Retropie vs Recalbox vs Lakka vs Batocera - Best OS for Retro-gaming

A bit lost with some technical words?

We often used the same operating systems, gaming is not an exception.
By default, most Raspberry Pi users are installing Retropie to play classic games on their tiny device.
Is this really the best option? Is there something best for beginners?

The answer is Yes! Discover everything in this video :)

Check the link below for more details

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---------- Timestamp ----------
0:00 Introduction
0:19 Challengers
1:24 Interface
2:29 Supported games
3:08 Controllers management
4:00 Performances
6:15 Extra features
6:54 Overall opinion
7:59 It's your turn

#raspberrypi #retropie #recalbox

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[RaspberryTips]

A bit lost with some technical words?

[matachano]

I used to swear by RetroPie but now I only use Batocera. Grid themes, keyboard, good scraping, no performance issues at all up to PSX on RPI3B+ (while with RetroPie stuff like SNES would always have weird stuff here and there), easy to use, easy to SSH with a PC, easy BG music... I no longer bother with others, Batocera has it all for me.

[anthonybass]

5:10 even though it was muted. i still heard. "E.A. Sports. Its in the game!" XD

[JohnWayne]

@RaspberryTips I disagree regarding your cons of Batocera. In my eyes it has the best interface (even more intuitive than recalbox) and the only missing feature (the web-manager) is not really needed and useless in my opinion. Instead Batocera has one big nice feature, that you didn't even mention: the content downloader (where you can download and install more themes, bezels and even additional games super easy through the menu). I guess you have overlooked this feature. Another feature of Batocera, which you did not mention (maybe also overlooked from you): you can view scraped Game Manuals and Maps

[bigbadspikey]

Thank you! I've used retropie before but I kinda forgot about it now, I'll try Recalbox.

[kayatasci]

I only tried retro pie and afterwards recalbox. Worked better for me as a beginner. It was definitly easier to play some roms on different systems, but i missed the Feature to install themes as a beginner. Thanks for this comparison 😎

[IpfxTwin]

I've used Retropie for a long time. The older menus don't bother me at all, but there are definitely times where installs are hit or miss and things involve more troubleshooting than what it's worth. Batocera just from a performance standpoint definitely has my attention, and I may just give it a try. A big plus for Retropie was that it could switch to Kodi without any fuss, I just hope Batocera can do the same.

[spcfsi]

Spot on vid. I started off with retropie but the controller config was frustrating at best. Really love recal. Thanks

[SquadND]

I just started out with emulation on Rasperry Pi 4 and evaluated Batocera. To me, it was an extreme experience in regards to the user interface! Absolutely gorgeous and with synthwave music playing in the background that is a pleasure to see on your TV

The things I found out about Batocera were however (on version 33):
- On GBA and GB there was tons of lag when using the scanlines filtering (which I do). When turned off, and just 'blocky' it works fine. On all the other consoles I tested, the scanlines filter worked great. Using no scanlines filter really looks like garbage on a big tv screen (my opinion).
- In my test of multiple games, I found out that the sound all of a sudden would disappear in Batocera even though the Output was unchanged. Only thing happening was me opening and quitting like 5-7 games within 10 minutes to check them out. After some time (or after a restart) the sound/music would come back again.

[rondadams]

I've built two systems in the last six months.
The first one I used was RetroPie, and while it gave me a lot of options I could play with, it was also difficult to get set up and running like I wanted it. To this day, I'm still tweaking it to get it to do certain things.

The second system I built, I used Batocera, and I was able to boot it up and run almost immediately with very little tweaking or configuring needed.

Definitely would recommend Batocera unless you just like to tinker and tweak and need a menu to do it. You can still do this in Batocera using the File manager, but you will need to know how the files are organized and where the various config files are located.

[CaliPhattie]

4:28 - For the Recalbox, you can press the "Start" button to skip the video intro at the beginning of every boot. So Recalbox would have actually ranked #2 or #3 if the test was done correctly.

[squiddwizzard]

Retropie also tends to forget BT devices from time to time. Either get the BT adapter or use Recalbox if you sre using Bluetooth.

[Stella-riex]

The problem with Batocera is that it's stuck with Mame .78 rom set..I tried it with mame .139 it wouldn't recognise, whereas Retropie allows you to tweak with 2010 (mame .139 roms).

[gmailer]

I’ve tried them all and I keep going back to Batocera. They optimize the performance, and it shows.

[FuIIDiveVR]

So this comparison is for absolute beginners? I would've liked to see the comparison with all os with optimal settings.

[AngryCalvin]

I have had the best luck with Batocera. I think the only real issue I really had was it doesn't detect my trackball as well for arcade games like Lakka did. Also it is particular about what folders I put my MAME arcade games in. If I put them in the wrong one I get controller issues and bad results.
Batocera is also loaded with options and eye candy with all the awesome downloadable themes. It's really cool to look at and great for my arcade setup. Just wish it had less issues with MAME.

Lakka works really well. Great for arcade games and compatible with almost everything I throw at it. I did have serious issues running Amiga roms on it. It's just not near as cool as it's rivals in terms of options and the way it looks. But it's very user friendly. Much of that due to how basic it is. One thing critically important is you need to put a complete emulator bios package in the system folder which is easy to find online. Once I did that I didn't have too many problems running most of what I have.

Retropie looks really good but I don't think I have the patience for it. I like that it is customable but I spent way too many hours just setting up my collection of roms on Lakka and Batocera without all the other headaches I get from other front ends I have used.

[oliviermacno]

I've tried Retropie but I find it too complicated because I'm not as geek as needed and I want something easy to use because I want my children be able to play quickly. I use Recalbox, as it is more out of the box

[marcoburningblue]

I used Retropie for 5+ years but now I've switched to Recalbox due to the much better performance on N64 and Dreamcast systems, I've been using Recalbox for nearly 3 weeks and I am surprised by the many hidden features they have, the one thing I miss from Retropie the most is that, in there you can have the systems and the ES Themes you really like and here in Recalbox you are given systems you wouldn't choose to have otherwise if you were given the choice. On the other hand, Retropie hasn't had an update since March 2022, it´s been 16 months since they last updated so they are getting very behind and I wonder if they have already quit or what is going on!! Cheers

[StupidPeopleCompany]

One thing to note about Recalbox: it can run on any PC's too instead of a Raspberry Pi.

[avivmizrachi]

How is batocera not the first or second place here, based on your own criteria. Btw, the con you gave was interface... did you know you can change the themes.