Emulators
Emulation within Retroid OS
There are no changeable settings for emulators within RetroidOS, and currently there is no way to add new emulation cores. Switch to the AndroidOS for custom options.
RetroidOS supports the following systems out of the box, with the listed emulator cores for Retroarch:
| System | Emulator core |
|---|---|
| Arcade | Final Burn Alpha (2.97.08, 2.97.42, 42_ORI, 42_HOME)
MAME (0.37, 0.78, 0.106, 0.139, 139_RA) |
| NES/Famicom | FCEmu |
| Master System | Genesis Plus |
| Gameboy/Gameboy Color | TGB Dual |
| PC Engine | Beetle PCE |
| Wonderswan/Wonderswan Color | Beetle Cygne |
| Mega Drive/Genesis/CD/32X | Genesis Plus |
| SNES/Super Famicom | SNES9X |
| Gameboy Advance | gpSP |
| PlayStation 1 | PCSX (labelled as PSCX) |
| Nintendo 64 | Mupen64 Plus |
| PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP |
| Dreamcast | Reicast |
Emulation within Android OS
The Android OS on the RP2 comes pre-installed with stand alone Emulator apps and RetroArch(1.8.4), a single application with the ability to emulate many systems cores.
Also included is a single Retroarch(1.5.0) app, exclusively for the best performing GBA(gpSP) core
It is generally not recommended to update the Emulators, as the Retroid developers chose these builds because they run well on the device. This can be done however if you choose to, as emulators and retroarch cores get improvements all the time.
Emulation is generally prioritised as a RetroArch core first, then a stand alone Emulator second. Retroarch offers internal options across mltiple systems, including Online Leaderboards, image filters, and save file paths to allow you to save to a google drive or dropbox for cross console play.
For help setting up and using Retroarch on the RP2, see A Brief Guide to Retroarch.
The only Emulator that does not come standard and many recommended is DraStic for Nintendo DS emulation, which can be additionally purchaced from the google play store.
Emulator/Core Performance ranking for AndroidOS
This table of Stand alone Emulators & RetroArch Cores for best performance. Systems listed as A are the optimal for the retroid pocket, although higher systems may still show issues.
The performance ratings are:
- A: Recommended. Plays with few to no glitches.
- B: Playable. Plays with minor glitches.
- C: OK. Plays some games at full speed, others with issues.
- D: Unplayable. Technically runs games, but with major issues.
- E: Does not run.
| System | EmulatorOrCoreName | PreInstalled? | Performance | StandAlone? | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DO Company, The - 3DO | Opera/4DO | Yes | D | Retroarch | Free | BIOS Files Needed |
| Arcade (Capcom CPS-1) | Final Burn Alpha 2012 CPS-1 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Arcade (Capcom CPS-2) | Final Burn Alpha 2012 CPS-2 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Arcade (MAME 0.37) | MAME 2000 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | MAME 2000 is equivalent to MAME 0.37. |
| Arcade (MAME 0.78) | MAME 2003 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | MAME 2003 is equivalent to MAME 0.78. |
| Arcade (MAME 0.139) | MAME 2010 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | MAME 2010 is equivalent to MAME 0.139. |
| Arcade (MAME 0.139) | MAME4droid(0.139u1) | Yes | A | Stand-alone App | Free | Requires MAME 0.139 compatible Romset. |
| Arcade (MAME 0.159) | MAME 2015 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | MAME 2015 is equivalent to MAME 0.159. |
| Arcade (Neo Geo AES) | Final Burn Alpha 2012 Neo Geo | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Arcade (Sega Naomi) | Flycast | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Atari - 2600 | Stella | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | https://docs.libretro.com/library/stella/ |
| Atari - 5200 | Atari800 | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | Core Settings must be switched to "Atari 5200", resolution set to 336x240 |
| Atari - Lynx | Handy | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Bandai - WonderSwan/Color | Beetle Cygne | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Coleco - ColecoVision | blueMSX | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Commodore - Amiga | P-UAE | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | Needs Bios and a working Amiga Hard Disk File (HDF) |
| Commodore - Amiga | UAE4ARM | No | ? | Stand-alone | Free | |
| Commodore - C64 | AnVICE x64 | No | B | Stand-alone | Free | Based on VICE v3.0. "Official" Android port of VICE, but no longer supported. Interface is designed around touchscreen and external keyboard, making it difficult to use on the RP2. The RP2 will run the "armeabi-v7a" binary. |
| Commodore - C64 | C64.emu | No | B | Stand-alone | Paid | Based on VICE v3.1. |
| Commodore - C64 | VICE x64, fast | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | Based on VICE v3.3. Switch sound emulation to "Fast SID" at 44.1kHz to get full-speed emulation. Some disk games may not load with True Drive Emulation activated. |
| GCE - Vectrex | vecx | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Microsoft - MS-DOS | DOSBox - SVN | Yes | A | Retroarch | Free | It is possible to install Windows 3.1 on the emulated machine. It may also be possible to install Windows 95. |
| Microsoft - MS-DOS | Magic DOSBox | No | ? | Stand-alone | Trial | It is possible to install Windows 3.1 on the emulated machine. It may also be possible to install Windows 95. |
| Microsoft - MSX | fMSX | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Minecraft | Craft | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Microsoft - MSX | blueMSX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Morrowind (The Elder Scrolls) | OMW (aka "OpenMicroWave") | No | ? | Stand-alone | Free | Requires the files from a PC installation of the original game. |
| NEC - PC Engine / CD | Beetle PCE FAST | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| NeoGeo | NeoDroid | Yes | A | Stand-alone | Free | Compatible with MAME Roms. Put neogeo.zip bios file in your roms directory “/sdcard/neodroid/roms”. |
| NeoGeo Pocket Color | RACE | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Nintendo - 3DS | - | - | E | - | - | Not powerful enough. |
| Nintendo - DS | DraStic | No | A | Stand-alone | Paid | The only DS option. To set controller mappings, go to Settings -> External Controller and choose Select Key Mapping, then choose PlayStation 3. Use home button to enter mouse mode when needed. You can set right stick as stylus. See here for a list of confirmed playable games, including known patches. taki udon reviews |
| Nintendo - Gameboy / Color | Gambatte | Yes | A | Retroarch | Free | |
| Nintendo - Gameboy / Color | My Old Boy! | Yes | B | Retroarch | Free/Paid | has Link cable emulation for local and remote multiplayer. |
| Nintendo - Gameboy Advance | gpSP | Yes | A | Retroarch 1.5.0 Only | Free | Runs under the older Retroarch app (v 1.5.0, with a blue GBA icon). Newer GBA cores running in newer versions of Retroarch do not perform well. |
| Nintendo - Gameboy Advance | MyBoy! | No | B | Stand alone | Free/Paid | Runs better than gpSP and has link cable network play if you buy the paid version, but its not within retroarch. |
| Nintendo - Gamecube | - | - | E | - | - | Not powerful enough. |
| Nintendo - Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus FZ | Yes | A | Stand-alone | Donation | Do not update! Use recommended rendering profile per game for optimal performance. Here is Mupen's settings & render profiles if you lose them, copy to internal storage. The most recent version in the Play Store version will not work on the RP2. This is the latest working version. taki udon reviews |
| Nintendo - Nintendo 64 | N64oid | Yes | B | Stand-alone | Free | N64oid does not recognize the right joystick at all. |
| Nintendo - NES / Famicom | FCEUmm | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Nintendo - SFC Satellaview | Snesx 2005 Plus | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | Minor Issues |
| Nintendo - SNES / SFC | Snes9x 2002 | Yes | B | Retroarch Core | Free | Has netplay for multiplayer |
| Nintendo - SNES / SFC | Snes9x 2010 | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Nintendo - Wii | - | - | E | - | - | Not powerful enough. |
| Nintendo - Virtual Boy | Beetle VB | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Pokémon Mini | Pokemini | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| TurboGrafx 16/PCE | Beetle PCE FAST | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| TurboGrafx 16 CD/PCE CD | Beetle PCE FAST | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | BIOS files needed |
| Quake | TyrQuake | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| ScummVM | ScummVM | Yes | A | Stand Alone | Free | Has a known bug that shows no directories on launch. Fix is to search for a game and place a “/“ in the search box and select “Choose”. This will bring up the directory listing |
| Sega - 32X | PicoDrive | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Dreamcast | Flycast 1.8.4 | Yes | C | Retroarch Core | Free | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. More configs game demos |
| Sega - Dreamcast | Flycast 1.9.0 | No | A-C | Retroarch Core | Free | The 1.9.0 update to the core provides better performance on par with stand alone. Better that its inside retroarch. Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. More configs game demos |
| Sega - Dreamcast | Flycast | No | C | Stand-alone | Free | You may need to use Reicast to configure Flycast and configure the Bios. See DC Configuration Tips at the bottom of this page. taki udon reviews (Flycast is not included on beta batch units). |
| Sega - Dreamcast | ReDream | No | E | Stand-alone | Donation | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run ReDream. |
| Sega - Dreamcast | Reicast | Yes | C | Stand-alone | Free | The back end for Flycast (beta units only have Reicast installed). Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| Sega - Game Gear | Gearsystem | Yes | B | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Game Gear | Genesis Plus GX | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Master System | Gearsystem | Yes | B | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Master System | Genesis Plus GX | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Master System | PicoDrive | Yes | B | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Mega Drive / Genesis (plus CD) | Genesis Plus GX | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Mega Drive / Genesis (plus CD) | PicoDrive | Yes | B | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sega - Saturn | - | - | E | - | - | Not powerful enough |
| Sega - SG-1000 | blueMSX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - SG-1000 | Gearsystem | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sinclair - ZX Spectrum | Fuse | Yes | A | Retroarch | Free | Needs Keyboard Control |
| Sharp X68000 | PX68K | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | Needs Bios |
| SNK - Neo Geo AES | Neodroid | Yes | ? | Stand-alone | Free | Compatible with MAME Roms. Put neogeo.zip bios file in your roms directory “/sdcard/neodroid/roms”. |
| SNK - Neo Geo CD | NeoCD | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| SNK - Neo Geo Pocket / Color | RACE | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | |
| Sony - PlayStation 1 | PCSX ReARMed | Yes | A | Retroarch Core | Free | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. https://docs.libretro.com/library/pcsx_rearmed/ |
| Sony - PlayStation 1 | ePSXe | No | B | Stand-alone | Trial | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| Sony - PlayStation 1 | FPse64 | No | B | Stand-alone | ? | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| Sony - PlayStation 2 | - | - | E | - | - | Not powerful enough. |
| Sony - PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP | Yes | A-C | Stand-alone | Donation | Use the recommended profile settings per game for optimal performance. Struggles with more demanding 3D games such as God of War. taki udon reviews |
| Spectravideo - SVI | blueMSX | Yes | A | Retroarch | Free | |
| Various (PC Adventures) | ScummVM | Yes | ? | Stand-alone | Free | Shows no directories on launch. Fix is to search for a game and place a “/“ in the search box and select “Choose”. This will bring up the directory listing. |
CONFIGURATION TIPS
N64 Core Tips
You can use N64 in your RP2 with RetroArch (so you can use RetroAchievements, for instance). Not every game runs perfect, and many need further tweaking, but overall you should be pleasantly surprised.
This only works with Mupen64Next or NextGLES2 (GLES3 and Parallel simply crash).
Paste the contents of Mupen64Plus-Next.opt to:
- <internal storage>/Android/data/com.retroarch/files/retroarch-core-option.cfg
Or paste the full OPT file here:
- <internal storage>/retroarch/configs/Mupen64Plus-Next/
Please note:
- Use only glide64 for video (angrylion is slow, parallel simply fails).
- All mupen cores share the same configs.
Dreamcast Configuration Tips
This only applies to beta batch units (Pink, Blue, Orange). Later units do not include Reicast, and include Flycast pre-installed by itself.
Configuration for the pre-installed Flycast Stand Alone app is done through the pre-installed Reicast app. Flycast will have better performance than Reicast.
Open Reicast and click on the DC bios and format memory card 1. For controller settings, set the ports of all to none, and the port for Android Playstation to A. Click Map, and map the buttons to their appropriate locations - you may not need to map all buttons. Click Done, then Done again. You may now close Reicast.
Launch Flycast, which shares a config with Reicast, and load and play your game.
If there are issues with the controller, you may need to modify the .cfg file in Flycast. To do this, go into the directory path for Flycast and find the folder named mappings. Inside, there should be a file named Android_Playstation3.cfg. Open the file, scroll to the bottom, and erase the line for deadzone value. This should not be needed if Reicast 20.02b or newer is installed, or if you have used the .cfg file.
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