Retro-Go
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Retro-Go, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
The facts
Each one read from Retro-Go's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Build requirements
- Building requires ESP-IDF, with versions 4.4 through 5.3 listed as supported.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Customization
- The porting guide explains how to add a device target and notes that unsupported display controllers require a custom driver.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Display and speed
- Features include scaling and filtering options and turbo speed or fast forward.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Emulated systems
- Supported systems include NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game & Watch, Sega systems, Colecovision, PC Engine, Atari Lynx, and DOOM.checked 8 Oct 2026
- File management
- A Wi-Fi file manager can be accessed by navigating on a PC to the device's IP address.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Hardware requirements
- The porting guide says devices need an ESP32-family chip and PSRAM to run Retro-Go.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Users install device-specific firmware or images from the GitHub releases page, using an SD-card flashing flow or USB and esptool depending on the device.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The project provides build and porting instructions for people who want to build, modify, or port the firmware to ESP32 devices.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Launcher features
- Features include favorites, recently played games, scaling and filtering, customizable launcher options, cover art, save state previews, and multiple save slots.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License
- The project says it is licensed under GPLv2 except for the fMSX emulator, which uses a custom non-commercial license, and the Lynx emulator, which uses zlib.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- The project is licensed under GPLv2 except for the MSX emulator's custom non-commercial license and the Lynx emulator's zlib license.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Limits
- ZIP archives should contain one ROM file, and larger ROMs may fail to load on some devices because ZIP support depends on available memory.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Network behavior
- After a successful Wi-Fi connection, the launcher synchronizes time through pool.ntp.org, and the README says this cannot currently be disabled.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Networking
- The firmware includes a Wi-Fi file manager, and the launcher synchronizes time through pool.ntp.org after connecting to a network.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Retro-Go is firmware for playing retro games on ESP32-based devices.checked 8 Oct 2026
- ROM limits
- ZIP archives should contain one ROM, and ZIP support depends on available memory, so larger ROMs may fail on some devices.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Security and privacy
- The README documents Wi-Fi credentials stored in a configuration file and says NTP synchronization cannot currently be disabled.checked 8 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Officially supported devices
- The README names ODROID-GO and MRGC-G32 as officially supported devices.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Supported devices
- The project officially supports ODROID-GO and MRGC-G32, with other ESP32 devices listed separately.checked 8 Oct 2026
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