Unofficial native ports bring Pikmin and ICO to Android

Community-driven fan projects are enabling classic console games to run natively on Android devices.

Open Nectar is an open-source project that ports the GameCube versions of Pikmin and Pikmin 2 to Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android. Unlike traditional emulators such as Dolphin, Open Nectar runs code directly on the host operating system by translating Nintendo’s GX graphics calls to OpenGL. Users must provide their own supported GameCube disc images to play, as the APK does not include Nintendo’s game data.

Similarly, ico-pc is an unofficial native port of the PlayStation 2 game ICO. Developed by nathanialf, the project uses decompiled code to create a native Android application. The port requires a 64-bit Android device running version 10 or later and necessitates a disc image from one of the seven supported releases. The project supports touch controls and external controllers, offering options for widescreen output and enhanced rendering.