diff --git a/Makefile.common b/Makefile.common
index 69f5a1dd87..da0b2b5e89 100644
--- a/Makefile.common
+++ b/Makefile.common
@@ -220,7 +220,8 @@ OBJ += frontend/frontend.o \
        record/drivers/record_null.o \
        libretro-common/features/features_cpu.o \
        performance_counters.o \
-       verbosity.o
+       verbosity.o \
+		   libretro-common/string/utf8_util.o
 
 ifeq ($(HAVE_LANGEXTRA), 1)
 DEFINES += -DHAVE_LANGEXTRA
@@ -530,7 +531,7 @@ ifeq ($(HAVE_MENU_COMMON), 1)
           menu/drivers/null.o
 endif
 
-ifneq ($(NO_UTF8), 1)
+ifeq ($(UTF8), 1)
    DEFINES += -DHAVE_UTF8
    OBJ += intl/msg_hash_ru.o
    DEFINES += -finput-charset=UTF-8
diff --git a/gfx/drivers_font/gl_raster_font.c b/gfx/drivers_font/gl_raster_font.c
index 36d2236d41..cec87cd72f 100644
--- a/gfx/drivers_font/gl_raster_font.c
+++ b/gfx/drivers_font/gl_raster_font.c
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include "../common/gl_common.h"
 #include "../font_driver.h"
 #include "../video_shader_driver.h"
+#include <string/utf8_util.h>
 
 /* TODO: Move viewport side effects to the caller: it's a source of bugs. */
 
@@ -35,9 +36,13 @@
 
 #define MAX_MSG_LEN_CHUNK 64
 
-#define ONEMASK ((size_t)(-1) / 0xFF)
-
-static uint8_t gl_strlen(const char **string);
+#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
+#define string_walk utf8_walk
+#define string_len utf8_strlen
+#else
+#define string_walk utf8_walkbyte
+#define string_len strlen
+#endif
 
 typedef struct
 {
@@ -256,102 +261,6 @@ static void gl_raster_font_draw_vertices(gl_t *gl, const video_coords_t *coords)
    glDrawArrays(GL_TRIANGLES, 0, coords->vertices);
 }
 
-static uint8_t string_walkbyte(const char **string)
-{
-   return *((*string)++);
-}
-
-#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
-/* Does not validate the input, returns garbage if it's not UTF-8. */
-static uint32_t string_walk(const char **string)
-{
-   uint8_t first = string_walkbyte(string);
-   uint32_t ret;
-   
-   if (first<128)
-      return first;
-   
-   ret = 0;
-   ret = (ret<<6) | (string_walkbyte(string)    & 0x3F);
-   if (first >= 0xE0)
-      ret = (ret<<6) | (string_walkbyte(string) & 0x3F);
-   if (first >= 0xF0)
-      ret = (ret<<6) | (string_walkbyte(string) & 0x3F);
-   
-   if (first >= 0xF0)
-      return ret | (first&31)<<18;
-   if (first >= 0xE0)
-      return ret | (first&15)<<12;
-   return ret | (first&7)<<6;
-}
-
-static uint32_t gl_strlen_utf8(const char **string)
-{
-  const char * _s = *string;
-  const char * s;
-  size_t count = 0;
-  size_t u;
-  unsigned char b;
-
-  /* Handle any initial misaligned bytes. */
-  for (s = _s; (uintptr_t)(s) & (sizeof(size_t) - 1); s++) {
-    b = *s;
-
-    /* Exit if we hit a zero byte. */
-    if (b == '\0')
-      goto done;
-
-    /* Is this byte NOT the first byte of a character? */
-    count += (b >> 7) & ((~b) >> 6);
-  }
-
-  /* Handle complete blocks. */
-  for (; ; s += sizeof(size_t)) {
-    /* Prefetch 256 bytes ahead. */
-    __builtin_prefetch(&s[256], 0, 0);
-
-    /* Grab 4 or 8 bytes of UTF-8 data. */
-    u = *(size_t *)(s);
-
-    /* Exit the loop if there are any zero bytes. */
-    if ((u - ONEMASK) & (~u) & (ONEMASK * 0x80))
-      break;
-
-    /* Count bytes which are NOT the first byte of a character. */
-    u = ((u & (ONEMASK * 0x80)) >> 7) & ((~u) >> 6);
-    count += (u * ONEMASK) >> ((sizeof(size_t) - 1) * 8);
-  }
-
-  /* Take care of any left-over bytes. */
-  for (; ; s++) {
-    b = *s;
-
-    /* Exit if we hit a zero byte. */
-    if (b == '\0')
-      break;
-
-    /* Is this byte NOT the first byte of a character? */
-    count += (b >> 7) & ((~b) >> 6);
-  }
-
-done:
-  return ((s - _s) - count);
-}
-
-static uint8_t gl_strlen(const char **string)
-{
-   return gl_strlen_utf8(string);
-}
-#else
-#define string_walk string_walkbyte
-#define gl_strlen gl_strlen_byte
-
-static uint8_t gl_strlen_byte(const char **string)
-{
-   return strlen(*string);
-}
-#endif
-
 static void gl_raster_font_render_line(
       gl_raster_t *font, const char *msg, unsigned msg_len_full,
       GLfloat scale, const GLfloat color[4], GLfloat pos_x,
@@ -460,7 +369,7 @@ static void gl_raster_font_render_message(
    /* If the font height is not supported just draw as usual */
    if (!font->font_driver->get_line_height)
    {
-      gl_raster_font_render_line(font, msg, gl_strlen(&msg),
+      gl_raster_font_render_line(font, msg, string_len(msg),
             scale, color, pos_x, pos_y, text_align);
       return;
    }
@@ -484,7 +393,7 @@ static void gl_raster_font_render_message(
       }
       else
       {
-         unsigned msg_len = gl_strlen(&msg);
+         unsigned msg_len = string_len(msg);
          gl_raster_font_render_line(font, msg, msg_len, scale, color, pos_x,
                pos_y - (float)lines*line_height, text_align);
          break;
diff --git a/menu/drivers/materialui.c b/menu/drivers/materialui.c
index 59265c112a..9164dfef1a 100644
--- a/menu/drivers/materialui.c
+++ b/menu/drivers/materialui.c
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include <gfx/math/matrix_4x4.h>
 #include <string/stdstring.h>
 #include <lists/string_list.h>
+#include <string/utf8_util.h>
 
 #include "menu_generic.h"
 
@@ -46,6 +47,12 @@
 
 #include "../../file_path_special.h"
 
+#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
+#define string_len utf8_strlen
+#else
+#define string_len strlen
+#endif
+
 enum
 {
    MUI_TEXTURE_POINTER = 0,
@@ -400,7 +407,7 @@ static void mui_render_messagebox(mui_handle_t *mui,
    for (i = 0; i < list->size; i++)
    {
       const char *msg = list->elems[i].data;
-      int len = strlen(msg);
+      int len = string_len(msg);
       if (len > longest)
       {
          longest = len;
@@ -523,7 +530,7 @@ static void mui_render_label_value(mui_handle_t *mui,
    menu_animation_ctx_ticker_t ticker;
    char label_str[PATH_MAX_LENGTH] = {0};
    char value_str[PATH_MAX_LENGTH] = {0};
-   int value_len                   = strlen(value);
+   int value_len                   = string_len(value);
    int ticker_limit                = 0;
    uintptr_t texture_switch        = 0;
    bool do_draw_text               = false;
@@ -1176,7 +1183,7 @@ static void mui_frame(void *data)
       
       snprintf(title_buf_msg, sizeof(title_buf), "%s (%s)",
             title_buf, title_msg);
-      value_len = strlen(title_buf);
+      value_len = string_len(title_buf);
       ticker_limit = (usable_width / mui->glyph_width) - (value_len + 2);
 
       ticker.s        = title_buf_msg_tmp;
diff --git a/menu/drivers/rgui.c b/menu/drivers/rgui.c
index 5fe1cc7efe..e05627723b 100644
--- a/menu/drivers/rgui.c
+++ b/menu/drivers/rgui.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include <file/file_path.h>
 #include <retro_inline.h>
 #include <string/stdstring.h>
+#include <string/utf8_util.h>
 
 #include "menu_generic.h"
 
@@ -45,6 +46,14 @@
 #define RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(width)          (((width - RGUI_TERM_START_X(width) - RGUI_TERM_START_X(width)) / (FONT_WIDTH_STRIDE)))
 #define RGUI_TERM_HEIGHT(width, height) (((height - RGUI_TERM_START_Y(height) - RGUI_TERM_START_X(width)) / (FONT_HEIGHT_STRIDE)) - 1)
 
+#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
+#define string_walk utf8_walk
+#define string_len utf8_strlen
+#else
+#define string_walk utf8_walkbyte
+#define string_len strlen
+#endif
+
 typedef struct
 {
    bool force_redraw;
@@ -164,39 +173,6 @@ static void rgui_color_rect(
             data[j * (pitch >> 1) + i] = color;
 }
 
-static uint8_t string_walkbyte(const char **string)
-{
-   return *((*string)++);
-}
-
-#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
-/* Does not validate the input, returns garbage if it's not UTF-8. */
-static uint32_t string_walk(const char **string)
-{
-   uint8_t first = string_walkbyte(string);
-   uint32_t ret;
-   
-   if (first<128)
-      return first;
-   
-   ret = 0;
-   ret = (ret<<6) | (string_walkbyte(string)    & 0x3F);
-   if (first >= 0xE0)
-      ret = (ret<<6) | (string_walkbyte(string) & 0x3F);
-   if (first >= 0xF0)
-      ret = (ret<<6) | (string_walkbyte(string) & 0x3F);
-   
-   if (first >= 0xF0)
-      return ret | (first&31)<<18;
-   if (first >= 0xE0)
-      return ret | (first&15)<<12;
-   return ret | (first&7)<<6;
-}
-
-#else
-#define string_walk string_walkbyte
-#endif
-
 static void blit_line(int x, int y,
       const char *message, uint16_t color)
 {
@@ -346,7 +322,7 @@ static void rgui_render_messagebox(const char *message)
    {
       unsigned line_width;
       char     *msg   = list->elems[i].data;
-      unsigned msglen = strlen(msg);
+      unsigned msglen = string_len(msg);
 
       if (msglen > RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(fb_width))
       {
@@ -381,7 +357,7 @@ static void rgui_render_messagebox(const char *message)
    for (i = 0; i < list->size; i++)
    {
       const char *msg = list->elems[i].data;
-      int offset_x    = FONT_WIDTH_STRIDE * (glyphs_width - strlen(msg)) / 2;
+      int offset_x    = FONT_WIDTH_STRIDE * (glyphs_width - string_len(msg)) / 2;
       int offset_y    = FONT_HEIGHT_STRIDE * i;
 
       blit_line(x + 8 + offset_x, y + 8 + offset_y, msg, color);
@@ -551,7 +527,7 @@ static void rgui_render(void *data)
 
    blit_line(
          RGUI_TERM_START_X(fb_width) + (RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(fb_width)
-            - strlen(title_buf)) * FONT_WIDTH_STRIDE / 2,
+            - string_len(title_buf)) * FONT_WIDTH_STRIDE / 2,
          RGUI_TERM_START_X(fb_width),
          title_buf, TITLE_COLOR(settings));
 
@@ -626,8 +602,8 @@ static void rgui_render(void *data)
 
       snprintf(message, sizeof(message), "%c %-*.*s %-*s",
             entry_selected ? '>' : ' ',
-            (int)(RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(fb_width) - (entry_spacing + 1 + 2) - utf8len(entry_title_buf) + strlen(entry_title_buf)),
-            (int)(RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(fb_width) - (entry_spacing + 1 + 2) - utf8len(entry_title_buf) + strlen(entry_title_buf)),
+            (int)(RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(fb_width) - (entry_spacing + 1 + 2) - utf8len(entry_title_buf) + string_len(entry_title_buf)),
+            (int)(RGUI_TERM_WIDTH(fb_width) - (entry_spacing + 1 + 2) - utf8len(entry_title_buf) + string_len(entry_title_buf)),
             entry_title_buf,
             entry_spacing,
             type_str_buf);
diff --git a/menu/drivers/xmb.c b/menu/drivers/xmb.c
index 3437c037ed..8429cb1825 100644
--- a/menu/drivers/xmb.c
+++ b/menu/drivers/xmb.c
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include <string/stdstring.h>
 #include <lists/string_list.h>
 #include <gfx/math/matrix_4x4.h>
+#include <string/utf8_util.h>
 
 #include "menu_generic.h"
 
@@ -56,6 +57,12 @@
 #define XMB_DELAY 10
 #endif
 
+#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
+#define string_len utf8_strlen
+#else
+#define string_len strlen
+#endif
+
 typedef struct
 {
    float alpha;
@@ -669,38 +676,6 @@ static void xmb_messagebox(void *data, const char *message)
    strlcpy(xmb->box_message, message, sizeof(xmb->box_message));
 }
 
-static uint32_t xmb_strlen_byte(const char **string)
-{
-   return strlen(*string);
-}
-
-#ifdef HAVE_UTF8
-/* Does not validate the input, returns garbage if it's not UTF-8. */
-static uint32_t xmb_strlen(const char **string)
-{
-   uint8_t first = xmb_strlen_byte(string);
-   uint32_t ret;
-   
-   if (first<128)
-      return first;
-   
-   ret = 0;
-   ret = (ret<<6) | (xmb_strlen_byte(string)    & 0x3F);
-   if (first >= 0xE0)
-      ret = (ret<<6) | (xmb_strlen_byte(string) & 0x3F);
-   if (first >= 0xF0)
-      ret = (ret<<6) | (xmb_strlen_byte(string) & 0x3F);
-   
-   if (first >= 0xF0)
-      return ret | (first&31)<<18;
-   if (first >= 0xE0)
-      return ret | (first&15)<<12;
-   return ret | (first&7)<<6;
-}
-#else
-#define xmb_strlen xmb_strlen_byte
-#endif
-
 static void xmb_render_messagebox_internal(
       xmb_handle_t *xmb, const char *message)
 {
@@ -733,7 +708,7 @@ static void xmb_render_messagebox_internal(
    for (i = 0; i < list->size; i++)
    {
       const char *msg = list->elems[i].data;
-      int len = xmb_strlen(&msg);
+      int len = string_len(msg);
       if (len > longest)
       {
          longest = len;