Recalbox

Name: Recalbox
Author: Sugggest

Recalbox is a free, open source retro gaming console operating system based on Linux. It allows you to easily set up an emulation station to play classic games from systems like Atari, NES, SNES, Genesis, Arcade, and more on a Raspberry Pi or other compatible single board compute

Gaming Software Retro Gaming

emulation retro-gaming raspberry-pi open-source

Recalbox alternatives ➤

Recalbox: Free Retro Gaming Console OS for Raspberry Pi

A free, open source retro gaming console operating system based on Linux, enabling easy setup of an emulation station for classic games from various systems on compatible single board computers.

What is Recalbox?

Recalbox is a lightweight yet powerful operating system tailored for retro video game emulation. At its core, Recalbox takes advantage of the flexibility and horsepower of the Linux kernel while providing a simplified user interface focused on gaming.

Once installed on compatible hardware like the Raspberry Pi, Recalbox provides all the tools needed to play games from classic home consoles and arcade machines. Its emulation station interface makes adding and launching games as easy as possible. Recalbox supports emulating systems like the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, MAME arcade games, and many more. It has integrated controllers for gaming as well as scrapers to download box art and descriptions.

Some key capabilities and features of Recalbox include:

Free, open source software
Easy installation and setup process
Intuitive EmulationStation interface for launching games
Supports emulating a wide range of retro gaming systems
Automatic game scraping and metadata
Controller configuration for gaming
Save state support for picking up where you left off
HDMI output for connecting to modern TVs and monitors

With its focus on simplicity and retro gaming, Recalbox helps you transform Raspberry Pi and other devices into all-in-one retro gaming consoles. Both novice and experienced Linux users can appreciate Recalbox's straightforward approach.

Recalbox Features

Features

Emulation of multiple retro gaming systems like Atari, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Arcade, etc
Supports Raspberry Pi and other compatible single board computers
Open source and community driven development
Easy to install and set up
Scrapes game metadata like descriptions, images, videos automatically
Supports controllers like Xbox, PS3, PS4, 8Bitdo
Kodi media center integration
Save states and automatic game saves
Theming and customization options

Pricing

Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Active community support

Wide range of supported systems and games

Easy to install and use

Automatic scraping of game metadata

Supports many controllers

Can turn Raspberry Pi into a retro gaming machine

Cons

Limited configuration options compared to RetroPie

Not as many systems supported as RetroArch

Requires some Linux/command line knowledge for setup

Scraping can be slow on large libraries

No desktop environment or compositor for Raspberry Pi

Official Links

Official Website
https://www.recalbox.com

The Best Recalbox Alternatives

Top Gaming Software and Retro Gaming and other similar apps like Recalbox

Here are some alternatives to Recalbox:

Batocera.linux

Retropie

EmulationStation

Lakka

RetroBat

Pi Entertainment System

Suggest an alternative ❐

Batocera.linux

Batocera.linux is an open-source Linux distribution designed specifically for retro video game emulation and gaming. Based on RecalboxOS, Batocera.linux integrates a large number of emulators and game engines to allow playing thousands of classic arcade, console, and computer games on modern hardware.Some key features of Batocera.linux include:Easy installation on PCs,...

Compare Batocera.linux and Recalbox

Retropie

Retropie is an open-source project that transforms a Raspberry Pi into a retro gaming console. It installs various emulators for old game platforms like NES, SNES, Genesis, Arcade machines, and more. This allows you to play classic video game ROMs on your Raspberry Pi with controllers connected via USB or...

Compare Retropie and Recalbox

EmulationStation

EmulationStation is an open source graphical frontend for emulators designed to organize and view game console libraries. It works with emulators like RetroArch, OpenEmu, standalone emulators, and more to provide a unified visual interface to browse, select, and launch games from multiple systems including NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PlayStation, and...

Compare EmulationStation and Recalbox

Lakka

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that is specifically designed to turn a computer into a full-fledged emulation console for classic video game systems. Based on RetroArch and the Libretro API, Lakka makes setting up emulators and playing classic games simple and user-friendly.One of the key advantages of Lakka is...

Compare Lakka and Recalbox

RetroBat

RetroBat is an open-source, cross-platform application for emulating retro video game consoles and platforms. Its goal is to preserve classic games and systems by accurately emulating their hardware and software so that they can be played on modern computers and devices.Some key features of RetroBat include:Supports a wide range of...

Compare RetroBat and Recalbox

Pi Entertainment System

The Pi Entertainment System (PES) is a free, open source media center application specifically designed for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. Based on the Kodi media center software, PES provides an easy-to-use interface for managing and playing back media on your home theater system.Some key features of PES include:Beautiful graphical...

Compare Pi Entertainment System and Recalbox

Skraper

Skraper is a free and open source web scraping software that provides an easy way to extract data from websites without needing to write code. It has an intuitive graphical interface that allows you to visually select elements on a web page to scrape data from tables, listings, and more.Some...

Compare Skraper and Recalbox