Console gaming was a fundamental part of many 90s kids’ upbringing. We remember the likes of the Nintendo 64 and the SEGA Dreamcast and we sigh nostalgically over our joys of the past. The early rise and subsequent death of Dreamcast was a devastating blow to many people for many different reasons. It offered a new era for gaming, offering online platforms and innovative design. It left people desperately wanting more. SEGA Dreamcast was considered a failure in comparison to consoles such as the Playstation and Xbox.
But since it’s passing and the continuation of many other consoles, the Dreamcast legacy lives on. Many Dreamcast emulators have allowed avid fans the chance to re-live its glory. The main question out there, however, is which one is the best? Which one allows us to sit down and take ourselves back to the early millennium so we can once more play our favorite SEGA Dreamcast games?
Below we have a short list of the best Dreamcast emulators out there for those on the lookout:
- First up, we have the DreamSpec Emulator. There are over two hundred games available on the DreamSpec Emulator, allowing you to access all your favourite Dreamcast games. The Emulator runs on the CDI image.
- DEmul has been labelled as one of the best emulators out there. Although not updated since 2013, it is compatible with the Windows operating system and can still be downloaded to date. DEmul offers a wide range of commercial games on the market and is one of the fastest running systems there is.
- Then we have the Sega Genesis Emulator, which allows you to save games to the VMU and even apply cheat codes. It is a popular Dreamcast emulator but is still officially in the beta phase.
- The Icarus Emulator is currently undergoing a major reconstruction in order to make it near-perfect. However, older versions of the emulator are still milling around on the internet, available for download. It was one of the first emulators offering access to commercial games on the PC and is only going to improve even more.
- The Reicast Emulator allows you to play Dreamcast games on your android. With a cloud VMU and HD access, the Reicast runs a large number of Dreamcast games to play on the go. And don’t worry, in case the on-the-go part didn’t appeal to you it is also available for Windows.
- NullDC has also made it into the big leagues. It is a highly praised Dreamcast emulator that is also continuing to develop further. Built for the Windows OS the Emulator will run pretty much every Dreamcast game you can think of.
- If you want to take it right back to the dawn of Dreamcast emulators, the Chankast Emulator is reportedly the first SEGA Dreamcast emulator to appear on the commercial It offered access to commercial games from the get-go and is a popular emulator. However the emulator was specifically designed for the Windows XP or 2003 platform and is unable to run on Windows 9x, narrowing the number of able users.
There are some other options to take into consideration but these emulators are considered the best and offer some of the widest options for SEGA Dreamcast games. In case this list doesn’t cut it, there are more to consider looking into, such as Makaron, NesterDC and Dreamer (although Dreamer it hasn’t been updated in some time and only runs several demos). But if you are looking for quantity and quality, the seven listed above will offer the best of both. The SEGA Dreamcast may be obsolete, a mere dream running through the minds of fans across the globe, but these emulators give you the chance to play those games on your computer and keep the SEGA Dreamcast alive and kicking, just like it ought to be.
