Smartphone Emulation Or PC Emulation

[Krazy Kat]

I use a Retroid Pocket 5 and it works fine. I can even dock it and play on the big screen and use m+kb.
PC is preferable for more demanding systems like PS3 and such.

i also used retroid pocket 5 to play retro emulation and joiplay (rpg maker and renpy emulator) and Pc for steam games

 

[Nidstang]

I never use my phone for emulation... not really sure why, I just dont
I use my PC a lot, or devices like the NES/SNES Mini consoles.

 

[Suam_Kais]

Whenever I use Bluetooth controllers with a phone, there's always an unpleasant input lag that pisses me off to no end.

GameSir make an excellent USB-C controller that has power pass thru and a headphone jack.

 

[Lainon]

i also used retroid pocket 5 to play retro emulation and joiplay (rpg maker and renpy emulator) and Pc for steam games

Thanks for reminding me of joiplay, I had that one bookmarked and haven't got a chance to check it out. I still need to check out winlator so I can try some other PC VNs and indie games

 

[Krazy Kat]

Thanks for reminding me of joiplay, I had that one bookmarked and haven't got a chance to check it out. I still need to check out winlator so I can try some other PC VNs and indie games

i had good time with fear and hunger game, it works flawless on joiplay, it also have the ability to cheat during the gameplay

 

[Platinum_depth]

Yo emulo en mi teléfono porque no tengo PC pero como soy único y especial xD también emulo en mi ps3 con retro arch

 

[DanCalibur]

A friend got a Samsung Galaxy S23 with a busted screen online almost for free and is using it plugged on a tv to play PS2 games in 1080p

 

[LSDMemeEmulator]

PC and it's not remotely close. One thing I will give phone emulation though is it lets a lot of people that don't have access to a decent gaming rig to play some stuff they otherwise couldn't play and I'd say that's a good thing overall. I will say however that there's been an uptick in tech illiterate apple brain posts online ever since they got a taste of emulation and that's been unfortunate to say the least lol

 

[deadpixel01]

PC for comfort and power, knowing I can run most games and phone for older games and mobility, I can play anywhere I want.

 

[Deleted member 179251]

In my opinion, it depends on the platform you are trying to emulate. If you are trying emulate something like gameboy or gameboy advance or wonderswan, hardware whose resolution was always meant for smaller screen, and the controls aren't that complex in them, so for them, I reccomend smartphone, mainly on the basis of better texture quality. Especially if you are playing gba rpg like Golden Sun, since there is nothing better than sitting on the toilet and grinding. lol. XD

For anything else though, like ps1, dreamcast, ps2, or even though it was supposed to be a handheld, psp, I would reccomend pc. Mainly because of what other people have explained, that touch can be really slippery with complex controls (for example if you need to press R1 + Square in resident evil to shoot or just controlling the basic camera system of King's Field), and can really torture your hands. I tried that once with Syphon Filter, and I felt like my fingers got disjointed just trying to control the camera. XD
The reason I also reccomend pc for psp, is because it introduced the analog stick. With gba, you only had a d-pad and two buttons, and two triggers. Though sometimes some trigger motions could be sticky with gba, most of it is doable. With psp though, there is a d-pad, an analog stick, and four buttons and also triggers. It would literally cause a similar issues that it may do with trying to play a ps1 game on smartphone. So in case of psp, pc is again adviced to be used as an emulation device. There is also the fact that in comparison to gba, psp had lot more action games, while gba was usually filled with rpgs and 2D platformers. While psp had actual 3D games and games that required precise inputs.

So yeah.

GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, Wonderswan, Wonderswan color, Sega Game Gear, Tiger Electronics, maybe NES/SMS, possibly 70s atari consoles -- I reccomend smartphone. Especially if you are playing a rpg like Golden Sun, Final Fantasy V Advance, or Mother 3.

Anything else, whether its PS1/2/3, GameCube, OG Xbox, PC DOS, PSP, PSVITA, N64, SNES, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, or even Arcade, I 100% reccomend PC to emulate their games. Especially if they are action games. Though turn based rpgs like final fantasy, can be an exception I guess.

Anyway, hopefully this helped.

Post automatically merged: Apr 12, 2025

Though I personally emulate every platform on PC, because if I play on smartphone, I can have addiction issues. With a pc you can eventually shut it down, but with smartphone it is always there. And as good as playing Final Fantasy V all day sounds awesome, it can cause serious issues if you play longer than like 10 hours. I played Final Fantasy II on my mobile once for 12 hours straight, and I couldn't sleep that night and also had severe neck and finger pains the next day. So I reccomend PC in case you are concerned about your screentime and health concerns.

 

[Geistmensch]

Look, running emulators on Smartphones is finiky. I have an android phone, so I will only share my experience with android, I don't know anything about apple as I severely dislike their products.

The only advantage that Smartphones have over PC is obviously the portability and in most cases the quality of the screen, I will explain. Most phones today come with 1080p native resolution, and the average diagonal size is 6", and if you're a smart buyer you will prefer AMOLED instead of LCD as they're getting really affordable in the mobile market.

But that's all the nice things I can say about it mobile emulation. If you detest vanilla retroarch like I do, good luck finding an alternative. There are people have the audacity to make paid emulators instead of free, and don't give me the "its to support the devs!!!!11one" schtick, I'm not buying it figurately and literally.

Another major drawback is to even make emulation playable on your phone is you need an android gamepad, either telescopic one or with a bracket, in my opinion the bracket one is perfectly fine as telescopic ones can actually fetch over 50 bucks, in this case just buy a good retro handheld isntead.

Lastly, in phones processing power is mostly severely limited, unless you have a high end phone that fetches 4 figures. In my mirdange poco x5 pro I was able to run even PS2 games just fine, but anything higher than that is simply inaccessible.

 

[Smyth200788]

Does anyone know if it is possible to play the PC game series ‘Age of Wonders’ using retroarch on Iphone? Heard great things about that series

 

[NotGodlike]

PC, it's less claustrophobic for certain types of games, and less input lag + more precise.
Besides that I always view phones as something you would use for general daily life activity and not gaming, because games and emulators drain battery on your phone, and it'll suck having to run out of battery (I know power banks exist, but it's inconvenient to keep track of their charge and have them take up your space)

 

[Natsuyasumi]

I compare it to Home console vs. handheld. Both have their ideal use cases.

For mobile, I have a nice controller with a phone clamp, so I can thoroughly enjoy any game that way, regardless of where I want to hang. Playing some games with touch controls (RPGs and other games that do not require well-timed input) isn't a problem at all, so that really opens things up.

PC/TV is more ideal for when you really want that solid gaming experience. I appreciate the ergonomics of playing on a PC/TV, because typically you don't have to look down and curl your arms up like a T-Rex. Having that nice big screen is more ideal for most non-handheld games, too.

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2025

Speaking of android, should I emulate games on my Game tv stick (it has lots of preinstalled roms in a sd card and I was able to download emulators such as snes9x) or should I still emulate them on my PC?

If your "Game TV Stick" is set up on a tv that has a comfy viewing experience, why not? My Computer is at a desk with an office chair, not ideal for chilling out, imo. I have a Mac mini connected to my main TV with a host of games. For me, that is the most ideal way to game, totally immersed and able to fully relax my body.

 

[koutameoshifan27]

i prefer pc because it's easier for me to navigate the files and set everything up. that and i play a lot of mobile gacha games so i need extra space on my phone

 

[Leon]

I'm borderline illiterate when it comes to phones so PC it is. Also, I like buttons and big screen.

Dude same here, i suck at using phones though to be fair i couldn't care less about them.

As for the question it's not really a question at all, phones lack alot of the power needed for some systems to even be emulated properly, so pc is best, either windows or linux.

 

[Alex1111]

PC, always, because i cant stand the buttons all over my screen while playing on the phone. My only exception is Gran Turismo 2 in my phone because there are no good racing games in the play store. To avoid the buttons appearing over the game screen, i just play in 4:3

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[Mini_Man.XW]

Dedicated handheld, I like keeping my phone alive as long as possible for work or family.