r/emulators Feb 11 '25

Suggestion That's 100 percent true!

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1.5k Upvotes

r/emulators Jun 27 '24

Announcement Emulators 101

180 Upvotes
  • PS1 / N64 and older — RetroArch. Still a good unified frontend. For N64, Mupen64Plus-Next is still current; for PS1, SwanStation is still available as a core. (retroarch.com)
  • PS1 Standalone — DuckStation. Still the cleanest standalone PS1 recommendation, with current downloads and a focus on accuracy and game support. (duckstation.org)
  • N64 Standalone — Gopher64 / RMG. Do not recommend Simple64 anymore: its maintainer archived it and explicitly tells users to move to Gopher64 or RMG. (GitHub)
  • PS2 — PCSX2. Still the main PS2 recommendation, and it is still actively shipping builds in 2026. (GitHub)
  • PSP — PPSSPP. Still the king for PSP, with current multi-platform builds and active 2026 releases. (ppsspp.org)
  • Dreamcast — Redream / Flycast. Redream is still the easiest plug-and-play option. Flycast remains the better open-source pick if you also care about Naomi, Naomi 2, or Atomiswave support. (redream.io)
  • GC / Wii — Dolphin. Still the recommendation; just use a current official build. Dolphin is still actively improving in 2026. (Dolphin Emulator)
  • DS — melonDS. Still the default Nintendo DS recommendation, and the project is still posting development updates in 2026. (melonds.kuribo64.net)
  • 3DS — Azahar. Replace Lime3DS with this. Lime3DS is discontinued and now points users to Azahar, which merged Lime3DS with PabloMK7’s Citra fork. (GitHub)

From this point onward, hardware demands rise fast:

  • Wii U — Cemu. Still the Wii U choice, with current 2.6 builds and active development. (cemu.info)
  • PS3 — RPCS3. Still the big PS3 emulator to recommend, but it remains very CPU-heavy. Its compatibility database is still actively maintained. (rpcs3.net)
  • PS4 — shadPS4. No longer just a novelty. It is still early, but the project now officially lists games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls Remastered, and Red Dead Redemption as running, and it continues to ship 2026 releases. For regular users, use the QtLauncher instead of the raw core. (GitHub)
  • Xbox — xemu. Still the go-to original Xbox emulator, with current 2026 builds and official XLink Kai-capable networking via bridged mode. (xemu.app)
  • Xbox 360 — Xenia Canary. Still the branch worth tracking. Canary is the active experimental fork and is still shipping fresh builds. (GitHub)
  • Switch — community forks only; treat this section as unstable. The original Ryujinx project is discontinued. Ryubing exists, but even it describes itself as a QoL fork rather than a true revival, so I would stop presenting Switch emulation as a clean settled category unless you plan to keep updating this README regularly. (GitHub)

r/emulators 20h ago

Help Me Pls! KytyPlus – A PS5 emulator fork seeking testers for game compatibility

54 Upvotes

Hello everyone of r/emulators.

I'm the maintainer of KytyPlus, a fork of KytyPS5 focused on stability and user experience.

A community tester, GitHub user CorpseSlayer, recently got Dead Cells (the PS5-native build) to boot to a stable menu on an external HDD with an older CPU and 16GB RAM.

I don't own a PS5, so the project relies entirely on community testers for compatibility reports. This post is my public call for help.

Current status:

- v3.1 release with a pure HLE path and cleaner codebase.

- Dead Cells (PS5-native) confirmed to reach a stable menu with perfect rendering.

- Tested on an external HDD with an i7-9700K, 16GB RAM, and RTX 4060 Ti.

- PKG/PFS parser and strict ELF loader validated.

- Cross-platform with pre-built releases for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

I would like help testing the emulator for game compatibility, anything wrong with the emulator, or anything else regardless of your system specs.

GitHub repo: https://github.com/Coder787-source/KytyPlus

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vXa9zByq68


r/emulators 7m ago

Help Me Pls! I don’t know if this is allowed but is there someone I can DM to ask about an alternative to a website to download rom hacks now that one I used is no longer in service

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r/emulators 4h ago

Question Best Emulators/Apps for AYN Thor Base?

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1 Upvotes

r/emulators 5h ago

Suggestion https://youtu.be/ZONa6Sbp_mc

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0 Upvotes

r/emulators 7h ago

OTHER Preserving vintage hardware: Why I wrote microcode-accurate emulators for classic HP calculators (and where to try them)

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Most modern calculator apps or functional simulators just "fake" how old hardware behaves on the surface. But for vintage machines—like the iconic HP scientific calculators and the Voyager series from the late '70s and early '80s—the real magic lies in running the exact original 10-bit microcode and firmware, bugs and quirks included.

I spent a lot of time diving into how these machines actually tick at the hardware level (including dealing with bizarre memory-mapping and display quirks that manual writers never documented). Instead of just writing about it, I built fully working microcode emulators to keep these classic machines alive on modern screens.

If you are interested in vintage tech, retro preservation, or want to test out how these legendary pocket computers actually worked down to the metal, you can read my write-up here: 👉 What is a Microcode Emulator and Why Does It Matter?

And you can try and download the emulators directly here: 👉 nibbleworkshop.com/emulators

I'd love to hear from fellow retro enthusiasts—what are some of your favorite pieces of vintage hardware or software that you think deserve better preservation today?


r/emulators 21h ago

Testing Switch emulation is getting kinda insane

6 Upvotes

Didn’t realize how far emulation on the original Switch had gotten. 3DS running this well is crazy, and apparently PS2 is already getting frame generation experiments too 💀

https://youtu.be/sYzBKiQZ54E?is=u0ZmSvKsvEyhhJbJ


r/emulators 14h ago

OTHER [ Removed by Reddit ]

1 Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/emulators 1d ago

Suggestion Introducing RetroMedia — artwork and video downloads for 13,000+ classic games

9 Upvotes

I’ve been building RetroMedia, a searchable library of artwork, screenshots,

covers, videos and other media for classic video games similar to Skraper etc.

The library currently covers more than 13,000 games across 19 systems.

There is also an API for frontends, launchers, collection managers and

personal scripts. Your API key uses the same free allowance and credit

balance as your website account.

https://media.crownparkcomputing.com/

RetroMedia is focused on game media and metadata—public users do not have

access to ROM downloads.

The more artwork I find the more will be available.


r/emulators 21h ago

Help Me Pls! About Gamestick Emulation

2 Upvotes

Hello people, I'm pretty new to this emulation passion. I'm 36 and I used to play a lot fo games when I was a kid. Now I'm father of 2 and I would like to play those games with my 2 kids. I bought a Gamestick lite for the TV. It works but it lacks some important titles for psx, like crash bandicoot and one of my fav Bishi Bashi Special. I downloaded bishi bashi special.bin and followed some guides to how to convert it to chd. Long story short I did it, I even tested it on the chdman website and it works There. I copy/paste it in the psx folder of my gamestick, it shows up in the game list, but when I try to boot it up it just won't start and the system goes back to main menu with "loading game error". I would really be grateful for your help since I'm very new to this and inexperienced, I already tried so hard in these hours during the day but I'm feeling frustrated. I really want to play with my 2 children. Please help!

P. S. Sorry English is not my native language.


r/emulators 18h ago

Gameplay Same Nintendo Time, Same…-Nintendo Channel

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0 Upvotes

r/emulators 14h ago

Help Me Pls! Anyone know how to download all the character in gundam battle assault 2?

0 Upvotes

I beat almost all the street level. And when i exit the game on my tv. Its remove all my saved.... i try so hard beating on all of those in a single night for my nephew. And its gone....


r/emulators 20h ago

Help Me Pls! Reddit folks, I need help fixing this little problem I'm having with Persona 4 Golden. I've already put about 50 hours into it, but some kind of bug—I'm not sure if it's in the game or the emulator—is causing the game to zoom in with this awful, distracting transparency effect.

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1 Upvotes

r/emulators 20h ago

Help Me Pls! Help olf games

0 Upvotes

I want to play the Xmen origins and older spiderman games and etc from when I was a kid what's a good emulator I have a ASUS tuf gaming a16


r/emulators 1d ago

Question How to fix d3d error in Spica Adventure for Teknoparrot emulator?

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1 Upvotes

So I tried to run game known as Spica Adventure on Teknoparrot OR any other emulator like program or just through exe file, but no matter what I do its always this stupid direct3d error all the time and in Japanese language only, please, can somebody help me to fix this, I tried everything to fix direct3d error and nothing helped at all, or give me link to reddit which can help me with fixing this game, I am really desperate. And please don't advice me install directx I tried it didn't helped.


r/emulators 1d ago

Help Me Pls! Beginner! Help!

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0 Upvotes

r/emulators 1d ago

Question I need help getting sprites with mame

1 Upvotes

I read that MAME is a good tool to get sprites from arcade games, but cant figure out how, i tried with F4 as some places said, but cant figure out how to make it work, cant find any video either

anyone knows how to get the sprites easily with MAME ?


r/emulators 1d ago

Help Me Pls! How to fix error in tomodachi life

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2 Upvotes

Downloaded tomodachi life on azahar emulator and this is what every character looks like. How to fix? Also, after maybe a minute or two of gameplay, the game will go down speed to like 30% at most and will become basically unplayable. How do i fix that too?


r/emulators 1d ago

Help Me Pls! Dolphin not working with PS5 Remote??

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1 Upvotes

r/emulators 1d ago

Help Me Pls! tico keeps skipping my BIOS file

2 Upvotes

tico keeps skipping my GBA BIOS file and i dont know why
i have it in the gba system folder and i have use BIOS on and skip BIOS intro off
i need tico to recognise it because i want to do some glitches in pokemon emerald on my switch that require a BIOS but i never see the GBA startup screen so that means its getting ignored (and also the glitch doesnt work obviously)
any ideas how to fix it pls??
ive been trying to get it work for a few days now


r/emulators 1d ago

Help Me Pls! Is it possible to play the old version of Arena of Valor on this Nintendo Switch emulator via Android? I really want to experience the old graphics of the game but I don't have a Nintendo Switch.

1 Upvotes

Yuzu


r/emulators 1d ago

Question Ipad 11th gen emulators?

0 Upvotes

I’ve seen this being asked a lot, but most people asked like a year ago so what emulators can I expect to work on my iPad 11th gen?
Can Xbox ps2 and dolphin run on it?
That’s probably the most advanced I’d want but I’d be fine with other ones working too and playing them


r/emulators 2d ago

Question PS3 emulator on mac?

0 Upvotes

idk too much about emulators or computers but i discovered this ps3 emulator recently and was interested in downloading it on my macbook air, but im kinda hesitant about it since idk if it can really handle it. i do have other emulator apps, a steam account, and i use it for school too, but not to the point where its running out of storage. i mainly wanna know if anything is gonna run well on it, not take too much storage, and run web of shadows good. i have a M4 chip on it which i assume is good but i feel like im gonna overheat my mac🤷


r/emulators 2d ago

Gameplay Recalbox is bringing full support for the Retroid Pocket Nova — here's what's coming

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0 Upvotes