As for Retroarch that is a separate issue from Launchbox, Launchbox has nothing to do with the controller settings in any emulator. I have never used Retroarch without a controller but if you don't have a controller hooked up to it the keyboard should work. I know my keyboard works within the Retroarch UI and any controller I have ever plugged in (including my flightstick) is detected and can be mapped. It even autodetects and configures the XBox controller and others like my Logitech F710 and Hori Fight Commander 4.