Why this core
What you get in RetroArch. Each claim links to the commit, test or doc that backs it.
Claims and receipts
| What | Backed by |
|---|---|
| Every platform RetroArch runs on. 24 CI-built binaries per release, including Raspberry Pi, iOS, Android, web, Switch and Vita. | release.yml |
| RetroAchievements. Memory maps and achievement support, asserted in CI. The desktop app adds softcore and hardcore modes and an Achievements window. | test_memory_map.c · test_rcheevos_e2e.sh |
| Run-ahead, rewind and netplay determinism. A harness replays RetroArch’s rollback loop and demands byte-identical state, for cartridges and, since v3.7.0, for HLE CD titles. | PR #327 · test_runahead_determinism.c |
| Old savestates keep loading. Every format any released core wrote can still be read (a CD state is refused on a different disc). | savestate-compat.md · v3.1.0 notes |
| Frontend features come with RetroArch. CRT shaders, remapping, fast-forward, per-game overrides. | libretro.c |
| Or skip RetroArch. Since v3.9.0 a standalone desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux runs the same core, with a game library, shader presets, cheats, save states, LAN link play and debug tools. Options and save states behave the same in both. | v3.9.0 notes · app/ |
| Documented in the libretro docs. No BIOS files needed. | docs.libretro.com · core options · README: BIOS |
| The peripherals, not just the controller. Jaguar CD in both boot modes, JagLink and CatBox, the Voice Modem, GameDrive (with its SD card), Memory Track, Team Tap, mouse, rotary, analog, driving, lightgun. | front page · input guide |
| Hardware-referenced accuracy. Checked against the Jaguar Technical Reference Manual, not source comments. An acid suite gates CI. | test/acid · v3.0.0 notes |
| Open source. GPLv3. Every fix links to its PR and its test. | licence · source |
Enhancements built into the core
True-colour Gouraud shading and internal-resolution supersampling are options of the core itself, not a filter applied to the finished frame. Both shipped in v3.2.0 and v3.3.0, with the A/B captures and the settings that produced them on that page. HD texture packs, clock scaling and per-title defaults are there too.
Found something broken
Check known problems first. Then use Discussions for reports and Issues for confirmed bugs. Attach your frontend log: the crash watchdog writes the failure signature into it.