RetroArch is one of my favorite programs to use for retro game emulation, because it can emulate many systems. But it does have quite a steep learning curve. In this guide I’m going to demystify some of the more peculiar things about this emulation frontend, and show you how I set up RetroArch on my own gaming platforms.

This guide is meant to help you get set up with various RetroArch iterations. The video will primarily be done on Windows PC, but the same method will apply to MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Vita, and Xbox platforms, and more.

RetroArch really shines on retro systems, particularly PlayStation 1 and below games. For more modern consoles, it is often more efficient to rely on standalone emulators, which are generally more optimized than RetroArch. However, if you are using a system that relies primarily on RetroArch for emulation (like Xbox), or you have a beefy PC that can run well regardless of optimizations, you may find success in emulating higher-end systems in RetroArch, too.

Table of Contents

What is RetroArch?
Game and BIOS files
Install RetroArch
Understanding configurations and saves
Set your file directory
Update RetroArch assets, cores, and more
Adjust the user interface
Button mapping and hotkeys
Optional features
Create playlists
Scaling and video options
Shaders and filters
Core options
RetroAchievements
Cheats
Updating RetroArch
Further reading

Changelog

What is RetroArch?

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players. It can run on the usual platforms like Windows, MacOS and Linux, but it also runs on iOS and Android for tablets and phones, as well as on game consoles like PS2, PS3, PSP, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U, 2DS, 3DS, Switch, and more. The frontend for RetroArch is often referred to as the “libretro frontend”.

Note that technically, “RetroArch” should be pronounced like “RetroARTCH” versus “RetroARK”, because it was first based on Arch Linux, but both pronunciations are considered acceptable. I have a habit of pronouncing it the latter way, which is what you’ll hear in my videos.

RetroArch consists of what they call “cores“, which function as emulators embedded in the program. So in this guide I will use the words “emulators” and “cores” interchangeably. Depending on the version of RetroArch you are using, you can pick and choose which cores to load, to be able to customize your experience, or the RetroArch build may come pre-loaded with all working cores.

So you might be asking yourself, why should I bother with RetroArch, if I already have standalone emulator options that will play my games? That’s a fair question. The answer is that RetroArch contains a lot of universal features that are not implemented in many of the other emulators. For example, with RetroArch, you can unlock the following features:

• Wide system support. You can find RetroArch on many systems, and it can also emulate a ton of systems too. Here is a full core list so you can get an idea of all the emulation options within.
• Universal button mapping. You can set your buttons for any RA core, and also save per-game settings and button remaps for the best experience. You can also set up hotkeys for things like save states, loading save states, bringing up the RA menu, fast forward, etc. With this method, you only have to remember hotkeys for one platform instead of different key mapping options across various emulators.
• Precise video scaling options. With RetroArch, you can adjust the game image to match your device’s dimensions and resolution, or even apply bezel overlays to customize the layout of your screen. If you have certain preferences for your scaling (perfect pixel accuracy, or stretching out the image to take up the full screen), RA should have what you need.
• Shaders and Filters. Shaders apply an overlay to your screen that can mimic scanlines, colorization, or other effects that will recreate CRT monitors, chunky LCD grid displays, and more. Filters behave like shaders for your games, and can alter the screen to provide you a better visual experience. Adding filters to your game image will smooth out pixel distortion for screens that don’t accurately match the original console you are emulating.
• Playlists and thumbnails. RetroArch uses “Playlists” to organize the game library, and it will allow you to add box art (“Thumbnails”) to every game as you scroll through, and you can also set favorites, which is very handy.
• In-game saves and save states. RetroArch has the ability to save your game with SRAM (in-game) saves like how it was on the original console, and you can also use save states to take a snapshot of any game at any time as well.
• Fast forward, rewind support. RetroArch has universal support for fast forward and rewind hotkeys, which will allow you to navigate slow (or perilous) moments in certain games.
• Universal cheats. With RetroArch, you can simply add the appropriate cheat files and access all of the cheats from the RA menu.
• Achievements. RetroArch supports Retro Achievements, which are super fun.
• NetPlay. You can use RetroArch to host or join online gaming sessions for retro games.
• Recording and Streaming. You can record your gameplay directly in the app, and even stream it to services like Twitch.
• Active development. RetroArch has been around since 2004 and its development team is very active.

That being said, RetroArch is not perfect. The user interface can be cumbersome to newcomers, and some emulation cores aren’t as performant as standalone emulators. So there may be times when standalone emulators are preferred to a full RA build.

Game and BIOS files

The primary file requirements for running RetroArch will be the game files, as well as BIOS files for systems that require them.

Game files will be standard ROMs that you would use with any other emulator. RetroArch (generally) has the ability to use .zip or .7z files that will compress those ROM files as well. To find which ROM files work best for your desired core, I recommend going to the Libretro Docs page, then navigating the Core Library menu on the left-hand side to find the core you want to use, and then consult the “Extensions” section to see what files are accepted. Here is an example of the Gambatte core section, which will show you the accepted file types for Game Boy and Game Boy Color, plus information on BIOS and other core-specific options.

At the end of the day, the most important thing for you to do is to build a standardized ROM library. This can be done in a number of ways, but the easiest way to do it would be to make a folder on your computer called “GAMES”. Inside, create subfolders for each of your systems (NES, SNES, GB, GBC, etc.). Then in each of those subfolders, add your ROM files. I recommend sticking with the same file type for each system, like .sfc files for SNES games. File names should be named according to the “No Intro” standard (e.g. “Super Mario Bros. 3 (USA)”).

Additionally, inside your GAMES folder, make a BIOS folder and put the BIOS files inside. BIOS files are necessary system files for certain consoles to run properly. Examples of systems that will not run without BIOS include PlayStation 1, Game Boy Advance, and Sega CD.  Here is more information about BIOS files, including links to specific BIOS requirements for each core.

Here is a list of recommended BIOS files to get you started:

SEGA CD:
bios_CD_E.bin
bios_CD_J.bin
bios_CD_U.bin

FAMICOM DISK SYSTEM:
disksys.rom

GAME BOY (for boot logo):
gb_bios.bin

GAME BOY COLOR (for boot logo):
gbc_bios.bin

GAME BOY ADVANCE:
gba_bios.bin

NEO GEO:
neogeo.zip

PLAYSTATION 1:
scph1001.bin

TURBOGRAFX-CD:
syscard1.pce
syscard2.pce
syscard3.pce

BIOS files cannot be shared due to copyright, so you are on your own to dump them from the original console or to find backup RetroArch BIOS packs via the Internet.

Install RetroArch

Depending on what device or console you are using, you may have to manually install RetroArch, or it will already be loaded. For example, RetroArch is already installed on certain firmwares and operating systems, like Batocera, EmuELEC or RetroPie, and so you don’t need to install anything. However, for something like a PS Vita, Xbox, Android phone, Mac, or Windows PC, you will need to download and install RetroArch yourself.

To install RetroArch, head over to their Downloads page and find the platform you want to use to run RetroArch. You can then download the version of your choice and install it. Note that there may be 64-bit and 32-bit versions available. In most cases, you want to install the 64-bit version if your device can handle it.

Some notes:

• The list on the Downloads page features Stable releases. If you want more cutting-edge (and potentially buggy) software, you can also download their Nightly builds here. In most cases, the Stable releases are perfectly fine.
• If using Android, you can download and install RetroArch directly from the Google Play Store. However, the Google Play Store version is not updated as frequently as the version you can find on the RetroArch Downloads page, so for the latest and greatest features, it might be easier to download the APK and sideload it yourself.

After you have installed RetroArch, launch the app for the first time. This will create your file directory structure, and you can also check to see if your controller works out of the box with the interface. If it doesn’t, check out my button mapping section.

Understanding configurations and saves

Before we get started, it is very important to understand how configuration saves work in RetroArch, because it follows a specific logic. 99% of the time when someone tells me they “screwed up their RetroArch” it’s because they saved a configuration in a way they didn’t expect. So let’s take a minute and explain how this stuff works.

CONFIGURATION FILE. Basic configurations are saved in a configuration file called retroarch.cfg. This is where you would save system-wide configurations that would apply to the entire frontend. For example, this file will dictate what menu driver (theme) to display when showing RetroArch, your button mapping preferences, hotkeys, video scaling options, and more. To make adjustments to the configuration file, you need to be using RetroArch without a game loaded, and then you will make your adjustments and go to Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration. Consider this your “baseline” configurations. Note that the configuration file can only be saved when a game is NOT loaded.

OVERRIDES. If you want to make a specific configuration that applies only to a certain emulator, emulated console, or game, you will want to use overrides. These are basically configuration (.cfg) files that are specific to a game or console. For example, if there is a certain game where you want to use a special hotkey or video scaling option, you would open up that game, make the adjustment in the settings, and then save it as a per-game override. Every other game will function normally, but the next time you boot that specific game, those per-game settings will load.

There are three types of overrides, which follow a specific hierarchy: core overrides, content directory overrides, and game overrides. In order to save an override, you need to launch a game first, and then access the RetroArch Quick Menu (which we will set up in the hotkeys section below), and then go to Quick Menu > Overrides to save the override.

CORE OVERRIDES will save your configuration for that entire core. This is good when you have a core that emulates multiple systems and you want to have the same experience across each of those systems. An example of this would be the Gambatte core, which emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color. If you make a CORE OVERRIDE for Gambatte, all Game Boy and Game Boy Color games will be affected when launching those games with the Gambatte core.

CONTENT DIRECTORY OVERRIDES will save your configuration for every game file in that same folder. For example, if you save a content directory override for a Game Boy game, it will affect all Game Boy games, but not Game Boy Color games since those ROM files will (likely) reside in a different folder — even though they use the same core. This feature is helpful when you have disparate systems that are supported by the same core. Another example is the Genesis Plus GX core, which can support Sega Genesis, 32X, Master System, and Game Gear. If you were to make some configuration adjustments that would be beneficial for the Genesis but not the Game Gear, you would want to use a content directory override instead of a core override, that way it would only affect Genesis games.

GAME OVERRIDES affect only that one game, and not others.

REMAP FILES. If you want to save game-specific controls, then this is done via a REMAP (.rmp) file. To do so, you will need to enter the RetroArch Quick Menu > Controls section, make your changes (likely in the Port 1 Controls subsection), then save a Core / Content Directory / Game Remap file. These three types of remap files follow the same pattern as the overrides above.

The hierarchy of these overrides and remap files are as follows:

So by default the settings within retroarch.cfg will be your primary configuration settings, but if you have a core override then those settings will take precedence. But if you also have a content directory (or game) override, that will take precedence over anything else.

INDEPENDENT SAVES. Confusingly, there are a couple other options and configurations that work outside of the process above. This is because they are governed by their own configuration files, and not the typical retroarch.cfg or override cfg/rmp files mentioned above.

• If you open a game then go into Quick Menu > Options and make adjustments here (which are called “Core Options“), it will affect everything that boots from that core, and you don’t need to manually save it — the settings changes will just save at the core level when you close out the game. Within this Options menu you can also choose to manually save these core options by game or content directory by going into the Manage Core Options section.
• If you open a game then go into Quick Menu > Shaders you can save what they call “Shader Presets“, which will apply a specific shader profile. Like with other options, you can specify how they apply, as either GLOBAL (whole system), CORE, CONTENT DIRECTORY, or GAME presets.

Note that some operating systems, like EmuELEC, Batocera, and 351ELEC, use their own frontend (EmulationStation) to synchronize settings with the RetroArch system that functions as a backend. This means that you will go into the EmulationStation frontend menu and make adjustments there, which will then trigger configuration or override file adjustments in RetroArch without having to actually use RetroArch itself. As an added bonus, 351ELEC will actually provide optimized settings custom tailored to the device you are using it on. Alternatively, if you try to go into RetroArch and adjust things yourself, you may find that your saved configurations won’t work, because the EmulationStation settings will override RetroArch. In most cases, stick with the EmulationStation menu to make your changes.

Set your file directory

When you launch RetroArch for the first time, it will create a file structure, which they call “Directories” on your device. Generally this will be the same folder where your RetroArch app is located, or in the root directory of your device (like an Android phone). However, you may want to adjust the file locations manually, so that you can point RetroArch to your own BIOS folder, or to change the location of your save files for easier access.

Go to Settings > Directory and you will see a list of directory paths. Here you can configure them to your needs. Some adjustments worth considering:

• System/BIOS: You can either go into the default RetroArch directory on your device and find the “system” folder to add all your BIOS files, or you can just change the BIOS location to point to wherever your BIOS are already saved. Go in here and navigate to your BIOS folder, then select “Use This Directory”.
• File Browser: You can adjust this to the main GAMES folder you have on your device, so that way you don’t have to navigate to that folder every time you want to add a new system to your Playlists. This will save you time in the long run.
• Cheat Files: If you manually install cheat files like in my section below, this option will allow you to set a new default cheat file location. If you were able to install cheats via the Update Cheats function described in the next section, you won’t need to do anything.
• Screenshots: Here you can adjust the screenshots location to the folder of your choice.
• Save Files: For easier access, you can change the location of your save files on your device. If you are running RetroArch on your PC, you could theoretically point this section to a cloud-based folder (like a Dropbox or Google Drive folder) and create a cloud-based save system that would work across multiple devices.
• Save States: This works like the Save Files section above, but with Save States. The same process applies here.

You could offload even more of your directories to custom folders as well, so that they were located somewhere independent of the default RetroArch folders. This is beneficial if you want to update RetroArch in the future while preserving your current setup. See the Updating RetroArch section below for more information.

After you have made your adjustments, be sure to go to Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration.

Update RetroArch assets, cores, and more

Now that we have built our file structure and know how to save configurations, let’s go in and start updating RetroArch. The core system you installed may not have all of its functions included, so you will want to load them yourself. Note that you will need to be connected to the Internet for this section to work. To do so, go to Main Menu > Online Updater and run some of the updater functions available. I recommend the following:

• Update Core Info Files
• Update Assets
• Update Controller Profiles
• Update Cheats
• Update Databases
• Update Shaders

Note that some versions of RetroArch may not have these options, which is done by design. Don’t sweat it.

Additionally you will want to go into Online Updater > Core Downloader and download the cores you want to run on your system. You can download as many or few as you would like. I would recommend fully downloading one core before starting the download for the next core, because it can mess up your downloads to queue them all up at once. Periodically, you can also go in and select Update Installed Cores to see if there have been any updates to the cores since you first downloaded them.

My preferred RetroArch cores for popular systems:

Arcade (FB Alpha 2012) -- for low-end devices
Arcade (FinalBurn Neo) -- fighting games and beat'em ups
Arcade (MAME 2003-Plus) -- all-around arcade emulation
Commodore Amiga (PUAE)
DOS (DosBox-Pure)
NEC PCE/TG-16/PCE-CD/TG-CD (Beetle PCE)
Nintendo GB/GBC (Gambatte)
Nintendo GBA (gpSP or mGBA)
Nintendo Virtual Boy (Beetle VB)
Nintendo DS (melonDS)
Nintendo NES (Nestopia or fceumm)
Nintendo SNES (Snes9x Current)
Nintendo 64 (ParaLLEl or Mupen64Plus)
Nintendo GameCube/Wii (Dolphin)
ScummVM -- point-and-click PC games
Sega Master System/Genesis/CD (Genesis Plus GX)
Sega 32x (PicoDrive)
Sega Saturn (YabaSanshiro or Beetle Saturn)
Sega Dreamcast (Flycast)
SNK Neo Geo (FinalBurn Neo)
Sony PlayStation (DuckStation, SwanStation, or PCSX ReARMed)
Sony PlayStation 2 (PCSX2)
Sony Playstation Portable (PPSSPP)

Adjust the user interface

Once you have an understanding of how to save configurations, and we have the most updated assets, let’s start actually adjusting RetroArch. We’ll start with the user interface, which is called a “menu driver” in RetroArch.

When starting up the system, you will likely be greeted with a black and white interface called “glui”. It’s okay, but I find that it can be confusing to navigate. Instead, I prefer to use an older interface called “xmb”, modeled after the original PlayStation 3 cross-menu bar. I prefer this menu because it makes the submenus more logical and visual to me, so that is what I will use in my video guides.

To change the User Interface, go to Settings > User Interface > Menu and adjust it to one of the other menus. Then go to Configuration File > Save Current Configuration to save your changes. After you exit and re-open RetroArch, you will have the new menu.

You can also adjust the menu appearance to fit your preferences. To do so, go to Settings > User Interface > Appearance and adjust the settings here. You can adjust the Menu Scale Factor to increase or decrease the menu font, adjust the menu icons, or change the background color, and more.

Finally, you can adjust the menu items that are displayed on your interface, to clean it up a bit. Go to Settings > User Interface > Menu Item Visibility and toggle off the menus you don’t want to see. In general, these are the menu items I turn off by default:

Show ‘Explore’ > OFF
Show ‘Favorites’ > OFF
Show ‘Images’ > OFF
Show ‘Music’ > OFF
Show ‘Netplay’ > OFF

After you have made your adjustments, be sure to go to Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration.

Button mapping and hotkeys

Button mapping is likely the next thing you want to do. This will align your controller’s controls with the RetroArch universal button mapping. If you are using an x-input controller (like an Xbox controller) the buttons will likely be automatically mapped, and if you are using a handheld device that has a RetroArch backend already baked in (like ArkOS, EmuELEC, or 351ELEC), then you likely don’t have to map the controls. But some bluetooth or wired controllers may behave unexpectedly, so let’s adjust the button mapping.

To configure your controls, open RetroArch and go to Settings > Input > Port 1 Controls > Set All Controls and follow the prompts.

After you are done setting up the controls, you will want to decide which buttons you want to use for OK and Cancel buttons. If you don’t like how they are configured by default, you can go into Settings > Input > Menu Controls and swap the buttons.

Once you have mapped your controls, be sure to go to RetroArch Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration. Note that you can make core or game specific button mapping by using overrides, if you want to have a special setup for a particular game or core. Additionally, in the Input setting there is an option to create and save Controller Profiles, which you could use for multiple controllers (for example, if you wanted to use a specific controller for SNES gameplay, you could map the controls to that one controller and then choose that profile for SNES gameplay).

HOTKEYS are simple button combinations that will allow you to make certain adjustments while in games and RetroArch. You will want to set these up next.

Open RetroArch and then go to Settings > Input > Hotkeys. Here you will see a number of hotkey options.

Here are a couple options that are fundamental to the hotkey experience:

Confirm Quit: with this ON, you will have to press the Quit RetroArch hotkey twice to actually exit. This can be good to avoid accidental button presses, but can get annoying over time. I leave this one OFF.
Menu Toggle Controller Combo: this option will pause your game and bring up the RetroArch Quick Menu. This can be a specific key combination that works independently of any other hotkey setup. For this one I choose Hold Start (2 Seconds). This means if I hold the START button for two seconds, the RetroArch Quick Menu will appear.
Hotkey Enable: this will be your primary hotkey button. Every hotkey you choose in the options below it will need to be used in combination with your hotkey enable button. For this I usually choose the SELECT button. This means that SELECT + whatever other hotkey I choose will be my button combo to activate a hotkey shortcut.

There are several hotkeys I recommend you set while you’re in these settings. Here are some of my preferred hotkeys:

Hotkey Enable: SELECT button
Fast-Forward (Toggle): R2 button
Rewind: L2 button *
Load State: L1 button
Save state: R1 button
Show FPS (Toggle): Y button
Pause (Toggle): A button **
Reset Game: B button
Close Content (or Quit RetroArch): START button ***
Menu (Toggle): X button
Volume Up: Left d-pad
Volume Down: Right d-pad
Run-Ahead (Toggle): Up d-pad

* For the Rewind function to work, you will need to go into Settings > Frame Throttle > Rewind > ON. This is not something I would recommend turning on as a global configuration, because some systems (like Saturn or PS1) will be very slow with it on, and some (like PSP) may outright crash. Instead, I recommend setting the hotkey now, then for the systems you want to use rewind (like NES, for example), you can go into the Quick Menu by pressing SELECT + X and then go turn Rewind on and save it as a core override. More information is in the section below.

** There is a bug in the Android version of RetroArch when mapping the “Pause Game” hotkey. This will break the use of the button within the menu altogether. So for Android, skip that particular hotkey.

*** Note that your SELECT + START hotkey should be set to either “Close Content” or “Quit RetroArch”, but this will depend on your use case. If you plan on using RetroArch as your frontend, then you will want to Close Content to return to the RetroArch menu. If you are using a different frontend, like EmulationStation or LaunchBox, you will want to set it to Quit RetroArch so that when using this hotkey it will return you to the frontend instead.

After you’ve made all of your configurations, go to the RetroArch Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration.

Optional features

An option I like to set with my games is AUTO SAVE / AUTO LOAD. This will create a save state when you close down a game, and then load that save state when you launch the game again. It provides a pick-up-and-play feel to your retro gaming. To set this, use the following two commands:

• Settings > Saving > Auto Save State > ON
• Settings > Saving > Load State Automatically > ON

The auto save/load feature works best when combine with the “Reset Game” hotkey above, so that way if your game loads at a part you don’t want, you can press SELECT + B to reboot the game and start over.

The REWIND feature in RetroArch is helpful when you want to re-do a mistake on the fly. And while we set it as the SELECT + L2 hotkey above, by default this feature should be turned OFF in RetroArch, and then enabled only for certain systems. That’s because this feature has a somewhat high performance tax which can negatively affect performance on systems like PS1 and above. Instead, you will want to use a core override to save this setting. First, start up a game (like an NES game), and then press SELECT + X to bring up the Quick Menu, then navigate to the Rewind section within the Quick Menu. Now select Rewind Support > ON. Now you can go to Quick Menu > Overrides > Save Core Overrides, which will enable rewind support on all NES games running that emulator core.

There is also a RUN AHEAD feature which will reduce latency on certain setups. For example, this may be beneficial when using the Android-based version of RetroArch and a bluetooth controller, to give a more natural feel to retro gaming. Like with the rewind feature, this has a performance tax and should only be used on systems that would benefit from it (like SNES and below). For this reason we’ll use a core override again. First, start up a game (like an NES game), and then press SELECT + X to bring up the Quick Menu, then navigate to the Latency section within the Quick Menu. Now select Run-Ahead to Reduce Latency > ON. Now you can go to Quick Menu > Overrides > Save Core Overrides, which will enable run ahead support on all NES games running that emulator core. Note that this is one of many advanced features to improve latency; here is more information.

Finally, on many versions of RetroArch (specifically those with touchscreen capability, like Android), they may have a TOUCHSCREEN BUTTON OVERLAY on your screen when starting up a game. If you have a controller you likely do not want to see this overlay. To turn it off, go to Settings > On-Screen Display > On-Screen Overlay > Display Overlay > Hide Overlay When Controller is Connected > ON.

Create playlists

You can set up playlists within RetroArch to browse and launch your games directly in the program. This will be helpful if you just want to remain within RetroArch to launch your games. There are two methods for creating playlists in RetroArch:

SCAN DIRECTORY. This is the most straightforward way to make playlists, and is best for systems with unzipped ROMs that have distinct file types (like .nes games). With this option, you will navigate to the folder that contains your ROM files, then select “Scan this Directory”. RetroArch will then recognize and scan the directory for games, and assign the console and assets to that system. You should then see it in your playlist. When you have a more common file type for your games (like .bin files for Genesis games, it’s better to do a Manual Scan).

MANUAL SCAN. This is the preferred way to scan your directories because it gives you more control. Here is the breakdown:

Content Directory: navigate to your ROM folder and select “Scan this Directory”

System Name: select the system name you want to associate with your playlist

Custom System Name: use this if you want to use a special name for this playlist. Note that you will also need to set your “System Name” to “Custom” for this to work

Default Core: select the core you want to associate with this play list. Afterwards you can assign a different core to specific games by selecting the game and choose “Set Core Association”

File Extensions: add in all of the file extensions you want to scan for your console. You can leave this blank if they are all the same (e.g. zip files for arcade games), but for the most part it’s helpful to add these in, especially if you are using several file types. Separate each file extension with a space (no comma), like this for Dremcast: cdi, gdi, chd

Scan Recursively: turn this on if you want to scan subfolders too

Scan Inside Archives: this will scan the files within the zip file, whether you want this on will depend on the system you are scanning. You will want this off if scanning arcade games

Arcade DAT File: this is important if you are scanning arcade games, because it will associate your zip file (“simps2pj”) with a full file name (The Simpsons). To set this up, head to this page and download the latest MAME dat/xml file. Then save this file somewhere that you can access on your device, and choose it when at this part of the menu

Arcade DAT Filter: with this selected, only arcade games that appear in the DAT file will show up in your playlist. Generally you want this setting OFF

Overwrite Existing Playlist: this will overwrite anything already in the playlist. You generally want this OFF if you are just adding new games to your playlist

If you want thumbnails to appear next to your games, you need two things: 1) the files must be named according to the “No Intro” standard (e.g. “Super Mario Bros. 3 (USA)”) and 2) go into Online Updater > On-Demand Thumbnail Downloads > ON so that they will download when you browse through your playlist. Alternatively, you can manually scan each playlist for thumbnails in the Online Updater section instead.

Finally, you can go into Settings > Playlists and adjust how your playlists behave. There is also a Manage Playlists section within here that will allow you to adjust things like the default core, how the thumbnails appear, or just delete the playlist altogether.

Scaling and video options

One of the biggest advantages of using RetroArch is that you can use universal and streamlined video options. So let’s take some time to go over the basics here.

ASPECT RATIO

Let’s first define aspect ratio. A square screen aspect ratio would be defined as 1:1 (or 1.0), and very few game systems ran at this aspect ratio (Watara Supervision). At the other end of the spectrum, a standard widescreen TV aspect ratio would be 16:9, or 1.76,

Most classic home consoles had an aspect ratio of 4:3 to match CRT TVs. Handheld systems had varying aspect ratios, due to having a variety of screens. Arcade system aspect ratios are also all over the place, because each cabinet was different. Some other notes:

• Aspect ratios for some systems are not set in stone. Atari 2600 games didn’t technically have pixels, so they are at a different standard. Similarly, more modern consoles like the PS2 had widescreen options and variable resolutions.
• The NES had a resolution of 256×240, but only showed 256×224 on NSTC screens (which were limited to 224 vertical pixels); the 256×240 resolution can still be displayed on emulators. So while the NTSC TV showed an aspect ratio of 4:3 (1.33), most emulators show NES at 16:15 (1.07), and likely look best at a 4:3 anyway.
• Some games actually had different native resolutions on the same system. Most NTSC SNES games had a native resolution of 256×224 pixels, while Star Fox had 224×190, and Yoshi’s Island had 256×208. So for the chart below I stuck with the general NTSC aspect ratios.
• PAL TVs output a 240-pixel height, so PAL ROMs may have different resolutions than shown below. PAL ROMs on Nintendo GameCube have a resolution of 768×576.
• Some systems introduced scaling for certain games. For example, the PS1 mostly played games at a resolution of 320×240, but some scenes could scale up to 640×480. N64 games could scale from 320×240 up to 640×480 as well.

Common aspect ratios for handheld and home console systems (click to enlarge)

So why is aspect ratio important? Because if you plan on playing RetroArch on a modern TV or monitor (which likely has a 16:9 aspect ratio), emulated systems at their native aspect ratio will have black bars on the left and right sides. If you want to preserve the native aspect ratio then it’s all good, but if you want to stretch out the display to take up more space on your TV, then you will need to adjust scaling options.

You can adjust the aspect ratio by going into Settings > Video > Scaling > Aspect Ratio and adjusting your global configuration. I would recommend “Core Provided” since that will allow each emulator core to decide the appropriate aspect ratio. If you want to stretch the aspect ratio to fit your screen no matter what, you would want to select your screen’s ratio (like 16:9). Just beware that the emulation police will likely come for you if you don’t use the proper aspect ratio.

After you have made your adjustment, go to Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration. You could also use the Overrides function to make core-specific or game-specific configurations.

INTEGER SCALING

Because many handheld systems had a much lower pixel density than the resolution of your TV, monitor, or phone, some of these systems will benefit from integer scaling. Integer scaling is defined as scaling by a factor of a whole number (2x, 3x, etc), as opposed to non-integer scaling (1.5x, etc). When turned on, RetroArch will scale up to the greatest integer scale below your device’s resolution. So for Nintendo 64 games, which have a native resolution of 640×480, it will scale up to 2x, or 1240×960, with black borders on all sides. This will keep a 1:1 pixel ratio and everything will look nice and crisp, so long as you don’t mind the black bars around the image.

If you don’t turn on integer scaling, the image will scale to match your device’s display (while preserving aspect ratio) to fill out as much of the screen as possible, but this may result in pixel distortion which can make some pixels look distorted on your display. You may not notice the difference, which is totally fine. You can also use shaders or filters to re-balance the image, as you’ll see in the section below.

To turn on integer scaling, go to Settings > Video > Scaling > Integer Scaling and make your adjustment. Like with everything else, you will need to save your configuration file, and you could also use overrides to make per-core or per-game settings, too.

Shaders and filters

You can add Shaders to your game image to recreate classic looks (like scanlines to mimic CRT displays) or LCD grids, and more. They are stackable and adjustable, giving you a lot of freedom in their implementation. For more information on shaders, check out this page from RetroArch. Shaders can become very complex, so we will stick with just the basics here.

To find shaders, start a game then enter the Quick Menu > Shaders > Video Shaders > ON, then navigate to the Load menu. You will likely have the choice of glsl or slang shaders; slang shaders are newer but may not be compatible with your device. You can experiment with the two to find which set you prefer. Within each shader folder will be subfolders that contain shader collections. Some of the best places to start looking are the handheld folder (for handheld systems) or the interpolation folder. Once you have found shaders you like, you can save them as global, core-based, or game-based presets within the Shaders folder.

Filters behave a lot like shaders but are more CPU intensive, although sometimes they can create a more accurate effect than shaders alone. You can find the filters section in Settings > Video > Video Filter. The Normal 2x and 4x shaders are effective in balancing pixels when not using integer scaling. This will give you the best “clean” screen option but will have some CPU tax, so I do not recommend using them on lower-end consoles like RK3326 handheld devices (Abernic RG351 series, PowKiddy RGB10, etc.). Another set of filters that work really well with NES and SNES games are the Blargg filters, which recreate the experience of using an older television set. Once you have found a filter you like, you can save the configuration file for a global setting, or use overrides for core-specific or game-specific settings.

Note that the way you save shaders versus filters is different. Shaders are saved by their own presets within the Shaders setting menu, while Filters are saved via overrides or the global configuration file (Save Current Configuration).

Core options

The last settings worth messing with are core options. You can find these by starting up a game, entering the Quick Menu > Options section, and seeing what core options are available. For example, on higher-end systems like N64 or PSP, within the core options you can find the ability to upscale the resolution from 480p to 720p or 1080p, or higher. Each core options section will be unique to that core, so go in there and see what options you have. If you have any questions about any of these settings, I recommend consulting the LibRetro Docs page and browsing their Core Library to see what options are available and what they do.

An easy example of core options would be to adjust colorization options for Game Boy within the Gambatte core, demonstrated above.

• Open a Game Boy game in RetroArch
• Bring up the RetroArch Quick Menu, then go to Options > GB Colorization > Internal. Next, go to Internal Palette > Special 1. This will produce a night light green colorization. For colorization that is more in line with the original DMG display, set it to Options > GB Colorization > DMG. Experiment to find what you like best! Above you can see three Super Game Boy colorization options.
• To set it as default for that game or for all Game Boy games no further configuration is necessary. Core options will automatically save when you close the game out. To save it for a specific game, go to Options > Manage Core Options > Save Game Options.

Another core options adjustment you could make in Gambatte is LCD ghosting, which will recreate the original blur effect on the Game Boy.

• Go to Quick Menu > Options > Interframe Blending. There you will see two LCD ghosting effects:
  • LCD Ghosting (Accurate)
  • LCD Ghosting (Fast)
• To set it as default, go to Overrides > Save Content Directory Overrides.

Finally, in addition to ghosting and GB colorization, the Gambatte RetroArch core also provides an accurate color correction for Game Boy Color games, as you can see above. This setting is found in Quick Menu > Options > Color Correction Mode > Accurate. You can also adjust the “frontlight position” options within Color Correction Mode to tone down any harsh contrast in your current configuration.

RetroAchievements

One neat feature that is available within RetroArch is a service called RetroAchievements. These function as you would expect — as you complete a milestone in a retro game, you will get an achievement pop-up celebrating that accomplishment. Moreover, you can track your achievements from within RetroArch or on the RetroAchievements website. And if you want to go all the way down the rabbit hole, you could compete with friends or join the community to participate in discussions or contribute to creating or refining achievements in the future. Note the you must be connected to the internet for RetroAchievements to work.

To get started, go to RetroAchievements.org and register for a free account. Then in RetroArch, go to Settings > Achievements > ON and enter your username and password. Finally, to save this setting, go to Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration. The same account can be used on multiple versions of RetroArch spread across various platforms.

If you’d like to add me as a friend or track my (abysmal) progress on retro games, here is my profile.

Cheats

RetroArch has an embedded universal cheat system, which can be used in a pinch or for the duration of your game.

To set these up, you must first go into Main Menu > Online Updater > Update Cheats. This will download the cht database and install everything automatically.

If you do not have internet access on your device, or if you use an operating system that doesn’t enable the cheats downloader function, you can still load cheats offline. This only needs to be done one time.

First, go to this GitHub page and click on the green “Code” button, and select Download Zip. Download that file, and unzip it. Inside you’ll find a folder named “cht”, and within that, a bunch of game system folders. Grab the game system folders for the systems that you want to enable cheats for, and place those folders somewhere handy, like in a “Cheats” folder within the GAMES folder where your ROMs reside.

Open up RetroArch then navigate to Settings > Directory > Cheat File, and then navigate to the Cheats folder, then select <Use This Directory>. To save this setting, go to Main Menu > Configuration File > Save Current Configuration. Now, whenever you try and load cheats, it will default to your Cheats folder to find your cheat files.

Once you have the cheat files installed, it’s easy to activate them. Start up a game, then go to Quick Menu > Cheats > Load Cheat File

Updating RetroArch

The process of updating RetroArch is unique for each system. For example, on Windows, you can update the program by simply overwriting the .exe file with a newer version. For more information, I recommend going to the installation page of your respective RetroArch version and see what the team says to do. I wouldn’t sweat too much about keeping the absolute latest version of RetroArch on your device; it’s often enough to use a stable build and update your cores via the Online Update tool instead.

Another way to update RetroArch is to do a manual reinstallation while preserving your most critical files. To do so, you would want to go into the Settings > Directory section and point some important folders to somewhere besides the default RetroArch folder. Here is the process:

• Create the following folders somewhere safe:
  • System/BIOS
  • Thumbnails
  • Configs
  • Cheat Files
  • Overlays
  • Controller Profiles
  • Input Remaps
  • Playlists
  • Save Files
  • Save States
• Note that if you are just starting up RetroArch for the first time (i.e. nothing is saved in the corresponding RetroArch folders already), you don’t need to do anything else. However, if you have been using RetroArch for a while already, then you want to go into the default RetroArch folders and copy their contents from their current location to your new location.
• Go into Settings > Directory and point the above directories to their new location.
• Before installing the new version of RetroArch, you need to find the retroarch.cfg file on your system. Its location will vary by device. On PC, you can find it in the root directory of the retroarch.exe file. On Android, it will be found in the Android > Data > com.retroarch.aarch64 (or similar) folder. Save a copy of this file somewhere you can access later.
• Download and install the new version of RetroArch and install it onto your device. You may need to delete the old one first (don’t worry, the folders you saved elsewhere will be fine). Before starting up RetroArch for the first time, place a copy of the retroarch.cfg in the same place where you found it originally.
• Launch RetroArch and it should pull up the retroarch.cfg file and all of your settings and directory locations along with it. You will need to go into the Online Updater tool and re-download assets, databases, etc.

Further reading

This guide, while quite long, only scrapes the surface of what is available in RetroArch. I’ve made a couple dedicated guides for other functions, such as multi-disk gameplay, or NetPlay. You can find those guides below, and let me know in the comments if there is something else you’d like me to tackle in the future.

Multi-Disk Gameplay Guide
NetPlay Guide

Changelog

28FEB2022
– published guide

Be sure to check out the full PS Vita guide here.

This tutorial will show you how to safely and permanently jailbreak/mod your device so that you can run RetroArch or other emulators, plus load backups of your PS Vita, PSP, and PS1 games. Note this will work on any firmware version of PS Vita, up to and including 3.74.

This guide is intended for the PS Vita 1000 and PS Vita 2000 models. The PS TV setup is mostly the same, but there are some slight differences in the process; because I’ve never used a PS TV, I would recommend looking at the VitaHacks guide. This tutorial is written for Windows users, it is possible to jailbreak a Vita using Mac/Linux by following these instructions.

Note that each of these tutorials are written in a specific order. For example, you will need VitaShell installed to run certain tools, and so those instructions are found above the other tutorials. Long story short: if you just jump into a specific section and it references things you don’t understand (like VitaShell, or VPKs, etc.), then scroll up a bit to find those particular instructions.

Table of Contents:
Why mod a PS Vita?
PS Vita 1000 vs PS Vita 2000
Buy an SD2Vita adapter
Update to the latest firmware
Browser-based jailbreak
Understanding VPKs
Understanding plugins
Connect via WiFi FTP (VitaShell)
Set up Adrenaline (PSP and PS1 emulator)
Adrenaline Bubble Manager
Install RetroArch
Create RetroArch bubbles
Nintendo 64 emulation
Dreamcast emulation
Overclocking the PS Vita
Improve the PS Vita 2000 screen
Hack your PS Vita (PC method)

Changelog

Why mod a PS Vita?

There are many reasons to run a permanent mod/jailbreak on the PlayStation Vita. Here are some of my favorites:

• PS VITA GAMES. It goes without saying, but you can play Vita games on a PS Vita. But with a modded device, you can run backups of your games, which means you don’t have to constantly swap cartridges.
• SD2VITA. An SD2Vita adapter allows you to use a microSD card as storage for your permanently modded PS Vita. $30 for a 256GB storage solution? Count me in.
• ADRENALINE. This app runs a PSP environment directly on your PS Vita. This allows you to load and play PSP and PS1 games with perfect native performance. Because the PS Vita screen has exactly 2x the amount of pixels as the PSP, it scales perfectly.
• RETROARCH (AND OTHER EMULATORS). The PS Vita has a good amount of emulators available, and while it’s not the most powerful emulation machine for the money, you can still expect to play most classic retro games, plus a fair amount of Nintendo 64 games as well. Moreover, you can run emulators within Adrenaline, which features many optimized emulators, too.
• NATIVE PORTS. There are a good amount of native ports you can run on this device, including all three Grand Theft Auto III games, Max Payne, and more.
• PLUGINS. There are hundreds of plugins available for the PS Vita, which will allow you to make any number of small (or large) tweaks to your device, such as adding a battery % indicator, remapping buttons, and so on.

PS Vita 1000 vs PS Vita 2000

There are two models of PS Vita, each with its own unique characteristics. See the video above for a deep-dive comparison between the two models. In a nutshell: they both play the same games, the PS Vita 1000 has an OLED display, and the PS Vita 2000 is thinner and lighter.

There are some adjustments you can do to the PS Vita 2000 to improve its screen, which you can find here (requires jailbreaking first).

Buy an SD2Vita adapter

The single most important accessory you can buy for your PS Vita is the Funturbo SD2Vita card adapter. This will allow you to use a microSD card for storage on your device after it has been jailbroken. It’s the best $6 you could ever spend. I’ve heard bad things about other SD2Vita adapters, so I would stick with the Funturbo brand — I have two and they have worked perfectly.

I think that a 128GB card should be the bare minimum size you buy, and I recommend getting something with 256GB. PS Vita, PSP, and PS1 games are all fairly large, so this will ensure you can load up lots of games. Here are the microSD cards I recommend:

128GB cards:
SanDisk Extreme
Samsung EVO Select
Samsung Pro Endurance (more reliable but pricey)
SanDisk Ultra

256GB cards:
Samsung EVO Select
SanDisk Ultra

Update to the latest firmware

In order to jailbreak your PS Vita, it needs to be on firmware 3.60, 3.65, 3.68, 3.73 or 3.74. For best results, I recommend updating your firmware to 3.74 using the Vita’s official updater in the Settings app.

If you already have a jailbroken PS Vita but want to start over from scratch, you can remove custom firmware by following these instructions. After removing custom firmware and updating to the latest firmware, you can also go into Settings > Format > Restore this System to completely wipe the device.

Browser-based jailbreak

There is a new browser-based jailbreak method that allows you to hack the PS Vita through its built-in browser, with no need to connect the device to your computer.

Before we get started:

• This hack assumes that you are starting with a PS Vita that has been factory restored. Carrying over previous games or save games significantly complicates this process, and for support on moving existing catalogs over, I recommend consulting the VitaHacks community on Reddit or Discord.
• If you have a PS Vita 1000 model you will need an official Sony Memory Card inserted into the device, or you will need to create internal memory using this guide. If using an official card, any size memory card will work fine, the smaller the better since those are cheaper.
• Connect your PS Vita to your local WiFi, and I also recommend you log into the PSN Store at least once before starting this hack.

VitaDeploy came out in early 2021 and improves the jailbreaking process significantly. It’s an all-in-one solution for hacking the device as well as setting it up to work with a microSD card thanks to the SD2Vita adapter. This method is thoroughly documented in this guide, so be sure to check there if you run into any issues.

Install VitaDeploy and Henkaku

1. On your Vita, open up the Web Browser app and navigate to jailbreak.psp2.dev. Note that in the video above, I use the URL deploy.psp2.dev, which is the older URL but it should redirect to jailbreak.psp2.dev anyway.
2. There will be an orange menu that appears, tap on “Unlock my Vita” and then “Unlock”.
3. On the black menu that appears, navigate to “Install Henkaku” and press X, and do the same for “Install VitaDeploy”.
4. Navigate to “Exit” and press X to exit the application.

Install custom 3.65 firmware:

1. Open the Vita’s Settings app, and open “HENkaku settings”. Select “Enable Unsafe Homebrew” and make sure you are connected to the internet.
2. Open VitaDeploy and navigate to “Install a different OS” > “Quick 3.65 install”. The app will download and install v3.65 and downgrade via the modoru tool. It will ask you if you really want to do it — just press X to confirm. Once complete, the Vita will reboot.
3. Head over to Settings > System Information to confirm that you are now on v3.65 with the enso permanent hack.
4. Now that you are running firmware 3.65, the system may prompt you to update periodically, which is something you do not want to do. To remove this prompt, go into the HENkaku Settings and and make sure that “Enable Version Spoofing” is checked, and under “Spoofed Version” set it to 3.74. Now reset your device to make sure the settings stick.

Note: I recommend KEEPING VitaDeploy installed on your device, especially if you want to play game cartridges later (see the green box below for instructions).

Set up the SD2Vita adapter

1. Insert a microSD card into the SD2Vita adapter, then insert the adapter into your Vita’s game card slot.
2. Open VitaDeploy and navigate to Miscellaneous > Format a storage device. Select “Format target storage” and follow any prompts. Reboot the device.
3. Open up your Settings app, then navigate to Devices > Storage Devices, and enable YAMT. Reboot the console.
4. Open VitaDeploy > File Manager, and make sure that the “uma0” partition is visible. Navigate to the “ux0” partition and select all of the folders except “SceloTrash” (use the SQUARE button to select). Press the TRIANGLE button and select “Copy”.
5. Navigate to the “uma0” partition, press TRIANGLE to bring up the menu, and select “Paste”.
6. Return to the Settings app and navigate to Devices > Storage Devices. Set the following options:

ux0: SD2Vita
uma0: Memory Card (or Internal Memory for PS Vita 2000)

Reboot the console, head to Settings > System Settings and the memory card size should now reflect the capacity of your microSD card.

Play original game carts

If you still want to play your old game cartridges, it is possible. But I would instead recommend using PKGj to install backups of your Vita games so that you don’t swap the SD2Vita and Vita carts too frequently, as it can create errors and is not an automatic restoration process. Additionally, switching back and forth between SD2Vita will likely remove any organization you’ve done of your app library. Either way, if you want to use your game carts, here is how to do it:

– Make sure you still have VitaDeploy installed on your device from the
– Go into Settings > Devices > Storage Devices and UNCHECK the “Use YAMT” option
– Turn off your PS Vita, removed the SD2Vita, and add your game cart. Power on the device, it will “rebuild database” and all of your loaded apps/games will disappear.
– Once you are done playing game carts, re-insert the SD2Vita card and go into Settings > Devices > Storage Devices and CHECK the “Use YAMT” option. Reboot your PS Vita.
– If the Vita doesn’t automatically “rebuild database”, you will need to force a refresh. Open VitaDeploy, choose File Manager, and then back out to the main root directory (where is shows ur0, ux0, etc.). Press the TRIANGLE button and select “Refresh LiveArea”. This will restore all of your games and apps.

Install core homebrew apps

1. Open VitaDeploy > App Downloader, and install the following apps:
   1. VitaShell – a powerful file management system
   2. VitaDB Downloader – a handy tool to browse and download various apps and homebrew games.
   3. Adrenaline – a PSP environment that allows you to play PSP and PS1 games with perfect performance (more info here)
   4. PKGj – this app will install backups of your PS Vita, PSP, and PS1 games.
   5. vita-savemgr – allows you to dump and restore your save games.
   6. Custom Themes Manager – as the name implies, this allows you to manage custom themes.
   7. iTLS Enso – adds TSL v1.2 to the device, which fixes many plugin errors, adds more installer options, allows secure (https) internet access, and restores access to the PS Store.
   8. Registry Editor – this allows you to improve the color saturation on PS Vita 2000 models (more info here).

Understanding VPKs

Apps on the PS Vita are known as VPKs. Most of these you can find via the website VitaDB. My preferred way of installing VPKs is to find them via this website, then read up on the installation requirements (note that sometimes the installation instructions aren’t in VitaDB itself, but linked to the “Release Page” for each VPK in the VitaDB listing), and install them via VitaShell (which you installed in the step above).

Update! There is a new VitaDB Downloader app that will access the VitaDB repo and download the VPKs directly on your Vita.

Manual installation: To start, let’s make sure that VitaShell is properly configured. Open the app, then press the START button. Under “USB device”, make sure it’s set to “sd2vita”. Press the back button to back out of that menu. Now, connect your Vita to your PC and press the SELECT button. This should make the SD card contents available on your PC. Note that if you want to connect VitaShell via WiFi, those instructions are in the next section.

So let’s install a VPK for practice, using the app Wordle SDL. Head over to this page and click on the “Download VPK” button near the bottom. On your Vita, open up VitaShell, connect your USB cable between the PC and Vita, then press the SELECT button on the Vita. Your SD card contents should appear on the screen. Move the Wordle SDL VPK to the “downloads” folder on your Vita (or anywhere, really). Press the cancel button on your Vita to disconnect, navigate to the Wordle VPK, and click on it. Confirm the installation, and you’re done.

So in summary,

• Connect to your PC via USB using the VitaShell app
• Move the VPK over to a folder of your PS Vita (preferably the downloads folder)
• Launch the file within VitaShell on your device to install it
• The app is magically on your home screen
• Celebrate with champagne and mac & cheese

Here are some highlights to start you on your journey:

Tools and emulators that will improve your Vita experience include Moonlight HD (PC streaming), mGBA (GBA/GB/GBC), DaedalusX64-vitaGL (N64) (guide below), and Vita Media Center (movie player). The Vita can also play standalone PSP emulators. Check out the Adrenaline section for more info.

The Vita also has a ton of Ports available. Here are a few: DevilutionX (Diablo), Grand Theft Auto III, GTA3: Vice City, GTA3: San Andreas, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Half-Life, Max Payne, Minit, Sonic 1 and 2 ports, Sonic CD, and Baba is You. Bear in most of these ports will require commercial data files that you will need to supply yourself. Additionally, most will require plugins to work properly, so be sure to follow the ports’ instructions carefully. Speaking of plugins…

Understanding plugins

In previous guides, I had recommended using AutoPlugin to install plugins, but I’ve since learned that this can undermine the clean installation of plugins, which are essential components to getting certain apps to run properly. So instead I recommend manually installing plugins. Let’s do one for practice.

Go to this page and download the NoLockScreen v2 plugin. This will make it so that you don’t need to swipe down from the lock screen every time you power on or awaken your Vita. The file will be named “nolockscreen_v2.suprx”. Using VitaShell, transfer this file to your device. Then, still within VitaShell on your Vita, manually transfer this plugin to the following directory: ur0:tai/

Within that ur0:/tai folder, you will see a file named config.txt. Open that file within VitaShell, then about halfway through that file you will find a line named *KERNEL with a listing of some plugins (usually in skprx file format). This is where most skprx plugins will go, but because we’re using an suprx file for our example, we will use the *MAIN section instead (more info on the various sections are below). Within this listing, press the TRIANGLE button and select “Insert empty file”. Now with your cursor on that blank line, press the ENTER button and type the following using the Vita’s keyboard:

ur0:tai/nolockscreen_v2.suprx

From there, press the BACK button on your Vita and confirm that you want to save your modifications. Reboot your device for the plugin to take effect. And that’s it, that is the basic method to install plugins. To uninstall a plugin, remove it from the ur0:tai folder, and delete any mentions of it from the config.txt file.

There are three main sections of plugins within the config.txt, which can be broken out at such:
– *KERNEL plugins are for skprx plugins
– *MAIN is for plugins that affect LiveArea behavior (like the example above)
– *ALL is for plugins that work within apps

Note that improperly installing plugins can potentially BRICK the PS Vita. Be sure to consult the installation page of every plugin to ensure there are no conflicts with other plugins! The installation section is generally within the GitHub page for that plugin. If you encounter issues with a plugin, you can hold the L button while booting the Vita to bypass plugins, and then enter VitaShell to remove the issue.

For more in-depth support, I recommend visiting the HENkaku discord server.

Connect via WiFi FTP (VitaShell)

The simplest way to access your device is through a USB cable running VitaShell (when in VitaShell, just press the SELECT button to start the connection). But if you want to access your device wirelessly, VitaShell has that option as well.

Start up VitaShell, then press START to bring up the main settings. Change the “SELECT button” option to “FTP”, then press START to exit out of the main settings. Now, press SELECT. You should see a message with an FTP address, like this:

ftp://192.168.86.XX:1337

The “XX” in the address above will be unique to the IP address your Vita is currently using.

On your preferred FTP client (like WinSCP or FileZilla for Windows), start a new FTP connection. For the address, type in 192.168.86.XX (with “XX” being whatever is displayed on your Vita), and change the port to “1337”. Press the connect button on your client, and when it asks you for a username and password, don’t type anything and just press OK instead.

You should now be connected, with access to all of your file system on the device (not just the SD card).

Set up Adrenaline (PSP and PS1 emulator)

Adrenaline is a PSP emulator that basically boots into the original PSP environment. It’s wonderful. This is also the best way to play PS1 games, and some emulators (like for NES, SNES, etc.) are also pretty good from within PSP.

If you haven’t already installed Adrenaline while setting up VitaDeploy, download the latest version of Adrenaline.vpk from this link. Connect the Vita to your PC via VitaShell, then press SELECT on the Vita to enter USB mode. Copy the Adrenaline.vpk file onto your Vita, then disconnect from USB mode. Find the Adrenaline VPK within VitaShell and instal it, then go back to the home screen. You should now see the Adrenaline app there.

Open up Adrenaline, and it will prompt you to complete the download and installation of the 6.61 Adrenaline firmware. Press the X button to confirm, and once the download is complete it will exit Adrenaline. If you get an error about missing 6.61 on your device, the easiest fix is to just download v6.61 directly and place it in the folder that is indicated on the error screen (ux0:app/PSPEMUCWF/661.PBP). Be sure to rename your downloaded file from EBOOT.PBP to 661.PBP. Here is more information in case you run into this issue.

Re-open the app, and it will prompt you to install the firmware we just downloaded. That’s it, you should now be in the setup screen for a brand new PSP environment. Note that when opening Adrenaline, it will crash the first time. This is annoying, but normal. You can fix this error by modifying the plugin configuration using the instructions here.

The easiest way to add PSP and PS1 games to your device is through the PKGj app, but you can also manually add them. Note that the “pspemu” folder is hidden in Windows and Mac, so you must have hidden folders enabled in order to find it. This is where you add each file:

PSP: sdcard/pspemu/ISO/
PS1: sdcard/pspemu/PSP/GAME/(titleid)/EBOOT.PBP

For PSP, just place the .iso files in the folder listed above.

For PS1, the games must be in PBP format. You will need to organize the games by titleid within the folder above. I have found that the easiest place to find these titleids it through this website. If you cannot find the game you’re looking for, here is a more comprehensive list of each titleid, but it will come up with LOTS of results and so it may be a challenge to pare it down to the appropriate game. Just search for your game to find the appropriate titleid.

Once you have the titleid, make a folder inside the GAME folder with that titleid as the name. Within the titleid folder, you will need the game, named EBOOT.PBP (upper case). So for example, in order to play Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, you will use the following path:

sdcard/pspemu/PSP/GAME/SLUS01066/EBOOT.PBP

When scaling PS1 within Adrenaline, I recommend using these settings:

X: 1.225
Y: 1.265

For PS1, I also prefer to set Graphics Filtering to Advanced AA, and turn Smooth Graphics OFF. Also, go into the “Open Official Settings” section within the Adrenaline Main Menu, then select Others Settings > Other Settings > Bilinear Filtering > OFF.

For PSP, I like the lcd3x and sharp bilinear (no scanlines) filters.

You can also use this handy PSP Emulators Installer app to install emulators directly into your PS Vita’s Adrenaline app. You would install this app just like any other vpk, and then run the installer script. This will install the following emulators to run on your PSP environment:

COELM PSP = Colecovision
CPS1 = Capcom
DaedalusX64 = Nintendo 64 (N64)
Emuodd = Magnavox Odyssey
Fuse = ZX Spectrum 48K
LYNX = Atari Lynx
Masterboy = Sega Master System
MVS = Neo Geo
Picodrive = Megadrive/Genesis
PSP7800 = Atari 7800
PSPATARI = Atari 800,800XL,130XE
PSPCAP32 = Amstrad CPC464
PSPHUGO = Pc-Engine/TurboGrafx-16
PSPINT = Intellivision
PSPTHOM = Thompson TO7
PSPVE = Vectrex
RACE = Neo Geo Pocket/Color
s9xTYLcm_mod = Super Nintendo (SNES)
SMSPSP = Sega Master System
Vice = Commodore C64

Adding your ROMs varies by standalone emulator, but generally you will want to add them to the pspemu/PSP/GAME/(name of emulator) folder, inside a folder labelled as “ROMs” or something to that effect.

To enter the Adrenaline settings, hold down on the HOME button. To exit Adrenaline, double-click the HOME button to return to the PS Vita menu.

Adrenaline Bubble Manager

The Adrenaline Bubble Manager will allow you to place individual bubbles for your PSP and PS1 games onto your PS Vita home screen.

To get started, head over to this page and download the latest release of Adrenaline Bubble Manager VPK, and load it onto your device via VitaShell. Install the app via VitaShell, then open the app to complete the installation. It will prompt you to reset your device. Once rebooted, open Adrenaline one time, then close it, and then open Adrenaline Bubble Manager.

Inside Adrenaline Bubble Manager, you will see all of the PSP and PS1 games you have installed in Adrenaline. To select a game for bubbling, press the SQUARE button to select it. You can also press the L button to change the shape of the image to cover the whole bubble. Once you have all your desired games selected, press the CIRCLE button to begin the bubbling process. Alternatively, you can just press the TRIANGLE button to make bubbles for every game that doesn’t have on already. At this point you will be prompted to confirm the name of each of your bubbles, and then the bubbles will be created.

There’s a lot more you can do with Adrenaline Bubble Manager, like loading your own images. For more info, check out their wiki page.

Install RetroArch

RetroArch isn’t the most powerful emulation solution for the PS Vita, but it’s the only one that provides a unified gaming experience. To get started, download the latest nightly version of RetroArch VPK from this link. Additionally, download the latest nightly RetroArch data file from that same link. The VPK contains the actual app and all its cores, while the data file contains all of the assets (fonts, graphics, etc.).

Connect the Vita to your PC via VitaShell, then press SELECT on the Vita to enter USB mode. Copy the retroarch.vpk file into the root “USB Drive” folder of your Vita Next, unzip the RetroArch data file, and move the RetroArch data folder (named “retroarch”) into the PS Vita’s data folder. On your Vita, select and install the retroarch.vpk file, following the prompts that come up. This install will take quite some time, about five minutes, with some hangups along the way. This is normal. Once complete, disconnect from USB mode, then go back to the home screen. You should now see the RetroArch app there.

Run RetroArch once, and then close it out. Reconnect to your Vita using VitaShell, then on your PC navigate to data > RetroArch > system, and add your bios files there. BIOS files will not be shared on this website due to copyright, so you will need to dump them from an original console, or find backups on the internet. I recommend adding the following:

SEGA CD:
bios_CD_E.bin
bios_CD_J.bin
bios_CD_U.bin

FAMICOM DISK SYSTEM:
disksys.rom

GAME BOY (for boot logo):
gb_bios.bin

GAME BOY COLOR (for boot logo):
gbc_bios.bin

GAME BOY ADVANCE:
gba_bios.bin

NEO GEO:
neogeo.zip

PLAYSTATION:
scph1001.bin

TURBOGRAFX-CD:
syscard1.pce
syscard2.pce
syscard3.pce

To actually run RetroArch, you will want to make a ROMs folder somewhere on your SD card. The easiest thing to do would be to just make a ROMS directory in the root directory of your microSD card, and then put all of your ROMs in subfolders within that directory. Then create playlists for each of those systems by pointing the playlist creator to the folders where you stored the ROMs.

When making a playlist for arcade games, you will want to do a manual scan and use this dat file to make sure that the zipped names (e.g. tmnt.zip) are converted to full names (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). If you have questions about this part of the process, check out my RetroArch starter guide.

Here are my recommended RetroArch cores:

Arcade (90s and CPS): FB Alpha 2012
Arcade (Neo Geo): FB Alpha 2012
Arcade (80s): MAME 2003-Plus
GB: Gambatte
GBC: Gambatte
GBA: gpSP
NES: FCEUmm
SNES: Snes9x 2005-Plus
Game Gear: Genesis Plus GX
Genesis: Genesis Plus GX
Sega CD: Genesis Plus GX
Sega 32x: Picodrive

For SNES in particular, certain games like Star Fox, Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario RPG, and Final Fantasy III will not run at full speed with the recommended Snes9x 2005-Plus core. For those, select the game > Set Core Association and then try a different core (Snes9x 2005 is a good place to start, then 2002) until you find one that works the best for you.

When it comes to graphical fidelity, I recommend the following settings:

Integer Scaling: OFF
Bilinear Filtering: ON
Filter: Normal2x

To access filters, you will want to go into RetroArch Settings > Directory and point the Video Filters folder to the correct filters folder (found at uxo:/data/retroarch/filters). Note that filters can affect CPU performance, so if a game is not running at full speed, I recommend removing the filter. In general, FinalBurn Alpha 2012 runs best without filters, and some demanding SNES games may need the filter to be off as well.

Some notes:

• You can also use overlays to fill up the blank space on your screen for certain systems, here is a good source.
• RetroArch on the PS Vita supports RetroAchievements! Check out this video guide for more info on how they work.
• NetPlay is possible between two PS Vitas. They need to be running the same version of RetroArch, the same core, and the same game file. You will also need to use a Relay Server (I wasn’t able to get local NetPlay to work in my testing). For more info, check out this guide.

Create RetroArch bubbles

You can use a tool called RetroBuilder to create bubbles for your Vita home screen. Note that this tool is only available on Windows PCs. To start, download the latest RetroBuilder .zip file, and extract it on your computer. Next, open the RetroBuilder 3.0 folder, and run the zz-RetroBuilder.bat file inside. You will see a pop-up menu. Inside that window, type “1” and ENTER to go to the Input Folder, which will pop up. Inside this folder, place three images:

bg.png - the bubble's background image
icon0.png - the bubble's image
startup.png - the clickable image over the background (optional)

You can use any sort of image you want. Personally, I prefer to use the boxart for my bg.png, the title screen for icon0.png, which I get from the Libretro thumbnails repository. For the startup.png, I use the system images from screenscraper.fr.

Once you have your images, rename them to the above names (it’s okay if they are .jpg, the app will convert them for you) and put them in the Input Folder. Next, take the ROM from your PS Vita and place a duplicate in the same Input Folder. Once those are complete, back on the zz-RetroBuilder.bat popup menu, type “2” and ENTER. It will ask you to name the bubble (e.g. “Super Mario World”) and to provide a 9-digit Title ID that is all CAPS and/or numbers (e.g. “SMW111222”).

Once complete, you will find a vpk inside the RetroBuilder/VPK folder. Move that vpk onto your Vita and then install it using VitaShell. You should now see the bubble on your home screen. Note that launching a game from the bubble takes quite a bit of time, since it has to launch RetroArch in the background.

Some notes on this process:

• For best results, name your ROMs folder “ROMS”, and name the system folders inside as follows: GB, GBC, GBA, NES, SNES, GG, GEN.
• My understanding is that you can only create bubbles for Nintendo and Sega games listed above — not Arcade games, TG16, etc.
• The bubbles will launch using the default core chosen by RetroBuilder, not what you have associated with your RetroArch playlist. To change the default core, check out this video from SaiyanPrinceVegeta.

Nintendo 64 emulation

The standalone Nintendo 64 emulator is called DaedalusX64. Installing this app is just like with any other VPK.

Once installed, put the N64 game files in the data > DaedalusX64 > Roms folder of your microSD card. Boot the app once to create the folder structure, then move over your files using VitaShell. You may not have a folder named “Roms” in your Daedalus data folder, which is fine — just make one. I recommend using unzipped .n64 or .z64 files.

Once you’ve loaded up your games, start up the DaedalusX64 app and go to Files > Download Data Files, which will download the media (box art) for every game in the Nintendo 64 catalog and load them for the games you’ve added.

There are a few things you can do to improve the performance of the DaedalusX64.

• Every time you boot up the app, it will check for a new update and will also re-download the compatibility list. These only need to be done periodically, so it’s better to turn them off. To do so, go to Extra > Auto Update at Boot > OFF, and Extra > Update Compat List at Boot > OFF. Be sure to also go to Extra > Save Global Settings.
• To increase the font size of the text, go to Extra > Scale UI Texts.
• If you have graphical glitches when playing a game, go to Graphics > Textures Caching and toggle between those three settings.
• In the Input > Controls Mapping there are a number of mapping configurations available depending on your play style and the game you are playing.
• If you are experiencing performance problems but really want to play a certain game, the single biggest thing you can do to improve performance is to go in and select Audio > Disabled. The Nintendo 64 didn’t have a dedicated audio chip, so all audio was routed through the CPU; disabling the audio will be less taxing on the CPU altogether. For example, with audio off, you can expect about 32fps performance on Goldeneye 007 without any sort of overclocking (expect about 20fps with the audio on). That being said, audio is often considered an integral aspect of gaming, so you may not be interested in this option.
• While in the game selection menu, click the “Filter by” dropdown to filter your games by playability. That way, you can load up all of your games at once, set a “Playable” filter, and then only have the playable games listed (as determined by the community’s compatibility list) in your game selection menu.
• The app will default to a 16:9 aspect ratio, which honestly looks pretty great for some games. To adjust it to 4:3, to go Graphics > Aspect Ratio > 4:3. Some games will work with the “16:9 unstretched” option, which functions as a widescreen hack, which you can see in the picture below:

Dreamcast emulation

Starting in August of 2022, the Flycast emulator has been available for the PS Vita, bringing limited Dreamcast emulation support to the console. The emulation performance is not great, but I would expect about 25% of the catalog to be readily playable with an acceptable amount of slowdown. I wouldn’t consider this to be a “Dreamcast device”, but it’s cool to see some of these games running on the Vita. For a list of tested games, check out this page.

To get started, you will need to install a few plugins to get the emulator working. Written instructions are provided by the developer (in the Installation tab) and have been frequently updated, so refer to this page for the most comprehensive details. The video above will also walk you through the process.

• Download the latest kubridge and fdfix plugins (they will be in skprx file format), and add them to the taiHEN plugins folder, usually found in ur0:tai if you used my methods above to jailbreak your device.
• Within that ur0:/tai folder, you will see a file named config.txt. Open that file within VitaShell, then about halfway through that file you will find a line named *KERNEL with a listing of some plugins (usually in skprx file format). Within this listing, press the TRIANGLE button and select “Insert empty file”. Now with your cursor on that blank line, press the ENTER button and type the following using the Vita’s keyboard:

ur0:tai/kubridge.skprx
ur0:tai/fd_fix.skprx

• From there, press the BACK button on your Vita and confirm that you want to save your modifications. Reboot your device for the plugins to take effect.
• Now we need to add a shader compiler. Full instructions are here, here is what I did:
  • Install the CrystalPSM.vpk app and run it on your PS Vita (make sure the Vita is not plugged into your PC during this step).
  • Install the ShaRKF00D.vpk app and run it on your PS Vita.
  • If you run into any issues, check out the full instructions for more info.
• Download and install the latest version of the Flycast VPK from this page. If the app crashes, you may have too many other plugins installed on your device, or check your plugins to make sure they are properly installed.

Once you launch the app, it will create a data folder at uxo:/data/flycast/data. Inside there you can add your dc_boot.bin and dc_flash.bin BIOS files if you want the best compatibility (and you will also see the DC boot logo when starting a game). I also put my game files in this folder.

Some notes:

• On the main app page, check the “Suggested Option Setup” tab for optimal default settings.
• GDI file types work best, I put them in their own subfolder for easy organization.
• When possible, use PAL versions of games and check the compatibility list to see if any of your games have a 30fps patch to further improve performance. Click on the name of the game for more specific details.
• This emulator has been known to have a memory leak and can degrade in performance the longer you use it. Be sure to use save states and periodically close the app and reopen it for the best performance.
• Most Atomiswave games have Dreamcast ports, so you can try those out as well.
• If you want to support the development of this emulator, consider adding your test results to the compatibility page or become a Patreon member.

Overclocking the PS Vita

The PS Vita has an ARM Cortex A9 CPU, which can be clocked up to 2GHz. However, Sony clocked their CPU to 333MHz in order to improve stability and battery life. Overclocking can potentially improve emulation performance on the PS Vita, especially with RetroArch and DaedalusX64.

Note that overclocking performance can vary by Vita (also known as “silicon lottery”). Additionally, overclocking your Vita may cause premature aging to your battery and other components. Use sparingly and at your own risk.

Overclocking is done via plugins. To learn how to install plugins, refer to the VPKs and plugins section of this guide.

Note that this plugin may already be installed on your device by virtue of using the VitaDeploy method above. So try toggling it on before trying to install it.

• PSVshell — this plugin has three different GUI modes which can come in handy when you want to display your performance while playing. This plugin is similar to LOLIcon in that you can adjust the clockspeed up to 500MHz. To bring up this GUI, also press SELECT + UP and you can cycle through different views by pressing SELECT + UP or DOWN.

To see some of these overclocking options in motion, check out my N64 emulation video (embedded above).

Improve the PS Vita 2000 screen

The PS Vita 2000 “Slim” has a lot of improvements over the PS Vita 1000 — it is slimmer, lighter, more ergonomic, uses micro-USB to charge instead of a proprietary charger, and has longer batter life. But there is one big downside: it uses an LCD display, which is inferior to the OLED screen on the PS Vita 1000. There is one trick you can do to improve the saturation and contrast on the PS Vita 2000 so that it better mimics the OLED PS Vita display.

To start, we will need an app called RegistryEditor. Go to this GitHub releases page and download the latest RegistryEditor.vpk file. Connect the Vita to your PC via VitaShell, then press SELECT on the Vita to enter USB mode. Copy the RegistryEditor.vpk file into the root “USB Drive” folder of your Vita. Disconnect from USB mode, then scroll down to find the RegistryEditor.vpk file on your Vita; press CIRCLE to install the package and follow the prompts. Close VitaShell and you should now see the RegistryEditor app on your home screen.

Open up the RegistryEditor app, and then select CONFIG > DISPLAY and edit these two lines to change their values from “0” to “1”:

color_space_mode: 1
rgb_range_mode: 1

Once you have adjusted these values, press START on your Vita to save your settings and close the app. Next, reboot your Vita and you should now have more saturated colors and higher contrast.

Hack your PS Vita (PC method)

This is an older method for hacking the PS Vita but it still works fine! This method works best with Windows, but it is possible to do it on a Mac or Linux machine using these instructions. This guide is written with Windows users in mind, and I recommend borrowing a friend’s Windows machine or creating your own Windows virtual machine.

The individual steps are detailed in my Browser-based jailbreak section above, but here are the items that are unique to this PC method:

Install Final h-encore2:

1. Head over to soarqin’s GitHub releases page and download the latest release of FinalHE. Unzip the file into its own folder. Note that in the video I refer to it as a “zip” file, but the file format is actually .7z, which is a 7zip file. This file type is compressed like .zip and behaves the same way. You can use the built-in Windows unzipping utility to extract the file contents, or use 7zip.
2. Go to SKGleba’s GitHub releases page and download this release of VitaDeploy. Be sure to get the “FHE” version that is in .zip format. Keep this file zipped, and place it inside the unzipped FinalHE folder.
3. Inside the FinalHE folder, start the FinalHe.exe file. A window will pop up, select the “Trim h-encore to ~7MB” option, then open the side menu (it’s a very small arrow) and select the VitaDeploy option under “Additional applications”. Turn on your Vita and plug it into your PC via USB; navigate to the Content Manager app and select “Copy content > PC”. FinalHE will detect your Vita. If it doesn’t, refer to the blue text box below.
4. On your PC, in the Final h-encore window, click the “Let’s GO!” button and wait until it finishes. On the Vita, navigate to “PC > PS Vita > Applications > PS Vita” and select both h-encore2 and VitaDeploy and then select “Copy”.
5. Back on your Vita’s main menu, you should now see the h-encore2 and VitaDeploy apps. Tap the h-encore2 app to launch it (if it crashes, keep trying until it works). Once the app is open, all you have to do is exit the app.

PC connection troubleshooting
If you have problems connecting your Vita to the PC in order to run FinalHE, try the following steps:
– Install this QCMA driver and try again.
– If that doesn’t work, install the Content Manager Assistant application. You don’t need to actually run it, but the act of installing it will install drivers that can assist in the connection.
– If that doesn’t work, try uninstalling the Content Manager Assistant and installing QCMA by following these instructions.
– You can also try connecting via WiFi. During step #3 above, select Copy Content > PC > WiFi > and add your PC name here. When you click on your PC name, it should prompt you to enter a string of numbers that are being displayed on your screen. With final_he still running on your PC, it should display that same string of numbers near the bottom of the window. On the Vita prompt asking for those numbers, just enter them and it should sync up with final_he on your PC, you’ll see that “Let’s Go!” lights up. Thanks to discord user Levy for the tip!

Changelog

31JUL2024
– added note about version spoofing to prevent further updates

08JAN2023
– updated to reflect new HENlo URL and menu

07JAN2023
– updated with new jailbreak guide

02JAN2023
– updated links and sections in anticipation of browser-based jailbreak video

05SEP2022
– added links to the new VitaDB downloader app

04SEP2022
– added Dreamcast emulation section

29AUG2022
– added updated PS Vita hack video guide
– added details on how to play original game carts after jailbreaking/SD2Vita hack

27AUG2022
– separated VPKs and plugin sections, and added more details (thanks to Cimmerian for the suggestions)

26AUG2022
– removed legacy instructions. If you want to jailbreak your Vita, I recommend starting from scratch
– removed AutoPlugin instructions and replaced it with manual plugin installation instructions
– added VPKs and plugins section, merged with old “install standalone emulators and ports” section
– general housekeeping of new links and apps

04AUG2022
– added WiFi connection instructions

22JUN2022
– added connection tips during FinalHE
– adjusted guide to reflect compatibility with 3.74

03DEC2021
– added amplifying information about manually installing Adrenaline

07AUG2021
– added written VitaDeploy guide
– reorganized guide to emphasize VitaDeploy as preferred method

19JUL2021
– added h-encore troubleshooting suggestions

10JUL2021
– added N64 video
– added Restore PlayStation Store access section

09JUL2021
– added Nintendo 64 emulation section
– added overclocking section

13JUN2021
– added link to RetroArch video
– updated RetroArch guide
– added Vita Media Player link
– added NetPlay information

12JUN2021
– added more RetroArch info and the RetroArch bubbles guide

31MAY2021
– updated wording based on feedback from romadu

16MAY2021
– added tip about resetting device after downgrading to make sure settings stick

15MAY2021
– added Adrenaline Bubble Manager
– added recommended Adrenaline settings

12MAY2021
– added WiFi FTP instructions

01MAY2021
– added SD2Vita (YAMT method) instructions and video
– added migration instructions from Storage Manager to YAMT for existing SD2Vita users

27APR2021
– published guide
– added HENkaku version spoofing instructions
– added PSN login instructions

PCH1000 grips:
https://amzn.to/3nfe7QH
https://www.play-asia.com/l2r2-button-grip-cover-for-pch-1000-black/13/709ikh

PCH2000 grips:
https://www.play-asia.com/l2r2-button-grip-cover-for-pch-2000-white/13/708qs5

If you’ve ever spent time on any emulation-related website, subreddit, YouTube comments, or discord server, you’ve heard the arguments: if you want a good handheld gaming device, you must buy a PS Vita. So I decided to pick up a PS Vita and give it the same critical eye that I like to give any of my handheld devices.

Table of Contents
Specs and features
Where to buy and necessary tools
How to hack a PS Vita
Hardware
Emulation performance
PS1 and PSP backwards compatibility, PS Vita, and Remote Play
Likes, dislikes, and conclusion

Changelog

Specs and features

The PlayStation Vita debuted in Japan in late 2011, and made its way overseas by early 2012. During its seven-year run, a total of 1,508 Vita and PlayStation Network (PSN) indie games were released worldwide for the device.

CPU: Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore (can be clocked to 2GHz)
GPU: Quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4+
RAM: 512 MB RAM, 128 MB VRAM
Screen: 960 × 544 qHD @ 220 ppi (16:9 aspect ratio)
Connectivity: EEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 3G (some models)
Battery: 2210 mAh (3-6 hours depending on model)

The Vita had two models: the PCH1000 model (featured in my video above) with an OLED display, and a PCH2000 model with an LCD display. The general consensus is that the PCH1000 model has a better display, but the PCH2000 model has longer battery life. The PCH2000 is 20% thinner and 15% lighter than the PCH1000 model.

Where to buy and necessary tools

Sony stopped production of the PlayStation Vita in March 2019, so the only place to buy this device is now on the used marketplace. Its original MSRP was $250, and it still commands a fairly high price. In general, I would expect to pay about $200 for a working device in good condition; you may be able to find deals for as low as $175 if you’re lucky.

I bought mine via eBay from a seller named supply4demand808, who is “Top Rated Plus” and has sold many Vitas. They were very professional and helped me find the right device for my needs. After some discussion, I decided to go with the PCH1000 because of its OLED display. Because we both live in Hawaii (but on different islands), it only took a few days to ship to me. If you are in the United States, I highly recommend their eBay store. One thing to note is that ALL FIRMWARES are hackable for the PS Vita, so don’t worry about what firmware is listed for the system; the video guide below works on the most recent firmware version (3.73).

If you want to hack your PS Vita in order to install RetroArch, you will need to save some files to the device. If you have a PCH2000 model, the device has 1GB of onboard storage, so you are good to go. But if you have a PCH1000 model, you will need to buy a Sony PS Vita memory card, which is proprietary. The size of the card doesn’t matter, so if you can find a 4GB card, go for it. 8GB cards are easier to find, which is what I bought (via eBay for about $20).

Finally, once you’ve hacked your PS Vita, you will be able to use an SD2VITA card, which will allow you to use a microSD card for storage. It costs between $5 and $10 on Amazon and is worth every penny (be sure to buy this FunTurbo brand card, it is highly regarded as being the most reliable of these cards). I paired my SD2VITA card with a 256 Samsung microSD card and it can fit a ton of PS1, PSP, and PS Vita games.

Your device should come with a charger, but if it doesn’t, grab one of these and you’re ready to rock.

The eBay links above are affiliate links for which I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

How to hack a PS Vita

I’ll admit it, hacking a PS Vita was a harrowing experience for me. I followed the video above from Tech Savvy Buyer and it worked like a charm, but throughout the process I kept worrying that I was going to brick my unit. But that may be some lingering PTSD on my part — I bought an original PlayStation Portable on day one (March 2005), and bricked it the following year trying to hack/jailbreak it to play retro games. But things have come a long way since then, so just follow the video above and you should be fine. Do note that the process is beginner-level, but will still require you to be fairly computer savvy.

Once the device is hacked, you can modify it to allow an SD2VITA card (see this video), install RetroArch, and more. There are tons of videos about these processes, so let’s move on to my actual review of this device.

Hardware

In general, the device has a very premium feel. The entire front is covered in glass, which makes it highly reflective and a fingerprint magnet. Even if you wipe the device down with a microfiber cloth, it will be filthy again within minutes.

The buttons feel fantastic. The d-pad and face buttons are set inside a slightly convex frame, and it makes them feel very natural and nice. The buttons themselves are a perfect mixture of clicky and squishy — they feel more modern than a retro gamepad, but still very responsive. The analog sticks are a little on the small side, but they are easy to adjust to. Note that the analog sticks do not click down, so there is no L3/R3 buttons on this device.

Speaking of a lack of buttons, the PS Vita does not have L2/R2 trigger buttons, just L1 and R1 shoulder buttons. This isn’t an issue when playing PSP or PS Vita games, but can cause an issue for PS1 games and especially for PS4 games (more on that later). The START, SELECT, and HOME buttons are all flush with the device; this prevents you from accidentally pressing them, but they’re also a bit difficult to press (especially START and SELECT) because they are so small.

The device has two front-facing stereo speakers that sound just fine, and a headphone jack on the bottom. Because it is bluetooth enabled, you can also use bluetooth headphones with this device.

Up top, you have your power button, volume buttons, and ports for the Vita card and an accessory slot that doesn’t really do anything. Down below you have a charging port, headphone jack, and a Sony memory card slot.

The 5″ screen on this device is incredible! I spend a lot of time looking at small screens on handheld gaming devices, and I’ve never seen one like this (bear in mind I have the OLED model). Compared to the 3.5″ screen on other retro devices, this device feels like a monster. And because the bezels are nestled within the device itself, it appears to have ZERO bezels, which makes the experience that much more premium.

Dimensions

PCH-1000:
83.55 mm (3.289 in) (height)
182 mm (7.2 in) (width)
18.6 mm (0.73 in) (depth)

PCH-2000:
85.1 mm (3.35 in) (height)
183.6 mm (7.23 in) (width)
15.0 mm (0.59 in) (depth)

Mass

PCH-1000:
260 grams (9.2 oz) (Wi-Fi)
279 grams (9.8 oz) (3G version)

PCH-2000:
219 grams (7.7 oz) (Wi-Fi)

Emulation performance

RetroArch is the simplest way to emulate systems on the PS Vita, and it is what I primarily tested for this device. Here is an abbreviated list of supported RetroArch emulation cores:

You may notice that certain systems, such as Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Sega Saturn, and Sega Dreamcast are not listed. That’s because they are either unplayable or play very poorly on this system. Developers are working on standalone emulators for some of these systems, but they are far from complete. So if you were hoping to get a PS Vita in order to play N64, NDS, or Dreamcast games, this isn’t the system for you.

As a whole, RetroArch is a little slim and buggy compared to other versions of the app. For example, you have to download a standalone version of RetroArch, which doesn’t have online core updates, shaders, etc. Although I’m using the “stable” 1.9.0 version, it is still buggy, and it will crash randomly. Note that for the gpSP emulator core to work, you will need to put the gba_bios.bin BIOS file into the data/retroarch/system/ folder on your memory card.

The emulation performance is also not stellar. Some SNES games, like Super Mario RPG, have a hard time playing at full speed, and many arcade games (both in MAME and FBNeo) cannot keep up. CPS2, CPS3, and other games (like Mortal Kombat) cannot play at full speed. It’s disappointing, but the arcade performance on this device is worse than on the RG350 devices, which has a far inferior chipset.

PS1 and PSP backwards compatibility, PS Vita, and Remote Play

The PS Vita is backwards compatible with the PS1 and PSP, and these games play flawlessly through the Adrenaline app. Booting up that app is like starting up an original PSP, and it brings me no small amount of joy to see that old interface. After spending so much time trying to squeeze PSP performance out of my RG351P or Retroid Pocket 2, it is super awesome to see PSP games running so well on the PS Vita. The Adrenaline settings are very helpful; for example, you can map the right analog stick to whatever buttons you’d like, which is very helpful for games like Daxter and Ratchet and Clank, which use the L and R shoulder buttons to move the camera. You can map the right analog stick to the L and R buttons and voilà, you have a perfectly functioning right analog stick camera setup.

Similarly, PS1 games run perfectly on this device, and you can adjust the screen size to the nth degree using the application. So no matter what dimensions you like, you can find your perfect fit in this app.

And it goes without saying but PS Vita games themselves are a bonus feature for this device. Many of my favorite PS2 games have HD collections available on this platform, to include Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and Sly Cooper. In all, there is a very impressive software library available from the Sony catalog alone.

And finally, the device also supports PS3 and PS4 Remote Play. So if you have either of those systems, you can play those games directly on your PS Vita. The only downside, and it’s a major downside, is that you have to use L2/R2 and L3/R3 via the rear touchpad, which is not very responsive and doesn’t compare to physical buttons. There are third-party cases available that add trigger buttons to the device, but the good ones (from Japan) are relatively pricey, so expect to pay around $50 for one. But if PS3/PS4 remote gameplay is important to you, this is a viable solution.

Likes, dislikes, and conclusion

To sum up my experience, here is what I love about the device, what I don’t love, and what it all means.

Likes:

• Screen: this 5″ OLED display on the PCH1000 is downright gorgeous. It makes other devices’ screens pale in comparison. I like that it’s a touchscreen, it makes using the menus very inuitive.
• Craftsmanship: the PS Vita is a premium device. After spending a lot of time with Chinese-designed-and-manufactured devices, it’s refreshing to get my hands on a first-party device that came from a reputable development team. This thing just oozes quality.
• Quality of life features: the online connectivity, bluetooth, and sleep mode on this device are very handy, and while they are expected with Sony devices, it’s often overlooked with other retro handheld devices.
• Sony software library: the PS Vita, PSP, PS1, and PS3/PS4 Remote Play options on this device are phenomenal. If you are a big fan of Sony products and games, and somehow don’t have a Vita already, now is a great time to pick one up. It’s been 15 years since I first bought my PSP, and getting into the PS Vita has been a real joy for me.
• Community: there is a large PS Vita community out there, which gives me hope that this device will be relevant for years to come. And who knows, maybe they’ll get a legitimate N64 or NDS emulator someday. Speaking of which:

Dislikes:

• Fingerprint magnet: it bothers me how quickly this device gets dirty. I actually wish it had a plastic shell (but this same screen), just so it would not be so reflective and fingerprint-catching.
• L2/R2 buttons: the lack of trigger buttons is disappointing when trying to play PS1 and PS4 Remote Play games. It basically renders most PS4 games unplayable, because that unresponsive back touchpad is not even worth playing in my opinion.
• Not ergonomic: the device has these little pads on the back of the device, ostensibly for your fingers to go into, but they are poorly placed. Overall, I have a hard time figuring out how to hold this device. Because it’s rather slick, and because it’s shaped more like an oval than a rectangle, it is slightly awkward in the hand.
• Hacking not fun: I didn’t enjoy the experience of hacking the device. In fact, at one point I thought I had bricked my device (turns out you can hold the L1 button while booting to boot without any user settings, which can sometimes fix booting issues). Overall, even being relatively computer savvy, I found myself very nervous during the hacking process.
• Emulation: using RetroArch as my primary means of emulation, I found the experience to be lackluster. The games that do play look great, but the supported systems are limited and games/cores were prone to crashing out of nowhere.

In a nutshell, the PS Vita shines doing all the things it was intended to do: run PS Vita, PS1, PSP, and PS4 Remote Play games. As a standalone emulation system, it doesn’t really “wow” me at all. In fact, if I was to only choose one device solely for retro gaming, the PS Vita would not be that system. I’d rather play on my RG351P, a device that is made for retro gaming, even if it does have an inferior screen and chipset.

Changelog

13DEC2020
– published article
– added GBA bios info