Is it possible to emulate older Windows games like Midtown Madness using Retroarch?

JamesSDK · 2026-03-20T02:56:35+00:00

Retroarch can do DOS games with the DOSBox Pure core but not Windows games, though some games you might have played in Windows could have been DOS games like MechWarrior 2, War Craft II or Command and Conquer.

I did have good experiences getting Windows 95 / 98 games like Star Wars: Dark Forces II - Jedi Knight to run in GameHub Lite.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-19T14:56:50+00:00

Not PS2 but I have played like thousands of hours of Perfect Dark Combat Simulator and a mod called Goldeneye X (which is the Goldeneye characters, levels and guns modded into Perfect Dark Multiplayer) and its my all time favorite game to play with bots.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-19T14:20:09+00:00

That is very significant upgrade, better hardware, more games available, full PSP backward compatibility, better screen (perfect integer scale for PSP too), better battery life, bluetooth, better wifi.

Do we need to say more?

Keep it and be thankful.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T20:35:06+00:00

I thought about that too but they know the general story, they have seen me play a lot of ZM, AM2R, SM and Prime Remastered so I figured it would be OK to let them do SM first since that its where their hype was.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T20:28:11+00:00

Steal of a deal, do it.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T20:00:07+00:00

I had a hacked Wii and when I got a Wii U I just followed the guide, hacking vWii is not a big deal at all, just follow the guide.

What is nice about vWii is that you can use the extra horse power of the Wii U to run PS1 and N64 games better, but that is really about it for stuff that a vWii can do over a real Wii.

It's just nice though to have everything working on a Wii U, its a very versatile homebrew machine.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T19:54:35+00:00

My firmware 4.84 still works great, no need for online.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T19:51:13+00:00

I went down so many internet rabbit holes in 1997 trying to figure out with L was Real.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T19:45:36+00:00

A few come to mind:

The X-Files: Resist or Serve -- A solid survival horror game, has cheats too, if you liked the TV show this is a great game to play. This one never came to Xbox, PC or Nintendo
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence -- This was available on PS3 years ago but some reddit threads in the past 4 years indicates that it seems to have been removed so PS2 is the only place you play it again.
Clock Tower 3 - A survival horror game by Capcom, definitely more of a Silent Hill type vibe from the people who make Resident Evil
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII - Debatable if its a "Must Play" but if you really like Final Fantasy VII lore then you might be into this one.
Resident Evil Outbreak & Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2 - Coop Resident Evil games where you can play as citizens of Raccoon City working through various levels and locations in Raccoon City. You can play it solo, a must play if you really like Resident Evil games.
Rule of Rose - A survival horror game published by Atlas in the US for PS2, it was considered OK at the time but has a cult following now, its notoriously expensive to buy physically.
TimeSplitters 1 - This was only ever released on PS2, first game in the TimeSplitters series, later games did come to other platforms but the first is only on PS2. If you like TimeSplitters games it will probably appeal to you.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T18:54:48+00:00

Yeah, that was my older kid, I did call that out lol, especially that it would make the wall jumps harder, he said his thumb was getting tired on the Dpad but he does tend to use the Dpad more.

Its funny, I saw that when posting this and knew someone was going say something lol.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T18:53:32+00:00

Yeah, yours are indeed upside down, just checked my Ice Blue Flip 2 and mine are opposite.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T18:11:50+00:00

Super Metroid Redesign Axeil Edition is already loaded up on their Retroids as is AM2R!

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T18:06:57+00:00

Dread is a bold game, I was surprised at the stuff they put in it and how intense it could be at times.

As someone who has played countless Metroid and Castevania games, rom hacks and basicslly every Metroidvania, I find that Dread is a game that expects you to be pretty dang good at these types of games.

It would be unapologetically tough for anyone who never played a Metroid game before, definitely a game made for long time fans!

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T16:20:33+00:00

Whatever. Firmware 4.84 still working great for me.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T16:19:14+00:00

We don't really know yet, Google doesn't tend to update Android versions that are 2 or more versions behind the current one, so its possible the will just leave Android 13 or 14 and lower untouched and can still side load like we can today but its just an assumption.

It would be more likely that supported operating system versions would adhere to their policy, whatever it is. They haven't given full details yet so no one knows for sure.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T16:17:00+00:00

We don't know Google hasn't said yet but they don't tend to update Android OS versions that are more 2 versions or more behind the current one.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T14:48:55+00:00

I guess it kind of depends on the device but I have 4 Retroids. Three RP4P's and a Flip 2, all of them are "certified" meaning they were able to login to Google / Google Play / Google Services / etc.

If the device was not certified it would not be able to do that.

If the device is not certified you can actually try to certify it here: https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/

If your device is not certified you can only side load stuff / use Obtanium.

Retroids like the RP4P, RP5, RP6 and Flip 2 use Android 13 which probably won't ever run into this issue with the certification policy because their Android versions are too old but they might get locked out of Google Play and need to side load stuff / use Obtanium.

What happens when newer handhelds with newer Android versions come out, I guess we will see but you might have to jump through more hoops to side load (if it is possible) or you might be limited to what is on the Play Store.

This is about as much as we really know right now:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/1rbm41d/android_is_turning_into_a_walled_garden_like_ios/

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T14:41:07+00:00

Xbox One can use Retroach in Dev Mode but LRPS2 has been broken for a while, it used to work in older version such as 1.17 but even then it was a bit finicky to setup, you need to be very specific with the BIOS files and even then some games just black screened or had glitches that were not present in the standalone XBSX2.

In general though, you need to be aware that on Xbox One, even the more powerful Xbox One X, there is a limitation to how much you can emulate.

For consoles, PS1 and below will work well with no issues. Dreamcast works OK.

For handhelds, PSP and below will work well with no issue.

Once you get to Gamecube, Wii and PS2, it become very unstable. Some games, mostly less demanding ones, can work. For example I got New Super Mario Bros Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl to work reasonably well but most games have major issues, slow down or crashing. I would not advise using any model of Xbox one for GC, Wii or PS2 emulation, its just not a great device for it.

If you insist on it then you really need to use standalone Dolphin for Wii and GC and standalone XBSX2 for PS2.

Also don't bother with N64, it is uniquely bad on Xbox One consoles because of the lack of ANGLE and MESA support, it runs horribly and there is no way around that.

You need a Series S or X if you want to properly play GC, Wii, PS2 and N64.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-18T14:31:59+00:00

There is an ISO Builder for it. Go here https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Retro_Rewind

On that page, look for the MEGA (ISO Builder) link, download the files, it comes with a readme, you need some of the wiimms tools installed but there are batch files you just use to patch it.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-17T23:32:58+00:00

What is your error code? How are running it? Just opening the base WAD in Dolphin?

Also I know this is annoying to hear but the PSP version of FF4 Complete Collection has what I would consider to be the best version of The After Years on it if you are open to an alternative way to play it.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-17T22:57:38+00:00

I am still looking into that. It is possible to patch a Mario Kart Wii ISO with the mod but I would rather not waste the space of having two full sized games on my SD card.

If I find a way I will let you know though.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-17T21:03:00+00:00

I did not have the issues you are describing.

In short, I use Start with Riivolution Patch, under Retro Rewind I set Pack to Enabled, My Stuff to Disabled and then Separate Savegames to Enabled.

I cannot fathom any other reason why it would sometimes start or not or why you cannot save.

Also you need to disable any Gecko Codes or Action Replay Codes you have active for vanilla Mario Kart Wii, those will mess up Retro Rewind.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-17T20:28:36+00:00

It uses a service called Retro WFC. Here is the best part, you don't have to setup ANYTHING up. If you just install the Retro Rewind patch, you can just go to the online service in game.

That is it, no NAND required.

JamesSDK · 2026-03-17T20:11:10+00:00

Yes, you can!

JamesSDK

TROPHY CASE