Essay:ProleWiki ultimate emulation guide

This guide aims to be an ultimate emulation guide, as ultimate is it can be anyway.

"But why does a communist wiki need an emulation guide?", one might ask. Well, we believe that piracy is not a dirty word. Piracy -- and emulation -- is sometimes the only way to still access rare media whose "legal owners" are not interested in reprinting for fans and consumers. Games such as Kuon, or the Gregory Horror Show (both on PS2) are extremely rare discs nowadays to even find on the market. To still be accessible, they need to be pirated in the first place. Not only that, but live services can and will remove your access to games and movies whenever they want. Amazon Prime is famous for removing shows that don't perform "well enough". In this case, piracy is the only way paying customers can still access the shows they wanted when they decided to pay for the service!

Moreover, we hold that there is nothing wrong with piracy in the first place: that it will not hurt Sega or Capcom's bottom line, and that if they don't make their games available then they are not losing out on money since they are not providing the service in the first place.

This guide will take you through the full steps, from start to finish, aimed at people who have never done this before. If that's you (or even if you know how to emulate, you might learn something), then you came to the right guide!

TBD: will need to talk about:

• emulators: phone and PC
• where to get roms
  • compressing roms
  • where to count your missing games
• Specific consoles -> rooting NDS, Vita, front-ends to organize a library on phone or otherwise, Steam Deck, etc.

First things first: the process of emulating a game

Before we get into the details, let's recap the process of emulating a game. This will be the process we cover throughout the guide, so it's a good mental model to follow along with.

1. Install an emulator on your device. "Device" is very wide: a PC desktop, an Android phone, or even a raspberry Pi.
2. Find and download games for the emulator.
3. Transfer the game onto the same device as the emulator.
4. Open the emulator, play the game.

These are 4 easy steps on the surface, but the implementation of how you go through each has some best practices we will go through in this guide.

List of emulators and where to get them

We are in the process of completing this section with pictures and more in-depth instructions.

Example of a 'library view' in Daijisho, an emulation launcher

Emulators play the game, but sometimes they can do more. We will quickly go through the extras so you know what to expect later in the guide:

• BIOS requirements: some emulators require BIOS files from the console to even work. We go through how to acquire these, don't worry. Sometimes, there are also firmware or key files, on more recent consoles. This is usually done once
• Library view: emulators now offer a library scroll of your games, which is relatively recent. They can also automatically scrape box art to give your games a unique look (see pic).
• Directories: most emulators can change the directories they look into for games, bios files, where they save games and states, etc. If you want to organize your rom collection, it pays to set up custom paths instead of the default ones. It will also tell you where you need to put the BIOS files and games you will be downloading, just look in most emulators' Options or Preferences menus.

There are many, many consoles that were put on the market and that can now be emulated. Some of them have more than one emulator, all with slightly different performances.

Not to get too technical, but emulators work through a translation layer. What they do is transform the code on the disk or cartridge in a way that a modern computer can understand, on the fly. For this reason, not all emulators are equal - but, for most intents and purposes (just playing games from your childhood), most will be fine.

Can phones run emulators? Yes, absolutely. In fact, top-of-the-line phones that came out after 2022, with a Snapdragon 888 CPU and an Adreno 660 or higher GPU can even play some Switch games, even up to 2026. Some will crash, but the lighter ones will work. This is, in our opinion, the preferred method over buying an expensive yet lower-spec retro gaming console, such as the Odin, Powkiddy, or Anbernic consoles. While these consoles work, if space on your phone is not a concern, you will get much better compatibility with consoles on a modern phone that you already own.

It is also possible to emulate games on a Steam Deck (since a Steam Deck is just a Linux computer), which should even be able to run any Switch games with its specs.

Retroarch

You can download retroarch from their own website: https://www.retroarch.com/ (get the stable version).

You may also need the BIOS files for some emulators - not all of them require the bios files. But if your games don't load and Retroarch freezes or hangs, that is likely the reason. You can get them from this GitHub repo: https://github.com/Abdess/retrobios/tree/main/bios. In Retroarch, open the details of a core you installed and it will show you what the BIOS files are called (they depend on the emulator). You will find the files you need by going into Settings -> Cores -> Manage Cores -> Click/Tap on the correct core -> Scroll down until you see a list with 'Missing, optional' or 'Missing, required'. These are the BIOS files with their associated names.

You only need one 'core' for each console, there's no need to install more than one. Just get one, try it out, and if it doesn't work properly on a game, then install a second one - sometimes they are quirky like that and some emulators are definitely more compatible than others.

Then simply download these exact same files from the repo above, and put them in the bios folder for your retroarch - you will find its exact path in the settings, and can change it. Find it in Settings -> Directories -> System/BIOS. It should be, by default, .../RetroArch/System. Simply drop the BIOS files in that directory, no need to make subdirectories or anything.

Retroarch is a unified software that offers 'cores', which are emulators, for a lot of older consoles. They go up to the Dreamcast and Gamecube generation, though they do not have a core for the PS2. If you install retroarch, which is FOSS software [Free and Open Source Software], then you will be able to install emulators into retroarch very easily from their interface. This is why it's our first choice: it saves a lot of researching and installing.

Retroarch also saves all games in the .srm format, which allows you to copy them over to another device and open them in any other installation of retroarch.

The only downside of retroarch is it doesn't have all the consoles. But, it's available on most devices, including smart TVs. You can even install retroarch - the same version as on your PC or phone - on the consoles themselves if you know how (this guide will not cover this, at least not yet).

Since retroarch is not updating on the Google Play Store anymore (for android), I recommend installing F-Droid, which is a marketplace of only FOSS apps, and installing it from there. On phones, some emulators are actually paid (such as for the Gameboy Advance), but retroarch is completely, entirely free.

For the consoles RetroArch doesn't support, read on:

Playstation 2 (PS2)

On computers, the reference for PS2 emulators is PCSX2. It has existed for decades, and has recently improved extremely well: PCSX2 now offers a "folder memory card" option, saving your save games to a folder on your computer instead of inside an 8MB memory card file (which is how the PS2 did it originally).

PCSX2 can be installed from here: https://pcsx2.net/downloads. If you are on Linux, just get it from the flatpak store, and don't forget to give it permissions to the host filesystem so that it can read and remember your directories (save games, games, etc).

PS2 emulators need the BIOS files to play games. They are on this github repo: https://github.com/Abdess/retrobios/tree/main/bios/Sony/PlayStation%202. For PCSX2, these will work:

• PS2 Bios 30004R V6 Pal.bin
• PS2 Bios 30004R V6 Pal.MEC
• PS2 Bios 30004R V6 Pal.NVM
• rom1.bin
• scph10000.bin
• scph10000.NVM
• scph39001.bin
• scph39001.MEC
• scph39001.NVM
• SCPH-70004_BIOS_V12_PAL_200.BIN
• SCPH-70004_BIOS_V12_PAL_200.EROM
• CPH-70004_BIOS_V12_PAL_200.mec
• SCPH-70004_BIOS_V12_PAL_200.NVM
• SCPH-70004_BIOS_V12_PAL_200.ROM1
• SCPH-70004_BIOS_V12_PAL_200.ROM2

These will cover the Europe, USA and Japan regions. On Android, the emulators are either NetherSX2, or PSX2 -> the latter has several forks existing, we recommend this one from izzy2lost: https://github.com/izzy2lost/PSX2.

Nintendo DS/3DS

We have to make an aside for the NDS/3DS. While the emulators do work properly for both (Either through RetroArch or the standalone emulators - Drastic for DS, Citra for 3DS), you will likely have a better time just flashing your 3DS console (if you have one, of course) and playing the games natively, because of the touch screen and dual screen features. Now that the 3DS has reached its end of life and receives no updates anymore, it is very easy to root and will not brick your console.

This is the guide to flash the 3DS: https://3ds.hacks.guide/. It's a bit long, but if you follow the instructions precisely, without skipping ahead, then it will work and you will be able to install any 3DS and NDS game to your console that you download online. Flashing will not destroy anything that's already on your console, e.g. your save games or games downloaded from the nintendo store.

Pro-tip for Nintendo DS games: the 3DS console can only install up to 50 nintendo DS games. If you wish to have more, use YANBF: https://github.com/YANBForwarder/YANBF. This is a program you run on your computer to convert a .nds rom to a .cia file. Then, you install that .cia file from the rooted 3DS, as if it were a 3DS native game. This allows you to install as many NDS games as you want, bypassing the limit.

Playstation Vita (PS Vita)

The reference emulator for the PS Vita is Vita3k. It is not on retroarch. Get it here: https://vita3k.org/download.

Licence and firmware install

You need to install two files into Vita3k (either prompted on first launch, or through File -> Install Firmware, and File -> Install Licence). Copied straight from the vita3k website:

Some games require the system modules be present for Vita3K to (low level) emulate them. This can be done by installing the PS Vita firmware through Vita3K.

The firmware can be downloaded from the official PlayStation website.

There's also an additional firmware package that contains the system fonts that needs to be installed. The font firmware package can be downloaded straight from the PlayStation servers. You can download it here.

Install both firmware packages using the File > Install Firmware menu option.

The font files link may change randomly, so check the quick start guide (ref 1 above) for the latest link. Don't open the font file directly; instead, right click on the link and select Save as... -> it should save a .pup file.

Then just install these 2 files through the menu (as outlined above), and you're done - you won't need these files anymore if you don't want to keep them.

Installing games

PS Vita games come in strange formats. Usually, it'll be either a .pkg/.bin combo, or a folder with an 'app' subfolder inside of it followed by a folder that's named like a string of characters <-- These are nonpdrm dumps. If you get a dump, compress its highest-level directory into a .zip archive, vita3k will know what to do with it.

Currently, all games need to be installed on Vita3k, like they would be installed on a real PS Vita. This is done through Vita3k directly, through File -> Install .pkg, or install .zip.

Once you have installed the game, you can actually delete the source files, if you wish. A copy of the game lives inside the vita3k emulator.

Nintendo Switch

The Switch is absolutely emulated, and works perfectly. However, its emulators are kind of in a weird space. Most of them are based on Yuzu, which still works, but was taken down by Nintendo and is therefore not worked on anymore.

Two current Switch emulators that receive updates are Citron and Eden. They look almost identical, though in its version 3, Citron decided to depart from the Ryujinx base and do its own thing. But the insides still work mostly the same.

You will need these two files for your emulator:

• firmware: version 19.0.1. You can get it from this website: https://prodkeys.net/yuzu-firmware-v5/#more-199. It says it's for Yuzu, but that doesn't matter. Firmware is firmware.
• prod keys: same website, same version - they need to match with the firmware. https://prodkeys.net/suyu-prod-keys-update-3/. Download prod keys 19.0.1

Later firmwares may not necessarily work with emulators. So unless otherwise specified by another source, use 19.0.1 - it is universal.

In your emulator, go into Tools -> Install Firmware, Tools -> Install decryption keys. Then games will work as soon as you drop the .nsp files into the games folder.

For DLCs and patches, you need to install them to NAND. This is simply going into File -> Install to NAND... Then, select the files you wish to install. Emulators such as Eden and Citron will only install patches and DLCs, not the actual game. It's a weird workaround but it has to be done.

More consoles to come

This guide is open-sourced to ProleWiki editors. If you would like to add more consoles or information, you are free to edit.

Where to get games

Now that you have your emulators set up, you need games, obviously.

We regret the going of community websites such as emuparadise. Nintendo's litigious nature is taking away every emulator and rom site, and now only shady rom websites exist.

But there is a much better way to still get rom. As of this date, the best two methods are Telegram and Torrents. We will try not to get too technical, don't worry.

Torrents

Torrenting works by connecting you to peers who are also downloading the same file as you are. Except you all download different pieces of the file at the same time, which means you can send the pieces you have downloaded to others who need them, and receive the pieces you need from others who have them.

In some places, internet service providers watch your traffic for peer-to-peer download and will send you a cease and desist letter or even a fine if they catch you doing it. You can easily evade them with a VPN. We recommend Mullvad (5€/month): see our quick privacy guide if you're interested in more. Or, if you know your ISP doesn't care, you can just torrent stuff. But yes, torrenting shouldn't be considered anonymous.

In any case, this guide recommends qbittorrent as a torrent client. Why? Because it has a search function (that you enable through View -> Enable search engine). Note that the search engine is not moderated or vetted; it simply looks for torrents on websites according to your keywords. You can get viruses from torrents, but we have good torrents for roms: the 1G1R torrents. 1G1R is a user who is in the process of making high-quality rom collection torrents. They are active on Reddit, and their torrents are quite new (from a couple years ago at most).

1G1R dumps are also interesting because they have already pre-translated some/most Japanese releases they include. Usually, you would need to find a fan translation (from romhacking, usually) and patch it in yourself. 1G1R has already done that work, so the rom is available to play in English at the very least.

If you search for '1G1R saturn', for example, you will find these results:

What you are interested in is the number of seeders. Seeders are people that have downloaded the entire torrent and can thus now send it back to you completely, instead of only some of the pieces of it that they own. In this case, there are three torrents for 1G1R Sega Saturn with seeders. You can add all three of them, and qbittorrent will automatically collate them together into one (why it does that is a bit more technical and we won't get into it).

In any case, you are now downloading the entire 1G1R Sega Saturn redump, which is ~200GB of space. But here is the cool thing about torrents: you select exactly what you download. Go back to your Transfers tab, click on the 1G1R torrent, and at the bottom, click on Content. This shows exactly what this torrent contains: this is what you download. You can click the checkbox to disable everything, meaning you will not download anything from this torrent. Then, you can selectively check back the games you do want to download.

When the torrent is paused, it is inert: no data is going in or out. This means you can leave the torrent alone in qbittorrent, and selectively download the games you want when you want them.

That's about all there is to cover for torrenting. There are other dumps of roms, but we can't ascertain their legitimacy as well so this guide prefers to recommend the 1G1R dumps.

The nice thing to do is to seed back to give others the games as well!

Telegram

There is currently a Telegram network of bots to download individual games. You will need a Telegram account, then join this channel: https://t.me/NSW_TorrentLibrary. Select the first chat, F.A.Q. - Our Bots, and you will see all the consoles they offer. Right now, the network has games for:

• Nintendo Switch
• Playstation 5
• Playstation 4
• Playstation 3
• Playstation 2
• Playstation One (PSX)
• Playstation Vita
• Playstation Portable
• Nintendo Wii/WiiU
• Nintendo GameCube
• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo 3DS
• Xbox 360
• Xbox Original
• Sega Dreamcast
• VR Oculus Quest
• PC games

Telegram is available in your browser and as a desktop app, so you can easily download the games on your computer if you want (if space is a concern - there are also torrent clients for phones).

The NSW games come as torrent files, so you will need a torrent client anyway to download games. But it's very simple to use: you just join a chat with the bot, provide the password as explained in the FAQ channel, then simply send the bot (in chat) the name of the game you want to download. If it has it, it will provide a download link. On Switch, they usually have all the patches and DLCs included.

The maintainer behind this network is always looking for funds to maintain the bot network. It is at a very real risk of going down soon. So if you find it useful, please use the /donate command in one of the bot chats and send him some money.

Why different sources?

We recommend different sources to find games because they have different games. Even a 200GB archive is not necessarily all of a console's games! There are many rare ones