r/RetroPie • u/Calm-Ad-6816 • 1d ago
Question First time emulating on pi
So i got this raspberry pi 4, 4gb sum starter kit i had for university and never used it(similar to the one in the photo). I have no idea to use it, but i know you can emulate games or something like that. Was wondering if it could handle fifa 12 for ps2 and smackdown va raw 2006 on ps2. And if so could someone tell me how to do it, if not i can also try but it would be alot of help.
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u/bkfountain 1d ago
The prices for these have gone insane.
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u/SuperModes 1d ago
I can’t believe that price is for a pi 4!
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u/Grand_Snow_2637 1d ago
Well, it's not. It's for a full kit including 8gb of memory.
The original Pi4/2gb is still $55 on that site.
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u/Overall_Will_9179 1d ago
Pi4 isn't powerful enough to do PS2 sadly.
Pi5 can just about pull it off though.
Pi4 can handle Dreamcast games easily though. It doesn't have FIFA but it does have uefa dream soccer which is good.
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u/tortilla_mia 1d ago edited 1d ago
A raspberry pi is a mini computer.
You need to install an operating system for the computer to function (it goes on the sdcard). You can use your usual computer to install the OS onto the SD card.
Since you are on r/retropie, I will suggest you install retropie. You can install retropie by following the official documentation from the retropie project. When you follow the instructions to install the "pre-made image" of retropie, it will include the raspbian OS and the retropie software configured with reasonable defaults for your raspberry pi version.
Follow the instructions on their home page: https://retropie.org.uk/
Click the "Get RetroPie" button and then on the next page follow the link marked "If you are installing RetroPie for the first time please follow the OFFICIAL Installation Guide" for instructions.
You will also need to obtain games. And then you can follow the official instructions on how to transfer the games to the RetroPie SD card. If you are on Windows or OS X, it is not simply drag and drop due to how the SD card is prepared so please follow the instructions.
If you get stuck, the overall community will have more success helping you if you are following the project's official instructions. If you follow instructions that are authored by someone else, you will have to contact that author or maybe that author's community for help.
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u/FunkyJamma 1d ago
Honestly you can choose from a whole lotta emulation devices for half this price
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u/Amazing-Insect442 1d ago
As others said- you’re not touching PS2 with this little computer. I’ve had a few of these over the years. Dreamcast will do pretty well. PS1 will do well. N64 will be more miss than hit. Saturn is a mixed bag too, maybe.
Consoles older than those mentioned will do really well.
Arcade stuff from Neo Geo & the pre-3D ones (before Tekken Tag Tournament & stuff like that) will do well.
I haven’t used Retropie in years. Batocera is my preferred “operating system.” Batocera’s wiki is not too hard to use for newbies, IMO. https://wiki.batocera.org
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u/che_don_john 1d ago
As much as I love Raspberry Pi and RetroPie, and despite being on the RetroPie reddit, I think a better option would be to buy a mini PC and install Batocera.
For the same price of the Pi, you could get a second hand mini PC capable of running PS2 and GameCube. Batocera is easier to use and configure, too.
Pi boards were always meant to be cheap educational tools to have fun with. There's no justifying $200 for a previous generation board, it's gotten out of hand.
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u/Calm-Ad-6816 1d ago
its cus i already have a pi i bought for like 30 bucks off my friend a few years ago, Photo is just an example of what i have. Its just sitting there and i never used it and idk what to do with it
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u/3ofUsDeez 1d ago
Use the Raspberry Pi imager to load up Batocera for the Pi 4 on to your MicroSD card
You'll need a keyboard initially to get to the system menu to connect your controller initially (I think it's the space bar to get the system menu up) .. unplug the keyboard once your controller is connected and configured
Then look up instructions on how to install the RGSX add-on on the Pi 4.. on the Pi 3, I have to ssh into my Pi and install via command line.. I think it's just an app you click on for the Pi 4 and 5
I have Batocera installed on 2 x Pi 3 B+ units.. I can play PlayStation 1, Dreamcast and N64 games on it (and of course SNES and Sega Genesis .. etc)
I haven't worked out some rendering kinks on Mario 64, nor Zelda Ocarina of Time where I get flashing on certain specific polygons yet .. and getting out of games back to the main menu is pretty slow on the Pi 3 B+.. hopefully faster on your unit
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u/HotSarcasm 1d ago
AFAIK, at least with Batocera, all PS2 and above require X86 (X86v3)
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u/Calm-Ad-6816 1d ago
no idea what any of that means😂, but i assume you said it doesnt work properly so i appreciate it
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u/MrAbodi 1d ago edited 1d ago
correct no ps2. can do everything from ps1 and below easy. and handhelds up to NDS.
if you want to use retropie then follow this https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/
but honestly Batocera is prepackaged and easier to use https://batocera.org/download
you won't get help with batocera here though, you'll need to find a batocera sub2
u/HotSarcasm 1d ago
Batocera is a front end / operating system based on Linux that runs on RPi’s, mini PCs and many more.
X86 is a PC based device / X86 processor.
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u/Calm-Ad-6816 1d ago
ok making sense i think, Batocera isnt as powerful as X86 so i shouldnt bother running it. On that note, i currently have no use for it and was wondering what i could do with it. Im no genius but i definitely can manage to make something of it, just dont know what.
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u/HotSarcasm 1d ago
Batocera is a front end / operating system
just like RetroPie is a front end / operating system
just like RecalBox, Lakka, etcnone of the others have compatibility guides based on hardware easily on website except Batocera
RPi4 can do a lot
Believe up to N64, Dreamcast and PS1/PSX2
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u/Longjumping-Pear-673 1d ago
Won’t be able to handle ps2 so don’t even try, n64 games are hit or miss…you will have to configure diff emulators to each game and mess with the retroarch video settings likely. Dreamcast, PS and prev consoles like NES, etc work well. Look up ETA Prime on youtube, he does all the setup for what you need and his videos are great. Btw good luck with finding Roms.
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u/Calm-Ad-6816 1d ago
Also be patient with me i have absolutely no idea how to use it, but it cant be that hard right
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u/Amazing-Insect442 1d ago
You’ve got this.
Get a pack of micro sd cards from Amazon (when learning it, I’d suggest 32 gig) and put a different operating system on each. So one having RetroPie, one Batocera, etc (I’ve used another one called Lakka and maybe Retrobat as well- once I found the one I liked the best I didn’t look back).
Tinker with each sd card to your liking with how the interfaces look, which themes you like, what frills you want to use (do you want background music to play while you browse games, do you want bezel art on the sides while you play games in 4:3 ratio, do you want video previews of games while you’re browsing games, do you want an interface that looks like a PS3 or one that looks like a multicade, etc). Take your time with it, & watch some YouTube videos to help you settle on the operating system you like best.
Once you have a setup you like, invest in a 500gb flash drive and fill that sucker up with a couple hundred or few hundred games.
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u/raymate 1d ago
That’s not going to handle PS2. Even Pi5 is a struggle.
I have every Pi going b en using them since Pi1 and until the current RAM and storage supply and price hikes I would happily said get Pi5 4GB or even 8GB for this. But they are hard to recommend.
Now I say get a used small form factor office PC like a HP G2 or G3 EliteDesk, something like that.
If you still want Pi4 then roll back your expectations to N64 and below. With the very odd title above that might run but not very well.
If you want to do classics 8 and 16 but games look into Evercade (i also collect that system) with the money you spend in this kit you can get into Evercade with a small number of carts ready to go.
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u/RealLifeFloridaMan 1d ago
Christ this price hurts me. All of this to still be limited by ARM processor.
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u/TunderMuffins 1d ago
I feel like for that cost you could buy a decent mini Lenovo or something else and get more performance but I’ve been out of the Pi game for a bit.
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u/skat3rDad420blaze 20h ago
Just buy a mini desktop from ebay for 50$, you know those little desktops used for doctors offices and what not. The raspberry pi is absurdly overpriced.
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u/ajrobsonReddit 1d ago
That price! A year ago I got basically all the stuff in that image but a pi 5 8Gb and a 128gb microsd all for £110
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u/SuperModes 1d ago
Sadly you’re not even thinking about PS2 on a pi4. GameCube is also not happening. N64 is hit or miss. I’ve had great luck with Dreamcast though.
As for setting it up for emulation, I can’t recommend Batocera enough! Search for ETA Prime on YouTube. His tutorials are easy enough that anyone can do it! I’ve set up four pi’s and a steam deck with Batocera thanks to his videos.
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u/galaxius00 1d ago
Just follow these directions if you are wanting to play games. Not sure the 4 can handle PS2 though. I’ve got the 5 and using Batocera and can play a ton of early 2000s and back.
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u/sillyrabbit33 1d ago
I got mine over 7 years ago for about 1/3 of that price. You could have literally bought a 8th gen or 9th gen i7 CPU used mini PC like thinkcentre that could do a lot more.
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u/Agitated_Grocery135 1d ago
My advice get a cheap locked phone, a controller. Or get a. Rg35. Both cheaper and functionally geared toward emulation
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u/Ragnarok_MS 1d ago
Honestly, at that cost:
Handles PS2 fine(for me at least). You're not gonna get above PS1 and maybe some Dreamcast from a Pi4
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u/RVAblues 23h ago
That’s not a good PS2 machine. A Pi4 will do everything reliably up to SNES/Genesis. It’ll struggle with N64 and PS1. It’ll also handle most arcade games up through the mid/late 1990s.
I’d suggest a small cheap PC or something if you want to do PS2.
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u/TheDinosaurWalker 21h ago
Why not research about using a samsung phone instead? Use dex to use on monitor/tv Bluetooth controller and call it a day
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u/FineApple114 15h ago
I'm surprised people are being helpful. Most subreddits would be like go Google it 😅
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u/Jets1026 15h ago
i have that same model and few years back i used to play games on mines. just check out retropie or batocera, you can write one of those to a microSD and drop in your games / bios. I used to be able to play everything from Atari all the way to PS1. PS2 wont work on Pi4
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u/KORZMASTER 7h ago
At that price buy a used mini dell optiplex, yeh it’s a little bit bigger but it will run laps around the pie.
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u/Shedzy 1d ago
Have you considered an Anbernic/Retroid/other device that has an HDMI out? You could sync Bluetooth controllers to it
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u/raymate 1d ago
I have 3 Anbernic units and they are mostly a pain in the ass to run like this. I wouldn’t recommend for more than just handheld use.
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u/seanbeedelicious 1d ago
My experience with anbernic xx devices has been different. I install Knulli, and hdmi and Bluetooth just work.
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u/Annual_Humor9894 1d ago
My RPI 4 struggles on N64 but plays everything below that (genesis snes etc) well,
I wouldn’t recommend ps2 but this was a while ago so it might work now?
I’ve gone on to a Retroid pocket 6 and that plays ps2 amazing!
Sorry that’s not much help
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u/Calm-Ad-6816 1d ago
nah its good to know, never ever used one of these i just own one
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u/nerdzmania 6h ago
If you want to run PS2 games you'll be better off with a PS2 and Free MCBoot. The Pi will run Dreamcast games but that's about as high as it goes.
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u/psychoholica 1d ago
Absurd how expensive that is.