Playing PS2/PSP/Wii/GameCube/Android Games on the Razer Edge

I’ve had the Razer Edge for a couple of weeks now and it's been fully set up for operation in the way I want it to. That means all my emulators on Android have been downloaded from the Playstore and somewhat configured to handle the games I want to relive from my childhood. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon G3X Gen 1 processor, what can we logically expect in terms of gaming performance? We know it has similar power to flagship smartphones a couple years back, but can it outperform some of the modern competition in a saturated market? 

8 to 32-Bit

Nothing really needs to be said about systems like the NES or Sega Genesis. Cheap handheld systems like the Powkiddy RGB10S have been handling up to Playstation 1 nearly flawlessly for years now. The Edge has no problem handling these systems.

N64

As a part of that 32-Bit era, N64 emulation is also system that has nearly been perfected. It’s worth mentioning due to the fact that some N64 games are still difficult for handhelds to handle, but the popular games that people normally run on the N64 should do perfectly fine on the Edge. No problems here.

PSP

PSP emulation through PPSSPP has been pretty reliable on various hardware sets. There are usually a few graphically intensive games that give systems a hard time, but most of the PSP library that we look back fondly on perform relatively well on mid-tier hardware. The Edge keeps most games at a steady 30 FPS with the occasional frame drop down to 25 FPS on actions that are more jolting like a finishing Kamehaha blast in Dragonball Z Tenkaichi Tag Team. There are some settings that can be tinkered with to improve performance, but for the most part, PSP emulation on the Edge is terrific.

PS2

Like the PSP performance, PS2 through AetherSX2 is pretty consistent at 60 FPS with just the occasional frame dipping. I deem it plenty playable to actually be an enjoyable time. I find the Kishi V2 Pro to be a perfect PS2 Dualshock replacement for emulation. I actually liked playing PS2 games here more than on the Steam Deck thanks to the controller. I’ve noticed a bit more frame drops on here than on the Deck, but it’s minor enough to not bother me to tinker with the settings for each game I tried.

GameCube

I’ve really enjoyed catching up with the GameCube library thanks to the huge jump in emulation hardware technology over the last few years. An Android handheld would not be able to run most GameCube games as recently as 2016. I flew all around the world with the Nvidia Shield Portable back then and GameCube was just a dream for that awesome hardware. Nowadays with an Android Tablet like the Edge, GameCube games are truly portable. Most of the games run without too many hiccups and it was an enjoyable time with this cherished system.

Wii

Wii games are the surprising results here on the Razer Edge. I was fully anticipating big frame drops for a fast paced 2D platformer like Murmasa, but it ran flawlessly. Even a franchise versus fighting game like Taksunoko vs. Capcom, which are notoriously hard to emulate was more than acceptable to enjoy on the Edge. It isn’t perfect and will drop frames during crazy finishing moves or quick actions, but I would argue that it’s quite consistent in holding the FPS steady to be playable.

Android

How ironic would it be for an Android tablet to suck at playing Android games? Fortunately, the Edge takes care of its home platform like a champ. Popular games like Genshin Impact and clones like Tower of Fantasy are perfect for the Edge and the Kishi V2 Pro. Those games play as well as I’ve ever seen them run on any of my Android devices.

While the gameplay experience seems to be solid, be sure to return for the full review as I’ll be dissecting everything you need to know about the system.

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