Hot Take: Emulation on mobile devices is the worst

[Nothing_6666]

Ok so i dont like it because most of the times the buttons get in the way of me playing... and DS emulation is the spawn of satan on anything that doent have 2 screens.

thoughts

 

[tech3475]

Hot take: You're confusing mobile devices with touchscreen controls.

 

[namename11]

The emulation is fine, better than on modded consoles just insufferable due to touch controls instead of buttons.

 

[emigre]

Just get a fucking controller brah.

This is like complaining that you're thirsty but not getting any water.

 

[Nakamichi]

exactly. i use a dualsense, it works great.
why didnt it occur to you to just connect a controller.
you do that with pcs, consoles... why WOULDNT you do that with mobile devices.

 

[codezer0]

Hot take: You're confusing mobile devices with touchscreen controls.

Which every mobile thing HAS TO HAVE because Steve Jobs had to hate on buttons with the original iPhone and society has been paying for that arrogance ever since.

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2026

exactly. i use a dualsense, it works great.
why didnt it occur to you to just connect a controller.
you do that with pcs, consoles... why WOULDNT you do that with mobile devices.

Now you have n+1 things to carry.
Phone
controller
charger(s) for both

It's why I've hated it since phones were designed to block extended battery upgrades. Every single day removed from my LG v20 has been worse for it. I'm perfectly happy having a big back phone if it means it actually lasts on a charge. Incidentally the fatter phone just meant I made less mistakes when writing compared to now. Typing on a modern phone now, just makes me feel like a stereotype celebrity that NEEDS chatGPT to think for them.

 

[emigre]

Which every mobile thing HAS TO HAVE because Steve Jobs had to hate on buttons with the original iPhone and society has been paying for that arrogance ever since.

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2026

Now you have n+1 things to carry.
Phone
controller
charger(s) for both

It would be the same if you brought a dedicated handheld. And considering everything uses usb c, you can bring the same battery bank for each.

 

[Lostbhoy]

Which every mobile thing HAS TO HAVE because Steve Jobs had to hate on buttons with the original iPhone and society has been paying for that arrogance ever since.

Lmao... Touch sreens were around before Steve Jobs put them on anything

 

[codezer0]

It would be the same if you brought a dedicated handheld. And considering everything uses usb c, you can bring the same battery bank for each.

PS3: Mini usb
Phone: Microusb, maybe nowadays usb c but even then you got manufacturers carrying their own quick charge standards STILL and then there's Tim Cook's Apple wanting $250 usd for a damn "compliant" cable just to authorize quick charging with their phones. Let's not get into that.

You mentioning the battery bank? That's another set of pockets for it and the cables. And of course nobody's wanted to make a phone with a keyboard since the 2010's, which at least allowed versatility even when you had nothing else.

Lmao... Touch sreens were around before Steve Jobs put them on anything

and they all, universally, sucked. I would take a dump on Jobs's grave in broad daylight for the disrespect he deserves of being a goddamn miserable sack of life, but his neurosis forced the engineers to stop smoking the five-figure heroin and actually make the thing function.

 

[tmnr1992]

Touch Screen is fine when it's implemented as an extra feature, not the main way to type or play a game. I think the only game that I've ever played that actually implemented touch controls decently is Etrian Odyssey, where you can draw maps of the dungeons you're exploring.

 

[szubiennica]

Ok so i dont like it because most of the times the buttons get in the way of me playing... and DS emulation is the spawn of satan on anything that doent have 2 screens.

thoughts

M8 please play "The Wizzard of Oz" DS rom on android. Thank me later.

 

[TVL]

I used a PS4 controller with my phone, I mean I could still do it, it just hasn't happened in the last couple of years.

I don't really like running emulators on my phone, but they are not technically bad. I just prefer not to.

And of course they suck if you're using touchscreen controls.

 

[LoggerMan]

Emulation is great on the App Store now. I had a Backbone controller with lightning port, but now my iPhone has USB-C so it's kinda useless. But emulation itself was great, and it's never been easier to use popular controllers on an iPhone or iPad.

 

[RAHelllord]

Emulation is fine on android, I got a Redmagic Astra tablet with a gamesir telescopic controller and it's basically a better switch 2 now whenever I want to play something on it.
I can also connect it to a TV and use it like a regular console with quite literally any one of my Bluetooth controllers.

I do agree that the touch controls on emulators are pretty terrible because every game you emulate was designed with buttons in mind. But at that you can either add your own or get one of the dozens of android based handhelds that have the controller built in already. I got my solution because I wanted a 9" screen that I can use like a normal tablet first and gaming second with the controller.
Also both USB-C and with massive batteries so I don't even need a powerbank for an entire day of playing.
Though my laptop and phone also use USB-C so my one powerbank could charge everyone of my devices if I needed it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Ok so i dont like it because most of the times the buttons get in the way of me playing... and DS emulation is the spawn of satan on anything that doent have 2 screens.

thoughts

Strongly disagree, the aspect ratio of smartphones is ideal for DS games. Playing DS on anything without a touchscreen sucks so smartphones are actually one of the best ways to play them. Many games can be played with touch only and smartphones are perfect for that.
As for controls, I wouldn't play any fast paced games without connecting a controller. That applies not just to emulation but any mobile game. I can play those games elsewhere, there is plenty to choose from that works well with touch controls such as Pokemon games and romhacks.

 

[DragonMals]

get yourself a hardware attachment, and it makes the experience as if you're actually playing with power.