Controls

Standard hotkeys

The R36S has a MODE (or Function) button. Combined with another button it acts as a hotkey.

VOL+ / VOL-               Volume (audio DAC, 2% / step)
MODE + VOL+ / VOL-        Brightness (3% / step, persists across reboots)
MODE + B                  Quit emulator (returns to ES)
MODE + X                  Open RetroArch quick menu (libretro cores only)
MODE + R1                 Save state
MODE + L1                 Load state
MODE + R2                 Next save-state slot
MODE + L2                 Previous save-state slot
MODE + Y                  Take screenshot (saved to /storage/screenshots/)
MODE + START              Reset emulator
MODE + SELECT             Toggle FPS/perf overlay

Long-press POWER for shutdown menu (suspend / restart / power-off).

Joypad variants

R36S clones use one of two button-mapping conventions. ArchR auto-detects the right one based on the board profile you flashed, but you can override it.

Auto (default)

The Flasher reads the motherboard revision and picks the right variant:

• K36 layout: most R36S clones, including K36, R33S, EE Clone
• MyMini layout: soysauce / Y3506 hardware (e.g. mid-2024 batches)

Manual override

In the ArchR Flasher, the Joypad variant dropdown forces a specific layout. Useful if Auto picks wrong (rare). Choices:

Switching after flash

Edit /storage/.config/system.cfg over SSH and set:

joypad.variant=K36     # or MyMini

Reboot.

JP layout

Toggle in the Flasher under JP layout — swaps A↔B and X↔Y for Japanese-style button labels (matches Famicom / SFC physical positions).

This is purely a controller remap — ROMs don't need to be Japanese.

RetroArch in-game

Press MODE + X for the Quick Menu. Common sub-menus:

Resume                    Back to game
State Slot                Pick save slot 0-9
Save State / Load State   In-place save (faster than ROM save)
Take Screenshot           PNG to /storage/screenshots/
Options                   Per-core knobs (resolution, frameskip, BIOS)
Controls                  Remap on the fly
Cheats                    Cheat list (if .cht for the ROM)
Disk Control              Multi-disc PSX swap
Information               Core / system / authors

MODE + B exits without going through the menu.

Standalone emulator hotkeys

Each standalone has its own internal menu:

MODE + B exits all of them.

Custom remaps

Per-system: ES menu → Game Settings → Default Controllers (per system). Saved to /storage/.config/retroarch/config/<system>.cfg.

Per-game (single ROM): launch the game → MODE + X → Controls → Save Game Remap File.

Custom hotkey override: edit /storage/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg, look for input_hotkey_* keys.

PortMaster ports

Ports use a separate input layer (gptokeyb) that translates joypad input to keyboard events for the original PC binary. Default mapping is in /storage/roms/ports/PortMaster/control.txt — most ports override it with their own config.

In-game hotkey to exit a port: usually MODE + START + SELECT or just MODE + START. Each port documents its own combo.