I'm not bragging, but as an old guy who has used his mobile phone to change game saves, change themes, and unpack sis since the Symbian era, my feelings for this kind of "compilation and modification tools" may be deeper than the feelings many young players have for card-drawing games today. Back then, using the Nokia N73 to change game resources required a computer and a data cable. Now, you can decompile the APK with just a few clicks on your phone. To be honest, this convenience alone is enough to make an experienced gamer like me sigh for a long time.
Back to the topic, let's compare similar tools with others. I have used many such things, such as MT Manager, NP Manager, AndroidKiller in the early days, and even the APKTool + signature tool combination on the computer. The biggest advantage of Pohou compiler artifact can be summed up in one word: complete. Dual-platform mobile phone and computer, one-click decompilation, editing smali/res/manifest, back-compiling signature, and running the entire process locally and offline. This is very important. If you are not connected to the Internet, there is no risk of uploading. For players like us who like to modify stand-alone games and feel happy after modification, this provides a sense of security.
Compare MT Manager, its file management function is very strong, but when it comes to decompilation and back-compilation, to be honest, resource IDs sometimes get confused or signatures fail. Moreover, its focus is actually on file management, and the compilation function is more like an add-on. As far as Pohou is concerned, it specializes in "compiling". When you open the interface, you will know that all functions are centered around decompilation and back-compilation. There are no fancy things. For people like me who only want to "unpack - change code - package and sign", it is more convenient.
Let's talk about the NP manager, which is suitable for high-end players who like to mess around with smali code. It has deep functions but also has a high threshold. Novices can easily get confused when entering. The interface of Pohou is much more friendly. For example, if you change a game gold coin or unlock a paid level, you can just use the search function to find the corresponding value and change it. The last time I changed the physical limit of an old RPG, I struggled for a long time in MT and couldn't get it done. I switched to Spooky, searched, replaced, recompiled, signed, and installed it back on my phone in less than ten minutes. The sense of accomplishment was exactly the same as when I used a hexadecimal editor to change the save password, but it was much more efficient. 😂
Of course, that doesn't mean that the monkey has no shortcomings. For example, its smali editing is still in text form without syntax highlighting, and it is a bit troublesome to edit large files. In addition, the support for some hardened APKs is not good enough and requires unpacking first, which is not as good as those specialized unpacking tools. But considering that it is free and is one of the few domestic tools that maintains an update rhythm, I think these minor problems are nothing.
To be honest, many people now think that modifying games is boring, but old players like me think that being able to dismantle, modify, and make the game more fun by yourself is the romance that a real gamer should have. In the Symbian era, anyone who could change the theme or resolution of a game would be regarded as a master. Now Pohou has moved this set of capabilities to Android and Windows, and it's free. I really think it's worth recommending.
Finally, if you are a player who likes to play stand-alone games but don't want to be kidnapped by various online advertisements and cloud synchronization, then the Monkey Compiler is worth a try. To be honest, although it is not flawless, it is indeed the most practical among similar tools when it comes to "compiling and modifying". Okay, I'm going to continue studying the hidden characters of that old game. See you on the forum. 📱✨