Homebrew Official Retroarch WiiU (wip.)

[RunningSnakes]

1st time posting on this thread... would like to thank @ploggy and everyone else involved for Aroma RA package.

I just recently installed the RA build and noticed ECWolf is missing. Is it possible this core can be included in the future please? & thanks for any feedback.

The past 2-3 weeks I have been working on bezels/overlays for all included cores. There are 3 versions for all bezels (a little overkill) to cover different preferences. The bezel packs are quite large, Normal = 500mb, Flat Shade = 1gb, Tube = 1.5gb and include many of my own originals as well as many from other artists across the web. Here I will attach a few examples...if any are interested in the packs, please reply and I will post links here as soon as I finish including the .cfg files in the next few days...

 

[ploggy]

1st time posting on this thread... would like to thank @ploggy and everyone else involved for Aroma RA package.

I just recently installed the RA build and noticed ECWolf is missing. Is it possible this core can be included in the future please? & thanks for any feedback.

The past 2-3 weeks I have been working on bezels/overlays for all included cores. There are 3 versions for all bezels (a little overkill) to cover different preferences. The bezel packs are quite large, Normal = 500mb, Flat Shade = 1gb, Tube = 1.5gb and include many of my own originals as well as many from other artists across the web. Here I will attach a few examples...if any are interested in the packs, please reply and I will post links here as soon as I finish including the .cfg files in the next few days...

Welcome to the thread

I cant remember why ecwolf wasn't added? there must have been a reason (or likely it just slipped through the cracks) lol
either way I've compile and uploaded for you to try out.

Good work on the bezels/overlays I'm sure people will be interested in them

 

[RunningSnakes]

Welcome to the thread

I cant remember why ecwolf wasn't added? there must have been a reason (or likely it just slipped through the cracks) lol
either way I've compile and uploaded for you to try out.

Good work on the bezels/overlays I'm sure people will be interested in them

Awesome! I will test and report back later today. Thank you

Post automatically merged: Aug 21, 2025

OK, testing done and checking back in, happy to say ECWolf core runs great!

All 5 games booted and played without issues...
Wolf 3D
SOD Mission 1
SOD Mission 2
SOD Mission 3
3D Noah

Thank you for adding this so quickly.

 

[HomieG85]

Hi, for some reason, something related to the internet connection stopped working suddenly for me. By selecting 'Download cores' I get an empty list, and Retroachievements are not working anymore. Anytime I start a game, this message pops up. Any hint?

 

[nothor]

Hi, for some reason, something related to the internet connection stopped working suddenly for me. By selecting 'Download cores' I get an empty list, and Retroachievements are not working anymore. Anytime I start a game, this message pops up. Any hint?

Download Core doesn't work with the Aroma variant. It breaks it.
I'm afraid you must reinstall it again manually

 

[HomieG85]

Download Core doesn't work with the Aroma variant. It breaks it.
I'm afraid you must reinstall it again manually

Thanks, but I don't really care about cores. What I really miss are the achievements. Is there any way to fix the error?

 

[RunningSnakes]

Very close to finishing my bezel/overlay project for Wii U, hope to have links up tomorrow evening or the following day.

I have added a scanline set which pushed me back a few days but thought it would be a nice addition some would appreciate.

Anyhow, the total size of the complete set is 3.5gb but I have not optimized the .png files yet, I'm guessing after that is done maybe around 3gb. The sets will be split into 4 separate links accordingly, so end users can download what they want/prefer.

I think I have covered all bases, it is a massive amount of content so I hope everyone can find something to enjoy. Here are a few more examples...

 

[jul16ares]

Also, how does Retroarch compare to vWii homebrew emulators? What does it offer that they don't

In the other hand vwii emulator can be overclocked by c2w for n64 and others. IIRC it could be more accurate than injects and compatibility is better. Wimote support let you play PS1 lightgun game with it

 

[RunningSnakes]

Wii U bezel project is finished and uploaded.

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/xwlm7v444n4el/Wii_U_Bezels
All 4 sets include all art with the exception of Vectrex bezels/overlays which are only included in the Normal set.

Hopefully there are no mistakes with the .cfg files, i did not test every single bezel. Please post if you do run into any mistakes.

Lastly, i also upped the Templates which includes logos, border skins etc. in case you prefer a different color trim/skin or want to create your own. Enjoy

 

[RunningSnakes]

I have done testing on almost all cores included for Aroma RA.

Very nice compatibility and great upgrades to the Wii in some instances. However, there are definitely issues with some cores the Wii handles much better.

I won't go into detail yet, i need to complete testing to give accurate comparisons. For now, MAME 2000 does not work, MAME 2003 works but has issues, FBA also works but has issues. These 3 arcade emulators work better on Wii in my experience so far opposed to Wii U.

Pokemini, REmeniscence do not work, Atari 800 has no sound. It is moot to worry about this since Wii plays these fine.

I list these issues because i have not seen any sort of core working / not working list here. So many pages to read, maybe i missed the info.

Anyhow, i will continue to test the remaining cores then put effort into making a solid parent FBNeo set together.

If anyone could help me, is there a way to prevent/fix the UI from going vertical when pressing Home button when playing a Vertical arcade game?

 

[HomieG85]

Hi, for some reason, something related to the internet connection stopped working suddenly for me. By selecting 'Download cores' I get an empty list, and Retroachievements are not working anymore. Anytime I start a game, this message pops up. Any hint?

In case anyone else experiences this issue, I resolved it by resetting the API key in the RetroAchievements website (under options). Once this is done, you need to edit the retroarch.cfg file on the SD card and enter the new token in this line:

“cheevos_token”

 

[ploggy]

I have done testing on almost all cores included for Aroma RA.

Very nice compatibility and great upgrades to the Wii in some instances. However, there are definitely issues with some cores the Wii handles much better.

I won't go into detail yet, i need to complete testing to give accurate comparisons. For now, MAME 2000 does not work, MAME 2003 works but has issues, FBA also works but has issues. These 3 arcade emulators work better on Wii in my experience so far opposed to Wii U.

Pokemini, REmeniscence do not work, Atari 800 has no sound. It is moot to worry about this since Wii plays these fine.

I list these issues because i have not seen any sort of core working / not working list here. So many pages to read, maybe i missed the info.

Anyhow, i will continue to test the remaining cores then put effort into making a solid parent FBNeo set together.

If anyone could help me, is there a way to prevent/fix the UI from going vertical when pressing Home button when playing a Vertical arcade game?

Yeah there are definitely still issues with some cores atm :/ tho I'm sure Pokemini and REmeniscence worked? I'll have to check to confirm.
There is no Core working list that I'm aware of, not in this thread anyway.

IIRC Mame2000 has always been a bit iffy, it was only added for a few roms that worked on the core that didn't on Mame2003?
Mame2003 should be ok tho? Have you tried Mame2003 Plus? that's seems the be the goto Mame2003 core these days

As for the Rotation issue it was more of a Retroarch problem than a Core issue, there was an issue made about it ages ago but never got a fix.
https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues/11166

EDIT: Pokemini does indeed work for me, only tried a couple games but they booted right up.
REmemiscence did seem to be broken for me too (white WiiU loading screen) but after some tinkering I managed to fix it, it works fine now

Fixed build below

 

[RunningSnakes]

Yeah there are definitely still issues with some cores atm :/ tho I'm sure Pokemini and REmeniscence worked? I'll have to check to confirm.
There is no Core working list that I'm aware of, not in this thread anyway.

IIRC Mame2000 has always been a bit iffy, it was only added for a few roms that worked on the core that didn't on Mame2003?
Mame2003 should be ok tho? Have you tried Mame2003 Plus? that's seems the be the goto Mame2003 core these days

As for the Rotation issue it was more of a Retroarch problem than a Core issue, there was an issue made about it ages ago but never got a fix.
https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues/11166

EDIT: Pokemini does indeed work for me, only tried a couple games but they booted right up.
REmemiscence did seem to be broken for me too (white WiiU loading screen) but after some tinkering I managed to fix it, it works fine now

Fixed build below

Thank you for the update, very appreciated.

Yes, i have tested 2003+ core and everything seems to be working ok (there are a few small issues but not complaining), just covering all cores so i know where things stand.

I'll live with the vertical/rotation screen, not that big of a deal.

I'll test pokemini core again, my files are uncompressed, so I'll zip them to see if it fixes the white screen hang.

 

[ploggy]

Thank you for the update, very appreciated.

Yes, i have tested 2003+ core and everything seems to be working ok (there are a few small issues but not complaining), just covering all cores so i know where things stand.

I'll live with the vertical/rotation screen, not that big of a deal.

I'll test pokemini core again, my files are uncompressed, so I'll zip them to see if it fixes the white screen hang.

Hmm actually I'll upload my Pokemini core just incase.

 

[woooody]

Hello.
Is there a possibility that the Super Cassette Vision core (EmuSCV) will be added to the Aroma build?

 

[ploggy]

Hello.
Is there a possibility that the Super Cassette Vision core (EmuSCV) will be added to the Aroma build?

I looked into it apparently the Core isnt finished and only builds for win/raspberry pi? I tried to compile for WiiU but it throws alot of errors, it does look like a cool core to have tho. I'll try to keep an eye on it

 

[RunningSnakes]

Hmm actually I'll upload my Pokemini core just incase.

REminiscence recompile is working great and the Pokemini core is working with either compresses/uncompressed files, not sure what caused the issue before but confirmed working for me now. Thanks

 

[woooody]

I looked into it apparently the Core isnt finished and only builds for win/raspberry pi? I tried to compile for WiiU but it throws alot of errors, it does look like a cool core to have tho. I'll try to keep an eye on it

Thanks for trying it, I'd love to see it added to the Wii U someday.

 

[jul16ares]

it does look like a cool core to have tho. I'll try to keep an eye on it

First Dragon Ball game September 27 1986 on the console... Must have for the community !

 

[BlazeHeatnix]

How is shader support? The Wii U is too underpowered to support something as demanding as CRT Guest Advanced, isn't it? Which ones are stable?