iiSU Is Shaping Up To Be The Innovative Emulation Frontend of Tomorrow

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Emulator graphical frontends are designed to give your device a more console-like, cohesive experience. On Android, the standard approach is to download individual emulators from the Play Store and use each one like a typical touchscreen app. But frontends like Daijisho and Beacon streamline everything by letting you view, organize, and launch your games from one unified interface. Instead of juggling multiple apps with different settings and layouts, you get an intuitive, centralized hub that makes managing your entire library faster, easier, and far more enjoyable. iiSU is a new frontend that does everything mentioned above and goes even further, offering a higher level of innovation and refinement.

iiSU may be heavily inspired by the iconic PSP XMB and the home screens of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, but it sets its sights far beyond the remnants of nostalgia. With features like social media integration, achievements, custom themes, PictoChat-like messaging, and a special mode specifically for dual-screen handhelds, iiSU is carving out its place in a market that’s long overdue for fresh ideas.

A New Approach to Launchers

iiSU’s main developer, UsagiShade, released their first presentation yesterday, showcasing the entire frontend and highlighting key features. As the presentation starts, it becomes immediately apparent how this platform differs from formidable Android launchers like Daijisho, ES-DE, and Beacon. Those launchers primarily aim to do one single thing: organize your game collection as it sprawls across your device. Some include box art scrapers, configurable emulator-specific settings, and tweaks therein, but iiSU clearly positions itself as much more than your everyday launcher.

In the presentation, UsagiShade goes over most of the platform’s expected features, but some are reserved for later, either due to them still being worked on or simply not fully fleshed out just yet.

One of the first features shown was the ability to add custom widgets that open your games directly, or display screenshots and images stored on-device, but also random cute badges reminiscent of the 3DS Badge Arcade. Instantly, the nostalgia floods in from the often forgotten days of gaming, purposefully being cute with little abandon.

As the presentation goes on, games finally take the forefront. Similar to everything else shown so far, the presentation of your games reflects thoughtful UX. Your games and consoles are separated in a way similar to the PSP’s XMB, where your content is separated by hierarchy. First, you see a list of consoles, then you see a list of games. Console icons remain relatively minimal, while games appear with titles and optional artwork. Most launchers today offer the same core functionality, but iiSU aims to create an experience that sits above the rest with attention to detail applied every step of the way.

RetroAchievements and Social Features

The next feature showcased was RetroAchievements integration, as iiSU plans to incorporate RetroAchievements directly into the platform.

RetroAchievements is a longstanding, community-created project that brings achievements to games and platforms of yesteryear, long before achievements appeared in home consoles like the Xbox 360. As time goes on, more consoles join the project, and they managed to make their way through the Wii catalog as recently as this year, with Wii support actually coming next year. Gamers who want achievements on older consoles should already have their needs met with the current selection of titles.

Part of the experience baked into the platform is social integration and connection. Back in the 3DS days, simply walking by another gamer offered some social benefit through Street Pass. Street Pass is not something on the table for iiSU, but it incorporates massive amounts of social features clearly inspired by the Wii U and 3DS.

This includes seeing which games friends are playing, viewing quick blurbs from them, and seeing their latest screenshots or messages, all features built into iiSU’s aptly titled iiSU Network. Here, players can also explore messages sent to and from other members of the network.

But it’s not limited to the app itself. This feature also exists within the games being played. While playing a game, you can receive notifications from friends and respond directly via text or by drawing quick pictures. PictoChat was one of the original DS’s most innovative features, striking all the way back in 2004 before the current influx of digital artists. Now, iiSU improves, integrates, and modernizes it.

Media Features and Shopii

A newer feature still in active development was also shown off: a custom feed of videos from user-selected or popular YouTube channels. This should offer an easy way to keep you up to date on the newest news in the retro world while also keeping you engaged within the app itself. Most launchers exist in the background and stay out of the way by design. However, iiSU challenges the way we’ve collectively clung to minimalism and strives to remind us of the future we could have had if we had held onto the joyful, social nature of past consoles.

To bring more social connection to the platform, UsagiShade also showed off another feature in active development: Shopii. Here, users can browse custom assets made by members of the community, but the presentation only showcased the ability to buy themes and apply them to the iiSU platform. Buying is also something the team plans to streamline and figure out how to work into the app. For fairness, the developers have not claimed that anything will cost money, but the themes shown will have a points system, though there is currently no word on how users of iiSU will be able to accrue points.

The presentation quickly went over the app's dedicated DS mode seen in previous teasers. Everything mentioned above appears again, but optimized for dual-screen handhelds. On display was the AYN Thor, along with a recommendation to use Nintendo’s own Japan-exclusive stylus. This drove home the idea that an absurd level of care went into the platform's creation. It’s not simply the above features spanning two screens, but each asset is specifically differentiated when used in DS Mode. Game details, for instance, appear on the top screen while the game may be selected on the lower screen, just like the 3DS.

Pricing and Final Thoughts

Lastly, the price. With all of these features included and clearly setting a higher bar than ever seen before, iiSU could have carved out a new price point for launchers in a space that has yet to fully materialize. But they didn’t. The base app will be free, while a premium version with more features like full customization control, extra widgets, and Shopii access will go for $4.99.

iiSU is attempting to set a new standard. The hype and hopes for this platform were at an all-time high when past teasers were released, but today’s presentation shows a level of dedication from the developers that we have never seen before. Launchers on Android are primarily the first thing worth downloading on new devices, but iiSU is arguably the first launcher I’ve seen that feels like it should come preinstalled. The experience and value gained from its use could breathe new life into a niche that is already blossoming on its own. As more details are shared in the coming months, we anxiously await what else iiSU could explore.

If you’re interested in staying up to date on iiSU’s development, you can follow along on their Discord, or take it a step further and directly contribute to its creation and receive further progress updates by supporting the team on Ko-fi.

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