RetroAchievements In RetroArch What are RetroAchievements? retroachievements.org is a service that provides a trophy/achievement unlocking mechanism similar to modern consoles, for retro games.
Warning
The service is not maintained by RetroArch or the Libretro team.
Warning
In order to get better compatibility with the RetroAchievements feature it's recommended to always use the latest version of RetroArch and the cores.
How to setup achievements Register an account on retroachievements.org (don't forget to confirm your account creation with the email they send to you). Open Retroarch and go to Settings->Achievements. Enable the functionality and fill in your retroachievements credentials. Note
The hardcore mode prevents you from using emulation features like savestates, slow motion, and cheats, BUT it gives you double points.
Check your connection to the service You need an active internet connection.
In this example, we are using the game Chrono Trigger (USA) with the Snes9x core.
Launch the game and trigger the Quick Menu.
Go to Achievements and you should see a list of the unlockable trophies for this game.
Check your progress On the retroachievements website, you can login and access your account page.
You should be able to check your progress in the games and see which trophies you unlocked.
Trophies unlocked in hardcore mode are marked with a special color.
You can also check the progress of your friends and add comments on their trophies.
Cores Compatibility Arcade (various manufacturers) Arcade Core Supported Notes FinalBurn Neo ✔ AES bios is required for many Neo Geo achievements. AES Asia (neo-epo.bin) is generally English. MAME ✕ Support is not likely to ever be possible. The same is true for all MAME variants.
Apple Apple II Arduboy Core Supported Notes Arduous ✔ RetroArch 1.10.2 or higher required
Atari 2600 7800 Jaguar Core Supported Notes Virtual Jaguar ✔ Due to vast core issues, support of this system is extremely limited.
Lynx Bandai Wonderswan / Wonderswan Color Coleco ColecoVision GCE Vectrex Core Supported Notes vecx ✔
Magnavox Odyssey 2 Core Supported Notes o2em ✔
Mattel Intellivision Core Supported Notes FreeIntV ✔ Controls involve an on-screen overlay that may not be easy to use for all games.
Microsoft MSX / MSX2 Core Supported Notes blueMSX ✔ fMSX ✕ Some games may require mapper adjustment in core options to run. FinalBurn Neo ✕ MSX2 is not supported.
NEC PC Engine - TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine CD - TurboGrafx-CD PC-FX PC-8000 / PC-8800 Nintendo Nintendo DS Core Supported Notes MelonDS 2021 ✔ External BIOS recommended, but no longer required. RetroArch 1.9.14 nightly or newer required for hashing to work. DSi mode currently is not supported for achievements. MelonDS DS ✔ Achievements supported for DS and DSi mode. DeSmuME ✔ External BIOS recommended, needs to be enabled in core options DeSmuME 2015 ✔
Game Boy / Game Boy Color Game Boy Advance Core Supported Notes mGBA ✔ VBA-M ✔ VBA Next ✔ gpSP ✕ Very high speed, but has not been thoroughly tested with achievements. A few games will fail to start or crash frequently. Please prefer other cores when device performance allows. Beetle GBA ✔ Experimental core, should not be used without good reason. Meteor ✕
NES Nintendo 64 Core Supported Notes Mupen64Plus-Next ✔ Preferred core. Supports greater graphic customization and upscaling. ParaLLEl N64 ✔ Supports 64DD games. Can play -some- hacks reliant on low accuracy via alternate plugins.
Pokemon Mini SNES Virtual Boy Sega Dreamcast/Naomi Core Supported Notes Flycast ✔ Must disable threaded rendering to use save states. RetroArch 1.10.1 or higher required.
Master System / MegaDrive - Genesis 32X / 32X CD Core Supported Notes Picodrive ✔ Emulation quality can be dodgy.
Game Gear SG-1000 Sega CD - Mega-CD Saturn Core Supported Notes Beetle Saturn ✔ Preferred core. High accuracy, but low speed Yabause ✕ Technically supported, but use at your own risk. Higher speed Kronos ✕ Technically supported, but use at your own risk. High speed, supports graphic enhancements, but requires a GPU that supports at least OpenGL 4.2 YabaSanshiro ✕
SNK Neo Geo Pocket / Neo Geo Pocket Color Sony PlayStation Core Supported Notes Beetle PSX HW ✔ Preferred core. Identical to Beetle PSX, with extra hardware features. High accuracy. Beetle PSX ✔ Identical to Beetle PSX HW in software mode. SwanStation ✔ Fork of DuckStation. Fairly high accuracy, extremely high speed. PCSX ReARMed ✕ Technically supported, but use at your own risk. Lower accuracy than Beetle PSX (HW), higher speed.
PlayStation Portable Core Supported Notes PPSSPP ✔ RetroArch 1.9.9 or higher required
The 3DO Company (various manufacturers) 3DO Core Supported Notes Opera ✔ If you run into issues, try switching to a different BIOS.
WASM-4 Core Supported Notes WASM-4 ✔ RetroArch 1.10.2 or higher required
Watara Supervision Core Supported Notes Potator ✔ RetroArch 1.9.2 or higher required
Misc