Emulators

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Emulation within RetroidOS

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 AndroidOS

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 (Purple GBA Icon)

  • Game Boy Advance (gpSP core) is installed separately because Retroarch 1.5.0 has the best performance for GBA. Other stand alone options are available.


RetroArch 1.8.4 (Space invader Icon)

  • 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

System Emulator Options Notes
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.

Emulators/Cores Performance rankings within AndroidOS

This table of Stand alone apps & 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: Best performing Emulator/Retroarch Core for this system. 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 Emulator/Core Pre-installed? Performance Rank Stand-alone? 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 ? Retroarch Free
Arcade (Sega Naomi) Flycast Yes ? Retroarch Free
Atari - 2600 Stella Yes A Retroarch 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 Free
Bandai - WonderSwan / Color Beetle Cygne Yes ? Retroarch Free
Coleco - ColecoVision blueMSX Yes ? Retroarch 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.
DOS DOSBox Yes A Retroarch Core Free https://docs.libretro.com/library/dosbox/
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
NeoGeo NeoDroid Yes A Stand-alone Free
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 ? Retroarch 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 ? Retroarch Free
Sega - Dreamcast Flycast 1.8.4 Yes C Retroarch 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 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
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 A Retroarch Core Free
Sega - Master System Gearsystem Yes ? Retroarch Free
Sega - Master System Genesis Plus GX Yes A Retroarch Core Free
Sega - Master System PicoDrive Yes ? Retroarch Free
Sega - Mega Drive / Genesis (plus CD) Genesis Plus GX Yes A Retroarch Core Free
Sega - Mega Drive / Genesis (plus CD) PicoDrive Yes ? Retroarch Free
Sega - Saturn - - E - - Not powerful enough
Sega - SG-1000 blueMSX Yes ? Retroarch Free
Sega - SG-1000 Gearsystem Yes ? Retroarch 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 ? Retroarch Free
SNK - Neo Geo Pocket / Color RACE Yes ? Retroarch 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 Damon PS2 No E - - The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Damon PS2.
Sony - PlayStation 2 Play! No E - - The RP2 is not powerful enough to run Play.
Sony - PlayStation Portable PPSSPP Yes A-C Stand-alone Donation Struggles with more demanding 3D games such as God of War. taki udon reviews
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.

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.



Credits to beldandy561, Captain_Shoe, TortugaSs, Ryan86Me, StubbornPixel, CommieColin, Pocchitte