They don’t make them like they used to, do they? I mean, video games.
Of course, today’s devices are more powerful. Princess Zelda had only 16 pixels on each edge in the past, and now the graphics processing power is enough to handle every strand of hair on her head. Today’s processors can easily outpace those from 1988.
But you know what’s missing? Fun.
You have countless games, and you can complete tutorial tasks with the press of a button. There might be a storyline, and of course, killing the bad guys can happen without a storyline; all you need is to jump and shoot. So it’s no surprise that one of the most enduring popular uses of Raspberry Pi is to relive the golden age of 8-bit and 16-bit games from the 80s and 90s. But where to start?
There are several ways to play retro games on Raspberry Pi. Each has its own pros and cons, and I will discuss them here.
RetroPie
RetroPie is probably the most popular retro gaming platform on Raspberry Pi. It is a reliable all-rounder and an excellent choice for emulating classic desktop and console gaming systems.
Introduction
RetroPie is built on Raspbian. If you want, it can also be installed on an existing Raspbian image. It uses EmulationStation as the graphical front-end for the open-source emulator library (including Libretro emulators).
However, you don’t need to understand any of these words to play games.
What are the benefits?
Getting started is easy. All you need to do is burn the image to an SD card, configure your controller, copy the games, and start killing bad guys.
Its large user base means there is plenty of support and information available, and the active online community can help with questions.
In addition to the emulators that come pre-installed with the RetroPie image, there is a vast library of emulators that can be installed from the package manager, and it continues to grow. RetroPie also provides a user-friendly menu system to manage these, saving you time.
You can easily add Kodi and the Raspbian desktop equipped with the Chromium browser from the RetroPie menu. This means your retro gaming setup can also serve as a home theater, YouTube, SoundCloud, and all other “living room computer” products.
RetroPie has many other customization options: you can change the graphics in the menu, set different controller configurations for different emulators, make all the contents of your Raspberry Pi file system visible to your local Windows network, and more.
Since RetroPie is built on Raspbian, you can explore the most popular operating system for Raspberry Pi. Most Raspberry Pi projects and tutorials you find are written for Raspbian, so it’s easy to customize and install new content. I have used my RetroPie setup as a wireless bridge, installed a MIDI synthesizer on it, learned some Python, and most importantly, all of this hasn’t affected its use as a gaming machine.
What are the downsides?
The simplicity of installation and usability of RetroPie is a double-edged sword. You can play on RetroPie for a long time without even learning something as simple as sudo apt-get, but this also means you miss out on a lot of the Raspberry Pi experience.
But it doesn’t have to be that way; the command line is still there when you need it, but perhaps users are a bit isolated from the Bash shell, making it ultimately not seem as intimidating. Additionally, the main menu of RetroPie can only be operated with the controller, which can be annoying when you are not connected to a controller, as you might want to use the system for things other than gaming.
Who is it for?
Anyone who wants to play some games directly, anyone who wants the largest and best emulator library, and anyone who wants to start exploring Linux without playing games.
Recalbox
Recalbox is a newer open-source emulator suite for Raspberry Pi. It also supports other small ARM-based computers.
Introduction
Like RetroPie, Recalbox is based on EmulationStation and Libretro. The difference is that it is not built on Raspbian but on its own Linux distribution: RecalboxOS.
What are the benefits?
Setting up Recalbox is easier than RetroPie. You don’t even need to create an SD card image; just copy a few files. It also provides out-of-the-box support for some game controllers, allowing you to start gaming faster. It comes pre-installed with Kodi. This is a ready-made gaming and media platform.
What are the downsides?
Recalbox has fewer emulators, fewer customization options, and a smaller user community than RetroPie.
Your Recalbox setup might only be used for emulators and Kodi, and it will remain as it is. If you want to dive deeper into Linux, you might need to provide a new SD card for Raspbian.
Who is it for?
If you want an absolutely straightforward retro gaming experience and don’t want to emulate some less common platforms, or if you are afraid of some technical work (and have no interest in doing it), then Recalbox is perfect for you.
For most readers, Recalbox may be best recommended to those friends or relatives who are not very tech-savvy. Its super simple setup and almost no options can even spare you from helping them troubleshoot.
Make Your Own
Okay, you might have noticed that both RetroPie and Recalbox are built from many of the same open-source components. So why not combine them together yourself?
Introduction
Whatever you want, the nature of open-source software means you can use existing emulator suites as a starting point or freely use them.
What are the benefits?
If you want your own custom interface, I think there is no other way than to get your hands dirty. This is also a way to install emulators that are not available in RetroPie, such as BeebEm or ArcEm.
What are the downsides?
Well, it’s a bit of work.
Who is it for?
People who like to tinker, those with hands-on skills, developers, experienced hobbyists, etc.
Native RISC OS Gaming Experience
Now there’s a dark horse: RISC OS, the original operating system for ARM devices.
Introduction
Before ARM became the most popular CPU architecture in the world, it was originally developed as the processor for the Acorn Archimedes. It now looks like a forgotten beast, but for many years, it dominated as the most powerful desktop computer in the world, attracting a multitude of game development projects.
The ARM processor in Raspberry Pi is a descendant of the Archimedes’ CPU, so we can still install RISC OS on it and get these games running with a little work. This is different from the emulators mentioned above; we are playing games developed for that operating system and CPU architecture.
What are the benefits?
This is a perfect showcase of RISC OS, which is undoubtedly a gem of an operating system and well worth a try.
In fact, you are using an operating system almost identical to the one used before to load and play your games, making your retro gaming setup feel like a time machine, undoubtedly adding some charm and retro value to the project.
There are some fantastic games that were only released on Archimedes. The massive hardware advantage of Archimedes also means it often has the best graphics and smoothest gaming experience for many cross-platform gaming masterpieces. The copyright holders of these games are very generous and allow them to be downloaded legally for free.
What are the downsides?
After installing RISC OS, it still takes some effort to get the games running. This is a beginner’s guide.
It’s definitely not a great all-rounder for the living room. There’s nothing better than Kodi. It has a web browser, NetSurf, but it needs some work to support modern web. You won’t get a large number of playable games like you would with emulator suites. RISC OS Open can be downloaded and used for free by enthusiasts, and much of the source code is open-source, although it is not a 100% open-source operating system due to its name.
Who is it for?
This is designed for those who seek novelty, absolute nostalgia, those who want to explore an interesting operating system from the 80s, those who miss the Acorn machines, and those who want a completely different retro gaming project.
Terminal Gaming
Do you really need to install an emulator or an exotic operating system to relive the glory days? Why not install some native Linux games from the command line?
Introduction
There are a number of native Linux games that have been tested to run on Raspberry Pi.
What are the benefits?
You can install most of them from the command line and then start playing. It’s easy. If you already have a running Raspbian, it might be the fastest way for you to run games.
What are the downsides?
Strictly speaking, this isn’t really retro gaming. Linux was born in 1991 and took a while to become a gaming platform. These are not classic 8-bit and 16-bit era gaming experiences; there are later ported games or retro-influenced games.
Who is it for?
If you just want some fun, that’s fine. But if you want to relive the past, then it’s not quite that.
via: https://opensource.com/article/18/9/retro-gaming-raspberry-pi
Author: James Mawson Topic: lujun9972 Translator: canhetingsky Proofreader: wxy
This article is originally compiled by LCTT and honorably published by Linux China
