Summary
- RetroAchievements brings modern game achievements to older titles that pre-date the concept introduced in 2005 with Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
- The easiest way to get started is to download and set up RetroArch, register a free RetroAchievements account, and link the two.
- Achievements give you yet another reason to revisit beloved retro titles, providing a sense of accomplishment and a record of your progress.
Do you love that little rush of dopamine you get when an achievement or trophy pops up on-screen while you’re playing a game? You can now experience the same in retro titles that predate the idea of video game trophies!
This Is Possible Thanks to RetroAchievements
Microsoft introduced the concept of the modern video game achievement with the Xbox 360 in 2005, and pretty much everyone except Nintendo has followed suit since. Sony, Valve, Epic, and even Apple have gamified gaming itself with rewards that can be tracked and unlocked as you play.
Achievements serve many different purposes. They’re a nice point of comparison when playing a game, to see how many fellow players have reached the same stage or target. They also serve as a visualization of all the accomplishments a game has to offer.
For some, they’re a reason to pick up and play a game in the first place. Some take achievement hunting so seriously that they toil for hours or go out of their way to assemble parties just to unlock them. They can serve as a great reason to go back and play an old game if ever you’re looking for an excuse.
Achievements have become part of the modern gaming landscape, and the RetroAchievements project extends this to games that predate the practice. The project had its first 1.0 release in 2018 and has since grown to include a library of over 9,000 games with a community of more than a million players.
This library is growing all the time. Expect celebrated franchises like Mario and Sonic to be well covered, but there’s also a growing library of obscure titles on platforms like the NEC Turbo-Grafx-16, Apple II, Atari 2600, and even arcade cabinets thanks to the ever-expanding MAME project. Best of all, it’s completely free and easy to set up.
First Download a Compatible Emulator
RetroAchievements is a service that must be integrated into an emulator in order to work, which means it won’t work with just any old emulator. You can find some suitable candidates on the RetroAchievements Supported Emulators list.
These include high-profile standalone projects like Wii and GameCube emulator Dolphin and PlayStation 2 emulator PCSX2, among others. It also includes a variety of multi-system emulators, of which the most well-known project is RetroArch (in addition to Bizhawk and the project’s own RALibRetro).
If you’re not sure what to pick, we’d recommend setting up RetroArch. This multi-system emulator runs on almost anything, from Windows through to Mac and Linux, the Xbox Series consoles, and even the Steam Deck thanks to expedited emulator setup script EmuDeck.
RetroArch greatly simplifies the process of managing multiple systems thanks to how it approaches emulators as cores. Download it, then configure it with your legally-obtained ROMs and you’re good to go.
Set Up RetroAchievements
In order to earn achievements, you’ll need to register for a free RetroAchievements account. Once you’re done you can log in and customize your profile if you want, including adding games to your “Want to Play Games” list.
While account security is important, you might want to choose a password that’s decently long but also easy to type if you’re going to be using RetroAchievements on a device where copying and pasting or auto-filling your password is not possible (like a handheld).
With your account ready, it’s time to connect your emulator to RetroAchievements. While the instructions for doing this vary depending on which emulator you’re using, we’ll briefly cover the process for RetroArch.
Launch RetroArch and head to Settings > Achievements, then toggle on “Achievements” to show some more options.
Using a front-end like EmulationStation? Navigate to Emulators > RetroArch to launch the emulator directly.
Now enter your RetroAchievements username and password in the relevant field. While you’re here, you might want to flip a few other switches. You can change how achievements appear under the “Appearance” menu, though the default settings should suit most games.
More interesting is the “Visibility” menu which includes options like “Progress Indicator” which lets you know when you’ve made progress toward an achievement, or “Active Challenge Indicators” which shows you an indicator that you’re in an area where an achievement can be earned. If these are distracting, turn them off.
In the main “Achievements” menu there’s one more setting that’s worth noting: “Hardcore Mode.” If you enable this, modern quality-of-life features like cheats, rewind, slow motion, and save state loading will be disabled. A different “Hardcore” tier of achievement will be registered on your profile, as opposed to the usual “Softcore” achievements.
Before you exit, head to Main Menu > Configuration File and use the “Save Current Configuration” to save your login details to your RetroArch config.
Start Tracking and Earning Achievements
Now it’s time to play some games. Assuming you’ve set everything up correctly, you should see a successful login notice when you start a game.
You don’t need to start games using the emulator you signed in with if you’re using a front-end like EmulationStation. As long as the emulator is configured correctly, RetroAchievements will still work. If you don’t get a successful login message when starting a game, make sure you’ve connected the emulator to your account properly.
You’ll also see an overview at the top of the screen that lets you know how many achievements you’ve earned, and how many are left to get.
When you earn an achievement, you will see a pop-up appear on the screen complete with the percentage of players who have earned that achievement. You may also notice small indicators in the bottom right corner of the screen to indicate achievements in progress.
To see a full list of achievements, pause the game using your emulator’s quick menu. On RetroArch, this will show a screen on which you can customize settings like controls, visual settings, and cheats, plus a menu option titled “Achievements.”
Access it to see what you’ve earned, and what’s left to earn.
If you’re looking for another reason to revisit your favorite old games, RetroAchievements might just be it. Read more about why the Steam Deck is the perfect handheld emulator to burn through that backlog.
