RA Tracker
RetroAchievements has become one of the most beloved additions to the modern emulation scene, adding Xbox- or Steam-like achievement and trophy systems to your favorite retro games. This can turn a simple playthrough of a classic game into a true challenge, with unlockable badges for difficult in-game feats, speed challenges, or hidden secrets you might have missed as a kid. It really can breathe new life into games that otherwise haven’t changed in 30 years or more.
The only problem is that it isn’t easy to keep tabs on your progress. Some emulators like RetroArch make it easy to log in to your account and track your achievements as you unlock them, but you can’t browse sets for other games or compare your achievements with your friends. That’s where the RA Tracker app comes in. The unofficial companion app connects to your account via the public API and gives you a dedicated way to browse leaderboards or look up achievement sets to plan future sessions around specific challenges. You can also do this in a browser, but the app makes it far more convenient on a smartphone.
RA Tracker is free to download from the Google Play Store, with an aggregated 4.5-star rating. Like the wider RetroAchievements ecosystem, it’s a community-led effort rather than a big-budget app, so it’s focused, if a little barebones. Still, it’s a must-have for all dedicated “cheevo” hunters.
PPSSPP
The PSP helped usher in the current handheld gaming craze, standardizing the widescreen candy bar format that the Nintendo Switch 2 still uses to this day. Despite its modern design, Sony’s hit handheld came to U.S. shores way back in 2005. That makes it just over the twenty-year hurdle most gamers hold for official retro status, no matter how old it might make you feel.
Thankfully, most PSP games have aged very well, and the PPSSPP emulator makes it incredibly easy to play them on your phone. Created by Dolphin co-founder Henrik Rydgård, PPSSPP is one of the most mature emulators on the market, regardless of system. In fact, it was first released while the PSP was still in circulation, back in November 2012. Over the years, it’s been highly optimized and ported to every platform from Android and iOS to the Nintendo Wii U and Switch. It even allows you to connect to community multiplayer servers long after Sony shut down the official program.
There are two versions of PPSSPP on the Google Play Store, starting with the free base version, currently holding a 4.5-star rating. The paid PPSSPP Gold version is identical to the base version, but it’s an easy way to pay the developer for his hard work. Both versions are still in active development, but you’ll have to rip your own .ISO or .CSO files to play.
Dolphin
Nintendo has taken baby steps toward making GameCube games playable on modern hardware with support via Nintendo Classics on the Switch, but it’s actually surprisingly easy to play your collection on your phone thanks to the Dolphin emulator. It’s been under development for more than two decades, and at this point, it can run the entire GameCube catalog on any relatively modern phone. After all, many gaming phones are now more powerful than a Nintendo Switch. With the right widescreen hacks and a few neat tricks to improve framerates and resolution, games can look even better than they did on the original hardware.
But Dolphin doesn’t only run GameCube games. It also runs Nintendo Wii games thanks to the remarkable similarities between the two consoles. Wii support was added in 2008, and last year it finally achieved full compatibility with the Wii catalog. Some of these games are playable with on-screen touch controls or a standard controller, but the emulator also supports Wii Remotes via Bluetooth. Just be aware that you may need a secondary app or device.
Dolphin is free to download from the Google Play Store, with a 4.1-star rating after more than 10 million downloads. Like most emulators, it does not come with any games, so you’ll need to provide your own game files.
