RetroArch: Beginners’ Guide 2021

Retroarch is a frontend for emulators. You can find most popular emulators available on Retroarch to play your favorite retro games.

RetroArch makes it easy to manage your settings across multiple emulators, such as button mapping, drivers, shaders and filters, video and audio, as well as online play for certain systems and achievements through RetroAchievements.

From Steam itself you can download each Core (emulator) in the form of a free DLC.

So far the following cores are available this way:

The Retroarch team will slowly add more cores to download from the Steam page. In the meantime you can download the remaining cores from here (click)[buildbot.libretro.com].
Once downloaded you can follow these steps:

1. Extract the files into a temporary folder
   
2. Copy the cores you wish to add to Retroarch
3. Go to the root Retroarch folder (Steam Library -> Right click Retroarch -> Manage -> Browse local files), enter the “cores” folder and paste them there.
   

Some cores need a special file called the system BIOS to work, while for others it’s optional or doesn’t exist. Here is a reference table for the current available systems:

In any case it is recommended to insert the BIOS of any system that supports it, as it often enhances game emulation.

For cores you install yourself, you can check whether they need a BIOS the following way:

1. From the main menu select Load Core
   
2. Pick a core
   
3. Information
   
4. Core Information
   
5. The BIOS will appear as either Required or Optional
   

To obtain the BIOS for a particular system, and games for that system, you need to dump them from your own physical console. The process is different for each system and will not be explained in this guide.

Note that searching for these files online is a form of piracy and is not condoned by Retroarch.

All BIOS files must be placed inside the “system” folder, located in the root RetroArch folder mentioned previously.

It will then appear as Present inside Core Information for that system.

Inside Core Information you can also view the file extensions compatible with that system:

For example. PCSX ReARMed is compatible with these file types: .bin, .cue, .img, .mdf, .pbp, .toc, .cbn, .m3u, .ccd, .chd
If the file is insize a .zip or .7z, RetroArch will extract it before running it.

To open a game first select Load Core, pick the system you want, then select Load Content

You can now find the file of the game you want to play in your computer and select it.

Time to play!

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Thanks to ugoku and OrchidAlloy for his great guide, all credit to his effort. you can also read the original guide from Steam Community. enjoy the game.