Benchmark Games Compatibility Index (40)
Instead of listing 10,000 lightweight 2D titles that run on a toaster, we focus on the 40 most searched, hardware-punishing games across PS2, GameCube, Switch, PSP, 3DS, N64, and GBA. Click any game to see which handhelds lock 60 FPS.
God of War II
EE CPU & VU1 Intensive
Pushes the PlayStation 2 Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer to their absolute theoretical limit with unlocked variable 60 FPS, heavy bloom lighting, and giant boss geometry.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Famous for its orange PS2 heat-haze atmosphere that is missing in mobile ports. Heavy alpha-blending during Los Santos smog, rain, and tire smoke.
Shadow of the Colossus
EE CPU & VU1 Intensive
The #1 stress-test game for PS2 emulation. Uses inverse kinematics, fur shaders, and dynamic physics that choked even original PS2 hardware down to 18 FPS.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Heavy road reflections, motion blur shaders, and 8-car police chases make this one of the hardest racing games to lock at 60 FPS on mid-range Android handhelds.
Burnout 3: Takedown
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Blistering 60 FPS sense of speed with complex deformation particles during Crash Mode.
Gran Turismo 4
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Masterpiece racing sim that supports native 16:9 and 1080i output inside its own in-game options menu.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Dense jungle grass draw calls and depth-of-field post-processing during cutscenes.
Silent Hill 2 (Director’s Cut)
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Relies heavily on per-pixel volumetric fog layers and real-time flashlight shadows.
Final Fantasy X
Lightweight 2D/3D Pipeline
One of the best-optimized 3D games on PS2. Turn-based combat and fixed camera angles make it very friendly for mid-range chipsets.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
EFB Access from CPU
Timeless cel-shaded art style that looks like an HD remaster when upscaled to 2x or 3x (720p/1080p) with a 16:9 widescreen AR code.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Requires a rock-solid locked 60.0 FPS with zero shader compilation micro-stutter for responsive wavedashing and smash attacks.
Resident Evil 4
EFB Access from CPU
Features superior lighting, fire effects, and uncompressed audio compared to the PS2 port.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
EFB Access from CPU
Fast-paced 60 FPS kart racer that scales brilliantly to 720p/1080p.
Super Mario Sunshine
EFB Access from CPU
Paint/goop collision physics require CPU readbacks of the Embedded Frame Buffer (EFB)—making it heavier than Wind Waker.
God of War: Chains of Olympus
VRAM Bandwidth & Audio Sync
The ultimate benchmark for budget $60 Linux handhelds. Unlocked 333MHz PSP clock speed pushes RK3566 and H700 chips to their ceiling.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Lightweight 2D/3D Pipeline
Square Enix’s flagship PSP title; character models look near-modern when upscaled to 3x or 4x on OLED displays.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Lightweight 2D/3D Pipeline
Playing MHFU on a dual-stick handheld lets you map the PSP D-Pad camera to the right analog stick—completely fixing the infamous "Monster Hunter Claw" grip!
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
VRAM Bandwidth & Audio Sync
Streams an entire 3D Vice City map from UMD/ISO storage with heavy draw distances.
Pokémon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Pushed the original 3DS hardware hard during Totem battles and Double Battles; looks razor-sharp at 3x resolution with the No-Outlines cheat code.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Grezzo’s remaster with upgraded character models and gyro aiming. Runs beautifully on 1:1 (RG Cube) and 16:9 side-by-side screens.
Super Mario Odyssey
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Dynamic resolution 60 FPS Switch showcase. Heavily dependent on Qualcomm Adreno GPUs + Mesa Turnip drivers and NCE (Native Code Execution).
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Requires the v3.0.3 64-bit game update so Android ARM64 NCE (Native Code Execution) can execute game code directly on the CPU without translation overhead.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Lightweight 2D/3D Pipeline
Playable either via N64 emulation (Delta iOS / RetroArch) OR via the native Ship of Harkinian port on Android/Linux PortMaster at locked 60 FPS widescreen.
Pokémon Emerald & Unbound (GBA)
Lightweight 2D/3D Pipeline
The #1 reason people buy $55 pocket handhelds or install Delta on iPhone. Even heavy GBA ROM hacks like Pokemon Unbound or Radical Red run at 60 FPS with 4x Fast-Forward.
Black
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Criterion Games pushed the PS2 with Hollywood-style explosive dust, real-time debris physics, and dense bullet tracer alpha layers.
Tekken 5
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Flawless 60 FPS arcade fighter. Burning Temple water reflections and high-speed juggle strings test frame-pacing.
Metroid Prime
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Retro Studios visor condensation, water ripples, and thermal vision shaders require accurate EFB copy management.
F-Zero GX
EE CPU & VU1 Intensive
Renders 30 anti-gravity crafts at 2000 km/h with 60 FPS precision. Demands immense CPU single-core speed.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Immense physics and dynamic volumetric weather. Demands flagship Snapdragon silicon and Mesa Turnip drivers.
Persona 5 Royal
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
One of the smoothest Switch titles on Android. Turn-based combat makes it playable even on mid-range devices.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
VRAM Bandwidth & Audio Sync
Pushed the PSP hardware to its limit with Atlantis water physics and volcano lava lighting.
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix
VRAM Bandwidth & Audio Sync
Heavy neon city streaming, 80s licensed soundtrack, and 200+ MPH sense of speed.
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
EE CPU & VU1 Intensive
Fluid 60 FPS combat with drive forms and particle magic. Highly optimized on PS2 hardware.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
GS Pixel Fillrate & Alpha Blending
Full 3D aerial battles with giant ki blast auras, split-screen effects, and destructible terrain.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
EFB Access from CPU
Hyrule Field uses minimap CPU copy routines that trigger severe slowdown in Dolphin unless the Hyrule Field Speed Hack is enabled.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
EFB Access from CPU
Paper folding transformation mechanics rely on exact GPU bounding box calculations.
Super Mario Galaxy
EFB Access from CPU
Spherical planetary gravity, star bit pointer collection, and bloom lighting.
Persona 3 Portable
Lightweight 2D/3D Pipeline
Visual novel exploration paired with 3D Tartarus dungeon crawling.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Nintendo built this to run at a locked 60 FPS in stereoscopic 3D. Merging into walls uses custom projection shaders.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Shader Compilation & Turnip Driver
Requires rapid shader caching across 80+ fighter move-sets. Pushes Adreno GPUs to their thermal limits.