Emulators
From Retroid Handhelds
Emulation within RetroidOS
RetroidOS supports the following systems, with the listed emulator cores:
| 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 | mGBA |
| PlayStation 1 | PCSX (labelled as PSCX) |
| Nintendo 64 | Mupen64 Plus |
| PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP |
| Dreamcast | Reicast |
There are no changeable settings for emulators within RetroidOS, and currently there is no way to add new emulation cores.
Emulation within Android
This section contains free RetroArch and stand alone emulator options. The one paid app that many recommended is DraStic for Nintendo DS emulation.
It is generally not recommended to update the pre-installed emulators, as the Retroid developers seem to have chosen these builds because they run well on the device.
RetroArch Cores
The Retroid Pocket 2 comes pre-installed with two versions of RetroArch (1.8.4 & 1.5.0) and the listed emulator cores:
RetroArch 1.5.0
- Game Boy Advance (gpSP) This is installed separately because RA 1.5.0 has the best performance for gpSP/GBA
RetroArch 1.8.4
- Arcade (FB Alpha 2012 CPS-1)
- Arcade (FB Alpha 2012 CPS-2)
- Arcade (FB Alpha 2012 Neo Geo)
- Arcade (MAME 2000)
- Arcade (MAME 2003)
- Arcade (MAME 2010)
- Arcade (MAME 2015)
- Atari - 2600 (Stella)
- Atari - 5200 (Atari800)
- Atari - Lynx (Handy)
- Bandai - WonderSwan/Color (Beetle Cygne)
- Commodore - Amiga (P-UAE)
- Commodore - C64 (VICE x64, fast)
- DOS (DOSBox - SVN)
- GCE - Vectrex (vecx)
- Microsoft - MSX (fMSX)
- Minecraft - (Craft)
- MSX/SVI/ColecoVision/SG-1000 (blueMSX)
- NEC - PC Engine / CD (Beetle PCE FAST)
- Nintendo - Gameboy / Color (Gambette)
- Nintendo - NES / Famicom (FCEUmm)
- Nintendo - SNES / SFC (Snes9x 2002)
- Quake (TyrQuake)
- Sega - Dreamcast/Naomi (Flycast)
- Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD (Genesis Plus GX)
- Sega - MS/GG/SG-1000 (Gearsystem)
- Sega - MS/MD/CD/32X (PicoDrive)
- SNK - Neo Geo CD (NeoCD)
- SNK - Neo Geo Pocket / Color (RACE)
- Sony - PlayStation (PCSX ReARMed)
- The 3DO Company - 3DO (4DO)
- ZX Spectrum (Fuse)
For help setting up and using Retroarch on the RP2, see A Brief Guide to Retroarch.
Stand Alone Apps
The RP2 Comes pre-installed with the following stand alone apps:
- Flycast - You will need to configure Reicast and configure the Bios. See DC Configuration Tips at the bottom of this page (Flycast is not included on beta batch units).
- MAME4droid(0.139u1) - You will need a .139 MAME Romset.
- Mupen64Plus FZ - Use recommended rendering profile per game for optimal performance. Here is Mupen's settings & render profiles if you lose them, copy to internal storage.
- N64oid - Right joystick will not map.
- NeoDroid - NeoGeo MVS Emulator - Compatible with MAME Roms. Put neogeo.zip bios file in your roms directory “/sdcard/neodroid/roms”.
- PPSSPP - Use the recommended profile settings per game for optimal performance.
- Reicast - The back end for Flycast (beta units only have Reicast installed).
- ScummVM - 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.
Best Performing Emulators
This table of stand alone apps & RetroArch cores seem to get the best performance out of the device. We have prioritized cores over apps whenever possible, and only if performance is equivalent or better. We have also prioritized free apps over paid apps whenever possible, and again, only if performance is equivalent or better.
| System | Emulator Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MAME Arcade | MAME4droid 0.139u1 | App. Pre-installed. Needs the .139 MAME Romset. |
| DOS | DOSBox | Core. Pre-installed. |
| Atari 2600 | Stella | Core. Pre-installed. |
| FC/NES | FCEUmm | Core. Pre-installed. Has netplay for multiplayer. |
| Sega Master System | Genesis Plus GX | Core. Pre-installed. |
| Atari Lynx | Handy | Core. Pre-installed. |
| MegaDrive/Sega Genesis | Genesis Plus GX | Core. Pre-installed. |
| PCE/TurboGrafx 16 | Beetle PCE FAST | Core. Pre-installed. |
| PCE-CD/TurboGrafx CD | Beetle PCE FAST | Core. BIOS Files Needed |
| NeoGeo | NeoDroid | App. Pre-installed. |
| Sega Game Gear | Genesis Plus GX | Core. Pre-installed. |
| SFC/SNES | Snes9x 2002 | Core. Pre-installed. Has netplay for multiplayer. |
| Sega CD | Genesis Plus GX | Core. Pre-installed. |
| Panasonic 3DO | Real3DOPlayer | App. BIOS Files Needed |
| Nintendo Virtual Boy | Beetle VB | Core. |
| Sony PlayStation | PCSX-R | Core. Pre-installed. |
| Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus FZ | App. Pre-installed. *The most recent PlayStore version will not work. This is the latest working version. |
| Nintendo Game Boy Color | Gambette / My Old Boy! | Core. Pre-installed. Paid App. / My Old Boy! has Link cable emulation for local and remote multiplayer. |
| NeoGeo Pocket Color | RACE | Core. Pre-installed. |
| Sega Dreamcast | Flycast | App. Pre-installed (not in beta batch units). Core. Pre-installed. See DC Config Tips below. Docs. RA 1.9.0 has been tested to achieve better Flycast performance than RA 1.8.4. |
| Nintendo Game Boy Advance | gpSP / MyBoy! | Core. Pre-installed in RA 1.5.0 only. Other GBA cores in other RA versions do not run as well. / Paid App. MyBoy! has Link cable emulation for local and remote multiplayer. |
| Nintendo DS | DraStic | Paid App. 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. |
| Sony PSP | PPSSPP | App. Pre-installed. Struggles with more demanding 3D games such as God of War. |
| SCUMMVM | SCUMMVM | App. Pre-installed. 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 |
All Emulation Options within Android
Click the title of a column to sort the table by the contents of that column.
The performance ratings are:
- A: Plays almost all of the system's games at full speed (or better, for example increased resolution) with few to no glitches.
- B: Plays many of the system's games at full speed, or with minor glitches.
- C: Plays some of the system's games at full speed, or with major glitches.
- D: Technically plays some of the system's games, but often not at full speed, or with major glitches.
- E: Does not run any of the system's games in a playable state.
The cost ratings are:
- Free: Completely free.
- Donation: Completely free, but a voluntary donation is requested.
- Trial: A free version is available, but limited in some way, to encourage users to buy a full/pro version.
- Paid: No free or trial version; only available as a paid app.
| System | Emulator | Pre-installed? | Performance | Stand-alone? | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DO Company, The - 3DO | 4DO | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| 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 | ? | Stand-alone | Free | Requires MAME 0.139 compatible ROMs. |
| 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 | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Arcade (Sega Naomi) | Flycast | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Atari - 2600 | Stella | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Atari - 5200 | Atari800 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Atari - Lynx | Handy | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Bandai - WonderSwan / Color | Beetle Cygne | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Coleco - ColecoVision | blueMSX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Commodore - Amiga | P-UAE | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| 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 | ? | Stand-alone | Paid | Based on VICE v3.1. |
| Commodore - C64 | VICE x64, fast | Yes | A | Retroarch | 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 | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Microsoft - MS-DOS | DOSBox - SVN | Yes | ? | 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 | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Minecraft | Craft | Yes | ? | Retroarch | 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 | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Nintendo - 3DS | Citra | No | E | Stand-alone | Trial | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Citra. |
| Nintendo - DS | DraStic | No | A | Stand-alone | Paid | Remember to map the stylus to the right joystick, as there are no touchscreen controls. There are patches to fix this for some games. See here for a list of confirmed playable games, including known patches. |
| Nintendo - Gameboy / Color | Gambatte | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Nintendo - Gameboy Advance | gpSP | Yes | A | Retroarch | Free | Runs under the older Retroarch app (v 1.5.0, with a GBA icon). Newer GBA cores running in newer versions of Retroarch do not perform well. |
| Nintendo - Gamecube | Dolphin | No | E | Retroarch | Free | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Dolphin. |
| Nintendo - Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus FZ | Yes | A | Stand-alone | Donation | Use recommended rendering profile per game for optimal performance. Here is Mupen's settings & render profiles if you lose them, copy to internal storage. |
| Nintendo - Nintendo 64 | N64oid | Yes | ? | Stand-alone | Free | N64oid does not recognize the right joystick at all. |
| Nintendo - NES / Famicom | FCEUmm | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Nintendo - SNES / SFC | Snes9x 2002 | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Nintendo - Wii | Dolphin | No | E | Retroarch | Free | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Dolphin. |
| Nintendo - Virtual Boy | VB | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Quake | TyrQuake | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - 32X | PicoDrive | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Dreamcast | Flycast | Yes | C | Retroarch | Free | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| 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. |
| 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 | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| Sega - Game Gear | Gearsystem | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Game Gear | Genesis Plus GX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Master System | Gearsystem | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Master System | Genesis Plus GX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Master System | PicoDrive | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Mega Drive / Genesis (plus CD) | Genesis Plus GX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Mega Drive / Genesis (plus CD) | PicoDrive | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - Saturn | Yaba Sanshiro | No | E | Stand-alone | Donation | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Yaba Sanshiro. |
| Sega - Saturn | YabaSanshiro | No | E | Retroarch | Free | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run the YabaSanshiro core. |
| Sega - SG-1000 | blueMSX | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sega - SG-1000 | Gearsystem | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sinclair - ZX Spectrum | Fuse | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| 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 | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| SNK - Neo Geo Pocket / Color | RACE | Yes | ? | Retroarch | Free | |
| Sony - PlayStation 1 | PCSX ReARMed | Yes | A | Retroarch | Free | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| Sony - PlayStation 1 | ePSXe | No | A | Stand-alone | Trial | Compatibility can be increased by installing the system BIOS ROM. |
| Sony - PlayStation 2 | Damon PS2 | No | E | Stand-alone | ? | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Damon PS2. |
| Sony - PlayStation 2 | Play! | No | E | Stand-alone | Free | The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Play. |
| Sony - PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP | Yes | B | Stand-alone | Donation | |
| Spectravideo - SVI | blueMSX | Yes | ? | 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. |
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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