Play With Friends — Wi-Fi & Multiplayer Guide

Reading time: 4 minutes. Setup time: about 10 minutes. Nothing here touches the memory card or the warranty seal — everything is done from the on-screen menus.

Before you start

The Retro Kid™ Original has no built-in Wi-Fi. You need two small things: a USB Wi-Fi adapter with a Realtek RTL8188EUS chip (RTL8192CU or MediaTek MT7601U also work) and a USB-C OTG adapter. Any pair with those chips will do.
Online play works for 2-player games from the classic era — NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy Advance, arcade. Both players need the same model of console and the same game. Not sure which games you both have? Search the full library here.
A normal home Wi-Fi network on the 2.4 GHz band. (5 GHz-only networks won't show up.)

Step 1 — Plug in

Power off the console (hold POWER for 5 seconds).
OTG adapter into the bottom USB port, then the Wi-Fi adapter into the OTG adapter.
Power the console back on and give it 10–20 seconds to detect the adapter.

Heads up: the OTG adapter and Wi-Fi adapter get warm during wireless play — warm enough to be uncomfortable to hold. Worth knowing if a younger player is using it.

Step 2 — Connect to Wi-Fi

Open any game, then press SELECT + X to bring up the in-game menu.
Go to Settings → Wi-Fi → Enable Wi-Fi.
Connect to network, choose your network, and type the password with the on-screen keyboard (A = select a key, B = delete, START = confirm).
When it works you'll see Online next to the network name.
Do this on both consoles. It doesn't matter which game you open to reach the menu, as long as both consoles end up on the same Wi-Fi network.

Not finding your network? Unplug and re-plug the adapter, make sure the router's 2.4 GHz band is on, and double-check the password — a typo is the cause nine times out of ten.

Step 3 — Set your player name (one time)

Open any game, then press SELECT + X to open the in-game menu.
Go to Settings → User.
Username → type your name so your friend can recognize you in the list.
Press B to back out. Settings save automatically.

Step 4 — Host a game

Launch the game you both own.
SELECT + X → Netplay → Start Netplay Host.
Tell your friend the game name and which system it's under (for example "Street Fighter II — SNES").

Step 5 — Join a game

Your friend launches the same game on their console.
SELECT + X → Netplay → Refresh Netplay LAN List.
Pick your name from the list. You're connected — the host is Player 1, the joiner is Player 2.
To leave: SELECT + X → Netplay → Disconnect.

Pick the LAN list, not the host list. "Refresh Netplay Host List" shows everyone hosting that game on the internet — you'll never find your friend in there. "Refresh Netplay LAN List" only shows consoles on your own network.

Tips for a smooth match

Both consoles on stable Wi-Fi. Sit near the router, not at the far end of the house.
Fighting games, sports and puzzle games feel best. Fast side-scrollers are more sensitive to lag.
If the join fails: both players quit the game, the host restarts first, then the joiner refreshes the list. Check that both consoles are still showing Online on the same network.
Playing in the same room? It still goes over your Wi-Fi network rather than console-to-console — that's fine, it's the simplest way and it works.

What doesn't work

Games that were never multiplayer.
Playing against someone on a phone, PC or a different brand of console.
Voice chat — use your phone for that.

Good to know

The OTG adapter and Wi-Fi adapter get warm during wireless play. That's normal, but they can get uncomfortable to hold — keep an eye on younger players.
You might hear faint static through the speaker while Wi-Fi is working hard. Also normal.