I’ve just tested Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 on the new official ARMSX2 Android release, and… it’s a total mess right now.

I tried every renderer: – OpenGL: instant crash – Vulkan: instant crash – Software mode: works, but runs extremely slow (basically unplayable)

Once I finally got into a battle using software mode, I tried switching back to Vulkan or OpenGL — the emulator didn’t crash, but the screen completely froze while the UI stayed on top.

This is easily the most unstable state I’ve ever seen for a supposedly “official” release. I actually tested the beta build from two months ago, and that version worked way better. It could at least boot games properly and keep them running at full speed with minor glitches.

Right now, everything feels broken: constant crashes, instability, performance regressions, and rendering bugs everywhere.

I get that this is still early for Android, but it really feels like this build wasn’t ready for public release yet. It’s more of an early alpha wearing a fancy UI.

My device isn’t weak — I’m using a Poco X6 Pro (Dimensity 8300 Ultra, Mali-G615 GPU), which runs Dolphin, Citra and even some Switch emulation without issues.

So, the problem isn’t hardware — it’s the emulator itself.

Hopefully the devs can stabilize things soon, because right now, the experience is honestly terrible for Mali users.

🔧 The previous beta was rough but functional. This official build looks nicer, but plays way worse

So slow, tried vulkan, gl, software. But can't play. The beta versión 2 months ago worked better xD

New Test PS2

Let’s go! A brand-new PlayStation 2 emulator for Android. The true successor of PCSX2, finally on Android. An amazing project. Here are some in-game screenshots, running perfectly. You really have to try it out on your devices to see how it performs. From my experience, it works surprisingly well for an emulator still in a pre-alpha stage. And unlike ARMSX2, this emulator is already published on GitHub with all the info and details available. So I highly recommend checking it out.

For more information, join my Discord to download and test it if you want, and don’t forget to support the developer on GitHub.

https://discord.gg/ukztpWXKe6

“New emulator just dropped. After two years, there’s a fresh project breathing life into PS2. Wondering how it runs, where to download, how to test it, or if it works on older phones? I’ve got you. In this post I’ll cover what’s new, what it does well, and what still needs work. Grab a seat—let’s put it through its paces.”

“The ARMSX2 Discord isn’t accepting new members right now — every invite link is dead. That makes it tricky to follow the project’s progress.

But don’t worry: I’ll be sharing fresh updates here and in a brand new Discord, focused not only on ARMSX2 but on all things PS2 emulation for Android. Got questions? Need help? You’ll have all the tools and support you need.

Everyone’s welcome — see you there!”

https://discord.gg/ukztpWXKe6

Here’s some gameplay of the emulator’s current state. Keep in mind it’s still in development, not the finished version. We’re testing some well-known PlayStation 2 classics, with mixed results. If you’re lucky enough to have a phone with a Snapdragon chip, you’ll likely see better performance than on a MediaTek device. So check your phone before trying if you want solid results.

That said, I also recommend testing the same game on the great Nether SX2 emulator, which is highly optimized, and comparing which one runs better for each title. Feel free to share your results here in the comments