Alternatives to Dolphin

ares suits users seeking a multi-system emulator on Windows, macOS, or Linux, and developers of original software for supported systems who can use its trace logging.

DOSBox-X

DOSBox-X is suited to people running DOS software, preserving historical software, testing or continuing DOS development.

FinalBurn Neo suits retro gaming enthusiasts looking to emulate supported arcade systems and selected consoles.

Flycast suits players looking to emulate Dreamcast or supported arcade systems on Android, Linux, macOS, or Windows.

Manic EMU suits iPhone and iPad users who want to emulate classic systems and use save states, cheats, or multiplayer features.

MAME suits people interested in preserving or examining vintage systems, developing software for them, or diagnosing emulation behavior.

Provenance

Provenance suits Apple-platform users looking for a multi-system retro game emulator frontend.

QEMU

QEMU suits users who need machine or user-mode emulation across CPU architectures.

Genesis Plus GX suits people seeking emulation of Sega 8-bit and 16-bit systems, particularly those using its standalone GameCube or Wii builds or a supported frontend.

Happy Chick suits people looking to play retro games across Android, iOS, or Windows, especially those interested in PSP, arcade, or multiplayer play.

openMSX suits people who want to run MSX software and configure emulated MSX systems across desktop platforms or Android.

RetroArch suits people looking for a unified frontend for emulators, game engines, and media players, from beginners to power users.

86Box

It suits users preserving or exploring historical PC software who can provide BIOS files and configure virtual machines on a supported desktop operating system.

Atari800 suits people who want to run software for Atari 8-bit computers or the Atari 5200 across desktop and Android platforms.

SkyEmu suits players who want to emulate these four handheld systems across desktop, mobile, or web platforms.

Eclipse

Eclipse suits players who want to load games from local files or linked cloud storage and play them on Android, iOS, or web.

EmulatorJS suits people who want to add an emulator to a website and adjust its presentation or language.

Emulicious

Emulicious suits players seeking a free emulator for its five listed console systems, and developers who want debugging tools or VS Code integration.

OpenEmu

OpenEmu suits Mac users who want one library for games they already own and support for many console systems.

VICE suits people who want to run software written for classic Commodore 8-bit computers on Android, Linux, macOS or Windows.

ClassicBoy Pro suits Android users who already have lawful ROMs and want multiple emulator cores, library management and configurable controls.

It suits people who want to automate vintage-system emulation with JSON scripts or an MCP client, including those using the 198x family for lesson programs and output capture.

Clock Signal suits people who want to run classic software on Linux or macOS without managing a separate import process.

Hemulator suits people seeking a configurable desktop emulator for classic systems, as well as developers who want headless tools for automated checks.