Easily one of the most technically demanding emulators for Android, Dolphin brings GameCube and Wii games to smartphones, and it has come a long way since its initial release in 2013. There are some important system requirements for the emulator to run it at gaming speed. The development team notes that the emulator requires a 64-bit processor and Android Lollipop, but that’s not all you need. When we first published this article in 2019, resident thread addict Adam Sinicki pointed out that the Snapdragon 835 wouldn’t cut the mustard for the most demanding GameCube titles. Instead, Adam said you should look at the Snapdragon 855 if you want smooth frame rates in advanced titles, saying the Xiaomi Mi 9 is the first phone to play games like Metroid Prime at a consistently smooth clip. He added that Snapdragon 845 phones should also perform well in some games. Fast forward to 2021 and the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 888 are in flagship phones these days, so you must have plenty of power for GameCube and Wii emulation, right? GameCube and Wii emulation on smartphones is pretty mature, but you’ll still want the latest phone for advanced titles. We tested Metroid Prime, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and WWE: Day of Reckoning 2 on the Snapdragon 865-toting LG V60, and they generally ran pretty smoothly, only occasionally straying from their benchmarks. personnel So those hoping to play GameCube titles on the go may want to consider a recent highlight. Just don’t expect anything more if your phone only has an octa-core Cortex-A53 chipset (eg Snapdragon 625, Snapdragon 450, Helio P22, Kirin 659). I tested Metroid Prime on a Redmi 5 (Snapdragon 450) and framerates ranged from mid to low teens, or even every single digit. The results were slightly better for Mario Kart: Double Dash, which mostly hits 20fps overall (with the occasional dip to 15fps), but you’re still looking at a slow-motion approach.
