Switch 2 has a better PS1 emulator than PS5's in Hamster's Console Archives
Hamster’s long-running Arcade Archives series has expanded into Console Archives, and its debut with Cool Boarders on Switch 2 highlights a surprisingly strong PS1 emulation effort. The release, available now on Switch 2 for $12 and scheduled for PS5 next week, is not a remaster but an emulated build—and one that contrasts sharply with Sony’s official PS1 emulator on PS5.
Where Sony’s PS5 builds render PS1 games at a much higher native resolution, that upscale tends to expose polygon seams and other issues that were less visible at the original 240p. The PS5 version also leaves dithering problems in 2D sprites and backgrounds uncorrected, while Hamster’s Console Archives release preserves the original native resolution and addresses dithering in places, producing an image closer to how the game originally appeared.
Performance differs as well: the official PS5 emulator shows wildly variable frame pacing that makes gameplay feel juddery, a problem the Hamster version fixes.