Building a Retro Gaming Setup with Raspberry Pi

Hello there,

I am new to the world of retro gaming and have recently discovered the joy of playing classic games from my childhood. I have been doing some research and found that many enthusiasts use a Raspberry Pi to build their retro gaming setups. Although; I am a bit overwhelmed with all the information and options available; so I thought I would reach out to this knowledgeable community for some advice.

I  am looking to create a setup that can handle a variety of systems, primarily from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. I have a Raspberry Pi 4 and a basic understanding of how to set it up; but I am unsure about the best software; peripherals; and overall configuration to use.

What’s the best software or operating system to use for emulating these classic consoles? I’ve heard of RetroPie, Lakka, and Recalbox but don’t know which one would be best for my needs.

What controllers do you recommend for the most authentic and responsive experience? I’ve seen a lot of options online, but personal experiences and recommendations would be invaluable.

How do you manage your ROMs and ensure they are organized and easily accessible? Any tips on where to find ROMs and how to keep everything in order?

What’s the best way to connect the Raspberry Pi to a modern TV or monitor? Any specific settings or hardware that would optimize the gaming experience?

Also, I have gone through this post; https://www.retroroms.info/forum/topic/Missing-some-golang-for-Fightcade-2-older-FBA-Neo-.1001.htm which definitely helped me out a lot.

I am really excited to dive deeper into retro gaming and create a setup that will bring back those nostalgic memories.

Thanks in advance for your help and assistance.

I'd recommend RetroPie with a 32-64GB USB stick.

For controller, a xbox One Bluetooth one is optimal.

To get the roms organized, stick in the usb stick and run the usb-script (https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Running-ROMs-from-a-USB-drive/)

now you can load all your roms.

If you connect it to the internet you can also update all the emulators through the "Retropie setup" option.

the Rpi4 takes micro-HDMI -> HDMI, so your TV /Monitor will need a HDMI outlet.

also get a good enough usb C charger for the pi4, the official one would work.

Side-note, retropie uses launchbox so when you load your roms on the usb it will automatically load in launchbox and get organized by system.

While the official power supply is only 15W, many other brands are known to be incompatible with the 1G, 2G and 4G boards (not sure if they fixed it in the later 8G). Especially people who tried to use Apple chargers ran into severe trouble.

So i agree: Play it safe and get the official one.

EDIT: For cabled gamepads, you will definitely need and want an OTG adapter that splits one USB-C male into two USB-A female. They cost next to nothing, and lets you use those retro clone gamepads.