R36S Hidden Features: 10 ArkOS Tricks Most Owners Never Find

The R36S looks like a plug-and-play toy, but ArkOS, the firmware it runs, hides a lot behind the Select button and a few menus most people never open. Below are the ten we actually use: the real hotkeys, save tricks, the A/B swap, switching emulators, the governor setting that people mistake for overclocking, and the rescue tools for when something breaks. Every menu path is from a real R36S on ArkOS 2.0.

Press Start in the game list to open this menu. Most of the settings below start here.

1. The real hotkeys (Select is the key)

On ArkOS, Select is the hotkey button. Hold it, then press the second button. These are the combos ArkOS sets up for RetroArch, which runs NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, GBA, PS1, arcade and most other systems:

Select + Start also quits the standalone emulators: PPSSPP (PSP), Mupen64Plus (N64), the video player and most ports. PPSSPP has its own buttons for everything else. Drastic (Nintendo DS) uses R2 to swap screens and L2 to switch between one and two screens.

2. Save states, auto-save and Quick Mode

A save state freezes the game exactly where you are, even in games that only let you save at checkpoints. Select + R1 saves and Select + L1 loads. Three tricks most people miss:

• Multiple slots: open the menu with Select + X, then Quick Menu → State Slot. Use different slots so one bad save can't overwrite your only copy.
• Auto-save on exit: in the RetroArch menu go to Settings → Saving and turn on Auto Save State and Auto Load State. The game saves a state when you quit and picks up from it next time.
• Quick Mode: Options → Advanced → Enable Quick Mode. If you shut down safely during a RetroArch game, ArkOS saves a state and boots straight back into that game next time. If a Quick Mode save ever gets corrupted, hold R1 while the console starts and confirm with A to delete it.

3. Swap A and B, or remap any button

If A to confirm feels backwards, go to Start → Advanced Settings → Switch A/B. This flips confirm and back in the menus.

To change the controls inside a game, press Select + X, go to Quick Menu → Controls → Port 1 Controls and remap any button. Then pick Save Core Remap File to use it for every game on that system, or Save Game Remap File for just this game. This is how you put the right attack buttons where you want them in fighting games. It's also how ArkOS's own guide fixes PS1 rumble (set the controller to dualshock) and arcade coin buttons.

4. “Overclocking” is really the CPU governor

Many guides tell you to look for an “overclock profile” or a Balanced preset on the R36S. ArkOS has neither. On the 3.5″ R36S, the chip's top speed, 1.512 GHz, is already the highest it can run. What you control is the governor, the rule that decides how often the chip runs at that speed.

Go to Start → Emulator Settings → your system → Governor and choose Performance for PSP, N64, Dreamcast and DS. To change every system at once, use Start → Advanced Settings → Default Emulator Governor.

The per-system Governor setting. AUTO means it follows the global default.

We measured the difference. In God of War, Performance held 20 fps where Powersave dipped to 14, and it used about 20% more battery. Full test: R36S CPU governor: Performance vs battery, tested. If you want to go further, read what a real overclock gets you.

Two other battery settings in Advanced Settings are worth turning on: Auto Suspend Timeout (5 minutes is a good choice) and Power Saver Modes. Brightness is under Display Settings and Info → Display.

5. Change the emulator or core without opening RetroArch

A game that glitches, crackles or runs slowly often works fine with a different core. You don't need to dig through RetroArch for this. Go to Start → Emulator Settings → your system, where Emulator and Core sit right next to the Governor setting.

Start → Emulator Settings. Each system has its own Emulator, Core and Governor.

The defaults that work best on this chip: snes9x2010 for SNES (avoid bsnes, which is too slow on this chip), mGBA for GBA, PCSX ReARMed for PS1, and FBNeo for most arcade games. If an arcade game won't load at all, the cause is usually a ROM set that doesn't match the core version, not a setting. More in our R36S best settings guide.

6. Fast-forward and slow motion

Fast-forward is great for grinding in RPGs and skipping long cutscenes. Slow motion is great for practising a hard boss. The button combo is not the same on every R36S. Different ArkOS builds use Select + L3, Select + R2 or a D-pad direction. Rather than guessing, check yours, or set your own:

1. In a game, press Select + X → Settings → Input → Hotkeys.
2. Look at Fast-Forward (Toggle), Fast-Forward (Hold) and Slow-Motion (Hold). Set a button for any that are empty.
3. Go to Main Menu → Configuration File → Save Current Configuration so the change survives a restart.

Leave Rewind off unless you really use it. It saves the game in the background all the time and slows down exactly the heavy systems that can least afford it.

7. Shaders and bezels: the honest version

The R36S screen is 640×480, the same 4:3 shape as an old TV. That means SNES, Genesis and PS1 games fill the whole screen, so there's no empty space for a decorative bezel. Bezels only make sense on Game Boy, GBC and GBA games, which don't fill the screen. You'll find them under Settings → On-Screen Display → On-Screen Overlay.

Shaders (CRT, scanlines, LCD grids) are in Quick Menu → Shaders. On a 3.5″ screen they cost real frames and you can barely see the effect. Keep them off for PS1 and anything heavier. If you want a retro look on 8- or 16-bit games, a simple scanline shader costs the least. The ArkOS guide also warns that some shaders and overlays lag when the governor is set to Powersave.

Leave integer scaling off, too. On a 4:3 screen it only adds black borders. The one exception worth trying is GBA.

8. Favourites, collections and box art

• Collections: Start → Game Collection Settings turns on automatic collections (favourites, last played, all games) and lets you make your own, like “Fighting games” or “Co-op”.
• Box art and descriptions: Start → Scraper downloads covers, descriptions and previews from ScreenScraper. You'll need a free ScreenScraper account and an internet connection, so this works on the WiFi models. On the base R36S, scrape on a PC instead and copy the files across (see how to connect the R36S to a PC).
• Frame rate counter: Advanced Settings → Show framerate shows the frame rate on screen. It's handy when you're trying out cores or governors.

9. RetroAchievements (WiFi models)

RetroAchievements adds Xbox-style achievements to thousands of classic games. It needs an internet connection. The base R36S has no WiFi radio, so this is a feature of the HN-R36S-WiFi and the other WiFi models.

1. Create a free account at retroachievements.org.
2. In a game, press Select + X → Settings → Achievements, turn it on and sign in.
3. Choose whether to turn on Hardcore Mode. It turns off save states, rewind and slow motion, which is what makes the achievements count.

Achievements work in RetroArch cores. Standalone emulators such as PPSSPP don't use these settings. For online play, see R36S NetPlay multiplayer.

10. The rescue tools in the Options menu

Scroll the game list to Options. It's a system like any other, and it holds tools most owners never open:

• Advanced → Fix Global Hotkeys repairs hotkeys that stopped working.
• Advanced → Restore default RetroArch settings (plus PPSSPP controls, Drastic and GZDoom) undoes a bad tweak without reflashing the card.
• Advanced → Backup ArkOS Settings / Restore ArkOS Settings: run a backup before you start experimenting.
• Advanced → Controller Tester shows whether a button or stick is actually faulty, or just mapped wrong.
• Tools → ArkManager has live CPU core, CPU speed and GPU controls, plus ZRAM and Bluetooth. Its changes are temporary: the Emulator Settings governor takes over again when you start a game.
• Tools → PortMaster installs native PC game ports. See PortMaster on the R36S.

Options → Tools on a real R36S.

Checked by the Hobbyist Nirvana team on our own R36S running ArkOS 2.0, against ArkOS's official documentation. Other ArkOS builds may use different button combos; your console's Settings → Input → Hotkeys screen has the final say.