DuckStation
DuckStation is an open-source PlayStation 1 emulator mainly for PC and Android. It's still in early development but aims to have system simulation, debugging and resolution upscaling. It can play multiple commercial games albeit not at full-speed nor without any glitches. It has Qt/SDL front-ends an, D3D11/OpenGL hardware and software rendering and many more features. Overall, its outlook seems quite promising!
Check here for Duckstation builds with netplay!
Note: A real bios image is required.
Last Dev-Release:
8d80a / 29-04-2025
Retroarch
Beetle PSX HW (Mednafen-based libretro core)
RetroArch is a frontend for libretro emulator cores, game engines and even media players. It enables you to run classic games using Libretro on a wide range of computers and consoles through its unified graphical interface. Settings are also unified so configuration can be done once and applied and applied to all. It has advanced features like shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, and more.
Consoles covered include but are not limited to PlayStation 1, Super Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System, GameBoy/GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, Arcade, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Virtual Boy, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega Master System/Sega Game Gear, Sega CD/Mega CD, PC Engine/PC Engine CD, WonderSwan Color/Crystal, Cave Story, Doom(s) and much more!
It can run on the usual platforms like Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, but it stands alone in that it can support far more platforms beyond just that.
Ludo - A smaller libretro front end by only implementing the core features and by targeting less platforms but definitely shares a lot of the same core values.
Lakka - lightweight Linux distribution for small computers like Raspberry Pi
RArch - It incorporates Kaillera to offer the possibility to play games online.
Last Stable Release:
1.21.0
Dated:
29-04-2025
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Windows: Vista+
Linux: Please follow their instructions
Mac: Apple macOS High Sierra+ with Metal2
Check the default directory for BIOS files under “Settings -> Directory -> System/BIOS”
Note: BIOS not provided. Use provided publicly-sourced BIOS
BIOS requirements:
scph5500.bin (NTSC – Japan)
scph5501.bin (NTSC – US)
scph5502.bin (PAL – Europe)
PCSXR-PGXP
PCSX-Reloaded uses the PSEMU plugin interface to provide most functionality. It's currently integrated with PCSX-R via Pete's OpenGL v1.78 plugin and Tapeq's Tweak extension to Pete's OpenGL v2.9 plugin. PGXP (Parallel/Precision Geometry Transform Pipeline) is an enhancement for PlayStation emulation that produces high precision fully 3D geometry data that was not available on the original console hardware.
Features of this build:
High Precision Vertex Data (more stable geometry)
Reduced Triangle Culling (more detailed models)
Perspective Correct Texture Mapping (reduced texture distortion)
Note: It has a very capable Internal HLE BIOS that can run many games
without problems. That said, a real bios can improve compatibility, especially with certain games and with the use of memory cards.
1.9.95.m.9-ay
Last Stable Release:
28-08-2021
Dated:
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Windows/Linux: 32-bit+
Mednafen
My Emulator Doesn't Need A Frickin' Excellent Name is an open-source, multi-system emulator, driven from the command-line, OpenGL and SDL. Its Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Virtual Boy, and NEC PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) original cores are recognized for their high quality, compatibility and accuracy.
There are several front-ends available, if you don't know how to execute via command-line:
MedGui Reborn (Windows)
MedLaunch (Windows)
Mednaffe (Multi-platform)
For CRT screens, you can try emu4crt since this mod is intended for ~15kHz TVs or arcade monitors. Check it out here.
Last Stable Release:
1.32.1
Dated:
06-04-2024
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Windows: 7+ (64-bit is recommended; for better performance and functionality)
Linux: Please follow their instructions on provided homepage to build from source.
Note: It outputs at native resolution, though is considered to be the most accurate.
Running mednafen.exe once will create some directories, like firmware which is where the BIOS file goes.
Hence, run it once and then copy the BIOS file to the firmware directory (name bios like below between parenthesis)
BIOS not provided. Use provided publicly-sourced BIOS
BIOS requirements:
"scph5500.bin" (NTSC – Japan)
"scph5501.bin" (NTSC – US)
"scph5502.bin" (PAL – Europe)
XEBRA
XEBRA is a closed-source Japanese PlayStation emulator which focuses on accuracy. That said, it does not use any plugins and only outputs in native resolution.
Note: It has a very capable Internal HLE BIOS that can run many games without problems. That said, a real bios can improve compatibility, especially with certain games.
Last Stable Release:
221106
Dated:
09-11-2022
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Windows: None reported
Android: 2.3+
ePSXe
ePSXe (enhanced PSX emulator) is a closed-sourced emulator based on PSEmu Pro plugin system which emulates the GPU, SPU and CD-ROM drive. It's able to run most PlayStation games quite accurately without having to alter extensively through trial by error testing.
Note: It has a very capable Internal HLE BIOS that can run many games
without problems. That said, a real bios can improve compatibility, especially with certain games and with the use of memory cards.
Last Stable Release:
2.0.5
Dated:
23-06-2016
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Windows: XP+
Mac: OSX+ 64-bit
Android: 2.3.3+
CPU: Dual-Core 1.2 GHz+
GPU: DirectX 7a / OpenGL 2.0+
RAM: 512MB
Avocado
It's a modern experimental PlayStation 1 emulator which focuses on relatively modern hardware (2010+) and non-legacy OSes. Avocado is currently single-threaded, so single thread performance is what really matters since multi-core won't bring much benefit. Also, it currently requires OpenGL 3.2 but will be lifted once software rendering is supported.
Note: It requires a real console BIOS and has to be stored in the data/bios directory.
Last Release:
c32ea43f / 19-09-2023
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Windows: 7+
MacOS: 10.13+
Linux: Nothing repoted
GPU: Graphics card supporting OpenGL 3.2+
CPU: SSE3 compatible (CPUs after 2004) x64 or x86 processor
eNGE
eNGE is a pure JavaScript Playstation 1 emulator which runs reasonably fast and through Google Chrome. It has basic functions such as BIOS support, gamepad, loading cdrom, memcards and even settings for increasing rendering resolution. That said, it doesn't have other advanced rendering and customization features compared to others.
Last Release:
Actively developed but difficult to track
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Run through Google Chrome
General Info
- It was the first plugin to feature extra-accuracy for geometry (the PGXP thing), four years before BeetlePSX.
- It was the first plugin to feature 3D rendering, back in 2010.
Steps:
- Unpack the 7z in the same folder as ePSXe.exe or PCSXR-PGXP.exe
- Always open the emulator through "open-epsxe-or-pcsxr-pgxp-with-edgbla-gpublade.cmd"
ePSXe & Duckstation Cheats Pack available here
- All-In-One Utility with tools & backup manager for PS1, PS2, PSX, PS3, PS4 & PS5, PSP & PS Vita.
Relevant Files
PS1 BIOS (provided from GameTechWiki)