#RetroPi
Retro Posting
One of my interests of the last few years that might loosely be called a "hobby" is collecting and assembling microcomputers for use in playing retro games. I hesitate to call it "retro gaming", mostly because I feel like that invokes the idea of paying exorbitant amounts of money to fill a room full of games I'll never play?
But I love playing older games. And I love having access to playing old games! Because when it's hard to play the old games, I don't play the old games! So one of my pursuits has been, how can I consolidate the old games enough that they're in one place, and it's simple to fire them up? Particularly with a mind toward portability.
Obviously just dropping everything onto what I use for my main computer, and using emulation, is the easiest approach. But I've delved into a few additional options, and if you'll humor me, I'd like to go into the details, the pros, and the cons, of each.
As advanced warning, this gets LONG, and is mostly just me indulging myself, so please don't feel pressured to read it.
Option 1: On a Lark - Tiny Windows Machines
The first, and by far easiest, entry into this realm for me was the Chuwi LarkBox. Despite being more expensive than some of the other options, it was ridiculously simple to get running. This tiny little box is essentially a capable Windows computer, though with a rather meager processor and not much in the way of graphical acceleration.
With this, all you really need to do is plug in your peripherals, install your favorite emulators, transfer your games, and you're good to go. It's very capable of playing games up to about the Dreamcast era. The Dreamcast tends to be about the ceiling of its performance, though. As a nice bonus, this little things has been a tremendous boon for retro PC games! I've managed to get a lot of older Windows titles from the later 90s and early 2000s running without issue. That's SUPER nice, because a lot of the older games require tinkering and installation of codec packs or drivers that I absolutely don't want to put on my modern system.
I was amazed that it even runs Crysis (at Low).
On the downside, it has very limited O/I options, and may require a USB hub if you want to use a wired controller. It's also more costly than several other microcomputer solutions. At the end of the day, you're also using software emulation to play older games - Meaning that your compatibility and ease of accessibility comes at the cost of latency and some degree of authenticity.
Option 2: Fresh Baked Raspberry Pi
One of the most popular and effective microcomputers for stand-alone retrogaming has to be the Raspberry Pi. I've dabbled extensively with the Pi, starting back with the Pi 3, and up to the Pi 4. What I can say is that there is a wealth of knowledge with regard to how to bend these tiny boards into whatever shape you wish for retrogaming. By far this is the most mature platform when it comes to form factor and available accessories.
From left to right, we have a bare-board Raspberry Pi 4 running with a tower cooler for overclocking, which boots of a USB stick. Then a Raspberry Pi 3 running without active cooling inside a 3D-printed SNES case. After that, a Raspberry Pi 4 running inside an injection-molded NES case. And finally, a battery-powered Gameboy DMG modeled case housing another Raspberry Pi 4. All of these cases and enclosures, coolers and accessories, were super easy to get and were not hard to install or operate. They give a really nice bit of personality to the machines, as well as functionality.
The NES case has active cooling, and what's more, there's actually a physical, removable cartridge inside that houses an SSD the Pi boots from!
The Gameboy DMG modeled Pi actually runs off an internal battery pack, meaning that it is super portable and easy to take just about anywhere. The screen is pretty clear and easy to make out, and overall the entire console feels really good in the hands. There are rear triggers on the back, which aren't the greatest in terms of ergonomics, but are nevertheless appreciated when playing PS1 games. The PiBoy DMG came as a case that was a little finicky to put together, but nevertheless assembled without too much difficulty.
In addition to having just a very nice array of cases and accessories to support it, the Raspberry Pi does have a very mature software library at this point for retrogaming. RetroPi is readily available, and what's more, there are numerous pre-assembled disk images that you can grab to get up and running quickly.
The biggest advantage, by far, of the Pi? There are so many absolutely SLICK interfaces. Neat boot up videos, great library sorting, thumbnail images on a per-game basis, preview videos on a per-game basis, in-browser music. The ways you can run RetroPi look really, really cool, and have a lot of awesome presentation!
The Pi is not without its downsides, however. If you're on a Raspberry Pi 3, you're not going to see the machine push much more than a Neo Geo titles as it's ceiling for performance. PS1 games are okay, but hit or miss. Raspberry Pi 4 can absolutely run PS1 games without breaking a sweat, but even with a substantive overclock the Dreamcast is a bit of a struggle to say the least. Similarly, some later arcade titles are not happy running on the Pi 4.
But that is not the end of the woes with the Pi. From my own experience, what I would say is that the Pi is, in a word, fragile. Unless you're running off a pre-compiled image that includes all your games and BIOS files, plus all your desired configurations and updates, it takes a while to get the Pi set up and functioning the way you want it. And then, even more time to get the interface working and looking the way you want. And after all that effort, very often your reward will be a complete and total corruption of your install. Loss of everything.
If you shut off the Pi in the middle of operation, it's about a 50/50 chance that the next time you try to boot it, it's not going to work because the SD card or USB drive you're using got scrambled somehow. Again, if you're running from a pre-compiled image or have backups, this isn't the worst thing in the world. But it does set you back to essentially square one if you don't have good backups.
I cannot tell you the number of times I had a game freeze on me while playing in RetroPi, having absolutely no recourse other than to power down the system, and losing everything as a result.
Beyond that, it's not uncommon for RetroPi updates to hose a completely odd part of your installation, leaving you clueless as to what happened or how to fix it. I've had controllers quit working, and most annoyingly, had the audio from the device just cease to exist.
So, yeah, the Pis can look great, but at the end of the day they always feel like a house of cards to me.
And on top of that, I have always felt considerable input lag when playing any game on a Pi. At the end of the day, they're still running games via software emulation. While they have a wide breadth of games that can run, and it's easy to drop in any game and give it a try, there's always something just a little off about it.
That being said, the Pis are cheap, when they are available, and tend to give a generally good retrogaming experiencing if you're not playing a fighting game or need tight timings for precision platforming. Plus, dang, they can look pretty cool!
Option 3: They Call it Mister
The Mister FPGA is one of the more unique and technically minded ways to approach retrogaming these days. It's also one of the harder ones to get into thanks to the ongoing chip shortages that continue to drive up prices and drive down supply. Even in spite of that, however, the Mister FPGA project can deliver some absolutely stunning results if you are willing and able to tinker.
Full disclosure: The Mister FPGA project is designed pretty specifically for as close to an authentic retro gaming experience as possible. A large part of that experience is enabling play of retrogames on CRTs and older displays. As such, the Mister FPGA project supposedly really shines when it comes to outputting over RCA, SCART, or RGB (VGA) to some manner of old CRT - That is, at the core of it, the point of the project. I'll confess I'm using it via HDMI on my current TV, though, and that the experience is nevertheless very enjoyable.
There's another aspect to the authenticity angle here, too. While the other options above exclusively rely on software emulation, the Mister FPGA relies on, well, an FPGA - A Field Programmable Gate Array. I am not an expert in any regard. Nor am I what one could consider "competent in any capacity". But from what I gather, while standard emulation uses modern software to mimic and reproduce the hardware of yesteryear, FGPAs are chips that can be reconfigured on the fly so that the hardware itself is very similar to the original hardware. This means that things run really, really nice.
The input latency on a Mister FPGA is practically non-existent in my experience. And the games run extremely true to their original incarnations on original hardware. That's not to say that the Mister FPGA doesn't have some bells and whistles! There are plenty of ways to upscale the resolution, allow for more sprites on screen than would otherwise be possible on original hardware, or otherwise apply snazzy filters to a game. It's all possible to your heart's content. Honestly, the scanlines filter has been one I've been enjoying for PS1 games, as it gives a really nice look to the graphics that would otherwise be wonky on a progressive scan television.
So, the Mister FPGA is the real deal, right? Sounds perfect!
Well, it does have its downsides.
To begin with, the project is centered around the DE-10 Nano boards produced by Intel for, well, generally non-gaming purposes. That, plus the explosion in popularity that the Mister project has seen, combined with the ongoing chip shortage means... Well, nothing good. Prices for a DE-10 Nano are much higher than they ought to be. And that's when you're lucky enough to even FIND one. I had to wait multiple months on backorder to get just the DE-10 Nano, myself.
"Wait, what do you mean JUST the DE-10 Nano?"
Yeah, that's the other downside. With a Raspberry Pi, you buy the board, and then you're done. With the Mister Project, you're looking at buying at LEAST a secondary O/I board, as well as an output board, AND an expansion memory module if you want to play anything more complicated than basic NES/SNES/Genesis games. And that's not counting the cases that they make, too. Overall it starts to add up, and everything starts to look pretty clunky, too.
The option I went with was the Mister Multisystem - a hobbist produced all-in-one board to plug the DE-10 Nano into, which came with a fairly nice 3D printed case.
This thing is really, really slick. It has everything you need to get everything running very quickly, and requires no other hardware aside from the DE-10 Nano. That being said, because it is made in small quantities by super dedicated individuals pushing the limits of what batch production in a workshop can do, it took a VERY long time for availability to come online. I waited even longer for the Multisystem than I did for the DE-10 Nano. And beyond that, it wasn't anything approaching cheap, either!
So complex hardware aside, how's the software? Well, you're not going to see slick splash screens or animated intro videos. Nor will you see anything approaching the wizardry of the RetroPi for interface and library management. In all honesty, it feels very bare-bones selecting, running, and configuring your games.
But the gaming experience is second-to-none. And it is robust. I am yet to see the Mister Multisystem scramble an SD card. And the updates and software upgrades just work. The platform feels solid and dependable, compared to the house of cards that is the RetroPi. Getting it up and running was a snap once the hardware was in hand, and using the system in action has been a joy.
One final note about the Mister FPGA is one of scope. Because the FPGA requires a very special touch, not every system is going to be available - But once that system IS available, it's rock solid across the library for the most part. This means that there's nothing akin to a MAME equivalent - Every arcade game you might want to play needs particular programming love and care before it's viable on the Mister. And that means the compatible library might be narrow compared to expectations.
That being said? Consoles are a one-and-done deal for the entire library. As of very recently, the Mister system acquired extremely good compatibility with PS1 games - Something that was previously considered out of reach entirely. There are currently ongoing projects looking to bring the Sega Saturn online for the Mister, but those are presently in beta (They look VERY good, though!). Sadly, that's about the ceiling for what the DE-10 nano can power. There's not likely to be N64 or Dreamcast support on the Mister now, or anytime in the future.
Overall, though, I have to say that the Mister FPGA via the Mister Multisystem has been the most enjoyable retrogaming system I've used to date, and I'm excited to use it more. If there's an option to use it over the RetroPi, I will every time. It feels crisp, responsive, and looks great.
Summary: Pros and Cons
Windows Microcomputer
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Easy to get running | - Very limited I/O |
| + Extremely wide library | - Software emulation means input lag |
| + Good speed through Dreamcast era | - Not exactly fun or slick |
| + Access to some PC titles |
RetroPi on Raspberry Pi
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Cheapest option, requires little other hardware | - Worst input lag of all options |
| + Mature platform with wide knowledge base and pre-compiled images | - Struggles with some Dreamcast and N64 titles |
| + Good speed and support through PS1 | - High frequency of errors, crashes, and data loss |
| + Extremely stylish interface and form factor options |
Mister FPGA via Mister Multisystem
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Absolutely superb compatibility and accuracy | - Challenging availability, high price |
| + Minimal input lag! | - Limited processing power means PS1 or lower games (with Saturn on the way) |
| + Robust, if simplistic, software interface | - Mundane interface and case options |
| + Highest number of A/V options, including direct CRT connections |
Final Word
So, at the end of it all, what conclusion do I wish to deliver?
Well honestly, the retro system that gets you playing the games is the best one. For all the blathering on I just did, I don't think any of these options are BAD. And neither is the computer you're reading this on right now!
This was all just an excuse for me to put some of my thoughts out there in a written format. Right now, for me, the Mister FPGA is getting me looking back at the PS1 era (an era I largely missed), so I'm really liking it.
Anyhow, that's a lot of nonsense and prattling on.
Thanks for listening!