10 best emulators for Chromebook

Is it legal to use emulators?

First things first, we must let you know that emulators are in a bit of a gray area in terms of legality. Using emulators, in and of itself, isn’t necessarily illegal, at least in most jurisdictions. The thing is, you’ll need ROM files of the games you’ll play. Creating and/or distributing ROMs can count as pirating.

How to pick the right Chromebook emulator

With that disclosure out of the way, it’s time to get to the fun. There are multiple things to consider when picking the right emulators for Chromebook. Let’s go through some of the main ones.

• Does the emulator support the consoles you want to play?: Some emulators for Chromebook only emulate a single console. Others support a couple or a few. Meanwhile, some options have support for many consoles. It is essential to determine which games you want to play and for which console they are available.
• Where do you want to get the emulator from?: You can get Chromebook emulators from multiple sources. Some of you prefer the safety of the Google Play Store, and there are many options in there. Some emulators run from a browser. If you want something more complete, some emulators come in the form of Linux apps, which you can use if your Chromebook supports Linux apps. Here’s a list of the Chromebooks that support Linux. We also have a guide on installing Linux apps on Chrome OS.
• Controller support: Some emulators have better support for more controllers, while others are limited in these terms. If you’ll be playing with a gamepad, look into support before picking an emulator. And if you don’t have one yet, we have a list of the best controllers. Or, if you prefer, you can also look into our list of the best keyboards, which most emulators support.
• Is it paid or free?: While most emulators are free, some come at a price. This is more often the case if you’re getting one of the best emulators straight from the Google Play Store. However, they tend to compensate for the price with added features and more support.
• Can your Chromebook handle an emulator?: Many Chromebooks are very affordable, which means their specs may not be up to par to run more resource-intensive emulators. You can likely run NES games on any cheap Chromebook, for example, but you’ll need a higher-end or gaming Chromebook to emulate PlayStation 4 games.

It also happens to be a pretty full emulator. This one can emulate a wide variety of consoles, including Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Master System, and Sega Game Gear. It also supports both touch and keyboard controls. Gamepad controls aren’t truly native, but you can map keyboard buttons to gamepad controls manually, so you can definitely use controllers.

More of the best emulators for Chromebook:

• RetroArch: RetroArch may be the only emulator you’ll ever need. It’s available for almost all platforms, and supports most popular consoles.
• Dolphin: Are you more of a Nintendo fan? This emulator can handle all your GameCube and Wii games. It is also a very full emulator with broad support.
• PPSSPP: PSP gamers will love this one. It is a very full emulator with plenty of features, and you can even download some ROMs straight from it.
• NES.emu: The original Nintendo Entertainment System is still kicking, and this is our favorite emulator to play the classics.
• Snes9X EX+: If you’re more of a Super Nintendo fan, this open-source project is the best.
• M64Plus FZ: There are very few good Nintendo 64 emulators out there, so it’s nice Chromebook users can enjoy this one.
• Yuzu: This Nintendo Switch emulator has been tested with a wide variety of games, and it can handle most of them without issues.
• Citra: The Nintendo 3DS has a huge following, and though the portable console is dying, the legacy continues thanks to great emulators like Citra.
• Shadow PC: This one is a bit different. It will let you play some of the best and most advanced PC games in existence, but there’s a catch.

Additionally, it emulates PS, PS2, PSP, Sega Saturn, Sega Dream Cast, Sega Game Gear, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Atari, and many others. It even supports running original game discs, so you can skip the ROMs. And you can play using touch controls, a keyboard, or a controller.

We’ve experienced minimal frame skips or stuttering during our tests. Some games are still better supported than others, though. Even so, Dolphin is your best bet for emulating these two consoles. And you can get it straight from the Google Play Store. But you can also get the Linux version, if you prefer.

PPSSPP is also available on a good variety of platforms. These include Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and even VR. The only downside is that you can only use it to emulate PSP games, but it does so very well. We played Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on two devices without an issue. PPSSPP is free, but you can get the Gold version if you want to support the team for $4.99.

Those looking for a free NES emulator should look into John NESS. It’s ad-supported, but it’s a great emulator, and you can choose to remove the ads by paying, too. And this one also works with SNES ROMs!

You can enjoy all the usual features, such as save/load states, fast forwarding, controller support, keyboard compatibility, touch controls, and more. Not to mention it has excellent game compatibility. Performance is also very stable, and you can even use cheat codes.

As expected, though, M64Plus FZ isn’t perfect. Not every video plugin works with all devices, as some have better support than others. This is why we usually advise that you try the free version first, as the pro version costs $3.99. The main difference is that it gives you access to the netplay server.

You can get Yuzu straight from the Google Play Store, but it’s also available for Windows and Linux. This means you can run the Linux app natively on your Chromebook, too. The regular Yuzu app is free, but you can also pay for the Yuzu Emulator – Early Access app if you want to be among the first to get new features.

Citra is free, but you can pay for Citra Premium as an in-app purchase. It will unlock aesthetic settings and additional texture options. It’s mostly meant to be a way to support the team, though.

The one downside is that Shadow PC is expensive. The Prices start at $32.99 per month, and the upgraded remote PC costs $49.98 monthly. That’s quite a bit of money, but if you’ve been itching for a more powerful PC, and can find more uses for it than gaming, it might be worth it.

Other options

If you’re looking for other options, we have dedicated guides to the best emulators for Android, which you can also use on Chromebooks. Check them out if you’re looking to play specific console games, and the ones listed above don’t quite suit your needs.

An emulator, in gaming terms, is an application or program that can run games that would otherwise only play on a specific gaming console. Emulators are very popular, especially for those who want to play classic consoles that would be very difficult to purchase due to their age.

Yes. There are multiple ways to run emulators on Chromebooks. You can download them as Android apps from the Google Play Store, run Linux emulators, or use web-based versions of emulators.

The easiest way to use an emulator on Chrome OS is likely to simply run one that operates from the web. You can also easily get Android emulators from the Google Play Store. Installing Linux emulators on a Chromebook requires a bit of know-how.

Emulators tend to be free, but there are some that aren’t. Some others also offer both free and paid versions, offering extra features to incentivize gamers to pay.

We can’t give you legal advice, so do your research before using an emulator. Laws can change by country, state, and even city. As a general rule of thumb, though, using emulators isn’t technically illegal. What may be illegal is the use of ROMs, which you need to use emulators. Creating and distributing ROMs can count as piracy, which is essentially theft.