Emulators

There are numerous emulators available for the Raspberry Pi. Some of these are available through the App Store, others you need to download from a website and manually install, and then there are some which can be installed via Raspbian's package manager.

Emulators recreate how a game console works, but they don't emulate the games themselves. That requires the game data. When we refer to game files in this book, we are referring to the Read-Only Memory (ROM) that a video game's data is stored on. These can be cartridges, CDs and DVDs, floppy disks, and other types of media. Many are available as files you can download. Please be aware that copyright may still exist on these files and that not all are freely available.

Mednafen

Mednafen is a program that consists of multiple system emulators. It can emulate the Atari Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket Color, WonderSwan, Game Boy Color, and the TurboGrafx-16 with great performance.

Installing Mednafen from the terminal is easy. We will use apt-get, which is the default package manager for Raspbian. The apt-get command makes it easy to install and update common Linux utilities and programs.

Note

Before using apt-get to install an application, you should run sudo apt-get update. This will keep the list of available applications up to date.

Let's see how to use the apt-get command:

  1. In the command prompt, type sudo apt-get install mednafen and press Enter.
  2. The apt-get command will now search the repositories for the application, download the package, and install it on your system. When it is completed, type mednafen and press Enter. You will be greeted with text that explains how to use the program.
  3. This version is best run under the desktop, so type startx in the command prompt, and press Enter.
  4. You will want to bring up the terminal app by double-clicking on LXTerminal from the desktop. You will also need to supply a game file to test with.
  5. From the terminal, type mednafen /path/to/gamename and press Enter, for example, mednafen /home/pi/homebrew.zip.
  6. Mednafen will read the game file, select the correct system, and bring up the game window.

You are now ready to play games using Mednafen.

FCEUX (NES)

FCEUX is an emulator designed to run games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The NES is arguably the most popular and well known gaming system in video game history. Released in 1984, the NES introduced such popular titles as Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, MegaMan, and Metroid. Hundreds of games were produced for this 8-bit system, many of which can be played on the Raspberry Pi. The following steps will show you how to use FCEUX for running the game:

  1. We will start by downloading FCEUX. Type wget http://raspberrypigaming.com/files/fceux.zip into your terminal.
  2. Next, type unzip fceux.zip and press Enter. If you get the error saying unzip not found, type sudo apt-get -y install unzip to install the unzip program.
  3. The file fceux should now be in your directory. Run the emulator by typing ./fceux /path/to/game/rom, for example, ./fceux /home/pi/smb.nes.
    FCEUX (NES)

PiSNES (SNES)

PiSNES is a port of the SNES9x project and is an emulator designed to run games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The SNES was released in 1991, and featured 16-bit graphics, which was incredible for its time. The games released on the SNES are still highly sought after; collectors and players all around the world still enjoy games such as Final Fantasy, Star Fox, MegaMan X, F-Zero, Super Mario World, and hundreds of other great games. What makes this emulation possible, is the fact that PiSNES takes advantage of the Raspberry Pi's graphics chip, and offloads much of the processing to that.

PiSNES is not available in the Pi Store or the repositories, so we must download it from the project home page. We will be using wget to download the project files as follows:

  1. First, we will create a folder for PiSNES. Type mkdir pisnes in a terminal.
  2. Now, enter into the pisnes directory with cd pisnes.
  3. Now, type wget http://raspberrypigaming.com/files/pisnes.zip. If that doesn't work, go to https://code.google.com/p/pisnes/ for the latest download.
  4. Unzip the file by running unzip pisnes.zip.
  5. Place your game files in the roms directory.
  6. Now, run PiSNES with ./snes9x.gui.
  7. A menu will appear with your available games. Have fun!
    PiSNES (SNES)

MAME4ALL

MAME4ALL is a port of the MAME project for the Raspberry Pi. MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, and as its name implies, it is capable of running a large number of arcade games.

MAME4ALL is not available in the Pi Store or the repositories, so we must download it from the project home page. We will be using wget to download the project files as follows:

  1. First, we will create a folder for MAME4ALL. Type mkdir mame4all in a terminal.
  2. Now, enter into the mame4all directory with cd mame4all.
  3. Next, type wget http://raspberrypigaming.com/files/mame4all_pi.zip. If that doesn't work, go to https://code.google.com/p/mame4all-pi/ for the latest download.
  4. Unzip the file by running unzip mame4all_pi.zip.
  5. Place your game files in the roms directory.
  6. Now, run MAME4ALL by typing ./mame.
  7. A menu will appear with your available games. Have fun!
    MAME4ALL

FinalBurn Alpha

FinalBurn Alpha is a project designed to emulate many arcade games, most notably those that run on the Neo Geo, Capcom CPS-1, and CPS-2 platforms.

FinalBurn Alpha is not available in the Pi Store or the repositories, so we must download it from the project home page. We will be using wget to download the project files.

  1. First, we will create a folder for FinalBurn Alpha. Type mkdir fba in a terminal.
  2. Now, enter into the fba directory with cd fba.
  3. Next, type wget http://raspberrypigaming.com/files/fba.zip. If that doesn't work, go to https://code.google.com/p/pifba/ for the latest download.
  4. Unzip the file by running unzip fba.zip.
  5. Place your game files in the roms directory.
  6. Now, run FinalBurn Alpha with ./fbacapex.
  7. A menu will appear with your available games. Have fun!
    FinalBurn Alpha

PCSX_ReARMed

PCSX_ReARMed is a PlayStation emulator for the Raspberry Pi. As crazy as this seems, the Raspberry Pi can play PlayStation games! The reason for this is that the Raspberry Pi has a very powerful graphics chip that runs OpenGL ES code. PCSX_ReARMed has been written to take advantage of OpenGL ES, which gives us a great emulator.

PCSX_ReARMed is available for free on the Pi Store. Make use of the following steps to download it:

  1. Once you are on the desktop and logged into the Pi Store, click on the Games tab. You can also search for PCSX_Rearmed.
    PCSX_ReARMed
  2. Click on Play/Download to begin the installation process.
    PCSX_ReARMed
  3. When instructed, press any key to finish the installation.
  4. To run the program, go to My Library, click on pcsx_reARMed, and press Launch in the right-hand panel.
    PCSX_ReARMed
  5. Click on Execute and the PCSX_ReARMed game window will appear.
  6. You don't need to place your games in any specific directory for this emulator. When you select Load CD image, you can browse the Raspberry Pi's file system for your game file.
    PCSX_ReARMed

PicoDrive (Genesis/Mega Drive)

PicoDrive is an emulator that runs games made for the Sega Genesis (also known as the Mega Drive in Japan and Europe). The Genesis is a 16-bit gaming console that came out in 1989. It was known for its many great arcade ports, such as Altered Beast and Mortal Kombat, as well as a series that has spanned numerous releases and consoles, Sonic The Hedgehog. To download PicoDrive go through the following steps:

  1. Type wget http://raspberrypigaming.com/files/picodrive.tgz in your terminal.
  2. Next, type tar zxfv picrodrive.tgz and press Enter. A long list of files will stream across the screen.
  3. You should now have a directory called picodrive. Enter the directory by typing cd picodrive.
  4. Run the emulator by typing ./PicoDrive. The PicoDrive menu should appear on your screen:
    PicoDrive (Genesis/Mega Drive)
  5. Use the menu option Load new ROM/ISO, which will traverse your Raspberry Pi's directories and select your ROM file to be played.

Stella (Atari 2600)

Now, for the granddaddy of all gaming systems, the Atari 2600. It was released in 1977 and ushered in the video game craze. For the first time, popular arcade games could be brought home, new properties could be created, and a whole new market opened up. From arcade ports such as Pac Man and Donkey Kong to the original games such as Pitfall, and even infamous games such as E.T., the Atari 2600 has a very rich history of gaming. Stella is an emulator that aims to bring this console to the Raspberry Pi using the following steps:

  1. The installation is super simple; just type sudo apt-get install stella to install Stella on the console and press Enter.
  2. After a few moments, apt-get should finish, and Stella will be installed.
  3. To run Stella, just type stella and press Enter.
    Stella (Atari 2600)
  4. Use the arrows and tab keys to navigate your Pi for game files. Then, highlight the Select button and press Enter.

Controls

Now that you have installed some emulators, you will want to know how to control the games. Here is a cheat sheet for the default keys in PiSNES:

PiSNES controls

Keyboard

Up

Up arrow

Down

Down arrow

Left

Left arrow

Right

Right arrow

A

D

B

C

X

S

Y

X

Left Bumper

A

Right Bumper

F

Start

Enter

Select

Tab

To quit

Esc

The following table is a cheat sheet for the default keys in FinalBurn Alpha:

FinalBurn Alpha controls

Keyboard

Up

Up arrow

Down

Down arrow

Left

Left arrow

Right

Right arrow

Button 1

Ctrl

Button 2

Alt

Button 3

Space

Button 4

Shift

Button 5

Z

Button 6

X

Start

Enter

Coin

Tab

To quit

Esc

Because PiSNES and FinalBurn Alpha were ported to the Raspberry Pi by the same person, they share similar configuration files. Within their respective directories, you will find a configuration file that allows you to change the control scheme. PiSNES is called snes9x.cfg, and FinalBurn Alpha is called fba2x.cfg. The keyboard section uses numbers to represent each key. You can find them by reading the output of /usr/include/SDL/SDL_keysym.h.

The following table is a cheat sheet for the default keys in MAME4ALL:

MAME4ALL Controls

Keyboard

Up

Up arrow

Down

Down arrow

Left

Left arrow

Right

Right arrow

Button 1

Ctrl

Button 2

Alt

Button 3

Space

Button 4

Shift

Button 5

Z

Button 6

X

Start

1

Coin

5

To quit

Esc

To change the controls in MAME4ALL, press the Tab key to bring up the configuration menu. This will allow you to globally map the controls to your gamepad, keyboard, joystick, or individual games.

Controls

The PCSX_ReARMed controls can be seen and edited within the controls on the main screen.

Controls

PicoDrive controls can be edited from within the main menu.

Controls

The following table is a cheat sheet for the default keys in Stella:

Stella

Keyboard

Up

Up arrow

Down

Down arrow

Left

Left arrow

Right

Right arrow

Reset

F2

Select game type

F1

Fire/Action

Space or Ctrl

Select game

Enter

To quit

Esc

To edit Stella's controls, highlight and select Options, and then click on Input Settings.

Controls
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