diff --git a/audio/drivers/dsound.c b/audio/drivers/dsound.c
index ff2d8368b8..2cdcf4d234 100644
--- a/audio/drivers/dsound.c
+++ b/audio/drivers/dsound.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2010-2014 - Hans-Kristian Arntzen
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-
 #ifndef _XBOX
 #include <windows.h>
 #include <mmreg.h>
@@ -95,7 +93,7 @@ static INLINE bool grab_region(dsound_t *ds, uint32_t write_ptr,
       struct audio_lock *region)
 {
    const char *err = NULL;
-   HRESULT     res = IDirectSoundBuffer_Lock(ds->dsb, write_ptr, CHUNK_SIZE,
+   HRESULT     res = IDirectSoundBuffer_Lock(ds->dsb, write_ptr, CHUNK_SIZE, 
          &region->chunk1, &region->size1, &region->chunk2, &region->size2, 0);
 
    if (res == DSERR_BUFFERLOST)
@@ -154,7 +152,7 @@ static void dsound_thread(void *data)
       struct audio_lock region;
       DWORD read_ptr, avail, fifo_avail;
       get_positions(ds, &read_ptr, NULL);
-
+      
       avail = write_avail(read_ptr, write_ptr, ds->buffer_size);
 
       EnterCriticalSection(&ds->crit);
@@ -163,12 +161,12 @@ static void dsound_thread(void *data)
 
       if (avail < CHUNK_SIZE || ((fifo_avail < CHUNK_SIZE) && (avail < ds->buffer_size / 2)))
       {
-         /* No space to write, or we don't have data in our fifo,
+         /* No space to write, or we don't have data in our fifo, 
           * but we can wait some time before it underruns ... */
 
 
          /* We could opt for using the notification interface,
-          * but it is not guaranteed to work, so use high
+          * but it is not guaranteed to work, so use high 
           * priority sleeping patterns.
           */
          retro_sleep(1);
@@ -184,7 +182,7 @@ static void dsound_thread(void *data)
 
       if (fifo_avail < CHUNK_SIZE)
       {
-         /* Got space to write, but nothing in FIFO (underrun),
+         /* Got space to write, but nothing in FIFO (underrun), 
           * fill block with silence. */
 
          memset(region.chunk1, 0, region.size1);
@@ -193,7 +191,7 @@ static void dsound_thread(void *data)
          release_region(ds, &region);
          write_ptr = (write_ptr + region.size1 + region.size2) % ds->buffer_size;
       }
-      else
+      else 
       {
          /* All is good. Pull from it and notify FIFO. */
 
@@ -293,15 +291,11 @@ struct dsound_dev
    LPGUID guid;
 };
 
-static BOOL CALLBACK enumerate_cb(LPGUID guid, LPCTSTR desc, LPCTSTR module, LPVOID context)
+static BOOL CALLBACK enumerate_cb(LPGUID guid, LPCSTR desc, LPCSTR module, LPVOID context)
 {
    struct dsound_dev *dev = (struct dsound_dev*)context;
-   WCHAR_TO_CHAR_ALLOC(desc, desc_str)
 
-   RARCH_LOG("\t%u: %s\n", dev->total_count, desc_str);
-
-   if (desc_str)
-      free(desc_str);
+   RARCH_LOG("\t%u: %s\n", dev->total_count, desc);
 
    if (dev->device == dev->total_count)
       dev->guid = guid;
diff --git a/file_path_special.c b/file_path_special.c
index 32d1ac8be0..88aeae7cf8 100644
--- a/file_path_special.c
+++ b/file_path_special.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-#include <tchar.h>
 #include <direct.h>
 #else
 #include <unistd.h>
@@ -125,7 +123,7 @@ void fill_pathname_abbreviate_special(char *out_path,
 
    fill_pathname_application_path(application_dir, sizeof(application_dir));
    path_basedir(application_dir);
-
+   
    for (i = 0; candidates[i]; i++)
    {
       if (!string_is_empty(candidates[i]) && strstr(in_path, candidates[i]) == in_path)
@@ -133,11 +131,11 @@ void fill_pathname_abbreviate_special(char *out_path,
          size_t src_size  = strlcpy(out_path, notations[i], size);
 
          retro_assert(src_size < size);
-
+      
          out_path        += src_size;
          size            -= src_size;
          in_path         += strlen(candidates[i]);
-
+      
          if (!path_char_is_slash(*in_path))
          {
             retro_assert(strlcpy(out_path, path_default_slash(), size) < size);
@@ -209,7 +207,7 @@ void fill_pathname_application_path(char *s, size_t len)
 #endif
 #ifdef _WIN32
    DWORD ret;
-   LPTSTR ws = (LPTSTR)calloc(len, sizeof(TCHAR));
+   wchar_t ws[PATH_MAX_LENGTH] = {0};
 #endif
 #ifdef __HAIKU__
    image_info info;
@@ -218,26 +216,13 @@ void fill_pathname_application_path(char *s, size_t len)
    (void)i;
 
    if (!len)
-   {
-#ifdef _WIN32
-      if (ws)
-         free(ws);
-#endif
       return;
-   }
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
-   ret    = GetModuleFileName(GetModuleHandle(NULL), ws, len - 1);
-   memset(s, 0, len);
-#ifdef UNICODE
-   utf16_to_char_string(ws, s, len);
-#else
-   memcpy(s, ws, len);
-#endif
+   MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, s, -1, ws, sizeof(ws) / sizeof(ws[0]));
 
-   if (ws)
-      free(ws);
 
+   ret    = GetModuleFileNameW(GetModuleHandleW(NULL), ws, sizeof(ws) / sizeof(ws[0]));
    s[ret] = '\0';
 #elif defined(__APPLE__)
    if (bundle)
@@ -247,7 +232,7 @@ void fill_pathname_application_path(char *s, size_t len)
       CFStringGetCString(bundle_path, s, len, kCFStringEncodingUTF8);
       CFRelease(bundle_path);
       CFRelease(bundle_url);
-
+      
       retro_assert(strlcat(s, "nobin", len) < len);
       return;
    }
@@ -267,7 +252,7 @@ void fill_pathname_application_path(char *s, size_t len)
       char link_path[255];
 
       link_path[0] = *s = '\0';
-      pid       = getpid();
+      pid       = getpid(); 
 
       /* Linux, BSD and Solaris paths. Not standardized. */
       for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(exts); i++)
@@ -285,7 +270,7 @@ void fill_pathname_application_path(char *s, size_t len)
          }
       }
    }
-
+   
    RARCH_ERR("Cannot resolve application path! This should not happen.\n");
 #endif
 }
@@ -343,7 +328,7 @@ void fill_pathname_application_special(char *s, size_t len, enum application_spe
 #ifdef HAVE_ZARCH
          {
             settings_t *settings     = config_get_ptr();
-            fill_pathname_join(s,
+            fill_pathname_join(s, 
                   settings->directory.assets,
                   "zarch",
                   len);
diff --git a/frontend/drivers/platform_win32.c b/frontend/drivers/platform_win32.c
index 8e5b8e3673..2480e61f4e 100644
--- a/frontend/drivers/platform_win32.c
+++ b/frontend/drivers/platform_win32.c
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@
 #include "../../runloop.h"
 #include "../../verbosity.h"
 
-/* We only load this library once, so we let it be
- * unloaded at application shutdown, since unloading
+/* We only load this library once, so we let it be 
+ * unloaded at application shutdown, since unloading 
  * it early seems to cause issues on some systems.
  */
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ static bool gfx_init_dwm(void)
    }
    atexit(gfx_dwm_shutdown);
 
-   HRESULT (WINAPI *mmcss)(BOOL) =
+   HRESULT (WINAPI *mmcss)(BOOL) = 
       (HRESULT (WINAPI*)(BOOL))dylib_proc(dwmlib, "DwmEnableMMCSS");
    if (mmcss)
    {
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ static void gfx_set_dwm(void)
    if (settings->video.disable_composition == dwm_composition_disabled)
       return;
 
-   HRESULT (WINAPI *composition_enable)(UINT) =
+   HRESULT (WINAPI *composition_enable)(UINT) = 
       (HRESULT (WINAPI*)(UINT))dylib_proc(dwmlib, "DwmEnableComposition");
    if (!composition_enable)
    {
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ static void frontend_win32_init(void *data)
 {
 	typedef BOOL (WINAPI *isProcessDPIAwareProc)();
 	typedef BOOL (WINAPI *setProcessDPIAwareProc)();
-	HMODULE handle                         = GetModuleHandle(TEXT("User32.dll"));
+	HMODULE handle                         = GetModuleHandleW(L"User32.dll");
 	isProcessDPIAwareProc  isDPIAwareProc  = (isProcessDPIAwareProc)dylib_proc(handle, "IsProcessDPIAware");
 	setProcessDPIAwareProc setDPIAwareProc = (setProcessDPIAwareProc)dylib_proc(handle, "SetProcessDPIAware");
 
@@ -189,13 +189,13 @@ static void frontend_win32_init(void *data)
 				setDPIAwareProc();
 		}
 	}
-
+   
 }
 
 enum frontend_powerstate frontend_win32_get_powerstate(int *seconds, int *percent)
 {
    SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS status;
-        enum frontend_powerstate ret = FRONTEND_POWERSTATE_NONE;
+	enum frontend_powerstate ret = FRONTEND_POWERSTATE_NONE;
 
 	if (!GetSystemPowerStatus(&status))
 		return ret;
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ static void frontend_win32_detach_console(void)
    {
       HWND wnd = GetConsoleWindow();
       FreeConsole();
-      PostMessage(wnd, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
+      PostMessageW(wnd, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
    }
 #endif
 }
diff --git a/gfx/common/win32_common.cpp b/gfx/common/win32_common.cpp
index a708d36c34..aa091e33de 100644
--- a/gfx/common/win32_common.cpp
+++ b/gfx/common/win32_common.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
  *  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
  */
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 #include <retro_miscellaneous.h>
 #include <string/stdstring.h>
 
@@ -77,7 +76,7 @@ ui_window_win32_t main_window;
 /* Power Request APIs */
 
 #if !defined(_XBOX) && (_MSC_VER == 1310)
-typedef struct _REASON_CONTEXT
+typedef struct _REASON_CONTEXT 
 {
    ULONG Version;
    DWORD Flags;
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ extern "C"
    }
 };
 
-INT_PTR CALLBACK PickCoreProc(HWND hDlg, UINT message,
+INT_PTR CALLBACK PickCoreProc(HWND hDlg, UINT message, 
         WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
 {
    size_t list_size;
@@ -149,16 +148,16 @@ INT_PTR CALLBACK PickCoreProc(HWND hDlg, UINT message,
             core_info_list_get_supported_cores(core_info_list,
                   path_get(RARCH_PATH_CONTENT), &core_info, &list_size);
 
-            hwndList = GetDlgItem(hDlg, ID_CORELISTBOX);
+            hwndList = GetDlgItem(hDlg, ID_CORELISTBOX);  
 
             for (i = 0; i < list_size; i++)
             {
                const core_info_t *info = (const core_info_t*)&core_info[i];
-               SendMessage(hwndList, LB_ADDSTRING, 0,
-                     (LPARAM)info->display_name);
+               SendMessage(hwndList, LB_ADDSTRING, 0, 
+                     (LPARAM)info->display_name); 
             }
-            SetFocus(hwndList);
-            return TRUE;
+            SetFocus(hwndList); 
+            return TRUE;  
          }
 
       case WM_COMMAND:
@@ -169,20 +168,20 @@ INT_PTR CALLBACK PickCoreProc(HWND hDlg, UINT message,
                EndDialog(hDlg, LOWORD(wParam));
                break;
             case ID_CORELISTBOX:
-               switch (HIWORD(wParam))
-               {
+               switch (HIWORD(wParam)) 
+               { 
                   case LBN_SELCHANGE:
                      {
                         int lbItem;
                         const core_info_t *info = NULL;
-                        HWND hwndList = GetDlgItem(hDlg, ID_CORELISTBOX);
-                        lbItem = (int)SendMessage(hwndList, LB_GETCURSEL, 0, 0);
+                        HWND hwndList = GetDlgItem(hDlg, ID_CORELISTBOX); 
+                        lbItem = (int)SendMessage(hwndList, LB_GETCURSEL, 0, 0); 
                         core_info_get_list(&core_info_list);
                         core_info_list_get_supported_cores(core_info_list,
                               path_get(RARCH_PATH_CONTENT), &core_info, &list_size);
                         info = (const core_info_t*)&core_info[lbItem];
                         runloop_ctl(RUNLOOP_CTL_SET_LIBRETRO_PATH,info->path);
-                     }
+                     } 
                      break;
                }
                return TRUE;
@@ -213,20 +212,20 @@ void win32_monitor_from_window(void)
 
 void win32_monitor_get_info(void)
 {
-   MONITORINFOEX current_mon;
+   MONITORINFOEXW current_mon;
 
    memset(&current_mon, 0, sizeof(current_mon));
-   current_mon.cbSize = sizeof(MONITORINFOEX);
+   current_mon.cbSize = sizeof(MONITORINFOEXW);
 
-   GetMonitorInfo(win32_monitor_last, (MONITORINFOEX*)&current_mon);
-   ChangeDisplaySettingsEx(current_mon.szDevice, NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
+   GetMonitorInfoW(win32_monitor_last, (MONITORINFOEXW*)&current_mon);
+   ChangeDisplaySettingsExW(current_mon.szDevice, NULL, NULL, 0, NULL);
 }
 
 void win32_monitor_info(void *data, void *hm_data, unsigned *mon_id)
 {
    unsigned i, fs_monitor;
    settings_t *settings = config_get_ptr();
-   MONITORINFOEX *mon   = (MONITORINFOEX*)data;
+   MONITORINFOEXW *mon   = (MONITORINFOEXW*)data;
    HMONITOR *hm_to_use  = (HMONITOR*)hm_data;
 
    if (!win32_monitor_last)
@@ -255,8 +254,8 @@ void win32_monitor_info(void *data, void *hm_data, unsigned *mon_id)
    }
 
    memset(mon, 0, sizeof(*mon));
-   mon->cbSize = sizeof(MONITORINFOEX);
-   GetMonitorInfo(*hm_to_use, (MONITORINFOEX*)mon);
+   mon->cbSize = sizeof(MONITORINFOEXW);
+   GetMonitorInfoW(*hm_to_use, (MONITORINFOEXW*)mon);
 }
 
 /* Get the count of the files dropped */
@@ -265,19 +264,18 @@ static int win32_drag_query_file(HWND hwnd, WPARAM wparam)
    char szFilename[1024] = {0};
    wchar_t wszFilename[1024] = {0};
 
-   if (DragQueryFile((HDROP)wparam, 0xFFFFFFFF, NULL, 0))
+   if (DragQueryFileW((HDROP)wparam, 0xFFFFFFFF, NULL, 0))
    {
       /*poll list of current cores */
       size_t list_size;
       content_ctx_info_t content_info  = {0};
       core_info_list_t *core_info_list = NULL;
       const core_info_t *core_info     = NULL;
-#ifdef UNICODE
+
       DragQueryFileW((HDROP)wparam, 0, wszFilename, sizeof(wszFilename) / sizeof(wszFilename[0]));
+
       utf16_to_char_string((const uint16_t*)wszFilename, szFilename, sizeof(szFilename));
-#else
-      DragQueryFile((HDROP)wparam, 0, szFilename, sizeof(szFilename));
-#endif
+
       core_info_get_list(&core_info_list);
 
 	  if (!core_info_list)
@@ -337,8 +335,8 @@ static int win32_drag_query_file(HWND hwnd, WPARAM wparam)
       else
       {
          /* Pick one core that could be compatible, ew */
-         if(DialogBoxParam(GetModuleHandle(NULL),MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_PICKCORE),
-                  hwnd,PickCoreProc,(LPARAM)NULL)==IDOK)
+         if(DialogBoxParamW(GetModuleHandleW(NULL),MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_PICKCORE),
+                  hwnd,PickCoreProc,(LPARAM)NULL)==IDOK) 
          {
             task_push_content_load_default(
                   NULL, NULL,
@@ -410,7 +408,7 @@ static LRESULT CALLBACK WndProcCommon(bool *quit, HWND hwnd, UINT message,
          }
          *quit = true;
          break;
-          case WM_COMMAND:
+	  case WM_COMMAND:
          {
             settings_t *settings     = config_get_ptr();
             if (settings->ui.menubar_enable)
@@ -455,7 +453,7 @@ LRESULT CALLBACK WndProcD3D(HWND hwnd, UINT message,
             LPCREATESTRUCT p_cs   = (LPCREATESTRUCT)lparam;
             curD3D                = p_cs->lpCreateParams;
             g_inited              = true;
-
+            
             win32_window.hwnd     = hwnd;
 
             ui_window_win32_set_droppable(&win32_window, true);
@@ -509,7 +507,7 @@ LRESULT CALLBACK WndProcGL(HWND hwnd, UINT message,
 
    if (dinput_wgl && dinput_handle_message(dinput_wgl, message, wparam, lparam))
       return 0;
-   return DefWindowProc(hwnd, message, wparam, lparam);
+   return DefWindowProcW(hwnd, message, wparam, lparam);
 }
 
 bool win32_window_create(void *data, unsigned style,
@@ -517,7 +515,7 @@ bool win32_window_create(void *data, unsigned style,
       unsigned height, bool fullscreen)
 {
 #ifndef _XBOX
-   main_window.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("RetroArch"), TEXT("RetroArch"),
+   main_window.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(0, L"RetroArch", L"RetroArch",
          style,
          fullscreen ? mon_rect->left : g_pos_x,
          fullscreen ? mon_rect->top  : g_pos_y,
@@ -535,7 +533,7 @@ bool win32_window_create(void *data, unsigned style,
 #endif
 
 bool win32_get_metrics(void *data,
-        enum display_metric_types type, float *value)
+	enum display_metric_types type, float *value)
 {
 #ifdef _XBOX
    return false;
@@ -585,8 +583,7 @@ static bool win32_monitor_set_fullscreen(unsigned width, unsigned height,
 {
 #ifndef _XBOX
    DEVMODE devmode;
-   unsigned res = 0;
-   CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(dev_name, dev_name_wide)
+   wchar_t dev_name_wide[1024] = {0};
 
    memset(&devmode, 0, sizeof(devmode));
    devmode.dmSize             = sizeof(DEVMODE);
@@ -598,13 +595,10 @@ static bool win32_monitor_set_fullscreen(unsigned width, unsigned height,
    RARCH_LOG("Setting fullscreen to %ux%u @ %uHz on device %s.\n",
          width, height, refresh, dev_name);
 
-   res = ChangeDisplaySettingsEx(dev_name_wide, &devmode,
+   MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, dev_name, -1, dev_name_wide, sizeof(dev_name_wide) / sizeof(dev_name_wide[0]));
+
+   return ChangeDisplaySettingsExW(dev_name_wide, &devmode,
          NULL, CDS_FULLSCREEN, NULL) == DISP_CHANGE_SUCCESSFUL;
-
-   if (dev_name_wide)
-      free(dev_name_wide);
-
-   return res;
 #endif
 }
 
@@ -622,7 +616,7 @@ void win32_check_window(bool *quit, bool *resize,
       unsigned *width, unsigned *height)
 {
 #ifndef _XBOX
-   const ui_application_t *application =
+   const ui_application_t *application = 
       ui_companion_driver_get_application_ptr();
    if (application)
       application->process_events();
@@ -661,7 +655,7 @@ bool win32_suppress_screensaver(void *data, bool enable)
          typedef HANDLE (WINAPI * PowerCreateRequestPtr)(REASON_CONTEXT *context);
          typedef BOOL   (WINAPI * PowerSetRequestPtr)(HANDLE PowerRequest,
                POWER_REQUEST_TYPE RequestType);
-         HMODULE kernel32 = GetModuleHandle(TEXT("kernel32.dll"));
+         HMODULE kernel32 = GetModuleHandleW(L"kernel32.dll");
          PowerCreateRequestPtr powerCreateRequest =
             (PowerCreateRequestPtr)GetProcAddress(kernel32, "PowerCreateRequest");
          PowerSetRequestPtr    powerSetRequest =
@@ -695,19 +689,19 @@ bool win32_suppress_screensaver(void *data, bool enable)
 }
 
 /* FIXME: It should not be necessary to add the W after MONITORINFOEX, but linking fails without it. */
-void win32_set_style(MONITORINFOEX *current_mon, HMONITOR *hm_to_use,
+void win32_set_style(MONITORINFOEXW *current_mon, HMONITOR *hm_to_use,
 	unsigned *width, unsigned *height, bool fullscreen, bool windowed_full,
 	RECT *rect, RECT *mon_rect, DWORD *style)
 {
 #ifndef _XBOX
    settings_t *settings = config_get_ptr();
 
-   /* Windows only reports the refresh rates for modelines as
-    * an integer, so video.refresh_rate needs to be rounded. Also, account
+   /* Windows only reports the refresh rates for modelines as 
+    * an integer, so video.refresh_rate needs to be rounded. Also, account 
     * for black frame insertion using video.refresh_rate set to half
     * of the display refresh rate, as well as higher vsync swap intervals. */
    float refresh_mod    = settings->video.black_frame_insertion ? 2.0f : 1.0f;
-   unsigned refresh     = roundf(settings->video.refresh_rate
+   unsigned refresh     = roundf(settings->video.refresh_rate 
          * refresh_mod * settings->video.swap_interval);
 
    if (fullscreen)
@@ -720,18 +714,17 @@ void win32_set_style(MONITORINFOEX *current_mon, HMONITOR *hm_to_use,
       }
       else
       {
-	 WCHAR_TO_CHAR_ALLOC(current_mon->szDevice, dev_name)
+	 char dev_name[CCHDEVICENAME] = {0};
          *style          = WS_POPUP | WS_VISIBLE;
 
+         utf16_to_char_string((const uint16_t*)current_mon->szDevice, dev_name, sizeof(dev_name));
+
          if (!win32_monitor_set_fullscreen(*width, *height,
                   refresh, dev_name))
-                         {}
-
-	 if (dev_name)
-            free(dev_name);
+			 {}
 
          /* Display settings might have changed, get new coordinates. */
-         GetMonitorInfo(*hm_to_use, (MONITORINFOEX*)current_mon);
+         GetMonitorInfoW(*hm_to_use, (MONITORINFOEXW*)current_mon);
          *mon_rect = current_mon->rcMonitor;
       }
    }
@@ -762,8 +755,8 @@ void win32_set_window(unsigned *width, unsigned *height,
       {
          RECT rc_temp = {0, 0, (LONG)*height, 0x7FFF};
          SetMenu(main_window.hwnd,
-               LoadMenu(GetModuleHandle(NULL),MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDR_MENU)));
-         SendMessage(main_window.hwnd, WM_NCCALCSIZE, FALSE, (LPARAM)&rc_temp);
+               LoadMenuW(GetModuleHandleW(NULL),MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDR_MENU)));
+         SendMessageW(main_window.hwnd, WM_NCCALCSIZE, FALSE, (LPARAM)&rc_temp);
          g_resize_height = *height += rc_temp.top + rect->top;
          SetWindowPos(main_window.hwnd, NULL, 0, 0, *width, *height, SWP_NOMOVE);
       }
@@ -789,7 +782,7 @@ bool win32_set_video_mode(void *data,
    MSG msg;
    RECT mon_rect;
    unsigned mon_id;
-   MONITORINFOEX current_mon;
+   MONITORINFOEXW current_mon;
    bool windowed_full;
    RECT rect             = {0};
    HMONITOR hm_to_use    = NULL;
@@ -808,14 +801,14 @@ bool win32_set_video_mode(void *data,
 
    if (!win32_window_create(data, style, &mon_rect, width, height, fullscreen))
       return false;
-
+   
    win32_set_window(&width, &height, fullscreen, windowed_full, &rect);
 
    /* Wait until context is created (or failed to do so ...) */
-   while (!g_inited && !g_quit && GetMessage(&msg, main_window.hwnd, 0, 0))
+   while (!g_inited && !g_quit && GetMessageW(&msg, main_window.hwnd, 0, 0))
    {
       TranslateMessage(&msg);
-      DispatchMessage(&msg);
+      DispatchMessageW(&msg);
    }
 
    if (g_quit)
@@ -873,7 +866,7 @@ void win32_window_reset(void)
 void win32_destroy_window(void)
 {
 #ifndef _XBOX
-   UnregisterClass(TEXT("RetroArch"), GetModuleHandle(NULL));
+   UnregisterClassW(L"RetroArch", GetModuleHandleW(NULL));
 #endif
    main_window.hwnd = NULL;
 }
diff --git a/gfx/common/win32_common.h b/gfx/common/win32_common.h
index d7a803c300..704cb40e35 100644
--- a/gfx/common/win32_common.h
+++ b/gfx/common/win32_common.h
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2010-2014 - Hans-Kristian Arntzen
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -18,10 +18,12 @@
 #define WIN32_COMMON_H__
 
 #include <string.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 
 #ifndef _XBOX
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define UNICODE
+#include <tchar.h>
+#include <wchar.h>
 #include <windows.h>
 #endif
 
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ bool win32_window_create(void *data, unsigned style,
 bool win32_suppress_screensaver(void *data, bool enable);
 
 bool win32_get_metrics(void *data,
-        enum display_metric_types type, float *value);
+	enum display_metric_types type, float *value);
 
 void win32_show_cursor(bool state);
 
@@ -97,7 +99,7 @@ void win32_set_window(unsigned *width, unsigned *height,
 
 #ifndef _XBOX
 /* FIXME: It should not be necessary to add the W after MONITORINFOEX, but linking fails without it. */
-void win32_set_style(MONITORINFOEX *current_mon, HMONITOR *hm_to_use,
+void win32_set_style(MONITORINFOEXW *current_mon, HMONITOR *hm_to_use,
 	unsigned *width, unsigned *height, bool fullscreen, bool windowed_full,
 	RECT *rect, RECT *mon_rect, DWORD *style);
 #endif
diff --git a/gfx/drivers/d3d.cpp b/gfx/drivers/d3d.cpp
index b429ac8319..95bfc96f8b 100644
--- a/gfx/drivers/d3d.cpp
+++ b/gfx/drivers/d3d.cpp
@@ -15,11 +15,13 @@
  *  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
  */
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-
 #ifdef _XBOX
 #include <xtl.h>
 #include <xgraphics.h>
+#else
+#define UNICODE
+#include <tchar.h>
+#include <wchar.h>
 #endif
 
 #include <formats/image.h>
@@ -153,14 +155,14 @@ static bool d3d_init_chain(d3d_video_t *d3d, const video_info_t *video_info)
       video_info->input_scale * RARCH_SCALE_BASE;
 
    if (!renderchain_init_first(&d3d->renderchain_driver,
-           &d3d->renderchain_data))
+	   &d3d->renderchain_data))
    {
-           RARCH_ERR("Renderchain could not be initialized.\n");
-           return false;
+	   RARCH_ERR("Renderchain could not be initialized.\n");
+	   return false;
    }
 
    if (!d3d->renderchain_driver || !d3d->renderchain_data)
-           return false;
+	   return false;
 
    if (
          !d3d->renderchain_driver->init(
@@ -185,7 +187,7 @@ static bool d3d_init_chain(d3d_video_t *d3d, const video_info_t *video_info)
    for (i = 1; i < d3d->shader.passes; i++)
    {
       d3d->renderchain_driver->convert_geometry(d3d->renderchain_data,
-                    &link_info,
+		    &link_info,
             &out_width, &out_height,
             current_width, current_height, &d3d->final_viewport);
 
@@ -325,8 +327,8 @@ static void d3d_viewport_info(void *data, struct video_viewport *vp)
 {
    d3d_video_t *d3d   = (d3d_video_t*)data;
 
-   if (  !d3d ||
-         !d3d->renderchain_driver ||
+   if (  !d3d || 
+         !d3d->renderchain_driver || 
          !d3d->renderchain_driver->viewport_info)
       return;
 
@@ -362,7 +364,7 @@ static void d3d_overlay_render(d3d_video_t *d3d, overlay_t *overlay)
       vert[i][7]   = 1.0f;
       vert[i][8]   = overlay->alpha_mod;
    }
-
+   
    d3d_viewport_info(d3d, &vp);
 
    overlay_width   = vp.width;
@@ -500,7 +502,7 @@ void d3d_make_d3dpp(void *data,
 #ifdef _XBOX
    d3dpp->Windowed             = false;
 #else
-   d3dpp->Windowed             = settings->video.windowed_fullscreen
+   d3dpp->Windowed             = settings->video.windowed_fullscreen 
       || !info->fullscreen;
 #endif
    d3dpp->PresentationInterval = D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_IMMEDIATE;
@@ -531,13 +533,13 @@ void d3d_make_d3dpp(void *data,
    d3dpp->BackBufferFormat =
 #ifdef _XBOX360
       global->console.screen.gamma_correction ?
-      (D3DFORMAT)MAKESRGBFMT(info->rgb32 ?
+      (D3DFORMAT)MAKESRGBFMT(info->rgb32 ? 
             D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8 : D3DFMT_LIN_R5G6B5) :
 #endif
       info->rgb32 ? D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8 : D3DFMT_LIN_R5G6B5;
 #else
    d3dpp->hDeviceWindow    = win32_get_window();
-   d3dpp->BackBufferFormat = !d3dpp->Windowed ?
+   d3dpp->BackBufferFormat = !d3dpp->Windowed ? 
       D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8 : D3DFMT_UNKNOWN;
 #endif
 
@@ -711,8 +713,8 @@ static void d3d_calculate_rect(void *data,
 
          if (fabsf(device_aspect - desired_aspect) < 0.0001f)
          {
-            /* If the aspect ratios of screen and desired aspect
-             * ratio are sufficiently equal (floating point stuff),
+            /* If the aspect ratios of screen and desired aspect 
+             * ratio are sufficiently equal (floating point stuff), 
              * assume they are actually equal.
              */
          }
@@ -804,7 +806,7 @@ static bool d3d_initialize(d3d_video_t *d3d, const video_info_t *info)
 
    video_driver_get_size(&width, &height);
    d3d_set_viewport(d3d,
-           width, height, false, true);
+	   width, height, false, true);
 
 #if defined(_XBOX360)
    strlcpy(settings->path.font, "game:\\media\\Arial_12.xpr",
@@ -1045,7 +1047,7 @@ static bool d3d_construct(d3d_video_t *d3d,
          win_height, info->fullscreen);
 
    win32_set_window(&win_width, &win_height, info->fullscreen,
-           windowed_full, &rect);
+	   windowed_full, &rect);
 #endif
 
 #ifdef HAVE_SHADERS
@@ -1335,7 +1337,7 @@ static bool d3d_overlay_load(void *data,
       image_data;
 
    if (!d3d)
-           return false;
+	   return false;
 
    d3d_free_overlays(d3d);
    d3d->overlays.resize(num_images);
@@ -1540,8 +1542,8 @@ static bool d3d_read_viewport(void *data, uint8_t *buffer)
 {
    d3d_video_t *d3d   = (d3d_video_t*)data;
 
-   if (  !d3d ||
-         !d3d->renderchain_driver ||
+   if (  !d3d || 
+         !d3d->renderchain_driver || 
          !d3d->renderchain_driver->read_viewport)
       return false;
 
@@ -1601,7 +1603,7 @@ static void d3d_set_menu_texture_frame(void *data,
          || d3d->menu->tex_h != height)
    {
       if (d3d->menu)
-             d3d_texture_free(d3d->menu->tex);
+	     d3d_texture_free(d3d->menu->tex);
 
       d3d->menu->tex = d3d_texture_new(d3d->dev, NULL,
             width, height, 1,
@@ -1684,7 +1686,7 @@ static void video_texture_load_d3d(d3d_video_t *d3d,
       uintptr_t *id)
 {
    *id = (uintptr_t)d3d_texture_new(d3d->dev, NULL,
-         ti->width, ti->height, 1,
+         ti->width, ti->height, 1, 
          0, D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8, D3DPOOL_MANAGED, 0, 0, 0,
          NULL, NULL);
 }
@@ -1737,7 +1739,7 @@ static void d3d_unload_texture(void *data, uintptr_t id)
 {
    LPDIRECT3DTEXTURE texid;
    if (!id)
-           return;
+	   return;
 
    texid = (LPDIRECT3DTEXTURE)id;
    d3d_texture_free(texid);
diff --git a/gfx/drivers_context/wgl_ctx.cpp b/gfx/drivers_context/wgl_ctx.cpp
index 83cf7b9b74..b1d4a149d2 100644
--- a/gfx/drivers_context/wgl_ctx.cpp
+++ b/gfx/drivers_context/wgl_ctx.cpp
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2010-2014 - Hans-Kristian Arntzen
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@
 #define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0500 //_WIN32_WINNT_WIN2K
 #endif
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
+#define UNICODE
+#include <tchar.h>
+#include <wchar.h>
+
 #include <string.h>
 #include <math.h>
 
@@ -182,7 +185,7 @@ static void create_gl_context(HWND hwnd, bool *quit)
          *aptr++ = win32_minor;
 
          /* Technically, we don't have core/compat until 3.2.
-          * Version 3.1 is either compat or not depending
+          * Version 3.1 is either compat or not depending 
           * on GL_ARB_compatibility.
           */
          if ((win32_major * 1000 + win32_minor) >= 3002)
@@ -431,7 +434,7 @@ static void *gfx_ctx_wgl_init(void *video_driver)
 
    if (g_inited)
       return NULL;
-
+   
    win32_window_reset();
    win32_monitor_init();
 
@@ -593,7 +596,7 @@ static gfx_ctx_proc_t gfx_ctx_wgl_get_proc_address(const char *symbol)
 }
 
 static bool gfx_ctx_wgl_get_metrics(void *data,
-        enum display_metric_types type, float *value)
+	enum display_metric_types type, float *value)
 {
    return win32_get_metrics(data, type, value);
 }
diff --git a/gfx/drivers_font/d3d_w32_font.cpp b/gfx/drivers_font/d3d_w32_font.cpp
index 402a27f6ed..5f4d8d9453 100644
--- a/gfx/drivers_font/d3d_w32_font.cpp
+++ b/gfx/drivers_font/d3d_w32_font.cpp
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2010-2014 - Hans-Kristian Arntzen
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 #include "../../config.h"
 #endif
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 #include "../drivers/d3d.h"
 #include "../font_driver.h"
 
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ static void *d3dfonts_w32_init_font(void *video_data,
       OUT_TT_PRECIS,
       CLIP_DEFAULT_PRECIS,
       DEFAULT_PITCH,
-      TEXT("Verdana") /* Hardcode FTL */
+      L"Verdana" /* Hardcode FTL */
    };
 
    d3dfonts = (d3dfonts_t*)calloc(1, sizeof(*d3dfonts));
diff --git a/input/drivers/dinput.c b/input/drivers/dinput.c
index dfb3033711..c5f96d0ec5 100644
--- a/input/drivers/dinput.c
+++ b/input/drivers/dinput.c
@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@
 #define WM_MOUSEWHEEL 0x020A
 #endif
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
+#define UNICODE
+#include <tchar.h>
+#include <wchar.h>
+
 #include <dinput.h>
 
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -45,7 +48,7 @@
 
 #include "../../configuration.h"
 #include "../../verbosity.h"
-#include "../../tasks/tasks_internal.h"
+#include "../tasks/tasks_internal.h"
 #include "../input_config.h"
 #include "../input_joypad_driver.h"
 #include "../input_keymaps.h"
diff --git a/input/drivers_joypad/dinput_joypad.c b/input/drivers_joypad/dinput_joypad.c
index 1de46b4a66..61b4297a0a 100644
--- a/input/drivers_joypad/dinput_joypad.c
+++ b/input/drivers_joypad/dinput_joypad.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /*  RetroArch - A frontend for libretro.
  *  Copyright (C) 2010-2014 - Hans-Kristian Arntzen
  *  Copyright (C) 2011-2016 - Daniel De Matteis
- *
+ * 
  *  RetroArch is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
  *  of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Found-
  *  ation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <string.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-#include <tchar.h>
 #include <windowsx.h>
 
 #include <dinput.h>
@@ -77,7 +75,7 @@ static void dinput_joypad_destroy(void)
          IDirectInputDevice8_Unacquire(g_pads[i].joypad);
          IDirectInputDevice8_Release(g_pads[i].joypad);
       }
-
+      
       free(g_pads[i].joy_name);
       g_pads[i].joy_name = NULL;
       free(g_pads[i].joy_friendly_name);
@@ -116,11 +114,11 @@ static bool guid_is_xinput_device(const GUID* product_guid)
    unsigned i, num_raw_devs = 0;
    PRAWINPUTDEVICELIST raw_devs = NULL;
 
-   /* Check for well known XInput device GUIDs,
+   /* Check for well known XInput device GUIDs, 
     * thereby removing the need for the IG_ check.
-    * This lets us skip RAWINPUT for popular devices.
+    * This lets us skip RAWINPUT for popular devices. 
     *
-    * Also, we need to do this for the Valve Streaming Gamepad
+    * Also, we need to do this for the Valve Streaming Gamepad 
     * because it's virtualized and doesn't show up in the device list.  */
 
    for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(common_xinput_guids); ++i)
@@ -153,25 +151,17 @@ static bool guid_is_xinput_device(const GUID* product_guid)
    for (i = 0; i < num_raw_devs; i++)
    {
       RID_DEVICE_INFO rdi;
-      TCHAR devName[128]   = {0};
+      char devName[128]   = {0};
       UINT rdiSize        = sizeof(rdi);
       UINT nameSize       = sizeof(devName);
 
       rdi.cbSize = sizeof (rdi);
 
       if ((raw_devs[i].dwType == RIM_TYPEHID) &&
-          (GetRawInputDeviceInfo(raw_devs[i].hDevice, RIDI_DEVICEINFO, &rdi, &rdiSize) != ((UINT)-1)) &&
+          (GetRawInputDeviceInfoA(raw_devs[i].hDevice, RIDI_DEVICEINFO, &rdi, &rdiSize) != ((UINT)-1)) &&
           (MAKELONG(rdi.hid.dwVendorId, rdi.hid.dwProductId) == ((LONG)product_guid->Data1)) &&
-          (GetRawInputDeviceInfo(raw_devs[i].hDevice, RIDI_DEVICENAME, devName, &nameSize) != ((UINT)-1)) &&
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
-          (_tcsstr(devName, TEXT("IG_")) != NULL) )
-#else
-#ifdef UNICODE
-          (wcsstr((const wchar_t*)devName, L"IG_") != NULL) )
-#else
-          (strstr(devName, "IG_" != NULL) )
-#endif
-#endif
+          (GetRawInputDeviceInfoA(raw_devs[i].hDevice, RIDI_DEVICENAME, devName, &nameSize) != ((UINT)-1)) &&
+          (strstr(devName, "IG_") != NULL) )
       {
          free(raw_devs);
          raw_devs = NULL;
@@ -217,7 +207,6 @@ static BOOL CALLBACK enum_joypad_cb(const DIDEVICEINSTANCE *inst, void *p)
 #endif
    LPDIRECTINPUTDEVICE8 *pad = NULL;
    settings_t *settings = config_get_ptr();
-   WCHAR_TO_CHAR_ALLOC(inst->tszInstanceName, name)
 
    (void)p;
 
@@ -233,13 +222,10 @@ static BOOL CALLBACK enum_joypad_cb(const DIDEVICEINSTANCE *inst, void *p)
    if (FAILED(IDirectInput8_CreateDevice(
                g_dinput_ctx, &inst->guidInstance, pad, NULL)))
 #endif
-      return DIENUM_CONTINUE;
+   return DIENUM_CONTINUE;
 
-   g_pads[g_joypad_cnt].joy_name = strdup(name);
-   g_pads[g_joypad_cnt].joy_friendly_name = strdup(name);
-
-   if (name)
-      free(name);
+   g_pads[g_joypad_cnt].joy_name = strdup(inst->tszProductName);
+   g_pads[g_joypad_cnt].joy_friendly_name = strdup(inst->tszInstanceName);
 
    /* there may be more useful info in the GUID so leave this here for a while */
 #if 0
diff --git a/input/drivers_joypad/xinput_joypad.c b/input/drivers_joypad/xinput_joypad.c
index 8ffb4ef8ce..8959b027ac 100644
--- a/input/drivers_joypad/xinput_joypad.c
+++ b/input/drivers_joypad/xinput_joypad.c
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 #include <boolean.h>
 #include <retro_inline.h>
 #include <compat/strl.h>
diff --git a/input/input_remote.c b/input/input_remote.c
index 5d27734ed7..5523e24dd3 100644
--- a/input/input_remote.c
+++ b/input/input_remote.c
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 #include <string.h>
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 #include <direct.h>
 #else
 #include <unistd.h>
diff --git a/libretro-common/dynamic/dylib.c b/libretro-common/dynamic/dylib.c
index 154a5458ed..611c9f8771 100644
--- a/libretro-common/dynamic/dylib.c
+++ b/libretro-common/dynamic/dylib.c
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <dynamic/dylib.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 
 #ifdef NEED_DYNAMIC
 
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@
 #endif
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
-static TCHAR last_dyn_error[512] = {0};
+static char last_dyn_error[512];
 
 static void set_dl_error(void)
 {
@@ -46,16 +45,11 @@ static void set_dl_error(void)
             NULL,
             err,
             MAKELANGID(LANG_ENGLISH, SUBLANG_DEFAULT),
-            (LPTSTR)last_dyn_error,
+            last_dyn_error,
             sizeof(last_dyn_error) - 1,
             NULL) == 0)
-   {
-      WCHAR_TO_CHAR_ALLOC(last_dyn_error, last_dyn_error_str)
-      snprintf(last_dyn_error_str, sizeof(last_dyn_error) - 1,
+      snprintf(last_dyn_error, sizeof(last_dyn_error) - 1,
             "unknown error %lu", err);
-      if (last_dyn_error_str)
-         free(last_dyn_error_str);
-   }
 }
 #endif
 
@@ -71,13 +65,7 @@ dylib_t dylib_load(const char *path)
 {
 #ifdef _WIN32
    int prevmode = SetErrorMode(SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS | SEM_NOOPENFILEERRORBOX);
-   dylib_t lib  = NULL;
-   CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(path, path_wide)
-
-   lib = LoadLibrary(path_wide);
-
-   if (path_wide)
-      free(path_wide);
+   dylib_t lib  = LoadLibrary(path);
 
    SetErrorMode(prevmode);
 
@@ -86,7 +74,6 @@ dylib_t dylib_load(const char *path)
       set_dl_error();
       return NULL;
    }
-
    last_dyn_error[0] = 0;
 #else
    dylib_t lib = dlopen(path, RTLD_LAZY);
diff --git a/libretro-common/file/retro_dirent.c b/libretro-common/file/retro_dirent.c
index 26ed172539..dda73a682b 100644
--- a/libretro-common/file/retro_dirent.c
+++ b/libretro-common/file/retro_dirent.c
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 
 #include <retro_common.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 
 #include <boolean.h>
 #include <retro_stat.h>
@@ -35,9 +34,7 @@ struct RDIR *retro_opendir(const char *name)
 {
 #if defined(_WIN32)
    char path_buf[1024] = {0};
-#ifdef UNICODE
    wchar_t pathW[1024] = {0};
-#endif
 #endif
    struct RDIR *rdir = (struct RDIR*)calloc(1, sizeof(*rdir));
 
@@ -45,13 +42,9 @@ struct RDIR *retro_opendir(const char *name)
       return NULL;
 
 #if defined(_WIN32)
-#ifdef UNICODE
    snprintf(path_buf, sizeof(path_buf), "%s\\*", name);
-   MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, path_buf, -1, pathW, sizeof(pathW));
+   MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, path_buf, -1, pathW, sizeof(pathW) / sizeof(pathW[0]));
    rdir->directory = FindFirstFileW(pathW, &rdir->entry);
-#else
-   rdir->directory = FindFirstFile(path_buf, &rdir->entry);
-#endif
 #elif defined(VITA) || defined(PSP)
    rdir->directory = sceIoDopen(name);
 #elif defined(_3DS)
@@ -84,7 +77,7 @@ int retro_readdir(struct RDIR *rdir)
 {
 #if defined(_WIN32)
    if(rdir->next)
-      return (FindNextFile(rdir->directory, &rdir->entry) != 0);
+      return (FindNextFileW(rdir->directory, &rdir->entry) != 0);
    else {
       rdir->next = true;
       return (rdir->directory != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE);
@@ -103,13 +96,9 @@ int retro_readdir(struct RDIR *rdir)
 const char *retro_dirent_get_name(struct RDIR *rdir)
 {
 #if defined(_WIN32)
-#ifdef UNICODE
    memset(rdir->path, 0, sizeof(rdir->path));
-   utf16_to_char_string((const uint16_t*)rdir->entry.cFileName, rdir->path, sizeof(rdir->path));
+   utf16_to_char_string(rdir->entry.cFileName, rdir->path, sizeof(rdir->path));
    return rdir->path;
-#else
-   return rdir->entry.cFileName;
-#endif
 #elif defined(VITA) || defined(PSP) || defined(__CELLOS_LV2__)
    return rdir->entry.d_name;
 #else
@@ -131,7 +120,7 @@ const char *retro_dirent_get_name(struct RDIR *rdir)
 bool retro_dirent_is_dir(struct RDIR *rdir, const char *path)
 {
 #if defined(_WIN32)
-   const WIN32_FIND_DATA *entry = (const WIN32_FIND_DATA*)&rdir->entry;
+   const WIN32_FIND_DATAW *entry = (const WIN32_FIND_DATAW*)&rdir->entry;
    return entry->dwFileAttributes & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY;
 #elif defined(PSP) || defined(VITA)
    const SceIoDirent *entry = (const SceIoDirent*)&rdir->entry;
diff --git a/libretro-common/file/retro_stat.c b/libretro-common/file/retro_stat.c
index e0d53ca792..95c79c18c3 100644
--- a/libretro-common/file/retro_stat.c
+++ b/libretro-common/file/retro_stat.c
@@ -24,11 +24,9 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <errno.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 #include <retro_miscellaneous.h>
 
 #if defined(_WIN32)
-#include <tchar.h>
 #ifdef _MSC_VER
 #define setmode _setmode
 #endif
@@ -105,13 +103,11 @@ static bool path_stat(const char *path, enum stat_mode mode, int32_t *size)
 #elif defined(_WIN32)
    WIN32_FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DATA file_info;
    GET_FILEEX_INFO_LEVELS fInfoLevelId = GetFileExInfoStandard;
-   CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(path, path_wide)
+   wchar_t path_wide[PATH_MAX_LENGTH] = {0};
 
-   DWORD ret = GetFileAttributesEx(path_wide, fInfoLevelId, &file_info);
-
-   if (path_wide)
-      free(path_wide);
+   MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, path, -1, path_wide, sizeof(path_wide) / sizeof(path_wide[0]));
 
+   DWORD ret = GetFileAttributesExW(path_wide, fInfoLevelId, &file_info);
    if (ret == 0)
       return false;
 #else
@@ -197,20 +193,7 @@ bool mkdir_norecurse(const char *dir)
 {
    int ret;
 #if defined(_WIN32)
-   CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(dir, dir_wide)
-
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
-   ret = _tmkdir(dir_wide);
-#else
-#ifdef UNICODE
-   ret = _wmkdir(dir_wide);
-#else
-   ret = _mkdir(dir_wide);
-#endif
-
-   if (dir_wide)
-      free(dir_wide);
-#endif
+   ret = _mkdir(dir);
 #elif defined(IOS)
    ret = mkdir(dir, 0755);
 #elif defined(VITA) || defined(PSP)
@@ -225,7 +208,7 @@ bool mkdir_norecurse(const char *dir)
 #elif defined(PSP) || defined(_3DS)
    if ((ret == -1) && path_is_directory(dir))
       ret = 0;
-#else
+#else 
    if (ret < 0 && errno == EEXIST && path_is_directory(dir))
       ret = 0;
 #endif
diff --git a/libretro-common/include/compat/msvc.h b/libretro-common/include/compat/msvc.h
index b56a51fad3..e767bef7f8 100644
--- a/libretro-common/include/compat/msvc.h
+++ b/libretro-common/include/compat/msvc.h
@@ -35,12 +35,12 @@ extern "C"  {
    #ifndef snprintf
       #define snprintf c99_snprintf_retro__
    #endif
-
+   
    int c99_snprintf_retro__(char *outBuf, size_t size, const char *format, ...);
 #endif
 
 /* Pre-MSVC 2010 compilers don't implement vsnprintf in a cross-platform manner? Not sure about this one. */
-#if _MSC_VER < 1600
+#if _MSC_VER < 1600 
    #include <stdarg.h>
    #include <stdlib.h>
    #ifndef vsnprintf
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ extern "C"  {
 }
 #endif
 
+#undef UNICODE /* Do not bother with UNICODE at this time. */
 #include <direct.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <math.h>
diff --git a/libretro-common/include/encodings/win32.h b/libretro-common/include/encodings/win32.h
deleted file mode 100644
index bac9fae1cc..0000000000
--- a/libretro-common/include/encodings/win32.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,63 +0,0 @@
-/* Copyright  (C) 2010-2016 The RetroArch team
- *
- * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- * The following license statement only applies to this file (utf.h).
- * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- *
- * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge,
- * to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
- * to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to
- * use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
- * and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
- *
- * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
- *
- * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
- * INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
- * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
- * IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
- * WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
- * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
- */
-
-#ifndef _LIBRETRO_ENCODINGS_WIN32_H
-#define _LIBRETRO_ENCODINGS_WIN32_H
-
-#ifndef _XBOX
-#ifdef _WIN32
-#define UNICODE
-#include <tchar.h>
-#include <wchar.h>
-
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-extern "C" {
-#endif
-
-#include <encodings/utf.h>
-
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-}
-#endif
-
-#endif
-#endif
-
-#ifdef UNICODE
-#define CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(s, ws) \
-   size_t ws##_size = (NULL != s && s[0] ? strlen(s) : 0) + 1; \
-   wchar_t *ws = (wchar_t*)calloc(ws##_size, 2); \
-   if (NULL != s && s[0]) \
-      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, s, -1, ws, ws##_size);
-
-#define WCHAR_TO_CHAR_ALLOC(ws, s) \
-   size_t s##_size = ((NULL != ws && ws[0] ? wcslen((const wchar_t*)ws) : 0) / 2) + 1; \
-   char *s = (char*)calloc(s##_size, 1); \
-   if (NULL != ws && ws[0]) \
-      utf16_to_char_string((const uint16_t*)ws, s, s##_size);
-
-#else
-#define CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(s, ws) char *ws = (NULL != s && s[0] ? strdup(s) : NULL);
-#define WCHAR_TO_CHAR_ALLOC(ws, s) char *s = (NULL != ws && ws[0] ? strdup(ws) : NULL);
-#endif
-
-#endif
diff --git a/libretro-common/include/retro_miscellaneous.h b/libretro-common/include/retro_miscellaneous.h
index e9405eae63..2ab71c52dc 100644
--- a/libretro-common/include/retro_miscellaneous.h
+++ b/libretro-common/include/retro_miscellaneous.h
@@ -45,12 +45,11 @@
 #include <time.h>
 #endif
 
-#ifdef _WIN32
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-#endif
-
 #if defined(_WIN32) && !defined(_XBOX)
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define UNICODE
+#include <tchar.h>
+#include <wchar.h>
 #include <windows.h>
 #elif defined(_WIN32) && defined(_XBOX)
 #include <Xtl.h>
diff --git a/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c b/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
index 1b559e9108..d9406dba80 100644
--- a/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
+++ b/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
@@ -26,8 +26,9 @@
 #include <errno.h>
 
 #if defined(_WIN32)
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-#include <tchar.h>
+#  define UNICODE
+#  include <tchar.h>
+#  include <wchar.h>
 #  ifdef _MSC_VER
 #    define setmode _setmode
 #  endif
@@ -77,10 +78,10 @@ struct RFILE
 #define HAVE_BUFFERED_IO 1
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
-#define MODE_STR_READ TEXT("r")
-#define MODE_STR_READ_UNBUF TEXT("rb")
-#define MODE_STR_WRITE_UNBUF TEXT("wb")
-#define MODE_STR_WRITE_PLUS TEXT("w+")
+#define MODE_STR_READ L"r"
+#define MODE_STR_READ_UNBUF L"rb"
+#define MODE_STR_WRITE_UNBUF L"wb"
+#define MODE_STR_WRITE_PLUS L"w+"
 #else
 #define MODE_STR_READ "r"
 #define MODE_STR_READ_UNBUF "rb"
@@ -117,7 +118,8 @@ RFILE *filestream_open(const char *path, unsigned mode, ssize_t len)
    int         mode_int = 0;
 #if defined(HAVE_BUFFERED_IO)
 #ifdef _WIN32
-   const TCHAR *mode_str = NULL;
+   const wchar_t *mode_str = NULL;
+   wchar_t path_wide[PATH_MAX_LENGTH] = {0};
 #else
    const char *mode_str = NULL;
 #endif
@@ -212,11 +214,8 @@ RFILE *filestream_open(const char *path, unsigned mode, ssize_t len)
    if ((stream->hints & RFILE_HINT_UNBUFFERED) == 0)
    {
 #ifdef _WIN32
-      CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(path, path_wide)
-      stream->fp = _tfopen(path_wide, mode_str);
-
-      if (path_wide)
-         free(path_wide);
+      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, path, -1, path_wide, sizeof(path_wide) / sizeof(path_wide[0]));
+      stream->fp = _wfopen(path_wide, mode_str);
 #else
       stream->fp = fopen(path, mode_str);
 #endif
@@ -296,7 +295,7 @@ char *filestream_getline(RFILE *stream)
    }
 
    newline[idx] = '\0';
-   return newline;
+   return newline; 
 }
 
 char *filestream_gets(RFILE *stream, char *s, size_t len)
@@ -347,7 +346,7 @@ ssize_t filestream_seek(RFILE *stream, ssize_t offset, int whence)
 #endif
 
 #ifdef HAVE_MMAP
-   /* Need to check stream->mapped because this function is
+   /* Need to check stream->mapped because this function is 
     * called in filestream_open() */
    if (stream->mapped && stream->hints & RFILE_HINT_MMAP)
    {
@@ -417,7 +416,7 @@ ssize_t filestream_tell(RFILE *stream)
       return ftell(stream->fp);
 #endif
 #ifdef HAVE_MMAP
-   /* Need to check stream->mapped because this function
+   /* Need to check stream->mapped because this function 
     * is called in filestream_open() */
    if (stream->mapped && stream->hints & RFILE_HINT_MMAP)
       return stream->mappos;
diff --git a/ui/drivers/ui_win32.c b/ui/drivers/ui_win32.c
index 8dc324223a..d2a3a44ec0 100644
--- a/ui/drivers/ui_win32.c
+++ b/ui/drivers/ui_win32.c
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 
 #ifdef _MSC_VER
 #pragma comment( lib, "comctl32" )
@@ -122,7 +121,7 @@ static void shader_dlg_refresh_trackbar_label(int index)
 
    video_shader_driver_get_current_shader(&shader_info);
 
-   if (floorf(shader_info.data->parameters[index].current)
+   if (floorf(shader_info.data->parameters[index].current) 
          == shader_info.data->parameters[index].current)
       snprintf(val_buffer, sizeof(val_buffer), "%.0f",
             shader_info.data->parameters[index].current);
@@ -153,25 +152,25 @@ static void shader_dlg_params_refresh(void)
       {
          case SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_CHECKBOX:
             {
-               bool checked =
-                  (shader_info.data->parameters[i].current ==
+               bool checked = 
+                  (shader_info.data->parameters[i].current == 
                    shader_info.data->parameters[i].maximum);
-               SendMessage(control->checkbox.hwnd, BM_SETCHECK, checked, 0);
+               SendMessageW(control->checkbox.hwnd, BM_SETCHECK, checked, 0);
             }
             break;
          case SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_TRACKBAR:
             shader_dlg_refresh_trackbar_label(i);
 
-            SendMessage(control->trackbar.hwnd,
+            SendMessageW(control->trackbar.hwnd,
                   TBM_SETRANGEMIN, (WPARAM)TRUE, (LPARAM)0);
-            SendMessage(control->trackbar.hwnd,
+            SendMessageW(control->trackbar.hwnd,
                   TBM_SETRANGEMAX, (WPARAM)TRUE,
-                  (LPARAM)((shader_info.data->parameters[i].maximum -
-                        shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum)
+                  (LPARAM)((shader_info.data->parameters[i].maximum - 
+                        shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum) 
                      / shader_info.data->parameters[i].step));
-            SendMessage(control->trackbar.hwnd, TBM_SETPOS, (WPARAM)TRUE,
-                  (LPARAM)((shader_info.data->parameters[i].current -
-                        shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum) /
+            SendMessageW(control->trackbar.hwnd, TBM_SETPOS, (WPARAM)TRUE,
+                  (LPARAM)((shader_info.data->parameters[i].current - 
+                        shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum) / 
                      shader_info.data->parameters[i].step));
             break;
          case SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_NONE:
@@ -234,16 +233,21 @@ void shader_dlg_params_reload(void)
 
    for (i = 0; i < (int)shader_info.data->num_parameters; i++)
    {
-      shader_param_ctrl_t *control = &g_shader_dlg.controls[i];
-      CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(shader_info.data->parameters[i].desc, param_desc_wide)
+      shader_param_ctrl_t*control = &g_shader_dlg.controls[i];
+      size_t param_desc_wide_size = sizeof(shader_info.data->parameters[i].desc) * 2;
+      wchar_t param_desc_wide[param_desc_wide_size];
+
+      memset(param_desc_wide, 0, sizeof(param_desc_wide));
+      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, shader_info.data->parameters[i].desc, -1, param_desc_wide, sizeof(param_desc_wide) / sizeof(param_desc_wide[0]));
+
 
       if ((shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum == 0.0)
-            && (shader_info.data->parameters[i].maximum
-               == (shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum
+            && (shader_info.data->parameters[i].maximum 
+               == (shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum 
                   + shader_info.data->parameters[i].step)))
       {
-         if ((pos_y + SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_HEIGHT
-                    + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN + 20)
+         if ((pos_y + SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_HEIGHT 
+                    + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN + 20) 
                > SHADER_DLG_MAX_HEIGHT)
          {
             pos_y  = g_shader_dlg.parameters_start_y;
@@ -251,12 +255,12 @@ void shader_dlg_params_reload(void)
          }
 
          control->type          = SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_CHECKBOX;
-         control->checkbox.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("BUTTON"),
+         control->checkbox.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(0, L"BUTTON",
                param_desc_wide,
                WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | BS_AUTOCHECKBOX, pos_x, pos_y,
                SHADER_DLG_CTRL_WIDTH, SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_HEIGHT,
                g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd, (HMENU)(size_t)i, NULL, NULL);
-         SendMessage(control->checkbox.hwnd, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
+         SendMessageW(control->checkbox.hwnd, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
          pos_y += SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_HEIGHT + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN;
       }
       else
@@ -269,41 +273,39 @@ void shader_dlg_params_reload(void)
          }
 
          control->type                 = SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_TRACKBAR;
-         control->trackbar.label_title = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("STATIC"),
+         control->trackbar.label_title = CreateWindowExW(0, L"STATIC",
                param_desc_wide,
                WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | SS_LEFT, pos_x, pos_y,
                SHADER_DLG_CTRL_WIDTH, SHADER_DLG_LABEL_HEIGHT, g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd,
                (HMENU)(size_t)i, NULL, NULL);
-         SendMessage(control->trackbar.label_title, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
+         SendMessageW(control->trackbar.label_title, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
 
          pos_y += SHADER_DLG_LABEL_HEIGHT;
-         control->trackbar.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(0, TRACKBAR_CLASS, TEXT(""),
+         control->trackbar.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(0, TRACKBAR_CLASS, L"",
                WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | TBS_HORZ | TBS_NOTICKS,
                pos_x + SHADER_DLG_TRACKBAR_LABEL_WIDTH, pos_y,
                SHADER_DLG_TRACKBAR_WIDTH, SHADER_DLG_TRACKBAR_HEIGHT,
                g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd, (HMENU)(size_t)i, NULL, NULL);
 
-         control->trackbar.label_val = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("STATIC"), TEXT(""),
+         control->trackbar.label_val = CreateWindowExW(0, L"STATIC", L"",
                WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | SS_LEFT, pos_x,
                pos_y, SHADER_DLG_TRACKBAR_LABEL_WIDTH, SHADER_DLG_LABEL_HEIGHT,
                g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd, (HMENU)(size_t)i, NULL, NULL);
-         SendMessage(control->trackbar.label_val, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
+         SendMessageW(control->trackbar.label_val, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
 
-         SendMessage(control->trackbar.hwnd, TBM_SETBUDDY, (WPARAM)TRUE,
+         SendMessageW(control->trackbar.hwnd, TBM_SETBUDDY, (WPARAM)TRUE,
                (LPARAM)control->trackbar.label_val);
 
          pos_y += SHADER_DLG_TRACKBAR_HEIGHT + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN;
 
       }
 
-      if (param_desc_wide)
-         free(param_desc_wide);
    }
 
    if (window && g_shader_dlg.separator.hwnd)
       window->destroy(&g_shader_dlg.separator);
 
-   g_shader_dlg.separator.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("STATIC"), TEXT(""),
+   g_shader_dlg.separator.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(0, L"STATIC", L"",
          SS_ETCHEDHORZ | WS_VISIBLE | WS_CHILD, SHADER_DLG_CTRL_X,
          g_shader_dlg.parameters_start_y - SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN - SHADER_DLG_SEPARATOR_HEIGHT / 2,
          (pos_x - SHADER_DLG_CTRL_X) + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_WIDTH,
@@ -326,7 +328,7 @@ static void shader_dlg_update_on_top_state(void)
    bool on_top = SendMessage(g_shader_dlg.on_top_checkbox.hwnd,
          BM_GETCHECK, 0, 0) == BST_CHECKED;
 
-   SetWindowPos(g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd, on_top
+   SetWindowPos(g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd, on_top 
          ? HWND_TOPMOST : HWND_NOTOPMOST , 0, 0, 0, 0,
          SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOSIZE | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
 }
@@ -393,18 +395,18 @@ static LRESULT CALLBACK ShaderDlgWndProc(HWND hwnd, UINT message,
          if (g_shader_dlg.controls[i].type != SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_CHECKBOX)
             break;
 
-         if (SendMessage(g_shader_dlg.controls[i].checkbox.hwnd,
+         if (SendMessageW(g_shader_dlg.controls[i].checkbox.hwnd,
                   BM_GETCHECK, 0, 0) == BST_CHECKED)
-            shader_info.data->parameters[i].current =
+            shader_info.data->parameters[i].current = 
                shader_info.data->parameters[i].maximum;
          else
-            shader_info.data->parameters[i].current =
+            shader_info.data->parameters[i].current = 
                shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum;
 
          break;
 
       case WM_HSCROLL:
-         i = GetWindowLong((HWND)lparam, GWL_ID);
+         i = GetWindowLongW((HWND)lparam, GWL_ID);
 
          if (i >= GFX_MAX_PARAMETERS)
             break;
@@ -412,8 +414,8 @@ static LRESULT CALLBACK ShaderDlgWndProc(HWND hwnd, UINT message,
          if (g_shader_dlg.controls[i].type != SHADER_PARAM_CTRL_TRACKBAR)
             break;
 
-         pos = (int)SendMessage(g_shader_dlg.controls[i].trackbar.hwnd, TBM_GETPOS, 0, 0);
-         shader_info.data->parameters[i].current =
+         pos = (int)SendMessageW(g_shader_dlg.controls[i].trackbar.hwnd, TBM_GETPOS, 0, 0);
+         shader_info.data->parameters[i].current = 
             shader_info.data->parameters[i].minimum + pos * shader_info.data->parameters[i].step;
 
          shader_dlg_refresh_trackbar_label(i);
@@ -421,21 +423,24 @@ static LRESULT CALLBACK ShaderDlgWndProc(HWND hwnd, UINT message,
 
    }
 
-   return DefWindowProc(hwnd, message, wparam, lparam);
+   return DefWindowProcW(hwnd, message, wparam, lparam);
 }
 
 bool win32_window_init(WNDCLASSEX *wndclass,
       bool fullscreen, const char *class_name)
 {
-   CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(class_name, class_name_wide)
+   wchar_t class_name_wide[1024] = {0};
+
+   if (class_name)
+      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, class_name, -1, class_name_wide, sizeof(class_name_wide) / sizeof(class_name_wide[0]));
 
    wndclass->cbSize        = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);
    wndclass->style         = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW | CS_OWNDC;
-   wndclass->hInstance     = GetModuleHandle(NULL);
-   wndclass->hCursor       = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
-   wndclass->lpszClassName = (class_name_wide != NULL) ? class_name_wide : TEXT("RetroArch");
-   wndclass->hIcon         = LoadIcon(GetModuleHandle(NULL), MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_ICON));
-   wndclass->hIconSm       = (HICON)LoadImage(GetModuleHandle(NULL),
+   wndclass->hInstance     = GetModuleHandleW(NULL);
+   wndclass->hCursor       = LoadCursorW(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
+   wndclass->lpszClassName = (class_name != NULL) ? class_name_wide : L"RetroArch";
+   wndclass->hIcon         = LoadIconW(GetModuleHandleW(NULL), MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_ICON));
+   wndclass->hIconSm       = (HICON)LoadImageW(GetModuleHandleW(NULL),
          MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_ICON), IMAGE_ICON, 16, 16, 0);
    if (!fullscreen)
       wndclass->hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)COLOR_WINDOW;
@@ -443,13 +448,13 @@ bool win32_window_init(WNDCLASSEX *wndclass,
    if (class_name != NULL)
       wndclass->style         |= CS_CLASSDC;
 
-   if (!RegisterClassEx(wndclass))
+   if (!RegisterClassExW(wndclass))
       return false;
 
-   /* This is non-NULL when we want a window for shader dialogs,
+   /* This is non-NULL when we want a window for shader dialogs, 
     * therefore early return here */
    /* TODO/FIXME - this is ugly. Find a better way */
-   if (class_name != NULL)
+   if (class_name != NULL) 
       return true;
 
    if (!win32_shader_dlg_init())
@@ -468,7 +473,7 @@ bool win32_shader_dlg_init(void)
 
    if (!inited)
    {
-      WNDCLASSEX wc_shader_dlg = {0};
+      WNDCLASSEXW wc_shader_dlg = {0};
       INITCOMMONCONTROLSEX comm_ctrl_init = {0};
 
       comm_ctrl_init.dwSize = sizeof(comm_ctrl_init);
@@ -488,19 +493,19 @@ bool win32_shader_dlg_init(void)
 
    hFont = (HFONT)GetStockObject(DEFAULT_GUI_FONT);
 
-   g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("Shader Dialog"), TEXT("Shader Parameters"),
+   g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(0, L"Shader Dialog", L"Shader Parameters",
          WS_POPUPWINDOW | WS_CAPTION, 100, 100,
          SHADER_DLG_WIDTH, SHADER_DLG_MIN_HEIGHT, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL);
 
    pos_y = SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN;
-   g_shader_dlg.on_top_checkbox.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(0, TEXT("BUTTON"), TEXT("Always on Top"),
+   g_shader_dlg.on_top_checkbox.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(0, L"BUTTON", L"Always on Top",
          BS_AUTOCHECKBOX | WS_VISIBLE | WS_CHILD,
          SHADER_DLG_CTRL_X, pos_y, SHADER_DLG_CTRL_WIDTH,
          SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_HEIGHT, g_shader_dlg.window.hwnd,
          (HMENU)SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_ONTOP_ID, NULL, NULL);
    pos_y +=  SHADER_DLG_CHECKBOX_HEIGHT + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN;
 
-   SendMessage(g_shader_dlg.on_top_checkbox.hwnd,
+   SendMessageW(g_shader_dlg.on_top_checkbox.hwnd,
          WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont, MAKELPARAM(TRUE, 0));
 
    pos_y +=  SHADER_DLG_SEPARATOR_HEIGHT + SHADER_DLG_CTRL_MARGIN;
@@ -518,7 +523,7 @@ static bool win32_browser(
       const char *initial_dir)
 {
    bool result = false;
-   const ui_browser_window_t *browser =
+   const ui_browser_window_t *browser = 
       ui_companion_driver_get_browser_window_ptr();
 
    if (browser)
@@ -529,17 +534,14 @@ static bool win32_browser(
       browser_state.title    = strdup(title);
       browser_state.startdir = strdup(initial_dir);
       browser_state.path     = strdup(filename);
+      browser_state.window   = owner;
 
       result = browser->open(&browser_state);
 
-      if (browser_state.filters)
-         free(browser_state.filters);
-      if (browser_state.title)
-         free(browser_state.title);
-      if (browser_state.startdir)
-         free(browser_state.startdir);
-      if (browser_state.path)
-         free(browser_state.path);
+      free(browser_state.filters);
+      free(browser_state.title);
+      free(browser_state.startdir);
+      free(browser_state.path);
    }
 
    return result;
@@ -552,7 +554,7 @@ LRESULT win32_menu_loop(HWND owner, WPARAM wparam)
    bool do_wm_close     = false;
    settings_t *settings = config_get_ptr();
 
-        switch (mode)
+	switch (mode)
    {
       case ID_M_LOAD_CORE:
       case ID_M_LOAD_CONTENT:
@@ -661,7 +663,7 @@ LRESULT win32_menu_loop(HWND owner, WPARAM wparam)
             signed idx = -1;
             settings->state_slot = idx;
          }
-         else if (mode >= (ID_M_STATE_INDEX_AUTO+1)
+         else if (mode >= (ID_M_STATE_INDEX_AUTO+1) 
                && mode <= (ID_M_STATE_INDEX_AUTO+10))
          {
             signed idx = (mode - (ID_M_STATE_INDEX_AUTO+1));
@@ -674,8 +676,8 @@ LRESULT win32_menu_loop(HWND owner, WPARAM wparam)
 		command_event(cmd, NULL);
 
 	if (do_wm_close)
-		PostMessage(owner, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
-
+		PostMessageW(owner, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
+	
 	return 0L;
 }
 
diff --git a/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_browser_window.c b/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_browser_window.c
index 25203866ce..1aeaccf0d8 100644
--- a/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_browser_window.c
+++ b/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_browser_window.c
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
 
 #include <windows.h>
 
@@ -27,60 +26,23 @@
 static bool ui_browser_window_win32_core(ui_browser_window_state_t *state, bool save)
 {
    OPENFILENAME ofn = {};
-   bool success = true;
-#ifdef UNICODE
-   size_t filters_size = (state->filters ? strlen(state->filters) : 0) + 1;
-   size_t path_size = strlen(state->path) + 1;
-   size_t title_size = strlen(state->title) + 1;
-   size_t startdir_size = strlen(state->startdir) + 1;
 
-   wchar_t *filters_wide = (wchar_t*)calloc(filters_size, 2);
-   wchar_t *path_wide = (wchar_t*)calloc(path_size, 2);
-   wchar_t *title_wide = (wchar_t*)calloc(title_size, 2);
-   wchar_t *startdir_wide = (wchar_t*)calloc(startdir_size, 2);
-
-   if (state->filters)
-      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, state->filters, -1, filters_wide, filters_size);
-   if (state->title)
-      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, state->title, -1, title_wide, title_size);
-   if (state->path)
-      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, state->path, -1, path_wide, path_size);
-   if (state->startdir)
-      MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, state->startdir, -1, startdir_wide, startdir_size);
-
-   ofn.lpstrFilter     = filters_wide;
-   ofn.lpstrFile       = path_wide;
-   ofn.lpstrTitle      = title_wide;
-   ofn.lpstrInitialDir = startdir_wide;
-#else
+   ofn.lStructSize     = sizeof(OPENFILENAME);
+   ofn.hwndOwner       = (HWND)state->window;
    ofn.lpstrFilter     = state->filters;
    ofn.lpstrFile       = state->path;
    ofn.lpstrTitle      = state->title;
    ofn.lpstrInitialDir = state->startdir;
-#endif
-   ofn.lStructSize     = sizeof(OPENFILENAME);
-   ofn.hwndOwner       = (HWND)state->window;
-   ofn.lpstrDefExt     = TEXT("");
+   ofn.lpstrDefExt     = "";
    ofn.nMaxFile        = PATH_MAX;
    ofn.Flags           = OFN_FILEMUSTEXIST | OFN_HIDEREADONLY | OFN_NOCHANGEDIR;
 
    if ( save && !GetOpenFileName(&ofn))
-      success = false;
+      return false;
    if (!save && !GetSaveFileName(&ofn))
-      success = false;
+      return false;
 
-#ifdef UNICODE
-   if (filters_wide)
-      free(filters_wide);
-   if (title_wide)
-      free(title_wide);
-   if (path_wide)
-      free(path_wide);
-   if (startdir_wide)
-      free(startdir_wide);
-#endif
-
-   return success;
+   return true;
 }
 
 static bool ui_browser_window_win32_open(ui_browser_window_state_t *state)
diff --git a/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_window.cpp b/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_window.cpp
index 4a14da3296..d76866a0ba 100644
--- a/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_window.cpp
+++ b/ui/drivers/win32/ui_win32_window.cpp
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-#include <encodings/win32.h>
-
 #include <windows.h>
 
 #ifdef _MSC_VER
@@ -64,7 +62,7 @@ static void ui_window_win32_set_focused(void *data)
    SetFocus(window->hwnd);
 }
 
-static void ui_window_win32_set_visible(void *data,
+static void ui_window_win32_set_visible(void *data, 
         bool set_visible)
 {
    ui_window_win32_t *window = (ui_window_win32_t*)data;
@@ -74,10 +72,7 @@ static void ui_window_win32_set_visible(void *data,
 static void ui_window_win32_set_title(void *data, char *buf)
 {
    ui_window_win32_t *window = (ui_window_win32_t*)data;
-   CHAR_TO_WCHAR_ALLOC(buf, buf_wide)
-   SetWindowText(window->hwnd, buf_wide);
-   if (buf_wide)
-      free(buf_wide);
+   SetWindowText(window->hwnd, buf);
 }
 
 void ui_window_win32_set_droppable(void *data, bool droppable)