This screen gives us an FTP address we can use to access the Firestick.Ĭonnect to the Firestick using your favorite FTP program. Open ES File Explorer and select Network on the left navigation menu. You can find it on the Amazon AppStore under Utilities. It gives us tools we can use to transfer games from our computer to the Firestick over Wifi. To put ROMs on the Firestick, I highly recommend ES File Explorer File Manager. This makes some better than others, depending on what you want to play.ħ – Install the ES File Explorer File Manager app This is because each emulator accomplishes emulation through different means.
You’ll notice there are often multiple cores for the same system. Not sure which is best? Experiment yourself or check online for suggestions from the community. You can pick any of the cores from the list. On the main RetroArch home screen, go to Load Core. Give RetroArch the access it’s requesting. When you first launch RetroArch, it will prompt you for media permissions. Select it from your list of apps on the home screen. Now that we’ve got our hardware in order, let’s load up RetroArch. Now you can use your controller to navigate menus. You’ll get a pop up in the corner confirming that it’s connected. When the Fire Stick detects your controller, select it from the list using the remote. Check with the manufacturer to find out exactly how to do this with your controller. The pairing process will begin once you select it. You’ll see an option to Add a new game controller. To add a controller, open Settings then Controllers and Bluetooth Devices. Most other bluetooth controllers will work. I’m using this 8bitdo bluetooth controller. Playing games with the Firestick remote is way too hard. Once it downloads, you’ll get a prompt to install the new app. When the website loads, click Download RetroArch.APK. Access the Browser and enter the following URL: You can find it under the Utilities category.ģ – Download and install the RetroArch app Thankfully, it’s available on the Amazon AppStore. This will help us download and install RetroArch. Next, we’ll need an app called Downloader. RetroArch is safe, but other apps should be verified for safety before you install them. Note: Be cautious when installing third-party apps. Open Developer Options and choose the option to enable Apps from Unknown Sources. New editions will say My Fire TV instead of Device. 1 – Enable Apps from Unknown Sourcesįirst, we need to tell the Fire Stick that it’s okay to install third-party apps. For example, the 4K version can easily emulate N64 games, unlike the less powerful or older models. However, the variety of systems you can emulate does depend on how powerful your Fire Stick is. I’m using an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, but this will work with any Amazon Fire Stick. Your Fire TV Stick (or just Firestick for short) can be reset to factory default at any time. All we’re doing is side-loading a third-party application, which is a fancy way of saying “installing an app from outside the Amazon Appstore”. Technically, installing RetroArch on the Firestick is not the same thing as jailbreaking. People often search for how to jailbreak a Firestick, thinking that “jailbreaking” refers to installing Kodi, RetroArch, etc. The common concern is the legality of how you obtain ROMs (games), but we’ll go over the best ways to get legal ROMs a bit later. There’s nothing illegal about owning and installing emulators. These cores can launch any ROMs that they support, which are referred to as content. RetroArch supports a ton of different emulators, commonly referred to as cores. RetroPie: Build Your Own Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming Rig
RetroPie is a package built on top of RetroArch just for the Raspberry Pi. You may have seen it before: if you set up RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi, you absolutely have. This includes Windows, Linux, Android, and Apple devices. In short, RetroArch is an emulation platform that can be installed on many different devices and operating systems. Why go through the trouble of configuring a Raspberry Pi to play RetroPie when the Fire Stick can do it instead? (And for less money, I might add.) What is RetroArch? If you want to emulate all your favorite retro gaming systems quickly and easily, this guide is for you. 11 – Next: Install Kodi on your Firestick.7 – Install the ES File Explorer File Manager app.3 – Download and install the RetroArch app.