PPSSPP

PPSSPP is probably the simplest emulator on this list. No BIOS, no keys, close to 100% compatibility, and it runs just as well on PC as on phones.

1. Installation

1. Download it from the official site (Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS).
2. Launch the app and point it to your games folder.

2. Game formats

• .iso — the standard format.
• .cso — compressed ISO, about 30% smaller, with no loss of compatibility.
• .chd — also supported, and even more space-efficient.

3. Recommended settings

• Backend: Vulkan works well in most cases; depending on your machine, OpenGL or Direct3D may give better results.
• Rendering resolution: 2x or 3x. The PSP scales up very well.
• Lazy texture caching for smoother performance on mobile. The "Vertex Cache" setting was removed from PPSSPP starting with version 1.17.
• Fast Memory mode is enabled by default: only disable it if a specific game crashes.

4. Not working?

• Flickering textures → try a different graphics backend for that game.
• Crackling sound → set audio latency to "low" in the audio settings.