RetropaRETROPA / Troubleshooting
Game Will Not Load in Retropa? What to Check
Run the same checks in the same order every time: is the file actually on the device, does the extension match the system, is anything missing, does another core help. Most files turn out to be fine.
Download for iOSFree to download. Optional in-app purchases. iOS 18 or later.
Follow a fixed order, not a guess
Load failures usually trace back to a handful of causes, and guessing at them costs more time than checking. Start with the cheapest test and stop the moment something explains the symptom.
- Is the file fully downloaded?
- Then the extension and the detected system.
- Last, dependencies and core choice.
Check one: is the file really on the device?
A cloud placeholder occupies a row in the library like any other entry, but the emulator gets nothing usable from it. Open it in the Files app, let the download finish, then import again.
- An item still waiting on its download is not local.
- Let the download finish before you retry.
- This cause turns up more than any other.
Check two: does the extension match the system?
Every system reads its own extension, and a mismatch hands the core a file it cannot interpret. Renaming a .gb file to .gba does not convert it; it is still a Game Boy game and will not act like a Game Boy Advance title.
- .gb, .gbc, .gba and .nds cover different systems.
- Renaming a file never converts the game.
- Check which system the library detected.
Check three: is a BIOS or a parent set missing?
Arcade families and some systems ask for an extra BIOS file, and an arcade set may need its parent set alongside it. The core names what it cannot find, so read that line carefully: a missing BIOS and a missing parent are separate problems.
- Read the error text exactly as written.
- An arcade neogeo.zip is not the same thing as a handheld BIOS.
- Retropa ships no BIOS files, so you supply your own.
Check four: try the other core
Plenty of systems offer more than one core. If the file is complete, named correctly and missing nothing, the next test is a different core, since cores vary in how strictly they reproduce the original hardware.
- Write down which core failed.
- Switch cores and try the same file once.
- Try a second game on the same core for comparison.
What to include in a support request
When a game still refuses to start, the details that help are the app version, the system, the core in use and the error text as shown. Leave commercial game and BIOS files out of it; nobody needs them to work out what went wrong.
- App version, plus the system.
- The core you had selected and the error text.
- Do not attach commercial ROM or BIOS files.
Questions
The game opens to a black screen. What does that mean?
That usually points to a download that never finished, a file variant the core cannot handle, or a missing dependency like a BIOS. Start with the download, then the extension, then whatever the core reports.
A game worked before and now does not. Why?
Something moved: the app version, the chosen core, or the file's location. A save state belongs to one core, so a state made elsewhere can fail while the game itself still runs fine.
What should I send with a support request?
Send the app version, the system, the core you selected and the error text as it appears. Keep commercial game and BIOS files out of the message.
Retropa.
Free to download. Optional in-app purchases. iOS 18 or later.