by AdministrateurDolphin is a gaming console emulator for GameCube and Wii. It is an open-source and free emulator that is compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac, and Android. Initially, Dolphin Emulator was designed for Windows and Linux, but with the advancement in mobile technology dolphin emulator became a more feasible option for Android.
Dolphin is well known for its stability and compatibility. It provides a number of features and the aptitude to play games with enhanced graphics. Dolphin emulator can run games at the HD video quality, surprisingly the GameCube and Wii consoles are not capable to play 1080p video quality. Most of the GameCube and Wii console games run smoothly without any glitch what-so-ever.
Dolphin is an open-source project, which means that any programmer can tweak the source code. The source code of Dolphin Emulator is available on code.google.com. Dolphin is actively developed and new features are added consistently. Dolphin emulator is a multiplatform emulator which can support Windows, Linux, Mac, and Android.
Dolphin Emulator for Android
There is a number of emulators available in the market for GameCube and Wii, but the Dolphin Emulator is the best among them for playing classic Nintendo console games. Almost all the classic games of GameCube and Wii console are available on Dolphin emulator for PC. For even more classic feel you can connect Wii motes to your PC.
The Dolphin Emulator has an Android version which is now available on Google Play Store for free. Before that, it was not available on Google Play Store but you had to download APK version from the Dolphin Emulator’s website. According to the Dolphin development team, Dolphin Emulator for Android devices is still in beta phase, while Windows and Mac version of Dolphin Emulator are well known for their stability and compatibility. Beta version does not mean that it’s all bad, we think if you are a fan of Super Mario and Resident Evil you should definitely give it a try.
Dolphin team is committed to resolving any issues that might be present in the Beta version of the Dolphin Emulator Android version. If you are hesitant to try out the Beta version of Dolphin emulator due to some bugs, monthly updates by the Dolphin team might resolve your issue.
As you might know that a lot of emulators don’t come with the pre-installed games, same is the case with Dolphin emulator. You have to convert your favorite games to ISO file and play them with Dolphin emulator.
Dolphin Emulator Features and Performance
There are a lot of quirky features in Dolphin Emulator like:
- There is a quick save option available for instantly saving your progress, along with a reload state option.
- Due to Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering, the video quality of the game is enhanced. It is enhanced so much that its better than the original Wii console. Keep in mind that a good graphics card can enhance the gaming experience.
- You can now play your favorite games in 1080p resolution, the original Wii console box didn’t even have that option.
- You can connect Wii mote and Nunchuck to your PC and enjoy the classic gaming experience.
- Dolphin supports multiple Wii mote at a time.
- Performance boost can be achieved using simple setting adjustments that might end up boosting 20+FPS.
- A high-performance gaming CPU is recommended for uninterrupted gaming experience for good results intel i5 might be enough and for an amazing gaming experience, intel i7 or equivalent system is recommended.
Wii Mote and Sensor Bar
Dolphin lets you have multiplayer fun; you can now connect up to 4 Wii Motes or Nun Chuck. You can connect a Wii Mote to a PC using Bluetooth connection and enjoy multiplayer gaming.
The wireless sensor bar is another way of enjoying the classic gaming experience. Wii Motes and Wireless sensor are connected together in such a way that infrared sensor in the Wii Mote finds the point of light in sensor bar so that they work flawlessly.
Dolphin 5.0
Dolphin team released Dolphin 5.0 which is the most awaited update. The update brings multiple new fixes, including the speed performance fix. With this new fix, the performance of Dolphin emulator has been enhanced. Not only performance but a lot of extra features are introduced as well.
A lot of graphic improvements have been made, depth matrix has been improved this makes texture that is far away, look more accurate by giving them depth. Depth matrix helped improve the texture enhancement on obscured objects in some games. At the same time, it is making the distant object look sharper.
If you prefer the authentic console-like graphics you can now boot your Dolphin to look like the original Wii console. Another problem that has been addressed is the sound, there were complaints about jerky sound and music. With Dolphin 5.0 you get accurate sound emulation. Now you can feel the authentic console experience with Dolphin 5.0 audio fix. This fix works well with games that have frame-accurate button presses like Super Mario.
There is a list of small fixes that are carried out in Dolphin 5.0. The biggest relief for gamers is increased Netplay performance. Netplay allows gamers to play local multiplayer games online.
We should give credit to team Dolphin for constantly working and fixing the Bugs for a smooth and enhanced console gaming experience.