Retroid Pocket Mini - Completely confused on setting up

[pak888]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to retrogaming and would like to start the journey. I biught a Retroid pocket mini V2 but I am experiencing lots of issues, things i really don't get. Would appreciate your help please.

- How to setup the emulators.
I see Retroid comes up with bunch of emulators that i can activate during the setup process. But I read a procedure where they mention Obtanium.
Should I use Obtanium only ?
- What's the difference between retroArch Nighly build and retroarch ?
- Why do I have to install emulators like PSPPP if Retroarch has a list ?
- They say in the guide that i should insert my SD card and it will prompt me to use as external or internal storage but nothing comes up... Should I find a way to have something done by the deveice or should I just copy and paste the files in folders I create by myself ?

Thanks for the help much appreciated

 

[dem6n dem6n]

Check out this page here from Russ at RetroGameCorps. This is the Retroid setup guide. There's videos.

Retroid Pocket Starter Guide

Last updated: 22MAY2025 (see Changelog for details) The Retroid Pocket handhelds are seemingly simple devices to set up — they run on Android, so how hard could it be? Well it turns out there…

retrogamecorps.com

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

- What's the difference between retroArch Nighly build and retroarch ?
- Why do I have to install emulators like PSPPP if Retroarch has a list ?

- Retroarch nightly is the latest version. It's like a beta version, you may get the latest features but it may be a bit less stable.

- Retroarch has what they call cores. Those are versions of the emulators adapted to retroarch specifically. You can also install the emulators one by one outside of Retroarch, like PPSSPP, depending on the games you want to run.

For the rest, I have no idea because I dont own that handheld. I would suggest you to take small bites at a time. Choose one or two good games from the SNES/Megadrive era and set things up to play them and have fun. Read the documentation around it. Once you got that down, try to emulate another system. Trying to have everything working in one day and loading hundreds of ROMs will be more than you can chew and kill your fun.

 

[AceWhatever]

Ok there's a lot to unpack so let's start from the top:
-If you've never setup an emulator before, be prepared to pull up your sleeves and get down and dirty. This is a learning process and automation will only get you so far.
-For Retroid devices, the general consensus is to ignore all the apps it offers to install for you and set them up yourself. You'll have more control and a better understanding of the app plus it will be the latest version.
-Obtanium is an app that lets you handle all sideloaded apps so they can be updated automatically direct from their source. It's very useful to setup but strictly speaking you shouldn't need to do it unless a certain emulator offers a major new feature or fixes a previously unplayable game.
-Retroarch is a multi-system emulator. While it handles a lot of systems and is tempting to use as a single all-in-one solution, the general consensus is that for most systems past PS1 it is better to use dedicated emulators to achieve higher compatibility and performance. If you want to use Retroarch, do not fumble with it blind. The site linked above has some good step by step tutorials you can follow. Also get the latest nightly or stable from the Retroarch website as the Play store version is no longer recommended. A less popular option for all pre-PS1 systems (& GBA) is to download individual emulator apks from this page and set them up yourself.
-Be reasonable. Do not setup emulators for 8+ systems if you're only gonna play 2-3 of them. Take it one step at a time to avoid being overwhelmed.
-SD cards should be inserted prior to powering up the device. If the Retroid isn't recognizing it, test the card on your PC then check that it's properly inserted in the Retroid slot (if your fingernails aren't long enough, use something like a small flathead screwdriver to gently push it in).