A quick guide to setting up Retro Arch and Console ROMs on OUYA

OUYA CONSOLE EMULATION! 

This is a quick guide for setting up Retro Arch (which contains most console emulators) with a file manager (FilePWN) and a USB drive on your Ouya. The Retro Arch app will allow you to run a variety of classic console ROMS (NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Genesis, Neo Geo, Gameboy etc) fairly easily (all you have to do is provide the ROMS). This is ONE solution of many and I wrote this quickly for friends who were interested in the Ouya system. In this guide I am copying my ROM files directly from a USB drive to the Ouya's internal memory because they are small in size and it allows Retro Arch to find them easily. You can choose to leave them on your USB drive instead but it will require a few extra steps when it's time to play. I will try to write a second tutorial on playing straight off of the USB drive. Ouya is a very open ended system with many different solutions, this is just what works quickest for me personally. 

To get started:

From the EXPLORE Menu in Ouya:

Search for and Download FilePWN

Search for and Download Retro Arch

First....

1. on your computer create a folder called ROMS

2. visit CoolRoms.com (or whatever ROM site you prefer) and download ROMS, move them to ROMS folder

3. when you are done, move ROMS folder to USB Drive (I use a USB thumb drive)

1. Turn on Ouya

2. Plug Drive into USB port

3. Open FILEPWN application from PLAY menu

you should now be inside the "PARENT FOLDER"

Hit the O (open) button twice until you see folders listed like this:

acct

cache

config 

d

data etc...

4. Scroll down until you see "usbdrive" and click on it

5. Highlight your "ROMS" folder and click "U" to select it

6. click "Y" to open the menu and click COPY

7. click PARENT FOLDER 

8. scroll down to SDCARD click OK

9. scroll all the way down and click OK

10. click OK again....this will copy your ROMS folder from the USB drive to the OUYA

exit FILEPWN 

open RETRO ARCH

scroll down to PATH OPTIONS (we are going to tell Retro Arch where to find your ROMS)

click ROM DIRECTORY

scroll down till you see the ROMS folder and click on it

click on USE THIS DIRECTORY 

Using Emulators:

When you open Retro Arch, you will see an option that says "LOAD CORE", this is where you tell Ouya which system/emulator you want to play. If you know you want to play an SNES game, you'd click the SNES9x NEXT emulator....once you do this, the preference will be saved (i.e. everytime you turn on your Ouya and open Retro Arch, the SNES emulator will be ready to go.) If you want a Genesis emulator, you choose that one. It's only necessary to pick the "CORE" emulator when you are changing it, you don't have to do it every time you open Retro Arch. 

1. Click on your preferred emulator, you will then be moved back out to the main Retro Arch menu

2. Click on "LOAD GAME"

3. From there you should be taken right to your ROMS folder (which you set up earlier). 

4. Highlight your ROM....

5. you may have to fiddle around with the controls some to figure out what buttons are mapped where....if you have a PS3 controller synched, START should work as START....if you are using the OUYA controller, I found that clicking the right analog stick usually works as "START".....

6. enjoy your game!

If you notice a game lagging very badly after you've opened and played a few different ROMS, try shutting down the OUYA and restarting...I've found that if you open too many ROMS back to back, the system gets bogged down. A fresh restart usually helps.