announces its own DS clone, which hopefully comes in at a lower price than the Pocket FIT and Thor. [Reddit]

📦 The ROG Xbox Ally is set to start shipping on October 16, but several lucky users have already received their pre-orders. Amazon France mistakenly sent the orders earlier this week, and there are already a few early reviews on Reddit. [Reddit]

🧱 The LEGO Game Boy was released earlier this week, and it didn’t take long for modders to turn it into a real Game Boy. An Australian modder named Natalie the Nerd was the first to the punch, although others, like Sebastian from there oughta be, have followed suit. [NatalieTheNerd] [there oughta be]

FPGA Focus

1️⃣ Taki Udon's upcoming SuperStation One FPGA console is closer to release than ever, and this week, he showcased the new enhanced software experience it will ship with. It looks like a huge improvement over the MiSTer, although some features are still in development. [YouTube]

📆 It’s not all good news, as problems with the “final” PCB on the SuperStation One mean another revision is required. The first batch of shipments has been pushed to early November, although the Dock will come at a later date. Read the full notice for more details. [Reddit]

🎨 ModRetro released firmware v4.0 for the Chromatic, featuring a new palette picker and several other enhancements. [Reddit]

The Emulator Report

🆕 The low-level Game Boy Advance, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and DS emulator SkyEmu released a big update with a revamped UI, improved emulation performance, and RetroAchievement support. [GitHub]

🍊 Switch emulator Citron dropped update 0.7.1 today, with minor improvements and tweaks. The team has been teasing a big update with improved BotW and TotK emulation, but that’s still in the works. Some users have had trouble with the updater, so consider uninstalling and reinstalling if you have issues. [Git]

📲 Over on iOS, Manic EMU now supports RetroAchievements for DS games. It also has a few other new features, so check out the patch notes for more details. [Reddit] [App Store]

🎮 PS3 emulator RPCS3 released an alpha build of v0.0.38 for early testers. [GitHub]

Retro archives

🪐 Nintendo just remastered Super Mario Galaxy and Galaxy 2, but a fan has gone a step further to create “3D All-Stars DELUXE.” It includes the tools to emulate and mod the Super Mario 64 decomp, Super Mario Sunshine, 3D Land, plus Galaxy 1 and 2. You’ll need to supply your own ROMs, of course. [GitLab] [Install guide]

🪠 Speaking of Mario, there’s a new Pokémon ROM hack that combines the two universes into one. As is customary, there are two versions: MarioRed and LuigiGreen. [YouTube]

🕳️ The classic Game Boy game Mole Mania has a new colorization hack called Mole Mania DX. [Romhack]

⚔️ The long-lost Game Boy Color RPG Infinity finally has a release date: December 22. You can pre-order it now from Incube8 Games. [Incube8]

🅰️ Ever wondered why the SNES uses ABXY instead of ABCD? Well, it turns out the question was answered in Nintendo Power magazine way back in 1993. [Bluesky]

That's all for this week. I don't currently plan on sending a mid-week newsletter next week, but I said that last week, so who knows.

Signing out,

Archivist Rowan