RetroArch 1.3 Released

RetroArch, the emulator capable of running pretty much every game console before the 2000’s, was recently updated to version 1.3.

This update brings a number of important features – too many to list here, actually. Cores and plugins can be auto-updated, the app stores things in more intelligent and accessible locations, there’s a new Dreamcast core (not on iOS for now)… lots of stuff.

Unfortunately, this comes with a pretty huge regression in the quality of the iOS version’s interface. Because nobody on the RetroArch team particularly cares about iOS, the previous version’s (relatively good) iOS interface was thrown away in favor of a rewritten one. This new interface is extremely buggy, and lacks important features.

I’ll be blunt: the new interface is unusable. Literally – it makes certain functions completely inaccessible in game. The app comes with a completely separate, android-style interface. You can use this interface instead of the iOS one, and you probably should. Hopefully the functional Android interface will be made default in the future.

One of the developers indicated to me that the currently-broken iOS interface will possibly be removed completely in the future. As much as it pains me to say so, I think this is for the best. If none of the developers want to put the time into making a real iOS interface, that’s unfortunate, but it’s better than the mess we have right now.

On better news, the emulation cores themselves are better than ever. Everything runs full-speed on most iOS hardware; usually with plenty of headroom for resolution increases and performance improvements. MFi controllers are fully supported, though setting them up can be a bit of a pain.

RetroArch has long been one of my favorite apps on iOS. I have so many classic games, hundreds of PlayStation CDs I’ve painstakingly ripped – I play games on RetroArch more often than I play official games from the App Store. Even with the crappy interface, this is a strong recommendation.

If you’re jailbroken, RetroArch has a Cydia repo where you can get the latest builds. If you aren’t jailbroken, you’ll need to build and compile the app yourself using Xcode, and sign the cores manually. Compiling the app without jailbreaking is a pain, but you can make it work if you’re willing to stick through it.