Since the 70s, numerous consoles have emerged that have evolved model after model, with better and better games and more amazing graphics. One of the pioneers of this movement was Nintendo, and later other brands and companies emerged, but few were very successful.
However, two other manufacturers, among many others, that later entered the video game industry were Sony and Microsoft, with PlayStation and Xbox in all their variants, respectively. Likewise, more and more games and titles were added that fortunately can not only be played on the respective consoles for which they were created, but also on PC, and this is thanks to the many emulators that we can find today, which is what we are about in this compilation post.
Below you will find a list of the best PC console emulators that are available today. Before going to it, it is worth noting that they are all free and have good reviews. In addition, they are one of the most used by the gamer community.
One of the advantages of having a PC and using an emulator to play is that you don't have to spend extra for a console to play the title you want. The emulators that are available today and listed below can run many of the most popular games that have been released throughout history.
nullDC
We start this list with this emulator, one that has been on the market for a long time and It is one of the most used by veteran gamers. The game system on which this program is based is on Sega Naomi and Sega Dreamcast, two of the arcade platforms that are best maintained over the years, with titles that fall in love due to their classic nature. In addition, it is not only available for computers with Windows operating system, but also for Linux and Mac.
NullDC's game compatibility list is extremely extensive. Just some of the most popular games on these platforms are:
- Radigy Noa (2009)
- Mazan: Flash Of The Blade (2002)
- Rhythm Tengoku (2007)
- Friend's Samba (1999)
- Inu no Osanpo (2001)
- Sega Strike Fighter (2000)
- Sega Tetris (1999)
- Giant Gram 2000: All Japan Pro Wrestling 3 Brave Men Of Glory (2000)
- Shin Nihon Pro Wrestling Toukon Retsuden 4 Arcade Edition (2000)
- Airline Pilot (1999)
- Shooting Love 2007 (2007)
- Slash Out (2000)
- Dead or Alive 2 Millennium (2000)
- Alien Front (2001)
Death Crimson OX (2000) - Star Horse (2000)
- Star Horse 2001 (2001)
- Star Horse Progress (2003)
- Star Horse Progress Returns (2009)
- The House of the Dead 2 (1998)
Download NullDC here
Project64 - Nintendo 64 Emulator
The Nintendo 64 has been one of the most mythical consoles that have emerged in history. In the 90's it was a complete boom, due to the 3D graphics it presented, which is why it became so popular. And it is that at that time it was one of the first game platforms that presented these images in three dimensions, a total novelty for that time that fell wonderfully to the gamer community of the moment.
Although today it is already obsolete, it presents numerous games that have remained as true jewels. And to relive the wonderful moments that these provided to many, it is Project64, an emulator for computers that is written in the C programming language and is compatible with almost all Nintendo 64 titles. It is estimated that 80% of the games are compatible and can be run by this platform without problems. Another 10% is also compatible, but can present problems. In addition to this, the catalog that the Nintendo 64 boasts is more than 385 titles.
Today there are several Nintendo 64 emulators that we can find, but Project64 is one of the best. It is lightweight, open source, and very stable. It was first released in 2001 and is designed especially for Windows.
1964
Like Project64, 1964 is an emulator for computers with Windows operating system that is designed in the C programming language and is open source. In addition, it is worth mentioning that it is the most direct rival of Project64, being also one of the best emulators of Nintendo 64 games for computers.
It also has a high compatibility with Nintendo 64 ROMs, so there is practically no title that you cannot execute. In addition, its operation is enviable, thus presenting a very good gaming experience, with textures, 3D graphics and well reproduced sounds. To do this, it uses a fairly complete plugin system, which has made it, for many, a more stable emulator platform than Project64 and the other competitors.
Run all Mario games like Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros, Mario Tennis and Mario Party 2, among others.
Download 1964 here
ePSXe
The PlayStation One or PS1 is another of the most important consoles that have emerged in the 90s. To be more specific and give a brief review of the history of this desktop gaming platform, it was in December 1994 when it was launched by Sony Computers in Japan. Since then, it has received several successor models until today, which we already have the recently launched PlayStation 5.
ePSXe is, perhaps, the original PlayStation emulator that works best on PC. However, this emulator is also available for other operating systems, apart from Windows, such as Linux and Mac, and even smartphone OS such as Android and iOS (iPhone).
The PS1 game compatibility list for ePSXe is also extremely extensive, which is why we place it in this compilation of the best console emulators for PC. There is hardly any game that resists being executed correctly, stable and quickly by this arcade platform, so with a high probability you will be able to relive the moments you lived with your favorite titles.
OpenEmu.org
OpenEmu may be the most powerful emulator platform of all, as it is compatible with numerous consoles and systems, which, in turn, means that it can run, not hundreds, but thousands of games from the most iconic and popular desktop consoles in history, among which are the following:
- Atari 2600 Stella
- Atari 5200 Atari 800
- Atari 7800 Pro System
- Atari Lynx Mednafen
- ColecoVision CrabEmu
- Famicom Disk System Nestopia
- Game Boy / Game Boy Color Gambatte
- Gameboy Advance mGBA
- Game Gear Genesis Plus GX
- Intellivision Bliss
- Neo Geo Pocket Mednafen
- Nintendo (NES)/Famicom FCEUX, Nestopia
- Nintendo DS DeSmuME
- Nintendo 64 Mupen64Plus
- Odyssey² / Videopac + O2EM
- PC-FX Mednafen
- SG-1000 Genesis Plus GX
- sega 32x picodrive
- Sega CD / Mega CD Genesis Plus GX
- Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Genesis Plus GX
- Sega Master System Genesis Plus GX
- Sega Saturn
- Sony PlayStation
- Sony PSP
- SuperNintendo (SNES)
- TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine / SuperGrafx Mednafen
- TurboGrafx-CD / PC Engine CD Mednafen
- Virtual Boy Mednafen
- Vectrex VecXGL
- WonderSwan Mednafen
On the other hand, It is capable of supporting multiple joystick controls such as Sony's Dual Shock 3 and 4, the Nintendo Switch Pro, the Nintendo Wii U, and the Xbox 360 and One S, among many others.
DOSBox - Emulator
Some of the oldest games are MS-DOS. And to remember old times, we place DOSBox in this compilation for being a powerful emulator, with good graphics and excellent content reproduction. MS-DOS titles date from the mid-80s and extend into the 90s, when they were extremely popular.
Fortunately, today we can continue playing them thanks to DOSBox, one of the best emulators for PC for this type of game. Some of the many titles with which this platform is compatible are the following:
- SimAnt (Maxis Software, 1991)
- Dune 2 - The Building of a Dinasty (Westwood Studios, 1992)
- Scorched Earth (Wendell Hicken, 1991)
- Bubble Bobble (Taito, 1988)
- The Castle of Dr. Brain (Sierra On-line, 1991)
- Lemmings 3 - All New World of Lemmings (Psygnosis, 1994)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Lucas Arts, 1989)
- Tetris (Spectrum Holobyte, 1986)
- Dune 2 - The Building of a Dinasty (Westwood Studios, 1992)
- Sim City (Maxis, 1989)
- Eye or the Beholder (Westwood Associates, 1991)
- Ultima VI: The False Prophet (Origin Systems, 1990)
- Double Dragon (Technos, 1988)
- ALONE IN THE DARK (INFOGRAMES, 1992)
- Epic Pinball (Digital Extremes, 1993)
- Battle Chess (Interplay, 1988)
Dolphin - Wii and Game Cube Emulator
To finish this compilation of the best emulators for PC, we present you another excellent emulator for Windows computers, but not only for PC, but also for Linux and Mac, it is Dolphin, one that allows the emulation of Wii and Game Cube games, two of the most successful desktop consoles for Nintendo.
One of the advantages of this emulator is that has frequent and constant updates. Therefore, the failures it presents are minimal, and increasingly reduced. This guarantees a smooth, stable and fast gaming experience, without major problems. In addition, for that same reason we are facing an emulator with a high game compatibility rate, so almost none escapes it.
Finally, if any link stops downloading it stops working, let us know in the comments. So we update it so that you can get the emulator you want from this list.