A Brief Guide to Retroarch

Retroarch on the Retroid Pocket 2

The RP2 comes from the factory with two versions of Retroarch installed. One has a Space Invaders icon, while the other has a GBA icon.

The version with the Space Invaders icon should be a recent version of Retroarch (if not the latest version), preloaded with cores that work well on the RP2. The major exception here is GBA, which is what the second copy of Retroarch is for.

The version with the GBA icon is an older version of Retroarch (v1.5.0) with a single core preloaded: a slightly older version of the gpSP core for GBA emulation. This should run most GBA games with few glitches at full speed on the RP2. Take care not to delete this version of Retroarch, as due to recent events it will be difficult if not impossible to replace.

Saving Configurations in Retroarch

By default, Retroarch does not automatically save any changes to settings. If you make changes and then quit (or crash) Retroarch without saving your configuration, your changes will not carry over to the next time that you run Retroarch.

There are three levels of configuration files in Retroarch: global, core, and game. You can refer to a tutorial video from here: https://youtu.be/4bYjDpNpCiw

Global Configuration

The global configuration includes all non-core-specific settings (e.g. standard video, audio, and input settings). You can save your global configuration by going to "Main Menu" (the leftmost menu in the Sony-style "XMB" user interface), selecting "Configuration File", and then "Save Current Configuration". Please note that "Save New Configuration" will create a new configuration file that Retroarch will NOT load automatically; this option is mostly for users who will then work with the file manually, outside of Retroarch.

It is possible to have Retroarch automatically save the global configuration file whenever you quit, by going to "Settings", and activating "Save Configuration on Exit". This is generally not recommended, as it is possible to change settings within Retroarch that will cause it to crash or cease responding to inputs immediately. If the app automatically saves this new configuration, you will have to manually edit the configuration files to get Retroarch working again. It's usually easier just to remember to save manually whenever you want to keep a change to your configuration.

Core Overrides and Game Overrides

Retroarch can save additional configuration files which will override the global configuration file for particular emulation cores or games. This can be useful when some cores or games work better with different settings than you generally use.

First, make sure that you have a game loaded and running, even if you only want to save a core override. While Retroarch does allow you to load a core without loading a game, this is more of a historical leftover, as most options will not be available unless the core is actually emulating a game.

Once you have changed the settings that you want to modify, you can save an override configuration by going to "Main Menu", selecting "Quick Menu" (this is where you will usually start if you jump back into the menu from a running emulation), then selecting "Overrides". Then select "Save Core Overrides" or "Save Game Overrides" as you wish. There is also a "Save Content Directory Overrides" option, which will save a configuration file to be loaded for every game in the same directory as the currently loaded game. This may be useful if you use the same settings for a large number of games, and organize the directory structure to reflect this.

Deleting a Core From Retroarch

First, load the core that you want to delete. Then from the Main Menu, select "Information", then "Core Information". At the bottom of the list of information, you should find an option to delete the core.

If you do not have an "Information" option in your Main Menu, you will need to activate it, as it is hidden. To activate the "Information" option, go to Settings, then select "User Interface", then "Views". Turn on "Show Information", then go back out to the Main Menu. Through the "Configuration" option, "Save Current Configuration", and quit Retroarch. When you open it again, the "Information" option should be visible in your Main Menu.