Emulation Guides
The most comprehensive emulator setup guides for arcade cabinets, built by professional cabinet builders. Each guide links to the full walkthrough on ggarcadeai.com.
Showing 21 of 21 emulators
RetroArch
Multi-System
Universal emulation frontend for arcade cabinets. Master controller setup, core selection, performance tuning, and kiosk mode lockdown.
MAME
Arcade
Standalone MAME, mame.exe, mame.ini hierarchy, full 32K+ ROM set. The dedicated arcade cabinet standard.
MAME via RetroArch
Arcade
MAME through RetroArch's libretro core system, shaders, overlays, RetroAchievements, and a unified multi-system frontend.
FinalBurn Neo
Arcade (CPS1/2/3, Neo Geo, Capcom, SNK)
The go-to emulator for fighting game cabinets — Street Fighter II, King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Mortal Kombat, and 5,000+ CPS1/2/3, Neo Geo, and Capcom arcade titles.
Daphne / Hypseus Singe
Laserdisc Arcade
The definitive Laserdisc arcade emulator — Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Cliff Hanger, and 98%+ of the Laserdisc arcade library. Covers ROM + video architecture, framefile protocol, and Singe 2.0 fan games.
Project64 / Gopher64
Nintendo 64
The two best Nintendo 64 emulators for PC — covers plugin selection (GLideN64), N64 controller mapping for arcade sticks, performance tuning, and LaunchBox integration for GoldenEye, Mario 64, and Zelda.
DuckStation
PlayStation 1
High-performance PS1 emulator with upscaling, PGXP geometry correction, and per-game configuration for arcade cabinet builds.
Dolphin
GameCube / Wii
GameCube and Wii emulation for arcade cabinets. Covers controller profiles, performance settings, and game-specific fixes.
PPSSPP
PlayStation Portable
High-performance PSP emulator with Vulkan support, per-game overrides, and arcade-optimized rendering settings.
PCSX2
PlayStation 2
The definitive PS2 emulator. Master BIOS setup, per-game overrides, the Double Input bug fix, and kiosk automation for arcade cabinet builds.
Citra / Lime3DS
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS emulation. Lime3DS is the actively maintained Citra successor with Vulkan support, HD textures, and dual-screen layout management.
RPCS3
PlayStation 3
The world's first functional PS3 emulator. Run Tekken 6, Street Fighter IV, God of War III, and 70%+ of the PS3 library with Cell architecture tuning.
Cemu
Nintendo Wii U
Run Breath of the Wild at 60fps, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, and 700+ Wii U titles. Covers mlc01 setup, Vulkan, FPS++ graphic packs, and shader caches.
Flycast
Dreamcast / NAOMI / Atomiswave
The definitive Sega 6th-generation emulator. Covers Dreamcast, NAOMI, NAOMI 2, Atomiswave, and System SP with Vulkan rendering and widescreen cheats.
TeknoParrot
Modern PC Arcade
The definitive compatibility layer for modern PC-based arcade hardware. Run House of the Dead 4, Time Crisis 5, and 150+ titles from Sega Lindbergh, RingEdge, and Taito Type X.
Xenia
Xbox 360
The leading Xbox 360 research emulator. Run Halo 3, Fable II, Gears of War, Red Dead Redemption, and 2,000+ titles with D3D12 configuration.
Supermodel
Sega Model 3
The only high-accuracy emulator for Sega Model 3 arcade hardware. Run Virtua Fighter 3, Daytona USA 2, Scud Race, and Star Wars Trilogy.
Sega Model 2 Emulator
Sega Model 2
The definitive emulator for Sega Model 2 arcade hardware. Run Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter 2, Sega Rally Championship, and Virtua Cop.
Redream
Sega Dreamcast
The premier standalone Dreamcast emulator. Monolithic design and sane defaults make it the easiest Dreamcast emulator to configure for arcade cabinets.
ScummVM
Classic PC Adventure Games
The definitive engine re-implementation for classic LucasArts and Sierra adventure games. Run Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and 400+ more.
OpenBOR
Beat-em-up Game Engine
The open-source beat-em-up game engine for fan-made PAK modules. Run TMNT: Rescue-Palooza!, Streets of Rage remakes, and hundreds more.
Legal Notice: These guides provide configuration and setup instructions for emulation software. We do not provide, link to, or endorse ROM or BIOS file downloads. You must legally own the games you emulate.
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Arcade Frontends
Choose the right frontend to launch your emulators. 12 frontends compared with in-depth guides.
Builder's Blueprint
Articles on cabinet construction, materials, costs, and the arcade building community.
Trusted Vendors
Find parts, controls, and supplies from the vendors we trust for our own builds.
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