Retro Gaming on the Amazon Fire TV Stick (2024 Guide)

[@frankmoolah]

@Retro Game Corps Here's a tip: after sideloading DraStic, when browsing the directory for your ROM folder, use the mouse pointer to change it from "Grid mode" to "List mode" [through the 'list' icon to the right] to avoid having to use the mouse pointer blindly in order select your ROM folder using the fire TV remote instead... You're welcome 😉

[@kattz753]

Amazon blocked any other launchers besides their own a couple of years ago, so unfortunately, no other launcher can be used. You have perfect timing. I just brought my Firestick out this afternoon. It was glitchy and losing connection to my flash drive, which is 3.0. I switched to.a USB 2 and it's fine now. Thanks!

[@ryancox4689]

I use an older version of DIG, which works just fine.

[@valley_robot]

Just root it and put a custom rom on it , absolute nonsense using this thing on amazon OS

[@kattz753]

Yeah, I could root it. I'm too lazy. I have so many devices here that I could use. (Single-board comouters, tablets, Chromecast Google TV Stick) The Firestick is kind of a pain in the butt. I'll never buy another one.

[@WrappedInPlasticine]

Have you tried a powered USB hub?

[@kumarp3074]

This was my original way of playing retro games on my TV. I got the original Fire TV Stick back in 2014 and was able to side load Retroarch on it via ADB command line tool. I later upgraded to a newer model of the Fire TV and added a USB hub via an OTG cable so I could connect an external USB drive and wired controllers. I still have that setup with my Fire TV Cube which is still useful for playing older games.

[@SirMuddyToast]

Thanks for this! Just found out an old 64gb Kingston USB2 card and put a USB adapter and 2 SN30 controllers on my wishlist for payday. Looking forward to suprising the wife with 2 player retro gaming sessions on the living room TV!!

[@SirMuddyToast]

We do have an adaptor to power the Firestick off the TV USB port rather than the wall plug. Any experience with these and if they work with this setup? (Mission USB Power Cable for Amazon Fire TV)

[@donnyf12]

Man you are fantastic! I was already trying to do this to add space on my firestick for my dvr app and I kept getting crashes and random reboots. I had no idea until I watch this video that the problem was with the power hungry usb sticks! In for a new 128GB stick using your link. Thanks for this and all your content!

[@thegrayzero]

Here we go again, another insta click on a video about a device i dont have nor planning on buying

[@NickTriHard]

Actually I'd be more worried if you had every single thing he talks about.

[@thegrayzero]

Nah, at this point I just watch his videos as a form of ASMR

[@SteveJohnson-ht6kv]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@jaycee6438]

I have a fire stick and did this a few years ago... using RetroArch!! it was pretty cool…

[@thegrayzero]

@derrickfinzer_retro I...I so want to type "whoosh" right now but I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not 😅

[@tylerbowling]

I got this to work on my Inisgnia Fire TV as well. Awesome! Thank you!

[@jinstinky501]

I'm getting a fire stick so I hack Sony from my hotel room while under arrest.

[@hargel3870]

Real

[@davidhg117]

Underrated comment 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@NEStalgia1985]

The only thing I like about Amazon fire stick is the fact that I can run play store and android apps. I dislike Amazon products so much I won't buy em period. Why you say, I watched. My grandparents buy 9 fire tables and they got scammed into getting the advertisement edition and couldn't exchange them.

[@NEStalgia1985]

Bro tell us bout the formatting over 32gb models much earlier. Almost user friendly keep trying

[@gagz9k]

My boy doing some fun intros. BAM, liked and shared the video.

[@BrianJones-wk8cx]

Brilliant as always, Russ, thank you for your work!

[@unclemike84]

And, BAM, another great video by Russ. Is the channel going to be renamed to Retro BAM Corps? LOL

[@SLRModShop]

"also bam" I rolled my eyes so hard But then you just went overboard with it and I was just smiling like a mor*n 😆

[@Solegor]

Thanks for the tutorial and linking everything through your website! I can report back that i launched everything successfully on my 2nd gen Fire TV stick which i bought back in 2017. It's definitely not as potent of a device but it can comfortably run everything up to SNES and GBA. With some SNES games there is a little bit of slowdown, but nothing drastic. And for GBA, mGba core is too slow, i tried some other cores and one worked much better (gbSP probably, don't remember of the top of my head), practically no slowdown in any games. Also my stick doesn't even have 16 GB on board, only around 6, out of which like 4 max are free. But since PS1 and any other disc-based consoles won't run on my Fire TV stick at all , there was enough space for all my NES, SNES, Mega Drive and GBA roms. And I've connected Dualschock 4 that was lying around. So for me it's a win still, as 0 additional money was spent and some old Fire TV stick which I wasn't using for years, now is a nice small 8-16 bit retro machine🎉

[@AnythingVids]

“Bam!”- Russ, 2024

[@Blackbird9070]

Russ is channeling his inner Emeril Lagasse today 🎉

[@eLinwelin]

You are the reason I got otg cable for my fire stick, thank you🎉

[@mark_midmark]

I love that you also do written guides, and this video is really cool! I may surprise my friend for Christmas 👀

[@petercintron5030]

Also Bam! 😂 1:00

[@hibikiholmes2867]

I'd love for you to make a similar video but with a Chromecast!

[@_ericc.]

This is so sick I cannot wait to do this

[@FreddyPingus]

In other words that little stick has the same emulation power of a raspberry pi 3. For that price it's saying something :D

[@audiop.9371]

The 2024 Fire Cube , claims 2x as Powerful as their 4k Max Stick. Maybe can do a video on the 2024 4k Cube.

[@audiop.9371]

The Fire TV Cube 3rd Generation is the most powerful one , unless theres a 4th generation out at the moment. The 3rd generation on the chart in comparison, is like Double the Power compared to the 4k Stick Max. Im very curious on how well it can handel newer systems Emulators,

[@kendarr]

This works super well for gaming streaming as well, I used a lot with steam link

[@JuliusGrohl]

Man, at this point, Russ is an official Internet treasure

[@WillShattuck]

Great Intro Russ. I didn’t realize I missed the no face intros like in the old days. LOL.

[@FunkyHQYT]

Bam! A Retro Game Corps video!

[@eldercristian7]

Hey Russ! Great guide as always, nice to see another device as a door to retro gaming and other stuff. About your website is there a possibility to include a Dark Mode option? The black theme would be a nice way to some sore eyes read through your awesome guides. Thanks!

[@DungarooTV]

This is pretty cool and inexpensive to set up, but I personally think setting up emulators via Retroarch on a Nintendo Switch or Valve Steam Deck is still the best way to play emulators on the go and docked on a TV with mobility.

[@W0lfenstrike]

This little thing could be a nice gift for someone who wants something simple to play 2D games with or even for parents with small children and a tight budget, after setting up Retroarch, finish up by enabling Kiosk mode and it's (mostly) fool/kids proof.

[@danlittle519]

Fire sticks are awesome for emulation I preferred the fire stick to the pi3b+ Pi5 is a big step up though

[@TheCatmmo]

I did this with my Fire TV stick years ago, and it works pretty well. I have a TV now and did the same thing. It's nice if you have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse for navigation too. It plays pretty well on lower end games. I usually just sideload apks on mine, but using the downloader app works well, also.

[@chivatech]

I could see this being handy for when you’re traveling and staying at hotels.

[@AndyAKratz]

This is cool. Remember, RetroArch is NOT an emulator; it's a frontend. The cores that you use with the RetroArch frontend are the emulators.

[@mattb6522]

Good video! This sounds like a nifty little option if you have a Fire TV Stick. I feel like almost any 8 or 16 bit title now can practically run on like a toaster. 😅 Seems like a good, inexpensive option to play many lighter weight retro games. It always seems like the Saturn gets the short end of the stick as it is one of the few '90s consoles that still has many emulation issues even in this day and age.

[@lorensims4846]

Fascinating. "Some games play slow." Well, you're playing on a Fire Stick after all. I'm only interested in Atari 8-bit games, so I think I can probably use the Fire Sticks I have. I'll also be looking for a dedicated Atari emulator that will run on here, but it's clearly worth a try. Thanks!

[@garethknowles8452]

Think the BAM special effects need to make it into all your videos. Great content as always 👍. Quick question how does the Xbox controller work and does it lag much?

[@jurjcluners8490]

Russ making me get things I don't even need just so I can say I have it or give it to a buddy whose needs it fulfills perfectly.

[@disnoise]

Please a video about retro gamming in a Chromcast 4k, that will be nice :)!

[@WrappedInPlasticine]

Great video for beginners. I had come off the streets after losing my job, house and everything in storage back in 2017 and had to reclaim all that my family and I lost. After I reclaimed my furniture and was focusing on entertainment. I got a fire stick and got one of those OTG cables and a powered USB hub so I could plug in additional devices that needed more power. I replaced it with a PC and no longer own a fire stick but this should still work, in theory. I used a different setup, I got a 256gb SATA SSD + SATA-USB adapter by uGreen. It didn't require an external power source but if it needed it, I got that extra umph from the powered hub.

[@CheeseTouchTales]

How are you doing now man?

[@WrappedInPlasticine]

@@CheeseTouchTales thank you so much for checking, it really means a lot to me. You could've not and kept on scrolling like the others but you chose to stop and ask, it speaks to your character and I appreciate it. We all are doing great, esp now that my kiddos have someone to call "Mom" (their biological incubator was only that) and now we are a whole family unit. It goes to show that no matter how bad it gets, if you don't give up, it will get better.

[@CheeseTouchTales]

@@WrappedInPlasticine nice :D good to see your doing great 👍

[@CheeseTouchTales]

@@WrappedInPlasticine good to see your doing great man ;D

[@ToyKeeper]

I love how people can just take any old brick of computronium and turn it into a full-featured retro mega-console. This timeline may be pretty messed up, but there are at least some good parts.

[@realai581]

Who would have ever thought you could do this. This is so cool, the fact you can play games on the FireStick is just mindblowing.

[@poopdogg666]

Its a modified android for tv

[@bobbykellar4359]

I've have a similar setup with stand alone emulators and dig emulator similar to retro arch .. it's for all systems. I also have basically all of the coin up games for the arcade on the mame emulator

[@valley_robot]

It's android, it has its own games library, adding emulators and roms is child's play

[@realai581]

@@valley_robot That makes sense actually, I never really looked into FireStick, but with that being said it is still pretty dang cool you can emulate on such a small device, you know?

[@svcross-do]

Could you also do this with a Chromecast TV 4K?

[@BoniBlackout]

Yes, I have one. I guess it has the same performance (4xA55 and Mali G31 2gb ram, but only 8GB storage). I use retroarch 32bit cause I read 64bit isn’t supported cause it has android 32bit.

[@Tapman]

Chromecast does not have alot of internal storage. Of the 8GB I think only 4GB can be actually used. But you can use a USB-hub for more storage

[@svcross-do]

@@Tapman yep, this is why I find it interesting.

[@aaronwalker1615]

"Quick everyone!!! Bury your Emulators in your back yard!!! (along with other items! Or a boating accident!) The Big N is on the prowl!"

[@TheLexikitty]

I had one of these until they plastered ads all over the Home Screen.. I should pull it out and see if I can rip that part out. Also, BAM

[@CLONE_IX]

Can you do a game streaming test with this one and maybe compare it to other sticks in the price range?

[@herogear_art]

I have one! And did the retro emu guide you made originally! Buuuut I didn’t know it did N64! Gonna have to check this out!

[@sbash3003]

great content sir

[@BeeLow0519]

Damn this could be the best way to get parents and little siblings into retro games.

[@XxjeffersonDkidxX]

I would love a series of videos about tv boxes retro gaming. There is a lot of tv boxes and it's really hard to tell who is the best in emulating what consoles.

[@poopdogg666]

unless its an nvidia shield all the tv stick options aren't great

[@akaurbesfren]

i love hearing you say bam, you're adorable dude haha

[@WillShattuck]

I might do this for my kids on my tv.

[@qquack1950]

Love the steam deck cushion, so cute

[@MrTuffinho]

Can you do a guide/review for the Nvidia Shield? I know there's a few out there but I'd love to see one done by you.

[@skycloud4802]

I wish there was a new Nvidia Shield already. That thing really could do with a refresh.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Yes, I made a video a couple years ago, around the same time that I made my last Fire Stick video. Maybe it's time for an update! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXevg6mDZt2MhK8

[@kevinmusolino9409]

PSP are playing fine for me. N64 is really not working for me.

[@DucksAndDucks]

TY for this video--love having a firestick on every TV in the house with some retro games on it, so appreciate getting the heads up on a lot of this stuff!

[@BrianMills198686]

Whoa Russ got a first look at the next Microsoft Xbox!

[@KyleRuggles]

And BAM! BAM BAM! *grabs a club* Great video, Russ! Got a question, not related to anything technical. Why do you say THEE instead of the? Usually when you talk on live shows etc you say the, but in your video's you always say thee, I notice Joey Retro Handhelds also does this, is there a reason why?

[@liamness]

Hope this video doesn't end up being made obsolete for reasons outside of your control. Amazon are looking into creating a version of Fire OS for their devices which is not based on Android, and their advice to app developers is to move over to React Native. So in the medium / long term, they may not be such great devices for running emulators on. TBH, they may end up not being that great as streaming devices either! (at least, if you want to use services other than Amazon's) Full disclosure: I am commenting without having watched the video, maybe you already discussed this.

[@SmugBlackKid]

I don’t understand what happened? I had the last model fire stick max 4k and all of the apps worked great. This new model won’t let me use my external drive in ppsspp or m64 plus. This was a waste of $40. I’m better off doing a factory reset of my last fire stick. Even he fire stick lite is better than he 2nd ed. max 4k. What happened?

[@capoman1]

YEAH MAN I WANNA DO IT!

[@matthagen67]

What's the cheapest retro console that lets you play PS2 games?

[@poopdogg666]

A used PC could run ps2 very well. There are some SFF PC's on ebay under $60, better than a raspberry pi or other device.

[@ohdaUtube]

Is there a reason why Saturn standalone on the firestick 4k max from 2021 worked but not on the 2023 refreshed version of the stick? Does this mean the 2021 version is better?

[@benbuttars5594]

Did you try any two player gaming? I’d be interested to see how it handled two connections at a time.

[@BEED0GG]

Amazon has Emulation station App now. Would that work on the stick?

[@coreydill3532]

Sick special effects

[@tupaaak]

I'm trying to do this but my wired USB joysticks keep popping up Amazon shortcuts and I don't know how to disable these

[@scotmarsella3702]

Nice job!!! I have been emulating on a Nvidia Shield for a long time. I think you know TDUK. I have been watching his KZbin videos concerning the streaming side for a few years.

[@petercintron5030]

Nice! I have one at home but I only use it for streaming. ❤ love your vids

[@ADHDreams]

Cool tip customizing the output size! I did this for the gba port of celeste classic to zoom in using custom interger scaled output size and it looks FANTASTIC, with some black bars only on the left n right of the screen on my rg351p (3:2) and my rp2s (4:3)

[@Sharp931]

Golden Axe was my fiest coop experience

[@alexanderpinney]

I'm only here for the Nintendo emulation.

[@numberoneappgames]

This would be a fun project for the weekend hobbyist. I would love to see what you can do with an older used NUC box for fun. :)

[@poopdogg666]

steam os or batocera for one of those

[@Paul-ng4jx]

Let’s face it the best thing you’re gonna be playing on your fire stick nowadays especially starting in 2024 July when Xbox game pass comes out officially on to the fire stick 4K Max and the Fire TV cube

[@dubs11]

I only want to play mario kart and zelda for the snes, can these be run straight from the firesticks storage?

[@bruyeretv]

Forget Yuzu, let's see Nintendo vs. Amazon next

[@capoman1]

17:32 Hmm. Surprised Killer Instinct ran at all.

[@momosgarage]

What about those old Amazon Fire Wireless Game Controllers, do they still work? What about 1st Gen Fire Sticks, can they be repurposed for game emulation?

[@andreabarbato9914]

what about chromebooks? is that a chance to get full functioning retroarch on them?

[@ajl4656]

Will this work on a TV with Firestick already built in?

[@Swiftness0427]

yes

[@Hobbes64343]

BAM !

[@AyBee9725]

Instructions unclear- The fire stick just makes me go BAM BAM instead…

[@irkandcrew]

The Emeral Live episode BAM BAM!

[@JP1987]

Thanks for all the testing you do. Tell me what kind of ASUS monitor ? And do you recommend it for daily use ??

[@titzmcgee]

Hey I ain't rich but having a Fire Cube is better instead of the fastest firestick. I wouldn't have to buy USb and an adapter, thing is it would cost more. But performance would be key. So idk if it's worth it. Nobody has a video up about it since i just checked. Imma keep checking

[@julianvalencia9224]

Thanks for your consistency Russ you are a legend and one of the most helpful youtubers out there, would love to see a video on your favorite SNES games when you get a chance.

[@Rollthered]

BAM! Another great video by Game Corps. Bam!!!

[@LogosGaming]

Completly honest a GD10 is Plug and play Brings 2dual shock and costs from 30-40€. Even If you get a box with H313 Allwinner you support retro Gamebox and get a complete system with auto install capabilities with All the work still beats this solution

[@markrotondella4689]

I like the humor sneaking in lately

[@mikeh.9954]

This is wild! Who knew so much could be done with the Fire TV Stick ...

[@lexlopez15]

A lot of people did. There are several videos that show you how from a few years back. Just do a search for them.

[@amirarsalanb5773]

Hi Russ love your videos you are the best keep going ❤ I need some help I have fire tv cube 3rd gen is there a way I can play gamecube on it ? It says 32 bits I can’t run dolphin on it. And if anyone knows some tricks that I can make the most out of my fire cube I would love to hear.

[@Sean-D78]

But can it play bam?

[@wtechdude]

Emulation Station rocketed to no. 1 on Amazon app store because of Russ' video and was quickly removed on Amazon. Now let see if Amazon removes the Fire TV Stick... After all, it could be used for emulation...

[@BassRTA84]

Well your full of BS. Its still there, and has never been removed. Actually, it updated within the last 2 weeks

[@wtechdude]

I'm referring to Emulation Station on the Amazon App Store. Yes, ES-De is still around, on Patreon.

[@mayhembro]

Recently got Daijishu setup and working. It requires selecting a proper core in Daijishu game list edit and the same core already downloaded in Retroarch.

[@superpiratesevents473]

This video is AWESOME! Can you do this with 2 controllers?? Multiplayer?

[@hardworkingsloth]

Can we use a ps5 controller, or a xbox series x one?

[@john2001plus]

I bought a 4K Firestick a couple of years ago with the intent of using it for emulation. I never got around it using it, but currently setting up emulation on my new mini-PC.

[@PhoenixIndustries]

I was able to FTP my roms directly to my fire cube with the help of winscp and es explorer so I didn’t need a splitter or usb drive. It’s been working great

[@MotownBatman]

BAM! Sounds like Emeril Lagasse in the Late 90s LOL

[@Raphtor13]

You know what I would love to see you do is a walkthrough for getting Pretendo up and running on 3DS and maybe WiiU too.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

The one thing my Fire TV Stick does it bootloop. Out of the box, it just bootloops. It's a big jerk. If it emulates anything, it's a faulty Xbox.