New in Recalbox 10.1: EightyOne joins the ZX Spectrum as a second emulator.
EightyOne is an emulator of the Sinclair machines created by Michael D Wynne. It ships with Recalbox under the free software license of its upstream repository; refer to it for the exact terms.
System page: ZX Spectrum
| Emulator | RPI3/RPI02W | RPI4/400 | RPI5/500 | OGA/OGS/RG351 | PC | RG353 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libretro EightyOne | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
The core is rated with high compatibility and high speed, and it is built for every board supported by Recalbox.
Fuse is still the default ZX Spectrum emulator: select EightyOne explicitly in the emulation options of the system or of a given game to use it. It is a useful alternative when a title does not load properly with Fuse.
EightyOne is the same core as the one used for the ZX81: it emulates both Sinclair machines. Each system stays separate in Recalbox, with its own roms folder and its own list of extensions.
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
| Netplay | ❌ |
| Softpatching | ❌ |
| CRT output | ✅ |
| RetroAchievements | ❌ (not supported on the ZX Spectrum system) |
| Light gun | ❌ (not supported on this system) |
A keyboard is required on this system, a pad remaining optionally usable for the games that support one.
No BIOS is required for this core. The optional Pentagon and Scorpion clone ROMs listed on the system page only concern the Fuse core.
.tap .tzx .wav .csw .opd .opu .mgt .img .dsk .ipf .trd .d40 .d80 .scl .slt .sp .mdr .mdv .rom .dck .hdf .vhd .z80 .sna .zip .7z
/recalbox/share/roms/zxspectrum/
.tapand.tzxare tape images,.z80and.snaare memory snapshots,.dsk,.trdand.sclare disk images.
While in game, press HOTKEY + B to open the RetroArch menu, then go to the core options section to display the settings specific to EightyOne.
The options exposed by EightyOne change from one core release to another: rely on the list displayed in the RetroArch menu of your installation rather than on a fixed list. They mostly cover the emulated machine model — a game written for a 48 KB Spectrum may behave differently on a 128 KB model, and the other way round.