How to use Ravoxium
Step-by-step guide for beginners — Ravoxium 1.0.2, Android 8.0 or newer. No account is required to play, and no games are included: you add your own games.
Download Ravoxium
1. Install / update
- Download Ravoxium from the official page (download button).
- If Android asks you to allow installs from this source, allow it for Ravoxium, then confirm the install.
- Open the app: your library appears, ready to receive your games.
Updating from 1.0.1: if you already have the signed release version 1.0.1, install 1.0.2 directly over it, without uninstalling: your games, saves and settings are kept.
2. Add your games
Ravoxium provides no games: only add games you own. In the app, add a folder or game files: Ravoxium reads them right where they are, without moving them, then organizes them in your library with automatic box art.
To pick your files, Ravoxium uses Android's file picker: no broad storage permission is needed, you point to the folders or files to add yourself.
Recognized formats per console
| Console | Recognized formats |
|---|
| Game Boy / Color | .gb, .gbc |
| NES | .nes |
| Super Nintendo | .sfc, .smc, .bs |
| Mega Drive | .md, .gen, .smd |
| PlayStation | .img, .ccd, .sub, .mds, .mdf |
| PSP | .prx |
| PlayStation 2 | see the note below |
| GameCube | .gcm, .gcz, .ciso, .rvz, .dol, .tgc |
| Atari 2600 | .a26 |
| Atari 7800 | .a78 |
| Atari 5200 | .a52, .car (BIOS required, see § 6) |
| Atari Lynx | .lnx (BIOS required, see § 6) |
Ambiguous formats: some formats belong to several consoles (.bin, .cue, .iso, .chd, .pbp, .cso, .elf, .rom, .m3u). Ravoxium never guesses: it asks you to choose the console. For PlayStation, a lone .bin file automatically generates its .cue; if the real .cue is present, it is used instead.
Archives: games may be stored in .zip, .7z, .gz, .bz2, .xz or .tar archives (including .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.xz, .tar.bz2): Ravoxium extracts only the game and its companion files, without modifying the original archive. .rar archives are refused with an explicit message.
Refused formats: NES .unf, .unif, .fds; Super Nintendo .fig, .swc; PlayStation .ecm (decompress the game first); PlayStation 2 .isz; GameCube .wia and all Wii formats. Ravoxium says so with an explicit message.
Patches: .ips, .ups, .bps and .xdelta patches are supported; the original game is always kept, never modified.
3. The library
- Search and sorting: find a game by name, sort your collection your way.
- Favorites: mark your favorite games to find them in one gesture.
- Recent games and play time: pick up where you left off, and see how long you played each game.
- Merged duplicates: if the same game shows up in several formats, Ravoxium groups them into a single entry.
- Automatic box art: covers appear automatically when available.
4. Launch a game
- Tap the game's entry in the library.
- If the format is ambiguous (for example .bin or .iso), choose the console it belongs to.
- The game starts. If the console needs a system file (Atari 5200, Lynx, or ARMSX2 for PS2) and it is not set up, the launch is refused with a message: follow § 6.
5. Choose the PlayStation 2 engine
PlayStation 2 offers two engines to choose from:
- Play! — works without an external BIOS.
- ARMSX2 — requires a PS2 BIOS you own (see § 6).
- Before a PS2 game's first launch, choose the engine in the PS2 settings, or from the game's page.
- This choice is memorized for that game: it never changes on its own, and Ravoxium never silently switches from one engine to the other.
- You can set a default engine in the PS2 settings, then a different engine for a specific game from its page.
Warning, incompatibility: instant states are not compatible between the two engines, and in-game saves are separate per engine. Performance depends on the game and the device: no speed is promised for ARMSX2.
6. Import a BIOS
Three cases require a system file that you own: Ravoxium never provides, downloads or uploads these files, which stay strictly local (never sent, never embedded in the app).
| Console | Required file |
|---|
| Atari 5200 | System ROM of exactly 2,048 bytes, under one of these names: 5200.rom, atari5200.rom, atar5200.rom, 5200.bin, atari_5200.rom |
| Atari Lynx | lynxboot.img, exactly 512 bytes |
| PlayStation 2 (ARMSX2 engine) | pcsx2/bios folder, 4–8 MB, no required file name |
The BIOS assistant guides you in 6 steps:
- Simple explanation and legal reminder: what the file is, why the engine requires it, and the reminder that Ravoxium does not provide it — you use a file you legally own.
- The engine's exact requirements: the assistant shows precisely what is expected (see the table above).
- Guided Android file picker: tap "Choose a file": the system picker opens and you point to your file. If the chosen name matches no expected name (5200, Lynx), the assistant shows you, before any copy, under which name it will be saved, and you approve that renaming.
- Strict verification: tap "Verify". Ravoxium checks, without saving anything, that the file exists, can be read, and matches the requirements (size, format, structure). If verification fails, nothing is saved and a previously configured file is not erased.
- Confirmation, then a copy to private storage: only after successful verification, confirm: Ravoxium then copies the file to its private storage, where the engine looks for it. Your original file is neither moved nor deleted.
- Engine initialization test: the assistant checks that the engine itself starts. This test does not prove that a specific game works: only launching a real game proves that.
To replace a file later, go back to the assistant and tap "Replace file", then repeat steps 3 to 5. To remove it, tap "Remove BIOS file" and confirm: only that file is deleted, never your games or saves. Note that for PS2, Ravoxium verifies no checksum and invents no name: the content of the BIOS folder comes from your own dump.
7. In-game saves vs. instant states
Two complementary mechanisms, not to be confused:
- In-game saves: the game's own saves (for example from its save menu). They behave like on the original console.
- Instant states: a complete snapshot of the game at a given moment, which you can resume immediately.
- Automatic slot 0 + slots 1 to 5, each with a thumbnail (screenshot) and a date.
- Autosave and multiple slots.
- Full export and import of your saves, to keep them or transfer them.
- PS2 reminder: instant states are not compatible between Play! and ARMSX2, and in-game saves are separate per engine.
8. Controls
- Customizable touch buttons: arrange the on-screen buttons the way you like.
- Remappable USB and Bluetooth controllers: plug in or pair your controller, then reassign its buttons.
- 2 players on supported consoles.
9. Pause menu
During a game, open the pause menu: it is organized in tabs and gathers the in-game actions. There you will find the speeds — Normal, Turbo ×2, Slow, Unlimited — and you can choose a battery or performance profile, depending on whether you favor battery life or smoothness.
10. Themes
Ravoxium offers 5 free themes to personalize the interface. The in-game display is adjustable: aspect, zoom and retro filters. The 10 extra themes and the Neon, Glass and Metal button styles belong to Premium (see § 11).
11. Premium
Ravoxium Premium costs $2.99/month and unlocks only customization: 10 exclusive themes and the Neon, Glass and Metal button styles, with advanced layouts. Premium also means zero ads.
Important principle: Premium adds only themes and touch designs — no free feature is moved behind a paywall. And playing requires no account.
12. Ravoxium Doctor / diagnostics
Ravoxium Doctor produces a shareable, filtered diagnostic of your installation: if you ask for help, this diagnostic describes your setup precisely without exposing unnecessary information. Share it as-is with whoever is helping you.
13. Common troubleshooting
A game is not detected
- Check that its format is in the § 2 table, and that it is not one of the refused formats.
- If the format is ambiguous (.bin, .iso…), choose the right console when Ravoxium asks you.
- If the game is in an archive, check that the archive is not .rar (refused) and that it actually contains a recognized game file.
- Check that you added the folder or file containing that game to the library.
Missing BIOS
- If an Atari 5200, Lynx or PS2 (ARMSX2) game refuses to start, the system file is not set up: follow the 6 steps in § 6.
- If verification fails, check the exact file size (2,048 bytes for the 5200, 512 bytes for the Lynx) and, for PS2, that the BIOS folder really contains a 4–8 MB dump.
The game is slow
- Speed depends on the game and the device: some games need more power than others, and no speed is promised, especially for the ARMSX2 engine.
- Try the performance profile, and close other demanding apps.
- If a game stays slow on your device, it is a compatibility limit, not a missing setting: for a PlayStation 2 game, try the other PS2 engine instead.
Happy gaming! 🚀