Installing RetroArch on SNES Classic with Hakchi 2.20

Yesterday we reported to you that the world now has the newest hakchi with its 2.20 revision by developer Cluster_M. If you want to read all about the newest additions to the program and all of its features, click here. We then gave you a tutorial on how to simply add more SNES/Super Famicom Roms to your SNES/Super Famicom Classic, if you want those instructions you can find them here. This article will be similar in fashion, however, it will be instructions on how to take your vanilla SNES Classic and install RetroArch on it so that you can play your favorite games from some other systems!

PART ONE: Hooking up SNES/Super Famicom Classic

Step 1:

Download hakchi 2.20 from here.

Step 2:

Install hakchi 2.20 on your PC.

Step 3:

Open hakchi, it should ask you which system you want to modify. Choose SNES Classic or Super Famicom Classic and then navigate to “Add More Games” in the lower left-hand corner.

*Note* If it does not ask you which system you want to modify, simply choose “Settings” at the top, then click “Console Type” and it will then give you the four options.

Step 4:

Now, in the lower right-hand corner, click “Synchronize selected games with NES/SNES Classic”.

Step 5:

Ignore the onscreen steps as they seem to be a little vague. Instead, plug SNES Classic into the PC with the USB cord.

Step 6:

Hold the reset switch up and switch the device on. After switching it on, count to 5.

Step 7:

Click “Install Driver” on the screen. It will open up a command window with some info.

Step 8:

Wait for another window to pop up asking you to trust the device software. Just click “Install”.

Step 9:

That window will then disappear, click back over to the command window. It should say to press Enter to exit. Do so now.

Step 10:

That window will also disappear and show you the 3 step instructions screen again that said “Install Driver”. You can now close this window and say yes if it questions you if you’re sure or not.

Step 11:

Go up to the Kernel section at the top of the program. In the drop-down menu choose “Flash Custom Kernel”.

Step 12:

Turn your device on again the same way that you did before by holding reset and flipping on the power and continuing to hold reset for 5 seconds. You’ll know it worked because the program will take over.

Step 13:

After it finishes flashing the kernel you will have a window confirming you can now flash ROMS, power it off once again. You can now turn it on with just the power button.

Step 14:

Choose “Synchronize selected games with NES/SNES Classic” again. It will now send over ROMs with the default folder settings.

*Note* If you want to change the folder settings, its all a matter of preference. You can always go to “Settings” then “Pages/folder structure” and play around with different combinations. 

PART TWO: Setting Up RetroArch in Hakchi 2.20

 

Step 1:

Download RetroArch with additional cores from here. Extract the contents. Drag and drop the RetroArch.hmod onto hakchi 2.20.

Step 2:

A window will pop up. Simply press “OK” on the screen that pops up. This guide will not teach you about the extended features available, if you want to mess with the other features feel free to do so.

Step 3:

Once that is imported you can add additional cores to hakchi. To do this, go into the cores folder that you just extracted. Copy all of the .hmod files from there and paste them into the user_mods folder inside of hakchi’s program folder. It may ask if you want to overwrite them, just confirm it.

Step 4:

Now go back to hakchi and choose the “Modules” option at the top of the program. Then choose “Install extra modules”, this option will populate all of the cores that you added. Make certain that you also choose RetroArch module.

*Note* As you’re exploring the cores, pay attention to the text on the right. Some will mention that they need their bios added. We cannot supply that to you, google is your friend. Just know that they belong in the ROMs folder for that specific emulator core.

Step 5:

Power on your SNES Classic as it asks you to do.

Step 6:

Choose “Synchronize selected games with NES/SNES Classic” again. It will now send over RetroArch and all of its cores to the SNES Classic with the default folder settings.

*Note* If you want to change the folder settings, its all a matter of preference. You can always go to “Settings” then “Pages/folder structure” and play around with different combinations. 

Step 7:

After that’s done, power off your SNES Classic but leave it plugged in. We need to add folders and ROMs and such.

Step 8:

Click the “Add More Games” folder in the lower right-hand corner.

Step 9:

Import all ROMs of a single type over. For example .gba files. Once you select it, you’ll be back at the hakchi screen and it will tell you that they’ve been added to an “Unsorted Folder”.

*Note* You also need to import your bios file if the core requires it.

Step 10:

Go up to “Settings” then choose “Pages/folders structure” and then go down and select “Custom – Show Folders Manager every time”.

Step 11:

We need to now be better safe than sorry and push that folder structure to the SNES Mini. Choose “Synchronize selected games with NES/SNES Classic” again, if it asks you to install a driver and/or kernel again it’s because we need a separate kernel. Do the reset and power combination again as we did in part one. Whether or not it asks, ultimately in the end, it will sync the folder structure.

Step 12:

After that, you should now see the entire Folders Manager screen. Somewhere in the list on the left side, you should see the Unsorted folder. Right click it and choose Rename.

Step 13:

Now you can easily name that folder the emulator name GBA (to continue the example used earlier). After you’re done making and naming the folder, simply close the window. Confirming that you want to save the folder structure. You can repeat the steps of adding roms for as many emulator cores as you’ve chosen.

Step 14:

Now you’ll be back on the primary window of hakchi. Once you have every ROM you want in the list, right-click on the list and download the box art for all games.

Step 15:

Once that’s complete, select “Synchronize selected games with NES/SNES Classic” one last time. It should ask you to look at your folder structure again. Just click “OK” and let it continue. Additionally, if it wants you to install another kernel/driver, just humor it and do the reset and power combo again. After it’s done that, power off the device and then use just the power button to sync the device up. Eventually you will get to the screen where it sends the ROMs and bios files to the device.

*Note* It may tell you that you’re trying to transfer too many files at once, just press “OK” and power it on again and let it keep syncing.

Step 16:

Once it finishes, power off the SNES/Super Famicom Classic and plug it into your TV as you normally would. Upon powering it on you should have successfully added RetroArch! You will have all of the individual folders titled GBA (and so on for any others you’ve added) as well as a RetroArch icon if you are used to going into RetroArch individually and messing with it that way.

PART THREE: Errors and Tips

C6 Error:

I believe this has long since been resolved and is due to RetroArch, but if it pops up, do the following. Go up to “Kernel” choose “Uninstall” and this will wipe everything special about the SNES Classic. It clears the custom kernel, all new ROMS, and all save states and puts it back to the way that it was when you purchased the device. Now simply start again from “Part Two” in this article.

C7 Error:

This is again, usually caused by RetroArch, but it could be from a specific game (unlikely). If you start said game or RetroArch on your device and you get a C7 error do the following. Hook your device up to your computer as usual, remove the troublesome item. Redownload it, potentially from a different souce, and reinstall it. It could be that it was a corrupted file.

C8 Error:

This error is probably unlikely when simply using the SNES Classic for RetroArch, but we’ll talk about it anyhow. C8 usually occurs when you have chose to have too many games (or apps in this instance) per page/folder. Under “Settings” go to  “Pages/folder structure” you’ll find the “Maximum Games per page/folder” option. If you want to maximize the amount you can do, just choose the next best option, sync the device and see if the error is gone. If not, go back and take it down to the next best option after that until you find that the C8 error is gone.

The aforementioned error resolutions are not an exact science, several different people have found different reasons and resolutions. If you have a specific issue and these do not help, Google may very well have your answer.

All RetroArch pictures are credited to @Jooie86 on Twitter

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