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Internet Archive ROM Launcher: How To Emulate Retro Games On Kodi

Have you ever wanted to play classic arcade games from your sofa? If you are a Kodi user, then by installing add-ons and some software you can play hundreds of games for free through emulators. An emulator is a piece of software that you install onto one machine which emulates a copy of another operating system so that you can play games or run other software. So, you can have a Windows PC and install an emulator to play arcade games like Pacman. Or if you miss old console games like those on the Amiga, you can use an emulator to play these games on your PC.

You might already know about the Internet Archive’s project to preserve older games by making them available for emulators. The Internet Archive argues that these games are important not only because they are fun, but also as historical and cultural objects that should be available for commentary, discussion, and sharing memories. Therefore they have put together a massive catalogue of retro games that can be played on a variety of different emulators. And we’re going to show you an add-on for Kodi that interfaces with these emulators so you can play games from the archive too.

Once you have everything set up, you’ll be able to play retro games straight from your Kodi system. This is perfect for relaxing on the couch and blowing off some steam with a good round of Bubble Bobble, or whatever your classic game of choice is. The installation process for this is a little fiddly, so it’s suitable for medium to advanced Kodi users, and it helps if you have had experience with emulators before. But if not, don’t worry: we’re going to walk you through step by step instructions to show you how to emulate retro games on Kodi using the Internet Archive ROM Launcher.

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Kodi Add-On Users Should Get A VPN

Although the Kodi software itself is fully legal to use, many add-ons for the software are created by unofficial third party developers. This means that the add-ons are not checked or approved of by Kodi. Some of these add-ons allow you to access content illegally, such as by letting you stream movies or TV shows. The legal status of emulators is rather hazy, as well. In any case, if you’re going to use add-ons for Kodi whether for streaming or for emulation then you need to protect yourself.

If your ISP catches you access content illegally then you could be kicked off their network or even face a fine. To avoid these legal issues, you should use a VPN to encrypt your internet traffic when you use Kodi add-ons. The encryption of the VPN will keep you safe by making it impossible for outside observers like your ISP to see what sites you are visiting or what content you are downloading.

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How To Install Internet Archive ROM Launcher Add-on For Kodi

In order to install the Internet Archive ROM Launcher, we first need to install the Zach Morris repository in which the add-ons are hosted. You can find an installation link to this repository in the Fusion repository. This is how to install Internet Archive ROM Launcher:

  1. Begin on your Kodi home screen
  2. Find the settings icon that looks like a cog and click it, then go to File Manager
  3. Click on Add source
  4. Click where it says <None>
  5. Type in the following URL: https://fusion.tvaddons.co Be careful to including the https:// or it won’t work correctly
  6. Name the source something memorable, like fusion
  7. Click OK
  8. Go back to your home screen
  9. Click on Add-ons
  10. Click on the icon that looks like an open box
  11. Click on Install from zip file
  12. Click on fusion, then on kodi-repos, then to english, then to repository.zachmorris-1.0.0.zip

  13. Wait for a moment, then you will see a popup notification once the source is installed
  14. Click on Install from repository
  15. Click on Zach Morris Add-ons
  16. Click on Video add-ons

  17. Click on Internet Archive ROM Launcher
  18. A screen opens that has details of the add-on. Click Install from the menu at the bottom
  19. Wait for a second and once the installation is complete, you’ll see a notification

How To Configure and Use Internet Archive ROM Launcher Add-on For Kodi

Once you have installed the Internet Archive ROM Launcher for Kodi, you need to do some configuration before you can start playing games. To begin, we will need to install the Retro Arch program which is the software that actually runs the emulator. For example, if you are running Kodi on a Windows PC then you will need to install the Retro Arch program to that PC. Once this software is installed, you can use the Internet Archive ROM Launcher as a launcher for the Retro Arch program within Kodi.

Here are instructions on how to configure and use the Internet Archive ROM Launcher to play retro games:

  1. We need to begin in your browser rather than your Kodi system. First you need to download a program called Retro Arch. To do that, go to this site: https://www.retroarch.com/index.php?page=platforms
  2. Select your operating system. We’ll choose the Windows Installer 64 bit and click to start downloading the .exe file
  3. Once the download is complete, run the .exe file you just downloaded
  4. Follow the steps in the setup wizard to install Retro Arch
  5. Once installation is complete, open up the Retro Arch app
  6. Choose Online Updater from the menu, then select Core Updater, then select DOS (DOSBox)
  7. This will download and now you’re done with the Retro Arch app
  8. Now you can open up Kodi and start at your Kodi home screen
  9. Go to Add-ons
  10. Go to Video add-ons (the add-on is categorised as a video add-on even though it is actually for playing games)
  11. Find Internet Archive ROM Launcher and right click on it
  12. Choose Settings
  13. Choose External Launchers from the left menu
  14. Now click on My System Type
  15. Now you need to choose the name of the operating system on which you are running Kodi. In this case, we’ll click on Windows
  16. Now you’ll see an option has appeared in External Launchers that says RetroArch System Folder. Click on this and browse through the folders for the RetroArch app that you just installed, then click on OK
  17. Now go to Setup Wizard on the left menu. You’ll see where it says Emulator Launcher in the main window, which is set to External by default
  18. Click on this and change the setting to Kodi Retroplayer
  19. Now click on Execute Setup Wizard and wait until the wizard is complete
  20. We’ll all done in the settings, so now we can press OK to save our settings
  21. Now click on Internet Archive ROM Launcher to launch the add-on
  22. You’ll see a Terms of Use page. Click on Agree
  23. Now you’ll see an amazing range of consoles and platforms that you can emulate. For example, there is Game Boy Color, Amiga, Nintendo 64, and even MS DOS. You’ll also find collections of games like MAME, the multiple arcade machine emulator. Now we just need to pick a system to explore the games
  24. We’ll go really old school and try out some DOS game. So click on MS-DOS Games
  25. The brings up a massive list of DOS games. We’re going to play the fondly remembered classic Prince of Persia

  26. Click on the title of a game to bring up the information screen about it. Click Download at the bottom left
  27. You’ll see a notice that the game is downloading. Wait for a minute while the download happens
  28. You’ll get a notification once the download is complete. It shouldn’t take long at all – these files tend to be very small. Now you’re ready to play
  29. Click on Launch at the bottom in the middle and the game will start

Conclusion

If you’re a child of the 80s or 90s then you will absolutely love the Internet Archive ROM Launcher for Kodi. With this add-on you can play an absolutely massive selection of classic games from all of your favourite consoles and platforms. The system needs to download the file for each game individually, but the good news is that these games are so simple compared to modern games that they download extremely fast.

It’s tons of fun to be able to play all of these classics from your couch. The games do have the same problems as other emulators, with some games not saving progress and how many games will work for you depending on your particular system. But all in all, for a free resource this add-on is absolutely amazing and will give you tons of options of things to play through Kodi. Another upside of this system is that these games are very old and therefore use up very little system resources, so you can run the emulator on your Kodi system even if you have older or more limited hardware.

The setup for this is just a little more fiddly than most Kodi add-ons, but if you’re an old school gamer who wants a fun way to access a big catalogue of games then this is one add-on that you absolutely shouldn’t miss out on.

Which is your favourite classic game? Are you using an emulator on Kodi, and what has your experience been? Let us know in the comments below!

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