Emulators are now an integral component of the modern gaming experience. Today, players prefer to play their favourite games on their preferred platforms. But, this is only feasible with the help of emulators. So, we’ve created an inventory of the top emulators that work with PS2, PS3, Nintendo and Android games.
Each emulator listed here stands out in its particular area and is the most effective in its field. In addition, gamers may be interested in our other guides to emulators to Nintendo DS, Switch, Android, PlayStation, GameCube, GBA, NES, SNES and more.
Best all-in-one emulator: RetroArch
Platforms supported: Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and many more.
Alternatives to Dolphin: OpenEMU and Dolphin
Price Cost: Free
RetroArch offers an entire emulator since it can work with other emulators similar to it. As an all-in-one emulator, you can play games on every one of the Nintendo consoles. It can run games on NES, SNES, DS, DSi, 3DS, N64, Wii, Atari, MAME, GameBoy, GameCube, PlayStation, and many more. It operates upon “Cores,” that each emulator uses, and RetroArch supports most of these. Consider it as having several emulators within a single program. It is highly recommended to explore VBA-M and mGBA Cores since both are good choices.
RetroArch is among the most complex emulators available online. It has a lot of features that provide an experience unlike any game from the past. It’s by far among the top loved emulators in this list since it can emulate a wide range of popular games on different consoles. It’s available on Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and many more. You can find the complete platforms here. The game is accessible on Steam today.
It’s an amalgamation of various emulators (aka cores) into a single program. In addition, it comes with all of the primary emulators and graphic options. You can boost the resolution of the native game up to 4K and add shaders that dramatically alter the appearance of fun. There’s joystick support and a save slot, and a different layout for the screen option. One issue with RetroArch is that it consumes more computer resources than other programs. However, overall, it’s still among the top emulators for PCs.
Pros
Other emulators can be supported.
Excellent compatibility
All-in-one emulator
A handful of preloaded games
Cons
The installation is difficult
Resource heavy application
The best Nintendo Switch Emulator: Yuzu
Supported platforms include Windows and Linux.
Alternativesto Cemu and Ryujinx: Ryujinx and Cemu
Price is: Free
Yuzu emulator is the most well-known Nintendo Switch emulator for PC. It lets you play nearly every Switch game with top performance. Yuzu emulator was developed by the creators of Citra, which is a well-known Nintendo 3DS emulator. The emulator even has lists for you to check whether your favourite games. It’s a bit difficult to navigate for new users, but you’ll soon learn to use it after watching a few tutorials as well as the one below.
Yuzu emulator is compatible with the platforms of Windows as well as Linux and is not without minor issues. However, its popularity has resulted in it being used for other emulators in this list. It’s also capable of playing games as high as 4K quality with an appropriate PC setup. It also supports AMD and Nvidia graphics cards. The main reason is that it can help gamers who play heavy-duty AAA Nintendo games with high compatibility. This means that you can play games like Super Mario Odyssey and Legend of Zelda: BOTW.
Pros
Best performance
Free and Open Source
An extensive collection of games
Stable
Consistent updates
Cons
The setup isn’t easy to do
Framerate issues when playing high-end games, or games with low specs PC
Limited Controller Support
Inconsistencies in rendering and texture in certain games (rare)
Best Android Emulator: BlueStacks
Platforms supported: Windows and Mac
Alternate names: Gameloop, Nox Player and MEmu
Price: Free, Premium $40/year
BlueStacks is one of the more well-known Android emulators on PCs. It is famous by gamers and is extremely easy to install. Apart from Google Play Store Google Play Store, you can download optimized applications from the app store. However, although it allows keyboard mapping, it cannot work very well when using gestures. One of the significant disadvantages is that it becomes slow when using productivity apps.
The advertisements sponsored by the company could cause the program to lose points compared to others that are free Android emulators available for PC. In terms of gaming performance, it could surpass other emulators. However, you’ll be experiencing lags, particularly for computers that aren’t as powerful. It’s still among the top Android emulators on computers, particularly when you’re a novice to this. BlueStacks is currently running on Android 7.1.2 (Nougat).
Pros
Simple to set up, and no technical skills are needed
Support for multiple accounts
Best all-rounder Android Emulator
Cons
Ads supported
Gaming is not restricted to
It requires a decent PC
