It is not strange that, in these days, the re-editions of old consoles like the Sega Megadrive and the Nintendo NES still have excellent sales results, because the nostalgia of the old players is very strong and some titles have become cult for all seasons. Games like Frogger, Double Dragon, Donkey Kong, Doom, Street Fighter 2, Speedball 2, Final Fight and other historians are still in the memory of those who are 35 or 40 years old today and should still remain points of reference for everyone.
Especially those who played them 20 years ago, but also the youngest ones who want to have fun with the historical games of the first consoles, can still play them on Android smartphones and tablets using the applications that act as emulators, which transform the phone into a ready portable console to load the games of the Nintendo, Sega and other consoles.
Their operation is simple, they are normal applications that require, however, to use a specific folder in which to keep games in the form of ROM (keep in mind that downloading ROM is, in all respects, piracy and that emulators can be used for games already in our possession).
To transfer the ROMs to the phone it is better to create a special folder of "Games" (which will be fine for most apps even if some emulators will ask you to use a specific folder) and transfer them from your computer using a program to transfer files from PC to Android.
To run these applications and games it may be necessary to have a fairly powerful phone, with at least dual core processor.
Below, 10 best game console emulators for Android that work well and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store
1) EmuBox
This is one of the most recent old console emulators for Android, all included. You can play Nintendo DS, PlayStation, SNES, GBA and GBC games, it supports the basic functions for saving games, it has joypad support and various settings to improve performance. Easy to use, it is one of the few emulators with Material Design. Obviously you have to load your ROMs into the app.
2) Nostalgia.NES NES Emulator
What makes the 2P NES emulator exceptional is that it allows you to play old NES games in two player mode via WiFi. This makes it one of the best free emulators for Android to play multiplayer games with a friend in hit, Super Mario and sports games. This emulator runs the ROMs saved on the device and does not include games.
3) NDS Boy! ( Nintendo DS emulator )
To play Nintendo DS games you can install this application and then load the games from your computer. This emulator is one of the most popular for Android, it is frequently updated and works without blocking on most phones.
4) John NESS ( NES and SNES emulator )
The Nintendo 64 was one of the best consoles ever released, with games with graphics of the same quality as those of the arcades. John NESS is an emulator highly appreciated by players who loved Nintendo 64 games, it works well and is very fast to load. The controls are well positioned at the bottom corners of the screen so you can play with your thumbs just like you did with the Nintendo64 joypad. Everything in this emulator works beautifully and with great precision.
5) Multi Snes9x allows you to play your favorite SNES games with friends on the LAN or online.
6) Mupen64Plus FZ ( N64 )
This is an excellent emulator for Android, with the same features as MegaN64, very nice for the way it presents the library games, with the start icons.
7) ClassicBoy ( PS1, N64, Game Boy )
For fans of the old Game Boy and Game Boy Advanced the ClassicBoy emulator should be very satisfying because it allows you to play the old games of these historic portable consoles on your smartphone. It is highly customizable so you can adjust the advanced settings of the emulator and you can also customize the user interface. The positioning of the control, the retro graphics and the original sounds of the games are perfect.
8) RetroArch ( GBA, NES, Sega, PS and more )
If you want a single application to include multiple emulators from various consoles, this is the one to download to the phone. You can also emulate old Atari and Commodore 64 computers as well as any Game Boy, PlayStation or Nintendo model. The operation of the controls will be more or less comfortable depending on the console and the game, most likely it will take some practice to get used to it.
9) PPSSPP ( PSP emulator )
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was Sony's answer to the Game Boy, a highly successful portable gaming system when it came out in 2004, with games of the highest graphics quality. The settings and loading of the ROMs are easy to manage from the settings menu, while the controls work well and manage to turn a smartphone into PSP almost perfectly.
10) Androgens ( Sega Genesis Emulator )
The Sega Genesis console was not a commercial success, but some still remember it as one of the most technically advanced, with some of the best games.
Who owns games for Sega Genesis can load them on the Android phone and run them with this excellent emulator.
11) MAME4droid ( MAME emulator )
MAME4droid is the Android version of Mame, the most popular emulator for playing old PC games that I talked about several years ago. The library of games supported by Mame has more than 8000 titles, some of which can be controlled well for the smartphone, while others will be unplayable.
12) Arcade Games Emulator is one of the easiest emulators to use on Android, with the games already present inside it. n this emulator you can find pre-loaded games of the Arcade genre, which were the most popular in the arcades of the 90s early 2000s such as Double Dragon, Alien, Blade Master, Ghost and Goblin, Street Fighter and Altered Beast, optimized to be controlled with the buttons on the touchscreen
Finally, if you are bad with emulators and you don't have games available, I remember that many of the best mobile games of the past are available in the Google Play store
Especially those who played them 20 years ago, but also the youngest ones who want to have fun with the historical games of the first consoles, can still play them on Android smartphones and tablets using the applications that act as emulators, which transform the phone into a ready portable console to load the games of the Nintendo, Sega and other consoles.
Their operation is simple, they are normal applications that require, however, to use a specific folder in which to keep games in the form of ROM (keep in mind that downloading ROM is, in all respects, piracy and that emulators can be used for games already in our possession).
To transfer the ROMs to the phone it is better to create a special folder of "Games" (which will be fine for most apps even if some emulators will ask you to use a specific folder) and transfer them from your computer using a program to transfer files from PC to Android.
To run these applications and games it may be necessary to have a fairly powerful phone, with at least dual core processor.
Below, 10 best game console emulators for Android that work well and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store
1) EmuBox
This is one of the most recent old console emulators for Android, all included. You can play Nintendo DS, PlayStation, SNES, GBA and GBC games, it supports the basic functions for saving games, it has joypad support and various settings to improve performance. Easy to use, it is one of the few emulators with Material Design. Obviously you have to load your ROMs into the app.
2) Nostalgia.NES NES Emulator
What makes the 2P NES emulator exceptional is that it allows you to play old NES games in two player mode via WiFi. This makes it one of the best free emulators for Android to play multiplayer games with a friend in hit, Super Mario and sports games. This emulator runs the ROMs saved on the device and does not include games.
3) NDS Boy! ( Nintendo DS emulator )
To play Nintendo DS games you can install this application and then load the games from your computer. This emulator is one of the most popular for Android, it is frequently updated and works without blocking on most phones.
4) John NESS ( NES and SNES emulator )
The Nintendo 64 was one of the best consoles ever released, with games with graphics of the same quality as those of the arcades. John NESS is an emulator highly appreciated by players who loved Nintendo 64 games, it works well and is very fast to load. The controls are well positioned at the bottom corners of the screen so you can play with your thumbs just like you did with the Nintendo64 joypad. Everything in this emulator works beautifully and with great precision.
5) Multi Snes9x allows you to play your favorite SNES games with friends on the LAN or online.
6) Mupen64Plus FZ ( N64 )
This is an excellent emulator for Android, with the same features as MegaN64, very nice for the way it presents the library games, with the start icons.
7) ClassicBoy ( PS1, N64, Game Boy )
For fans of the old Game Boy and Game Boy Advanced the ClassicBoy emulator should be very satisfying because it allows you to play the old games of these historic portable consoles on your smartphone. It is highly customizable so you can adjust the advanced settings of the emulator and you can also customize the user interface. The positioning of the control, the retro graphics and the original sounds of the games are perfect.
8) RetroArch ( GBA, NES, Sega, PS and more )
If you want a single application to include multiple emulators from various consoles, this is the one to download to the phone. You can also emulate old Atari and Commodore 64 computers as well as any Game Boy, PlayStation or Nintendo model. The operation of the controls will be more or less comfortable depending on the console and the game, most likely it will take some practice to get used to it.
9) PPSSPP ( PSP emulator )
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was Sony's answer to the Game Boy, a highly successful portable gaming system when it came out in 2004, with games of the highest graphics quality. The settings and loading of the ROMs are easy to manage from the settings menu, while the controls work well and manage to turn a smartphone into PSP almost perfectly.
10) Androgens ( Sega Genesis Emulator )
The Sega Genesis console was not a commercial success, but some still remember it as one of the most technically advanced, with some of the best games.
Who owns games for Sega Genesis can load them on the Android phone and run them with this excellent emulator.
11) MAME4droid ( MAME emulator )
MAME4droid is the Android version of Mame, the most popular emulator for playing old PC games that I talked about several years ago. The library of games supported by Mame has more than 8000 titles, some of which can be controlled well for the smartphone, while others will be unplayable.
12) Arcade Games Emulator is one of the easiest emulators to use on Android, with the games already present inside it. n this emulator you can find pre-loaded games of the Arcade genre, which were the most popular in the arcades of the 90s early 2000s such as Double Dragon, Alien, Blade Master, Ghost and Goblin, Street Fighter and Altered Beast, optimized to be controlled with the buttons on the touchscreen
Finally, if you are bad with emulators and you don't have games available, I remember that many of the best mobile games of the past are available in the Google Play store
