Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Batocera.linux VS RetroArch

Compare Batocera.linux VS RetroArch and see what are their differences

Batocera.linux logo Batocera.linux

Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer/nano computer into a gaming console during a game or permanently.

RetroArch logo RetroArch

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.
  • Batocera.linux Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-27
  • RetroArch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

Batocera.linux features and specs

  • Wide Emulation Support
    Batocera.linux supports a vast range of gaming consoles from retro to current-gen, making it a comprehensive solution for emulation.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The system’s user interface is designed to be intuitive and accessible, which makes it suitable for users of all technical skill levels.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Batocera.linux allows users to contribute to its development and customize it to suit their preferences.
  • Active Community
    Batocera.linux has an active community that provides support, tutorials, and updates, helping users troubleshoot issues and stay informed about new features.
  • Plug and Play
    The system is easy to set up and can be run from a USB stick or SD card without requiring extensive installation, making it accessible to beginners.
  • Regular Updates
    Batocera.linux frequently receives updates that add new features, improve performance, and fix bugs, ensuring a continually improving user experience.
  • Multi-Platform
    Batocera.linux can be installed on various devices, including PCs, Raspberry Pi boards, and more, making it versatile for different hardware configurations.

Possible disadvantages of Batocera.linux

  • Limited Hardware Compatibility
    While Batocera supports a range of hardware, there are instances where certain devices might not be fully compatible, leading to suboptimal performance or lack of support.
  • Resource-Intensive
    Some of the more advanced emulators can be quite resource-intensive, requiring more powerful hardware to run smoothly.
  • Complex Configuration for Advanced Users
    While the basic setup is straightforward, advanced configurations can be complex and might require a deep understanding of emulation and Linux systems.
  • Potential Legal Issues
    Emulating certain games might lead to legal issues, especially if users don’t own the original copies of the games they are emulating.
  • Lack of Official Support
    As an open-source project, Batocera might not offer the same level of official support that users might expect from commercial software.
  • Occasional Bugs
    As with many open-source projects, Batocera.linux might have occasional bugs or stability issues, which can impact the gaming experience.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may face a learning curve when first using Batocera.linux, especially if they are unfamiliar with Linux-based systems.

RetroArch features and specs

  • Versatility
    RetroArch supports a wide range of gaming platforms and can emulate many different system cores, making it highly versatile for users who want to play games from various consoles.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    RetroArch is available on multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, enabling users to have a consistent experience across different devices.
  • High Customizability
    Users can customize keybindings, video, and audio settings extensively. There are numerous shaders and overlays that can be applied to enhance the gaming experience.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Features like save states, netplay, rewind, and achievements add a modern twist to retro gaming and are robustly implemented in RetroArch.
  • Active Development Community
    An active development community continually updates RetroArch with new features, bug fixes, and emulation cores, ensuring ongoing improvements and support.

Possible disadvantages of RetroArch

  • Complex Setup
    The setup process for RetroArch can be complex, especially for newcomers. Configuring cores, bios files, and controller setups might require a steep learning curve.
  • Performance Issues
    Some cores may not run smoothly or may have compatibility issues depending on the user's hardware or the specific game being emulated.
  • User Interface
    The user interface, while powerful and feature-rich, can be daunting and unintuitive for those not familiar with emulation software.
  • Legal Concerns
    Users must be cautious about the legality of ROMs and BIOS files, as downloading them without owning the original game or system is illegal in many jurisdictions.
  • Resource Intensive
    RetroArch can be resource-intensive, potentially causing lag or crashes on older or less powerful hardware, especially when using advanced features like shaders.

Batocera.linux videos

Turn a USB Flash Drive into a Portable Gaming "System"!

RetroArch videos

RetroArch - Getting Started! Your Ultimate Retro Gaming PC! [Setup and Demonstration]

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Batocera.linux and RetroArch)
Gaming
24 24%
76% 76
Emulators
22 22%
78% 78
Gaming Tools
28 28%
72% 72
Online Games
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Batocera.linux and RetroArch

Batocera.linux Reviews

  1. Very difficult to configure.

    While it has the potential to be amazing, like most linux-based options, it falls apart in the area of user experience, with automatic misconfigurations, failure to recognize supported devices and the requirement to SSH into the host system from yet another system (that you may not even have). in order to enter complicated commands just to turn basic supported features on and off. If you do spend a few days getting it to a basic level of functionality, it may be worthwhile, but the problem is that you shouldn't have to. Extra layers of unnecessary complexity seem to have been added simply to maintain that unapproachable aura that most Linux distros have.

    🏁 Competitors: Lakka
    👍 Pros:    Good UI
    👎 Cons:    Confusing set-up|Complicated configuration|Vague instructions|Automatic mis-configurations|Cannot use standard installation methods|Supported devices require complex configuration

Best Linux Distro for Gaming
Batocera.linux is a lightweight distro that turns your computer into a gaming machine, similar to Lakka. Batocera is arguably better than Lakka considering the number of emulators, and the active community behind Batocera. Although it’s worth trying both distros. It’s still being actively developed, with new emulators and software being added to the distro. Instead of going...
Source: linuxstans.com

RetroArch Reviews

Best DS Emulator: Are These Emulators Safe And Legal To Use?
RetroArch also supports a wide range of controller types, making it a great choice for gamers who want to use their favorite controller.
Source: appletoo.us
5 Best Nintendo DS Emulators for PC
It has highlights like RetroArch are shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, run ahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and much more.
Best emulators for Android in 2023
RetroArch is a popular open-source front-end for emulators. If you’re into playing retro games, RetroArch is your one-stop shop for all your emulating needs. It's not an emulator by itself but instead allows you to add "cores" that act as the backend to emulate several legacy consoles. While most of its most popular emulators are already covered here by dedicated apps, it...
5 of the Best GameBoy Advance (GBA) Emulators for Android
RetroArch is a poster child worldwide of emulation, specifically due to the fact that it’s not precisely an emulator. The retroArch is best refer to as a solitary, unified application where you can communicate with other emulators.
4 Free Open Source Game Emulators For Windows PC, Linux, and macOS
In addition to this, you are able to run original game discs (CDs) from RetroArch. RetroArch has advanced features like shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, runahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and more! What systems does it play?

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Batocera.linux should be more popular than RetroArch. It has been mentiond 43 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Batocera.linux mentions (43)

  • Turn your old laptop into low-end gaming machine
    I thought this post would recommend Batocera, which I think is probably the better option: https://batocera.org/ It's a Linux distro that turns any ancient machine into a retro emulation box that's heavily optimized for old devices and retro handhelds. It also allows you to install Flatpaks so you can add Steam to it as well. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Intel N100 Radxa X4 First Thoughts
    Im validating it on a desktop pc at the moment, but have a minipc in the mail that should handle it fine (minisforum um790 pro). No links for pre-loaded if you mean roms, but batocera is a much more pre-loaded experience if you mean emulators and config. Its a much more rigid experience than retropie. You can get it at the homepage: https://batocera.org/ The nice thing is that it is designed to be run from a... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Looking for input setting up emulation machine
    The OS you probably want is Batocera. I have a couple external SSDs that I use to run it on my VCSs, and they're great. It's definitely an easier setup than Windows with Launchbox, and you don't have to deal with licensing, forced updates, and all the other Windows garbage. Source: over 1 year ago
  • So I had an Arcade1UP Partycade modded with 12,000 games. I have no clue how to use this. I can only play a few games. I hope someone knows how to use this?!?
    This subreddit is for the completely free and open-source distribution that you would find at https://batocera.org/ which comes with absolutely no copyrighted ROMs(games). You will only get support here for that and that alone. Unfortunately if you bought a preconfigured system ("unofficial image"), your issues are with the people who sold it to you. Nobody here can help you with anything outside the scope of the... Source: over 1 year ago
  • MiSTer vs Super Nt for my needs?
    Alternatively, since you just built a nice PC, you can take the free options and just software emulate classic systems and run MAME. If you don't have time to set much up, look into a Batocera boot drive https://batocera.org/. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

RetroArch mentions (20)

  • RetroArch cannot be found on the PlayStore, the first result is a copycat. It is just me?
    No, isn't just you. Every 64-bit phone haves the Play Store Retroarch available, the 32-bits no. But you can still download the 32-bit version on the Retroarch website. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Cause of the intrusion has been found and isolated. Sites are operational again.
    It was only the download links on retroarch.com on the Platforms page that got (briefly) redirected for a few hours. That should all be safe now. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Malicious download links?
    Yes, only the retroarch.com and libretro.com websites were affected. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Recent update from supposed hackers
    I went to retroarch.com and it said "discord.gg/evaderz is big haxors" its unrespectable. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Latest RetroArch on Xiaomi Mi box
    I've got installed RetroArch Plus from Google Play on my Xiaomi Mi box 4k and I want to update it to the latest version. I downloaded apk from retroarch.com but when I use apk installer to update it say is not compatible. I removed version from Google Play but fresh install 1.15.0 is not compatible too. I tried 32 and 64 version. What I'm doing wrong? Is any other AndroidTV version? Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Batocera.linux and RetroArch, you can also consider the following products

LaunchBox - LaunchBox is a portable, box-art-based games database and launcher for DOSBox, emulators, arcade cabinets, and PC Games. Download it free!

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

Playnite - Source code generated using layoutit.com

EmulationStation - a graphical emulator front-end

RetriX - RetriX is an emulator front end for UWP, on all the hardware platforms it supports: it serves the...

Lakka - Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem.