Reduce the "Emulated CPU Clock" from 100% to 60-70%. This is counterintuitive but often reduces lag and improves speed on handhelds.
Try switching between Vulkan and OpenGL. Also, disable "Dual Core" mode for problematic games like Resident Evil 0 . dolphin for handheld 1.2.1
While newer versions (like 1.3 or 1.4) exist, 1.2.1 holds a special place in the retro handheld community. It is often cited as the — stable enough for long play sessions, compatible with a wide range of Android 10-13 devices, and without some of the experimental regressions introduced in later updates. Many custom firmware images for handhelds (like those from GammaOS) still recommend 1.2.1 as a fallback for problematic titles. Reduce the "Emulated CPU Clock" from 100% to 60-70%