I used to use Retroarch because it was convenient to have everything in one place. I didn’t have too much trouble using it for basic stuff. However, when most of my emulation moved to a handheld, I stopped using it because individual emulators were just as convenient and usually a better experience to use.
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So we’re saying it’s generally harder to use retroarch than install a game via Steam?
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Difficulty of doing things with games:
- Setting up game on console / original hardware
- Setting up game on emulator
- Setting up game on Steam / GoG
- Setting up 16-bit Windows game on 64-bit Windows system
- Setting up game in a browser emulator if the emulator isn’t 100% set up right
- Setting up RetroArch
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and let’s not forget
- playing them
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Fear not. I have never betrayed anyone and don’t plan to start
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We’ve been saying it for decades
I imagine this is the main reason Retroarch is the default option for some. Did individual emulators themselves seem too complicated/intimidating before?
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Nope, I had been using regular emulators for years before I switched. I had also messed around with Mednafen trying to get the same thing Retroarch (later) did. Just wanted the convenience.
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I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not very tech savvy and the benefits of the Mister stuff vs. “regular” emulation are completely lost on me, so I’m definitely not representative of the typical IC poster vibe on a lot of these fronts but I’m surprised and fascinated by “Retroarch is hard” stuff–again I’m a total simpleton so maybe there’s some bog standard functionality that Retroarch makes challenging that I’m just not party to but every time I’ve used it (on my 3ds on my Vita on my PS3 on my Steam Deck on my Switch) it’s more or less just plug and play
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CONFESSION
I do all of my retro gaming emulated on my phone.
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Do you use a controller?
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…
usually…
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this post caused me to shake my head; initially in disgust, then in sad pity.
now i’m nodding my head while blinking slowly, in a solemn “it’ll all be ok someday” way.
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hey, I only play non-action games without a controller.
Etrian Odyssey is the perfect waiting room game to play one handed. works great with Dragon Quest too
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I played Dragon Quests 1 through 6 on my phone, using the Android ports, which are kinda janky.
The main reason I did so was that they were the perfect game for playing one handed, particularly while using the other hand to hang on to a support pole on a subway train or bus, or even while doing so while jammed up against other people during my commute to and from work while I was still living in the city. Not to mention back then there was no cell service in the subway trains, so there wasn’t much else to do.
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I’ll have to take your word for it and it’s been so long that I don’t remember 100% what platform I was installing it on, but you should be aware of other misgivings people have with the project and its authors.
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I played through most of FF6 on my phone as well. It was not the first time I had played it and it was when I was living in LA and also liked having something I could play at any given hour. Didn’t look good! But was fun.
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I played FF6 3 times on my phone and every time the save corrupted before or at the start of the world of ruin :(. Never finished it.
Also, yeah, Retroarch is no good. I read there’s a lot of drama with the person running the project being a real piece of work. The usual weird emulation drama, I suppose.
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The only time I’ve used RetroArch was to play some SegaCD games, because whatever individual emulator I was using wasn’t working for some reason. I remember hating the UI, but RetroArch did play the games well enough.
I played all 4 Dragon Warrior games on NES when I was a child. I thought 3 was by far the worst one.
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when i was a child i thought i could learn to fly like krillin if i just concentrated my energy enough
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