It incudes the latest version of Retro Arch,
In there there M.A.M.E., Final Burn Alpha, and all the usual suspects for Console and 80s microcomputer emulators.
Just download the OS and install the OS to a SD card. The Download comes with a .exe
To add roms just use a thumb drive, USB HDD, or transfer files via network.
Its possible to set everything up to operate everything with a Gamepad once all the setting are adjusted and the roms are installed.
You can even get the OS to boot with Retroarch being autostarted
And what, in my opinion, is the single coolest line of Raspberry Pi cases out there: The Zebra case. A little tricky to assemble but the end result is worth it. Many colors available:
While your at it, various heatsinks for your Pi 3 available. I donāt think it really needs these, so long as the case you choose has good ventilation but, i put them on mine because anyway because they looked cool:
^^ The Raspberry Pi 3 itself has no built-in software. If you plug it in with nothing installed, itāll just be a blank screen. Retropie is essentially your operating system for the Pi 3, stored on your Micro SD card which is basically the PI 3ās āHard Driveā. All the emulators come pre-packed/installed with it.
Unzip Retropie image, install Win32 Disk imager, Insert micro SD card into computer, and āinstallā Retropie Operating system image onto your Micro SD card using win32 Disk imager. Done.
Now before you plug everything in, for some HDTV and monitor types, Retropie has a quirk where it wonāt want to output through HDMI. So once you are done installing the Retropie image, simply click on your micro SD card to inspect the installed contents, locate the āconfigā Text file. And add THIS into it:
^^ You can skip this step if you donāt run into this issue but, if you do, that is how it is fixed.
When finished, plug everything in, put Micro SD card into the PI3 and and turn it on.
Adding games:
Now the Retropie software is linux-based so it WILL NOT automatically display contents of the card when inserted into a PC or MAC. You cannot simply remove the card from your Pi 3, put it into your computer, and start adding Roms. Itās a tad more complicated than that but still easy.
Method 1):
USB method. Take a blank USB drive, create a yellow folder inside named Retropie and plug it into the Pi 3. The Pi 3 will create some folders inside. Unplug USB drive and plug it back into your computer. Now locate your Retropie file on the USB drive and click on it. Now youāll see the folders for all the various emulators inside have been created. Locate the system you want, copy your games to it, unplug and plug USB drive back into the Pi 3, and itāll automatically copy the games to the proper folder on your PI 3ās Micro SD card storage. This is the fastest method if you have many, large files to move over, like PSOne or Dreamcast games.
I actually just bought a cheap, long USB extension cable and keep that plugged into my Pi 3 at all times. Makes it easier to transfer stuff by USB whenever i want, and i donāt feel like iām wearing out my Pi 3ās USB ports, by constantly plugging in/unplugging USB stick.
Method 2):
Good news is, because of the built-in WiFi on the PI 3, there is an even easier method to add games. By transferring wirelessly using an FTP manager like filzezilla, which is simple to set-up. Although not nearly as fast as the USB method for large files, this is still awesome because it makes adding/renaming/rearranging files very easy.
Tutorials:
Great channel here, i recommend subscribing to ETA Prime. Learned everything i know about the Raspberry Pi 3 and hacking the NES Classic from this guy.
Thatās basically it for the Raspberry Pi 3. Once you start messing with it yourself, youāll see how easy it all is but, let me know if you have questions.
One of the things i love the most about the Raspberry Pi 3 with Retropie is, you can control EVERYTHING through gamepad. Never have to touch a mouse or keyboard.
PC emulation is great but, always having to resort to mouse/keyboard to navigate stuff never sat right with me. It always took me out of that āconsole gaming experienceā.
With the Rasperry Pi you can plug it into any display that can connect with HDMI, and control everything with gamepad. Just like a full-fledged game system. Love that.
Quick question: as many know here, Im a junkie for Mortal Kombat games. How good is the mk2-umk3 emulation on the Pi3? I have read about sound issues on Pi2.
Um yeahā¦you need to check out BigBox.
I boot to it. Use only my Xbox One pad or an arcade stick. I can even start my Steam games from it.
Is it free? noā¦but nothing halfway decent in life IS.
Retropie is free and itās awesome. Most of the emulators come pre-packed with the Retropie image also. So no need to be hunting down and installing emulators.
I have not tried the MK games but, theyād probably play fine on one of Retropieās MAME ports.
Also there are gamepad shortcuts that are good to know:
Select+Start= Quits out of your game and takes you back to the main menu.
Select+R= For game saves/savestates.
Select+L= Loads your game save/savestate.
Iām sure there are probably other gamepads shortcuts in Retropie but, those are ones i use the most.
However, thatās not my point. What you implied by always needing a kb and mouse for emulation on a PC was inaccurate.
Alsoā¦can a Raspberry Pi emulate N64, PS2 and Dreamcast well? No way!
That makes BigBox even more relevant.
Besides, the issue of having to download additional emulators is really non-issue as 99.9% of those emulators are free, easily-accessible, and a cinch to install and register in LaunchBox. Installing emulators isnāt rocket science, nor is it a chore.
Retropie is good, but in my opinion Lakka is much better for emulation, it is much easier to customize, and ya it can be set up to launch a game on boot
Depends on how you look at it. Iād argue that the SNES version of Turtles in Time is one of the only konami arcade ports that is superior to the original arcade version with all things considered (extra levels, mode-7, tighter controls, etc).
Donāt get me wrong I prefer the SNES port for content and better game play.
The Arcade game had better sound due to arcades being able to afford more advance hardware.
The point I was making when an Arcade emulator butches the sound so bad, you are sound wise better off with the console port.
Iām actually curious as to how this is done. I have Lakka on a system that I planned on being dedicated to a particular game, but I still have to navigate the UI to launch it.
Itās definitely possible, Iām working on so instructions for a rpi powered device that will boot into ST. When they are done Iāll be sure to post them.
Youāre not alone. Darksukul pretty much attacks anyone that disagrees with his views. Heās the quintessential troll. Like with me and my love of the NES Classic and all itās hackable goodness, he constantly attacks me over it.
I suggest complaining to the mods if he continues and or, putting him on ignore at least.
The NES Classic is great. You should check out ETA PRIMEās vids on YouTube. Cool stuff.
As far as Darksakul being a troll, I disagree. I donāt have a problem with him, and Iām a pretty polarizing person myself (particularly online). Itās just that he has a well-developed BS detector and limited patience. That combo doesnāt always mix well.
Iām thinking itās not what you say that sets him offāmore like how itās said. YMMV.