The following is a list of notable emulation software for arcade games, home video game consoles and handheld game consoles. Snes9x is the best emulator for Super Nintendo and Super Famicom games. Download the program from one of the sites the developers link to on the Downloads page to get started. An open-source port. The List of Video Game Consoles Emulators: PS3Mobi – PS3 Emulator. Download from: Official Website. PlayStation 3 games are very popular even to this day. In fact, a lot of people love the PS3. PCSX2 – PlayStation 2 Emulator. PS2Smart – PS2 Emulator for Android & iOS. EPSXe – PlayStation 1.
This article will list popular game console emulation software available for Linux. Emulation is a software compatibility layer that emulates hardware components of game consoles, instruction sets and related APIs. Emulation software can emulate CPUs, GPUs, audio hardware and many other such physical components available in real game consoles. Emulation allows you to play console exclusive games that are otherwise unplayable on PCs. Games running on these emulators see emulated components as if they were parts of a real game console and they cannot see the underlying platform (PC) on which the game is running on.
Developing an accurate game emulator for PC is an extremely difficult task, involves reverse engineering and many times developers have to sacrifice accuracy to improve compatibility. Emulators require original file system dump from game consoles. Some emulators emulate these components as well making it easier to play games. To play games on emulators, you must have game files, typically called ROMs.
ROM files can be ripped or dumped from your game console or from cartridges and discs using third party software. You need to own both game console and game copy to emulate games on PC. Downloading console firmware files and game ROMs from unauthorized sources without owning the actual console and game copy may be illegal and considered piracy. This article just lists emulation software available for Linux and doesn’t encourage piracy of any sort. Not all emulators will be listed in this article, only the most popular ones based on the console popularity and emulator development activity.
Note that emulators need considerable CPU and GPU power to emulate games, much higher than original game console hardware. Even the most modern and powerful PCs can struggle to emulate games, especially games with high resolution 3D graphics. While emulator developers constantly work to improve compatibility and performance, neither they nor the emulation software can be blamed if certain games don’t work on emulators. They have to rely on limited resources and many times public documentation is not available at all. Most of the emulators available today are free and open source and developers don’t get much monetary benefits to work on them.
Most of the emulators listed below are available in default repositories of almost all major Linux distributions. You can also download pre-compiled binaries and get source code from their websites linked below. Some of the emulators listed below have Android versions as well. You can find builds for Android on their official website.
Sony PlayStation
Many emulators have been in development for Sony PlayStation (PS1 / PSX), some for over a decade. The development of some of these emulators like ePSXe and PCSX have ceased as of today while a few are still being actively developed, namely DuckStation and Mednafen. These emulators have pretty good compatibility rates and use some game specific tweaks to make the game playable. You will need original BIOS files from Sony PlayStation console and ripped ISO files to play games on DuckStation and Mednafen.
Sony PlayStation 2
PCSX2 is the most compatible and comprehensive emulator to play Sony PlayStation 2 games on Linux PCs. In development for nearly two decades, PCSX2 can nearly play every game from the entire Sony PlayStation 2 game catalog. Like Sony PlayStation emulators, PCSX2 also needs original BIOS files to work and of course you also need game ROM files. PCSX2 is based on a plugin system and sometimes multiple graphics and sound renders are available based on the operating system you are using. Play! is another Sony PlayStation 2 emulator that is active in development. While it is not as good as PCSX2 as of now, it is catching up fast and can already be used to play numerous Sony PlayStation 2 games with great compatibility. Play! Doesn’t require you to have original BIOS files but you still need game ROM files.
Sony PlayStation 3
RPCS3 is the only Sony PlayStation 3 emulator available at the time of writing this article. It has great compatibility and can use Vulkan renderer to draw game graphics. The developers are quite active and regularly publish development logs to share insights with users. Some games are known to run better, with richer graphics on RPCS3 than on the original Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles. RPCS3 requires firmware files and ROM files to work. Firmware files can be downloaded from the official PlayStation website.
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
PPSSPP is an open source emulator that can be used to play PlayStation Portable (PSP) games on Linux PCs. Its user interface is developed using Qt libraries and it doesn’t require game BIOS or firmware files to work. PPSSPP is the only PSP emulator for PC that can play almost the entire PSP game catalog. PPSSPP also comes with an on-screen gamepad and you can emulate games on Linux based tablet PCs.
Nintendo GameCube / Nintendo Wii
The Dolphin emulator can emulate both Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii games. There are some hardware similarities between these two game consoles, so Dolphin developers developed the emulator to support both game consoles. Dolphin emulator supports classic game controllers on PC as well as Wii Nunchucks and other motion sensitive controllers. Like RPCS3, the Dolphin emulator also comes with a Vulkan renderer.
Nintendo 64
Many emulators have been in development for Ninntendo 64 since the launch of the console. Some of them are defunct now while others have been taken over by new developers. The most active Nintendo 64 emulation project today is Mupen64Plus. Mupen64Plus also features a command line interface if you want to use scripts and need some automation.
Nintendo GameBoy, GameBoy Color and GameBoy Advance
You can use SameBoy and Gambatte to emulate Nintendo GameBoy, GameBoy Color and Super GameBoy console games. Gambatte has been in development for quite a long time and it is one of the most accurate GameBoy Color emulators available out there. SameBoy is relatively newer but it is already very accurate and supports multiple GameBoy consoles.
GameBoy Advance games can be emulated through VisualBoyAdvance-M and mGBA emulators. Both these emulators have been in development for quite a long time and offer high accuracy and good compatibility.
NES and SNES
A number of different emulation software are available for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game consoles. Is minecraft bedrock edition free on pc. NES emulators don’t require much hardware horsepower and can be run on old and low end PCs. You can use Mesen and PuNES, both offer high compatibility and accuracy on par with real NES consoles.
For SNES, you can use the Higan emulator. It is the most accurate and bug free emulator created for any game console platform. It almost entirely mimics the original game console without any compromises. Developing an highly accurate emulator is an extremely difficult task but talented developers of Higan have achieved almost 100% accuracy and compatibility with all SNES games. You can also use Bsnes and Snes9x as alternatives to Higan.
Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS
You can use melonDS and DeSmuME to emulate Nintendo DS games. Both these emulators have support for touch screen input required to play Nintendo DS games. You can even use tablet PCs and your touchscreen taps will be correctly detected by these emulators. For displays without touch support, you can use mouse pointer to emulate touch screen taps.
Nintendo 3DS can be emulated through Citra emulator. Citra is currently actively in development but it has made astonishing progress in a short period of time, thanks to the talented team of developers working on it. It offers decent compatibility and touch screen support and many popular games can already be played using the emulator.
Nintendo Switch
Yuzu and Ryujinx are the two main emulators available today that can emulate some commercial Nintendo Switch games on Linux PCs. Both these emulators are under heavy development and not many games are compatible and playable. However, they are progressing at great speed and some high resolution 3D games can be played from start to finish with some minor tweaks. This kind of progress usually takes years of development in the emulation scene. Yuzu is being developed by the same developers who are working on the Citra emulator.
Sega Dreamcast
Reicast is the only Sega Dreamcast emulator available for Linux that can emulate some games. Accuracy and game compatibility is average, some games fail to boot. However, many popular games can still be played from start to finish with some compromises and caveats.
RetroArch, Mednafen, MAME and Higan
Some emulators can emulate multiple game consoles and can act as a frontend to manage games from these platforms. These emulators provide global settings to manage all emulators as well as platform specific settings to tweak emulation parameters. MAME emulates arcade game machines and other similar vintage gaming devices. RetroArch is an emulation frontend that hooks into game specific emulation cores to play games. It supports over hundred emulation cores, a list of these cores is available here. Mednafen can emulate Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, PC Engine and many other game consoles. You can find a full list available here. Higan supports over 25 different console systems, you can find a full list here (scroll down).
Conclusion
Almost all major game console emulators available for PCs are free and open source with a few exceptions. These emulators have been supporting Linux as a first class citizen for a Long a time. Some emulators have also embraced Vulkan renderer to improve performance and graphics.
Best Game Console Emulators For Windows
Ever remember playing Super Mario on your NES or Metroid on your GameBoy? There are so many amazing classic retro games. And there can be times when we feel like visiting the old times by playing such games. That is if your old console is still working, or if you have the best console emulators installed in your PC.
These console emulators are programs designed to emulate the game systems of gaming consoles. All you need to do is to pick up an emulator that emulates your preferred console, install it on your computer, and then run the program.
But since there are hundreds of emulators on the internet, we decided to put up a list of the best console emulators for Microsoft Windows and Linux PC and Mac devices. Some of these console emulators can even be downloaded for Android and iOS devices.
Here are the 10 best console emulators for PC that you can install to play your favorite console games:
PS3 Mobi – PS3 Emulator
PS3 Mobi is an emulator that lets you run PS3 games on your Microsoft Windows PC, and even on iOS and Android phones. And the best thing about PS3 Mobi is you don’t have to modify anything in the BIOS file due to its program design. All you have to do is to run the emulator on your PC, and you’re ready to play any of your favorite PS3 titles.
PS4 Emus – PS4 Emulator
PS4 Emus are from the same team who developed PS3 Mobi. This emulator can also run on Windows and Mac desktops, Android and iOS phones. Installing the emulator is easy since its BIOS file is already included in its program. And once it’s installed, you can simply run the emulator and start playing. And what most users love about it is its clean GUI.
PPSSPP – PSP Emulator
Ever wonder if you can play PSP games on your PC or gaming laptop? Well, PPSSPP is the perfect emulator for you. You can use it to play your favorite PSP games, and even dump games in .cso or .iso format. It features autosave, an external gamepad, and joystick support. PPSSPP also happens to be one of the best and stable emulators and has been around for years.
BolXEmu – Xbox One and Xbox 360 Emulator
BolXEmu is the perfect choice for games who’d like to run Xbox One and Xbox 360 games on their PC. It even uses vSync technology to support high frame rates. Users can also increase the FPS if the game can’t be handled by your desktop. Plus, you can also adjust its screen resolution. A BIOS file is also included in its package for an easy install-and-run program.
Dolphin – Wii and GameCube Emulator
Dolphin is an emulator you can use to play Wii and GameCube games on your PC, whether you’re running it on Windows, Linux, or Mac. It was developed in 2008, and its developers are still active even on this day. Its website also has a lot of documentation about the emulator, including rip games and configure controllers.
DeSmuME – Nintendo DS Emulator
DeSmuMEis one of those rare emulators that allows you to play Nintendo DS on your desktop. This emulator can let you play a good number of Nintendo DS classics. And the best thing about it is it’s for free! It also has a lot of great features, including recording gameplay footage — something you wouldn’t find in any other emulators.
MAME – Arcade Emulator
MAME is an arcade emulator programmed to emulate the arcade game system on your PC. The idea behind it was to have a software that could mimic the hardware of retro games and help preserve its history. MAME allows you to play several classic games that run in different arcade systems without the need to install different emulators.
OpenEmu – Retro Consoles Emulator
OpenEmu is a multiple video game system emulator for a lot of classic video consoles including VirtualBox, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Nintendo DS, NES, NeoGeo, and Sega Game Gear. It allows players to have this one central hub for all these classic emulations using their desktop PC. And aside from that, it features a beautiful gaming library browser.
Citra – Nintendo 3DS Emulator
Citra is an emulator of Nintendo 3DS and is programmed to run on Mac and Windows. And the great thing about this emulator is it can run games on the same level of performance as if you’re playing it from the console. Citra can even display higher resolutions than the console. Unlike other emulators, the team behind Citra keeps updating it for it to run smoothly regardless of your PC build.
Kega – Sega Mega Drive Emulator
Best Video Game Console Emulators
Kega is an emulator designed to run games launched for several Sega emulators such as Game Gear, Master System, Mega-CD, and Sega Mega Drive. You can install this emulator on your Mac or Windows PC. The best feature of Kega is that it can run smoothly and efficiently on different PC systems, and is highly optimized. It even has no problem running a Sega game at 60 frames per second on a Pentium 3 computer. Plus, Kega features a higher rate of compatibility compared to other current emulators. This makes it one of the best emulators you can find online.
Best Game Console Emulators
***
By using these console emulators, we hope that you can once again find joy in playing your favorite classic games. We also hope that you can use these console emulators to introduce the best classic retro games to the younger generation.
Best Emulators For Each Console
Do you know any console emulators that weren’t mentioned above? Let us know in the comments below, and we will gladly check it out and share it with everyone. Happy gaming!