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The 10 Best Dreamcast Emulators of All Time

Published

1 year ago

June 25, 2023

What are the best Dreamcast emulators?

The Sega Dreamcast console may seem like a half-remembered dream to some people, but for fans of the short-lived console, the Dreamcast is a retro nostalgic icon.

However, because the console was discontinued in 2001, it is all but impossible for fans to replay some of their favorite games without the help of an emulator.

Thankfully, the best Dreamcast emulators can enable you to play Sega Dreamcast games on numerous devices, whenever and wherever you want, and most don’t require you to be a computer wiz to set them up!

The Best Dreamcast Emulators of All Time

While there are a lot of great Sega Dreamcast emulators to choose from, some are better than others and each provides a unique experience.

If you’re looking forward to jumping back into your favorite Dreamcast games, you’re in luck.

We’ve scoured the emulator community to find the most popular and well-developed Dreamcast emulators on the market, so you can spend more time gaming and less time testing these out for yourself.

Here’s our list of the 10 best Dreamcast emulators of all time:

10. DreamEMU

Kicking off our list, we have one of the oldest emulators for windows 10, 8, 7, and below.

Released in the early 2000s, DreamEMU has been largely untouched since 2002, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t get the job done, despite being stuck in the developmental stage.

This Dreamcast emulator can run a decent number of games, but it isn’t without its hiccups, which is why it ranks only at number 10. Furthermore, it’s only available on Windows PC and requires a BIOS file to run.

We recommend this emulator for those running older computers who are unable to run newer, more developed Sega Dreamcast emulators.

While it can offer the basics, it is by no means the best Dreamcast emulator that you can find for Windows operating systems.

9. Retroarch

Retroarch is a well-known and popular name in the emulator community, and it is a reliable choice for emulating Dreamcast games, as well as Gameboy, N64, NES, PlayStation, Wii, and some of the best GameCube games, just to name a few.

This Dreamcast emulator is extremely versatile and it has a fantastic user-friendly interface that allows you to easily jump into the games that you want to play.

It also allows users to choose their own custom settings, which it will apply across all games, saving you a lot of time and effort.

Along with custom settings, Retroarch also supports rewinding, netplay, controller mapping, shaders, cheats, and much more.

This emulator is still being updated and supported, as well, which means you can expect it to continue getting better as time goes on.

Although it is only number nine on our list, it is one of the best Dreamcast emulators for Windows, Android, Linux, and macOS that you can download today.

8. NesterDC

This Dreamcast emulator is available on Windows PC and, as an original Nintendo Entertainment System emulator, it can run commercial games for the Dreamcast with ease.

It even allows users to save and load ROM states, which is something that the original console was lacking.

The NesterDC emulator supports cheats, bilinear filtering, savestate to DC or VMU, and normal saves to VMU.

Its multiplayer capabilities are also remarkable enough that you and up to four of your friends can take a break from some of the best split-screen PS4 games and relieve these classic games together.

When running, it achieves nearly perfect emulation, making it almost as if you’re playing the actual console, which is impressive since this emulator hasn’t been updated since 2002.

That said, it is still available on the NesterDC website, along with release notes that list everything that has been added to each version.

You really can’t go wrong if you’re looking to play Sega Dreamcast games on the PC with this emulator, as it delivers everything that gamers could ask for and more.

7. Chankast

Although this Dreamcast emulator was originally designed for older versions of the Windows operating system, such as XP, it still works just as well on newer systems, including Windows 10 and 11.

The Chankast emulator is one of the easiest emulators to use and it is capable of playing many commercial games almost as well as the original console.

This means you can replay some of the best fighting games of all time without worrying about lagging or crashing!

In terms of systems requirements, it is also one that nearly everyone can use, requiring only an Intel Pentium 4 with a 1.6 GHz processor and 256MB of RAM.

Seeing as most modern computers easily exceed these requirements, anything extra you have will only make the games run smoother, which is a huge bonus with this emulator.

If you’re looking for one of the best Dreamcast emulators to run that won’t give you any extra headaches during setup or game time, Chankast is one to definitely consider.

6. Makaron

Created by Dknute and available to download on Sega Retro, Makaron may not be the most recognizable or noteworthy on our list, but it is a solid Dreamcast emulator that is easily accessible for beginners.

With a straightforward and easy-to-navigate user interface, it is one of the easiest emulators to quickly start your favorite games.

Although it hasn’t been updated since 2010, it is still one of the best developed Dreamcast emulators available today, and, while it may not have all the bells and whistles that other Sega Dreamcast emulators have, its simplicity is hard to beat.

If you are new to the emulator community and just want to jump into your favorite retro games, the Makaron emulator is hard to beat, and you won’t have to worry about being overwhelmed by a complex installation or setup.

5. Reicast

As one of the Sega Dreamcast emulators available for Windows, Linux, and Android devices, Reicast takes our number five spot due to its stability, speed, and array of compatible titles.

Despite there being no official updates to this Dreamcast emulator since 2018, Reicast is still thriving with a loyal fan base, and contributors are still helping to make Reicast the best that it can be.

While it was originally designed using NullDC’s code, this emulator has a main focus on speed, and it more than excels in that area, allowing users to play even some of the best racing games of all time without lag.

The main downside of this Dreamcast emulator is that the installation process can be a little complex for beginners.

However, the community has plenty of user guides to help with the setup and Android users can view setup instructions on the Google Play store when they download the emulator.

Although it isn’t the best when compared to some other Sega Dreamcast emulators, Reicast is definitely a solid emulator that can let you play some of the best Dreamcast games without sacrificing quality.

4. DEMul

Despite only being available to Windows users, this Dreamcast emulator is a solid, capable option that can handle a lot of the most popular retro games.

Like other Sega Dreamcast emulators on this list, it hasn’t been updated recently, but it can still deliver an enjoyable experience and some notable features that make it an appealing choice.

Not only does it run Sega Dreamcast games incredibly smoothly, but it also lets you save games at any point, and it supports a virtual memory card so you can backup your data with no risk of losing it.

That being said, this Sega Dreamcast emulator isn’t without its drawbacks, the most noticeable of which is the fact that most user guides are in Russian since the emulator was taken over by a Russian company.

While there are English user guides, they are few and far between, making this Dreamcast emulator a little less accessible.

While this may be a dealbreaker for some gamers, DEMul is still a popular Dreamcast emulator, and it definitely has a lot of promise, especially if you want to take a break from some of the most popular video games right now and drive into some retro classics.

3. FlyCast/Flycast Libretro

This Sega Dreamcast emulator takes our number three spot for a few good reasons, one of which is because it is available on Windows OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Mac OS, and Free BSD.

Flycast is a completely open-source Dreamcast emulator, and it features a lot of support for a large number of Atomiswave, NAOMI, and Dreamcast games.

It has a wide virtual controller selection from the standard Dreamcast controllers to the ASCII Mission Stick.

If that wasn’t enough, this Dreamcast emulator can also upscale games and play them on widescreen, bringing new life to old favorites.

The FlyCast Libretro system was created from a combination of two Reicast cores, which allow Sega Dreamcast games to be played on smartphones without issue.

While you can get some of the best gaming laptops for under $800, if you’re more interested in gaming on the go, the Libretro system is definitely worth installing on your phone.

2. NullDC

NullDC is one of the best Sega Dreamcast emulators for Windows that you can download today. It has compatibility with almost every Dreamcast game, including commercial titles.

The graphics and sound are high quality, and it even supports memory cards and CD-ROMs.

Like Flycast, NullDC was made by the same developers of Reicast, but unlike Reicast, this Dreamcast emulator for Windows has a focus on game playability as opposed to speed.

This resulted in a reliable and stable emulator many people still use today when they feel like jumping into a Dreamcast game.

While this is another emulator that has since stopped receiving support, with the last update being released in 2010, it still holds up today and functions surprisingly well even on Windows 10 and 11 operating systems.

Although it doesn’t top the list as the best Dreamcast emulator, if you want to be able to play a wide variety of games, NullDC is an emulator that you’ll want to keep in mind.

1. Redream

Coming in at number one is the Redream emulator, which is by far the best Dreamcast emulator available on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and Android.

As the best Dreamcast emulator, Redream features all the bells and whistles that you would expect, including high-definition graphics up to 4K, automatic controller configuration, no BIOS or flash files, and over 96% compatibility with the Dreamcast library.

Its official website even has an easy-to-read compatibility list that allows users to see which games play the best.

It also boasts a wide range of controller compatibility, and you can even use some of the best Nintendo Switch controllers with this emulator, as well as set custom key bindings for further customization.

With everything that this emulator can do, it is an impressively small file, only taking 4MB of space. Considering all of the features and games that Redream can play, this small size isn’t something that you’re going to find in any other emulator.

Furthermore, unlike many of the other Dreamcast emulators for Windows and Android, Redream is still being regularly updated by a dedicated team of developers who are constantly working on making the system better.

It also seems like they have no plans to cease these updates anytime soon, making this one of the only Dreamcast emulators to be upgraded to take advantage of new device capabilities.

While all of the emulators on this list have their benefits, Redream stands out as the best by far, and it is the best Dreamcast emulator that you can take advantage of today.

Summary

The Dreamcast console may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean that the fans of the games have moved on.

With so many iconic games, like Soulcalibur, Sonic Adventure, Marvel vs Capcom 2, and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, it’s easy to see why fans of these games aren’t eager to let them go.

Thankfully, because of the best Sega Dreamcast emulators, fans of these classic titles can continue playing their favorite games, often in higher resolution, on their computers or smartphones.

Each of these emulators brings a unique gaming experience to the table, and all have their own dedicated fan bases.

Because of these 10 emulators, the best Dreamcast games are being kept alive so that we can continue enjoying them, even 20 years after the console vanished from store shelves.

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best Dreamcast emulators: