Over the past few years, a large number of video games and consoles have been created that have been launched to the market, obtaining most of them a great success. However, not all users can get them due to their high costs.
That is why we have seen the need to create or invent emulation softwares, they are intended to allow you to live the experience of these consoles directly from your PC > and at a low cost and even for free.
This is how you can start enjoying the best video game console emulators directly on your PC with Windows, Linux and Ma c, where you can enjoy the classic games of the 80 and 90, as well as the current new successes.
Index:
What is really an emulator and what can we do with them?
An emulator is software capable of running programs or videogames on a specific platform, be it a operating system or a hardware architecture different from that for which They have been originally designed.
Therefore, it can be said that an emulator is a program designed to mimic the behavior of another specific program . It has the ability to create a virtual platform capable of executing a specific program and which has not been designed primarily to be executed on a computer.
The main objective of an emulator is to be able to create all the necessary conditions to run a program designed to work on platforms other than a computer. In this way, they are mainly used to play those old and new games from the different videogame consoles released, all using a file called ROM.
It should be noted that the functions of a hardware through software is not easy, that is why there are not yet a large number of advanced console emulators such as Xbox One or PS4 , due to its hardware complexity , which increases over time.
Basically these emulators are intended to allow its users to enjoy the games of their favorite consoles directly from their PC, thus achieving a fun and enjoyable time while enjoying those titles of PSP, Xbox, Wii, NDS , among others.
What are the advantages of using a PS emulator, Xbox SN, console SN , PS3, PS4 on your computer?
It is important to mention that video game consoles usually have a slightly high price, this means that many users cannot access them and must look for other alternatives such as emulators , taking into account note that these are programs that will help you live the same experience of these video games , but this time from your PC.
In this way, here are the main advantages of using these types of programs on your computer:
- It allows you to enjoy your favorite games at a lower cost and directly from your PC.
- It allows you to use systems that cannot be used by your availability or price in the market.
- You can play any game no matter if it is very old.
- There are a lot of games available for emulators of these consoles.
- Playing with the keyboard and mouse can be much more comfortable.
- You can install mods in your games.
List of the 15 best lightweight and fast Android emulators ready for PCs download
Due to the importance of these softwares currently, there are a lot of emulators available of the different consoles and which can be installed on the computer to start enjoying each of their games.
That’s why, here we present the 15 best Android emulators light and fast for Windows, MacOS or Linux computers:
PPSSPP – PSP Emulator
This software’s main function is to imitate the PlayStation Portable or PSP console, currently considered as one of the best portable consoles developed in recent years . It is available for use on Android and iOS mobile devices , as well as for Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.
PPSSPP has very important features that have led it to be among one of the most important emulators, it has very powerful functions capable of playing a large number of PSP games thus showing very advanced graphics. In addition, it stands out for its easy handling and its excellent image and audio quality in each of the games played in it.
Dolphin – Wii Emulator and Game Cube
If you are a game lover of the Game Cube or Wii console, then Dolphin is your best alternative. It has been improving in recent years thanks to each of its updates, which is how it has a greater speed when playing each of the games. It has also become the first emulator of a seventh generation console like Wii , as well as the first emulator to offer online games.
Dolphin is available for the Windows, Linux and Mac operating system, as well as for Android and iOS mobile devices . It can be downloaded completely free as long as the equipment has the necessary requirements for its installation.
NullDC / Reicast
This emulator is open source and is available for Windows, Linux and Mac, it is based on the Sega Naomi and Sega video game system Dreamcast . It should be noted that this software has several years in the market, but it was declining due to the fact that it did not offer more updating, thus becoming obsolete. However, the author of this whole project “Drk Raziel” announced that he would launch this project again with his new compilation where this time he would call it Reicast.
Therefore, it can be said that Reicast is more than an emulator, it has become the first software with a 128-bit vector graphics engine , so how to offer online connectivity for its users. This emulator is recommended for the most veteran who want to take their favorite titles with them and have a good time with them from their PC.
Project64
Project64 is one of the few Nintendo 64 emulators available in the market. In addition, it became one of the first consoles of 3D video games presenting very important titles that managed to capture the attention of many users. This emulator was characterized by presenting great compatibility with most of the N64 games although it presented some errors which were improved over time and the software updates.
Among the few emulators we can get from Nintendo 64 we can say that Project64 is one of the best. It has a high quality audio and image, as well as an excellent graphics card and takes up very few resources inside the computer. Therefore, if you are looking for software to be able to enjoy most of the N64 games , then Project is your best option.
Epsxe – PS1 emulator
You can say that Epsxe is one of the most popular emulators of PlayStation One for PC. It is available for the operating systems of Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS and Android. A program capable of mimicking the behavior of the PS1 console perfectly, offering thus the opportunity to run almost all console games on the PC or mobile.
In the case of Epsxe it will be necessary to have the Roms files of the games in order to play them. In addition, it has a series of add-ons that will help you to configure the software on the PC. Keep in mind that depending on the emulator settings your experience on it will depend largely. Epsxe is compatible with most PS1 games > and gives you the ability to run them in HD.
DoSBox – Emulator
Currently considered one of the best PC emulators . Where it stands out mainly for offering very high quality graphics, sound, inputs, controls and images. It is available for most operating systems including Windows, Linux and Mac.
DoSBox is compatible with MS-DOS , which allows to offer really impressive images. Each time the emulator runs a classic game , the MS-DOS environment is responsible for performing the task completely so that it is reproduced in the best possible quality. Thanks to this, DoSBox is considered by many as an almost perfect emulator, where it has a very good speed and works very well with almost all video game companies.
OpenEmu
If you are looking for a very versatile software and that is capable of working with a large number of games from different consoles then you can start downloading OpenEmu. A tool Designed primarily to work with different videogame consoles , it can be said that it is one of the few programs on the market capable of carrying this out. It works as a single window designed to play Nintendo DS games, Super Nintendo, NeoGreo Pocket, NES, Saga Genesis, among many others.
OpenEmu is available for computers with Windows and Mac operating systems, it is capable of scanning the hard disk of the computer and Automatically add any Roms file that is already stored on the computer. In addition, it allows you to add physical controls via USB cable to improve the gaming experience of each user, as well as Wii Remote controls, PlayStation Dualshock 3 and 4 controllers, controllers Xbox 360, among others.
Being a software capable of reproducing different videogame consoles , it occupies enough resources which requires having a team with great capacity for reproduction. It also uses different open source cores for the execution of the games of the different consoles and shows you the emulators available in the menu.
PCSX2 Emulator
PCSX2 is one of the most used emulators today for PlayStation 2 console PC. It became the first available market emulator for PS2 and is enabled for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems and is characterized mainly by being compatible with the vast majority of console games.
PCSX2 stands out primarily for running HD games for better quality. In addition, use a plugin system that will help you configure it to improve the user experience. Being such an advanced software requires a computer with excellent capabilities and requirements. Therefore, you need to have very advanced equipment to make use of this emulation platform.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Emulator
If you are a fan of old games especially those of the era of the 90s, then you can start making use of this emulator. Its main objective is to offer a wide variety of Super Nintendo games to its users and thus begin to remember the most popular games of the time.
Unlike most emulators, Super Nintendo Entertainment System has several titles already included in its system where we can find some such as: The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man X, Star Fox 2, Star Fox, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, among many others.
VBA-M Emulator 
It is worth mentioning that this emulator is an updated version of the old VisualBoyAdvance already inactive and which stopped working in 2004. Therefore, VisualBoyAdvance -M has become a new version that adds features and is kept up-to-date in order to have all the necessary tools for the reproduction of Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Game Boy games Color.
It is worth mentioning that this new version of VBA-M is capable of emulating the pairing of two Game Boy devices , with which they merged several of the bifurcations in a single code base. Therefore, it is a very interesting and attractive tool to enjoy Game Boy games from the PC.
Mame Emulator
One of the most used and sought-after emulators worldwide, it has been designed primarily to be able to recreate the hardware of the software arcade game system so that it can be executed on the computer . This emulator is mainly characterized by supporting more than 7,000 games and more than 10,000 sets of Rom images. However, it should be noted that not all games are compatible for which not all are reproducible in the emulator.
The main intention of this emulation software is to preserve the game’s history, thus preventing all those classic games of the past from being forgotten. This emulator is available for Windows computers and is capable of emulating different video game consoles.
No $ GBA
Known to most users as the best Nintendo DS emulator , this thanks to its features and functionalities that make it one of the most complete emulation software on the market. It was mainly launched to become an emulator of the Game Boy Advance but all this changed over time and became one of the most important DS emulators.
It is currently considered as the fastest emulation software and with unique DSi media. In addition, it has some very good features that will help you have the best experience in each of Nintendo games DS. However, it is important to mention that it does not have features such as multiplayer or WiFi.
RetroArch
You can say that RetroArch belongs to the new generation of emulators of PCs of video game consoles, where it allows to play most PlayStation 1 console games, as it is almost compatible with all console games. In addition, it has excellent features and advantages that other emulators do not offer, such as the possibility of adding console emulator cores to the software , this being a great advantage since most emulators are only limited to a single video game console.
With RetroArch you can start running from the most classic games to the most modern and it is available for the operating systems of Windows, Linux and Mac In the case of Windows it can be installed from the version of Windows 95 onwards. As you can see, you don’t need very advanced equipment to make use of it. In addition, it can also be run on mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS.