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The dependable way to set up a bartop arcade in RetroArch is to work in layers: bind the cabinet’s physical controls to RetroArch’s virtual RetroPad, configure a reachable hotkey for menu access, create gameplay remaps only where a core or game needs them, and save display settings at the narrowest useful scope. This keeps menu navigation stable while allowing an arcade core such as FinalBurn Neo to receive a different button layout or orientation.
Option names and menu locations can vary with RetroArch version, platform, interface driver and core. The rotation procedure in this guide is specifically documented for FinalBurn Neo; it is not a universal rule for every arcade core.
What RetroArch is actually mapping
RetroArch does not normally send your cabinet’s wiring straight to a game. It first translates the physical device into a virtual controller called a RetroPad. A joystick direction, push button, keyboard key or encoder input is assigned to a RetroPad control such as Up, Down, B, A, Start or Select. Cores then read that virtual layer.
This separation is useful on a bartop. You can change a USB encoder, move a control panel to another machine or use a different controller without rebuilding every game’s layout. It also means that a cabinet does not need to have every virtual button. Leave controls unmapped when the panel does not provide them; an unused RetroPad button is preferable to a random physical input that triggers an unwanted action.
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“RetroArch maps real-world controller inputs to a virtual controller called a
RetroPad.” — Libretro Docs, “Input and Controls.”
There are two different jobs to keep separate:
- Global input binding: determines how the physical device operates RetroArch’s menus and supplies the default RetroPad controls.
- Core or game remapping: changes which RetroPad controls a running game core receives. It does not rewrite the global menu bindings.
If a control works in the menu but performs the wrong arcade action, the problem is usually a gameplay remap or a core-specific device setting, not the cabinet’s basic RetroPad binding.
Prepare the cabinet before opening RetroArch
Connect the control encoder or controller and confirm that the operating system sees it as an input device. The official binding instructions describe how to assign controls inside RetroArch, but they do not establish compatibility for a particular encoder, wiring harness or operating-system driver. Do not assume that two encoders use the same button numbers.
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- A working joystick or directional control.
- At least the action buttons your games require.
- Start and Select (or equivalent cabinet buttons).
- A deliberately chosen way to open the menu and exit content.
- A temporary keyboard or controller for recovery if a hotkey is misconfigured.
For a two-player cabinet, connect both devices before assigning ports. RetroArch generally assigns controllers in the order supplied by the operating system, but you can make the assignment explicit with each port’s Device Index.
Bind the cabinet to RetroPad controls
Use autoconfiguration when it matches your panel
Many common controllers are recognized automatically. Start a game or open the menu and test every direction, action button, Start and Select. Autoconfiguration is convenient, but acceptance of a device does not prove that its labels match your cabinet’s wiring or that the desired arcade buttons are on the controls you expect.
Manually bind an unrecognized or incorrectly mapped device
- Open Settings → Input → RetroPad Binds → Port 1 Controls.
- Choose Set All Controls.
- Activate each physical control when RetroArch prompts for the corresponding RetroPad control. Press the intended direction or button once and wait for the next prompt.
- When the sequence ends, return to the port controls and test the mapping in the menu.
- Select Save Controller Profile if you want this device’s mapping recognized when it is connected again.
Use the panel’s actual positions rather than assumptions about button numbers. A six-button layout may have its top row wired in a different order from another cabinet. Verify Up, Down, Left and Right separately, then test each action button, Start and Select in a game.
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Repeat the process for Port 2 and later ports. In each port’s controls, select the appropriate Device Index instead of relying on connection order. This is especially important when a keyboard encoder and a gamepad are both present or when USB devices can enumerate in a different order after rebooting.
Do not map a physical button to several unrelated RetroPad controls merely to make a particular game work. Keep the global layer predictable, then solve game-specific differences with a remap.
Make menu access and hotkeys safe
A bartop often has no permanently attached keyboard, so menu access must be intentional. Open Settings → Input → Hotkeys and assign a menu-toggle method and an exit method that can be reached from the control panel or a connected controller.
Use an Enable Hotkeys button
Map a dedicated Enable Hotkeys button, then hold it while pressing another hotkey. This prevents an ordinary gameplay button from accidentally pausing, closing or changing a game. It also reduces conflicts with cores that read keyboard-like input directly.
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Choose a button that is not needed for normal play and is physically reachable. On a shared cabinet, make its purpose clear to anyone who may need to recover the menu.
Choose a menu-toggle combination you can reproduce
RetroArch offers several Quick Menu toggle combinations. Select the one you can press reliably at Settings → Input → Hotkeys → Menu Toggle. Test the combination from inside an actual game, not only from the menu. If it does not work, hold Enable Hotkeys first and then press the selected combination.
Use Game Focus for keyboard-reading cores
Some cores read keyboard interfaces themselves. When a game is taking keyboard input directly, RetroArch’s keyboard bindings can interfere. Game Focus can disable RetroArch’s keyboard bindings while that mode is active, allowing the core to receive the keyboard stream. This is a focused troubleshooting option, not a replacement for a well-designed cabinet hotkey.
Keep global bindings separate from gameplay remaps
When a game’s buttons are wrong, launch the content with the intended core and open Quick Menu → Controls. Change the core’s button mapping there rather than changing the global Port 1 Controls binding.
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The practical result is that the RetroArch menu remains navigable in the same way while the running game receives the arrangement you selected. This is the safest approach for a cabinet shared by games with different control conventions.
Save a remap at the right scope
| Remap type | Use it when | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Core Remap File | Most or all games using one core should use the same arcade layout. | Applies to content launched with that core. |
| Content-directory remap | A folder contains a group of games that need a distinct layout. | Applies to content in that directory and takes precedence over a core remap. |
| Game Remap File | One title needs an exceptional arrangement. | Applies only to that game and takes precedence over a directory remap. |
After adjusting controls in Quick Menu → Controls, choose the corresponding save command. If you only change the live mapping and leave without saving, the layout will not persist at the selected scope.
FinalBurn Neo’s device-type presets
FinalBurn Neo documents Classic and Modern device-type presets. Modern is described as convenient with most arcade sticks and assigns R1 and R2 as the fifth and sixth buttons for six-button games. Treat this as a FinalBurn Neo convention, not as a universal arcade standard or a guarantee that every physical panel matches it.
If your cabinet has six action buttons, verify all six in a game after selecting a preset. If the fifth and sixth actions land on unexpected physical buttons, keep the global RetroPad mapping intact and create a FinalBurn Neo remap that matches the panel.
Understand RetroArch’s settings hierarchy
RetroArch can store settings globally or override them for increasingly narrow targets. The effective order is:
- Global defaults.
- Core settings.
- Content-directory settings.
- Game-specific settings.
A later, narrower setting wins. A game override can therefore change a display or core option without affecting other games in the same directory. Conversely, editing a global option will not necessarily change a game that already has a more specific saved override.
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The Quick Menu is the working area while content is paused. It exposes core options, video settings, remapping and shaders. After changing an option, use the relevant Quick Menu override or save action. When you later edit a saved override, save it again; changing the live value alone does not rewrite the existing override.
Choose display geometry for the cabinet
RGUI provides common display controls including aspect-ratio choices, integer scaling, fullscreen and shaders. There is no single aspect ratio that is correct for every arcade game and screen. Choose based on the cabinet’s physical orientation, the game’s intended geometry and whether preserving whole-pixel scaling matters more than filling the panel.
Core Provided aspect ratio
Core Provided lets the running core supply its preferred geometry. This can be useful when the core knows whether a title is horizontal or vertical, but its behavior is core-specific. It should not be described as a universal best setting for every display.
Integer scaling
Integer scaling keeps image pixels at whole-number multiples. It can leave borders on a modern panel, but it avoids fractional scaling that may soften pixel art. Use it when crisp, stable pixels are more important than filling every screen edge.
Fullscreen and shaders
Fullscreen controls whether RetroArch uses the display as a full-screen application. Shaders can alter the image with effects such as scanline-style filtering; enable them only after geometry is correct so that you can distinguish a scaling problem from an image effect.
Save display changes at the smallest scope that solves the problem. A cabinet with one horizontal screen may need a core-specific exception for vertical titles, while a physically vertical cabinet may want a broader orientation policy.
Configure vertical games in FinalBurn Neo
FinalBurn Neo’s official guidance gives a specific sequence for vertical games:
- Launch the game with FinalBurn Neo.
- Open Settings → Core and enable Allow rotation.
- Open Settings → Video → Scaling and set Aspect Ratio to Core Provided.
- If the cabinet has a physically vertical screen, open the core’s Video Settings and consider enabling its Vertical Mode option.
- Pause and resume the game, then check that the entire playfield, controls and score area are visible.
- Save the appropriate override so the change returns for the intended core, directory or game.
FinalBurn Neo cautions that rotating through Settings → Video → Output → Video Rotation may produce an incorrect aspect ratio. Use the core’s documented rotation and Vertical Mode options instead when following this procedure.
These instructions are for FinalBurn Neo. Another arcade core may expose different options, use a different rotation path or calculate aspect ratio differently. If a non-FinalBurn core displays a vertical game incorrectly, check that core’s own documentation before copying the settings above.
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Horizontal screen versus physically vertical screen
| Cabinet arrangement | Starting approach | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal screen, mostly horizontal games | Use the core’s normal geometry or a chosen global ratio; consider integer scaling for pixel clarity. | Bars, cropping and stretching are acceptable for the games you actually play. |
| Horizontal screen displaying a vertical game | For FinalBurn Neo, enable Allow rotation and use Core Provided aspect ratio. | The game rotates without a distorted ratio or cropped playfield. |
| Physically vertical screen | For FinalBurn Neo, consider the core’s Vertical Mode along with the documented rotation settings. | The game fills the intended orientation and the cabinet controls still correspond to the on-screen action. |
Do not solve a geometry issue by rotating the output blindly. Rotation, aspect ratio and core-provided geometry interact; save a working combination only after testing an actual vertical title and a normal horizontal title.
Test the setup in a deliberate order
Testing in layers makes it clear whether a fault is physical, global, core-specific or display-related.
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- Test the menu: confirm that every direction moves predictably and that Select, Back or equivalent navigation controls work.
- Test one horizontal game: verify each action button, Start and any coin or service input used by the core.
- Test the hotkey: hold Enable Hotkeys and invoke the menu toggle, pause and exit methods you configured.
- Test the saved remap: close and relaunch the same game, then confirm that its action layout persists while the menu mapping remains unchanged.
- Test another game on the same core: determine whether a core remap is helping all titles or whether the exception should be narrowed to a directory or game.
- Test orientation: run a vertical title and a horizontal title before deciding whether the setting belongs globally, to a core, or only to one game.
Troubleshoot by symptom
A button works in menus but not in the game
Open Quick Menu → Controls while the game is running. The global RetroPad binding may be correct while the core’s gameplay mapping is not. Check the core’s device type and current remap, then save a Core Remap File or Game Remap File as appropriate.
The menu opens accidentally during play
Move the menu toggle behind a dedicated Enable Hotkeys button, or choose a less frequently pressed combination at Settings → Input → Hotkeys → Menu Toggle. Test it while holding the enable button. Avoid using a primary action button as an unguarded menu shortcut.
The second player controls the first player
Return to each port’s controls and set the correct Device Index. Do not rely on operating-system enumeration order when multiple encoders or controllers are connected.
A six-button game has missing fifth or sixth actions
Check the core-specific device type and the saved remap. In FinalBurn Neo, Modern assigns R1 and R2 as the fifth and sixth buttons according to its documentation. Your panel may place those physical inputs elsewhere, so verify and remap them rather than changing unrelated global controls.
A vertical FinalBurn Neo game is stretched or cropped
Enable Settings → Core → Allow rotation and set Settings → Video → Scaling → Aspect Ratio to Core Provided. On a physically vertical screen, consider Video Settings → Vertical Mode. Avoid relying on Settings → Video → Output → Video Rotation for this case because FinalBurn Neo warns that it may calculate the aspect ratio incorrectly.
A saved change appears to have disappeared
Check the hierarchy. A core, directory or game override may be taking precedence over the global value. Reopen the content, make the change at the intended scope and use the relevant Quick Menu save or override command. Later edits to an existing override must also be saved again.
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A practical bartop configuration pattern
A simple, maintainable cabinet usually benefits from this arrangement:
- Global Port 1 controls contain only the physical joystick, the available action buttons, Start, Select and any deliberately assigned navigation controls.
- Port 2 has its own Device Index and profile instead of assuming the second encoder will always enumerate second.
- Enable Hotkeys is mapped to a reachable but non-gameplay button, and Menu Toggle is tested before the keyboard is removed.
- Core remaps handle the normal layout for a core; game remaps handle unusual titles.
- Display overrides are saved only where orientation or geometry differs from the cabinet’s normal behavior.
This pattern prevents a game-specific fix from breaking the menu or every other core. It also gives you a clear recovery path: restore the global RetroPad profile first, then inspect the active core or game remap.
Version and platform qualifications
The documentation used for these menu paths was accessed on October 9, 2026; the overrides page displayed September 25, 2026 near its footer. RetroArch labels can move between releases, platforms and interface drivers. If a path differs, look for the same functional area—Input, Hotkeys, RetroPad Binds, Quick Menu → Controls, Video → Scaling or core Video Settings—rather than assuming a missing feature.
Core options are maintained by individual core projects. FinalBurn Neo’s rotation behavior and presets should therefore be treated as FinalBurn Neo behavior. A different arcade core may expose another device model, remap format or orientation option.
Quick Recap
Configuration checklist
- Operating system recognizes every encoder or controller.
- Port 1 controls were autoconfigured or manually assigned with Set All Controls.
- Unused virtual buttons remain unmapped.
- Each additional player has the intended Device Index.
- Controller Profile was saved when a device should be recognized again.
- Enable Hotkeys and Menu Toggle work from the bartop without a keyboard.
- Gameplay changes were made in Quick Menu → Controls, not by damaging global menu bindings.
- Core, directory and game remaps were saved at the narrowest useful scope.
- Aspect ratio, integer scaling, fullscreen and shaders were chosen for the cabinet’s screen rather than assumed to be universal.
- FinalBurn Neo vertical games use Allow rotation, Core Provided aspect ratio and, where appropriate, Vertical Mode.
- A horizontal game, a vertical game and a second title on the same core were tested after saving.
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