Emulators - Retroid Handhelds (2024)

Emulation within Retroid OS[edit]

RetroidOS supports the following systems out of the box, with the listed emulator cores for Retroarch:

Emulation within Android OS[edit]

The Android OS on the RP2 comes pre-installed with standalone 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 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 multiple 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 is DraStic (which is recommended) for Nintendo DS emulation; it can be purchased from the Google Play Store.

Listed below is a table of standalone emulators & RetroArch Cores for best performance. Systems listed as A are Recommended (usually installed as default) and optimal for the Retroid Pocket 2, although harder to emulate 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.

CONFIGURATION TIPS[edit]

N64 Emulation Tips (new)[edit]

With over 300 games tested with the universal profile provided by Expertwooden, Retroid Pocket 2 is now able to play most of the N64 games smoothly without further configurations.You can find the video tutorial here or follow the steps below:https://youtu.be/nF8Mb9WIF5Q

1. In the main menu (outside a game) select 'profile' → 'select profiles' → 'manage profiles'
2. Select the profile named 'GlideN64-Fast' and click copy
3. Rename it to whatever, like 'Universal Profile
4. Find and disable the 'Enable noise emulation' and 'Enable LOD emulation' options.
5. Go back to the main menu and select 'profile' → 'Select profiles'
6. Find your newly created profile and select it.

You will need a specific Mupen64 FZ version:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-4x2B4s-WACd74_HIVvCyQmteuiLIguS/view

N64 Core Tips (old)[edit]

You can use N64 in your RP2 with RetroArch (so you can use RetroAchievements, for instance). Not every game runs perfectly, 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 (angry lion is slow, and parallel simply fails).

• All Mupen Cores share the same configs.

Dreamcast Configuration Tips[edit]

This only applies to beta batch units (Pink, Blue, and Orange). Later units do not include Reicast and include Flycast pre-installed by itself.

Configuration for the pre-installed Flycast Standalone app is done through the pre-installed Reicast app. Flycast will have a 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 dead zone 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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