How to load Internet Archive games into the KODI emulator

The Internet Archive, as its name suggests, is the great Alexandria library of the Internet: a huge vault of knowledge from where we can view classic movies, vintage advertisements, digitized video game magazines, 78 RPM records, and even retro machine video games.

The good thing about these games -from Street Fighter II, through DOOM and many others- is that they weigh very little, and since they are not technically demanding either, they can be emulated and played perfectly from the browser, without having to leave even from the Internet Archive website. Now, the question is: can we grab this gigantic catalog of games from Amiga, MS-DOS, PC, NES, NeoGeo, etc. and load them directly from KODI?

How to configure KODI to emulate and play all titles available on the Internet Archive

To achieve our goal we are going to use a tool called Internet Archive Game Launcher. It is a complement or add-on that will help us to search and load games online from KODI.

1- Update KODI to version 18 or higher

Starting with KODI 18 Leia, the player added a new tool called RetroPlayer, thanks to which we can install emulators of dozens of retro consoles to load ROMs within KODI itself.

We can download the latest update available for KODI from its official website. The application is available for various systems: MacOS, Linux, Windows, Android, Raspberry Pi and others.

2- Configure RetroPlayer

The first thing we have to do is install the emulator add-ons we want to use. We can find the entire list of emulators and install the ones that interest us the most from "Settings (gear icon) -> Add-ons -> Install from repository -> Game add-ons -> Emulators”.

3- How to configure the gamepad

Some games only work with a controller or gamepad, and others allow the use of a mouse and keyboard. In any case, if we are going to use a controller via Bluetooth or USB, we need to configure it and map the buttons.

For this we are going to "Settings -> System -> Input -> Configure attached controllers”. Here we will find 3 types of controllers: Xbox, NES and Super NES. We click on the profile that interests us and follow the instructions to complete the configuration.

4- Install the IAGL Add-on

Now that we have the emulators and the gamepad, we can only load the library of ROMs available on the Internet Archive. We achieve this by installing the IAGL plugin developed by Zach Morris and available through his Github page HERE.

From this link we will download the IAGL repository in a ZIP format file. From here we just have to go back to KODI, go to "Add-ons" and click on the install icon (an open box, located at the top of the side menu.

Then click on "Install from ZIP file”And select the ZIP file that we just downloaded.

Then, we are going to “Add-ons -> Install (open box icon) -> Install from repository -> Zach Morris Add-ons -> Game Add-ons -> Game Provider -> Internet Archive Game Launcher"And click on"Install”.

In this way, the add-on to load the Internet Archive ROMs in our KODI player will be installed. Once IAGL is installed we can open it from the add-ons section of "Games" in the main menu.

5- Let's play!

We already have all the pieces in place to start playing. We enter IAGL, select a console or system (make sure you have installed the corresponding emulator in step 2) and we will automatically enter the Internet Archive games repository for that system. We select a game from the list, wait for its file to load and click on the "Launch" button. We choose an emulator to run the game, and let's play!

Currently the Internet Archive retro games repository already exceeds 10,000 titles, covering all these systems:

• Friend
• Apple 2GS
• Atari 2600
• Atari 5200
• Atari 7800
• Atari 800
• Atari Jaguar
• Atari Lynx
• Atari ST
• Atomiswave
• CannonBall (Port)
• CaveStory (Port)
• ColecoVision
• Commodore 64
• Dinothawr (Port)
• Doom (Ports)
• Final Burn Alpha (Arcade)
• Game and Watch
• Game Boy Advance
• Game Boy Classic
• Game Boy Color
• Intellivision
• Lutro (Ports)
• Magnavox Odyssey2
• MAME (Arcade) (Multiple Versions)
• MS-DOS
• MSX1
• MSX2
• NAOMI
• N64
• NeoGeo CD
• NeoGeo Pocket Color
• NES
• Panasonic 3DO
• PCE CD
• Phillips CD-i
• Powder Toy (Port)
• PS1
• Quake (Ports)
• ScummVM
• Sega 32X
• Sega CD
• Sega Dreamcast
• Sega game gear
• Sega genesis
• Sega Master System
• Sega saturn
• Sega SG1000
• SNES
• TurboGrafx16 / PCE
• Vectrex
• Wonderswan
• Wonderswan Color
• x68000
• ZX Spectrum

As you can see, this is an excellent method to enjoy all those retro games that, although they are accessible from any browser visiting the Internet Archive website, acquire a new level of playability thanks to this excellent complement for KODI.