Emulators

Last updated: October 2026 DOSBox is how almost everyone plays DOS games today. GOG and Steam ship most of their DOS catalogue wrapped in a copy of it. But the …

Last updated: October 2026 The Commodore 64 is the best-selling single computer model ever made, and it has one emulator that matters: VICE. It is free, …

Last updated: October 2026 Amiga emulation has one extra step most systems do not: the Kickstart. Every Amiga had its core operating system on a chip on the …

Last updated: October 2026 DOSBox pretends to be “a DOS PC” in general. 86Box and PCem pretend to be one specific PC: a particular motherboard, …

Last updated: September 2026 Saturn emulation has three different BIOS filenames in circulation and every emulator wants a different one. Beetle Saturn wants …

Last updated: September 2026 The Genesis needs no BIOS. Load a cartridge game into Genesis Plus GX or PicoDrive and it runs. The Sega CD is the add-on that …

Last updated: September 2026 Every other BIOS on this site is a single file with a single hash. The Neo Geo one is a zip archive that contains anywhere from …

Last updated: September 2026 The Game Boy family is the one system where “do I need the BIOS?” has a different answer for every emulator. mGBA runs …

Last updated: September 2026 DuckStation is the PS1 emulator I put on every device, and it has one hard rule: no BIOS, no game. The error is blunt about it. …

Last updated: September 2026 The DS is the system where the BIOS question changed under everyone’s feet. For years melonDS refused to start without three …

Last updated: September 2026 Dreamcast is the system where the BIOS is optional and everyone installs it anyway. Flycast ships a high-level replacement that …

Last updated: September 2026 3DO emulation runs through one core, Opera, which is the RetroArch descendant of 4DO and FreeDO. It will not start without a BIOS, …

Last updated: September 2026 PS3 emulation on Android exists now, and I want to set expectations before you download anything. RPCSX runs, it boots real games, …

Last updated: September 2026 PS2 emulation has exactly one hard requirement and it trips up everyone: the BIOS. PCSX2 will not open a game without it, and …

Last updated: September 2026 A PS1 emulator with no BIOS gives you a black screen and nothing else. Not a warning, not a menu, just black. I have watched more …

Last updated: September 2026 NetherSX2 is AetherSX2 with the ads, the tracking and the drama removed. AetherSX2 was the best PS2 emulator Android ever had, its …

Last updated: September 2026 Cemu on Android is real, it runs Breath of the Wild on a handheld, and it is also an early beta of a community fork that the …

The Nintendo 3DS has a library worth emulating — the entire mainline Pokemon run from X/Y through Ultra Sun/Moon, Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates, the two Zelda …

Last updated: March 2026 PlayStation 1 emulation is solved. Like, actually solved. The PS1 was cracked wide open decades ago and the emulators available today …

Last updated: March 2026 RetroArch NetPlay lets you play retro games online with anyone, on any platform, with rollback netcode that makes it feel like …

Last updated: March 2026 Your Android phone is the most powerful retro gaming device you already own. A midrange phone from 2024 can run everything from NES to …

Last updated: March 2026 GameCube emulation is a solved problem. Unlike PS2 or Saturn where you’re juggling multiple options and trade-offs, GameCube has …

Last updated: September 2026 Setting up RetroArch and getting a black screen? Chances are you’re missing a BIOS file. Some cores flat-out refuse to run …

Last updated: March 2026 If you’ve searched for “retroarch cores” and landed on a list from 2021 with dead links and wrong picks — this …

Last updated: March 2026 Quick Verdict Rating 8.5 / 10 Price ~$55–65 USD Best for Anyone who wants a pocketable retro handheld that plays everything up to PS1 …

Last updated: March 2026 Quick Verdict: The Miyoo Flip is the best pocketable retro handheld you can buy right now. The clamshell design protects the screen, …

RetroArch is the Swiss Army knife of emulation. One app, dozens of emulators, every retro system you care about — all with a single controller setup, universal …

Last updated: March 2026 The Steam Deck is the best handheld for emulation right now. Not close. And EmuDeck is the reason most people can set it up without …

Switch emulation is the most complicated topic in the emulation space right now. Two major emulators got taken down by Nintendo, forks keep popping up and …

Last updated: March 2026 The PlayStation 2 had one of the greatest game libraries ever made. Over 4,000 titles. And thanks to emulation, that library …

The Game Boy Advance has one of the best libraries in gaming history. Golden Sun, Metroid Fusion, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Pokemon Emerald, Castlevania: Aria …

Last updated: March 2026 If you want a dedicated emulation machine without fighting Linux configs for three hours, Batocera is the answer. Flash it to a USB …

Last updated: March 2026 Quick Verdict: The Anbernic RG353V is the best vertical-format retro handheld under $110. Dual-boot Linux and Android, a sharp 3.5-inch …

DuckStation is the PS1 emulator that finally made me stop messing with plugins. One emulator, zero configuration headaches, and PS1 games looking better than …