@jthemad hey man i know how to fix it , i've had the same issue forever!!! this is what you do.
Retroarch Squares fix:
ā¢ Go to your retroarchcustom.cfg
/share/system/configs/retroarch/retroarchcustom.cfg
ā¢ Open, and add this line anywhere
video_font_path = "~/.config/retroarch/assets/xmb/monochrome/font.ttf"
ā¢ Save, Close, restart.
ā¢ Success. no more squares for you
if you also have black boxs for icons let me know and i can help fix that too.