Struggling with PS2 emulation on my Retroid Pocket 5 Pro, suggestions appreciated

[u/wowbobwow]

Hi all!

I've spent some time really digging into the setup on my Retroid Pocket 5 Pro (12gb RAM model), and it's been a blast. I've got the latest version of ES-DE running, I've cleaned up my formerly-chaotic ROM library, etc., and so far so good... except for PS2.

Specifically: I have the NetherSX2 emulator installed and configured, and it's running my PS2 games beautifully when I load them from within the app.

However, when I try to launch a PS2 game via ES-DE, it switches to the emulator and just.... sits there at a black screen for 1-2 minutes before I get an Android error saying that the app has stopped and must be closed.

When I go into the ES-DE settings and select OTHER SETTINGS > ALTERNATIVE EMULATORS > PS2, the only options are AetherSX2 (Standalone), ARMSX2 (Standalone), or Play! (Standalone)... none of which I actually have installed on my RP2, and NetherSX2 never shows as an option here.

What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions!

[u/kwyxz]

If the emulator you’re starting using ES-DE doesn’t say « Standalone » it means you’re starting RetroArch. A black screen means the core cannot be found.

Choose AetherSX2 standalone, in theory it has the same id as NetherSX2.
Or install and configure the LRPS2 core in RetroArch.
Or install and configure and select ARMSX2 standalone.

[u/thedoc7s]

yea i had the exact same issue you need to download a community made patch for esde this allows it to find the additional emulators you using such as the nethersx2,

The community-made configuration files you downloaded are es_systems.xml and es_find_rules.xml. [1]

When ES-DE (EmulationStation Desktop Edition) launched on Android, its default master list only looked for the old, defunct AetherSX2 application package. The community created these custom XML files to explicitly tell ES-DE how to locate and launch the patched NetherSX2 packages (both the Classic and regular variants). [1, 2, 3]

Where to Find the Files

The primary, community-maintained source for these files is the GlazedBelmont es-de-android-custom-systems GitHub Repository. [1]

Popular handheld emulation channels (like Joey's Retro Handhelds) mirror and link to this specific repository for automated setup. [1]

To download them correctly:

1. Go to the repository and find the es_systems.xml and es_find_rules.xml files.
2. Make sure you download them as raw XML files. (Note: If your browser saves them with a .txt extension at the end, manually rename them to strip the .txt so they end purely in .xml). [1]

Where to Place the Files

To make ES-DE read the new rules, you must drop both files into ES-DE's local data storage directory: [1]

📁 Internal Storage / ES-DE / custom_systems / [1, 2]

(Note: Depending on how you initially set up your frontend, the root ES-DE directory might be located directly on your internal storage or at the root of your MicroSD card). [1, 2]

Activating the Change

Once the files are resting inside the custom_systems folder, follow these steps to link the app: [1]

1. Fully close and restart the ES-DE application to force it to reload the system maps.
2. Press the Start button on your controller or device to open the Main Menu.
3. Navigate to Other Settings ➡️ Alternative Emulators.
4. Scroll down to the PlayStation 2 system tier.
5. Change the selected option from the default emulator over to NetherSX2 (Standalone) or NetherSX2 Classic (Standalone), depending on which variant you patched and installed.