How to Customize R36S: Themes, Menus & UI Personalization
Your R36S doesn't have to look like every other unit out of the box. With RetroArch menu themes, EmulationStation skins, custom overlays, and icon packs, you can transform the interface into something that feels uniquely yours. This guide walks through every customization option available.
Understanding R36S Frontend Options
The R36S runs custom firmware (ArkOS or Rocknix) that uses one of two frontend systems for the game library:
- EmulationStation — The default game launcher on most R36S builds. Supports themes with full background images, system logos, and per-game artwork.
- RetroArch XMB/Ozone — The RetroArch in-emulator menu. Customizable with color palettes and icon sets.
Both can be customized independently. Most users customize EmulationStation for the front-end look and RetroArch for the in-game menu.
💡 Pro Tip
Make sure you have at least 100MB of free space on your SD card before installing themes. Some high-resolution theme packs with artwork can use 500MB or more.
Installing EmulationStation Themes
EmulationStation themes control the look of your main game library — backgrounds, fonts, system logos, and the layout of game lists.
Step 1: Find a Theme
The most popular themes for R36S include:
| Theme Name | Style | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Art Book Next | Clean, modern | Large artwork collections |
| RBSIMPLE-DE | Simple, fast | Low-spec performance |
| Epic Noir | Dark, cinematic | OLED-style aesthetics |
| Retrofix | Retro pixel art | Classic gaming fans |
| Carbon | Minimal, dark | Fast navigation |
Step 2: Download the Theme Files
Theme files are ZIP archives. Download directly to your PC, then transfer to the SD card.
Step 3: Install the Theme
- Power off your R36S and remove the SD card.
- On your PC, navigate to the themes folder on your SD card:
/roms/themes/(ArkOS) or/.emulationstation/themes/(Rocknix) - Extract the theme ZIP into this folder. Each theme should be its own subfolder, e.g.,
/themes/art-book-next/. - Reinsert the SD card and power on the R36S.
- In EmulationStation: press Start → UI Settings → Theme Set → select your new theme.
✅ Theme Applied Successfully?
After selecting the theme, EmulationStation will reload automatically. If you see the new backgrounds and fonts, the install was successful. If not, double-check the folder structure — the theme files should be directly inside the theme name folder, not in a nested subdirectory.
Scraping Game Artwork
Themes look their best when your games have box art, screenshots, and metadata. Scraping fetches this automatically from online databases.
Scraping from the R36S (Built-In Scraper)
- In EmulationStation, press Start → Scraper.
- Select ScreenScraper as the source (best database for retro games).
- If you have a ScreenScraper account, enter your username and password for higher rate limits.
- Choose which media to download: Box Front, Screenshot, Video (optional — uses more space).
- Press Start and wait. Scraping can take several minutes for large libraries.
Scraping with Skraper (PC Tool)
For large libraries, scraping on PC is faster and avoids SD card wear:
- Download Skraper from the official website.
- Connect your SD card to your PC.
- Point Skraper at your ROMs folder and run the scraper.
- Images are saved alongside your ROMs and auto-detected by EmulationStation.
⚠️ Important
Video scraping can use several GB of storage. If your SD card is nearly full, disable video scraping and stick to images only. Use the "Box Front + Screenshot" option for a good balance of visuals and storage.
Customizing RetroArch Menu Appearance
When you're inside a game and open the RetroArch menu (Select + X), you can customize how it looks.
Changing the Menu Driver
RetroArch supports multiple menu styles:
| Menu Driver | Style | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| XMB | PlayStation XMB-style horizontal scroll | Moderate |
| Ozone | Modern Nintendo Switch-inspired | Good |
| RGUI | Simple pixel-art retro style | Best (lowest overhead) |
To change: RetroArch Menu → Settings → Drivers → Menu Driver → select XMB, Ozone, or RGUI. Restart RetroArch to apply.
XMB Color Themes
XMB supports built-in color schemes:
- Open RetroArch menu → Settings → User Interface → Appearance.
- Change Color Theme to choose from options like Midnight, Plain, etc.
- Adjust Menu Shader Pipeline for scanline or plain look.
Custom XMB Backgrounds
You can set a custom background image in XMB:
- Prepare a PNG image at 640×480 resolution (matches R36S screen).
- Place it anywhere on your SD card (e.g.,
/roms/backgrounds/custom-bg.png). - In RetroArch: Settings → User Interface → Appearance → Background Image → navigate to your PNG.
💡 Pro Tip
Use a slightly darkened version of your favorite game box art as a custom XMB background. Keep the image at 30–40% opacity (darkened) so the menu text remains readable over it.
Custom Game Overlays (Bezels)
Overlays frame the game screen with decorative borders — useful for filling the extra space around 4:3 games displayed on a widescreen device, or for adding scanline effects.
Installing an Overlay
- Download overlay files (usually a PNG image + a CFG config file).
- Copy both files to
/roms/overlays/on your SD card. - In RetroArch: Quick Menu (while in a game) → On-Screen Overlay → Overlay Preset → navigate to the CFG file.
- Enable Display Overlay and adjust opacity as desired.
Popular Overlay Packs
- Overlaypal — Huge collection of system-specific bezels with accurate hardware art
- Orion — Clean, minimal overlay frames per system
- Retroarch-Overlays (GitHub) — Community-maintained collection
Customizing System Icons & Logos
EmulationStation displays system logos (e.g., the GBA logo next to your GBA games). These are part of the theme files and can be replaced.
Replacing System Logos
- Navigate to your theme folder on the SD card:
/themes/[theme-name]/ - Find the
data/orart/subfolder containing system logo PNGs. - Replace any logo PNG with your custom version — keep the exact same filename.
- Restart EmulationStation to see the changes.
Organizing Games by Collection
EmulationStation supports custom collections — custom-curated game lists that appear as their own system category.
Creating a Custom Collection
- In EmulationStation, navigate to any game.
- Press Select on the game → Add to Custom Collection.
- If this is your first collection, you'll be prompted to name it (e.g., "Favorites" or "Best RPGs").
- The collection appears as a new system in your game list.
✅ Key Takeaway
Custom collections are stored in a text file on the SD card (/.emulationstation/collections/). You can back them up when changing SD cards or firmware without losing your curated lists.
Performance Tips for Themed Setups
Heavy themes with animations and video previews can slow down the R36S frontend. If you notice lag:
- Disable video previews: Start → UI Settings → Video Preview → Off
- Reduce transition animations: Start → UI Settings → Transition Style → Instant
- Use a lightweight theme: RBSIMPLE-DE and Carbon are optimized for low-spec hardware
- Limit scraped media: Box Front + Screenshot only (no video)