Pixel Rewind

A player for N-Gage-era games. It ships no game of its own — you bring the one you want to play, and it runs the original engine rather than a remake of it.

Get it on Google Play

Android · Linux

Bring your own game

The app is the player, not the game

Pixel Rewind ships no game content at all. On first start it asks where your game is — a free open-source one, or a copy you already own — and copies what it needs into its own storage. After that it starts straight into the game.

It takes an N-Gage .n-gage file, or the folder holding a PC port's executable and its data files. Nothing you import is uploaded anywhere; it stays on the device.

Bring only games you have the right to use — a copy you own, or one that is freely and lawfully distributed. Using Pixel Rewind any other way is a breach of the terms of use. The free sample games below are available to download here. We do not distribute commercial games.

The app's first screen, asking where your game is, with options for an .n-gage file or a PC port folder.

Start here

Four free games, made for it

If you don't have a game to bring, these are built to run on Pixel Rewind and cost nothing. All four have MIT-licensed code; artwork has its own credits and licence terms. Download an N-Gage package below and import it into the app.

How to play: download a .n-gage file to your device. In Pixel Rewind, choose the N-Gage file import option and select that file. To switch games later, open the app's setup screen and import another package. These downloads are separate from the app.

Relic Rush in play: two heroes racing across a tiled dungeon board.

Relic Rush

Place a block, then walk the path you made. Steal the relic and run home.

Art from Super Retro World by Gif, Noiracide and Romi

Download .n-gage

Licence and credits

Cloud Hop, Starfall and Relic Rush are single-player games. Tic-Tac-Toe also supports online play with a compatible server.

How it works

The original engine, emulated

Pixel Rewind does not rewrite or reimplement the games it plays. It runs their original compiled engine inside a CPU emulator and supplies the handful of operating-system calls that engine expects. Every frame, every sound and every rule comes from the original binary, so behaviour matches the original rather than approximating it.

  • Two enginesA 32-bit x86 PC build, or the ARM N-Gage build for Symbian OS 9. One app runs both and works out which one it has from the files you give it.
  • No Wine, no Java, no SymbianNothing else needs installing. The emulator and the runtime it stands in for are part of the app.
  • Original output240×320 graphics and 8 kHz mono sound, exactly as the games produced them.

On your device

Made to fit a phone that isn't from 2008

These games were drawn for a small portrait screen and a numeric keypad. Pixel Rewind lays them out for the screen you actually have, and gives you controls that suit it.

  • LandscapePlay filling a widescreen display, or keep the original portrait shape.
  • ControlsAn on-screen D-pad and buttons, direct touch on the game, or a connected gamepad.
  • Eight languagesThe app and the game are kept saying the same one, in both directions.
The app's setup screen, offering screen orientation, landscape size and on-screen control options.

Online

Play online through Pixel Rewind

For games with online modes, Pixel Rewind connects to a community-run server that finds other players and carries game updates between them. Some older games can use a replacement for their original server. Online play needs an internet connection and a server that supports your game; you can still play the single-player modes offline.

The app uses the same online identity and name across supported games. Accept the online terms when prompted. New account registration is not open yet; the account page explains the current options. You can see your online name in the app's settings.

Try it with Tic-Tac-Toe

  1. Download TicTacToe.n-gage and import it into Pixel Rewind.
  2. Choose Play online in the game's menu. The app connects using your existing online identity. The server must have Tic-Tac-Toe support enabled.
  3. Wait for another player to choose Play online. Quick match pairs the two of you automatically: the first waiting player is X and moves first.
  4. Use the arrows to choose an empty square and press OK to place your mark. Get three in a row, column or diagonal to win; a full board is a draw.

Each online turn lasts 30 seconds. Running out of time, leaving or losing your connection forfeits the match. Back cancels a search or resigns a match; OK after the result searches for another opponent. There are no ratings.

Only one online game can be active for the same account. Signing in to another game ends the first session and forfeits any live tic-tac-toe match.

Want to play on your own? Choose Play vs bot. It works offline, without signing in. Online Tic-Tac-Toe uses the N-Gage download linked above.