Emulation on Android

I decided to crosspost this from the post I made on the FMHY instance.

This won’t work for every emulator, since some PC emulators do not use the same save format as an Android emulator, but I have never had a problem that I couldn’t get around using this method. That said, Android emulator ports tend to work best with their PC counteparts. For example, PPSSPP Windows plays best with PPSSPP Android.

This method is pretty expensive, but I think it’s absolutely worth it if you’re an emulation enthusiast like me.

Create a copy of any save file you would care about losing. There is a potential to lose that file if things aren’t done correctly, and while the file would likely be stored in the trash bin of Google Drive, it could prove difficult to find out which specific file you’re looking for.

Download AutoSync from the Google Play store and connect it to your preferred Google account*. Save files are not usually that big, so you don’t need to buy extended cloud storage. AutoSync** was $10 US when I bought the ultimate version, so be prepared to spend at least that.

Create a folder on Google Drive that you want to store all of the saves for all of your systems. Create subfolders in that folder named after the systems that you want cloud saves for.

Locate the third tab on the right of AutoSync named “Synced folders”

Name the folder pair name whatever you want, but the “remote folder” option should point to the cloud subfolder that you want your saves located in.

The local folder should point to the folder that’s located on your device that hold’s a particular emulator’s saves.

The “sync method” option should be set to “Two Ways”

When you’re done, hit “Save” near the top right corner of the AutoSync app.

Congratulations! You now have created your first cloud backup for emulator saves. If you want to pair them to a respective emulator on PC, read ahead.

Download and install Insync on the Windows machine that you want your saves to download to.
Sidenote: Insync is pretty expensive. I paid $70 for a lifetime license. It is by far the most elegant solution for the task at hand. Good thing is, it allows you a two week trial to see if you like it before you buy it. It also has several Linux ports, if you’re looking

Find where an emulator saves its files, and to and then right click it. A context menu should show up.

On the context menu, select Insync, then select the “Sync” option.

Select “2-way sync”

Select “My Drive”

Select “Merge with Folder”

Using the Insync menu, locate the corresponding cloud folder with the saves in it that you want to have downloaded onto your PC. Double click any of the cloud folders to find subfolders.

When you’re finished, hit “2-way sync now” on the bottom right corner of the Insync app,

And that’s it! You can now have saves carry on between PC and Android without having to think about it. I’ll be happy to help out if you have any questions. Feel free to ask.

*The company that makes Sync apparently has other options for Mega, Dropbox, and Onedrive. I imagine they perform similarly, but I can speak to their quality because I haven’t used them.

** This app has also been named “Sync” and “DriveSync.” They are the same app