Powered by Nofrendo, Smsplus, Race, Gwenesis, Oswan, GnuBoy, Handy and PCE-GO. All cores were modified to run using less than 256 KB of RAM.
| Console | Sound | Video | Save | Speed | All Games | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NES | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Few mappers issues in some games |
| Game Boy | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Mono/Color support, Fully compatible |
| Master System | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Fully compatible |
| Game Gear | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Fully compatible |
| PC Engine | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Fully compatible | |
| Lynx | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Some slowdown in heavy titles, Sound issues in some games | |
| Mega Drive | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Some slowdown and not accurate sound in heavy titles | |
| Neo Geo Pocket | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Mono/color support. Some slowdown in heavy titles | |
| WonderSwan | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Mono/color support, not fullspeed (75FPS) in most games |
It runs .nes .gb .gbc .sms .gg .lnx .pce .md .ngc .ngp .ws .wsc ROM files from the SD.
Make sure your ROMs are uncompressed (not .zip, .7z, or .rar).
The built-in Cardputer keyboard is used for all controls:
| Function | Cardputer Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 🕹️ Up | E | Move up |
| 🕹️ Down | S | Move down |
| 🕹️ Left | A | Move left |
| 🕹️ Right | D | Move right |
| K | Primary action / confirm | |
| L | Secondary action / cancel | |
| 1 | Start / pause | |
| ⏸️ Select | 2 | Select / menu |
| 💡 Brightness + | ] | Increase LCD brightness |
| 💡 Brightness − | [ | Decrease LCD brightness |
| 🔊 Volume + | + | Increase audio volume |
| 🔊 Volume − | - | Decrease audio volume |
| 🖥️ Screen Mode | \ | Toggle screen display mode |
| 🔍 Zoom − | Fn + ← | Zoom out |
| 🔍 Zoom + | Fn + → | Zoom in |
| 🔘 Quit Game | G0 (hold 1 s) | Go back to menu |
The j key is also bound as Button A to allow an alternative layout for player preference.
You can alternatively use the M5Stack JoyV2, just plug it in before launching a game and it will work automatically.
The Zoom Mode allows you to dynamically adjust the display scale of games on the Cardputer’s screen.
By pressing \ (above the OK key), you can toggle between multiple zoom levels (100 to 150%), fullscreen or 4/3. This flexibility ensures that each game looks its best on the Cardputer’s compact display.
You can precisely adjust the display zoom level with fn + arrows left/right.
✅ Why it matters:
- Enhances readability and visual comfort.
- Lets you adapt the screen to games.
- Greatly improves gameplay experience.
You can place the ROM uncompressed files anywhere on your SD card and select them. The firmware allows running ROMs up to 6 MB.
⚠️ Avoid having more than 512 ROMs per folder to prevent loading times.
When browsing your game list, you can type the first few letters of a game’s name to jump directly to it. This makes it much faster to find a specific title, especially when your library contains dozens of entries.
Save files are created automatically and organized into separate folders per console on your SD card. Each save is linked to the game’s filename.
⚠️ The autosave system writes to the SD card in the background at regular intervals.
The chance of corrupting a save by resetting the device exactly at the moment a write occurs is low. However, to completely eliminate this risk, it is recommended to exit games properly.
Hold the GO button for 1 second to quit safely and ensure no save corruption.
For Launcher's users, you can now use the “Game Station” partition scheme to load ROMs larger than 1MB.
In the Launcher main menu, Go to CFG → Partition Change, and select Game Station.
The firmware can also automatically switch the device to the “Game Station” partition scheme in order to load ROMs larger than 1 MB.
When you try to run a ROM that needs more space (up to 4.5 MB):
- The firmware checks that it is running under the Launcher.
- If needed, it asks to flash the Game Station partition table.
- The device reboots once to apply the new layout.
After the reboot, you can load larger ROMs normally, without any extra steps.