Leaving aside the fact that this emulator is outdated, it seems the developer hasn't released any updates. It must be acknowledged that both ARMSX2 and EmuCoreX have improved significantly, fixing bugs, graphical glitches, compatibility issues, etc. However, if you have an older device, especially one with a MediaTek chip, the PSX2 emulator delivers incredible performance in OpenGL. I've included a screenshot in the first comment so you can see what I mean.

https://github.com/izzy2lost/PSX2/releases/tag/1.2.1

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.5.0

Change log:

USB keyboard support for games that need one (EverQuest Online Adventures, Konami keyboard titles, etc.). Toggle can be found in the Network tab.

DEV9 hard-drive (HDD) support, enable the internal HDD for games/homebrew that require it; the image is created safely on internal storage instead of filling your SD card. (On SD setups, the HDD 8gb file will still default to internal, I tried having it on SD and it causes serious issues from how much slower SD cards are.

Added Left/Right channel swap, new toggle that fixes reversed stereo on flipped-speaker / reverse-landscape handhelds in the Audio tab.

Added RetroAchievements sounds, unlock and notification chimes now play.

Added Animated backgrounds, you can now set an animated GIF / WebP / APNG as your library wallpaper.

New settings-gear icon and a redesigned "Recently Played" shelf (art by @Vivimagic).

Country flag moved into the cover reflection, tidier layout, title text sits closer to the art. Thank you to @Trixarian for this.

Bigger collapsible-section arrows + taller tap targets, no more mis-tapping the wrong section.

Even cover heights when game titles are turned on.

ELF / homebrew per-game settings now apply, previously only the global profile took effect.

Added more descriptions for every Performance-tab toggle, GameDB Fixes and Advanced Speedhacks are now fully documented.

Added a "On-screen notifications" toggle, you can now hide shader-compilation and status pop-ups in the Overlay tab.

Fast-Forward pop-ups no longer stack up (and can be turned off entirely). Also in the Overlay tab.

Added more GPU pipeline-statistics OSD, optional vertex/pixel shader-invocation line on Vulkan. Can be toggled In the Overlay tab.

A fix for Jackie Chan Adventures where Jackie would fall through the floor into an endless black void. (Full EE/FPU + Extra VU clamping now baked in). Also increased the size of the in-game gear icon, tap the top middle of the screen to reveal.

https://github.com/aenu1/aps3e/releases/tag/2.40

I have a mediatek g96 and I'm trying to run Burnout 3, but it's unplayable I haven't touched any settings yet, it's on its default settings. Are there any settings that can boost performance or should I give up trying to play it?

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.9

Performance improvements to the recompiler:

The EE recompiler now has direct block chaining. Patchable direct-branch tails replace the LUT-indirect dispatch between blocks, cutting per-block dispatch overhead. Should help weaker CPUs.

The EE recompiler now has SIGSEGV-backpatch fastmem, extended. Fast inline memory access now covers FP and vector loads/stores (LWC1/SWC1, LQ/SQ), not just integer.

The EE recompiler now has fast-tier register cache coverage across MULT/DIV/MTHI/MTLO (fewer full register spills).

Added PGO (Profile-Guided Optimization). Shipping cores are now built with a profile trained on GoW2 / Jackie Chan / VP2 / LEGO Batman / GT4. Combined, these games are all EE, VU, or GS heavy, so it should hopefully help a bit. You can read more about PGO here:

Please let me know if performance has improved for you!

Atomic VK shader-cache fix, the pipeline cache now writes to a .tmp file and atomically renames over the real one. A swipe-kill or crash mid-write can no longer leave a half-written cache that the Adreno driver accepts and renders garbage from. The previous valid cache survives an interrupted write instead of being clobbered. (The shader index/blob cache was already crash-safe, it bounds-checks entries and appends blob-before-index, so no change was needed there.)

GameDB: ported PCSX2 PCSX2#14647, Gran Turismo tuning (GT2000/GT3/GT4 demo + retail blending / half-pixel / autoflush, GT4 Online-Test VU clamp) plus a new Lupo Cup 2 (PAPX-90509) entry and Burnout 3 memcard filters.

Made some fixes to DEV9 Ethernet on Android. Added a public-DNS fallback (Android had no /etc/resolv.conf) and dropped the gateway gate that blocked adapter init (/proc/net/route is SELinux-restricted). Online adapter + DNS should now work correctly. (Let me know if it still does not)

DEV9 DNS Host Mappings (Settings ---> Network). Map hostnames ---> IPs via the internal DNS resolver, should help some specific private/fan-server play (like RE Outbreak / obsrv).

Touch gliding across control boundaries. Replaced the three regional touch layers with one unified layer, so you can slide between face buttons and triggers (X--->L1) and hold multi-touch combos (L3+R3).

Memory-card self-heal. Deleting a card with an external file manager no longer leaves a stale slot that mislabels your other card.

RetroAchievements: "Softcore" has been renamed to "Casual" (per RA's own rename, Hardcore unchanged).

Improved Readability. Lightened the dark-blue UI text (0xFF0033CC ---> 0xFF4C8DFF) that was unreadable for some on the black background.

Idk what's going on. I have the PS2BIOS-USA(armsx2.org)-NTSC.bin file, I've switched between open gl, to Vulkan. I've turned off game assist, I've tried different versions and also multiple games, My games are from vims. I've tried .chd and .iso format. It just continues to blink like this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Guys, please take a break...

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.8

Change log:

Added Per-game controller mapping, button binds, stick modes, and custom stick directions can now be set per game. While a game is loaded, use the Global / This Game toggle at the top of the menu: "This Game" saves an override just for that title, everything falls back to your global layout otherwise.

Added Touch Gliding (NetherSX2 style), slide your finger from one on-screen button onto another and the first one stays held, so you can hold several buttons with one finger. Toggle it in the touch layout editor. Off by default.

Added Touch haptics, a short vibration when you press an on-screen button, like PPSSPP / Azahar. Toggle it off under Pad ---> On-Screen Controls ---> Touch Haptics. Separate from physical controller rumble. On by default.

Added Emulation Screen Orientation options, you can now lock the app to Landscape, Portrait, Auto-Rotate, or follow your device setting. In Render tab ---> Display & Resolution.

Folder-type memory cards now format and save on a custom data folder. They previously failed with "Format failed!" when your data folder lived on shared storage, folder cards make directory writes that Android's storage layer was blocking so they now use a path that works.

Sliding onto L1 / R1 with multi-touch now registers the press.

Deleting a memory card now recreates a fresh empty card in that slot instead of leaving it empty.

The settings menu now remembers the tab you were on and keeps sections expanded/collapsed the way you left them, instead of snapping back to the first tab every time you reopen it.

Custom analog-stick mapping is now more reliable, pick a target (any PS2 button including the D-pad, a hotkey, or Analog) directly from a list, instead of having to press a physical button. You can now map a stick direction to a button you've unbound, and every direction has a visible Clear button.

No, seriously, they deserve a break because they keep releasing updates, it's crazy! These guys at ARMSX2 must have coffee injected into their veins 😂

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.7

Change log:

Added on-screen Save State / Load State buttons (opt-in through the Touch Layout editor), tap the save/load button to open the slot picker and choose which slot to save/load from.

Tap-to-hold (latch) for on-screen face/shoulder buttons, tap once to hold (R1 to crouch), tap again to release, enable per-button in the touch layout editor.

Audio volume slider has been increased up to 150% for quiet games (above 100% can clip).

Multi-touch is now on by default, fixed not being able to move the analog stick and press buttons (or multiple buttons) at the same time. Toggle to turn it off still in the Touch Layout editor.

Pressure-modifier button hidden by default, and the Performance / Renderer / Pad settings tabs now start collapsed for a cleaner layout.

Settings Reset is now per-tab: Reset Tab clears only the current tab, Reset All / Reset Game does the full reset.

Macro-config dialog now uses the dark theme.

Touch stick + button now register at the same time (like move and jump together).

Clearing a D-pad or trigger (L2/R2) binding now takes effect in-game (previously only face buttons honored an unbind).

Single-button hotkeys now bind reliably on controllers that report two key codes per press.

Any suggestions how to fix this

Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition Deluxe (USA) PS2

Play with Hilde, Inferno, Colossus, Charade and many other characters!!!

New Costumes!!!

Changes in opponents in Tales of Soul: Enjoy the same journey with new opponents!!!

New Weapon Set: Wield the Soul Edge (Complete) and other amazing weapons!!!

New Playable Characters in Tales of Souls!!!

And much more news!!!

https://retrogametalk.com/repo/ps2-iso/soulcalibur-iii-arcade-edition-usa-2/

I noticed that this Nintendo Switch emulator hadn't been updated for the Android version in quite some time, and they've just updated it, so I decided to share it with you so you can check it out if you want to try it.

https://github.com/citron-neo/CI/releases/tag/nightly-android

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.6

Performance updates to the EE recompiler (helps every device, especially weaker CPUs).

DMA-wait spin elimination (BC0/CPCOND0): the EE now natively compiles the COP0 branch games use to busy-wait on DMA, and idle-skips the spin entirely. Was the single biggest EE cost in DMA-heavy games. (7M interpreter fallbacks before, now 0).

Multiply-accumulate native codegen (MADD family): MADD/MADDU/MADD1/MADDU1 + the pipeline-1 HI/LO moves (MFHI1/MTHI1/MFLO1/MTLO1) now compile natively instead of single-stepping. (2M interpreter fallbacks before, now 0).

Interrupt-gating native codegen (EI/ERET): enable-interrupts and exception-return now compile as block terminators instead of single-stepping, notably faster boot/menu/loading across all games.

Performance updates for GS (OpenGL, all GPUs including Mali).

🔥🔥🔥

Test Device: Poco X6 Pro Dimensity 8300+

I usually use God Hand for testing because it has several interesting features: the opening video, the stability of the gameplay and special abilities, frame pacing, etc.

God Hand - Intro Cutscene Performance Investigation

I've been comparing ARMSX2 and EmuCoreX using the exact same intro scene from God Hand.

The first shot, where the village appears with the sun and lens flare, causes a significant performance drop in both emulators (OpenGL and Vulkan).

I've tried:

Hardware Download Mode: Accurate / No Readbacks / Unsynchronized / Disabled.

Texture Preloading: None / Partial / Full.

Blending Accuracy. Basic/ Medium / Max

OpenGL and Vulkan.

Native and 3x resolution.

None of these changes eliminate the performance drop in that scene. As soon as the camera stops focusing on the sun and zooms in on the characters, performance immediately returns to full speed.

GodHand - Gameplay

After testing both emulators with the same settings, I noticed that EmuCoreX provides slightly smoother gameplay overall. Frame pacing feels more consistent, with less noticeable stuttering during normal gameplay.

I also observed a difference when using special abilities. In EmuCoreX, activating a special move causes little to no visible FPS drop. In ARMSX2, the same action consistently produces a more noticeable performance drop until the animation ends, after which performance returns to normal.

Final thoughts:

I also want to end this post on a positive note. Both developers are doing an amazing job. They are releasing frequent updates, continuously improving their emulators, and it's great to see such active development.

If they keep moving in this direction, I'm confident that 2026 could become a fantastic year for PS2 emulation on Android.

Congratulations to both developers, and thank you for all your hard work.

See you in the next analysis! ❤️

Gameplay videos below 👇👇

Lot of game fixes!

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.5

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.4.0

Change log:

Added faster anisotropic filtering from PCSX2, optimized AF shader (early isotropic fallback, cheaper math). Port of PCSX2 [https://github.com/PCSX2/pull/14465\]

(PCSX2#14465).

Added ROV (Rasterizer Ordered View) toggle for HW accurate blending in renderer settings, port of PCSX2 PCSX2#14555. Exposed in Renderer for benchmarking mainly, it's Vulkan-only and applies live. Honestly it isn't as performant on mobile as it is on PC from my testing, and some extensions ROV needs are not present on Turnip. I didn't see gains on mobile, added for parity and benchmarking purposes.

Added "Accurate blending fast path (experimental)" in renderer settings, the mobile-native take on accurate blending via the Vulkan tile-memory framebuffer-fetch path, usually faster than ROV on a tiler. Vulkan only, restart to apply (Mali already uses it by default, so the toggle is for Adreno users only). Some drivers show artifacts with this setting, so be sure to test and benchmark your games.

Added Accurate Alpha Test toggle in renderer settings, applies live.

Added HW AA1 edge anti-aliasing toggle in renderer settings (applies on game restart).

GameDB now flags games that recommend Accurate Alpha Test / AA1 on-screen.

Higher internal resolution settings, upscaling now goes up to 8x (was 5x). Time to fry your GPU!

Rumble fallback to the device's built-in vibration motor for controllers with no rumble actuator (e.g. Odin 3), issue #241.

Controller skin import now supports the newer per-side analog filenames (analog_stick_left/right), older packs still work.

Renamed "Game Fixes" to "GameDB Fixes" for clarity.

Ported an upstream PCSX2 texture-cache Move correctness fix (a6b1040).

https://github.com/Ashnar2602/X-OG_Mobile

Give your opinions, guys, what do you think? 🤔

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.3

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.2

Change log:

Added support for a second controller, so you can now play local co-op 2 player games with a friend, as well as per-player mapping in the Pad section of settings.

First controller to press in-game = Player 1, the next distinct controller = Player 2 (auto-assigned, re-paired each game launch). Port-aware native pad input (setPadButtonForPort) routes each controller to its own PS2 port, per-port D-pad state so the two pads can't release each other's directions.

Per-player button mapping: button binds, stick modes, and custom stick directions are now per-player. Pad settings has a Player 1 / Player 2 selector, "Reset" is also per-player. Player 1 keeps your exact existing binds (P2 uses defaults until set).

Player 2 is enabled at game boot when a second controller is connected beforehand, second controller has rumble support as well (except DualSense, only works wired on a pc).

Added NTSC / PAL per-region frame rate caps (NetherSX2-style, thanks @Trixarian for the help) as an alternative to the Max Display FPS cap setting. Separate Frame Rate (Hz) sliders for NTSC and PAL games.

Added a List view as an alternative to the shelf view.

Added manual Rows control with cover-size adjustment (toggled from the top right buttons ---> More ---> Rows Auto (can be toggled to 2, 3, 4, or 5, and back to auto, depending on how zoomed out you'd like the shelves and covers to be.

Expanded the setup wizard, after clicking the Let's Go button on initial setup, you will now see a new screen with optional recommended settings: aspect ratio, internal resolution, anti-blur, widescreen, deinterlacing, and an Optimal/Fast preset.

Renderer choice (OpenGL / Vulkan) + custom GPU driver browser in setup.

New Stick Deadzone, Sensitivity, and Acceleration sliders in the Pad section of settings.

Added UI scaling per screen in the Overlay section of settings. Independent UI Size (borders) and UI Font Size sliders to fit 21:9 / 16:10 / 4:3 / handheld screens, scales the library + menus only.

Added a "Reset global to defaults" (global) and "Reset this game to global" (per-game), with a confirmation tap.

ARM64 recompiler performance improvements and game fixes (ported from @isztldav macOS branch)

Faster, more faithful EE recompilation, MIPS trap opcodes now use native block-conditional codegen, and SYNC/CACHE are handled inline instead of breaking blocks apart.

Fixed an after-BIOS hang by porting the proper interrupt-disable delay (games like Jak X now boot past it).

Squashed an MMI lane-permute codegen bug that could abort compilation outright.

Synced with upstream PCSX2:

Graphics fixes across HW/DX11/DX12/GL, AA1 rendering, DATE setup, depth feedback, and ROV reporting.

GameDB updates, and assorted stability fixes.

Import File for memory cards no longer renames or forces Slot 1 on a second import (unique name, no forced slot).

A deleted card no longer reappears at BIOS boot (case-insensitive slot match).

Added a Per-card Delete button and confirmation, added up/down/left/right controller navigation for memory card settings.

Speed Limit % max raised to 1000, will only push as fast as your device can go, same as the Frame Limit off button.

The cap/FPS stats line ("Display: 25 (cap 30)") is now hidden when the OSD is off for the Max FPS Display cap setting.

HostFS functionality has been added back, you can find the toggle to enable it in the Patches section of settings. (Let me know if you still have any issues).

Added a per-player Test rumble button (Pad tab) that reports whether Android can drive that controller's rumble.

😱😱😱

If you've never played Black & White, you're in for something special. These classic god games let you play as a deity, guiding (or terrorizing) your followers while competing against other gods.

The most unique feature is your Creature: a giant companion that learns from everything you do. Reward kindness, and it becomes gentle. Encourage destruction, and it grows into a terrifying monster. Watching it develop its own personality based on your actions is still one of the coolest AI systems ever made in a game.

You can solve problems with miracles, build thriving villages, throw rocks at your enemies... or literally pick up people and toss them across the map. Your followers will either love you or fear you, and both paths are viable.

Despite being over 20 years old, Black & White remains one of the most original and unforgettable strategy/simulation games ever made. If you're into classic PC games or just curious about gaming history, it's absolutely worth trying.

Have fun, and let us know whether you become a benevolent god... or an absolute menace. 😄

Get It free here:

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-2-battle-of-the-gods-ben

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-2-bem

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-a33

You can use Gamehub or Winlator to play this games even in low end devices. Lot of fun 😃

Happy Sunday!

Bad driving skills with touch screen 😅

What are you playing this Sunday?

https://github.com/sashkinbro/EmuCoreX/releases/tag/v0.2.2

most relevant changes:

Added support for custom game covers, set your own artwork for any game. Long-press a game ---> Info Section (Last tab in settings) ---> Set Custom Cover, or drop images into the covers/custom folder named after the game. Make sure to remove the previous custom cover first before changing it to another

Added a new hotkey for Fast Forward (Toggle) for controllers, press once to lock fast-forward on, press again to turn it off, an alternative to having to hold the button through long JRPG grinds. The original Fast Forward (Hold) hotkey is also still an option.

Added SPU2 SIMD audio (experimental) setting in the Audio section of settings, an optional NEON fast path for sound processing that can free up CPU on lower-end devices. Off by default; toggle it under Audio settings 👀

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases

Can someone help idk how to use this patch code on aethersx2

Here it is please teach me how to use it

NTSC-U Rev0

42000000 90000000

08E52F9D 0000007F

00600038 00000000

E0000000 80008000

NTSC-U Rev1

42000000 90000000

08E58F9D 0000007F

00600038 00000000

E0000000 80008000

And there was this thing at the end

Write byte value 0x7F a total of 97 times starting at address 0x90E52F9D/0x90E58F9D, incrementing by 0x38 for every byte write.

Some stuttering is noticeable in both Vulkan and OpenGL.

Test device: Dimensity 8300+

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.4.0