The PlayStation 2. Released in 2000, it went on to become the best-selling console of all time, with 160 million units sold over a run that didn't end until 2013. Part of that came down to clever positioning. It doubled as a cheap DVD player when standalone players still cost a small fortune, and it played your old PS1 discs straight out of the box. But the real legacy is the library, thousands of games deep and packed with genre-defining classics that people still come back to today, which is exactly why it's worth emulating well.
Before we begin, just one assumption: you've already got your PS2 ROMs and a BIOS file ready to go. If you don't, there's a short section later on the legitimate routes to both.
Recommended Devices
On Windows, PS2 is one of the heavier retro systems to emulate. So while you don't need a beast, most mid-range PCs from the last several years handle the library comfortably, as will a modern Windows handheld.
For a controller, just about any modern gamepad works. An XBOX controller is the safe default, a DualSense gets you button prompts that match the PlayStation face-button labels, and 8BitDo's Pro 3 is worth a look if you'd prefer a PC controller with symmetrical, PlayStation-style stick layout.
One feature worth knowing: the original DualShock 2 had pressure-sensitive buttons, registering how hard you pressed rather than a simple on or off. A handful of games make use of them, mostly racing titles where you throttle and brake with the face buttons (back before analog triggers were standard). On PC, an official DualShock 3 for the PS3 can get you that experience with a bit of setup. More on that further down.
For Android, aim for something with a Snapdragon (Adreno) chip. AYN's Odin family of devices (like the AYN Odin 2 Portal and the newer Odin 3), and Retroid's higher-end handhelds (like the Retroid Pocket 6 or the upcoming Retroid Pocket Nova) will handle PS2 well.
Windows: PCSX2
PCSX2 is the emulator to use if you're on Windows. Before you start, it's worth a quick look at the official system requirements. PS2 asks a bit more than most retro systems, mostly on the CPU side, so it's worth a glance if you're on older or budget hardware.
INSTALLATION & SETUP
If minimal tinkering is your goal, RetroBat will set PCSX2 up for you as part of a wider emulation package. Retro Game Corps has a good walkthrough video, and that will have you covered:
If you'd rather install PCSX2 yourself and understand what you've got, or just want more control, the most complete walkthrough I've found is Joey's Retro Handhelds' PCSX2 setup video:
Android: NetherSX2
On Android, NetherSX2 is the one to use. It's a community-patched continuation of AetherSX2, the now-discontinued Android PS2 emulator based on PCSX2.
WHICH BUILD TO INSTALL
Here's the important bit. NetherSX2 comes in more than one build, and there's no single best one: performance shifts from game to game. There are two base builds, Classic and Patch. On top of those are the Turnip builds, variants of the two that bundle GPU drivers tuned for Snapdragon (Adreno) devices.
One thing to know about installing them. The two base builds share the same install slot, so you can only keep one at a time. The Turnip builds, however, each install as their own separate app. My recommendation, if you're on a Snapdragon device: install both NetherSX2 Classic and NetherSX2 Turnip (Patch). That pairing should give you the widest game coverage.
If you're not on a Snapdragon device, the Turnip builds won't do anything extra for you, so the base Classic or Patch builds are your path instead. I'd start with Classic.
If you want the full breakdown of what Turnip is doing under the hood, Retro Game Corps covers it here.
INSTALLATION & SETUP
For getting up and running fast, below is the cleanest walkthrough. Although it's a setup guide specifically for the Ayn Thor, the NetherSX2 portions are up to date and apply to any Android handheld.
Timestamps:
16:19 Installation
01:20:25 Setup
For a full Android retro-emulation setup beyond just PS2, Retro Game Corps has a broader video though some of its NetherSX2 install section is a little out of date.
If you'd rather go deeper, Joey's Retro Handhelds has a more complete walkthrough that also covers NetherSX2's features in detail:
Useful Extras
Multiplatform games (Windows and Android)
PS2 is one of the harder consoles of its generation to emulate. If a game also came out on GameCube, that version usually runs better with less fuss. So my personal recommendation is to leave PS2 emulation for the exclusives.
PCSX2 portable mode (Windows)
Normally PCSX2 spreads its config and saves through your Documents folder. Portable mode keeps everything inside the PCSX2 folder itself instead, so the whole setup is self-contained. Easy to back up, easy to move to another drive or machine, and easy to keep tidy. Just set it before the first launch, otherwise some of your config will already have been written to the default location.
Folder memory cards (Windows and Android)
By default, a new memory card is set to 8MB, and it fills up just like the real one did. Save across several games and you'll eventually hit the ceiling, leaving you to either delete saves to make room or create extra cards and juggle between them. A folder memory card avoids all of that by storing each game's saves in its own folder, so you set it up once and never think about capacity again. And because the saves sit there as plain folders, they're far easier to manage, back up, or carry between machines.
Pressure-sensitive buttons (Windows and Android)
The original PS2 controllers had pressure-sensitive buttons, and a handful of games make use of them. Both PCSX2 and NetherSX2 have pressure-sensitivity toggles for this, but I've never had much luck getting them working properly. Since so few games need it, I find it easier to just remap those inputs to an analog trigger or stick.
If you're on Windows and want the most authentic route, an official DualShock 3 for the PS3 does proper pressure sensitivity with PCSX2. It takes a little setup, and two things are worth knowing first: this is the wired route (I couldn't get Bluetooth working), and you'll want a genuine DualShock 3 (some good clones may work but there's no guarantee).
- Download the latest Nefarius DsHidMini driver installer from its GitHub page, run it and continue with the installation. Leave "BthPS3 Wireless Drivers" unchecked, that's the Bluetooth side, which we're skipping.
- After install, your browser should open the DsHidMini docs page (if it doesn't, click here) and download the ControlApp tool. I like to keep its .exe in the DsHidMini install folder (\Program Files\Nefarius Software Solutions) to stay organised, but that's optional.
- Plug in your DualShock 3 (note that it needs a USB Mini-B cable), and run ControlApp as administrator. Your controller should show up, but it's set as XInput.
- Go to Profiles, hit "+" to create a new profile, select it, and click Edit. Set HID mode to SXS, give the profile a name, and save.
- Go to Devices, select your DualShock 3, click Configure, switch it from XInput to your new SXS profile, and Apply changes. When the reconnection prompt appears, click "Reconnect them now", the controller is now in SXS mode.
- Open PCSX2 and go to Settings → Controllers. You should see the PS3 controller listed under detected devices (if not, unplug and replug). Select the controller port, click Automatic Mapping, choose the PS3 controller, and you're set.
Hotkeys (Windows and Android)
Worth mapping a controller button combo for the emulator menu, fast-forward, and quick save and load (save states). It's also good practice, if you're going to set up other retro systems that support hotkeys, to keep your mappings consistent across all of them. I use Retro Game Corp's general hotkey recommendations.
Getting an authentic CRT look (Windows)
The PS2 was built for CRT displays, and a lot of its games were designed with those screens in mind. If you want to get that authentic CRT look, ShaderGlass is the best way in. PCSX2 does have a built-in CRT filter, but it isn't as feature-rich as the many shader options you get in ShaderGlass. On Android, there's no ShaderGlass-style overlay, so you're limited to NetherSX2's built-in filters.
I've covered ShaderGlass in more detail before, so head over here if you want to take a deeper look.
Setting up an emulation frontend (Windows and Android)
An emulation frontend is a single, console-like menu that gathers all your games and systems in one place, so you launch everything from it instead of opening each emulator separately. There are plenty of them, but ES-DE is the one I'd recommend (for now). It isn't the flashiest, but it has a clean, simple interface and a deep set of themes. And because it runs on both Windows and Android, if you emulate across both you get the same familiar interface everywhere instead of a different launcher on each.
Syncing saves between devices (Windows and Android)
If you play your games across PCs and/or Android devices, you might want your save progress to carry over between all of them. The best tool for that is Syncthing, a free, open-source app that keeps a folder in sync across two or more devices automatically, peer-to-peer, with no cloud account in between. What you'll want to do is point it at your emulator's memory card folder, so that it stays mirrored across every device. And yes, memory card saves will work between PCSX2 and NetherSX2.
Retro Game Corps' Syncthing guide is the easiest to follow along:
Dumping your games and BIOS (Windows and Android)
This guide assumes you already have both, but if you don't, there are legitimate routes to each. For games, PCSX2's official disc-dumping guide covers ripping your own PS2 discs into playable files. For the BIOS, you don't even need a PS2 on hand: you can pull it from Sony's official, freely downloadable PS3 firmware. This video walks through it.
Once you've got your games, it's worth compressing them to CHD to save space, a lossless format that shrinks PS2 disc images without any quality loss. Retro Game Corps' compression guide covers how.
Changelog
JUL 15, 2026
- published post
