RetroArch on iPhone & iPad (Starter Guide)

[@Maeiourk]

I downloaded the app and decided not to touch it until you made the guide. I had the feeling you were going to make one and I was right. Thank you Russ

[@dheerdaksh]

us 😭

[@sg-gx7gp]

Same here

[@brunotechinvest]

Me too 😅

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Everything on iPhone is ass. I've dealt with Retroach on PC and Android and I couldn't do shit this version.

[@soiltek2015]

Yup. Same.

[@Imagination972]

My GOD! Just installed Retroarch on my Apple TV 4k and can't believe how easy it was to setup a retro gaming machine in our living room without ANYTHING (but bios, roms and your guide). Thank you SO much!

is it the same installation process as the ipad and iphone? I have appletv+ 4k and wasn't sure if it's the same install process. Thanks!

[@Pax_Mayn3]

It gets very complicated when you realize all the settings you can use. So many games don't work that great with certain cores, and you have to have different aspect ratios scaling settings to get scanlines to sync up with the pixels. Then you have the issue of a lot of games not showing up in the list, you can't just add them to the list without a lot of hassle, although you can load them in by navigating the directory then adding it to your favorites. The ds for example runs different games at different resolutions, so you have to screw with so many settings to get each game perfect. Some games you can run the core at much higher resolutions, and that is gonna mess with your shaders, so you have to find the right combination. Then you need get a control scheme to be able to switch screen layouts so you can have 1 large screen with a small one, on some games you want them vertical so that's an entirely different setting. Then you have to figure out how to individualize settings. It's a huge pain in the ass, but it's worth it. I highly suggest using integer scaling, then messing with core video/screen settings to get it full screen, then use the best looking scanline shader. Especially on a 4k tv, most games are gonna look pretty terrible compared to how they should look. You need the scanlines or else you lose like 50% or detail and shading, you also don't get transparency on pixels. It's taken me like 2 weeks to get everything configured and i'm still tinkering. I still haven't gotten the psp perfect yet.

[@KendolinkPS3]

Be aware, apple tv likes to wipe out cache data on retroarch. That includes roms, save data, save states, and other files like bios and some configurations due to apple choice to have that cleaned out to make room. I have had retro arch on apple tv for some time now, and its annoying. I always have to backup manually and reupload to folders and re put settings. I leave app open at all times now to help prevent tvos deleting things. Also when updates are being applied to app, expect a wipe of all data. Be careful!

[@zhaumbie]

@@KendolinkPS3This is an Apple TV thing, not a Retroarch thing. Definitely not stable enough to use regularly on Apple TV unless you want to frequently reinstall roms, saves, settings, etc. I believe some folks claim it’s been figured out with network access storage but I haven’t looked into it

[@seyiajala6994]

I’d just use my gaming laptop for TV playing .. won’t touch the Apple TV

[@johnboy4955]

Your old videos seasoned me for this. I was able to get it working all on my own and now i feel like a true nerd

[@RetroGameCorps]

That’s awesome!

[@gmoney0987]

Watching this on my phone, while stopping intermittently to go along….on my phone

[@DaddyGamerDiaries]

The beauty of an iPhone. The scrolling between open apps is effortless

[@JuniorChurchill-kj4wd]

Same

[@the_cool_penguin]

@@DaddyGamerDiariesShame that android users have only one tab.

[@kevj.3575]

@@the_cool_penguin nope, you can actually multitask with up to 3 apps opened in vertical(cause of screen size) but if you hook it to a monitor you can use the desktop mode, and apps closing/restarting happens cause of low ram phones/3-4 ram phones, which are usually the $60-$100 phones

[@Brunoxid0]

Never stop making videos, Russ!

[@GameTechTalk]

Woo hoo!!! Grabbing a snack and a drink! Thanks Russ

[@raines4619]

Retroarch was really intimidating at first but this guide made it so much easier!

[@walterwhite1]

My God, buddy, you are a retro godsend. I can’t even tell you how much you’ve helped me out.

[@Tepig_V]

Love the slide at 13:15, you really spoil us Russ.

[@stoneguard]

Thank you Russ! I would NOT have gotten that going without your guide!

[@DontGiveUp_Skeleton]

I'm already familiar with Retroarch, and I've never owned an i product in my life, but I still watched this whole video.

[@matts1978]

I can't do it lol

[@EnbyFish]

You are the king of retro emulation KZbin

[@jinstinky501]

Russ makes using retroarch possible! Thank you!!!!

[@pickuponthis5505]

I thought this was a retro arch set up for alt store or something but wow it’s native on iOS .. what an amazing day!! No more having to use alt store every week

[@syedsyabilakif4485]

The 4:3 screen on these iPads is kind of perfect for these retro games

[@KidLexDC]

I have developed a solution to sync save and save states across devices using the shortcuts app. it’s completely hands off and runs automatically when the app is open and closed. I now can game on my ipad and pickup on my phone right away. I feel like a video from you in particular might be good for people who want to use multiple devices without manually backing up or having a home server setup.

[@edpalmeida]

That would be fantastic !!!

[@SonicCoolFanLuke]

I GOT SONIC AND KNUCKLES WORKING THANK YOU SO MUCH IM SUBING

[@Cyko..]

I tried this on Apple TV and it worked great for the most part! There are some issues with N64 and because of that I didn't try Saturn. Air Playing from the iPhone to the Apple TV seemed a lot more fluid. But it is nice to finally utilize some of that storage space on the Apple TV.

[@mattb6522]

Great video, Russ! I always appreciate these step-by-step guides as Retroarch can definitely be daunting if you've never used it before! The 8BitDo SN30 Pro is actually my retro controller of choice for almost all my retro games, too. It really is a solid controller! I always take for granted that we can now pretty easily play nearly any classic retro game...on the go, no less!

[@hamzasultan96]

I'm not an iOS user, or any Apple product for that matter. I just love seeing people getting more functionality from their devices and this is a big one in my eyes. Retro gaming is only getting more popular as modern gaming keeps getting worse.

[@Cyko..]

Not really. Only us nerds believe that but it's wrong. Delta was number 1 in Free Apps in the App Store and now sits at 75 as of writing this comment. PPSSPP is 194. RetroArch isn't even top 200. The hype has died down significantly. I don't care if you like my comment or not. Just giving you a dose of reality. 😊

[@sk8brder40]

​@@Cyko.. there are like 1.9 million apps in the app store. Being #75 is pretty damn good

[@Cyko..]

@@sk8brder40 Not as good as it was. This is a RetroArch video though. How do you feel about RetroArch not even being in the top 200 still despite this very helpful video? Does it make you happy hardly anyone cares about the app? 😊

[@masqueradr]

@@Cyko.. Does it make you happy writing nonsensical elitist comments on KZbin? 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@hamzasultan96]

@@Cyko.. Believe what? You spewed a bunch of words but it didn't make a point.

[@franavils]

I was waiting for this since forever because I wanted to have an easy way to play vertical shmups filling up the whole screen. I tried and it's even easier than what you describe. You don't need to activate vertical mode. You just rotate the screen and it works! I haven't been able to make such a frictionless setup where you can easily switch from horizontal to vertical shooters on any other platform.

[@jlnprssnr]

Great guide, thank you. Never bothered with RA on PC, so this is the time to start digging into it. One important setting for iOS is under settings -> audio, 'respect silent mode'. Turn that off to get game sound with muted ringer in the control center!

[@DragonDoFogo]

This is the best guide I’ve seen so far, very thorough with the cores and options 👏🏼

[@Pax_Mayn3]

make hotkeys for next shader and previous shader and set it to remember the shader directory, then put a hotkey to bring up the retroarch menu on your l3 button, otherwise youll spend hours trying each shader. All I can tell you is that each game absolutely needs individual settings to look their best, some games are different resolutions so your shader scanlines won't sync up. Tinker till it's perfect. You might have to use different cores for different games.

[@heizbeom]

It was a great help, my iphone is now a complete gaming machine.

[@vitsu_]

This is crazy awesome on the Vision Pro

[@twomillion8383]

This is the perfect guide. Saved to its own playlist and used as a reference, thank you.

[@avwarren]

I was desperate that my ipad pro was freezing with psx games and then you showed up right on time, thanks!

[@tranquocthanh949]

This man is a gem

[@n8ivegogo1]

THANK YOU KIND SIR For making this step by step guide!!! Now I can FINALLY play the SEGA Saturn!!!! I’ve been dying to play all the Panzer games for YEARS!! & thanks to you I can actually do it! Before I watched this vid I was getting so frustrated & confused because this is kinda new to me I know about Emulation & ROMs but only general info I don’t have a PC so to get games for my Anbernic & other retro handhelds I have to resort to Etsy to buy premade cards for my systems 😅 & to buy modded systems

[@MattayManiac]

Just wanna say this guide was great. Not too quick but not much fluff so thanks!

[@bluelion1995]

THANK you very MUCH. I am following you step by step and have to take a break at the 12 minute mark. It took me a while to find the language setting. It‘s far easier, if it‘s all in english. I will have to pick up my magic keyboard and mouse to navigate as fast as you do. This is by far the best guide you have ever made. And it makes me to dive deeper into my iPad, RA and retroachievements. Did you know I had an account there already? Me neither…huh. Live and learn. Next I will choose only a handful of systems and 20 games max to really play and enjoy them. FBNeo might be on top of the list. Oh, and of course I have to find my BIOS files. That’s why I took a break following your guide and to again THANK you VERY MUCH.

[@nonyabusiness-f9e]

if ipad ever gets gamecube or ps2 emulation i will never be seen again. finally a legit use for my ipad pro...

[@jmoney2892]

Hey Russ, thank you for the video!! When you make the Apple TV RetroArch guide could you include a how-to on getting cloud saves up and running between iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV??

[@terencekupau7441]

your the best thank you for this tutorial.. just setup my ipad and it works great 🎉thank you

[@beowulfschmidt6031]

Comprehensive and well done. Thanks so much for this!

[@MrMovees87]

I happen to have an iPad Pro as well, and after seeing this, I *really* wanna try RetroArch on it, haha. I don’t have a wireless Bluetooth controller though, but I’m seriously considering picking one up sometime to use for this. I’d also wanna get a little stand for the iPad, for a better viewing/gaming experience

[@thetechrealist]

For the stand, the cheapest option would be a laptop stand (perfect for my 12.9”) For the Bluetooth Controller but from the brand (8-Bitdo) for retro games or Xbox Series X for PSP or PS1 games

[@bart2865]

Perfect timing to upload video thanks a lot

[@PatRick-dj7xm]

Thanks Russ for your great retrogaming tutorials on YT. I really like your channel. Best regards from Germany

[@justjoshininjapan700]

Now I need a good controller that’ll fit my iPad mini! Bluetooth so I can use in landscape or vertical for DS emulation. Was looking at some of the usb-c ones but I’d love vertical DS gameplay.

[@flokaaki]

Thats the Video I was Waiting for. Thank you =)

[@drifterslayer9245]

Just got an iPad recently so this is perfectly timed! Love the vids keep it up!

[@nullgator8073]

Retroarch really needs to work on the way menus are laid out and nested and stuff

[@CralexKokiri]

Thanks for the tutorial. I've managed to figure out a few things myself, but you showed me the importance of doing a manual scan when making a playlist. Not only do I have systems with rom extensions that you'd need to match manually, but I also have a bunch of homebrew, hacks, translations, etc. that also don't show up without a manual scan. Another thing I've missed until now is that overlays (for those of us that use them sometimes) can be set per-core using Overrides. With these two pieces of info, maybe I can start using RetroArch more.

[@fabiomoraes6117]

This is a god tier guide, amazing

[@ThatJerseyGamer]

You rock, Russ. Keep up the great work!

[@TheLastSeason]

Thanks man! You are the best. I love your video.

[@ray4us53]

I am just here to support your content I already got psp running on my Apple TV 4 but you teach me everything I know about emulation 😅

[@Belouknow25]

Thank you for all of this! You are awesome ! I am now on my way to play my Sega Saturn branded iPad ✌🏼😎

[@gaminglizard9]

Something that might be helpful for auto-scanned playlists: if you go to settings -> playlists -> manage playlists -> [name of playlist] -> default core, you can set what core that playlist uses so it doesn’t ask you every time you boot up a new game

[@luomotigre2803]

Great job mate! Cheers!

[@ordinaryalan]

was waiting for this one lol great stuff!

[@TheEPICMarioBros2]

thank you for your advice, excellent tutorial, I cant wait to delve into this when I get a backbone

[@qayssarjrd5399]

Very nice review. I was kind of lost with retroarch but you helped a lot! Thanks for that

[@Gabihorse1]

If I went back in time and showed 5-year-old me how future me can take my whole NES/SNES library with me and play everywhere & anywhere on the go ... I'd probably call myself a big fat liar. Thanks for the guide, Russ.

[@michelpeixotodelima9680]

These guides are just awesome! Thank you very much! Greetings from Brazil :)

[@EvoMonsters]

Thanks Russ! Been waiting for your guide before getting started 😃

[@tundra75]

This is way easier than Xbox Dev Mode, Retroarch, and AetherSX2 for my Series S. I'm just having fun getting emulation working on my devices. Great Video! I'm all for video game preservation.

[@OSW]

Aha ok so arcade roms need to be in a "FinalBurn Neo - Arcade ROM Set (Full Non-Merged)" type to work. Hopefully there's an... _Internet Archive_ of such a thing!

[@TheBushey]

This is the video I’ve been waiting for

[@seyiajala6994]

Jit being enabled will be a dream This is already awesome though

[@georgia2138]

Wait so your telling me I got my parents to buy my a console that had retro arch pre installed with all the games JUST FOR ITS TO BECOME NATIVE ON IOS honestly so happy these are available now tho thank you for making this vid never would’ve known about it otherwise

[@jamieswing]

Perfect, just got an iPad pro so this is super nice. Thank you!

[@VascovanZeller]

You guys just wait until emulation station comes out on iPhone - you will be blown away

[@dudubenabou]

Great job man. 👑 I love this videos, although i am already deeply familiar with your retroarch guide. It is always cool for me to check my settings again and again. I do like XMB, but i like to choose, “Layout:Handheld”, “Color Theme:Black”, “Scale Factor: 1.00x” It really looks cool on the RP4 Pro

[@HyperHawg]

A guide for TVOS would be soooooooo clutch!

[@tilly9000]

Is there a way to add Delta-like controller overlays to RetroArch on iPhone? For those moments when you don’t have a controller, the standard overlays that come with RetroArch hurt my eyes…

[@letssamplethis7641]

Retro Game Corps - could you do a tutorial on how to set up retro arch to save / store all game data on iCloud so one can switch back and forth from their iPhone to their iPad? Thanks!

[@DerBurmeister]

Next cool thing would be to be able to do dynamic wallpapers to make the front end on retroarch even better

[@TarisRedwing]

Dude that shader looks so good for GBC/GBA on your iPad

[@dharpoon]

Thank you very much. This is why I subscribed.

[@johnmontgomery2321]

Very helpful guide for retroarch in general! Are you planning on doing a video for setting up the ppsspp app as well?

[@MrBrandonbarlow]

I really like ozone layout in retroarch

[@HRM2010]

It is also possible to shave pixels off of the edges of N64 games to make them fill the screen better, at least using the parallel n64 core, which happens to work better for Paper Mario

[@user-if9zm1xt4q]

You are Jesus of gaming bro. Thank you for this video.

[@adexscreen]

I'm just waiting for the Apple TV guide. I bought an Apple TV just to play retro games.

[@w8play]

The best and most helpful channel! ❤️‍🔥🔝

[@philippkeil5358]

Hey Russ - thank you so much for your videos. This guide was again so helpful. Quick question: has anyone experienced a problem, where upscaling to 1080 or almost 1080p leads to a black screen? I have an M1 iPad Pro so it should be plenty of power.

[@KA-fi5vs]

Now I can send this to all of my friends that have been asking 😂

[@chrisbullock6477]

I wanted to try this on my new Pixel 9 Pro XL.

[@lordofthered1003]

I want a tutorial for iOS GameCube my older brother managed to run it on his iPhone XS

[@jessepowellat2012]

I would love to try GameCubes I have a iPhone 14

[@PSYCOMMUnist]

CRT-Sines is another good shader for general use under the CRT category.

[@wesatkinson9947]

Slightly off subject, but could you do a video with your favorite PC build? As in the program you like most (Retroarch, Launchbox, etc.), set up for each system to max out graphics and gameplay and anything else?

[@oscarloria]

Please make a advance setup!

[@pholly]

Instead of putting the roms inside the RetroArch folder I find it easier to put the rom folder in the same directory as the RetroArch app folder. It's a lot easier to get to that way.

[@skippercow]

For some reason some ps1 games aren’t adding to the playlist

[@jnp749]

I can’t get a single PlayStation game to work for me

[@darktree00]

Same here

[@StayPufttt]

Hi, can you please do a tutorial how to set up cloud saves with RetroArch? Imagine playing on my iPad at home and then my iPhone while walking has all my saves. Great for picking up and playing

[@sdhuff79]

If you get the Gen2 of the Backbone it will handle most cases (with and without Backbone adapters).

[@bRiMaTiOn]

That’s gonna be #1 download worldwide

[@johnserpo9267]

Nintendo DS is the only system worth playing on the iPhone and iPad because they have touchscreen. (unlike most retro handheld) iPad is especially playable because of it's screen size - even a fat finger can be precise on a big screen.

[@OneFriedToast]

Wow thanks man, I thought delta was the only emulator iOS would allowed but no retro arch too!

[@the_busterwolf]

So, how do you physically add the bios files to the ps1 emulator?

[@garageink74]

Whelp, guess I’m heading out to target to get a backbone finally. I’ve been putting it off for like a year. Didn’t even realize Apple opened up emulators. Wild.

[@bite8137]

That was a great video! Thanks for working so hard on it!! I have just one question of something you mentioned, how can you set up multiple Bluetooth controllers into 1 apple device?

[@StreetyKing]

Wish it had cloud saves so I can game between my iPhone and iPad, airdrop works as an alternative, but finicky

[@hussla28]

Been waiting for this….

[@riotvale]

How does the new iPad Air and new iPad Pro differ with regards to running heavier games? I want to get a 13” air, as the pro costs so much more, but that M4 chip sounds so much more powerful.

[@gaminglizard9]

I have an m2 iPad Pro (so the same chip as the new air) and it runs everything retroarch has a core for completely fine. The new iPad Pro does have a faster chip but it makes little to no practical difference imo. If you were to get the new iPad Pro it’d probably be for the oled screen

[@riotvale]

@@gaminglizard9 thanks for the response and the feedback. I think the 13" air is the one for me to get.

[@happyspaceinvader508]

I would not recommend using the “select” button as the hotkey, as it’s a button used in several SNES and PS1 games (typically brings up a menu screen) and can make saving states awkward. I find L3 is a better choice, although on an Xbox Series controller you can use the share button as the hot key.

[@mannamation]

For some reason the retro achievement will not work for me? It tells me how many I have on start up, even shows me what I played on the RA webpage, but when I play nothing? Any ideas? Thanks for all the videos!!!

[@thetrueswords5824]

Awesome guide, I wondered if retroarch has a function integrated to sync savestates so I can play on my iPad and continue on my iPhone?

[@EnbyFish]

I have the exact same backbone one used in the thumbnail!