


The latest core, however, ran everything we threw at it at a full 60 frames per second, including SuperFX games like StarFox.

On the Pi 3, SNES9x 2005 was the best mix of accuracy and performance, but it really lacked a little bit in both areas. SNES games ran great in the current SNES9x core. After setting a hotkey to get back to the menu via the 8-button controller, we were off to test out some games. We also had no problem pairing an8bitdo SN30 Bluetooth controller with the system, though Bluetooth pairing still requires a little ssh work via a Linux or Mac terminal or with PuTTy on Windows. All of that has been resolved with the official release. Early beta versions were plagued with issues like huge audio delays and screen tearing, and the Wi-Fi didn't work out of the gate. We took Lakka 2.3 for a spin on our Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB of memory and it's pretty impressive. ROMs images aren't included, of course, so what to play is entirely up to you, and of course be careful to respect copyright. Regardless, once you do that, however, you'll have access to a polished front end for emulating tons of systems, from Atari's heyday with the 2600, all the way up to Sony's PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo 64. You can also find bundled DIY kits with the SD card as well of course. On the other hand, basic Raspberry Pi 4 kits start at around $60, but you'll need to supply your own controller and SD card. Sega's $80 Genesis mini might be hitting stores today, but it only plays a selection of games for a single system, and some folks really enjoy the do-it-yourself approach. Lakka's interface is similar to Sony's XMB on PlayStation 3
