When I first played this I was impressed, it was better than any other retro emulator I've played. But I noticed there were only a few PS1 games. So I emailed Leo and wow he did not let me down. He sent me the Batocera card for free, and it's night and day how much better it is! Amazing interface that shows a preview for most games. The graphics are also way better! And so many games, it will take me a while just to go through them all to save my favorites. About the only complaint I have about this device is that it's causing tension between me and my wife for not spending enough time with her haha! Thank you Leo. It may not be cheap but you if want the best retro emulator, this is it!

I agree with most of the reviews I have seen so far: the system is great, performs as advertised and you won't want to stop playing! But best of all: the customer service is awesome! I had questions about the games and the seller responded almost immediately! I had my questions answered almost immediately and they threw in a bonus card with my request! I also agree with the other buyers: if you have any issues/questions contact the seller directly; they have been very helpful so far.

After researching for a really long time I decided to spend a bit more to get a retro gaming console that was the least amount of hassle and had the cleanest library. I did indeed get that, but I also got great customer service when I had an issue. They are amazing and go above and beyond to help.

This is a great system and worked right out of the box.

All the games I have tried have worked. There were a few games that didn't launch at first, but it was really easy to change the emulator and try again (just press the A button when the game launches). Changing the emulator fixed any game launch issues that I experienced.

It does take some playing around with the controls on some games to figure out which buttons do what, but that is only because I plugged it in and went straight to playing. The system allows you to configure the controllers; I just haven't had to yet.

Deleted my 1st review (2 stars) for this 256g Retropie package and I'm glad I did. It had some bad takes and misconceptions. I thought the 256g game list was lacking and N64 emulation was sketchy at best - which might be normal for N64 (mini-pc might solve this or a new chipset - Orange Pi 5 is on the horizon). There were other things less important, but, briefly, here's why I changed my mind: Leo, owner of RetroGamingHaven, contacted me, not to chew me out for a bum review, but to genuinely find out how he could improve my experience. He said he wants happy customers most of all. After half a dozen interactions via email and Amazon messaging, I believe he is the real deal. He also forwarded me a 512g card he said he was working on, which is nothing short of amazing. Perhaps that's in the Batocera 512g package, also on Amazon (new?), though mine used the more common EmulationStation (2.11) as its operating system. The Batocera pkg. sounds excellent (I understand it's also PC compatible and if I had it to do it over again, that's the way I would go) but if you prefer ES, shoot Leo a message and see if he can make you a copy of the 512g card for a small surcharge; Samsung 512g cards don't grow on trees, afterall. ***Full disclosure, Leo sent me the 512g ES card and a 128g Batocera card - with heavy PS1 support, gratis, to stop me from whining. It worked. 😉*** (Though that was never my intention.)
The more I play this little RetroPie, the more I love it. And it IS little to be sure, but it packs quite a punch. Don't be misled by its size. It's an awesome emulation machine up to Dreamcast and PSP (both run well, but DC games - and PS1 games as well - were few on the 256g card, an early complaint I may have mentioned - though the ROMS are available online, I suppose). Even many N64 titles run well with the notable exception of Aydin Chronicles, Cruisin' USA and Beetle Adventures. Overclocking using the ES system menu - speed modes - solved Aydin Chronicles slow play, but the others refused to cooperate - a rare exception to the rule.
What else can I tell you? If you spring for the 512g Batocera, you may wish to shoot Leo a message (or question in Q&A) as to whether PS1 games have their music deleted to save space. I'm not saying they do, I honestly don't know, but that was the case on the 128g Batocera card I was sent. Mind you, there were 714 PS1 games on it as well as thousands of other games from many, many consoles - how that image was squeezed on to a 128g sd cd is beyond my ken, sans PS1 in-game music or not. My 512g ES card had full PS1 in-game music which ran perfectly, so it must have been a space-saving decision on the 128g card. I could be way off on that, so there's a question you could ask.
Think I wrote enough? Yep, me too. I could go on, but I'm done. Happy to give 5 deserved stars.