For a few of these emulators, Vita3K and RetroArch, you’ll want to use Obtainium to keep them up to date. Check out my Obtainium guide here.
RetroArch – PS1 & Under – Nightly (RetroArch_aarch64.apk)
For RetroArch, you want to use the Nightly build, not the version off the Google Play Store. RetroArch will be your emulator of choice for everything under and including Sony PlayStation 1.
Here’s my recommended cores:
- Atari 2600: Stella
- Atari 5200: Atari800
- Atari 7800: ProSystem
- Arcade: FinalBurn Neo
- Dreamcast: Flycast
- Game Boy/Game Boy Color: Gambatte
- Game Boy Advance: mGBA
- Genesis/Master System/Game Gear/Sega CD: Genesis Plus GX
- NES: Mesen
- Nintendo DS: MelonDS DS
- PlayStation 1: SwanStation
- Saturn: Beetle Saturn
- SNES: Snes9x
Click here for my RetroArch setup guide.
M64Plus FZ Pro – Nintendo 64
Unfortunately for Android, a lot of games are broken on RetroArch for Nintendo 64. It’s a shame as that’s the only way you can enable Retro Achievements. There are a few games that work just fine, Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64 etc., but most games will have a lot of texture issues and more (Mario Golf, Pokemon Snap etc.)
You’ll want to use M64Plus FZ Pro off the Google Play Store, and the paid version over the free.
Click here for my M64Plus FZ setup guide.
PPSSPP – Sony PlayStation Portable
For Sony PlayStation Portable emulation, the best emulator for Android is PPSSPP from the Google Play Store. The paid version is only required if you want to support the developer, otherwise there’s no difference.
Click here for my PPSSPP setup guide.
Dolphin – Nintendo GameCube & Wii – Beta
For Nintendo GameCube and Wii, the best emulator for Android is Dolphin and the Beta version from the Google Play Store. It’s very important that you enable/enroll in the Beta version on the Play Store page, as that will give you the most up to date version of the emulator, which matches the development version on their website.
Click here for my Dolphin setup guide.
NetherSX2 – Sony PlayStation 2 – Current
For Sony PlayStation 2 emulation, the current and best version is NetherSX2 – Current.
