Retro Arch is mind-blowingly amazing! 😯 (❤️ Dreamcast)

[Marc_LFD]

The first time I used Retro Arch was on PS4 and I had mixed feelings there, but holy shit RA running on a 6GB RAM or higher phone is impressive! And it's quite convenient to have a launcher for multiple emulators (I used to prefer individual ones 'cause of the old days).

Moreover, I just played some Dead or Alive 2 and Sega Rally 2 on it and it ran buttery smooth, damn... Phones have come a long a way and I'm happy I can play DC games again.

Did try GCN (Dolphin) and it didn't work as expected, that's fine.

 

[Bladexdsl]

even phones are more powerful than the switch

 

[godreborn]

The first time I used Retro Arch was on PS4 and I had mixed feelings there, but holy shit RA running on a 6GB RAM or higher phone is impressive! And it's quite convenient to have a launcher for multiple emulators (I used to prefer individual ones 'cause of the old days).

Moreover, I just played some Dead or Alive 2 and Sega Rally 2 on it and it ran buttery smooth, damn... Phones have come a long a way and I'm happy I can play DC games again.

Did try GCN (Dolphin) and it didn't work as expected, that's fine.

Yeah, it's pretty amazing on the series x as well. I haven't tried it on the ps4. Unofficial one? The sm64 I compiled for ps4 is the fastest loading game I've seen on the system, and it's developed by Osirisx, the same person who made Unofficial Retroarch for ps4.

 

[Marc_LFD]

even phones are more powerful than the switch

It's time Nintendo retires the Switch and the Switch will handle TotK 'cause it's basically Breath of the Wild 2/DLC. lol

 

[Reploid]

>I'm happy I can play DC games again.
You couldn't before?

 

[Marc_LFD]

>I'm happy I can play DC games again.
You couldn't before?

I could, but not via a phone. Extremely portable method to play DC!

 

[BigOnYa]

I have a 10" tablet with a Octa core and 4gb ram, and take it everywhere w me. Paired with a bluetooth controller, and RA is indeed awesome on it!

 

[Frankbel]

Those shadows are terrible.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I have a 10" tablet with a Octa core and 4gb ram, and take it everywhere w me. Paired with a bluetooth controller, and RA is indeed awesome on it!

I just installed RA on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (battery is pretty much dead so it has to be connected to stay on), and Dreamcast is "playable," but choppy. Would have been cool if it ran without issues, oh well, I'll still use it as a "Mini TV" (I don't use it for anything else these days as it's overly outdated and of course the drained battery).

It's nice to have DC on the go. Didn't think I'd have a handheld device capable of doing it (I knew my new phone may've been compatible, although I didn't try until just recently).

Vita? Well, I hope it can achieve playing DC games though with this option I'll just use the Vita for PSP/Vita games (because it has a physical controller so it's convenient to use).

@SuperDan do you have a phone/tablet capable of playing DC? You'll probably love it, too.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I noticed Mario 3' GBA version seemed laggy with a Bluetooth Controller, but there's a solution: Latency > Run Ahead to Reduce Latency

Just thought I'd post this if it may help someone. RA has a lot of options so it's worth checking it all out.

The Switch Pro Controller has become my favorite for RA and while I've got the Stadia which I'd want to use, it apparently got controls mixed up (even after configuring the inputs — Maybe I did something wrong, I dunno).

Plus, the SPC is ergonomically comfortable whereas the Stadia has the PlayStation layout (it's fine, sure, just not my favorite).

 

[Hedge08]

Really like it for playing GBA games docked. I don't have a console other than this and my PC is for more serious gaming. Nice to have something portable and convenient to hook up to a TV.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Just tried on my budget Windows 10 notebook, and RetroArch's Flycast played relatively nice overall, only during the cutscenes it got a bit sluggish (tried it with DoA2). And I used the Stadia controller.

Pretty sweet to have Dreamcast on almost every single modern device.

Sellers trying to sell their DC console might have a harder time these days due to emulation, but I doubt it. There's always folks wanting the real thing rather than play it thru an emulator.

 

[DaveC1964]

I don't know I always disliked Retro Arch due to the cumbersome UI. It takes like 10 steps just to load a ROM and doesn't remember ROM directories for different systems. You need to poke around directory tree and select it every single time. It is also very optimized you need way more power to run things than you should. The only good thing I found is that is has a good amount of shaders and has cores for most everything.

RA is the standard emulator pre-installed on my small RG353M handheld that I use and the front end makes it a bit more user friendly but I prefer standalone emulators due to performance still.

 

[matpower]

I don't know I always disliked Retro Arch due to the cumbersome UI. It takes like 10 steps just to load a ROM and doesn't remember ROM directories for different systems. You need to poke around directory tree and select it every single time.

Give playlists a try, they were made specially for that. They can also replace a heavier frontend like EmulationStation if you are using just RetroArch by providing the basics right (system playlist + game named after file + title screen/boxart thumbnail) if you want something more minimal.