Best console for emulation / homebrew

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

I think I sqeezed everything of original Xbox which is an absolute beast in terms of emulation and homebrew. I've run flawlessly games for Atari 2600 / 5200 /7800, NES, SNES, Genesis, Master System, PSX, GB/GBC/GBA, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga, N64, even some of the Saturn / 3DO / Jaguar / DS / MAME titles are playable. And there are some many ports of PC classics like Diablo, Hear of Darkness, Doom, DN3D, Quake 1-3, Descent, Star Control 2, Heretic, Hexen 1/2, Shadow Warrior, Rise of the Triad, Jazz Jackrabbit, Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Aliens vs Predator and many more...

Question is - has it been beaten as far as 2023 goes? More of horsepower doesn't mean shit unless devoted community is involved, I was already disappointed with with PS3, despite having maor raw power it didn't really delivered copmaring to Xbox except for 'hidden' PS2 software emulator.

Vita? 3DS? Xbox Series S/X? Anything else?

 

[Great Deceiver]

Why not build a cheap emulation box instead of going for a console?

From what I hear, Series S is probably the best console for emulation right now, but I think you have to pay to enable dev features.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Why not build a cheap emulation box instead of going for a console?

You mean just PC? PC is king and that's too easy, modding console and squeeze every bit of its power is infinitely more fun.

 

[Ash]

Can't you just play and actually enjoy video games like a normal person? Lol. Just fucking with you. Got to respect a techie and his passions on some level.

 

[Abu Antar]

It's not the best, but if you're into portable gaming, the PlayStation Vita is great. It's the only system that I do emulation on.
https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Emulators_on_Vita#Multi-system

I also heard Xbox Series S is supposed to be the best console for emulation.

 

[Johnny Rico]

I played many 8/16 bits games on original Xbox, was (really really) great, but honestly...Any modern hardware (2010 potato pc) running Retroarch with some of the best overlays/shaders/filters is a must...I can't stand pre-2000 emulation without any CRT look...fuck this crispy clean shitty LED display...And I'm still not talking about touchscreen overlays...Will never get back after enjoying all of this...





CRT Royale NTSC is one of my main ones, but I love tweaking to get THE best settings for me

 

[Vic]

A computer running retroarch that is hooked up to a CRT TV will give you access to everything you need.

 

[Ash]

Pay attention bro. the thread is asking for which console is the best for emulating other machines. e.g using a PS Vita to emulate a SNES.

 

[Johnny Rico]

Pay attention bro. the thread is asking for which console is the best for emulating other machines. e.g using a PS Vita to emulate a SNES.

Ok, sorry...

I tried Retroarch on Vita and 3DS, was ok on both, but crash happened sometimes (maybe less on Vita)...

I guess Series S/X is the key for perfect experience, then.

 

[taxalot]

Save a tiny bit and get a Steam Deck. Seriously.

 

[Eirinjas]

I modded my son's Wii - it can play all the retro systems up to PS1 & N64, though emulation for those two are spotty. It shines best with the 8-bit and 16-bit era systems. It is also modded to play Wii and Gamecube isos off a USB or MicroSD. Wiis can be softmodded, so no need for special hardware or technical expertise. You just have to follow a proper guide so you don't brick it.

 

[RolePlayer]

I think PS3 is the easy winner here.

• It plays DVDs & Bluray
• It streams Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
• It supports 5.1 surround sound through hdmi and optical audio
• PSN Support for online multiplayer still active today
• It has a lot of big budget first-party games that run excellently on the system
• Massive library of single player focused games
• Post Ylod models, the newer models are very durable
• You can play PS1 (native), some PS2, and PS3 (native) games on it
• Retroarch runs well on it (8 and 16 bit era run well)
• They are $40 on ebay shipped.

 

[Vic]

On my 3DS I can natively play (no emulation, runs on real hardware):

- 3DS
- DS/i
- GBA

Then what can be emulated with the virtual console

- GBX/GBC
- NES
- SNES

Then what is available as emulators:

- Genesis
- Atari 2600
- TurboGrafx-16
- ???

Not bad for one handheld, and games look great on the XL model in 'pixel perfect' mode.

But, I've had the console for many years and even after replacements some buttons just don't work as well anymore. I think a PC is the best choice as it's future proof and guaranteed to run all your games and doesn't require specialty hardware, unlike consoles.

 

[Maxie]

Anbernic devices

 

[Eirinjas]

Anbernic devices

I have:


&


...and I recommend both. The Retroid Pocket 3 Plus can play up to Dreamcast and PSP (it CAN play half of Gamecube & PS2 fine, but performance is low for the rest), there is 3DS emulation (but I haven't touched it), and because it is an android device you can play android games and PC ports. The Anbernic RG35xx can play up to PS1 and PC ports (Diablo, Doom, ...).

 

[e-mailio estevez]

I used my old OLED Vita as a emulation machine for many years and did like it a lot. To this day I think it has one of the best d-pads on any system, even the little joystick nubs blow the 3DS' out of the water for form factor and comfort. Playing something like Binding of Isaac on the Vita felt much better than on PC with an XBox controller thanks to the Vita's hair-sensitive joysticks.

But it did have issues emulating anything past SNES / Genesis games without nasty framedrops. GBA games ran like complete dogshit. Granted, this was many many years ago so maybe development has gone places and these things run better now. At the time development for homebrew Vita stuff paled in comparison to other systems, just due to how niche a system it was.

My guess is that the best choice is something like one of those custom emulation boxes above. But I would never take a chance on one of them personally without a big discount or a chance to test one out first. The quality of the d-pad and buttons is too important to take a chance on- that's really the biggest hangup with an all-in-one handheld. You might be able to sync a controller to it or something if the controls are bad, but that kind of defeats the entire purpose.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

But it did have issues emulating anything past SNES / Genesis games without nasty framedrops.

It's ridiculous how bad N64 emulation is on some pretty modern devices, including Vita.

Meanwhile, OG Xbox runs +90% of Nintendo 64 library thanks to x64 architecture and Surreal64, a compilation of old PC low level emulators like Project64 or UltraHLE. Those few titles that are unplayable are those rare games that demand LLE like Resident Evil 2, Rogue Squadron, Battle for Naboo or Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine.