Retro Emulation Guide: Play Your Retro Games on Mac, Windows & Linux

01

What is an emulator?

An emulator is a piece of software that reproduces how a video game console works on your computer. It runs games exactly like the original machine: the Super Nintendo, the PlayStation or the Dreamcast come back to life on your Mac, Windows PC or Linux machine. Three words to know:

EmulatorThe program that imitates the console: Snes9x imitates the Super Nintendo, Dolphin the GameCube and Wii, DuckStation the PlayStation…

ROMA game’s file — the copy of a cartridge or a disc (.sfc, .nes, .iso, .chd…). That’s what you add to your library.

BIOSThe small internal software of some consoles (PlayStation 1 and 2 in particular), required by their emulator. It’s dumped from your own console.

02

Installing an emulator: one click

Normally you have to visit each emulator’s website, find the right build for your system, install it, then configure it. RetroLauncher does all of that for you, on macOS, Windows and Linux:

1.Add consoles — open the in-app catalog (NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, PSP, GameCube, Dreamcast…).
2.Install — the official emulator downloads from its original source and installs itself, already configured.
3.Done — the console appears in your library; all that’s left is adding your games.

💡 No “cores” to assemble like in RetroArch, no Mac-only limit like OpenEmu (still not Apple Silicon native, no update since late 2023): each console uses its dedicated official emulator, and the app runs on all three systems.

03

Which emulator for which console?

Here are the catalog’s consoles and the emulator used for each one. “1 click”: RetroLauncher downloads and installs it by itself. “manual”: you install it yourself, the app detects it and takes over from there.

Console	Emulator	Game formats	Install
NES	Mesen	.nes, .fds	1 click
Super Nintendo (SNES)	Snes9x	.sfc, .smc	1 click
Game Boy / Color / Advance	mGBA	.gb, .gbc, .gba	1 click
Nintendo 64	ares / RMG	.n64, .z64, .v64	manual
Nintendo DS	melonDS / DeSmuME	.nds	manual
GameCube / Wii	Dolphin	.iso, .rvz, .wbfs	1 click
Master System / Mega Drive / Game Gear	Genesis Plus GX	.sms, .md, .bin, .gg	manual
Saturn	Mednafen	.cue, .chd	manual
Dreamcast	Flycast	.gdi, .chd, .cdi	1 click
PlayStation 1	DuckStation	.cue, .chd, .bin	1 click *
PlayStation 2	PCSX2	.iso, .chd	1 click *
PSP	PPSSPP	.iso, .cso	1 click
Atari 2600	Stella	.a26, .bin	1 click
Atari 7800 / Lynx / Jaguar	MAME / Mednafen / BigPEmu	.a78, .lnx, .j64	manual
Arcade / Neo Geo	FinalBurn Neo	.zip	manual
PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16	Mednafen	.pce, .cue	manual
Commodore 64	VICE	.d64, .t64	manual
Amiga	FS-UAE	.adf	manual
MS-DOS	DOSBox	.exe, .conf	manual
Adventure games (point & click)	ScummVM	.scummvm	1 click

* BIOS required, dumped from your own console (see “Is it legal?”). The app also recognizes RPCS3 (PlayStation 3), Cemu (Wii U), Vita3K (PS Vita), Citra/azahar (3DS) and Ryujinx forks (Switch) if you install them yourself.

04

Your own games: dumping

The clean, legal way to fill your library: copy onto your computer the games you already own. It’s called “dumping” your cartridges and discs.

CartridgesNES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Mega Drive, Nintendo 64… A USB cartridge reader (Retrode, GB Operator…) turns each cartridge into a ROM file on your drive.

DiscsPlayStation, Dreamcast, GameCube… With a computer CD/DVD drive and a copying tool, you convert your original discs into .iso or .chd files.

ThenDrag the file into the RetroLauncher window: the game joins your library with its box art, description and release year, found automatically.

05

Free, legal games

No need to own a cartridge to start playing right away: there are hundreds of free, perfectly legal retro games.

▸“Free games” tab — dozens of homebrew and public-domain games, curated and downloadable in one click from the app.

▸The homebrew scene — new NES, SNES, Mega Drive and Game Boy games still come out every year, made by enthusiasts and often distributed for free (itch.io…).

▸Public domain — games whose rights are free, legally redistributable.

▸Official re-releases — Nintendo Switch Online, Steam, GOG, Antstream, Evercade… publishers legally resell their retro catalogs.

06

Play with a controller

A keyboard will do in a pinch, but retro games are best played with a controller. RetroLauncher and the catalog’s emulators recognize most recent controllers, over USB or Bluetooth:

▸Xbox & PlayStation — Xbox and DualShock/DualSense (PS4, PS5) controllers connect to your Mac or PC over Bluetooth and work right away.

▸Modern retro controllers — 8BitDo and friends recreate the classic pads (SNES, Mega Drive…) with today’s connectivity.

▸TV mode — plug your computer into the TV: RetroLauncher’s TV interface is fully controller-driven, like a real living-room console.

07

Is it legal? The real answers

Is an emulator legal?

Yes. An emulator is software like any other: downloading and using Snes9x, Dolphin or DuckStation is perfectly legal. It’s the game files (ROMs) that raise copyright questions.

Where do I download ROMs?

Sites distributing commercial game ROMs do so illegally — RetroLauncher provides none and doesn’t link to any. The legal paths: dump your own games (chapter 04) and the free homebrew or public-domain games (chapter 05).

I own the original game: can I download its ROM?

It’s a legal grey area: owning the cartridge doesn’t automatically give you the right to download a file uploaded by someone else. The copy you make yourself from your own copy remains the safe route.

What’s the deal with BIOS files?

The BIOS is the console’s internal software (PlayStation 1 and 2 in particular). It’s protected by copyright too, so it can’t ship with an emulator: you dump it from your own console with a dumping tool.

The complete retro emulation guide