Playing games

Once a game is running it is handled by RetroArch (or a standalone emulator), but Leaf adds a few things on top: a menu, save states, fast switching between games, and per-game performance.

The in-game menu

Press MENU while a game is running to open Leaf’s in-game menu. It pauses the game and floats over a dimmed snapshot of where you were. The options are:

• Continue - close the menu and resume the game (the B button does this too).
• Save State - save your exact spot to a slot.
• Load State - jump back to a saved spot.
• Reset - restart the game from the beginning.
• Performance - tune how hard the device works for this game (see below).
• RetroArch Settings - open RetroArch’s own menu for advanced options.
• Quit - leave the game and return to the launcher.

Standalone emulators may replace or adapt a few rows. For example, Nintendo 64 standalone has Leaf save/load and settings pages, but not RetroArch Settings, because it is not running inside RetroArch.

For filters and scanline effects, see RetroArch shaders.

Save states

Save states capture the exact moment you are in, separate from a game’s own in-cartridge saves. They are the quickest way to stop and pick back up later.

• Save State and Load State each use numbered slots. Highlight the row and press Left / Right to pick a slot, then A to save or load it. Each slot shows a thumbnail so you can see what is in it.
• States are written to States/ on your SD card, so they survive reboots and you can back them up from a computer.
• Quit defaults to Save & Quit, which writes a state automatically before returning to the launcher, so you can resume later from the game switcher or by loading it. Press Left / Right on the Quit row to switch it to a plain Quit that discards unsaved progress.

In-cartridge saves (a game’s own save feature) are written to Saves/ and work as they always have. Save states are an extra layer on top.

The game switcher

Press SELECT during a RetroArch game to bring up the game switcher: a carousel of your recent games laid over the current one.

• Left / Right browse your recent games; the tile for the game you are in shows a live snapshot of it.
• A switches to the selected game. Leaf saves your current spot first, so you can hop between two or three games without losing progress.
• B closes the switcher and drops you back into the current game.
• Y removes an entry from the recents list (you cannot remove the running game).

When you do return to the launcher, it reopens exactly where you left off, on the same tab and game.

In standalone Nintendo 64, use MENU + SELECT instead. Leaf saves the current N64 state, returns to the launcher, and opens the same switcher/recents flow there. Press A on the selected game to resume from that saved state.

Per-game performance

Pick Performance in the in-game menu to set how hard the device runs for the game you are playing. The choice is remembered per game.

• Profile - Auto, Balanced, Performance, Battery Saver, or Custom. Auto is a good default; it runs light systems efficiently and boosts for demanding ones.
• Custom reveals individual CPU, GPU, and DMC (memory) controls, each of which can be left automatic or pinned to a fixed speed. Raising these can smooth out a heavy 3D game at the cost of battery and heat.
• Reset Override clears the per-game setting and returns the game to your global profile (set in Settings → General → Game Performance).

If a game runs slowly, try Performance here first. See also BIOS & cores for which systems are demanding on this hardware.

Nintendo 64 (standalone Mupen64Plus)

Nintendo 64 games default to Mupen64Plus Standalone rather than the standard RetroArch N64 core. Both use the same Roms/N64/ folder; switch between them with Core from a game or system’s Options menu.

Standalone is the default because it lets Leaf tune the MLP1-specific parts that matter most for N64: video plugin choice, display handling, performance options, and the save-and-quit handoff back to the launcher. The RetroArch core remains available as an alternate when a particular game behaves better there.

Controls that differ from RetroArch:

• MENU - open the Leaf N64 overlay.
• MENU + SELECT - save the current state and hand off to Leaf’s game switcher/recents flow.
• A from the game switcher or recents - resume the saved N64 state.
• RetroArch Settings does not appear while using standalone N64; renderer and N64-specific options live in the standalone overlay instead.

Nintendo DS (standalone DraStic)

Nintendo DS games run in DraStic, a standalone emulator rather than RetroArch, so the in-game menu, save states, and switcher above don’t apply - DraStic has its own menu and its own controls.

DraStic itself is closed-source. The two-screen layouts, the transparent overlay, and the button shortcuts below all come from Steward Fu’s open-source SDL2 wrapper for DraStic, which Leaf forks and builds on - most of the heavy lifting here is his work. Because the DS has two screens and a touch screen, the wrapper maps everything onto the handheld using MENU as a modifier you hold together with another button.

Everyday controls

• MENU (tap and release) - open DraStic’s own menu: save/load states, options, and the screen-layout picker.
• MENU + Start - open the Steward Fu menu for the see-through second screen (its size, position, transparency, and border).
• MENU + A - flip between your two saved screen layouts. By default that’s the normal stacked view and a transparent second screen tucked into the corner.
• MENU + Left / Right - cycle through all of the screen layouts.
• L2 - switch the D-pad between controlling the game and controlling the DS touch pointer. In pointer mode the D-pad moves the stylus and A taps the screen; press L2 again to switch back.
• R2 - swap the two DS screens, so the other one becomes the main view. Handy with the transparent overlay, or for games that put the action on the bottom screen.

Save states, fast-forward, and quitting

• MENU + L2 - save state.
• MENU + R2 - load state.
• MENU + R1 - fast-forward (hold).
• MENU + L1 - quit back to the launcher.
• MENU + Select - also opens DraStic’s own menu.

Display tweaks

• MENU + B - toggle the picture between sharp pixels and smoothing.
• MENU + Y - cycle the menu background art (or, in pointer mode, the stylus cursor).

MENU + Up is intentionally inactive on the Pocket 1. On other devices it toggles DraStic’s microphone, but that feature relies on a recorded sample played back into the game rather than live mic input, and the Pocket 1’s 64-bit DraStic is a closed-source build the wrapper has to drive through fragile internal entry points. Triggering the microphone that way crashed the emulator, so the shortcut is switched off here until it can be wired up safely.

Inside DraStic’s own menu (and the Steward Fu menu), use the D-pad to move, Left / Right to change a value, A to confirm, and B to go back or close.

Dreamcast (standalone Flycast)

Dreamcast games default to standalone Flycast rather than the RetroArch Flycast core, because it performs noticeably better on this hardware. Both use the same Roms/DC/ folder; switch between them with Core from a game or system’s Options menu.

Like the other standalone emulators, it runs its own session, so the in-game menu, save states, and switcher above don’t apply:

• MENU - open Flycast’s own menu, rotated to match the screen. Save states, video and controller settings, and exiting all live there.
• Your VMU memory-card data and Flycast settings survive Leaf updates. VMU data and saves are kept under Saves/Flycast/, and Flycast’s own save states under States/Flycast/.

PSP (standalone PPSSPP)

PSP games run in PPSSPP, standalone rather than through RetroArch, because a dedicated build is much faster on this hardware. There are two versions to pick from with Core in a game or system’s Options menu:

• PPSSPP (Vulkan) - the default, and the faster of the two.
• PPSSPP (GLES) - a fallback for anything that misbehaves on Vulkan.

Both read the same Roms/PSP/ folder, and PSP needs no BIOS.

This is PPSSPP’s own session, so Leaf’s in-game menu, Leaf’s save states, and the game switcher don’t apply:

• MENU - open PPSSPP’s own pause menu. Save states, its graphics and control settings, and exiting the game all live in there.
• Volume keys work as usual.

The analog stick uses the calibration from Joe’s Calibrage, so if the stick drifts or doesn’t reach full tilt in PSP games, calibrate it there rather than inside PPSSPP.

If your face buttons or stick were wrong

Early Leaf releases shipped a default mapping with Square and Triangle swapped, and with analog Up mapped to a button instead of the stick. Both are fixed.

If you have been playing PSP games since before that fix, Leaf corrects the two mappings once, on the next PSP launch. It only touches them if they still hold those exact original values, so a mapping you set yourself is left alone. If you had already worked around the swap with your own remap, that remap survives and you may want to undo your workaround in PPSSPP’s control settings.