A video game emulator is a type of emulator that allows the computing device to emulate the hardware of a video game console and play the game on the emulating platform. Most of the time, emulators have additional features that overcome the limitations of the original hardware such as wider controller support, higher performance, timescale control, clearer quality, one-clock cheat codes, easier access to edit memory and unlock game features.
Emulators are useful tools in the home demo development process and creating new games for older, rare, and discontinued consoles. Playing games created over 30 years ago, on smartphones more powerful than the computers that sent men to the Moon is nothing short of amazing. With the help of gaming emulators, game lovers have been able to play Gameboy games on their latest smartphones, tablets, PC, etc.
What Is A Gaming Emulator For Your Smart Phone?
Without buying an old console, you can play classic games on different gaming emulators. You can enjoy these games on the big screen with the best hardware and the fastest software.
How Emulators Work For Android
To use emulators, you will need game ROMs and sometimes BIOS ROMs that are compatible with the emulating platform. However, if you do not already own the game, then downloading the using the ROMs is copyright infringement. ROMs should be downloaded directly to the Android device. Alternatively, you can download it on your PC and then copy the ROM files to your Android device.
Retro ROMs rarely are larger than a few megabytes which are modest compared to today’s massive game downloads. For a wireless solution, you can use FTP software to send games to your phone.
Dolphin Emulator
There are plenty of newer consoles to cover but Dolphin Emulator ignores all other consoles and focuses only on Wii and Nintendo GameCube. The larger screen will be useful as you will be needing much screen space to house all the GameCube controller’s buttons and controls.
Monthly updates are released by the developers of Dolphin Emulator that makes it one of the best emulators for Android smartphones. The only possible frustration will come from the inability to move the buttons on the screen and resize them. However, if you want to load your favorite GameCube or Wii games, then Dolphin Emulator is the best solution.
ClassicBoy
If you are looking for the best emulator for Android then, ClassicBoy is the best option. It is compatible with many platforms such as Atari 2600 VCS, Nintendo 64, and many more. Loading the ROMs is a fairly straightforward process that takes you to the game you have. Controlled support is on board and you can use almost any of your favorite Xbox or Sony controllers.
ClassicBoy offers on-screen touch controls. It means you don’t have to use the external controller and it includes the ability to configure the settings for different games. The app is free to download and has a lot of features. If you are planning to use ClassicBoy to run one of your all-time favorite games, then a full version is capable of loading the games automatically. It is the first thing you see when you open the app.
My Boy
My Boy is one of the most robust emulators for Android with more features than you can imagine. The free version of this emulator is there for you to determine if the full version is worth your needs or not. If you play a lot of mobile games with GBA emulators, you might want to opt for the full version simply because of the ability to sync your saves with Google Drive.
Being able to store the saved statuses in the Drive rather than saving it in the device’s storage, can be extremely useful. Also, if you want to play games on multiple devices, Google Drive will be helpful. The full version of My Boy includes support for entering multiple lines of cheat codes.
On the other hand, this gaming emulator helps to speed up the game from 2x to 16x. Also, you can activate the tilt/gyro sensor emulation that uses the built-in sensors of your Android smartphone. Talking about customization, you can create a custom screen layout based on your requirements. To play games with your friends, you can set up a server easily.
GBA.emu
With many other emulators on Android, you will have to provide the ROMs to start playing a game. GBA.emu does things a little differently because Motocross Challenge is included. It gives you an idea of how well the app is performing before deciding if it’s time to load your ROM library. Also, you can customize the on-screen controls to set everything according to your requirements.
Besides supporting the standard .gba files, GBA.emu also supports 7Z, RAR, or ZIP files. It means you don’t have to extract the files and overload the storage on your Android smartphone. In this gaming emulator, backup statuses are available and if you are using VBA-M, you will be able to transfer those backups from PC to GBA.emu in no time.
Also, you can connect Bluetooth controllers and create custom key profiles. This option is not available in all types of gaming emulators. The best thing is that you can use cheat codes that give you a close-to-reality experience in the game.
M64Plus FZ Emulator
Unlike the NES, SNES, and GameBoy models, N64 emulators are not of more options. But that M64Plus FZ works fine. It is perhaps one of the most robust emulators. The traditional features in this emulator are controller support and Google Drive syncing. Also, the developer has added the ability to save the games on an SD card.
It is compatible with a large number of devices. So, you are not limited to needing the best Android phone with the best specs. M64Plus FZ emulator will also work on the best cheap Android Phones. It provides various customization options and adjustments that you can do in the control panel of this emulator.
Nostalgia.NES
If you have ever researched the best emulators for Android then Nostalgia.NES might have appeared on the top listings. It is a favorite standalone NES emulator because the app is having unexpected features. It includes a rewinding option in the middle of the game. If you missed something, you can simply rewind. Also, it supports Bluetooth controllers and your favorite keyboard.
In this gaming emulator, personalization is the best feature. All the virtual buttons can be moved or resized according to your needs. If you want to play games with your friends, you can use Wi-Fi controller mode that can support up to four players at a time.
If you are playing the game and you want to save it, then Nostalgia.NES makes it easy for you and offers eight manual save slots with an autosave option for your game.
Gaming Emulator – Play Classic Games On Android Phones
Just like gaming emulators for the iPhone, there are gaming emulators for Android Phones too. The different features in the gaming emulators are perfect for those who want to connect their Bluetooth controllers with the emulator and want to play with their friends using a server.
Another best feature that you will find in the gaming emulators is that you can save the progress of the game in Google Drive. It helps you to keep enjoying your classic game over multiple devices.