Emulation

Emulation is software that mimics a game console or computer, letting a modern handheld run that system’s software. It is a legal, widely used technology — the legal line is about the content: emulation on this site always means games you legally own. Handheld Verdict covers the hardware and the honest performance ceilings, and never links, names, or explains where to obtain ROM or BIOS files. How well a device emulates a given system is a function of its chipset tier, reported here as a consensus band.