ROLE Book One – RPG Batocera v42 Build for Raspberry Pi 5

Welcome, adventurers, to ROLE: Book One. This build has been crafted over several weeks with one clear goal in mind: to create a definitive RPG experience on the Raspberry Pi 5 using Batocera v42. It brings together an enormous collection of role playing games spanning multiple systems, all fully tested and curated with care.

ROLE stands for a broad and flexible definition of RPG. The selection includes Adventure RPG, Action RPG, Tactical RPG, Strategy RPG, CRPG, JRPG, WRPG, ARPG, TTRPG, and even a few that defy neat categorisation. Games were chosen based on shared RPG fundamentals such as character progression, experience systems, real time or turn based combat, fantasy or science fiction themes, deep lore, and meaningful equipment or party development.

A total of 680 games have been scraped and tested for this release. While no build can ever be perfect, every title included has been checked, making launch issues highly unlikely.

What you will not find in this build

ROLE: Book One does not include any Pokémon titles. After careful consideration, point and click adventure games were also excluded, even when their fantasy themes were strong. Titles such as Lure of the Temptress, Kyrandia, and Simon the Sorcerer were removed to keep the focus firmly on RPG mechanics.

EasyRPG titles are also not present in this release. Due to the sheer number of available games and the need for proper curation and scraping, EasyRPG has been reserved for ROLE: Book Two.

Technical overview

The build language is English throughout. All games are English versions, either original USA or European releases, or English fan translations for Japanese systems where required.

The default Batocera carbon theme has been cloned and lightly modified, then renamed to es-theme-carbon_ROLE. This ensures the theme does not reset during Batocera updates. Changes are minimal and focused, including logos, fonts, and a small number of interface tweaks.

If you ever need to reinstall Batocera and restore the theme, simply copy the logo.png file from es-theme-carbon_ROLE into the emulationstation resources folder and save the overlay. This will restore the build’s visual identity, aside from minor UI preferences.

Controllers, keyboard, and mouse

ROLE: Book One is designed to be played using a combination of gamepad, keyboard, and mouse. Console games are best experienced with a controller, while many computer based RPGs work better with keyboard and mouse input. For the best experience, it is recommended to have all three connected.

Important control notes

Console systems

• Nintendo systems may require swapping the B and A buttons depending on your controller.
• To quit a game using a gamepad: HOME + Select.
• Saving works normally across systems.
• To swap discs: HOME + B to open RetroArch, then navigate to Disc Options.

Computer systems

• Press Scroll Lock after launching a game to gain full keyboard control.
• Press Scroll Lock again to return control to the gamepad.
• To quit a game using the keyboard: ALT + F4.

System specific notes

Commodore 64
Hidden in Book One due to unresolved blank disk handling issues.

CPC
Hidden due to disk swapping and save limitations.

3DO
Games may take time to launch. Button A maps to X on Xbox controllers.

Amiga
Scroll Lock enables full keyboard control. Start on the gamepad acts as OK at WHDLoad menus.

Atari ST
Runs at authentic floppy speed. Some load times can exceed one minute.

MS-DOS
All games configured and tested. CD based titles auto mount correctly. Most games use Sound Blaster settings 220 7 1 5, with adjustments where needed.

Macintosh
Uses miniVmac with small virtual hard disks. Force launch if errors appear and bring the game window to the front if needed.

PC-98
Supports FM sound, keyboard, mouse, and numpad depending on the title.

Ports
Includes Diablo via DevilutionX, Fallout 1 and 2, and Inquisitor 3D with appropriate control schemes.

ZX Spectrum
Fully usable with a gamepad.

What comes next: ROLE Book Two

ROLE: Book Two is already planned and will expand the RPG universe further. Future additions may include curated EasyRPG titles, additional X68000 games, more CPC and Atari ST RPGs, and further system expansions once disk handling and save limitations are resolved.

ROLE: Book One is only the beginning.

Thanks for reading, and have fun questing.