OVEROpen Nectar 1.0.8 puts native Pikmin and Pikmin 2 on Android in one APK
Both GameCube Pikmin games now have a native Android port. Open Nectar, by developer SSunnKing, takes the community decompilations of Pikmin (2001) and Pikmin 2 (2004) from projectPiki and adds a port layer that runs the games' own code directly on the device and translates the GameCube's GX graphics to OpenGL. Dolphin and other emulators aren't involved. One launcher and one Android APK carry both games, and there are builds for Windows and Linux too. Version 1.0.8 came out on October 22, the third release in three days.
How far along it is
The developer says Pikmin 2 is playable from start to finish on Android, Windows and Linux, from the USA and European discs. Pikmin 1 is mostly playable to the end, with a few minor graphical differences left. Both get 30, 60 or 120 fps, with animations and cutscenes smoothed while gameplay keeps its original timing. They also get a 16:9 HUD instead of a stretched picture, optional effects like antialiasing, bloom and ambient occlusion, and HD texture packs (there's a mobile pack for Android). There's a randomizer, a speedrun mode with splits, and for Pikmin 1, local co-op with Louie on a split screen. On Android you get touch controls and touch menus, or you can use a controller.
What 1.0.8 fixes
- On Android, the first controller you press now becomes Player 1. Before this, some phones listed a virtual device ahead of the real pad, so the pad did nothing.
- Remapped or swapped triggers no longer press both L and R at the same time.
- Both games can now be closed from the title menu.
- The launcher checks that the game files are all there and offers to repair an incomplete install instead of stopping with an error.
- Fixes for Pikmin 2 sound and crashes, plus screen tearing and a thin coloured line at some resolutions on Windows.
What you need
An arm64 device on Android 10 or newer with OpenGL ES 3.0, plus images of your own discs: Pikmin USA Rev 1 or Europe, and Pikmin 2 USA (GPVE01) or Europe (GPVP01). No game data is included. On Android the images have to be ISO or GCM, so convert an RVZ, WIA or GCZ file with Dolphin on a computer first. To update, install the new APK over the old one and your saves, settings and texture packs carry over. The developer says the project was built with help from AI tools, all reviewed and tested on their own devices. They don't have other testers, so bug reports on GitHub are welcome.
Download it from the project's GitHub releases. Open Nectar is now in the Overclocked ports directory, along with other native ports added today: OpenCE (Halo: Combat Evolved), Crash Bandicoot Launcher, Eternal Sonata Reprise, DishSoap (The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai) and the Android beta of Project 2099 (Spider-Man: Edge of Time). OpenCE requires your own Halo: Combat Evolved disc. Overclocked doesn't host or link game files.