Just this morning, a Raspberry Pi pre-configured OS called “Raspbian X” has been released that includes a pre-installed copy of Another Metroid 2 Remake, which is arguably the best version of Metroid 2! This marks the first time (at least that I’m aware) the game has been playable on a RPi. What makes this a big deal, is this OS and the game are compatible with 240p Raspberry Pi hats, allowing this to be a simple way to play AM2r on an RGB monitor!!!
I was able to test this with the following procedure, all similar to the instructions detailed in the Raspberry P page:
- Flash a MicroSD card with the available image, linked in the video.
- Boot to HDMI first, in order to configure the OS.
- Under “games”, create a shortcut for AM2r to the desktop.
- Delete other desktop icons.
- Connect Bluetooth controller*
- Power off and edit the config.txt file to match whatever Raspberry Pi “hat” you’re using.
- Remove the HDMI cable and boot with an RGB monitor connected.
That’s it! The OS booted to the desktop and I was able to use a mouse to launch the game. AM2r launched full-screen and I was able to just start playing. There’s still a few things left to test though:
- This worked on a Raspberry Pi 3 and 4, but the 3b+ seemed too slow to properly run it. The 4 seemed fine.
- It worked with gert666-based adapters, but not HDMI to Component, or the RGB-Pi. More testing is necessary.
- A way to auto-boot the game when the OS loads would be nice. This should be easy enough to figure out.
- My *bluetooth controller (8BitDo SNES 30) did connect, but didn’t seem to work right. A basic USB SNES controller worked fine though. I’m not sure if this was an issue with the SNES 30, the OS, or a combination of both?
- I did get some horizontal interference during gameplay. I’ve yet to track down the cause.
This was all possible, thanks to software called “box86” that allows you to run x86 Linux programs (games) on non-x86 Linux, like ARM (host system needs to be 32bit little-endian). Here’s more info: https://github.com/ptitSeb/box86
While a Raspberry Pi certainly isn’t going to replace a gaming PC, it should do a decent job for 240p games. I’d also like to see Sonic Mania running on this, as well as any other “modern retro” game like Axiom Verge. Let’s hope the version of Steam in the OS build can support those games and we can now enjoy them on an RGB monitor!
Check out this video for more info on using Raspberry Pi’s on RGB monitors:
