RetroAchievements

Revision as of 04:52, 5 January 2026 by NejiHyuga900 (talk | contribs) (ARM)
RetroAchievements
Developer(s) Scott Breen and the RA Staff
Release
Latest version N/A
Active Yes
Platform(s) See emulator list below
Website retroachievements.org
Source code GitHub (website)

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 and games

See each individual dedicated system pages to see provided up-to-date listings and in-depth information on specific aspects such as enhancements features like RetroAchievements support.

RetroAchievements is currently implemented in the following emulators/frontends, hardware, and video games:

x86

Name Platform(s) Version Platform(s) emulating Platform(s) supported in RA Endorsed?[n 1] Develop[n 2] Active Recommended[n 3] Notes
Afterplay         Website
Play in browser
Various Various [1] A multi-system payware emulator. Officially supported since July 30, 2025. Locks basic features like fast forward, multiple save states, and cheats behind a monthly subscription paywall. Violated multiple emulators' licenses. However, after complying with RetroAchievements' requests, Afterplay remains hardcore-compliant, but its Snes9x and Genesis Plus GX cores were deprecated on September 12, 2025 due to their non-commercial licensing.[1][2]
BizHawk     Dev builds
2.11.1
Various Various ? First emulation frontend to support Nintendo DSi achievements.
DuckStation       Preview
Latest
Older builds for obsolete hardware
  ?
Dolphin         Dev
2606a
      Introduced GameCube achievements since July 15, 2024 on x86 platforms.[3][4] Wii games are planned to be supported on March 19, 2026.[5] The libretro core does not support achievements.
Firelight   0.12.2
git
                  PCE/TurboGrafx-16 SuperGrafx Game Gear A libretro-based multi-emulation frontend.
Flycast       CI Builds
git
  NAOMI 1 & 2, Atomisware ? While the libretro core introduced Dreamcast achievements on February 12, 2022,[6] the standalone version has implemented RetroAchievements for Dreamcast games in the v2.4 release on October 23, 2024 and was officially supported on April 4, 2025,[7] two days after other emulators became officially supported, with releases/builds released after January 22, 2025 being supported at minimum.[8] RetroAchievements and Flycast also support Dreamcast-based arcade systems, including NAOMI, NAOMI 2, and Atomisware.
Luna's Project64     git
3.7.3
  ? ? Implemented in v3.5.4 on December 2, 2024 and was officially supported on April 2, 2025 after v3.5.6's release of March 4, 2025.[8]
PCSX2       2.8.2 (Stable) and Nightly builds
paraLLEl-GS build: Win, Linux
      Introduced PlayStation 2 achievements since v1.7.3347 of the QT version on October 1, 2022.[9][10] The original wxWidgets user interface version of PCSX2 and the LRPS2 libretro core hard fork of PCSX2 do not support RetroAchievements.

As of September 19, 2025, PCSX2 versions (including stable versions) before nightly build v2.5.162 will be forced into softcore mode, so it's highly recommended to use the latest nightly builds until a v2.6 stable build releases.[11]

Playback       1.8.0 & nightly builds       ? ? Playback is an emulation frontend to manage and play physical games from supported external devices. Currently supports the GB Operator, which can play physical GB, GBC, and GBA games that are emulated in the mGBA core in Playback. RetroAchievements supported since v1.8.0 on July 8, 2025.[12][13]
PPSSPP         Dev Builds
Dev Builds (Artifacts)
libretro core[n 4]
1.20.4
  The libretro core introduced PlayStation Portable achievements on October 1, 2021.[14] The standalone version has received official support since v1.16 on September 9, 2023.[15] While PPSSPP was released on more platforms, PPSSPP for Windows XP stopped receiving support after v1.8 and thus does not have RetroAchievements.[16]
RAGens   0.057   Sega CD/Mega-CD  [n 5] Fork of Gens originally used to develop achievements for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and was the first emulator used to develop emulators for the RetroAchievements service in 2012.[17] The first video game that received RetroAchievements support was Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.[18] However, this emulator was retired sometime after May 18, 2020 when RAIntegration v0.78 was released[19] due to issues that could not be fixed with the emulator, being a fork of an old emulator.[20]
RALibRetro     1.8.0
git
Various ? Libretro emulation frontend used to develop achievements for supported platforms.
RAMeka   1.0
git
  , various 8-bit Sega systems   , SG-1000,   , GameGear ? Fork of MEKA to develop achievements for supported platforms.
RANes   1.1
git
  ? Fork of FCEUX to develop achievements for NES games.
RAProject64   1.0
git
  ~ ? Fork of Project64 to develop achievements for Nintendo 64 games.
RAppleWin   1.3.1
git
Apple II Fork of AppleWin to develop achievements for Apple II games. Also, it is currently the only way to earn achievements for Apple II games.
RAQUASI88   1.2.0
git
PC-8000/8800 ? Fork of QUASI88 to develop achievements for PC-8000/8800 games.
RASnes9x   1.2.0
git
  ? Fork of Snes9x to develop achievements for Super NES games.
RAVBA-M   1.2.0
git
      ? Fork of VisualBoyAdvance-M to develop achievements for Game Boy/Color/Advance games.
RetroArch Various 1.22.2
Nightly builds
Core list Various While many libretro cores are supported for RetroAchievements, here is a list of libretro cores that are not supported in RetroAchievements.
SkyEmu         git
Play in browser (latest build)
        ? Officially supported on May 5, 2025 during development for v4.[21]
WinArcadia   36.55 Various obscure 70s and 80s consoles/computers and Pong systems Arcadia 2001, Elektor TV Games Computer, Interton VC 4000 ? Arcadia 2001, Elektor TV Games Computer, Interton VC 4000 achievements were introduced on July, 1 2023.[22] The Android version DroidArcadia received official support on April 2, 2025.[8]

ARM

Name Platform(s) Version Platform(s) emulating Platform(s) supported in RA Endorsed?[n 1] Develop[n 2] Active Recommended[n 3] Notes
AetherSX2       NetherSX2 Patch
1.5-3668 (apk)(no ads)
Builds
1.5-4248 (play store latest with ads)
  Emulator abandoned. Use the NetherSX2 patch (v1.8 or newer or Classic v2.0a or newer) for official PlayStation 2 achievement support.
Afterplay       Website
Play in browser
Various Various [1] A multi-system payware emulator. Officially supported since July 30, 2025. Locks basic features like fast forward, multiple save states, and cheats behind a monthly subscription paywall. Violated multiple emulators' licenses. However, as of August 14, 2025, after complying with RetroAchievements' requests, Afterplay remains hardcore-compliant but with Snes9x and Genesis Plus GX cores removed from support.[1][2]
Delta   1.7.3s
Website
git
             
Patreon version only
 
                [2][23] ~ Was officially supported on April 2, 2025 for NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 games[8] with handhelds and Sega Genesis supported later. However, as of August 14, 2025, Sega Genesis games are restricted to softcore mode due to Sega Genesis emulation and its RetroAchievements integration being locked behind a paywall on Patreon,[2][23], and thus Delta has been delisted with hardcore mode disabled on September 12, 2025 until changes are made to make Genesis Plus GX and its RA integration free for all users.
Dolphin   Dev
2606a
Google Play
      The Android version of Dolphin received achievement support for GameCube achievements since v2509-503 on November 22, 2025.[24] Wii games are planned to be supported on March 19, 2026.[5]
DroidArcadia   4.6 Various obscure 70s and 80s consoles/computers and Pong systems Arcadia 2001, Elektor TV Games Computer, Interton VC 4000 ? Arcadia 2001, Elektor TV Games Computer, Interton VC 4000 achievements were introduced with WinArcadia on July, 1 2023.[25] DroidArcadia received official support on April 2, 2025.[8]
DuckStation     Beta
git
0.1-5494
0.0.1.02 Pyra
  ~
Flycast     CI Builds
git
  NAOMI 1 & 2, Atomisware ? While the libretro core introduced Dreamcast achievements on February 12, 2022,[26] the standalone version has implemented RetroAchievements for Dreamcast games in the v2.4 release on October 23, 2024 and was officially supported on April 4, 2025,[27] two days after other emulators became officially supported, with releases/builds released after January 22, 2025 being supported at minimum.[8] RetroAchievements and Flycast also support Dreamcast-based arcade systems, including NAOMI, NAOMI 2, and Atomisware.
GoGBA     Website
Google Play
App Store
  ? Officially supported on December 19, 2025.[28]
Linkboy   3.3.0       Officially supported on September 4, 2025.[29]
Manic EMU   Apple App Store
git
Various Various ? A libretro-based emulation frontend supporting various popular home consoles and handhelds by Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Officially supported on September 18, 2025 with most cores supported for achievements except Nintendo DS achievements are still W.I.P.[30]
melonDS-Android   git
Beta 1.10.0 PS
melonDualDS fork
  Nintendo DSi Games archived in .7z may have issues being playable or detectable for RetroAchievements (use .zip if playing archived games). Also, while not officially acknowledged, achievements can also be unlocked in hardcore mode in SapphireRhodonite's fork (melonDualDS), a fork of melonDS-Android that has second/external screen support. As of January 2, 2026's nightly build and in melonDualDS v0.5.0 (released 2 days later), DSiWare titles can directly be booted without having to boot Nintendo DSi's home screen, allowing DSiWare titles to be detected by RetroAchievements if booting directly.[31][32] RetroAchievements cannot detect DSiWare titles if booting from Nintendo DSi's home screen.
NetherSX2   Main git
Classic git
  Officially supported v1.8 and newer as of April 2, 2025.[33][8] The Classic version was updated to v2.0a on April 8, 2025 to include hardcore support. May eventually be succeeded by EtherealSX2.[34]
Pizza Boy A   Basic v1.13.7
Pro v2.17.20 ($)
  Officially supported on April 2, 2025[8] with Basic v1.13.2 and Pro v2.17.12 supported at minimum as of April 10, 2025.[35]
Pizza Boy C   Basic v3.0.3
Pro v6.9.11 ($)
    Officially supported on April 2, 2025[8] with Basic v3.0.3 and Pro v6.9.11 supported at minimum as of April 10, 2025.[35]
Pizza Boy SC   Basic v1.0.6
Pro v1.3.6 ($)
  GameGear  Officially supported on April 2, 2025[8] with Basic v1.0.4 and Pro v1.3.3 supported at minimum as of April 10, 2025.[35]
PPSSPP     Dev Builds
Dev Builds (Artifacts)
1.20.4
libretro core[n 4]
  ? The libretro core introduced PlayStation Portable achievements on October 1, 2021.[36] The standalone version has received official support since v1.16 on September 9, 2023[37] and x64 versions of Android and iOS are supported. While PPSSPP was released on other platforms such as BlackBerry 10, DragonBox Pyra, Pandora, and more, these ports stopped receiving updates before v1.16 and thus do not have RetroAchievements.[16]
RetroArch Various 1.22.2
Nightly builds
Core list Various While many libretro cores are supported for RetroAchievements, here is a list of libretro cores that are not supported in RetroAchievements.
SkyEmu       git
Play in browser (latest build)
        ? Officially supported on May 5, 2025 during development for v4.[38]
Yaba Sanshiro 2 (Yaba三四郎2)   1.20.5 (free)
1.20.5 (Pro) ($)
  Android version officially supported since the v1.18.0 release for both the free and paid Pro versions on August 2, 2025. Windows and iOS ports are planned for support.[39]

Consoles

Name Platform(s) Version Platform(s) emulating Platform(s) supported in RA Endorsed?[n 1] Develop[n 2] Active Recommended[n 3] Notes
DolphinUWP     git       Unofficial port of Dolphin for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Xbox Series X/S recommended for better performance.[40]
DuckStation       uwp git
20221203-uwp
Switch git
  ? ~ ?
Flycast       CI Builds
git
  NAOMI 1 & 2, Atomisware ? While the libretro core introduced Dreamcast achievements on February 12, 2022,[41] the standalone version has implemented RetroAchievements for Dreamcast games in the v2.4 release on October 23, 2024 and was officially supported on April 4, 2025,[42] two days after other emulators became officially supported, with releases/builds released after January 22, 2025 being supported at minimum.[8] RetroAchievements and Flycast also support Dreamcast-based arcade systems, including NAOMI, NAOMI 2, and Atomisware.
PPSSPP       Switch
libretro core
  ? ~ The libretro core introduced PlayStation Portable achievements on October 1, 2021.[43] The standalone version has received official support since v1.16 on September 9, 2023.[44]
RetroArch Various 1.22.2
Nightly builds
Core list Various While many libretro cores are supported for RetroAchievements, here is a list of libretro cores that are not supported in RetroAchievements.
XBSX2     UWP git
Original git
  XBSX2 UWP officially supported on April 2, 2025.[8][45] XBSX2 UWP is a fork of XBSX2.0 that continues its development. The original XBSX2.0 is no longer maintained and thus is in softcore mode, as well as older versions of XBSX2 UMP below PCSX2 v2.5.162 starting on September 19, 2025.[11]

Standalone games

In addition to video game emulators, some standalone computer games receive RetroAchievements support, usually through a game mod or through a private server for online games.

Game Supported platform(s) Websites Achievement sets Notes
Final Fantasy XI (via HorizonXI)   HorizonXI
RA forum guide
Main set
Hero of Nations
Hardcore Hero
First non-emulated game to receive RetroAchievements support. Implemented in the HorizonXI private server since February 8, 2024. Along with the main set of achievements, there is a subset of achievements for Hero of Nations and Hardcore Hero (FFXI's hardcore mode), as well as an achievement set for the Rise of the Zilart expansion (see below). HorizonXI does not require the original game to play and earn achievements.
Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (via HorizonXI)   HorizonXI
RA forum guide
Main set
Endgame (TBD)
An expansion pack for Final Fantasy XI implemented in the HorizonXI private server, which also has its own set of achievements. An Endgame subset of achievements is planned.
Terraria (via tModLoader)       Terraria (Steam)
tModLoader (Steam)
RA mod for tModLoader
RA forum guide
Subset mods:
Completionist
Player
World
Main set
Completionist
Player Difficulties
World Modes & Seeds
Implemented via a RetroAchievements mod for tModLoader (a mod launcher for Terraria) and published on February 15, 2025. Along with the main set of achievements, there are subsets for Completionist, Player Difficulties, and World Modes & Seeds.

Emulators and games planned for RetroAchievements

While not yet supported or implemented, here is a list of emulators, frontends, and standalone games that may support RetroAchievements in the future. Implementation is not guaranteed and could be canceled, but they have at least been considered by their developer.

  • ares (multi-system emulator for computers) - Considered, but there is a roadblock.[46]
  • Azahar (Nintendo 3DS emulator for computers) - Development priority low[47] but assigned since March 22, 2025.[48]
  • Dolphin (Wii/WiiWare achievements)[49] - Achievements for Wii and WiiWare games are planned to be launched on March 19, 2026.[5]
  • EtherealSX2 (a W.I.P. PlayStation 2 emulator for Android)[50]
  • melonDS (Nintendo DS emulator for computers) - Considered in melonDS's 9th Anniversary news update on November 3, 2025 upon popular requests.[51]
  • Red Viper (Virtual Boy emulator for Nintendo 3DS)[52]
  • Yaba Sanshiro 2 (Sega Saturn emulator for Windows and iOS) - Implemented and officially supported in v1.18.0 of the Android version since August 2, 2025 so far.[39]
  • xemu (Xbox emulator for computers) - Considered with the help of other contributors (potentially as a plugin), as the emulator developer is focused on improving emulation quality and stability.[53]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Emulators officially supported and endorsed by RetroAchievement developers that can be used unrestrictedly. Unofficially supported emulators/frontends, as well as outdated emulator/frontends versions in due time, are softcore-locked as of April 2025 and cannot be used in hardcore mode, and will not have leaderboard support. It is highly discourageable to sign into RetroAchievements in unofficially supported emulators as unofficial emulators may be malicious with hidden features and consequences including but not limited to: Malware/viruses, being keylogged and having your account stolen, the unlock of achievements not working correctly, and/or being banned/suspended from the RetroAchievements service.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Emulators/frontends that can officially be used to develop achievements for video games.
  3. 4.0 4.1 The standalone version of PPSSPP is highly recommended over the libretro core, as the libretro core version can be slow and unstable.
  4. Former officially-supported emulators that were officially retired from developing achievements or earning achievements in hardcore mode.

Supported Systems

Note: for more details on supported emulators, see this doc. For unsupported emulators see this other doc.
As mentioned before, there are currently 52 supported systems, and they are the following:

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 (standalone computer games with RetroAchievements support via game update, game mod, private server for online games, etc.; see the standalone games section for information about the available supported games)
Uzebox
Vectrex
WASM-4
Watara Supervision
WonderSwan

Planned sytems

Amiga
Atari 5200
Atari ST
Cassette Vision
Commodore 64
DOS
FM Towns
Game & Watch
Nintendo 3DS
Nokia N-Gage
Oric
PC-6000
PC-9800
Philips CD-i
Sega Pico
Sharp X1
Sharp X68000
Super Cassette Vision
Thomson TO8
TI-83
TIC-80
VIC-20
Wii
Wii U
Xbox
Zeebo
ZX Spectrum
ZX-81

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 can be seen in the "Supported Game Files" part of a game's page.

Game Variety

RetroAchievements does not only support retail games, but it also has demos, hacks, homebrew, prototypes, unlicensed games and even a few test kits (only 2 of these currently have achievements), and several games have subsets. Hacks and subsets typically require patches, which only contain the altered stuff for the game it should be applied to.

Trivia

  • It was first created on November 2nd, 2012.
  • 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 almost daily, so there is a lot of activity.
  • More consoles will be supported in the future, with the currently (publicly) confirmed ones being the Commodore 64, MS-DOS, the TI-83 and the Wii.
  • RADocs (documents several aspects of RetroAchievements such as emulator support, how RA works, etc.)
  • RAGuides (guides for achievement sets)
  • RANews (monthly online magazine which talks about RA-related news and other stuff)
  • RAPatches (patches for supported hacks, subsets, etc.)
  • Userscripts (official userscripts for RetroAchievements, also links to unofficial ones)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/31930
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://afterplay.io/licenses
  3. https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/07/15/unlocked-retroachievements-come-dolphin/
  4. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=27286
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://discord.com/channels/310192285306454017/357633571307126784/1417193268957151283
  6. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=15276&o=0
  7. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=30384&o=75
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=30384
  9. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=11108
  10. https://x.com/retrocheevos/status/1575998932156485632
  11. 11.0 11.1 https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/32330
  12. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/31517
  13. https://support.epilogue.co/hc/en-us/articles/20685106515740-v1-8-0-current-release
  14. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=13851&c=93808
  15. https://www.ppsspp.org/news/release-1.16/
  16. 16.0 16.1 https://www.ppsspp.org/legacybuilds/
  17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKY2mZjurJw
  18. https://thememorycore.com/posts/interview-scott-breen-retroachievements
  19. https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAIntegration/releases/tag/RAIntegration.0.78
  20. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/10673
  21. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/30758
  22. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=22335
  23. 23.0 23.1 https://www.reddit.com/r/Delta_Emulator/comments/1mrdz35/ra_is_not_messing_around_always_thought_it_was
  24. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/33323
  25. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=22335
  26. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=15276&o=0
  27. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=30384&o=75
  28. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/33633
  29. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/32167
  30. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/32353
  31. https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android/commit/94a693d7bf336359bb3218a673c101b858baa1e7
  32. https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/melonDS-android/releases/tag/0.5.0
  33. https://github.com/Trixarian/NetherSX2-patch/issues/131#issuecomment-2772799926
  34. https://github.com/Trixarian/NetherSX2-patch/issues/131#issuecomment-2566681639
  35. 35.0 35.1 35.2 https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=30480
  36. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=13851&c=93808
  37. https://www.ppsspp.org/news/release-1.16/
  38. https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/30758
  39. 39.0 39.1 https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/31793
  40. https://github.com/SternXD/dolphin?tab=readme-ov-file#uwp-universal-windows-platform
  41. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=15276&o=0
  42. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=30384&o=75
  43. https://retroachievements.org/viewtopic.php?t=13851&c=93808
  44. https://www.ppsspp.org/news/release-1.16/
  45. https://github.com/XboxEmulationHub/XBSX2/releases/tag/2.0.8.3
  46. https://reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1djp8ro/ares_v139_release/l9ckjp2
  47. https://github.com/azahar-emu/azahar/issues/533#event-15238947436
  48. https://github.com/azahar-emu/azahar/issues/533#event-16940412811
  49. https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/07/15/unlocked-retroachievements-come-dolphin/
  50. https://github.com/Trixarian/NetherSX2-patch/issues/131#issuecomment-2566681639
  51. https://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=237
  52. https://github.com/skyfloogle/red-viper/issues/7#issuecomment-2584943919
  53. https://github.com/xemu-project/xemu/issues/582#issuecomment-2774788171