RetroArch is now completely free to download.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen the opening of the App Store and the subsequent emergence of emulators, something that was previously unthinkable. Delta and Gamma are just some of the names that are making waves these days, but what arrived today was not an emulator, but an emulator in all caps and bold letters. Emulator emulator, one of the most famous and oldest programs in the world: RetroArch.

RetroArch? This is not an emulator as such, but rather front end for emulators, game engines and media players. That is why it does not have one emulator, but different kernels that allow you to emulate the same console. For example, Game Boy and Game Boy Color can be emulated in different ways: using Gambat, Gearboy, SameBoy…) in the same way that PlayStation 1 can be emulated using Beetle PSX HW, Beetle PSX or PCSX ReARmed.

Some cores are focused on speed, others on accuracy… Depending on what we are looking for, we can choose one or the other. The beauty of RetroArch is that it allows us to implement the one we like best. As always, it should be noted that we download emulators and kernels, not games, ROMs or BIOS.

Available emulators. Many, even more than we can list in this article without going crazy. However, we can highlight the Game Boy, Color and Advance classics; Nintendo DS, PlayStation 1, PSP (which uses the PPSSPP kernel, which is also available in the App Store today) and SNES, RetroArch offers us kernels from SNK Neo Geo, Commodore, Atari, Amstrad, SEGA and even NEC. Everything is here. The full list can be found in the App Store tab.

Interesting features. Among the interesting things that RetroArch allows us is online play (via servers, you have to know how to use it) and all sorts of video, audio and input modifications. This is one of those applications with many options that, if we are interested, we can learn to use to achieve a very good emulation.

Performance? Entertaining. For example, a few days ago we said that Gamma, the PS1 emulator, lacks scan filters or rescaling systems. Well, RetroArch is the complete opposite. Graphics performance is not only good but also superior to other offerings thanks to community development. We were able to test Game Boy, Nintendo DS and PS1 games without any major issues. Needless to say, it supports external controllers because playing with a controller is always a pleasure.

Free, no ads and open source. One of the advantages of RetroArch is that it is free, has no ads and is open source. It’s true that its interface and default layout are far from what you see in other apps like Delta, but the reality is that it works so well that it’s worth a try. It can be downloaded on iOS from the App Store, as well as on Windows, Android… It is available for almost any operating system and device.

Images | Hataka

In Hatak | This is how I created my true retro zone: eight consoles connected at once, with visual enhancements and no cables in sight.