Which Sega Dreamcast Emulator Should I Use?

Playing Dreamcast games on Android can be quite easy. The console only had 30MB of RAM in total: 16MB for the console itself, 8MB for graphics, and 2MB for the audio. The GPU was only clocked at 100MHz as well, so getting these games to play on modern Android smartphones and tablets is a breeze.

The choice of emulators are also rather limited. As of writing this article, there are three to choose from. And one of those tends to have an outdated core.

Today, I’ll go all of these while also giving you the pros and cons for each.

Flycast Emulator

First up, we have the newest emulator on the market, Flycast. It was released on Android back in 2021 with APKs hosted on the GitHub repository but it recently appeared in the Google Play Store. It’s open source, free to download, and does not come with any in-app purchases

Flycast Features

• Support for Dreamcast Controllers (Classic Controller, Keyboard, Mouse, Light-Gun, Twin Sticks, and the ASCII Mission Stick)
• Supports 2 expansion sockets per controller (VMU, Purupuru/Rumble Pack, or Microphone)
• Widescreen Support
  • While Auto-applying codes and/or patches to supported games (instead of using the hack)
• Resolution and Texture Upscaling
• Frame Skipping
• Support for dumping textures
• Loading custom textures
• Support for HLE BIOS
• Compatible with NAOMI games that use analog sticks
• VMU Support for compatible NAOMI games
• SH4 underclock and overclock options
• Setting for 32MB RAM
• Supports emulation of printers
• Supports card emulation
• Netplay
• Local multiplayer
• Analog trigger and digital trigger simulations
• Fast GD-ROM Loading
• Improved ADPCM decoding for audio
• xBRZ texture upscaling
• Floating point maths accuracy improvements
• Supports custom shaders

You can download it from the Flycast Google Play Store page or from the Flycast GitHub project page.

Redream Emulator

Another option is a popular emulator called Redream. This one has been available for much longer but it is closed source. The application also comes with a $6 in-app purchase if you wish to play Dreamcast games in high-definition. Many people are more than happy to support the developer to unlock texture upscaling, but it is something you should be aware of.

Redream Features

• Render Dreamcast games in 1080p or 4k (with one-time purchase)
• Multiple save state slots per game (with one-time purchase)
• No need to configure a controller or install a BIOS
• Replicates the behavior of the original hardware
• Save progress with save states and modify gameplay with cheats
• Automatic cover art downloads
• Netplay for online multiplayer
• Immersive gaming experience with compatible VR headsets
• TRAPA support
• Raised texture cache size
• Asynchronous GD-ROM DMAs
• Fast forward support
• Screenshot support
• Support for G2 -> SH4 DMA
• CDDA music support
• Per-pixel sorting of transparent polygons
• Hot-plugging audio devices
• Per-mesh polygon sorting option
• New “multi-sync” presentation which synchronizes both audio and video to provide tear-free emulation without the overhead of vsync
• Horizontal black bars
• Support for mono output
• Support for CDDA attenuation registers
• Support for SSCTL audio channel register
• PowerVR DMA support
• PowerVR fog support
• Built in fps counter
• Automatic frame skipping
• Disc swap support
• Redump BIN/CUE support
• PowerVR trilinear filtering support.
• PowerVR secondary accumulation buffer support.
• PowerVR parameter selection modifier volume support

You can download this application for Android from the Redream Google Play Store page.

Flycast vs Redream

RetroArch

I won’t go into too much detail about RetroArch since it will depend on which core you’re using. The Flycast core seems to be the more popular one, since reicast is no longer available and the Redream core is licensed under the libretro fork only.

But you can download this emulator from the RetroArch Google Play Store page if you’re interested.

I will note that most of the cores included in RetroArch tend to be outdated. So most of them will not give you the same performance or features of the other options. That’s just how it is when you get a project as big as RetroArch has grown over the years.

Still, if you’re into that ecosystem then it’s worth checking out.

Conclusion

There are a few options to choose from and the one you like most will depend on what you value in an emulator for Android.

The community tends to prefer Flycast for its custom cheats system, more accurate sound emulation, and support for the microphone so that you can play seaman. However, this does come at a cost as many people report tearing and visual glitches when it comes to the renderer.

On the flip side, there are some within the community who prefer Redream as it renders the game much more accurately, the user interface is much cleaner and easier to deal with, and they like the automatic cover art download feature.

I would love to hear what you think about the emulators mentioned here today. Share your thoughts down in the comments section below!