What are the best console emulators for Windows PC, Mac and Linux? 2022 list

Over the last few years, a large number of video games and consoles that have been launched to the market, obtaining the majority of them a great success. However, not all users can have them due to its high costs.

That is why the need has been seen to create or invent emulation software, the purpose of which is 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 Mac, where you can enjoy the classic games from the 80s and 90sas well as current new hits.

What is really an emulator and what can we do with them?

An emulator is software capable of run programs or video games on a specific platform, be it a operating system or hardware architecture other than that for which they were originally designed.

Therefore, it can be said that an emulator is a program designed to mimic the behavior of another specific program. He has the ability to create a virtual platform capable of executing a given program and which was not primarily designed to be executed on a computer.

The main objective of an emulator is to be able to create all the necessary conditions for run a designed program to work on platforms other than a computer. In such a way, they are mainly used to be able to play those old and new games of the different video game consoles launched on the market, all this using a file named ROM.

Notably hardware functions through software It is not easy at all, that is why there are not yet a large number of advanced console emulators like Xbox One or PS4because of his hardware complexitywhich increases over time.

Basically, these emulators have the purpose of allowing their users to be able to enjoy the games of their favorite consoles directly from their PC, thus achieving a fun and pleasant time while enjoying those titles of PSP, Xbox, Wii, NDSamong others.

What are the advantages of using a console emulator like PSX, Xbox, SNES, 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 ones. alternatives like emulatorsbearing in mind that these are programs that will help you live the same experience of these video gamesbut this time from your PC.

In this way, here we present the main advantages of using this type of program on your computer:

• 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 their availability or price in the market.
• You can play any game no matter what it is very old.
• There is a lot of games available for emulators of these consoles.
• Play with keyboard and mouse it can be much more comfortable.
• You may install mod in your games.

List of Top 15 Light and Fast Android Emulators for PC Ready to Download

Due to the importance of these software currently, there is a large amount of available emulators of the different consoles and which can be installed on the computer to start enjoying each of their games.

That is why here we present the 15 best lightweight and fast Android emulators for Windows, MacOS or Linux computers:

PPSSPP – PSP Emulator

The main function of this software is to imitate the console of playstation portable either PSPcurrently considered one of the the best portable consoles developed in recent years. It is available for use in Android and iOS mobile devicesas well as for the operating systems of Windows, Linux and Mac.

PPSSPP It 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 on it.

Dolphin – Wii Emulator and GameCube

If you are a game lover 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, that is how, thanks to this, it has a higher speed when playing each of the games. It has also become the first emulator of a seventh generation console like the Wiias well as the first emulator to offer online games.

Dolphin is available for 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 computer has the necessary requirements for its installation.

NullDC/Reicast

This emulator is from open source and is available for Windows, Linux and Mac, It is based on the video game system of Sega Naomi and Sega Dreamcast. It should be noted that this software has been on the market for several years, but it was declining due to the fact that it did not offer any more updates, thus becoming obsolete. However, the author of this whole project “Drk Raziel” announcement that he would launch this project again with his new compilation where this time I 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, as well as offering online connectivity for its users. This emulator is recommended for veterans that you want to take your favorite titles with you and have a good time with them from your PC.

Download NullDC

Project64 (pj64-emu.com)

Project64 It is one of the few emulators of Nintendo 64 available on 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 had some errors which were improved over time and the software updates.

Among the few emulators that we can get from Nintendo 64 we can say that Project64 is one of the best. It has a great quality in audio and image, as well as an excellent graphics card and takes up very little resources inside the computer. Therefore, if you are looking for a software to be able to enjoy most of the n64 gamesthen project is your best option.

Epsxe – PS1 Emulator

We can say that epsxe It is one of the most popular emulators. playstation one for PC. It is available for the operating systems of Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS and Android. A program capable of imitating the behavior of the ps1 console in a perfect way, thus offering the opportunity to run almost all console games on PC or mobile.

In the case of epsxe it will be necessary to have game rom files to be able to reproduce them in it. In addition, it has a series of complements that will help you to configure the software on your PC. Please note that depending on emulator settings Much will depend on your experience with it. epsxe is compatible with most ps1 games and gives you the possibility run them in HD.

Download Epsxe

DOSBox – Emulator

Currently considered one of best emulators for pc. 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 truly impressive images. Every time the emulator run a classic gamethe environment MS-DOS It is in charge of carrying out the task completely so that it is reproduced with the best possible quality. Thanks to this, DoSBox It is considered by many as an almost perfect emulator, where it has very good speed and works very well with almost all video game companies.

Download DOS box

OpenEmu.org

If you are looking for a very versatile software and that it is able to work with a large number of games from different consoles then you can start downloading OpenEmu. A tool primarily designed to work with different video game consoles, it can be said that it is one of the few programs on the market capable of doing this. It works as a single window designed to play Nintendo DS games, Super Nintendo, NeoGeo Pocket, NES, Sega Genesis, among many others.

OpenEmu It is available for computers with operating system of windows and mac, he himself is capable of scan computer hard drive and automatically add any rom file that is already stored on the computer. Also, it allows you to add physical controls via USB cable to improve the gaming experience of each of the users, as well as Wii Remote controllers, PlayStation Dualshock 3 and 4 controllers, Xbox 360 controllers, among others.

Being a software capable of playing different video game consoles, occupies a lot of resources, which requires a team with great capacity for its reproduction. It also uses different open source kernels for the execution of the games of the different consoles and shows you the emulators available in the menu.

PCSX2 Emulator (pcsx2.net)

PCSX2 is one of the most used emulators today for PlayStation 2 console PC. It became the first emulator on the market available from PS2 and is enabled for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems and it is mainly characterized by being compatible with the vast majority of console games.

PCSX2 It stands out mainly for run games in HD for better quality. Also, use a plugin system that will help you configure it to improve the experience of its users. Being such an advanced software requires a computer with excellent capabilities and requirements. Therefore, you need to have a very advanced computer 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 90’s era, then you can start making use of this emulator. Its main objective is to offer you a great variety of games of Super nintendo to its users and thus begin to remember the most popular games of the time. You can access from here: snes9x.com

Unlike most emulators, Super Nintendo Entertainment System It 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 (vba-m.com)

It is worth mentioning that this emulator is a 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 updated in order to have all the necessary tools for playing the games of Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color.

It is worth mentioning that this new version of VBA-M he is able to emulate the linking two Game Boy devices, with which they merged several of the forks into a single code base. Therefore, it is quite an interesting and attractive tool to enjoy. Game Boy games from PC.

Mame Emulator (mamedev.org)

One of the most used and sought after emulators in the world, it has been designed mainly to be able to recreate the hardware of the arcade game system in software so that it can be run on the computer. This emulator is mainly characterized by supporting more than 7 thousand games and more than 10 thousand 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 be able to preserve gaming history, thus avoiding all those classic games of the past are forgotten. This emulator is available for windows computers and is capable of emulating different video game consoles.

No$GBA (nogba.com)

Known to most users as 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 released primarily to become an emulator for The Game Boy Advances but all this changed over time, thus becoming one of the most important DS emulators.

It is currently considered as fastest emulation software and with unique DSi stands. 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 functions such as multiplayer or WiFi.

RetroArch.com

We can say that RetroArch belonging to the new generation of emulators from PC to video game consoles, where it allows you to play most of the console games ps1, since it is almost compatible with all the games of the console. In addition, it has excellent features and advantages that other emulators do not offer, such as the possibility of add console emulator kernels to softwarethis 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 the same is available for operating systems 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 use it. In addition, it can also run on mobile operating systems like Android and iOS.

Nox Player (bignox.com)

One of the best options when looking for a PC emulator. It is mainly characterized by being a very fast and fluid software capable of offering a very attractive gaming experience. It is based on Android 4.4.2 operating system and is available for computers windows and mac and it is totally stable, reliable and secure.

Among its main advantages we find that it is compatible with a large number of games and apps, including classic games as well as the most modern ones. In terms of its use it is very simple, therefore, it does not matter if you are a expert or novice in the area of ​​game emulators. A great opportunity to start enjoying the best games from your PC.

bluestacks.com

Finally, we bring you the mobile game emulator on pcis characterized mainly by being very simple to install, and above all because It occupies very few resources on the PC. It is available for Windows and Mac operating system And it is absolutely free. Bluestacks It is considered by most of the users as the best option to enjoy mobile games on PC.

With Bluestacks you can start taking your games to another level where you will constantly find new experiences enjoying a game service high speed and with the widest range of options that will help you enjoy the best service.

What minimum requirements does my Windows, MacOS or Linux PC have to have in order to play without problems using these emulators?

At the time of install a video game emulator on pc will need to have a set of requirements in order to ensure its proper functioning, taking into account that these are advanced programs that require a hard drive space limitas well as a good graphics card, among many other tools.

However, it is worth mentioning that these requirements will also depend on the software, since each of them has different features.

Despite this, here we explain in a general way what are the main requirements what should the computer have before install an emulated of video games in the.

• have a Windows operating system higher than Windows 7. There are emulators that work perfectly with previous versions.
• Graphics Intel HD 5200 or higher.
• A Intel Core i5-680 processor or higher with virtualization extensions enabled in the BIOS.
• 2GB RAM memory or higher preferably.
• have a high performance power plan.
• Bandwidth Internet to be able to have access to games and everything related.
• HDD: SSD
• To have a space on the hard disk equal to or greater than 4GB to be able to store the games and data.
• Have them Updated computer drivers.