I’ve never really understood RetroArch. I understand the appeal of offering an all-in-one emulation experience that’s friendly with controllers. But every time I try to use it I just end up getting confused or frustrated and going back to using the individual emulators.
@@YOUTURKEY-t3e I'm sure. I'd honestly be more willing to give it another shot if EmuDeck wasn't ported to Windows recently. I want to try that one next since it just adds emulator games to Steam.
Uso RetroArch há anos, nuca tive problemas ou dificuldade. Aprendi usar, configurar então é praticamente fácil. Aprendi cuustomizar shaders, playlists, uso ele no PC, na tv Crt e ele é incrível. Mas pelo vídeo dá uma má impressão de que tudo nele é difícil e bagunçado.
Annoyingly enough Retroarch is also the most easiest for Multiplatform Emulation and Netplay since on a case by case basis a lot of programs lean heavily towards "Windows Only".
Retroarch is seamless and easy until it isn't. There is a big learning curve when you start wanting to customize (get layouts and overlays working across multiple systems as an example). It's really good for handheld Linux systems abd stuff like that but itjust doesn't have the functionality that standalones have. Dolphin has GBA to GC emulation, Drastic has GBA to DS support, Project 64 can emulate the Transfer Pak, mGBA can emulate the e-reader, etc. If you want a UI that is controller friendly or want your games to be organized just use a front end like LaunchBox. It's best to just learn how to utilize both options, but i think the scale tips in favor of standalone
With mobile devices, it’s pretty bad to use retroarch really. Desktop it’s ok but using emulation station with stand alone emulators which give better performance and more settings.
Main thing I use retro arch for is to have neat libraries, saved settings that are easy to make specific for emulator, game etc. and tons of graphical output options and such. Yes I loose features but once you have new thing you have to tweak, once tweaked it stays tweaked until you tweak it again. It is also best thing you can use on modded consoles like PS3 or Switch, which is main birth point for retroarch, it actually was a PS3 aiming project at first hence the XMB UI too.
Yeah pretty much. I was annoyed by Retro Arch... Until I got into it. Now its the emulator I perfer. So yeah definitely a learning curve you have to get past.
@@Left4Cake Same experience here. I didn't like RA at first, but I kept hearing how good it was. I had to remind myself that I had trouble getting started with the emulators I was already using on Linux(which limited options). I figured, if I could learn my way around command-line MAME and Mednafen, I could figure out RA and I did. It did a lot of things better than every other emulator I had used. It didn't take long until I preferred it too and haven't looked back.
Its a shame that a lot of young people today don't know what a filesystem is since they grew up using phones. It's so limiting. Companies have been trying for years to eliminate users managing their own files and it's sad that this is how they achieved it. Don't store you own data trust us! What's the worst that can happen?!
as an IT, I've been working in schools recently and found that ChromeOS is used even in computer labs, mindblowing to me. You would think that computer literacy would become more common with time, but it seems like the opposite is the case, due to the simplicity of managing ChromeOS from an administrator's perspective, the cheap price and relative durability of Chromebooks, and the lacking tech literacy of school admins and teachers.
RetroArch really should just have a "simple" mode that trims out all the fat, cuz right off the bat it's already pretty compatible and doesn't need that much configuring other than a controller
At least XMB UI mode, though all of them IIRC give you option to hide, essentially remove menu elements, so you can customize that. There is also "Kiosk mode" you can enable that locks the thing down to "simple mode" basically that needs a passcode or manual config edit to get out of, mainly for child proof, or say, public lounge arcade machine etc setups.
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet but RetroArch also has a Desktop menu featuring traditional keyboard and mouse input via a familiar windows like environment. I don't use it at all though because I'm very familiar with the regular menus.
Retroarch has this issue that I have with a lot of open source apps. It's that (God forbid) you complain about the UI being over cluttered and that it maybe needs a lil bit of tweaking here and there on github for example. Either the community is gonna call you a normie or the developer is going to have an ego trip and dissappear completely.
the irony of retroarch is that people pick it because they want an easy all-in-one solution, only to end up with an insanely complex piece of software that you can tinker with and look up settings and have people explain everything to you for years and still don't understand what half the settings _actually_ do.
I hate how in retroarch I have to go trough a quintillion menus for the simplest of stuff but game-breaking settings are the first things available, the quest to simplify emulators (which if you have two neurons it is already simple I have been emulating since I was 7 in 2005)has led us to a piece of software that has useless functions for the emualtor you pick,bloated to hell and back and a community so devoted to the trash interface and its "simple usage", its INSANE how they forgot that retroarch and their sleazy "devs" almost killed Duckstations development last year. this is why i just stopped wasting time with retroarch and picked my emulators and learned them well, this way I know what I'm doing and why I am doing it with absolute clarity and knowing nothing I do in one will ruin the rest. -Nintendo:I know all their ins and outs and I can run anything I want with full control of their simple dedicated options NES/SNES/GB/GBC=MESEN N64(I Dont play it but if I ever wanted I have it)=RMG GC/WII=Dolphin GBA=mGBA NDS=i tend to pivot between melon and desmume -Sony:Same as nintendo PSX=DuckStation PS2=PCSX2 PS3=RPCS3
I actually can explain likely every setting in retroarch but it would be a lot of text. It is not hard to understand but it has a lot. I as user of it, recommend absolutely skinning down useless features and menu options down to relevant.
I still use Retroarch to this day. But your rant on how confusing and unclear problems can be struck a chord with me lmfao. I spent ages tweaking and altering it to fit my computer and such. Now I'm just used to it, and I understand all it's weird quirks.
Yeah Retroarch is kind of a mess. I mostly use it for 2D stuff with shaders and stick to stand alone emulators for the more advanced 3D systems where I can just crank up the resolution.
Arcade emulation is also slightly nicer on retroarch thanks to easier ... easier, not easy as apple pie individual setups per game, but what you say is what I do too. Though I still play actual PS2 more than emulate it, but PS1, hell yeah. though I retroarch that.
Dual booting and Windows automatic startup repair will mess with the bootloader far more often than going in there from Linux with no clues. That's why a USB live stick to repair systemd-boot or grub is always handy. Menu visibility in Retroarch could be about setting a config file for a custom kiosk mode and leaving the device always on for children while restraining their access to specific settings. Like what any other frontend do. Or maybe it's just there for people who complain there are too many menu options and that you could remove them at the same time... I guess there are some UI battle that can't be won... XD
Thing is, removing the bootloader requires a sudo password prompt and EXPLICIT confirmation that you may be irreparably damaging your system. Retroarch just lets anyone do it if they have unsupervised access to your computer for > 3 minutes and don't know what they're doing/want to troll you.
Best thing about retroarch is its literally available at every platform ever exist. Literally has support for windows,mac,ios,android,linux,free bsd, ps2 ,xbox even more niche and obscure OS like haiku like wtf its crazy.
I just wanted to say before my comment gets buried that your videos have helped me a ton when it comes to what i like in retro gaming. Without your videos i wouldve never been into things like crt shaders which has greatly improved my gaming experience. Thank you for putting as much effort as you do into these videos
I know that some purist Will not like My take but i recently discovered the shader LCD grid v2. And i think that retro pixel games look great with it. It's on the "Handled" folder in case You want to try it
"Emulators vs Emulator Frontend"? I feel like the video title would've been better "Standalone Emulators vs Retroarch." Capcom Arcade Stadiums were such a good deal, plagued with weird/missing standard emulation options, and, final nail in the coffin, extremely shifty Russian DRM patched into them after release. The latter one was such a dealbreaker that I uninstalled all my Capcom games on Steam and refuse to even look at any more of their titles, old or new.
9:11 Near's own life was taken because of the constant bullying of their gender identity and some other things. This had nothing to do with Retroarch from what I recall.
I felt like I was the only one who thought RetroArch was overly complicated. I tried setting it up multiple times on my PC and on my Xbox Series X in Dev mode and it was a huge pain in the butt. I finally do have RetroArch set up on my Xbox because as of now it's basically the only way to play N64, Saturn and pre-SNES, but what I wouldn't give to get Ares instead on the console. This video was cathartic to watch for me.
Heck I made like a fifteen bible long comment defending retroarch against some stuff said in this video but initial shock against retroarch is absolutely a damn learning curve you could use as unusual psychological torture in right setting. Put your friend into a saw trap and give him ten minutes to setup retroarch for the first time in their life and you have a dead friend for sure. Still, once it is setup, or your emulator, or your game specific tweaks, they usually stick and hopefully stay that way until you have to wipe them because retroarch loosened itself on the floor again. But for me, retroarch is thing I have on a Switch, on a 3DS (standalones on 3DS are better though, RA is good only for things without standalone on 3DS), Vita and PS3, and also PC because I already committed to it like a two way abusive relationship.
I had to write down my own instructions to understand how tf controller mapping worked on retroarch because its not as simple as pick a button and press.
@@CUTIE_POXXWhile most individuals who worked on RA weren’t involved. There was one dev who worked on it in particular who was extremely… colorful… Squarepusher has made multiple homophobic posts using the f-slur and even directly tweeting at the BSnes and other emulator devs (one of which being the dev who took their life) and while it’s entirely possible that SquarePusher wasn’t responsible, it isn’t fair to entirely discount it considering the dude likes to start flame-wars for fun and criticize and belittle emulator devs (you know, the people doing 99.9% of the work for RetroArch lmao)
@@Baggy As much as I can't defend SquarePusher, if look into the correspondence between Near and the owner of KF, it's pretty clear who's actually responsible for this horrible outcome. The way Welbig represented it in this video is misleading to the point that I would consider it irresponsible.
The most important thing of RetroArch are the high quality overlays. That basically makes RA a must for correct 2D Gaming. The shaders on HDR Oled TVs are just mindblowing!
The closest thing to emulation I've used when it comes to retro gaming is using upgraded/softmodded consoles. It feels like a satisfying balance between convenience and authenticity
I get being overwhelmed by the number of options and settings, but its one of the reasons I use it. It makes it easier to play on a crt or any other kind screen and setting up specific controllers to each core a breeze. It would be a nightmare if it didnt have all that. It already is with some standalone emulators that dont give you all those options
Honestly, as it stands now, RetroArch is not made for beginners. It made for people who have been entrenched in the emulation scene and know what type of experience they want. It's very similar to Arch Linux, in a way, where everything conceivable option or feature is available and you can build it however you want. I first started using RA in the late 2010's after being sick and tired of having to update an emulator every time I wanted to play a game. Combined with all the different standalone emulators (without auto updaters like modern PSCX2 & Dolphin), it was a chore. The only standalone emulators I use now are PSCX2 and Dolphin, especially if some feature isn't available in RA.
You're absolutely right about retroarch, but I love it on my switch. There's switch homebrew that lets you use other bluetooth controllers (such as PS4) on switch, so syncing new controllers is seamless. Still a pain in the ass to set up retroarch itself, but when it's done, I have one organized list of every system until the dreamcast (dreamcast runs surprisingly well). Especially nice for playing with friends. I'll still use DuckStation for PS1 on switch though.
Sometimes I feel like going through my PC and doing a digital cleaning, but I do get a teeny bit overwhelmed when I see everything all at once. I guess I’ll follow an art rule and only organize one type of thing at a time. Like where my emu apps actually go, like do I want to store shortcuts in a folder, and what would I do with the games?? More folders? Sure, sounds cool. Thanks Mr. TH-cam Guy, I have a goal to accomplish today!
I have been using Retrobat for my emulation setup and I could not be happier with it. It uses emulationstation as a frontend but without all of the hassle to set it up, and it has some absolute sick theming capabilities, like making the frontend look like the PS5's UI for example. Further, Retrobat allows you to easily download the standalone emulators that you require right within the frontend. You can also then set all of the necessary settings within Retrobat in a user friendly manner, which will then be injected into the standalone emulator (or Retroarch) at run time. Lastly, Retrobat makes it easy to set bezels and shaders for your games without you having to dig into Retroarch menus. All and all, Retrobat is a emulation frontend program I highly recommend and I think it will solve a lot of the pet peeves that you had with both Retroarch and standalone emulators.
amen - so well put! it's like the power of RetroArch is best in the domain of system integrators like RetroBat & Batocera Linux to decide what to expose what makes the most sense (without taking the power of fiddling under the hood when needed)
Why even let Steam run in the background while emulating in the first place? The first thing I always do is set off Steams Autostart. It will never interfere.
For me, I’ve always preferred using Mesen and Mesen-S for my NES and SNES emulation, but since Sour merged them into the Mesen2 emulator, I’m even happier. It even has PC-Engine support as well as GB and GBC.
Only a mixture of the two will cover all bases. Sometimes standalone is better, but other times it is better with the cores in RA. Whatever works is what I'm interested in.
Sadly this is true. I avoid RA when I can but for some systems the best emulator by far is stuck as a RA core. I wish there was a better up-to-date standalone for Genesis, for example
When I used Retroarch with EmuDeck for a few weeks, it was so complicated I never there was a difference between the Retroarch controls and the Emulator’s controls so I reset my controls so often. Some of the filters and shaders were neat to play with Kirby 64, but no thanks I’ll rather play using the standalone Mupen64Plus-Next launcher or ares. Also based Hydro Station music pick.
LOL you're realizing what I realized over 10 years ago Retroarch is complicated. 2 years ago I decided to learn it and since I did I've since mastered it and it is not nearly as complicated as it used to be and it is my go to emulator hub for 8-16 bit games. For 32-128 bit I prefer stand alone emulators because they usually get higher faps.
Thank you for this video! I've never understood the appeal of Retroarch and it's nice to see someone with a similar viewpoint. Keep up the good content!
This video is a little bit too focused on PC in my opinion, repeating how keyboard and mouse and stuff is superior, but retroarch is multiplatform project aimed especially towards consoles and console like setups, where you do not have keyboard and mouse. The balancing act of powerful enthusiast options in a menu that you can use with your controller is introducing bloated menus, that you can cut off in options to what you personally need. Also, XMB GUI is partially usable with mouse, and my 2 minute test on steam with Ozone UI show that is FULLY mouse supported. Maybe you had option for mouse navigation turned off? The GUI is based off Switch and made mainly for such device that might have both touchscreens and controllers, since it liberally steals from nintendo switch. Confusing labeling and having to learn a whole new language with the GUI of retroarch I agree with, but it is also best thing I can use on my switch, PSVita, PS3 and PC and cross pollinate my game lists and saves around rather easily between devices. This video to me misses the point of retroarch and then complains about the point of retroarch. It is also weird to complain about too many menu options and then complain about the power to do something about it. It is possible because you can do it. Kiosk mode is there to make it not possible if you do not want someone else to fuck it up. I cannot evangelize much about nicely setup retroarch on many systems, but I like the playlist and graphical approach to retro games it brings, and the main system I use it on, Switch, as other modded consoles, it absolutely best option for many target systems. I agree it could be less clunky and devs could be less of arse about it, aside many other silly small bugs that tend to linger for way too many updates . But it is a specific thing for specific type of device, setup or taste, and understanding that even if you are not the target would minimize useless complaints. Retroarch has it's set of strengths, that you do not care about and are not target for, and weaknesses that you stress slightly too strongly. But I have been a self trained retroarch user. Pointing out retroarch UI ligma is like pointing out terminal ligma to long time Linux user. Way too used to it and even grown a tastebud for some things. I myself, on PC, like that I setup retroarch and emulators I use once and they stay that way, and it is relatively easy to do game or emulator specific tweaks and save them. Different shader, background, audio processing whatever per game, emulator or folder you can tweak and save it specifically for X and hopefully never touch it again. Or become a retroarch tweaker addict that indeed is a fate worse than death or actual substance abuse, don't ask I am recovering.
Glad you brought up stuff like the Tink4k. I bought and Analogue Pocket + Dock. Its Hardware emu instead of software emu, but after setting it up its become my 2D retro gaming solution for anything before 3D games. Both couch and handheld gaming. It kinda feels like everything Retroarch should be since controller support is very automatic, the CRT and GB/GBC/GBA filters are incredible too. And all games just work incredibly accurately with little input lag. The CRT filter might just be the best one I've ever used The only issue I have is that some consoles like SNES dont have save states, but I hardly use them anyways. It is 219 bucks though and the dock is another 100. But it finally put my 2D Retro games and saves in one place whether I am gaming on my TV, or on the go.
Also with RetroArch vs the standalone Emulator the emulation cores that represents the emulators can be behind in terms of development vs the the actual standalone emulator as well which is another negative thing against RetroArch. Also some of the standalone emulators already have individual game settings just like RetroArch such as DuckStation, Dolphin and PCX2 to name a few.
I agree with how complicated and convoluted RetroArch can be. Standalone emulators are not "couch friendly" so I installed Batocera Linux. It has awesome cover art, and it's basically a huge frontend for RetroArch. It can boot from a USB stick so you can take it anywhere. Most often it can automatically configure your controllers for you, leaving out all the hassle work. It also typically uses the best settings available for any given emulator, but you can change it very easily (even with a controller, no mouse/keyboard required) in their menu system. I have also found that controllers respond better using Batocera vs. Windows. Probably something to do with Linux being more lean and mean.
As a weird Linux guy, I ended up just writing a script that creates .desktop files to launch games in Retroarch (because I'm a shader whore). It basically went something like, _if this directory is called NES, create a desktop file for each file inside that tells Retroarch's NES core to load this ROM_ After that, I configured Retroarch to close when I closed my game. So I technically use Retroarch, but I spent something like six hours learning intermediate BASH scripting to not have to use that garbage UI ever again.
@@BoxedWater123 Preference, mostly. I'm not a fan of fullscreen frontends like EmulationStation and Launchbox. And they're just weird in windowed mode.
9:03 this doesnt suprise me with my one interaction on discord with them. They were extremely rude and condescending while also answer questions in the most convoluted way possible
Finally someone called out their bullshit, The reason why duckstation is no longer open source is because of retroarch staff treating other emu developers like crap. That's why I vowed to never use retroarch, and use the original emulators. Literally the FTX of game emulation
@@Koffiato That's my assessment as well. Weird definitely fits here. To be clear, RA could be crappy to devs too. It's not mutually exclusive. But back when that whole Dusckstation controversy was going on, the dev made some odd claims about Duckstation being only partly open source which made no sense whatsoever(which parts?). It undermined any legitimate points he may have had. That's why when he recently changed the license, he made a point to say he understands the licenses, and that's because he must have heard from a lot of people that he didn't. Maybe he has learned since then.
I use Retroarch due to its ease of use with my Bluetooth gamepads and for allowing me to emulate multiple consoles in one app. Also, it’s not technically required to use 0:53, but it is by far the easiest strategy.
latency and shaders make retroarch MANDATORY for anything 16bit and earlier (and also 2d ps1 games) the difference in quality compared to standalone emulators is crazy
I completely agree. I consider myself pretty tech savvy but learning to use Retroarch properly was a whole task of its own while I never had an issue with setting up individual emulators. Just trying to set the controls and video options for a core can be a hassle and a half as there are way to many save settings functions that counteract each other. I've had to reinstall retroarch more than once on handheld systems without touch screens as one wrong setting can remove your ability to navigate the menus and edit the buttons. It's much easier imo on a per emulator basis even if is less cohesive.
I can see the appeal for retro arch. And let's face it, when all this stuff is free, you generally get what you pay for. There should be a way for people to raise money and get paid to fix and streamline things like retro arch. For most normal people just trying to 'casually' retro game, they need to find a solid plug and play option. Eventually this will all probably get resolved. Until then most people are gonna buy plug and play solutions and eventually some really good solutions will 'hopefully' rise to the top.
Can you get more info on what relation Retroarch has to do with Near's death? As far as I could find in 15 minutes of searching, the harassment was from KF users and I found nothing pertaining to Retroarch other than an announcement? And uh, that's kind of a really big responsibility to put on someone, so I'd like some evidence? Like, a bit more digging around and there's plenty of proof of TwinApex being abusive to all sorts of people, but I haven't seen anything tying them to Near yet. This video did prompt me to do enough of my own searching that I no longer intend to develop using the libretro core and has me considering dropping RetroArch altogether, but the haste of blaming Retroarch for Near's death with seemingly no sources cited that corroborate that kinda make me think I shouldn't have too much trust in the video content.
Thank you for making this comment (should be pinned TBH). I remember seeing the situation with Near go down as an emulation fan and I never saw Libretro/Retroarch mentioned as playing a part in Near’s death. As you said, it was KF. I like this guy’s videos, but misinformation like this (unintentional or not) NEEDS to be addressed when it’s about a sensitive topic. It’s irresponsible otherwise.
Nothing. Just misinformation from a youtuber who hates a particular program and tries to reach for anything he can. Near's death had to do with the admin of a different site.
It's like you made a good guide to the use of retro arc. I share the perspective that I was lost when I first got it, but your reaction was very short tempered.
I'm still so mad that most of the best scanlines options are retroarch only... But really Retroarch is usually the best way to play arcade emulators, because of how easy it is to setup. YES THE RETROARCH PROCESS IS EASIER FOR ARCADE EMULATORS
I only use RetroArch for some Consoles like: N64, SNES / NES, Dreamcast... But here is what I don't like using on RetroArch: PS2 > PCSX2, PS1 > DuckStation
Mesen and Mesen-S (older versions that are separate exe's) and Parallel Launcher satisfy my needs. I try to stay away from Retroarch because it's so tedious and complicated.
I enjoyed your video and want to thank you for calling emulators unofficial instead of “illegal” like a lot of people keep calling them… they are not illegal.
My first experience with Retroarch on PC was pretty bad. After downloading and extracting to the folder, I tried to play an OoT randomizer seed I had made and found that Retroarch was picking up my analog stick movement backwards in the game. So moving up would move me down, and moving left would move me right for instance. I tried everything I could to fix the problem, and the only thing I managed to do was mess up the controls in the menu too. I ended up deleting the Retroarch folder and re-extracting it, and ended up encountering the same issue with the controls being messed up in the game AND the menu still. I never did figure out what was causing the issue because the controller worked in everything else, so it had to be Retroarch. Somehow the borked settings persisted through a deletion. I thought perhaps there was a folder in appdata or something that it saved settings to, but at the time "Everything" found nothing when searching for it. That would only leave the registry left. It would be pretty strange for it to save settings to the registry though. In comparison, every standalone emulator I have used has required little to no configuration to work. To be fair, I did end up using Retroarch again some time later and it worked fine at the time. Same controller, so I guess the version I downloaded previously must have had a bug with controllers or something. But even then, I prefer if I can avoid Retroarch. Standalone emulattors typically work with little to no configuration required and you only need to do it once typically. Whereas I found that every time I need to use Retroarrch, I have to reset one or more settings for it to work properly. And often times it forgets per-game and per-core settings too which defeats the purpose imo.
This was pretty much my RetroArch experience, set up games and emulator cores fine, but as soon as I started playing some PS One games I had to play a game of ring around the rosy with an Xbox controller’s inputs being completely fucked in a base installation until the config just became more and more broken as I kept adjusting binds and then finally I said fuck this shit, and uninstalled the whole thing. Retroarch’s design feels like it’s actively trolling the user sometimes with its wackjob obtuse bullshit that just works on a standalone emulator.
I will say I am glad that EMUVR uses RetroArch as its very simple to interface with the multiple consoles and for the entire system library backups sources i found have been a Godsend. Especially after the 3DS and Xbox 360 eshops both being closed
I think retroarch is nice at times. There are some situations like with some standalone emulators like MAME's confusing presentation for just playing arcade games or the Sega Saturn's way of just always having some kind of issue with emulation. Retroarch kinda just works out of the box with little to no issue. Also since it's meant for low powered systems like mobile makes it sort of worth it. That being said for higher gen consoles your best bet is always standalone emulators.
It's like shopping on Amazon expecting one place that has it all. But sometimes you're getting lost in unneccassary options and start looking in a different shop to get what you need - an keep it. The Retroarch menu and the whole configuration thing brought me to using using stand alone emulators again.
not going to argue that the retroarch ozone UI isnt flawed but this video feels very loaded- considering that its designed to be cross-platform having the options to tailor it to the huge range of hardware it runs on seems plenty warranted
hating on RA has been the cool thing in retro and emulation circles for a while. It's like people don't understand the concept of tradeoffs. They don't understand what RA brought to the table that other emulators didn't and they'd rather have a Windows style UI than useful features that actually affect playability (not just performance)
Absolutely this. I use Retroarch on PC but I have the setup because I like the concept, and had to get used to it on PS3, Switch, Vita and Wii U. I made much longer more rambling comment about these complaints, especially mentioning keyboard and mouse repeatedly like people's switch or xbox runs linux or something. There is also lot of skill issue complaints because for me, mouse works fully in ozone menu on PC. It also works with the switch touchscreen. Forgot did they get Vita's implemented yet but last try I had was nope.
@@guillermo9171 Dealing with emulation since the early 00's made me love everything that RA brings to the table. Its hard not to no use it BECAUSE of all the options
@@guillermo9171what does it bring to the table? i've been emulating for over a decade and every RA experience has been miserable. it's terribly designed, on every platform i've used it on. it over-complicates a simple experience because it claims to do everything, so it ends up sucking at it all. in the time it takes to set up "cores" i can install a standalone emulator and have my game loaded.
@@guillermo9171 I disliked the project at the start pre pandemic because I didn't know how to use it. Same w/ MPV & then I figured out how to use it & there is a lot of cool features I wish that were other emulators. If the features I need aren't on RA, I use something else. I don't know why people complaining so much, you have options. Options are always good.
@@robomix9744 you don't need most of these settings though, you'll probably just spend like 30 minutes configuring it when you first install and then you'll almost never touch the settings menu
@@ultraaziz6307 I actually do, I need them to get no input delay and a stable framerate on my 60hz TV monitor, and no emulator offers that same level of customization.
the devs clearly didnt have any IT skills because the ui is the least intuitive thing for people not used to emulation. it also slows down newer games compared to stand alone emulators.
26:36 Should have followed the instructions to configure the systems directories. It's pretty straightforward and I never had those retroarch issues on emulationstation. Even mapping the controllers is fun. ES-DE is a cool alternative too and it automatically generates the necessary folders if it doesn't detect them.
It's a great frontend for emulators and it's really cool using it like it's own game console. The GUI needs a big overhaul though. Core options can't be accessed unless in a game, never ending scrolling option lists, linear up and down menus, no option search, quick menu is separate from the normal menu for some reason, way too many options and categories, and way too easy to break.
I love using Retroarch for everything up to PS2. However it did require a lot of setup and would not recommend if you just wanna play a game. If you want a nicely curated library Retroarch does the job for me. I guess I am just a big nerd because I like and understand all the options even if the UI isn't perfect.
Aye, same. Would not claim it is not a learning curve but I supported less willing friends through it who like simplicity and shaders of set up Retroarch. Especially if you say, slap a arcade stick on your desk where your keyboard used to be and do not even want to access your mouse and keyboard.
“The more power at your disposal, the less it is about the games.” So true, I’ve probably booted up Retroarch more times to change settings than to run games lol.
I love RA aside from the outdated cores, so I did find this video pretty harsh. I think anyone truly interested in emulation would be able to figure it out, it's just a learning process like anything technical is. It's a cakewalk compared to trying to learn how a game engine like Unity works from scratch. Also maybe this is a hot take, but emulation should be an underground thing for enthusiasts anyway. I couldn't really care less if Joe Normie the casual console gamer who doesn't even know what a refresh rate is can't figure out something as basic as emulation settings and integer scale. If they truly cared, they would be happy to educate themselves or learn by trial and error like the rest of us.
@@HJHawley7677 Learning how to tinker with a program and understanding its features is an important part of the enjoyment of emulation in my opinion. Let me give you an example. Your comment uses proper grammar, right? That's because you took the time to learn it. Maybe sometimes you made mistakes when you first learned how to write. But in the end, you figured it out because you cared about being able to communicate properly through text. I think you know where I'm going, so I'll respect your intelligence and let you figure it out.
@@TiwillI see where you’re trying to go, I’m saying it’s condescending and silly. Bad UI ≠ better options for tinkering. PCSX2 has loads of options that are fun to tinker with and they’re fun to mess with, AND they’re intuitive to use. Anyway, your original point seemed to imply that people who struggle to wrestle with bad UI don’t “deserve” to enjoy retro games and if you don’t see why that’s a snobby position I don’t see much of a point trying to convince you.
@@HJHawley7677 It could be subjective, but I don't find RA's UI to be "bad". Standalone emus tend to have better controller configuration screens, but RA automatically configures your controller when you first plug it in, so most people shouldn't have to touch anything. Basically, after you pick a core and import your games, you're good to go. That's no different from standalone emus. So why is it a problem that it has a lot of settings? If they seem too complex, don't touch 'em. Even if you can't figure it out, there should be tutorials on the internet to help you out, and this video could have been one. Instead of complaining, he could have shared what he learned. I'm not trying to say people don't "deserve" emulation, but if someone expects a one-button plug & play experience because they just want free games, they're not in it for the right reasons.
Before I continue the video from minutes in, I need to say that RetroArch is the (nearly) only way I can play Retro Game with "achievements". Although I agree standalone is amazing, my main source of trouble were just VERY random Crashes... Now that I fully watched it, I stand on my point of achievements and random crashes, but I'd add you opened my eyes that despite being someone who LOVES options, having options like REMOVING the exit button is just stupid, and there's WAY too many options, what makes them bad, is that there's a lot of variety of the same settings and explains not well at all, from someone with a G-Sync 4k 144hz monitor, just wish there was a preset of settings for my screen in particular. And every problems you named are valid, but I genuinely don't care about drama stuff, that's on them, I just want to enjoy emulation. Thank you for making this video, I loved it a lot and it made things clearer to me, have a good day! ❤
My biggest issue with Retroarch is how some new versions of emulators or the whole emulator being exclusive to RetroArch, such as Mupen64Plus, as far as i know there isn't a standalone PC Release, also the RetroAchievements aren't featured in most of the emulators outside of RetroArch
There are really good reasons to chose Retroarch over stand alone emulators. The number one reason by far is latency which was the whole reason I ended up switching to Retroarch from stand alone emulators years ago. Hard GPU sync coupled with 0 GPU synced frames has better latency than the stand alone emulator, and that doesn't even include using run ahead. I started out using the BSNES stand alone, but I could always feel the input lag on Mario games especially. When I switched to BSNES on Retroarch it was noticeably improved. Yes, on weak systems the hard GPU sync is heavy and can slow things down, but it would not be an issue for any modern budget PC CPU or flagship phone CPU and is worth it's weight in gold. Second is Retroarch's uncanny ability to easily bring emulation to multiple devices. If the CPU has enough grunt, chances are it will run what you want. Retroarch is incredible on Android as everything just works. Once you learn how to use what's important to you on Retroarch it is a breeze to setup. I personally like the UI especially while in game. I can quickly change emulator settings to see which ones work the best. I can easily change controls just for ONE game and it loads those controls every time I load the game which is especially useful for N64 games since alot of them don't translate to a modern controller so well. I like not having to touch the mouse and keyboard to simply load or save a state. Retroarch is worth learning. It's not fair to dog it for being too complex or at times less than intuitive. It's very powerful and customizable. With that comes complexity. It's not always the best option. Some of the emulators on Retroarch are still not as good as some other stand alones. I use Kega Fusion over Gens Plus GX because Sega CD emulation is much better. I like stand alone Mednafen for Saturn because there no way to deinterlace games that run in 480i and I get combing artifacts. So is it a one stop shop? No. But it shouldn't be dismissed.
Yeah, thanks for affirming the vibes I got from Retroarch. I couldn't put a finger on why I don't like that despite initially planning to play emulators on my steam deck. The menu was overwhelming and had everything I didn't need (I was only interested in PS1 and GBA emulators) and getting asked questions about things I didn't need on initial start was too much. I didn't quite understand it, I thought it's just a consolidated project of various devs working together - I didn't know was just leeching off the research of others. Now I know.
Glad I'm not the only one that didn't like using retroarch. Ive been seeing it recommended so much lately but I couldn't get into it. I did built a retropie machine which uses retroarch and that was pretty great. Somehow it's a much better experience than on pc.
Entering the realm of emulators means you’ll be tinkering with settings more than playing. But you do it for the love of the game, because it’s worth it in the end
the biggest and only advantage i personaly see in retro arch is steam play together. being able to play splitscreen ps2 games online with a homie, only having him install retroarch in steam is crazy good
I use retrobat. The easiest and user friendly front end comes with retroarch and emulation station fusion basically using both. Scraper just make an account and your all set all ROM folders are ready to have your favorite titles put in them. And just plug a wireless controller and your all set!
I’ve never really understood RetroArch. I understand the appeal of offering an all-in-one emulation experience that’s friendly with controllers. But every time I try to use it I just end up getting confused or frustrated and going back to using the individual emulators.
I'm using RetroArch right now it has its ups and downs but when you get the hang of it it Is really handy to use.
@@YOUTURKEY-t3e I'm sure. I'd honestly be more willing to give it another shot if EmuDeck wasn't ported to Windows recently. I want to try that one next since it just adds emulator games to Steam.
Uso RetroArch há anos, nuca tive problemas ou dificuldade.
Aprendi usar, configurar então é praticamente fácil.
Aprendi cuustomizar shaders, playlists, uso ele no PC, na tv Crt e ele é incrível.
Mas pelo vídeo dá uma má impressão de que tudo nele é difícil e bagunçado.
Low latency for the simpler systems and actually good crt shaders.
Annoyingly enough Retroarch is also the most easiest for Multiplatform Emulation and Netplay since on a case by case basis a lot of programs lean heavily towards "Windows Only".
Retroarch is seamless and easy until it isn't. There is a big learning curve when you start wanting to customize (get layouts and overlays working across multiple systems as an example). It's really good for handheld Linux systems abd stuff like that but itjust doesn't have the functionality that standalones have. Dolphin has GBA to GC emulation, Drastic has GBA to DS support, Project 64 can emulate the Transfer Pak, mGBA can emulate the e-reader, etc. If you want a UI that is controller friendly or want your games to be organized just use a front end like LaunchBox. It's best to just learn how to utilize both options, but i think the scale tips in favor of standalone
With mobile devices, it’s pretty bad to use retroarch really. Desktop it’s ok but using emulation station with stand alone emulators which give better performance and more settings.
Main thing I use retro arch for is to have neat libraries, saved settings that are easy to make specific for emulator, game etc. and tons of graphical output options and such. Yes I loose features but once you have new thing you have to tweak, once tweaked it stays tweaked until you tweak it again. It is also best thing you can use on modded consoles like PS3 or Switch, which is main birth point for retroarch, it actually was a PS3 aiming project at first hence the XMB UI too.
Yeah pretty much. I was annoyed by Retro Arch... Until I got into it. Now its the emulator I perfer. So yeah definitely a learning curve you have to get past.
@@Left4Cake Same experience here. I didn't like RA at first, but I kept hearing how good it was. I had to remind myself that I had trouble getting started with the emulators I was already using on Linux(which limited options). I figured, if I could learn my way around command-line MAME and Mednafen, I could figure out RA and I did. It did a lot of things better than every other emulator I had used. It didn't take long until I preferred it too and haven't looked back.
It's unnecessarily complicated and unwieldy.
Its a shame that a lot of young people today don't know what a filesystem is since they grew up using phones. It's so limiting. Companies have been trying for years to eliminate users managing their own files and it's sad that this is how they achieved it. Don't store you own data trust us! What's the worst that can happen?!
Digital literacy among kids & young adults has got to be at an all time low
@@HJHawley7677 unfortunately true
as an IT, I've been working in schools recently and found that ChromeOS is used even in computer labs, mindblowing to me. You would think that computer literacy would become more common with time, but it seems like the opposite is the case, due to the simplicity of managing ChromeOS from an administrator's perspective, the cheap price and relative durability of Chromebooks, and the lacking tech literacy of school admins and teachers.
I've seen kids who can't even read a non-digital clock, it's over
My original comment here was deleted... I can't even remember what I said either...
RetroArch really should just have a "simple" mode that trims out all the fat, cuz right off the bat it's already pretty compatible and doesn't need that much configuring other than a controller
At least XMB UI mode, though all of them IIRC give you option to hide, essentially remove menu elements, so you can customize that. There is also "Kiosk mode" you can enable that locks the thing down to "simple mode" basically that needs a passcode or manual config edit to get out of, mainly for child proof, or say, public lounge arcade machine etc setups.
Basically that's ludo - made by the same people, pre-picked pre-installed cores, barely any settings, super simple ui
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet but RetroArch also has a Desktop menu featuring traditional keyboard and mouse input via a familiar windows like environment.
I don't use it at all though because I'm very familiar with the regular menus.
Enable Kiosk mode. That'll hide all the fat.
How braindead do you have to be to not understand Retroarch and how it works?
Retroarch has this issue that I have with a lot of open source apps. It's that (God forbid) you complain about the UI being over cluttered and that it maybe needs a lil bit of tweaking here and there on github for example. Either the community is gonna call you a normie or the developer is going to have an ego trip and dissappear completely.
Organizing my emulators and roms in well named and placed folders>>>>>retroarch
congratulations you have more braincells than the average retroarch user
yep yep
You know you can do both right?
@@irregulargamer1352 But I don't want.
@@manzanito3652>”I dislike retroarch because it doesn’t support X”
>you can still do X with retroarch
>”t-that doesn’t count”
the irony of retroarch is that people pick it because they want an easy all-in-one solution, only to end up with an insanely complex piece of software that you can tinker with and look up settings and have people explain everything to you for years and still don't understand what half the settings _actually_ do.
I hate how in retroarch I have to go trough a quintillion menus for the simplest of stuff but game-breaking settings are the first things available, the quest to simplify emulators (which if you have two neurons it is already simple I have been emulating since I was 7 in 2005)has led us to a piece of software that has useless functions for the emualtor you pick,bloated to hell and back and a community so devoted to the trash interface and its "simple usage", its INSANE how they forgot that retroarch and their sleazy "devs" almost killed Duckstations development last year.
this is why i just stopped wasting time with retroarch and picked my emulators and learned them well, this way I know what I'm doing and why I am doing it with absolute clarity and knowing nothing I do in one will ruin the rest.
-Nintendo:I know all their ins and outs and I can run anything I want with full control of their simple dedicated options
NES/SNES/GB/GBC=MESEN
N64(I Dont play it but if I ever wanted I have it)=RMG
GC/WII=Dolphin
GBA=mGBA
NDS=i tend to pivot between melon and desmume
-Sony:Same as nintendo
PSX=DuckStation
PS2=PCSX2
PS3=RPCS3
I actually can explain likely every setting in retroarch but it would be a lot of text. It is not hard to understand but it has a lot. I as user of it, recommend absolutely skinning down useless features and menu options down to relevant.
@@TheManudo00 The day standalone emulators have the same shader options as RA and switchres I will drop it completely. Until then...
YEP. this software sucks.
why do you need an all in one? you're not *using* more than one at a time.
U are just dumb bro, is not that complex. Is easy. U are just afraid cuz the many options lol
I still use Retroarch to this day. But your rant on how confusing and unclear problems can be struck a chord with me lmfao. I spent ages tweaking and altering it to fit my computer and such. Now I'm just used to it, and I understand all it's weird quirks.
Same i watched many videos to learn it i love but ps2, n64 and up i use stand alone emulators better quality
Retroarch is probably for people who like tinkering with configuration and stuff (like me)
Yeah Retroarch is kind of a mess. I mostly use it for 2D stuff with shaders and stick to stand alone emulators for the more advanced 3D systems where I can just crank up the resolution.
Arcade emulation is also slightly nicer on retroarch thanks to easier ... easier, not easy as apple pie individual setups per game, but what you say is what I do too. Though I still play actual PS2 more than emulate it, but PS1, hell yeah. though I retroarch that.
Everything up to Dreamcast, I use retroarch. Everything else is standalone
I need a full edit of Pirates of the Caribbean now
19:00 "why is this even possible?" For the same reason that I can delete the bootloader on Linux.
Dual booting and Windows automatic startup repair will mess with the bootloader far more often than going in there from Linux with no clues. That's why a USB live stick to repair systemd-boot or grub is always handy.
Menu visibility in Retroarch could be about setting a config file for a custom kiosk mode and leaving the device always on for children while restraining their access to specific settings. Like what any other frontend do. Or maybe it's just there for people who complain there are too many menu options and that you could remove them at the same time... I guess there are some UI battle that can't be won... XD
so true
Thing is, removing the bootloader requires a sudo password prompt and EXPLICIT confirmation that you may be irreparably damaging your system. Retroarch just lets anyone do it if they have unsupervised access to your computer for > 3 minutes and don't know what they're doing/want to troll you.
windows lets you delete system32
(but still doesn't let you access microsoft store-downloaded apps lol)
On an arcade cab that only loads one game via Retroarch you don't want people exiting the game and having to reboot the cab.
Best thing about retroarch is its literally available at every platform ever exist. Literally has support for windows,mac,ios,android,linux,free bsd, ps2 ,xbox even more niche and obscure OS like haiku like wtf its crazy.
Retroarch is on BSD? it must be very buried in their website
Its fantastic unless you wanna play PS2 games on iOS with it (but i have the Play! emulator to make up for it"
Literally.
doenst matter if the support is worthless
I just wanted to say before my comment gets buried that your videos have helped me a ton when it comes to what i like in retro gaming. Without your videos i wouldve never been into things like crt shaders which has greatly improved my gaming experience. Thank you for putting as much effort as you do into these videos
Good job your comment is on the top of the pile
I know that some purist Will not like My take but i recently discovered the shader LCD grid v2. And i think that retro pixel games look great with it. It's on the "Handled" folder in case You want to try it
It’s not piracy if they don’t sell em anymore
Preach it
@ ok
There’s nothing quite like the euphoria of finally being able to emulate a game after hours of googling, downloading, failed attempts, and tutorials.
"Emulators vs Emulator Frontend"? I feel like the video title would've been better "Standalone Emulators vs Retroarch."
Capcom Arcade Stadiums were such a good deal, plagued with weird/missing standard emulation options, and, final nail in the coffin, extremely shifty Russian DRM patched into them after release. The latter one was such a dealbreaker that I uninstalled all my Capcom games on Steam and refuse to even look at any more of their titles, old or new.
I really don't like the ui in Retroarch either. I much prefer the standard drop down menus to access setting in standalone emulators
9:11
Near's own life was taken because of the constant bullying of their gender identity and some other things. This had nothing to do with Retroarch from what I recall.
Thanks for saying this too, I left a comment on my own also stating this. Hopefully this reply brings attention as well.
I felt like I was the only one who thought RetroArch was overly complicated. I tried setting it up multiple times on my PC and on my Xbox Series X in Dev mode and it was a huge pain in the butt. I finally do have RetroArch set up on my Xbox because as of now it's basically the only way to play N64, Saturn and pre-SNES, but what I wouldn't give to get Ares instead on the console. This video was cathartic to watch for me.
Heck I made like a fifteen bible long comment defending retroarch against some stuff said in this video but initial shock against retroarch is absolutely a damn learning curve you could use as unusual psychological torture in right setting. Put your friend into a saw trap and give him ten minutes to setup retroarch for the first time in their life and you have a dead friend for sure. Still, once it is setup, or your emulator, or your game specific tweaks, they usually stick and hopefully stay that way until you have to wipe them because retroarch loosened itself on the floor again. But for me, retroarch is thing I have on a Switch, on a 3DS (standalones on 3DS are better though, RA is good only for things without standalone on 3DS), Vita and PS3, and also PC because I already committed to it like a two way abusive relationship.
It's poorly designed to the point of it seeming like a parody
I had to write down my own instructions to understand how tf controller mapping worked on retroarch because its not as simple as pick a button and press.
Great video. Good points.
I use my RetroArch for 2D games only because CRT shaders of course. Standalone emulation for everything else.
Nah man, you can't just say lives have been taken over RetroArch and not explain. WTF dude?
It's a huge mistake on this guy's part, Near's death has nothing to do with RetroArch.
@@CUTIE_POXXWhile most individuals who worked on RA weren’t involved. There was one dev who worked on it in particular who was extremely… colorful… Squarepusher has made multiple homophobic posts using the f-slur and even directly tweeting at the BSnes and other emulator devs (one of which being the dev who took their life) and while it’s entirely possible that SquarePusher wasn’t responsible, it isn’t fair to entirely discount it considering the dude likes to start flame-wars for fun and criticize and belittle emulator devs (you know, the people doing 99.9% of the work for RetroArch lmao)
@@Baggy As much as I can't defend SquarePusher, if look into the correspondence between Near and the owner of KF, it's pretty clear who's actually responsible for this horrible outcome. The way Welbig represented it in this video is misleading to the point that I would consider it irresponsible.
Yeah bro the quick menu thing. Drove me up the wall for a while.
Thank you for your uploads bro
The most important thing of RetroArch are the high quality overlays.
That basically makes RA a must for correct 2D Gaming.
The shaders on HDR Oled TVs are just mindblowing!
The closest thing to emulation I've used when it comes to retro gaming is using upgraded/softmodded consoles. It feels like a satisfying balance between convenience and authenticity
I get being overwhelmed by the number of options and settings, but its one of the reasons I use it. It makes it easier to play on a crt or any other kind screen and setting up specific controllers to each core a breeze. It would be a nightmare if it didnt have all that. It already is with some standalone emulators that dont give you all those options
Das what I'm sayin!!!
Right.... I can never see a downside to having more settings.. So many ways to get the program to fit your needs
retroarch setup, once you understood the main caveats once - is a breeze. And then i have per-game settings, global hotkeys for savestates and so on
0:53 Bro took a page from Nerrel’s book.
Smart
I still have nightmares about that Star Wars video...
DUDE I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING! As soon as that bit came up I was like "Damn, didn't realize I was watching Nerrel all of a sudden".
@@jimmyjohnson501 I know what you’re talking about… 🤢 🤮
first video when you search "emulators" Well done man. Great video.
Honestly, as it stands now, RetroArch is not made for beginners. It made for people who have been entrenched in the emulation scene and know what type of experience they want. It's very similar to Arch Linux, in a way, where everything conceivable option or feature is available and you can build it however you want.
I first started using RA in the late 2010's after being sick and tired of having to update an emulator every time I wanted to play a game. Combined with all the different standalone emulators (without auto updaters like modern PSCX2 & Dolphin), it was a chore. The only standalone emulators I use now are PSCX2 and Dolphin, especially if some feature isn't available in RA.
Arch makes it abundantly clear that it's NOT for the faint of heart, RA positions itself as beginner-friendly
@@notme8232 They never did. Please share your source where they mention "beginner friendly" lmao
@@IAMNOTRANA I'm not OP and I don't think RA itself does, but a lot of people that use it sure do.
You're absolutely right about retroarch, but I love it on my switch. There's switch homebrew that lets you use other bluetooth controllers (such as PS4) on switch, so syncing new controllers is seamless. Still a pain in the ass to set up retroarch itself, but when it's done, I have one organized list of every system until the dreamcast (dreamcast runs surprisingly well). Especially nice for playing with friends. I'll still use DuckStation for PS1 on switch though.
Sometimes I feel like going through my PC and doing a digital cleaning, but I do get a teeny bit overwhelmed when I see everything all at once. I guess I’ll follow an art rule and only organize one type of thing at a time. Like where my emu apps actually go, like do I want to store shortcuts in a folder, and what would I do with the games?? More folders? Sure, sounds cool. Thanks Mr. TH-cam Guy, I have a goal to accomplish today!
I have been using Retrobat for my emulation setup and I could not be happier with it. It uses emulationstation as a frontend but without all of the hassle to set it up, and it has some absolute sick theming capabilities, like making the frontend look like the PS5's UI for example.
Further, Retrobat allows you to easily download the standalone emulators that you require right within the frontend. You can also then set all of the necessary settings within Retrobat in a user friendly manner, which will then be injected into the standalone emulator (or Retroarch) at run time.
Lastly, Retrobat makes it easy to set bezels and shaders for your games without you having to dig into Retroarch menus.
All and all, Retrobat is a emulation frontend program I highly recommend and I think it will solve a lot of the pet peeves that you had with both Retroarch and standalone emulators.
amen - so well put!
it's like the power of RetroArch is best in the domain of system integrators like RetroBat & Batocera Linux to decide what to expose what makes the most sense (without taking the power of fiddling under the hood when needed)
Why even let Steam run in the background while emulating in the first place? The first thing I always do is set off Steams Autostart. It will never interfere.
Yeh, if you don't want Steam on then you can leave it.
But if you do, then just open the app the moment the PC starts.
For me, I’ve always preferred using Mesen and Mesen-S for my NES and SNES emulation, but since Sour merged them into the Mesen2 emulator, I’m even happier. It even has PC-Engine support as well as GB and GBC.
Only a mixture of the two will cover all bases. Sometimes standalone is better, but other times it is better with the cores in RA. Whatever works is what I'm interested in.
Sadly this is true. I avoid RA when I can but for some systems the best emulator by far is stuck as a RA core. I wish there was a better up-to-date standalone for Genesis, for example
Dolphin and citra standalone burn my pc to the ground
RA’s core is the only way I can experience them
Despite the long video length I feel like this video still saved me a ton of time from otherwise messing around with Retroarch.
This is a really good video! I love your editing and strobe warnings.
When I used Retroarch with EmuDeck for a few weeks, it was so complicated I never there was a difference between the Retroarch controls and the Emulator’s controls so I reset my controls so often. Some of the filters and shaders were neat to play with Kirby 64, but no thanks I’ll rather play using the standalone Mupen64Plus-Next launcher or ares.
Also based Hydro Station music pick.
LOL you're realizing what I realized over 10 years ago Retroarch is complicated. 2 years ago I decided to learn it and since I did I've since mastered it and it is not nearly as complicated as it used to be and it is my go to emulator hub for 8-16 bit games. For 32-128 bit I prefer stand alone emulators because they usually get higher faps.
Higher WHAT????
AYYOO
Higher... Ayo? 🤨📸
Why are y’all focusing on the funny typo when this man claims to have emulated a 128-bit system
That feels much more noteworthy
@@scottcaramel 6th gen consoles were for a time advertised as 128-bit.
Good thing Emulationstation were invented as front end for emulators
That pirates bit wouldn't be out of place in a nerrel video.
Thank you for this video! I've never understood the appeal of Retroarch and it's nice to see someone with a similar viewpoint. Keep up the good content!
This video is a little bit too focused on PC in my opinion, repeating how keyboard and mouse and stuff is superior, but retroarch is multiplatform project aimed especially towards consoles and console like setups, where you do not have keyboard and mouse. The balancing act of powerful enthusiast options in a menu that you can use with your controller is introducing bloated menus, that you can cut off in options to what you personally need. Also, XMB GUI is partially usable with mouse, and my 2 minute test on steam with Ozone UI show that is FULLY mouse supported. Maybe you had option for mouse navigation turned off? The GUI is based off Switch and made mainly for such device that might have both touchscreens and controllers, since it liberally steals from nintendo switch.
Confusing labeling and having to learn a whole new language with the GUI of retroarch I agree with, but it is also best thing I can use on my switch, PSVita, PS3 and PC and cross pollinate my game lists and saves around rather easily between devices. This video to me misses the point of retroarch and then complains about the point of retroarch. It is also weird to complain about too many menu options and then complain about the power to do something about it. It is possible because you can do it. Kiosk mode is there to make it not possible if you do not want someone else to fuck it up.
I cannot evangelize much about nicely setup retroarch on many systems, but I like the playlist and graphical approach to retro games it brings, and the main system I use it on, Switch, as other modded consoles, it absolutely best option for many target systems. I agree it could be less clunky and devs could be less of arse about it, aside many other silly small bugs that tend to linger for way too many updates . But it is a specific thing for specific type of device, setup or taste, and understanding that even if you are not the target would minimize useless complaints.
Retroarch has it's set of strengths, that you do not care about and are not target for, and weaknesses that you stress slightly too strongly. But I have been a self trained retroarch user. Pointing out retroarch UI ligma is like pointing out terminal ligma to long time Linux user. Way too used to it and even grown a tastebud for some things. I myself, on PC, like that I setup retroarch and emulators I use once and they stay that way, and it is relatively easy to do game or emulator specific tweaks and save them. Different shader, background, audio processing whatever per game, emulator or folder you can tweak and save it specifically for X and hopefully never touch it again. Or become a retroarch tweaker addict that indeed is a fate worse than death or actual substance abuse, don't ask I am recovering.
Glad you brought up stuff like the Tink4k.
I bought and Analogue Pocket + Dock. Its Hardware emu instead of software emu, but after setting it up its become my 2D retro gaming solution for anything before 3D games. Both couch and handheld gaming.
It kinda feels like everything Retroarch should be since controller support is very automatic, the CRT and GB/GBC/GBA filters are incredible too. And all games just work incredibly accurately with little input lag. The CRT filter might just be the best one I've ever used
The only issue I have is that some consoles like SNES dont have save states, but I hardly use them anyways.
It is 219 bucks though and the dock is another 100. But it finally put my 2D Retro games and saves in one place whether I am gaming on my TV, or on the go.
Also with RetroArch vs the standalone Emulator the emulation cores that represents the emulators can be behind in terms of development vs the the actual standalone emulator as well which is another negative thing against RetroArch. Also some of the standalone emulators already have individual game settings just like RetroArch such as DuckStation, Dolphin and PCX2 to name a few.
I agree with how complicated and convoluted RetroArch can be. Standalone emulators are not "couch friendly" so I installed Batocera Linux. It has awesome cover art, and it's basically a huge frontend for RetroArch. It can boot from a USB stick so you can take it anywhere. Most often it can automatically configure your controllers for you, leaving out all the hassle work. It also typically uses the best settings available for any given emulator, but you can change it very easily (even with a controller, no mouse/keyboard required) in their menu system. I have also found that controllers respond better using Batocera vs. Windows. Probably something to do with Linux being more lean and mean.
I used batocera for a while but found that the link between it and the Retroarch settings were tenuous and resulted in too much weird behaviour.
As a weird Linux guy, I ended up just writing a script that creates .desktop files to launch games in Retroarch (because I'm a shader whore). It basically went something like, _if this directory is called NES, create a desktop file for each file inside that tells Retroarch's NES core to load this ROM_
After that, I configured Retroarch to close when I closed my game. So I technically use Retroarch, but I spent something like six hours learning intermediate BASH scripting to not have to use that garbage UI ever again.
Why not just use a frontend?
@@BoxedWater123 Preference, mostly. I'm not a fan of fullscreen frontends like EmulationStation and Launchbox. And they're just weird in windowed mode.
@@dsouth7754 there is a non fullscreen frontend on Linux called GameHub, it might be what you're looking for
That's really cool
I love your content man, always exited when a new video drops.
I have a really old pc so sometimes i have to make personalized settings for every individual game. Doing that in retro arch is basically a job
i deleted RetroArch because what even is the point of it when individual emulators are faster and easier to configurate
9:03 this doesnt suprise me with my one interaction on discord with them. They were extremely rude and condescending while also answer questions in the most convoluted way possible
Had it coming. They have a good page on Kiwifarms if you'd like to know more.
RetroArch is working on switch without a need to change to android so Im cool with that
that's great
Finally someone called out their bullshit, The reason why duckstation is no longer open source is because of retroarch staff treating other emu developers like crap. That's why I vowed to never use retroarch, and use the original emulators. Literally the FTX of game emulation
Duckstation is still Open Sourced...
Nah I think duckstation’s dev just sucks at being a good person
@scottcaramel nah it's retroarch being shitty because he's not the only developer who has had a problem with them
Duckstation v Swanstation was a long time ago. It's just that DS dev is very.., weird. He's also the same guy who created and abandoned AetherSX.
@@Koffiato That's my assessment as well. Weird definitely fits here. To be clear, RA could be crappy to devs too. It's not mutually exclusive. But back when that whole Dusckstation controversy was going on, the dev made some odd claims about Duckstation being only partly open source which made no sense whatsoever(which parts?). It undermined any legitimate points he may have had. That's why when he recently changed the license, he made a point to say he understands the licenses, and that's because he must have heard from a lot of people that he didn't. Maybe he has learned since then.
I use Retroarch due to its ease of use with my Bluetooth gamepads and for allowing me to emulate multiple consoles in one app. Also, it’s not technically required to use 0:53, but it is by far the easiest strategy.
latency and shaders make retroarch MANDATORY for anything 16bit and earlier (and also 2d ps1 games)
the difference in quality compared to standalone emulators is crazy
Very good video an interesting opinion!
I completely agree. I consider myself pretty tech savvy but learning to use Retroarch properly was a whole task of its own while I never had an issue with setting up individual emulators.
Just trying to set the controls and video options for a core can be a hassle and a half as there are way to many save settings functions that counteract each other.
I've had to reinstall retroarch more than once on handheld systems without touch screens as one wrong setting can remove your ability to navigate the menus and edit the buttons.
It's much easier imo on a per emulator basis even if is less cohesive.
I can see the appeal for retro arch. And let's face it, when all this stuff is free, you generally get what you pay for. There should be a way for people to raise money and get paid to fix and streamline things like retro arch. For most normal people just trying to 'casually' retro game, they need to find a solid plug and play option. Eventually this will all probably get resolved. Until then most people are gonna buy plug and play solutions and eventually some really good solutions will 'hopefully' rise to the top.
Can you get more info on what relation Retroarch has to do with Near's death? As far as I could find in 15 minutes of searching, the harassment was from KF users and I found nothing pertaining to Retroarch other than an announcement? And uh, that's kind of a really big responsibility to put on someone, so I'd like some evidence?
Like, a bit more digging around and there's plenty of proof of TwinApex being abusive to all sorts of people, but I haven't seen anything tying them to Near yet.
This video did prompt me to do enough of my own searching that I no longer intend to develop using the libretro core and has me considering dropping RetroArch altogether, but the haste of blaming Retroarch for Near's death with seemingly no sources cited that corroborate that kinda make me think I shouldn't have too much trust in the video content.
Thank you for making this comment (should be pinned TBH). I remember seeing the situation with Near go down as an emulation fan and I never saw Libretro/Retroarch mentioned as playing a part in Near’s death. As you said, it was KF.
I like this guy’s videos, but misinformation like this (unintentional or not) NEEDS to be addressed when it’s about a sensitive topic. It’s irresponsible otherwise.
Nothing. Just misinformation from a youtuber who hates a particular program and tries to reach for anything he can. Near's death had to do with the admin of a different site.
Near faked his death.
You deserve more credit for the Pirates of the Caribbean edits lmao 😂
It's like you made a good guide to the use of retro arc. I share the perspective that I was lost when I first got it, but your reaction was very short tempered.
I'm still so mad that most of the best scanlines options are retroarch only...
But really Retroarch is usually the best way to play arcade emulators, because of how easy it is to setup. YES THE RETROARCH PROCESS IS EASIER FOR ARCADE EMULATORS
I only use RetroArch for some Consoles like: N64, SNES / NES, Dreamcast...
But here is what I don't like using on RetroArch: PS2 > PCSX2, PS1 > DuckStation
Mesen and Mesen-S (older versions that are separate exe's) and Parallel Launcher satisfy my needs. I try to stay away from Retroarch because it's so tedious and complicated.
I use SwanStation on Retroarch as well as PPSSPP
Same.
@@ALegitPooperVideos Careful, you'll make the Duckstation creator sell his work to Sony
I enjoyed your video and want to thank you for calling emulators unofficial instead of “illegal” like a lot of people keep calling them… they are not illegal.
3:24 I agree. I find it weird when all these channels install RetroArch, but I imagine it's for the audience/ease of use
Great video dude
I hear Grasstown OST, I see Quote Pfp, I subscribe
The Toad section earned you a like already. You made my day in around a minute or less!
My first experience with Retroarch on PC was pretty bad. After downloading and extracting to the folder, I tried to play an OoT randomizer seed I had made and found that Retroarch was picking up my analog stick movement backwards in the game. So moving up would move me down, and moving left would move me right for instance. I tried everything I could to fix the problem, and the only thing I managed to do was mess up the controls in the menu too. I ended up deleting the Retroarch folder and re-extracting it, and ended up encountering the same issue with the controls being messed up in the game AND the menu still. I never did figure out what was causing the issue because the controller worked in everything else, so it had to be Retroarch. Somehow the borked settings persisted through a deletion. I thought perhaps there was a folder in appdata or something that it saved settings to, but at the time "Everything" found nothing when searching for it. That would only leave the registry left. It would be pretty strange for it to save settings to the registry though.
In comparison, every standalone emulator I have used has required little to no configuration to work.
To be fair, I did end up using Retroarch again some time later and it worked fine at the time. Same controller, so I guess the version I downloaded previously must have had a bug with controllers or something. But even then, I prefer if I can avoid Retroarch. Standalone emulattors typically work with little to no configuration required and you only need to do it once typically. Whereas I found that every time I need to use Retroarrch, I have to reset one or more settings for it to work properly. And often times it forgets per-game and per-core settings too which defeats the purpose imo.
This was pretty much my RetroArch experience, set up games and emulator cores fine, but as soon as I started playing some PS One games I had to play a game of ring around the rosy with an Xbox controller’s inputs being completely fucked in a base installation until the config just became more and more broken as I kept adjusting binds and then finally I said fuck this shit, and uninstalled the whole thing. Retroarch’s design feels like it’s actively trolling the user sometimes with its wackjob obtuse bullshit that just works on a standalone emulator.
I will say I am glad that EMUVR uses RetroArch as its very simple to interface with the multiple consoles and for the entire system library backups sources i found have been a Godsend. Especially after the 3DS and Xbox 360 eshops both being closed
I think retroarch is nice at times. There are some situations like with some standalone emulators like MAME's confusing presentation for just playing arcade games or the Sega Saturn's way of just always having some kind of issue with emulation. Retroarch kinda just works out of the box with little to no issue. Also since it's meant for low powered systems like mobile makes it sort of worth it. That being said for higher gen consoles your best bet is always standalone emulators.
It's like shopping on Amazon expecting one place that has it all. But sometimes you're getting lost in unneccassary options and start looking in a different shop to get what you need - an keep it.
The Retroarch menu and the whole configuration thing brought me to using using stand alone emulators again.
not going to argue that the retroarch ozone UI isnt flawed but this video feels very loaded- considering that its designed to be cross-platform having the options to tailor it to the huge range of hardware it runs on seems plenty warranted
hating on RA has been the cool thing in retro and emulation circles for a while. It's like people don't understand the concept of tradeoffs. They don't understand what RA brought to the table that other emulators didn't and they'd rather have a Windows style UI than useful features that actually affect playability (not just performance)
Absolutely this. I use Retroarch on PC but I have the setup because I like the concept, and had to get used to it on PS3, Switch, Vita and Wii U. I made much longer more rambling comment about these complaints, especially mentioning keyboard and mouse repeatedly like people's switch or xbox runs linux or something.
There is also lot of skill issue complaints because for me, mouse works fully in ozone menu on PC. It also works with the switch touchscreen. Forgot did they get Vita's implemented yet but last try I had was nope.
@@guillermo9171 Dealing with emulation since the early 00's made me love everything that RA brings to the table. Its hard not to no use it BECAUSE of all the options
@@guillermo9171what does it bring to the table? i've been emulating for over a decade and every RA experience has been miserable.
it's terribly designed, on every platform i've used it on. it over-complicates a simple experience because it claims to do everything, so it ends up sucking at it all. in the time it takes to set up "cores" i can install a standalone emulator and have my game loaded.
@@guillermo9171 I disliked the project at the start pre pandemic because I didn't know how to use it. Same w/ MPV & then I figured out how to use it & there is a lot of cool features I wish that were other emulators. If the features I need aren't on RA, I use something else. I don't know why people complaining so much, you have options. Options are always good.
Wow you actually uttered the word piracy...more than once even. Thank you for not being a whimpy baby gamer who cant even acknowledge reality.
I've never had a problem with retroarch, I use it on my phone and pc. Don't really see how people have trouble with it
Same here, I think it's just the overcomplicated menus
@@robomix9744 you don't need most of these settings though, you'll probably just spend like 30 minutes configuring it when you first install and then you'll almost never touch the settings menu
@@ultraaziz6307 I actually do, I need them to get no input delay and a stable framerate on my 60hz TV monitor, and no emulator offers that same level of customization.
Same
the devs clearly didnt have any IT skills because the ui is the least intuitive thing for people not used to emulation. it also slows down newer games compared to stand alone emulators.
26:36 Should have followed the instructions to configure the systems directories. It's pretty straightforward and I never had those retroarch issues on emulationstation. Even mapping the controllers is fun. ES-DE is a cool alternative too and it automatically generates the necessary folders if it doesn't detect them.
I just don't get Retroarch, I never get it to work, it's so confusing. I can set up individual emulators without issue
Damn, It’s great to hear that I wasen’t the onlyone that hated retroarchs’ UI menu and overwhelming steps to play the games I want
The Best Thing about RetroArch for me is that it introduced me to the Wonderfull, Stressfull, Amazing and Painful World of RetroAchievements
This video need to be on retroarch home page
It's a great frontend for emulators and it's really cool using it like it's own game console. The GUI needs a big overhaul though. Core options can't be accessed unless in a game, never ending scrolling option lists, linear up and down menus, no option search, quick menu is separate from the normal menu for some reason, way too many options and categories, and way too easy to break.
I still like retroarch, despite it's many flaws.
I love using Retroarch for everything up to PS2. However it did require a lot of setup and would not recommend if you just wanna play a game. If you want a nicely curated library Retroarch does the job for me. I guess I am just a big nerd because I like and understand all the options even if the UI isn't perfect.
Aye, same. Would not claim it is not a learning curve but I supported less willing friends through it who like simplicity and shaders of set up Retroarch. Especially if you say, slap a arcade stick on your desk where your keyboard used to be and do not even want to access your mouse and keyboard.
“The more power at your disposal, the less it is about the games.” So true, I’ve probably booted up Retroarch more times to change settings than to run games lol.
I love RA aside from the outdated cores, so I did find this video pretty harsh. I think anyone truly interested in emulation would be able to figure it out, it's just a learning process like anything technical is. It's a cakewalk compared to trying to learn how a game engine like Unity works from scratch. Also maybe this is a hot take, but emulation should be an underground thing for enthusiasts anyway. I couldn't really care less if Joe Normie the casual console gamer who doesn't even know what a refresh rate is can't figure out something as basic as emulation settings and integer scale. If they truly cared, they would be happy to educate themselves or learn by trial and error like the rest of us.
The problem is people want a plug & play type deal & that's fair. RA ain't that & that's cool. PS1 & Down there are multiple standalone options!
Baffling take. You don’t care that the UI is worse than it should be because you don’t want others to enjoy a hobby of yours? Why the gatekeeping lol
@@HJHawley7677 Learning how to tinker with a program and understanding its features is an important part of the enjoyment of emulation in my opinion.
Let me give you an example. Your comment uses proper grammar, right? That's because you took the time to learn it. Maybe sometimes you made mistakes when you first learned how to write. But in the end, you figured it out because you cared about being able to communicate properly through text.
I think you know where I'm going, so I'll respect your intelligence and let you figure it out.
@@TiwillI see where you’re trying to go, I’m saying it’s condescending and silly. Bad UI ≠ better options for tinkering. PCSX2 has loads of options that are fun to tinker with and they’re fun to mess with, AND they’re intuitive to use.
Anyway, your original point seemed to imply that people who struggle to wrestle with bad UI don’t “deserve” to enjoy retro games and if you don’t see why that’s a snobby position I don’t see much of a point trying to convince you.
@@HJHawley7677 It could be subjective, but I don't find RA's UI to be "bad". Standalone emus tend to have better controller configuration screens, but RA automatically configures your controller when you first plug it in, so most people shouldn't have to touch anything.
Basically, after you pick a core and import your games, you're good to go. That's no different from standalone emus. So why is it a problem that it has a lot of settings? If they seem too complex, don't touch 'em.
Even if you can't figure it out, there should be tutorials on the internet to help you out, and this video could have been one. Instead of complaining, he could have shared what he learned.
I'm not trying to say people don't "deserve" emulation, but if someone expects a one-button plug & play experience because they just want free games, they're not in it for the right reasons.
The mouse calibration in RA will haunt me ever after my death.
Before I continue the video from minutes in, I need to say that RetroArch is the (nearly) only way I can play Retro Game with "achievements". Although I agree standalone is amazing, my main source of trouble were just VERY random Crashes...
Now that I fully watched it, I stand on my point of achievements and random crashes, but I'd add you opened my eyes that despite being someone who LOVES options, having options like REMOVING the exit button is just stupid, and there's WAY too many options, what makes them bad, is that there's a lot of variety of the same settings and explains not well at all, from someone with a G-Sync 4k 144hz monitor, just wish there was a preset of settings for my screen in particular. And every problems you named are valid, but I genuinely don't care about drama stuff, that's on them, I just want to enjoy emulation. Thank you for making this video, I loved it a lot and it made things clearer to me, have a good day! ❤
My biggest issue with Retroarch is how some new versions of emulators or the whole emulator being exclusive to RetroArch, such as Mupen64Plus, as far as i know there isn't a standalone PC Release, also the RetroAchievements aren't featured in most of the emulators outside of RetroArch
There are really good reasons to chose Retroarch over stand alone emulators. The number one reason by far is latency which was the whole reason I ended up switching to Retroarch from stand alone emulators years ago. Hard GPU sync coupled with 0 GPU synced frames has better latency than the stand alone emulator, and that doesn't even include using run ahead. I started out using the BSNES stand alone, but I could always feel the input lag on Mario games especially. When I switched to BSNES on Retroarch it was noticeably improved. Yes, on weak systems the hard GPU sync is heavy and can slow things down, but it would not be an issue for any modern budget PC CPU or flagship phone CPU and is worth it's weight in gold. Second is Retroarch's uncanny ability to easily bring emulation to multiple devices. If the CPU has enough grunt, chances are it will run what you want. Retroarch is incredible on Android as everything just works. Once you learn how to use what's important to you on Retroarch it is a breeze to setup. I personally like the UI especially while in game. I can quickly change emulator settings to see which ones work the best. I can easily change controls just for ONE game and it loads those controls every time I load the game which is especially useful for N64 games since alot of them don't translate to a modern controller so well. I like not having to touch the mouse and keyboard to simply load or save a state. Retroarch is worth learning. It's not fair to dog it for being too complex or at times less than intuitive. It's very powerful and customizable. With that comes complexity. It's not always the best option. Some of the emulators on Retroarch are still not as good as some other stand alones. I use Kega Fusion over Gens Plus GX because Sega CD emulation is much better. I like stand alone Mednafen for Saturn because there no way to deinterlace games that run in 480i and I get combing artifacts. So is it a one stop shop? No. But it shouldn't be dismissed.
I struggled to even load cheats on retroarch
Yeah, thanks for affirming the vibes I got from Retroarch. I couldn't put a finger on why I don't like that despite initially planning to play emulators on my steam deck. The menu was overwhelming and had everything I didn't need (I was only interested in PS1 and GBA emulators) and getting asked questions about things I didn't need on initial start was too much.
I didn't quite understand it, I thought it's just a consolidated project of various devs working together - I didn't know was just leeching off the research of others. Now I know.
Finally someone who acknowledges NSO and alikes are emulators
Man u have some fire music taste
Glad I'm not the only one that didn't like using retroarch. Ive been seeing it recommended so much lately but I couldn't get into it. I did built a retropie machine which uses retroarch and that was pretty great. Somehow it's a much better experience than on pc.
Entering the realm of emulators means you’ll be tinkering with settings more than playing. But you do it for the love of the game, because it’s worth it in the end
I absolute love retoarch.
you can put on pretty much everything.
hell even on a fire stick you can play with retroarch.
the biggest and only advantage i personaly see in retro arch is steam play together. being able to play splitscreen ps2 games online with a homie, only having him install retroarch in steam is crazy good
I use retrobat. The easiest and user friendly front end comes with retroarch and emulation station fusion basically using both. Scraper just make an account and your all set all ROM folders are ready to have your favorite titles put in them. And just plug a wireless controller and your all set!
only reason to use this Piece o' was for the shader packs, but those have been ported to reshade and thus can be applied to standalone emulators.