Modernizing a Legends Ultimate Arcade Cabinet
The modified Legends Ultimate cabinet with custom Pixelcade marquee and Batocera frontend
I recently completed a full overhaul of a Legends Ultimate arcade cabinet, transforming it into a powerful all-in-one retro and modern gaming machine. This project involved gutting the original internals and replacing them with a compact but powerful PC running Batocera Linux.
What's Inside?
At the heart of the system is a Venus UM790 Pro (or UM760 Pro), a small-form-factor Ryzen-powered PC that handles everything from classic arcade games to modern Steam titles with ease. It boots into Batocera by default, giving me access to a wide array of emulators and a custom front-end.
Systems Supported
Batocera has been configured to emulate a wide range of systems, including:
- Arcade (MAME, FinalBurn Neo, etc.)
- All Atari Consoles including the 2600
- Intellivision
- Colecovision
- Dreamcast
- Neo Geo
- SEGA
- Game Boy
- NES / SNES / N64
- PlayStation 1, 2, and even 3
- Original Xbox
- Commodore 64
- Apple II
- PC games via Steam
- Many more!
Modern Features in a Retro Shell
While the cabinet keeps its original display, I've made several upgrades to enhance the experience:
- Two Sinden Light Guns for light gun arcade games
- A wireless PS2 controller option for modern console-style gaming
- A 3D printed coin door (which required a cabinet cutout) for authentic arcade vibes
- A Pixelcade LCD marquee that dynamically updates with game artwork using Linux scripts
- Custom themes for the Batocera front-end to match the retro aesthetic
Boot Flexibility
The system uses GRUB to dual boot between Batocera and Windows. This allows me to run Windows-based arcade software like TeknoParrot using LaunchBox for an expanded library of modern arcade titles.
Final Thoughts
This project was a lot of fun, but it took a few months to get many games configured to run properly. Batocera is a linux distro and is a LOT more reliable than Windows. Thanks to Valve's work on proton for Steam Deck, it was relatively easy to get Steam running on it.