If you would rather be playing Metal Gear Solid than waiting for a Zoom call, and deciding on which PS1 emulator to download on your handheld or smartphone then you have come to the right place.
The Playstation 1 is undoubtedly one of the best consoles and features many of the best retro video games ever released, so I understand why you’d be looking for the best emulator to make your gaming experience as fluid as possible.
I have been testing handheld emulators for over 5 years now, and have put a disgusting ammount of hours into tinkering through settings, so I want to share my favourite emulators to emulate your classic Playstation games across a multitude of platforms.
PLEASE NOTE – This article is purely for educational, scientific, and knowledge-enhancing purposes only. Retro Dodo does not condone illegal downloading of copyrighted material and/or ROM files. Emulators should be used with ROMs that you own the copyright too.
Table of Contents
1. RetroArch
- Incredibly Reliable
- Open To Hundreds of Cores
- Available On Most Platforms
- Boring User Experience
- Requires Tweaking Between Cores
- Release Date: 2010
- Open Source
- Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Raspberry Pi, FreeBSD
- Download here
Many readers may have come across RetroArch. The truth is that it’s an incredible program that can emulate pretty much every major console on every operating system. It’s an open-source frontend for emulators, although it’s not the most visually pleasing of the bunch it’s the most effective.
It does this by housing dozens of ‘cores’ that give users access to thousands of emulation capabilities, instead of focusing on one particular set of plugins to emulate a singe console.
In this instance, the PS1 Core I use is Beetle PSX. With the power of RetroArch behind it, Beetle PSX is a force to be reckoned with. It emulates all of your favourite old school games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Croc, Final Fantasy, and many more games with ease.
I also happen to use retro arch on my retro handhelds using both Linux and Android, it’s reliable and that’s what we all need in an emulator at the end of the day.
2. Duckstation
- Very Fast PS1 Performance
- Easy User Interface
- On Most Platforms
- Not On iOS (Yet)
- Open Source
- Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android
- Developed by stenzek
- Download here
Duckstation is the fastest Playstation 1 emulator on the market right now and is loved by the retro gaming community around the world. Available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android it’s ready to download in all of the right places (we’re just waiting patiently for iOS now).
It is well known for fluid performance, reliable overclocking, advanced cheat code support and a easy to understand user interface, unlike RetroArch which is why many like to use it. It is also an emulator that is open to installing proprietary plugins for those that want to get a little adventurous.
It has been around for a long while now and is continually getting updates and upgrades from the developers and community, it’s the go to for those wanting something simple and fast.
3. PCSX – ReARMED
- Great For ARM Users
- Good Controller Support
- Worried That It Will Stop Development
- For Niche PCs & Handhelds
- Closed Source
- Developed by notaz & Exophase
- Windows, Linux, Android
- Download here
PCSX ReARMED is the updated and new fork of the older PCSX Reloaded which is no longer in development. ReARMed features unique and more reliable optimisations for systems that use an ARM based CPU.
It’s a niche emulator for sure and best used with very specific handhelds and PC’s, although it does work well using it as a core in Retroarch if you don’t mind making some tweaks to the settings for better performance. It also has retro achievements too for those that want to complete challenges within the emulator.
Overall it’s a great emulator and one that has been around for a while now, I just hope it can keep getting frequent updates and not left in the dust like its older brother.
4. ePSXe
- One Of The First PS1 Emulators
- Used By Thousands During Its Time
- No Longer Developed
- Buggy In Places
- Unreliable
- No longer being developed.
- Windows, Linux, Android
- Download here
ePSXe doesn’t just play ROMs from a computer hard drive; it also reads discs too. The program uses plugins to recreate the inner workings of a PS1, providing CD-Rom drive functions as well as emulating GPU, music, and sound effects.
Back in 2000, ePSXe was a revolutionary piece of kit, and with patches and upgrades, it’s still used by many, even if it does have a lot of flaws and has kinda been left behind. Available on Windows, Linux, and Android devices, the program plays all of the top PS1 games flawlessly without any hiccups.
I do worry that with better choices on the market that there’s only one way this emulator can go without some serious help, and that’s downhill, but it’s still playable as of now.
