Retroarch

Last updated: 28FEB2022 (see RetroArch is one of my favorite programs to use for retro game emulation, because it can emulate many systems. But it does have quite a steep learning curve. In this guide I’m going to demystify some of the more peculiar things about this emulation frontend, and show you how I set up RetroArch on my own gaming platforms. This guide is meant to help you get set up with various RetroArch iterations. The video will primarily be done on Windows PC, but the same method will apply to MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Vita, and Xbox platforms, and more. RetroArch really shines on retro systems, particularly PlayStation 1 and below games. For more modern consoles, it is often more efficient to rely on standalone emulators, which are generally more optimized than RetroArch. However, if you are using a system that relies primarily on RetroArch for emulation (like Xbox), or you have a beefy PC that can run well regardless of optimizations, you may find success in emulating higher-end systems in RetroArch, too. Table of Contents What is RetroArch? RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players. It can run on the usual platforms like Windows, MacOS and Linux, but it also runs on iOS and Android for tablets and phones, as well as on game consoles like PS2, PS3, PSP, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U, 2DS, 3DS, Switch, and more. The frontend for RetroArch is often referred to as the “libretro frontend”. Note that technically, “RetroArch” should be pronounc...

libretro/docs • • Start Start • • • • • For Users For Users • Getting Started Getting Started • Windows Windows • Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11 Table of contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Apple Apple • • • • Nintendo Nintendo • • • Sony Sony • • • • • • Others Others • Lakka Lakka • • • Ludo Ludo • • • • • • • User Guides User Guides • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Netplay Netplay • • • • • • Accessibility Accessibility • • • • • • Appearance & Customization Appearance & Customization • • • • • • Advanced Advanced • • • • • • • • • • • • Core Library: Emulation Core Library: Emulation • • • • 3DO Emulation 3DO Emulation • • • Amstrad Emulation Amstrad Emulation • • • Apple Apple • • Arcade Emulation Arcade Emulation • • • • • • Atari Emulation Atari Emulation • • • • • • • • • • Bandai Emulation Bandai Emulation • • • ColecoVision Emulation ColecoVision Emulation • • • Commodore Emulation Commodore Emulation • • • DOS Emulation DOS Emulation • • • • Enterprise Emulation Enterprise Emulation • • Elektronika Elektronika • • GCE Emulation GCE Emulation • • Magnavox Emulation Magnavox Emulation • • Mattel Emulation Mattel Emulation • • Microsoft Emulation Microsoft Emulation • • • Nintendo Emulation Nintendo Emulation • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • NEC Emulation NEC Emulation • • • • • • • Phillips Emulation Phillips Emulation • • RISC-V Emulation RISC-V Emulation • • SNK Emulation SNK Emulation • • • Sega Emulation Se...

RetroArch 1.12.0 has just been released. Grab it If you’d like to learn more about upcoming releases, please consult our roadmap Remember that this project exists for the benefit of our users, and that we wouldn’t keep doing this were it not for spreading the love to our users. This project exists because of your support and belief in us to keep going doing great things. We have always prioritized the endusers experience, and unlike others, we have never emburdened them with in-app ads, monetization SDKs or paywalled features, and we intend to continue to do so. If you’d like to show your support, consider donating to us. Check Views This view lists all games in your collection released in the year 2000. There is now an entirely new way to display and organize content – Views! You can turn a filter set in the Explore menu into a so called “View” file which then gets listed alongside playlists. This also adds the ability to filter a category by range in the Explore menu and not just filter on exact matches. The views are saved into .lvw (libretro view) files that just like playlist .lpl (libretro playlist) files are in JSON format and are stored in the same playlists directory. You can combine several filters in whichever order you see fit and then save the results as a view Here’s some examples of views that are now possible with the new range filtering: • Games made between 1992 and 1996 by developers Capcom and Capcom Production Studio 1 • Games supporting 5 to 8 players...

Since it's open-source, anyone can contribute new cores and customization tools, and frequent updates are released with new features. RetroArch emulates more than games and consoles. For example, there are cores for video game engines, so you can do things like design your own Tomb Raider game using the original assets. RetroArch Cores and ROMS While RetroArch is convenient once set up, the set up process can be time consuming. It's a tool aimed at advanced users interested in software development who like tinkering with settings. If you just want to play games for a particular system, then there may be better options for emulators. • Update Core Info Files: Download the latest updates for your emulators. • Update Assets: Download the latest version of the RetroArch interface. • Update Thumbnails: Download box art for games in RetroArch. • Update Cheats: Enable cheats for games when available. • Update Overlays: Choose borders/overlays for your emulators. • Update Cg/GLSL Shaders: Choose filters to simulate old TVs.

Load Core Load your core by clicking on the first tab. Scroll down until you reach the desired Core. We will use Nestopia for now. Don't forget - Content must be compatible with the matched Core.• Nes: NESTOPIA • Game Boy / Color: Gambatte etc. Load Content After selecting Core, click Run. After RetroArch opens, click Add Content and select your compatible ROM.• Nestopia > YourGame.nes • Gambatte > YourGame.gbc etc. Cleanup Storage The trashcan erases your existing configuration and presets. If the Web Player doesn't start, you should click the trashcan and refresh the cache in your browser (usually F5 or Shift+F5). Quick Menu If you click on the three line icons, the Quick Menu will open here as in RetroArch.

The Archive Page for RetroArch Builds This collection includes a preconfigured RetroArch frontend, along with Libretro cores ported from various populator emulators of various computer, arcade, and console systems ; including an all-in-one package and USB portable installation with every game catalogued on Wikipedia, for every system in every language in that genre. Each game is curated by Redump.org, No-Intro, or TOSEC, and has been converted to an appropriate compressed and compatible format for emulation. For Windows 10 /8 / 7 (64 bit) ========================= Disney (Alpha 21-02-01) (181 GB) Pokemon (Alpha 21-01-13) (115 GB) Pokemon Lite (Alpha 21-01-13) (11 GB) (Without GameCube and 3DS) Mario (Alpha 21-01-29) (156 GB) Link (The Legend of Zelda) (Alpha 21-01-31) (36.4 GB) https://archive.org/details/retro-arch-link-the-legend-of-zelda-alpha-21-01-31 Sonic the Hedgehog (Alpha 21-02-02) (104 GB) MARVEL (Alpha 21-02-06) (421 GB) MARVEL Lite (Alpha 21-02-06) (148 GB) (Without PS2) Looney Tunes (Alpha 21-02-09) (36.5 GB) https://archive.org/details/retro-arch-looney-tunes-alpha-21-02-09 EA Sports Soccer (Alpha 21-02-12) (291 GB) The Simpsons (Alpha 21-02-13) (52.9 GB) https://archive.org/details/retro-arch-the-simpsons-alpha-21-02-13 Animal Crossing (Alpha 22-07-29) (31.7 GB) https://archive.org/details/retro-arch-animal-crossing-alpha-22-07-29 This collection includes a preconfigured Kodi frontend with Internet Archive Game Launcher by Zach Morris, along with RetroArch a...

The cause of the intrusion has been found and isolated. We have no indications that other systems including core distribution was accessed, so there is no immediate cause for concern there. Sites should be operational right now and everything should work fine right now. PSA: If people downloaded RetroArch on Windows earlier today they should check their history for mediafire. Trusted downloads from Libretro always originate from More to share on this later on. DirkSimple core added to Steam We added a new core, DirkSimple. This brings the total number of available cores on Steam to 60 now. DirkSimple is a core written from scratch by icculus, one of the original creators/maintainers of popular open source projects like SDL. It can play some of the 1980s LaserDisc arcade games. See our Steam article RetroArch 1.15.0 updated A maintenance update/fix has been pushed for 1.15.0. This replaces the current 1.15.0 version. New changes: • INPUT/AUTOCONFIG: Check for ‘enable_hotkey’ also from autoconf binds • LIBRETRO-COMMON/VFS/FILESTREAM: Fixes filestream_vscanf regression • MENU/XMB: Horizontal icon animation fix • OSD/STATISTICS: Notification font + statistics adjustments • OSD/STATISTICS: Finetuned statistics layout to be more compact and aligned • OSD/STATISTICS: Group Run-Ahead and Frame Delay as “Latency” • OSD/STATISTICS: Try to scale font as small as possible/readable if stats won’t fit • OSD/STATISTICS/FONT: Allow reseting notification font with RetroPad Y to “null”, whi...

Retroarch is an all-in-one emulation frontend that removes the bugbear of faffing around in Windows to switch between your different emulators. By letting you directly download key emulators files (called ‘Cores’), Retroarch makes it possible to open most of your game console emulators from one place. We’ll be showing you how to set up Retroarch, point you to the best cores, give you a little lesson on shaders, and replace the default UI with a snazzy new frontend (yes, we’re aware that that technically means you’ll be getting a new frontend for what’s already a frontend, but to that we say that you can never have enough frontend). However, note that while emulators and frontends like Retroarch are legal, it is not legal to download roms or ISO image files for games that are still under copyright (i.e. most games). This varies by where you are in the world, but as a general rule you should only play roms of games that you already own, and which you’ve ripped from CD or cartridge yourself. To download cores for your chosen platform - be it N64 or Commodore 64 - head over to the far left icon (Main Menu) in Retroarch, select Load Core > Download Core then select the ones you want. For reference, here are the cores we think work best for each major platform, taking into account performance and accuracy (there are plenty of other platforms you can get cores for - these are just the biggies). • NES: Nestopia • SNES: Snes9X • Sega Master System/Genesis/CD: Genesis Plus GX • Game...