RetroAchievements

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RetroAchievements
RetroAchievements Logo.png
Developer(s) Scott Breen and the RA Team
Latest version N/A
Active Yes
Platform(s) RetroArch, BizHawk, libretro, etc.
Emulates N/A
Website retroachievements.org
Source code GitHub

RetroAchievements is an online service which provides users with fan-made achievement sets for many platforms which are listed below. The latest console to get achievement support as of this writing is the GameCube, bumping the amount of total systems supported up to a whopping 52 consoles, handhelds, computers and other platforms.

Supported Emulators

RetroAchievements is currently implemented in the following emulators/frontends:

BizHawk: Multi-system emulator
Dolphin: GameCube (NOTE: Requires a development version of 2407-68 or higher)
DuckStation: PlayStation
PCSX2: PlayStation 2
PPSSPP: PlayStation Portable
RALibRetro: Multi-system emulator based on libretro
RAMeka: ColecoVision, Master System, Game Gear and SG-1000 emulator based on MEKA
RANes: NES/Famicom Disk System emulator based on FCEUX
RAP64: Nintendo 64 emulator based on Project64
RAppleWin: Apple II emulator based on AppleWin
RAQUASI88: PC-8000/8800 emulator based on QUASI88
RASnes9x: SNES emulator based on Snes9x
RAVBA: Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance emulator based on VisualBoyAdvance
RetroArch: Multi-system frontend
WinArcadia: Emerson Arcadia 2001, Elektor TV Games Computer and Interton VC 4000 emulator

Supported Systems

Note: for more details on what systems are supported by what emulators, see this doc.
There are currently 52 supported systems, and they are:

Nintendo

Game Boy
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
NES/Famicom
SNES/Super Famicom
Nintendo 64
GameCube
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DSi
Pokemon Mini
Virtual Boy

Sony

PlayStation
PlayStation 2
PlayStation Portable

Atari

Atari 2600
Atari 7800
Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar CD
Atari Lynx

Sega

SG-1000
Master System
Game Gear
Genesis/Mega Drive
Sega CD
32X
Saturn
Dreamcast

NEC

PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
PC Engine CD/TurboGrafx-CD
PC-8000/8800
PC-FX

SNK

Neo Geo CD
Neo Geo Pocket

Other

3DO Interactive Multiplayer
Amstrad CPC
Apple II
Arcade
Arcadia 2001
Arduboy
ColecoVision
Elektor TV Games Computer
Fairchild Channel F
Intellivision
Interton VC 4000
Magnavox Odyssey 2
Mega Duck
MSX
Standalone (currently just Final Fantasy XI through HorizonXI; in the future, this platform is meant to encompass private game servers, recreations, indie PC games/fangames, etc. that would get direct support from the applications' devs, rather than through emulation)
Uzebox
Vectrex
WASM-4
Watara Supervision
WonderSwan

How RA Works

Note: this is a very simplified explanation. For more in-depth documentation see these pages.
Achievements work by comparing the game's RAM to the achievement code of a set made by an RA developer. Achievement code, also known as logic, is a list of memory conditions chosen by the developer, that when all are simultaneously true on a single frame, will award an achievement.
RetroAchievements also relies on something called hashes, which help to identify different game versions (different regions, revisions, etc.) and are linked in the "Supported Game Files" part of a game's page.

Game Variety

RetroAchievements does not only support retail games, it also has sets for demos, hacks, homebrew, prototypes and unlicensed games, and some games even have subsets! Hacks and subsets typically require patches, which only contain the altered stuff for the game it should be applied to.

Trivia

  • The first console to ever be supported was the Genesis/Mega Drive and the first game to ever receive a set was Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • New sets are constantly being developed and released pretty much daily, and even more consoles will be supported in the future!

Related Links

  • RADocs (documents several aspects of RetroAchievements such as emulator support, how RA works, among other stuff)
  • RAGuides (guides for achievement sets)
  • RANews (monthly online magazine which talks about many RA-related news and other stuff)
  • RAPatches (patches for supported hacks, subsets, etc. on RA)
  • Userscripts (official userscripts for RetroAchievements, also links to unofficial ones)