The legendary PlayStation 2 can now be emulated on Android. But how? Well, downloading the best PS2 emulator for Android.
Although not so long ago it was unthinkable to be able to play PS2 on Android, the time has come when the power of mobile phones and the work of some developers have crossed paths to offer us a good number of PS2 emulators with which we can enjoy remembering the past. best games on the legendary Sony console, the best-selling in history.
Thanks to the best PS2 emulators for Android, which we will see below, we will be able to play again on our mobile phones some of the best video games and sagas in history, such as God of War, Resident Evil 4, GTA San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Shadow of the Colossus or Gran Turismo 4, among many more of its almost 4,000 games in the catalogue.
It is necessary to point out that, to run any of the Play 2 emulators that we have selected fluently, your mobile must have a processor of a certain power (a minimum of Snapdragon 845 or equivalent is recommended), accompanied by sufficient RAM and free space, although Even mid-range and low-end mobile phones can now emulate many of their games with good performance
What is the best PS2 emulator for Android?
Now, let’s see what are the best options available capable of replicating the experience of the PS2 for Android. We will address a little about each of these and the characteristics for which they stand out.
| Game | Performance | Compatibility | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Â AetherSX2 |
Very good | high | Free |
 DamonPS2Â *Â _ |
Very good | Very high | Free/€9.99 |
 Â Play! |
Needs improvement | Half | Free |
DamonPS2 is an emulator that offers very good performance but we do not recommend installing it for several reasons that we will explain later.
AetherSX2
AetherSX2 is the best PS2 emulator for Android. It is compatible with most games on the console and the performance it offers is very good, in addition to offering a good number of settings that allow it to be optimized to play even on mid-range or mid-low-range mobile phones, although it is most recommended for playing it. The best conditions are to have at least a Snapdragon 845 processor or an alternative with similar power.
This emulator has a very simple interface and to start playing you only need to indicate the path of the BIOS file (yes, this emulator needs BIOS) and the path where we have the video games stored in .iso format. It allows you to make graphical improvements such as increasing the scaling up to x8 compared to the original and configuring physical gamepads.
It should be noted that since January 2023, the project has been paralyzed due to the personal decisions of its developer, so it no longer receives any more updates. However, it is still the best PS2 emulator for Android. The latest APK can be downloaded from its website (v1.4), or can also be installed from Google Play.
DamonPS2
Before continuing, at Gamovil we must mention the controversy that exists around this emulator, and that is that the team responsible for PCSX2, the most popular PS2 emulator for PC, has accused the developers of DamonPS2 of using part of its code without permission. , violating the GLP v2 license.
In addition, there are also doubts about the permissions it requests from the user when installed, and the fact that it needs an Internet connection to function. You can read more about this on the emulation Wikipedia.
That said, and focusing only on the emulation experience, we must include DamonPS2 in our list as one of the best alternatives. Its developers claim that it is capable of running up to 90% of the titles available for the PS2 fluidly and without bugs (obviously on the most powerful mobile phones).
As a minimum requirement to enjoy a good experience, they recommend using a device that has at least a Snapdragon 835 processor or equivalent, that is, practically the same as AetherSX2.
Although the emulator has a free version, it is very limited in terms of features and settings options and also has advertising. To unlock everything and eliminate advertising, it will be necessary to buy the “Pro” version, which costs 9.99 euros/dollars, and whose purchase we of course do not recommend for all the reasons stated above.
Play!
Play! It is a project carried out by a single developer, Jean-Philip Desjardins, who little by little continues to improve. It doesn’t offer the performance of AetherSX2 or DamonPS2, but it has recurring updates, so it will be an emulator to keep in mind in the future.
In its latest update (0.61) it has received important improvements not only in performance but also in compatibility. Currently, almost 1,000 games in the PlayStation 2 catalogue are playable with Play! , and about 1100 start, although they are not yet considered playable.
It does not require a BIOS to work and supports OpenGL and Vulkan natively. It’s very light (less than 30 MB once installed) and free, which is always good news. This emulator allows you to customize the order of the buttons on the screen that will help you interact with the titles, and of course, it is compatible with physical controls.
You can download the latest APK from Play! from its official website, or from Google Play, where it is also kept updated with the latest version.
What is the best PS2 emulator on Android?
Now that we have told you which, for us, are the best PS2 emulators for Android, it is time to make a decision. And if you can’t choose just one, don’t worry, we will help you by providing you with our opinion.
All the emulators that we show you are excellent options, but if we had to stick with just one, this would be AetherSX2. This is capable of offering us an extremely complete experience, as well as being compatible with a large number of games, not to mention that it is very well optimized to take advantage of all the resources of your device.
Despite being a discontinued project, it continues to offer us superior performance than the rest.
Other PS2 emulators for Android that we have tested and do not recommend
In addition to those mentioned, we have also tested other PS2 emulators for Android that, for one reason or another, do not deserve to be in our ranking alongside the best.
PS / PS2 / PSP: This emulator is an emulator launcher, not an emulator itself. A kind of RetroArch (in fact it is based on Libreto) but loaded with advertising, so it is taking advantage of open source development to profit. We do not recommend it.
Golden PS2: This is an emulator that uses the Play! code. (in fact, from the menus to the on-screen controls they are the same) but it is not updated, so it does not have the latest improvements. Another replica is created by someone who takes advantage of the work of others. Do not install.
How to download PS2 emulators for Android
First, keep in mind that not all PS2 emulators for Android are available on Google Play since some are only found on pages to download APKs or on the official website of the project or developer.
To download a PS2 emulator, you just have to click on one of the buttons that we have added in the previous list. The button will take you to the download page from which you can download it, and if it is a link to Google Play, you will only have to click on install, and the download and subsequent installation will begin.
If it is another page, you will have to download the APK file, and once downloaded, begin the installation. For more information, visit our article on how to install APK files on Android.
This is the end of our article on PlayStation 2 emulators for mobile. We remind you that we have a complete guide on how to play PS2 on Android, and if you want to remember other old glories of video games, you may also be interested in reading the following articles:
