Welcome to the (semi)official RetroArch/Libretro cores thread for PS Vita

Small disclaimer: Make sure you are on Firmware 3.60 OR Firmware 3.65 with the latest HENkaku (Ensō) exploit!

For those new to Libretro and RetroArch, you can read about what the Libretro API is here , as well as a general explanation of RetroArch as a whole here ! Relevant documentation is provided here . Feel free to ask more in the thread!

If any bugs are present in any of the Libretro cores or exist within the RetroArch UI itself on the PS Vita, and are not acknowledged in the main post, please report them here. The goal of the article is to provide as much information on what works and doesn't work currently alike on the PS Vita port of RetroArch and the Libretro cores.

RetroArch v1.8.7 (Click me to download!) Latest Stable Builds:

Download both RetroArch.vpk and RetroArch_data.zip . Once downloaded, transfer the .vpk to your Vita's storage device (ux0 or etc.), extract the retroarch folder in RetroArch_data.7z to ux0:data , and install as usual via VitaShell. Configuration and data files are maintained in ux0:data/retroarch , while cores are in ux0:app/RETROVITA .

RetroArch is currently signed as a "safe homebrew"; this means protected/system folders such as "pspemu" will NOT be accessible through RetroArch by default! It is highly recommend to create a folder for ROMS in ux0:data/retroarch (Or another mountpoint, e.g. uma0:)

http://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/playstation/vita/ (Reminder that stability varies compared to the numbered releases!) Latest Nightly Builds:

Changelog:

05/17/2020: 1.8.7 release build for PlayStation Vita (and other platforms) has been released! More information regarding the update can be found More information regarding the update can be found here.

VITA - New cores 'Frodo' 'Lutro', 'Neko Project II', 'px68k' added.

Improvements to Cheevos initialization when disabled, and other additions.

Currently Available cores (package name/emulator name/emulated console):

81_libretro.self - EightyOne 1.0a, Sinclair ZX81

2048_libretro.self - 2048 player

atari800_libretro.self -Atari800, Atari 8-bits platform [400/800(XL), 5200]

dosbox_libretro.self - DOSbox 0.74, MS-DOS Emulator

easyrpg_libretro.self - EasyRPG Player, RPGMaker 2000/2003 Game Player

ecwolf_libretro.self - ECWolf, Wolfenstein 3D[+ Spear of Destiny]

fbalpha_libretro.self - FB Alpha v0.2.97.44, Arcade Machine Emulator [Various]

fbalpha2012_libretro.self - FB Alpha 2012 v0.2.97.29, Arcade Machine Emulator [Various]

fbalpha2012_cps1_libretro.self - FB Alpha 2012 CPS1 v0.2.97.28, Capcom Play System [CPS1]

fbalpha2012_cps2_libretro.self - FB Alpha 2012 CPS2 v0.2.97.28, Capcom Play System II [CPS2]

fbalpha2012_neo_libretro.self - FB Alpha 2012 NeoGeo v0.2.97.29, SNK Neo-Geo AES/MVS

fbneo_libretro.self - FB Neo, Arcade Machine Emulator [Various] (Replaces complete FinalBurnAlpha)

fceumm_libretro.self - FCEUmm, Nintendo Entertainment System [+ FDS]

fmsx_libretro.self - fMSX, MSX 1/2 Emulator

freeint_libretro.self - FreeIntv, Mattel Intellivision

frodo_libretro.self - Frodo, Commodore 64

fuse_libretro.self - Fuse, ZX Spectrum

gambatte_libretro.self - Gambatte, Game Boy [+ Color]

gearboy_libretro.self - Gearboy, Game Boy [+ Color]

genesis_plus_gx_libretro.self - Genesis Plus GX, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive [+ Sega CD & Sega Master System & Sega Game Gear]

gpsp_libretro.self - gpSP, Game Boy Advance [GBA]

gw_libretro.self - Game & Watch, G&W Game Player

handy_libretro.self - Handy, Atari Lynx

hatari_libretro.self - Hatari, Atari ST [+ E + Falcon] Computers Family

lutro_libretro.self - Lutro, game creation engine

mame2000_libretro.self - MAME 0.37b5, Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (Smallest ROMset, best performance)

mame2003_libretro.self - MAME 0.72, Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (Bigger ROMset, less stable performance)

mame2003_plus_libretro.self - MAME 0.72+, Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (Biggest ROMset, less stable performance)

mednafen_ngp_libretro.self - MednaFen NeoPop, Neo-Geo Pocket [+ Color] (High Accuracy)

mednafen_pce_fast_libretro.self - MednaFen PCE Fast, PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16 [+ CD Super System]

mednafen_supergrafx_libretro.self - MednaFen SuperGrafx, PC-Engine SuperGrafx & TurboGrafx-16 [+ CD Super System]

mednafen_vb_libretro.self - MednaFen VB, Virtual Boy

mednafen_wswan_libretro.self - MednaFen WonderSwan, Bandai WonderSwan [+ Color]

mu_libretro.self - Mu, Palm Devices emulator

nekop2_libretro.self - Neko Project II, NEC PC9801/21 (Older)

neocd_libretro.self - NeoCD, Neo-Geo CD[Z]

nestopia_libretro.self - Nestopia, Nintendo Entertainment System [NES + FDS] (Cycle-Accurate, highest accuracy)

np2kai_libretro.self - Neko Project II Kai, NEC PC9801/9821 (High Accuracy)

nxengine_libretro.self - NXEngine, Cave Story/Doukutsu Monogatari Player

pcsx_rearmed_libretro.self - PCSX ReARMed, PlayStation 1

picodrive_libretro.self - PicoDrive, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive [+ Sega CD & Sega 32X]

puae_libretro.self - PUAE, Commodore Amiga A500/1200

pokemini_libretro.self - Pokemon Mini Emulator

prboom_libretro.self - PrBoom, Doom Engine

prosystem_libretro.self - ProSystem, Atari 7800

px68k_libretro.self - px68k, Sharp X68000

quasi88_libretro.self- Quasi88, NEC PC8801

quicknes_libretro.self - QuickNES, Nintendo Entertainment System [NES] (Low Accuracy)

race_libretro.self - RACE, Neo-Geo Pocket [+ Color] (Low Accuracy)

snes9x2002_libretro.self - Snes9X 2002, Super Nintendo [SNES] (Lowest Accuracy)

snes9x2005_libretro.self - Snes9x 2005, Super Nintendo [SNES] (Mid Accuracy)

snes9x2005_plus_libretro.self - Snes9x 2005 Plus, Super Nintendo [SNES] (Mid Accuracy + More Accurate Sound)

snes9x2010_libretro.self - Snes9x 2010, Super Nintendo [SNES] (Highest Accuracy, SLOW!)

stella2014_libretro.self - Stella 2014, Atari 2600 [VCS] (Less Accurate)

stella_libretro.self - Stella, Atari 2600 [VCS] (Most Accurate)

tgbdual_libretro.self - TGB Dual, Game Boy [+ Color] (Supports Link Cable)

tyrquake_libretro.self - TyrQuake, Quake Engine Player

vba_next_libretro.self - VBA Next, Game Boy Advance

vecx_libretro.self - VecX, GCE/MB Vectrex

vice_x64_libretro.self - VICE x64, Commodore 64

yabause_libretro.self - Yabause, Sega Saturn Click to expand...

Current Performance:

Thanks for the suggestion, Chesskid1!

Reminder, these are estimations and are not to judge overall performance of each core or RetroArch as a whole. Notable exceptions to each rule will be noted.

Consoles

Atari 2600 (Stella): Fullspeed.

Atari 7800 (ProSystem): Fullspeed.

Genesis/Mega Drive/Master System/Game Gear/CD (Genesis Plus GX): Fullspeed, consistent in both cartridge and Sega CD games. Sega 8-bits platforms run fine as well.

Genesis/Mega Drive/CD/32x (PicoDrive): Fullspeed, consistent in both cartridge and Sega CD games; less overhead than Genesis Plus GX. However, 32X games may run poorly (~40fps).

NES (FCEUmm): Fullspeed, consistent

(This IS the NES, after all... (^^;; )

NES (Nestopia): Fullspeed, consistent (This IS the NES, after all... (^^;; )

Neo-Geo CD (NeoCD): Fullspeed in system menus, but inconsistent framerates in-game; expect ~50fps.

PC Engine (MednaFen): Fullspeed, consistent in HuCard and Super CD-ROM 2 games.

PlayStation (PCSX Re-ARMed): HEAVILY dependent on game, expect anywhere from 60fps in 2D-based games to 30fps in some 3D-based titles.

SNES (Snes9x 2005): ~55fps - 60fps on standard games, ~50fps on SuperFX-powered games.

SNES (Snes9x 2005+): ~50fps - 60fps on standard games. Frame drops compared to Regular '05 Snes9x are noticeable, however, on select games.

SNES (Snes9x 2010): ~40fps on standard games; recommend using Snes9x 2005 instead.

Sega Saturn (Yabause): Basically nonfunctional, Proof-of-Concept only.

Vectrex: ~50fps, however this is fullspeed for Vectrex.

Comput er Systems

mapping instructions here. MS-DOS (DOSBox): Functional, fairly slow, however;

PC-9801 (NP2K): Functional, but fairly slow.

ZX Spectrum (Fuse): Full speed.



Handhelds

Atari Lynx (Handy): ~60fps

Game Boy (Gambatte/TGBDual): ~60fps

Game Boy Advance (gpSP): Generally fullspeed...

when it works. Many games won't boot (Monkey Ball Jr., Payback), exhibit compatibility issues (Dragon Ball Z games, Golden Sun 2), or will display inaccuracies (Golden Sun games)

Game Boy Advance (VBA Next): ~40-50fps. 2D games will perform better, but anything more demanding (Golden Sun, 3D games) will be slow.

Neo-Geo Pocket (Color) (MednaFen): Fullspeed

Virtual Boy (MednaFen): ~25fps-30fps

WonderSwan (Mednafen): Fullspeed on WonderSwan and Color games alike



Arcade Systems

Final Burn Alpha: Varies by ROMset, generally better performance than MAME however.

CPS1 (Final Burn Alpha): 60fps, consistent.

CPS2 (Final Burn Alpha): 60fps, consistent.

Neo-Geo (Final Burn Alpha): 60fps, consistent.

FB Neo: Varies by ROMset, generally same performance when playing CPS1/2/NG, but others will be slow.

MAME 2000 (0.37b5): Varies by ROMset, generally full speed in most cases; may exhibit different performance from FBA.

MAME 2003 (0.78): Varies by ROMset, generally half-speed, if not slower; recommend using Final Burn Alpha or MAME 2000 (0.37b5) instead.



Engine Ports

2048: Working.

Cave Story (NXEngine): Fullspeed.

DOOM (PrBoom): Fullspeed.

However, using "Linear" filtering on anything but fog will drop framerates to half-speed.

Quake (TyrQuake): 40fps-50fps with defaults, adjustable in settings.

Current Bugs:

Global

Rewind/Fast Forward currently cause sporadic performance hitches on Genesis Plus GX (Requires further investigation).

Core Specific

vecx_libretro: Sound pitch is an octave lower than original hardware?

fuse_libretro: Cannot load more than one ROM in a single session (Application Crash). To change/reset a game, a complete reload of the core is necessary (As "Reset" restarts the virtual ZX Spectrum; NOT re-loading the game).



Fixed Issues/Bugs

Please note that these bugs are currently a non-issue or fixed as of the latest Stable/Nightly builds. These remain purely for historical purposes and are not indicative of current state of RetroArch/Libretro cores.

Global

Save/Load-States are nonfunctioning (Files are created but are unable to be loaded). Fixed in August 5th Nightly.



Core Specific

fb_alpha_neo_libretro: High megabit ROMsets crash the program. Fixed in August 5th Nightly.

gambatte_libretro: .gb/.gbc ROMsets unable to load (Kickback to Quick Menu). Fixed in August 5th Nightly.

mednafen_vb_libretro: Half of the screen is rendered in spite of picture format. Fixed in September 12th Nightly.

2048_libretro: Unable to load core (Kickback to Quick Menu). Fixed in September 12th Nightly.

snes9x_next_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Application Crash). Fixed in August 5th Nightly.

prboom_libretro: Cannot load WAD file (Kickback to Quick Menu) (Application crashes). Thanks for the report, snk4ever! Fixed in August 15th Nightly.

dosbox_libretro: Unable to load DOS or programs. Fixed in September 12th Nightly.

stella_libretro: Half of the screen is rendered in spite of picture format, colors inverted(?). Fixed in August 8th Nightly.

fbalpha2012_libretro: Application crash on startup. Completely nonfunctioning. Fixed in August 25th Nightly, use fbalpha(non2012ver).

nestopia_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Application Crash). Fixed in August 15th Nightly.

tgbdual_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Application Crash). Fixed in September 12th Nightly.

gpsp_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Kickback to Quick Menu without BIOS, Application Crash with BIOS). Fixed in August 15th Nightly.

mame2000_libretro: Application crash on startup. Completely nonfunctioning. Fixed in August 25th(?) Nightly.

tyrquake_libretro: Cannot load Quake (Crashes loading The Necropolis Demo at line "Using Protocol 15") Fixed in September 17th Nightly.

fuse_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Kickback to Quick Menu). Fixed in September 12th(?) Nightly.

In-game saving is sporadic across all cores that support it. Neo-Geo doesn't recognize any virtual Memory Card. Famicom Disk System loses saves(?). Fixed in September 12th(?) Nightly. Thanks for the report, guys!

picodrive_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Application Crash). Fixed in September 20th Nightly.

mame2000_libretro: Cannot load ROMsets (Application Crash). Fixed in September 20th Nightly.

mednafen_ngp_libretro: Cannot load more than one ROM in a single session (Application Crash). Fixed in October 12th Nightly.

glui menu driver lacks font assets, currently unusable. Fixed as of 1.6.0 Stable.

Currently, using either the AiO Executable or the individual Core packages may exhibit random occurrences of loss of control over Libretro as a whole. The only known solution is to suspend/resume the application to restore control, however this will not work with any CD/Disc Image-based title as it will cause the game to inevitably freeze. Fixed as of 1.6.0 Stable.

genesis_plus_gx_libretro: SegaCD Redbook audio hangs when suspending/pausing the application. Attempting to load game assets in the same game afterwards soft-locks the game (Virtual CD is ejected?) Thanks for the report, wolven9! Fixed as of 1.8.5 Stable. Click to expand...

Bios Files Required (Place in ux0:data/retroarch/system):

Deprecated; individual core prerequisites can be found on the official documentation (under "For Users -> Core Library -> Console Manufacturer -> Console Name (Core Name)")



prboom.wad (PrBoom system file, place in same directory as DOOM .WADs) (Can be obtained here). DOOM (PrBoom):

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (Genesis Plus GX/PicoDrive[?]): Sega CD (bios_CD_E.bin, bios_CD_J.bin, bios_CD_U.bin).

NES/Famicom (FCEUmm): DISKSYS.ROM (Famicom Disk System BIOS only).

Neo-Geo (FBA): neogeo.zip (SNK Neo-Geo BIOS, must contain UniBIOS as well, place in same directory as ROMsets).

PC-Engine (MednaFen): syscard3.pce (TG16 CD-ROM System Card ver. 3.00).

PlayStation (PCSX ReARMed): SCPH550X.BIN (PlayStation BIOS). "X" stands for 0, 1, or 2, depending on region

Game Boy Advance (gpSP/VBA Next): gba_bios.bin (Game Boy Advance BIOS).

NEC PC-9801/9821 (Neko Project II Kai): FONT.ROM (PC9801 Font for Neko Project II, needed for Touhou Project titles and others) and YM2608 sample files (Can be obtained here). Click to expand...



Final Burn Alpha/MAME disclaimer: Final Burn Alpha uses a unique ROMset based off of MAME 0.140. MAKE SURE you are using sets marked as compatible with Final Burn Alpha v0.2.97.35 for that core. ONLY USE MAME sets with MAME itself, NOT Final Burn Alpha!

Thread is WIP. If you have any concerns, leave a post or message me.