Arcade emulator for iPhone and iPad

CPS, Neo Geo and the arcade board

Retropa covers several arcade families, among them CPS I, CPS II, CPS III, Neo Geo, PGM and M92. What matters is matching your game to the board and ROM set the installed core expects. A family being on the list does not guarantee that every archive will run.

• Confirm the system in the app before choosing a file.
• Arcade play requires Retropa Plus.
• The app includes no commercial ROMs and no BIOS files.

Neo Geo arcade is not Neo Geo Pocket

The two share a name and nothing else. Arcade Neo Geo titles and Neo Geo Pocket cartridges run on different systems from different files. If an arcade game reports a missing Neo Geo BIOS, open Arcade BIOS in Retropa, import the neogeo.zip package it asks for, and launch the game again. A Pocket ROM will not fill the gap, and renaming a ZIP will not either.

• Use BIOS files you have the right to use; Retropa supplies no downloads.
• A BIOS package cannot stand in for game, parent or clone ROM data you are missing.
• Read the exact error before changing anything, and keep the original archive.

Why an arcade ZIP is different

Most handheld ROMs are one chip's worth of data. An arcade set can hold a dozen small ROM chips and still need a parent set or a BIOS to boot. Renaming a file to .zip tells Retropa nothing about what is inside it. Leave the archive as it came unless the import screen specifically asks you to extract it.

When a game will not start

Start with the board you selected and the error text on screen. Then check whether your set is complete, and whether the BIOS or parent files it leans on are actually present. A clone archive alone often lacks pieces the core needs. No filter preset or skin swap will conjure up ROM data that was never there.

• Keep your original files untouched while you diagnose an import.
• Note the app version, the system and the exact error when you write to support.
• Never attach commercial ROMs or BIOS files to a support request.

Set up the first session

Once the game boots, find the coin, start and action buttons before you press anything in a hurry. On an external controller, verify the mapping as well as the labels drawn on screen. Stay on a plain display preset for now, and save the CRT treatment for after you know the game and the controls behave.