Best Android Console Emulators
Here are all the best Android console emulators for individual gaming systems namely:
- Gameboy and Gameboy Color
- Gameboy Advance
- PlayStation Portable
- PlayStation X and PlayStation 1
NOTE: App prices may differ depending on factors like limited offers and localization.
Best Gameboy & Gameboy Color Emulator
My OldBoy!
Price: $4.00, with free version (My OldBoy! Lite)
My OldBoy! is among the oldest console emulators in the Android market, though it remains unmatched when it comes to running Gameboy and Gameboy Color games with a high degree of compatibility and speed.
Among this emulator’s best selling points are its multi-savestate feature, ability to run on low-end devices seamlessly, as well as savestate syncing via Google Drive.
You can also adjust your key configurations in this app according to your preference, which should make your gaming experience all the more convenient.
Google Playstore Links
Best Gameboy Advance Emulator
My Boy!
Price: $5.00, with free version (My Boy! Lite)
Also developed by Fast Emulator, we have My Boy!—a worthy successor to My OldBoy! that allows its users to play classic games from the Gameboy Advance.
This app boasts every single pro My OldBoy! has, all at a slightly bumped-up price point. Do note that its multi-savestate feature is unavailable on the Lite version, though you can still save through your games’ built-in save menus.
Google Playstore Links
Best PlayStation Portable Emulator
PPSSPP
Price: $2.00, with free version (PPSSPP Blue)
If you’re looking for the best Android console emulator for PlayStation Portable, then look no further, as PPSSPP will have everything you’re looking for and more!
Featuring countless graphical customizations, a smooth emulation experience, controller support, and excellent compatibility even for low-end Android devices, it’s no surprise that PPSSPP is still the best in the market despite being released way back in 2013.
There are no major differences between PPSSPP and PPSSPP Gold. Unlike most emulators on this list that have a paid version and a free version, you can access all of PPSSPP’s features no matter which version you download.
PPSSPP Gold, in a nutshell, is made for those who want to donate to the developer, so make sure to buy it if you enjoy using the app and would like to support its creator!
Google Playstore Links
Best Playstation X & Playstation 1 Emulator
ePSXe for Android
Price: $4.00
When it comes to emulating PlayStation X and PlayStation 1 games for Android devices, you’ll hardly find anything better than ePSXe for Android, what with it offering the smoothest emulation gaming experience out of all the PSX and PS1 emulators in the Android platform.
The ePSXe emulator is designed for mobile phones and tablets and comes with the usual features that are pretty much expected of top-tier emulators, such as cheat codes toggler, gamepad support, split screen mode for 2-player games, and button mapping.
Google Playstore Links
Best Nintendo DS Emulator
DraStic DS Emulator
Price: Free
DraStic DS Emulator is a personal favorite of mine, as not only does it run well on older Android phone models (I used this app extensively on a very low-spec phone a while back), but it’s also quite easy to use and, not to mention, free!
It comes with the usual multi-savestate feature, a dedicated database for cheat codes (meaning you won’t have to import them yourself), as well as customizable screens and controls.
The on-screen touchpad works perfectly in this app as well, which makes DraStic just amazing for NDS games with little to no button interaction or swipe-heavy mechanics.
Google Playstore Links
Best Multi-System Android Console Emulators
If an all-in-one solution is what you’re looking for, then here are all the best Android console emulators that can run multiple gaming systems in just one app:
While these two may not run games as good as the standalone emulators for individual gaming systems we’ve listed here, they’re still very much worth a try simply because of the sheer amount of consoles they can emulate!
Best Overall Multi-Emulator
RetroArch
Price: Free
Supported Consoles (RetroArch) |
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3DO Amstrad CPC Arcade Atari 2600 Atari 5200 Atari 7800 Atari Falcon Atari Jaguar Atari Lynx Atari ST WonderSwan ColecoVision Commodore 64 Commodore 128 Amiga Commodore CBM-II Commodore PET Commodore Plus/4 VIC-20 MS-DOS and compatible operating systems Electronika BK-0010/BK-0011 Fairchild Channel F Vectrex Handheld electronic game Mac II Odyssey² Intellivision Mega Duck MSX NEC PC Engine / CD NEC TurboGrafx-16 / SuperGrafx NEC PC-8000 / PC-8800 NEC PC-98 NEC PC-FX NEC TurboGrafx-CD Nintendo 3DS Nintendo 64 Nintendo DS Nintendo Entertainment System Famicom Disk System Game Boy / Color Game Boy Advance GameCube Nintendo Pokémon Mini Super Nintendo Entertainment System Virtual Boy Wii Palm OS Philips CD-i 32X Dreamcast Game Gear Master System Mega CD/Sega CD Mega Drive/Genesis Saturn Sega ST-V Sega VMU SG-1000 Sharp X1 X68000 ZX81 ZX Spectrum PlayStation PlayStation 2 PlayStation Portable Neo Geo Pocket / Color Spectravideo 3DO Interactive Multiplayer Thomson computers Uzebox Vectrex Watara Supervision |
As you can see from the list of consoles you can emulate with RetroArch, your choice of games, regardless of era, is practically limitless with their app on your phone.
You certainly cannot go wrong with RetroArch, considering it’s one of the oldest and battle-tested multi-emulators around. The only catch is that setting up RetroArch can be a bit complicated for Android users that are not already into emulating games.
If that’s you, then consider installing the alternative multi-emulator we’re about to tackle further below instead!
Google Playstore Links
Best Multi-Emulator for Beginners
Lemuroid
Price: Free
Supported Consoles (Lemuroid) |
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Atari 2600 (A26) Atari 7800 (A78) Atari Lynx (Lynx) Nintendo (NES) Super Nintendo (SNES) Game Boy (GB) Game Boy Color (GBC) Game Boy Advance (GBA) Sega Genesis (aka Megadrive) Sega CD (aka Mega CD) Sega Master System (SMS) Sega Game Gear (GG) Nintendo 64 (N64) PlayStation (PSX) PlayStation Portable (PSP) FinalBurn Neo (Arcade) Nintendo DS (NDS) NEC PC Engine (PCE) Neo Geo Pocket (NGP) Neo Geo Pocket Color (NGC) WonderSwan (WS) WonderSwan Color (WSC) Nintendo 3DS (3DS) |
If you don’t mind sacrificing variety for convenience, then Lemuroid is the multi-emulator for you, as it’s way easier to set-up than RetroArch, which comes in handy if you’re new to the Android emulation scene.
Despite being free, Lemuroid has no ads, as well as optimized touch controls, cloud-based saving, gamepad support, and local multiplayer.
So, if you’re not really looking to use emulators for more obscure systems that can be found in RetroArch, then we highly recommend installing Lemuroid!
Google Playstore Links
Conclusion
With that, you now know the best android console emulators for individual consoles, as well as the ones that cover multiple consoles. Have fun playing, and remember to download your games only from trusted sources!
Also check out The Best Gaming Accessories For Your Android Smartphone and Best Gaming Controllers for Android!