Do you miss playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Or do you want to feel the nostalgia of Super Mario World? Well, whatever it is, you can achieve it via the emulator. Speaking of emulators, there are tons of options available. Which one should you go for?
That’s exactly the agenda of this content piece. I have been a casual (and sometimes competitive) gamer for a while now. I have used almost all of the emulators and experienced the hassle that comes with bad options. To save you from that, I will be sharing only the best emulators I used, and you can, too. So, now without further ado, let us head right into it.
A Quick Refresher: What is an Emulator?
You might get a hint from the name itself. The emulator emulates the program for the guest machine that is initially created for the host machine. In simple words, it makes it possible for the guest machine to run an application that wasn’t meant for it. For example, you can play a game on a PC that was made for Nintendo Switch through an emulator.
Best Tried and Tested Emulators for PC in 2025
Are you ready to relive your favorite classics? Let’s head to the best emulator that you can install and use today.
1. Dolphin Emulator
Dolphin is a one-of-a-kind software emulator that lets guest machines play the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo GameCube games like Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Animal Crossing, and more. Dolphin is one of the most reliable emulators that currently exists and has been for 20 years.
The thing I love about Dolphin is that it perfectly emulates the gameplay of Nintendo Wii and Nintendo GameCube. Whether you are playing on Windows, macOS, or even Linux, you can use it to play the retro games.
Just bear in mind that this emulator might need a high-speed internet connection. I always connect to my high-speed Xfinity Internet before launching Dolphin. If you, too, want a seamless experience when playing your favorite retro game, do reach out to Xfinity en español (or English support) for a reliable internet connection.
2. PCSX2 Emulator
The PlayStation 2 console was one of the most popular gaming consoles among gaming fans back in the early 2000s. One of the reasons for its fame was its impressive game titles – from Final Fantasy X to Devil May Cry 3, everything was top-notch.
Do you want to relive those memories? Enter the PCSX2 emulator. It is one of the few PlayStation 2 emulators that can run 98% of the games that used to be played on PlayStation 2. It has been in development for ten years, and now, the developers have almost perfected it.
If you want to play PlayStation 2 games, this is the best no-nonsense emulator out there. Plus, it is pretty easy to get your hands on, so go ahead, install it and cherish your favorite retro games.
3. PPSSPP Emulator
This one emulates the good ol’ PlayStation Portable. If you don’t know about PlayStation Portable, let me explain. Back in the early 2000s, when Nintendo released Nintendo Switch, the Japanese company PlayStation released its own handheld gaming console, which was the PSP.
PSP has been one of the hits in the PlayStation lineup. If you too want to get your hands on the PSP, then install the PPSSPP emulator. It is one of the best emulators that I have used. It (almost) perfectly emulates the PSP, and not just that, it betters it. How? It upscales the definition of the display to HD, and it is smoother than the old PSP.
Apart from that, it is an open-source software-based emulator that is getting improved by developers as well as the community that uses it. An open-source software has a public source code, so anyone can access it, copy it, and improve it. I love this thing about software.
Anyhow, the most loved games from the times of PSP that you can play via PPSSPP are God of War: Chains of Olympus, The Warriors, Spider-Man 2, and more. Not forgetting, you can install this emulator on an Android as well as Windows 10.
4. RetroArch Emulator
If you need a one-stop solution for your emulator needs, this is the one to go for. This is by far my most-used emulator. I said most used and not the most favorite because it is a little complex to comprehend, and with new updates, it always has that learning curve. However, the user interface is clean and will be great after the users get used to it.
It will emulate almost all of the most-used platforms, whether it is a PlayStation or a Nintendo Switch.
You can play games like Metal Slug, Battletoads, Metroid, and Metal Gear via RetroArch, and it is certainly the emulator to experience daily.
That’s been it for emulators. I will conclude this topic by purchasing the ROM instead of pirating it. This will help the developers make more great titles and eventually help the gaming community.