RetroArch - Emulators on Nintendo Switch

RetroArch, the cross-platform collection of emulators comes to Nintendo Switch. Still sporting great performance and various features such as save states, cheats, netplay, rewinding and much more. RetroArch is sure to transform your Nintendo Switch from a gaming powerhouse into a complete multi-platform monster, expanding its already massive game library.

This guide will show you how to setup RetroArch on your Nintendo Switch and configure cheats. Press [-] + [+] during gameplay to open the Quick Menu; here you can access useful features such as save states and screenshots.

Required Downloads:

Nintendo Switch with Custom Firmware

MicroSD Card (128GB or Larger Recommended)icon-amazon

  • ROMs will be stored on the MicroSD card
  • 128GB or more is recommended for storing games

Internet Connection

  • RetroArch requires an internet connection during initial setup to update certain files such as the cheats database

Installing RetroArch

  1. Extract RetroArch.7z
  2. Copy the /switch/ folder to the root of your SD card
  3. Copy the /retroarch/ folder to the root of your SD card
  4. Copy retroarch.jpg to the root of your SD card retroarch switch install sd
  5. Create a folder named roms in the root of your SD cardretroarch switch roms folder
  6. Inside the /roms/ folder, create folders for the platforms you wish to emulate and store the ROM game files accordinglyretroarch switch roms games folder
  7. Insert your SD card into your Switch and push your preferred payload to boot into CFWtegrarcmgui switch tinfoil fusee bin payload rcm inject (1)
  8. (DO NOT USE THE ALBUM) Hold [R] and launch a game to access the Homebrew Menu with full RAM accessretroarch hb menu hold r launch game
  9. Select RetroArchswitch retroarch hb menu atmosphere

Setting Up RetroArch

  1. Go to [Main Menu] -> [Online Updater]retroarch switch main menu online updater
  2. Select [Update Installed Cores] and wait for the process to completeretroarch switch online updater update cores
  3. Select [Update Cheats], this can take up to 30 minutes to completeretroarch switch online updater cheats
  4. Select [Import Content] -> [Scan Directory]retroarch switch import content scan directory
  5. Go to the /roms/ folder on the root of your SD and select [Scan This Directory]retroarch switch import content scan this directory
  6. Once complete, your ROMs will be organised by platform and added to the RetroArch main menuretroarch switch games sort
  7. Select your ROM -> [Run] and choose the core (emulator) you wish to use if prompted
Recommended Cores:
 
  • Nintendo 64 – Mupen64Plus-Next
  • PSX – PCSX ReARMed
  • Game Boy Advance – VBA Next
  • SNES – Snes9x 2010
  • Sega – Genesis Plus GX

You can download additional cores from [Main Menu] -> [Online Updater] -> [Core Updater]retroarch switch online updater cores

Save files and save states can be found in the /retroarch/cores/ folder on your SD cardretroarch switch save location states files srm

You can improve the performance of your Nintendo Switch in RetroArch by overclocking the CPU. This is recommended if you wish to maintain high a framerate when emulating more demanding systems such as the N64 or PSX.

Simply go to [Main Menu] -> [CPU Overclock] and set your desired CPU speedretroarch switch main menu cpu overclock

[Boost Performance (1224 MHz)] or [High Performance (1581 MHz)] is recommended for stability and battery liferetroarch switch cpu overclock boost high performance 60 fps

You can monitor your framerate (FPS) by displaying it on-screen during gameplay

You can do this in [Settings] -> [Onscreen Display] -> [Onscreen Notifications] -> [Display Framerate]retroarch switch onscreen notifications display framerate fps

Setting Up Cheats

RetroArch features a built-in cheat engine to create cheats by editing numerical values in the game’s memory. There is also a large database of preset game-specific cheat codes that can be downloaded in the [Main Menu] -> [Online Updater].

  1. During gameplay, press [-] + [+] to open the Quick Menu
  2. Scroll down to [Cheats] and select [Load Cheat File]retroarch switch cheats
  3. Select the game system then select your gameswitch retroarch cheats select system
  4. In [Cheats] menu, set [Apply After Toggle] to [ON]retroarch switch cheats apply after toggle
  5. Turn cheats on / off with the directional buttonsretroarch switch load cheats enable
  6. Press [-] + [+] to return to the game and enjoy your cheatsretroarch switch super sonic 3 cheats enabled

Switch Games and Homebrew

Credits