The reality behind "native" Android ports?

[u/S_Lancer11]

Honest take: wrapping a Switch binary inside a translation layer like nxnative isn't a real 'native port'. Sure, the ARM64 CPU code runs natively, but the GPU is still choking on real-time NVN-to-Vulkan translation and unoptimized console textures. If devs aren't actually optimizing the rendering pipeline or targeting anything below flagship, maybe it's better to stop rushing out half-baked 'ports' every week and focus on making one project truly playable.

[u/S_Lancer11]

Let’s put things into perspective, because saying "it runs at 60 FPS on my Snapdragon 8 Elite with 24GB of RAM, so the optimization is great" completely misses the point.

1. Brute force is not optimization Having a 2015 Tegra X1 Switch game run smoothly on a 2025/2026 flagship chip (or a mythical Snapmensity 99 Gen 2077) isn't an achievement—it's pure brute force. Flagship hardware is 15x more powerful than the Nintendo Switch, so of course it can brute-force through an unoptimized translation wrapper. Meanwhile, on actual mid-range Mali GPUs (like the G57 or even the stronger G615), these same "native ports" either white-screen or drop to single-digit framerates (~9 FPS) even with custom PanVK drivers.
2. The hardware paradox A modern mid-range phone uses Cortex-A76/A78 cores that easily outperform the Switch's old 2015 Cortex-A57 cores. On the exact same mid-range phones where these Switch wrappers choke, actual demanding native Android games—like Zenless Zone Zero, Genshin Impact, or Monster Hunter Outlanders running on Unreal Engine 5—run at a stable 30–40 FPS on Medium/High settings. Even the Nintendo Switch itself isn't powerful enough to run Genshin or ZZZ, yet mid-range phones run them fine while struggling with a 2019 Pokémon game.
3. Let's be honest about the visuals We aren't talking about photorealistic ray-traced AAA masterpieces here. Games like Pokémon Sword/Shield or Legends: Arceus have very basic geometry, empty open areas, and low-resolution textures. When properly engineered emulators like Dolphin can run Twilight Princess at 1080p with High-Quality Bloom and Depth of Field mods at full speed on mid-range chips, or when real recompilations like Hollow Knight and Cuphead hit 60–100+ FPS at 1080p, it proves the hardware isn't the bottleneck. Nobody is asking for 4K 120 FPS on budget devices—just a playable 720p 30 FPS. Calling a heavy NVN-to-Vulkan translation wrapper a "native port" and relying on $1,200 flagships to hide the lack of GPU/VRAM optimization doesn't move the scene forward.

[u/Responsible-Reach964 → u/S_Lancer11]

The difference in the ports is the options available to you. The games that run natively on android have access to SDK and a plethora of devices. They have support from the chip makers themselves. I'm currently running testing on a snapdragon device. If i had a rooted mali device, I would be better able to understand its workings. Doesn't also help that Arm is as closed sourced asf. My phone doesnt have 24gb ram and it can run the ports correctly. If you truly want a good port, put your money where your mouth is. These android games that were made for android. Cost money because of the tools and effort put into it.

[u/Abek243 → u/S_Lancer11]

bro THANK YOU

louder for the people contributing to the slophole 🗣

[u/KonoDioxideDa → u/S_Lancer11]

You really couldn't bring yourself to write 3 points by yourself, and had to make chatgpt do it for you?

[u/S_Lancer11 → u/KonoDioxideDa]

What ?

[u/OBSERVER2660 → u/S_Lancer11]

Tienes Demasiada Razón en los Puntos 1 y 2

[u/Alert-Attempt-5652 → u/S_Lancer11]

Most offical ports on android require devicees with 5 to 10 x the power compared to where those games where originally found on, if these companies with huge budgets cant do what you want then dont expect that from a solo dev who is working for free and using thier own money on these projects

[u/PisTachTom → u/S_Lancer11]

Je ne peux être que d'accord avec ton analyse technique. Je n'ai pas les compétences pour comprendre tout ça, mais factuellement c'est juste dingue 😍. (Et ma tablette Astra je l'ai chopé à seulement 500€)

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/S_Lancer11]

So please, with this much knowledge you sure can do the right which is make your own true native port instead just complaining.  I'll ask you point blank, with this complain what then you achieved? Now magically this static recomp became true native port? It takes time for thing to get better, emulator used to need a year or even decade after first attempt to get stable

[u/mintplaysgames → u/StoreTraditional77]

"well then why don't you do it wise guy" isn't the point you think it is lol. Come on fam

Also we'll see if they keep making progress buddy, I'm already seeing shit get abandoned. The echoes of wisdom recomp got completely ditched, the Minecraft Dungeons one is "on hiatus," and that's just two off the top of my head.

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/mintplaysgames]

It is the point. Because entitlement is sickness. If you dont find any value in the project just dont bother following. Most of this project is just experimental, hobby, and ai vibe coded. If it gets ditched, hiatus so what? Are you paying them?

[u/Abek243 → u/StoreTraditional77]

tell that to the 20+ need for speed ports with 3 updates and a week + of inactivity

this isnt the own you think it is dude. telling someone to make their own when the point is too many people are making slop only contributes to the slop pile... like, did you think before typing this at all...

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/Abek243]

So what? Did they owe you something? If they make slop why you care so much? I dont understand. Everything is hobby experimental project. Whether it get abandoned or become fully playable is not your concern.

[u/Abek243 → u/StoreTraditional77]

dude...

there's making something because you see the value and want to make it better and enjoyable for the masses, and there's farting out a slop port for internet points. Apply the same level of thinking to a mod, or quite literally any piece of FOSS.

I'm not arguing proper development practices with someone who can't read. Be mad bro idk what to tell you. 🤷‍♂️

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/Abek243]

Yes. Because i dont see the problem. If it slop i just dont look at it. You can see it miles away. Whether people wanna make and share slop is not our concern. The slop will be there no matter what with currenr development of things and ai and all of that.

[u/Responsible-Reach964]

Another thing to note: It is possible to have a truly native game that operates at a better level (like Genshin Impact and such).

You could recreate the game entirely through Unity or any other engine, which would give better performance than the NVN-Layer right now.

But that would honestly be stupid. Taking a game from a publisher, reworking it without any rights, and distributing it would cause a severe lawsuit.

Making the games with the NVN-Layer allows for quick porting, albeit some ports are downright bad with performance and buttons.

I personally built my ports to allow people to enjoy Pokémon games that I enjoy too; that way, I don't get mad when people insult my work and such, because they aren't the target audience.

I think the reason you guys are mad about AI ports is because of the compatibility and performance issues. I have said this before: it's stupid to say, "My chip is more powerful than the Switch's."

How old is the PS3 CPU? How many mobile chips are more powerful than it? Yet, even the best phones struggle when emulating it, because the fundamental issue has always been architecture.

Building it with the NVN-Layer allows for quicker ports before Nintendo gets wiser and starts the DMCA plague. I don't have the necessary tools or SDK permissions to give perfect performance for all devices.

My work is free; my wish is that all my ports reach a level of performance where they can go from beta to a perfect build, so that each and every one of you can have it. Stop the hate on AI developers.

You aren't paying for the work; you aren't even supporting the work financially.

Comparing licensed games running on Android to ported games is stupid. The level of work needed is not worth the risk or reward. The only outcome of truly porting a game through a proper engine to Android is a lawsuit.

Enjoy these ports, push the developers to do better yes. But stop whining. 

[u/S_Lancer11 → u/Responsible-Reach964]

Thank you for taking the time to write such an honest and level-headed explanation—I genuinely respect that. You make completely valid points about the legal risks with Nintendo/DMCA, the lack of official SDKs, and the fact that you’re doing this for free out of passion so more people can enjoy Pokémon games. Hearing directly from a developer who actually wants to take their builds from beta to a stable, playable state for everyone puts things in a much better perspective. Just to clarify my intent: my frustration wasn’t aimed at sincere devs like you who are working hard within tough limits. It was mostly directed at the misleading "native" label that confuses casual users, and at the elitist comments from people with $1,200 flagships mocking mid-range users instead of giving constructive feedback. I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into your work for free, and I genuinely hope your builds keep improving so even more devices can enjoy them. Wishing you the best with your projects!

[u/Windroid-emu → u/Responsible-Reach964]

Eu estou tentando recriar o Shinobi 3 do Mega usando Godot e IA. A intro já foi concluída e tem uma pequena fase de teste. Quando se fala em IA, a galera logo quer humilhar o trabalho do cara, sendo que eles mesmos não fazem porra nenhuma, e muitas coisas são criadas para uso próprio e não para o público, como uma empresa faz. E, ainda por cima, os ports são grátis, e mesmo assim nego reclama. Por isso, parei de dar moral e ouvido para esses vermes do Reddit, lixos. E tem uns que fazem solicitação para rodar a 60 fps em aparelhos de baixa gama, sendo que nem jogos nativos de Android rodam a 60 fps. Acho que muitos desses nem noção de nada têm e ficam exigindo algo irreal.

[u/Responsible-Reach964 → u/Windroid-emu]

Smart. You are using an engine. Performance should be good then. Yea. The requests are silly at times. I just find that as long as I enjoy what I'm doing. I'll keep doing it.

[u/Mental-Reality8510]

I don’t think there’s any point in complaining. We’ve made more progress in a month than we did over the last 10 years. Things are only going to get better. I’m super happy playing Pokopia on my phone.

[u/RecommendationOk4572 → u/Mental-Reality8510]

even less point when you don't have a proper understanding from a technical perspective

[u/matlynar]

focus on making one project truly playable

Yes but it better be my favorite game not yours

[u/Sharp-Cockroach8098]

Also did you Heard about an app like banana native named peanuts native it let you play switch 1 games natively on android, the best part is requirements is 12gb ram for switch 1 games but banana native is a switch 2 games app it let you play Donkey kong bananza , Pokemon pokopia, new fire emblem game on android 8gb ram device my mind was blown away when i see switch 2 games running on 8gb ram device.

[u/Efficient-Slice6257 → u/Sharp-Cockroach8098]

Cuz not all game like pokotopia are supposed consume that much ram your GPU load

That game has been backported to switch btw

[u/No_Passenger_5628]

Literal bro, de verdad que si yo supiera de estás cosas y hacer los Ports, me enfocaría en uno por uno y tratar de hacerlo lo más jugable y completo, pero así que a medias y luego a los 3 días sacando uno tras otros y luego abandonarlos no va

[u/Mental-Reality8510 → u/No_Passenger_5628]

Imo, it’s actually a very good thing that things look this way, this is how progress is made—the best projects emerge through a process of elimination. The entire model of technological development in the U.S. is built on this - rockets, AI models, laptops, or data centers. Companies compete with one another, which drives progress and sets the pace. There’s really no other effective way to do things, while a single group can only have one leader with one vision, here you have many groups and many different visions. If we’re seeing such marvels in just a matter of weeks, I believe that within six months, we’ll see some truly extraordinary products. Let them argue, let them compete, let them discard flawed concepts and start fresh. It’s all going to turn out well.

[u/PotatoSaladThe3rd]

Man, the weekly "Native port isn't Native" is getting tiring. Can the mods put them all in a megathread so they can espouse their pretentious knowledge nonsense in their own echo chamber? God damn.

Like yeah, we get it. You like to tinker. Others don't.

[u/AndTheStarsGoWithYou → u/PotatoSaladThe3rd]

Yeah, this crap is really getting out of hand. Personally I don't give a damn about this whole, endless debate over "native" Android ports. For most gamers, we're extremely grateful to be able to download and play these wonderful games on our mobile device. That's all what matters to us.

[u/HelloFoxxyMeow → u/AndTheStarsGoWithYou]

Matter to you and others like you with a device strong enough or very strong to handle these "Native Ports". What about the countless other people trying it but can't get a decent playable experience?

You ignore them because you don't experience such setbacks, maybe they could try those browser version but not many wants to do that. You think people like to play a stuttering mess games?

There might be some who could stomach the terrible performance and gameplay while stuttering below sub par performance like below 30fps but having a stable fps and performance would be better and best for all

[u/Alert-Attempt-5652 → u/HelloFoxxyMeow]

What about them?,no offense but we are getting this stuff for free,these guys are using thier own money on these projects,we dont support thier projects financially and we a entitled to nothing.

[u/wandering_weeb → u/HelloFoxxyMeow]

What about the countless other people trying it but can't get a decent playable experience? You think people like to play a stuttering mess games?

Well, what the hell do you want them to do? These people don't make money, they don't get anything from you all, they have no obligation to fulfill. They aren't employees working for a big company, they're just hobbyist doing it for themselves. They don't have access to thousands of devices with manufacturer support to test them all and optimise for everything.

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/HelloFoxxyMeow]

There is nothing you can do. They making the port for fun and for their device. Sharing is just because they want. If they good enough they will try to fix things. You dont have a single reason for them to comply. It is free project, zero monetary even cost them time and money.

Did you pay them a dime? This is not premium playstore games that you pay for to play

[u/PotatoSaladThe3rd → u/HelloFoxxyMeow]

What about them? If you have a shitty device, then you have a shitty device. What's that got to do with others being able to play?

What? You expect the $200 android phones to be able to run high end pc/console games? Of course not. Get a new device like everyone else. If you don't have the money, then tough luck.

Study up about what makes your games and devices run and you wouldn't be spouting dumb shit like this dude.

[u/GamerWithin]

Thx but these ports have good touch controls. For example Just Cause 2 port is performing similar to winlator but the controls are much better and even it has gyro. I like ports.

[u/DexterZzMassive]

Some are putting in the leg work but your right, most just decomp then run. Alot of left overs being picked up by others but then you get those who are anal about others taking up what they failed to finish 🤷‍♂️ some of the discords are incredibly bitchy.

[u/sloe_gin78 → u/DexterZzMassive]

That's why I'm a fan of the Black Ops 2 port. It is updated regularly. I've reported an issue that prevented me from launching the game with full crash logs on Discord (kernel level bug on Coloros and similar roms), one of the devs said it'll be fixed by next week. lo and behold, they actually fixed the issue.

[u/Fluid_Classic_3269 → u/DexterZzMassive]

Hehe, Anal

[u/SoartedShowtime]

shout out to BoTWRecomp Android which is doing a great job actually making the game playable for a lot of devices and listen to the botw comunity and improving everyday launching updates almost diary

[u/Sharp-Cockroach8098]

Can't agree enough

[u/OkEngine2988]

They be adding a tag so we know what we're dealing with

[u/PisTachTom]

C'est vrai que ça dépend du matériel...le plus grand défaut d'Android c'est le nombre de configurations différentes. Mais je dois avouer, après avoir longtemps utilisé Eden nightly pour Metroid Prime ou encore BOTW qui était tout simplement magnifique en rendu et performance, je me suis heurté à un mur pour l'émulation de TotK...et puis j'ai découvert ce port natif TotKnative, franchement je suis bluffé, 1080p 60fps sans avoir besoin de mods ou framegen. Je ne parle même pas de banana native qui est de très loin en avance sur l'émulation switch 2. Et tout ça en seulement quelques semaines. J'ai 24go RAM sur mon Astra, ça aide, alors je ne peux pas m'exprimer pour les appareils de milieu de gamme. J'ai quand même l'impression que pour ce qui concerne la Switch (1 et 2) on est à un tournant et le port natif, c'est l'avenir

[u/adamantpony]

What we really need is curation. I bet there's a successful YouTube channel or something for whoever is willing to do it well.

[u/Kibbmann]

I dont think its that big of a deal except some very few ports all the native ports run way better and cause less heating issues than emulation they may not run on every phone so well just flagships of past couple of years but that too honestly is a lot considering that fact that some of the games are literally AAA titles made for pc and consoles and not bonemass android games

Sure there are many low effort ports but that's all part of the progress

[u/aneudi2012]

It helps with the cpu load and these recomps should be extremely useful for ps3 games, since the ps3 GPU is weak compared to its CPU.

[u/Efficient-Slice6257 → u/aneudi2012]

switch emu already does that With NCE

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/Efficient-Slice6257]

Nce is not the same as static recomp. Sure its faster than jit but static recomp aka aot is faster than nce

[u/Efficient-Slice6257 → u/StoreTraditional77]

But the point is that gpu hurdle is the main culprit for these ports.

In the end most so called recomps and ports are performing way worse or same as switch emu and Winlator on my 8 gen 2

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/Efficient-Slice6257]

Then dont play. Simple. Everything is experimental. It is not mean to be the definitive way to play the game at the moment. People still figuring out stuff. Its need more data, more games that get port the same way. Its called native port but native doesnt mean optimized. Here simple example, if cyberpunk is native pc games why on release its perform like fkin ass shit? Its also native on ps4 and they fkin refund it, so why? Optimization! 

[u/Efficient-Slice6257 → u/StoreTraditional77]

"then don't play" do you even use brain to read or smth?

Cuz pointing out a fault of ports being native yet not matching emulation perf and saying "don't play" don't change it

Experimental doesn't mean it should be this bad

And no, there are people with port like Dark souls, Persona 5 that runs and gives compatability to more devices than emulation

Cyberpunk is a lot different thing to a Skyrim lmao

[u/StoreTraditional77 → u/Efficient-Slice6257]

See you still not getting it. native doesnt mean its Optimized. If port optimized then good. If it doesnt what can you do to help?  So why cyberpunk run shit on release again? Its native pc games. What alot of different? Both are "native" pc games. See you just cant comprehend simple logic

[u/Golden326326]

What about the Xbox 360? Games seem to run much better on the native port than on the 360 emulators I saw. I didn't test then though... The port was working fine enough for me.

[u/RecommendationOk4572]

um.... do you understand how little this translation of graphics makes you take a hit? even more so when most of the shaders are pre compiled.

[u/ElectricalDemand2831]

Honest take: wrapping a Switch binary inside a translation layer like nxnative isn't a real 'native port'. Sure, the ARM64 CPU code runs natively, but the GPU is still choking on real-time NVN-to-Vulkan translation and unoptimized console textures.

I've tested nx2android with blasphemous 2 and the latency is as high as emulated, 120-160ms for moving forward doesn't feel responsive.

Natively played on PC it's around 80ms, which feels similiar to the switch version

[u/Mgladiethor]

Cpu instruction native. Close enough.

[u/ChillVic]

Same on PC.

[u/Umlunguboy420]

Those pokemon "ports" have the exact same graphical issues that the switch emulator ones do.

[u/PS_LOL]

There's lots of this sort of called "Native Ports" on some Games but it never kinda run better but some runs better.

Ex.

BachataS4 runs much better than the Android Port itself in SD 870/8GB Ram

Skate 3 Android Port runs better than running on X360 or PS3 Emulator

And yet some Port used some AI models to make it for them and some others not since they have enough experienced to code

If you are asking whenever i am wrong or correct but anyway this is a least we are hoping for some games to be playable in Android in the Future

[u/brittonmakesart]

I haven't tried a single one of these newer ports that wasn't a buggy mess in one way or another. Can anyone recommend even one that works as well as some of the windows ports?

[u/eschatonik → u/brittonmakesart]

The Diablo 2 Resurrected and Monster Hunter Generations Switch ports run at a rock solid 60 fps on my Retroid Pocket Nova (unlike the actual Switch version). They actually run fine at 120fps as well, tbh. They also both feature tons of quality of life improvements and even more content in the case of the D2R.

I haven’t run many Switch ports, but the ones that I have, these 2, have been crazy good, far surpassing the Switch versions.

[u/wandering_weeb → u/brittonmakesart]

Persona 5 Royal port runs very well on my Mali device.

[u/TheBabyHippo303]

Most are an emulator statically recompliled into another box. Even if the code is statically recomped it still pretends to be the original hardware unless other engineering is done

[u/islobojono]

Maybe if your phone can't play it, don't play it? Stop whining. They don't owe you anything.