The Asus Rog Ally is not only ideal for current games. Thanks to the emulator, the handheld quickly becomes a retro console. We explain how it works.
Consoles have always been suitable for the use of emulators. It was even possible to play old retro games on the Sony PSP. New handhelds are now even more powerful, meaning they can even support current game consoles. The Asus Rog Ally has enough power to emulate devices such as the PS2, PS3 and even Nintendo Switch in addition to the very old consoles.
Please note: The use of emulators is legal in itself. But if you download so-called ROMs for the emulator from the Internet, you can sometimes make yourself liable to prosecution. Even if you have your own physical Nintendo games at home, it is not entirely clear whether you can download the same game as a ROM and play it legally. So keep that in mind.
In this guide we will explain to you how to install the popular emulator “RetroArch” on the Rog Ally. The main advantage of the software is that you don’t need a separate emulator for every retro console, but RetroArch supports a variety of platforms. Tip: Do you need a lot of storage for your retro collection? Then simply do an SSD upgrade on the Rog Ally.
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Download and install
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Furnishings
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Download free games directly from RetroArch
If you have any problems with these instructions, you can see step by step how to set up Retro Arch in the YouTube video embedded below. Please note that the video is in English.
Download and install
Before you get started: Download RetroArch for free via the official website down. Go to “Downloads” here and grab the 64bit version for Windows. Here is the alternative Direct link to download.
Double-click the downloaded file and follow the instructions until the installation is complete. If this is the case, you will find RetroArch as a shortcut on the desktop.
Furnishings
RetroArch is a very comprehensive software, we will only go into the most important settings areas here. You can find further details and setting options for the emulator in the YouTube video embedded above.
The most important contact point in the software can be found directly in the main menu under “Load Core”. The “cores” form the substructure for the respective retro console to be emulated. So if you want to play PS1 games, for example, you need the PS1 core.
Fire TV Stick: This is how you install RetroArch
Instructions
RetroArch turns your Fire TV Stick into any retro console. Below you will find out which steps need to be taken into account during installation.
You can find it far down in the list under “Sony Playstation”. Also note that there are usually several cores for a game console. It’s best to try out which one works best.
Once you have loaded the relevant core, go back to the main menu. Under “Load content” you can now select the storage location of your games and start a game – this should work without any problems.
Since the Rog Ally is recognized by the software as an Xbox controller, the controls usually work directly without you having to change anything. If this is not the case, go to “Settings” in the main menu.
New games: release list for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox & PC
These titles will be released soon
Many new game releases are approaching 2023 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. In our game release list you can see an overview of the release dates, including the December highlights.
Here you can change the assignment of the buttons under “Input” and then under “RetroPad assignments”. Multiple profiles can be created so you can switch depending on the game.
In principle, you don’t have to change anything with the video and audio functions. By default everything is preset works fine. However, many old games do not display full screen. If you want to change that, go to “Settings”, “Video”, “Scaling”. Here you can choose between different screen ratios or “Full” for full screen.
Tip: If you have a lot of games, you can create playlists in which your games are located. This makes it much easier for you to find them again. To do this, go to “Load content”, “Playlists”, “Import content”, “Scan directory” in the main menu and then scan your game directories. Once the scan is complete, you will find your games under the respective game console in the left main menu at the bottom.
Download free games directly from RetroArch
In the main menu you will also find the “Content Downloader” under “Online Update”. A variety of platforms are listed here, each of which contains some free games, including the shareware version of Doom – the ultimate classic.
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