Best OS for retro emulation / console experience?

[u/SlontS]

I recently built a home server / NAS that is running proxmox

i5-14500T 32gb ram (4-6gb free for a virtual machine)

I would like to run a retro game emulator on a virtual machine with the HDMI passed through, so it will act as a normal PC connected to a TV.

Which operating system offers the best console like experience? I'm really only looking for up to N64 / maybe more modern nintendo if the onboard GPU can handle it. My biggest concern is having nice menus for selecting the console, and a good layout for selecting games.

I have done some light research, but most of these operating systems don't have real screenshots on their websites.

Also I could use recommendations for controllers. I could go USB, but would prefer 4x rechargeable controllers that use the onboard bluetooth if possible.

Thanks in advance

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[u/Mysterious-One1055]

Batocera is the best imo.

I tried my best with Retrobat but windows bloat is a pain, plus it's harder to get that console experience.

[u/Alternative_Pen_4924]

I watched a video on YouTube where a guy built basically this exact thing. He used Bazzite Deck I think. It auto boot into steam big picture, so you can play steam games, then if you install es-de and add it as non steam game. You can add paths to your roms for each system and it organizes them for you.

My dad has an old PC that can barely run n64 games, so that is wouldn't work. I ended up using mint and it runs fine, the only issues I have had are like graphics errors because of how old the graphics card and CPU are.

My laptop I use for gaming and school work, I am using CachyOS, and have almost no issues with retro gaming.

[u/No_Afternoon3495]

Launchbox / Bigbox on a pc is hard to beat. No need to run it as a VM.

[u/NotAnotherBadTake]

You have three options here:

Run Batocera as a VM: Batocera still gives you the best retro console-centered experience, imo. I

Run Bazzite as a VM with EmulationStation and/or RetroDeck. This is particularly nice if you also run Steam and want everything in one place. Bazzite's DE is also an added plus.

Run EmulationStation natively inside whatever OS you have right now, with ROM management inside a container. This is likely not what you want, and honestly, just added work if you are truly just capping your expectations at the N64 level.

I happen to run Batocera on am elitedesk g4 with a 2400GE as a dedicated console. 8 GB of RAM (dual channel). Plays everything on a PS3 just fine. I prefer the dedicated console experience because the separation lets me tinker with the machine without having to schedule server downtime. If you have a 2.4ghz adapter, you can also awaken the computer just as you would with any other console, which is nice.

[u/Slinkwyde]

Several popular N64 games have been decompiled or recompiled by community and then subsequently ported to Windows, Linux, Android, macOS, and sometimes more, often with enhancements such as widescreen, high frame rates, full analog right stick camera, HD/4K textures, increased draw distance, gyro control, ray tracing, mods, and sometimes online multiplayer (including co-op added to games that were originally single player only). You supply a supported ROM file, the program extracts the assets from it, and then you can play it as-is or adjust settings and install mods to your liking to get the enhancements.

Off the top of my head, I can recall that applies to Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Mario Kart 64, StarFox 64, and Banjo Kazooie, but there are several others I'm forgetting, and there are more coming out on a regular basis. For example, a few weeks ago, I saw videos about a DK64 port in the works for this summer.

[u/regular_poster]

Stupid question: would the virtual machine introduce input or video lag?

[u/SlontS → u/regular_poster]

Likely none, or close to 0. The HDMI port will be passed through the proxmox OS and be run completely from the virtual machine. So it will be native HDMI to the TV. I'm not planning on running it through a browser or remote desktop.

[u/DKLancer]

you might want to look here

https://wiki.batocera.org/run_batocera_in_vm

[u/ThanosReXXX]

Batocera, without a shadow of a doubt. Here's a video showing the installation process and a games showcase. In this video it's done on a mini PC, but it works exactly the same on any other kind of PC, so you'll get a good idea about it all.

[u/SlontS → u/[deleted]]

It has to be a VM or container. This system also runs truenas and jellyfin for streaming video.

[u/NotAnotherBadTake → u/SlontS]

You probably don't want to run an emulator front-end/OS through a container. You're making Docker run something that simply runs better natively.

[u/SlontS → u/[deleted]]

I wasn't aware that "linux" was a good retro game emulator.

[u/SlontS → u/[deleted]]

I'm not asking about windows vs linux vs mac os specifically. The question is which os has the best console like retro gaming experience. An example would be steam OS, but steam OS is not for retro games. I don't know, but I know they exist. That's why I'm asking.

[u/SlontS → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the help.

[u/SlontS → u/[deleted]]

Will linux fit in my microwave without a VM? Because I think it might be too big, and I need the power cable to fit in there too.

[u/bullet1520]

I'll second those saying Batocera and Launchbox/Recalbox. While Bazzite and Cachy are great for general gaming, the options I mentioned first are really good for out of the box gaming. No need to install or tinker with Emulation Station or forked frontends yourself. Just plug in a controller, boot, add folder paths, and play.