As it is an application a bit more complex than some conventional emulators, we will start by telling you what exactly RetroArch is, and then we will guide you through the installation process, loading emulators and starting ROMs.
What is RetroArch
RetroArch is not an emulator itself, but an application that serves as the basis for installing different emulators on it and run the ROMs with them. Therefore, to be able to use the games of a certain console, it is not enough just to download RetroArch, but then you will have to load the corresponding emulator in the application.
RetroArch is an open source application that uses a very attractive interface while powerful. It is known for allowing the installation of emulators of the different retro and current consoles, as well as the roms, as the games of the different platforms are known.
It is based on LibRETRO, an API that allows the creation of games and emulators, it is a modular system that loads several cores, each of them will be its own nucleus. RetroArch is cross-platform, it is available on many operating systems, including Android, also on other systems such as Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, also on the following consoles: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PSP, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube and Nintendo 3DS.
Therefore, with all this equipment, can load any of the console emulators such as NES, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Super Nintendo, PlayStation, PSP, ScummVM, Sega Master System, Mega Drive, Mega CD, Saturn, Raspberry Pi and ZX Spectrum. RetroArch is compatible with any remote control, once you connect it it is configured automatically, it also allows manual configuration for a configuration from scratch.
How to install and configure RetroArch on Android
Once you open the RetroArch application you will see a message in English in which you will be asked for permission to read and write to the device’s storage, click OK to continue and “Allow”. The ROMs that you get to download from the different pages will go to the internal storage, although you can make them go to the external SD card of your phone if you prefer.
Once you have given permission, it will show you a screen with an interface in white tone, here you must search for «Load Core», click on it and now it will show you the option «Download Core». By clicking on it you have chosen the option to download a kernel, you do not need anything else to start.
When you have entered «Download Core» it will show you different emulators, here choose the one you want to play, be it a SEGA platform, Nintendo or one of the many that come out. When accessing one of them, the download will be executed and its progress will be displayed at the bottom of the RetroArch application.
The kernel will show you that you have loaded the ROM, this will help you to know which kernel you have active, once you have loaded it click on the “Load Content” option, this is the option that will make you load the games, in this case it is known as ROMs (Compressed files of classic console games).
There is a possible error when rotating the screen
Many users have reported an error that this application gives when you put the screen horizontally to play. Even if it happens to us, it is easy to solve. When this happens to you, slide your finger inwards on the right side of the screen to launch the Android control keys, and click on the square one to open the mode in which all open applications are displayed.
If your mobile has button controls, also press the corresponding key. Once all the apps open on your Android are shown, simply press on RetroArch again keeping the mobile horizontally and you will begin to be able to see it correctly.
