User guide

Nelkano organizes your games in a local library. You can filter by system, search by name, sort and group games to suit your preferences.

• Search for a game by name or filter the library by system.
• Sort games alphabetically or by the date they were added.
• Switch between compact, large and list views.
• Mark games as favorites and create collections to group them.
• Press and hold a game to select several games and add them to or remove them from a collection.
• Removing a game from a collection keeps it in your library.

Add your files using the Android document picker.

• Tap + in the library and select a supported file.
• You can import individual files or ZIP, RAR and 7z archives.
• If an archive contains several recognized games, Nelkano adds them to the library.
• For PlayStation, select the CUE file together with all its tracks, or import an archive containing the complete disc.
• For RPG Maker, use an archive containing the complete game folder and its resources.
• Selecting several individual files is intended for the components of a PlayStation disc.

Open a game's details to start it or restore a save state.

• Play starts the game normally. You can then load your progress from the game's own menus.
• Continue appears when Nelkano has a compatible save state for that game.
• If you selected a manual save state as the game's image, Continue uses that state.
• Otherwise, it uses the autosave. If there is no autosave, it looks for another available state.
• To return to a specific point, choose a state from Saves or use Load during gameplay.

You can save within the game or use Nelkano save states when the system supports them.

• An in-game save is loaded through the game's own menus.
• A save state captures the current game session so you can resume from that point.
• Nelkano provides five manual save slots per game.
• Tap Save during gameplay and choose a slot. If it already contains a state, that state will be replaced.
• Enable Autosaves in Settings to update a separate slot approximately once a minute.
• In Saves, you can browse states, filter them by game and sort them.
• Save state support depends on the system and the game.

Change how each game appears in your library.

• Tap the game's name on its details page to change the displayed title.
• Choose between the available cover and a screenshot from one of its manual save states.
• Choosing a save state screenshot also makes Continue prioritize that state.
• Add the game to your favorites or collections.
• Deleting a game removes its imported copy, its save states and the associated local data managed by that action. Back up anything you want to keep.

Use a controller recognized by Android and map its buttons for each system.

• Pair the controller in Android's Bluetooth settings.
• In Settings → Controls → Controller, you can check which button presses Nelkano detects.
• Open Button mapping, select a system and tap the control you want to configure.
• Press the controller button you want to assign.
• You can save and load controller configurations or restore the defaults.
• During gameplay, use full-screen mode to play with the controller.

Adjust the control layout to play comfortably on your screen.

• Open Settings → Controls → Control editor.
• Select the system and portrait or landscape orientation.
• Move the controls and adjust their size.
• Use the system's button selector to show or hide actions such as Save, Load or FPS.
• Check the preview and tap Save.
• Each system stores a separate layout for each orientation.

The emulator buttons let you control the session and adjust the display.

• Pause stops emulation and lets you resume it.
• Save and Load let you use save states when supported.
• Full screen expands the game area.
• Stretch fills the available space and may change the image's proportions.
• AUTO repeatedly presses the A button automatically.
• RECORD records a sequence of button presses and REPLAY loops it; they do not record video.
• FPS displays the performance counter when enabled in the control editor.
• You can also adjust the volume and restart the game from the in-game settings.

Back up files to your Google Drive account and download them on another device running Nelkano.

• Sign in to your Nelkano account and connect Google Drive from Settings.
• Use Upload to Drive and Download from Drive on a game's details page, or use the options for the whole library in Settings.
• Nelkano uses the Nelkano Sync folder to store supported files, in-game saves, save states and images.
• For PlayStation, save states, memory cards and associated data are stored, but disc images are not. Import the matching disc on the destination device.
• Before switching devices, upload your progress. On the other device, download the backup before continuing.
• Downloading from Drive from a game's details page may replace its local data.
• Deleting cloud data keeps the local files on your device.

Use another Android device to display one of the game's two screens.

• Open Nelkano on both devices and connect them to the same local network.
• On the receiving device, open Settings → Second screen and enable Use as second screen.
• On the device you will play on, tap Find screens and select the receiving device.
• Accept the connection on the receiving device.
• When you run a DS or 3DS game, each device will display one screen.
• Use Swap screens to change which screen appears on each device.
• If the lower screen is on the receiving device, you can use its touch input there.

Adjust the Nelkano interface to suit your preferences.

• In Settings → General → Theme, choose Dark, Light, Navy, Slate or Graphite.
• Switch the interface language between Spanish and English.
• Changing the interface language does not change the language of your games.
• Control layouts are configured separately in the control editor.

Apply a compatible patch and add the result as a separate game.

• First, import the original Nintendo DS game.
• Tap + in the library and select a compatible xdelta or VCDIFF patch.
• Choose the original game that the patch is intended for.
• Nelkano applies the patch, checks the result and adds a new library entry.
• The original game and its saves are preserved.
• The modified game uses its own saves; it does not automatically inherit the original game's saves.

Manage your profile and contacts from the app.

• Sign in to your Nelkano account from Settings.
• Open Friends from the library.
• Search for other users and send them a friend request.
• You can accept or reject incoming requests, cancel sent requests and remove friends.
• In Edit profile, you can change your display name, status and picture.

Use Streaming to send your game's video and audio to the Nelkano website.

• Sign in to your Nelkano account and open a game.
• From the in-game settings, open Streaming and tap Start streaming.
• Open the Streaming section on nelkano.com using the same account.
• Wait for the connection to be established.
• To finish, tap Stop streaming in the app.
• Streaming performance depends on your device and connection.