All the top emulators available to download from the Apple App Store
Around the beginning of April, Apple decided to enable emulators on the Apple App Store. While it took some time for some to materialize, they surely did. With so many alternatives available, and more on the way, you may question which one to use. After all, some of these emulators have similar console compatibility.
While there is no apparent “best” emulator available on the App Store, each has unique advantages and downsides. Which one is best for you will be determined by what you desire from an emulator.
Delta: All-In-One Nintendo Emulator
The Delta emulator was the first significant emulator available on the Apple App Store. Delta can simulate a variety of Nintendo systems, including:
- Nintendo Entertainment System.
- Super Nintendo 64.
- Game Boy Color.
- Gameboy Advance
- Nintendo DS.
All of these emulators make Delta essential for Nintendo lovers. However, Delta offers more than just consoles. The most important feature, by far, is its simplicity. Delta is ridiculously easy to use. If you’ve never used an emulator before, you’ll have no trouble with Delta.
Beyond that, the user interface is stunning. The on-screen controls given for each system are excellent to use and include haptic feedback to make them even more usable. You may also download alternative skins for each controller and system that Delta can simulate. Emulating games on your phone is fantastic. It’s even better when you can do it comfortably without having to carry a controller. Another outstanding feature of Delta is save synchronization, which will be especially useful when Delta’s iPad release reaches the App Store soon.
In terms of imitating Nintendo DS games, Delta is probably the finest choice accessible on the app store, although emulating Nintendo DS titles will require you to obtain the BIOS files from a Nintendo DS.
Delta does have some drawbacks, however. The most important disadvantage of Delta is its performance with Nintendo 64 games. Nintendo 64 games are frequently affected by texture defects across Delta, leaving them unusable. Some Nintendo 64 games will have minor texture defects, while others will include complete characters replaced with black blobs. Despite this one shortcoming, Delta is largely positive in all other areas. Delta is the greatest emulator for emulating handheld Nintendo games as well as classic NES and SNES titles. Delta will be much better if you prefer an emulator with an excellent on-screen controller.
Gamma, a conflicting PlayStation 1 emulator.
Gamma is a more recent app store release, and it’s by far the most diverse of the bunch. Gamma is exclusively a PlayStation 1 emulator. That isn’t inherently a terrible thing, but it’s only useful once. This would not be disrespectful if Gamma compensated in every other way. Unfortunately, Gamma is just too diverse to warrant mimicking just one console.
To its credit, Gamma has an excellent user interface. Gamma is substantially modeled after Delta, with the same UI and feature set. Gamma’s interface has everything that made Delta’s so excellent. From haptic feedback to save syncing and controller skins. It’s all on Gamma. Furthermore, it already supports the iPad.
However, Gamma is not entirely favorable. Unfortunately, Gamma is infested with advertisements. Every time you launch a game, you will see an advertisement. You won’t always get one, but I can’t seem to establish a trend as to why that happens. I left a game for less than 20 seconds to change some settings and was confronted with an ad when I returned. Fortunately, gaming is never stopped by an advertisement, which would take this issue from negative to total dealbreaker.
Another minor issue on Gamma is mimicking multi-disc PlayStation games. Gamma can simulate games like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid, but it isn’t as intuitive as other emulators. However, if you’re looking for a basic emulator to play classic PlayStation games, Gamma might be your best option right now.
PPSSPP: Bringing the PSP back.
Games that were previously available on a portable platform are a perfect fit for emulation on an iPhone. Whereas Delta is the ideal emulator for experiencing Game Boy and Nintendo DS titles on your iPhone, PPSSPP is the ideal emulator for experiencing PlayStation Portable games on your iPhone. Aside from being entertaining to speak, PPSSPP is one of the most user-friendly emulators on the App Store. Although not as straightforward as Delta, you’ll virtually never be left wondering how to accomplish something on PPSSPP. It offers a straightforward and user-friendly interface that you should have no issue navigating.
As a PlayStation portable emulator, PPSSPP has a large library at its disposal. Almost every PSP game will work nicely on your phone because they were designed with handheld devices in mind. Though many of them will operate better with a blue controller, most games’ on-screen controls are fairly simple.
Of course, the major disadvantage of PPSSPP is that its status implies that it is a one-trick pony. It would be much more interesting to be a purely PlayStation portable emulator if there were no other options on the App Store. Unfortunately for PPSSPP, there is another alternative available.
Folium, a Nintendo portable alternative.
Before the Nintendo Switch, almost every major mobile console could be emulated on the iPhone. The only real exception is the PlayStation Vita. While there are a several alternatives for mimicking the Nintendo DS, there is just one option for its successor, the Nintendo 3DS. Currently, Folium is the only technique to imitate Nintendo 3DS games.
Folium is a commercial emulator that supports the GameBoy Advance and all versions of the Nintendo DS. While Folium’s emulation of the GameBoy Advance and DS is excellent, the emulator’s main draw is its Nintendo 3DS support. Unfortunately, Folium’s 3DS emulation leaves much to be desired. Many 3DS games that can be emulated on Folium suffer from significant delay, rendering many of them unplayable.
Those who have previously sideloaded Folium on their iPhone or iPad may be surprised by the performance concerns. Folium provides excellent 3DS emulation when sideloaded. The reason for the performance discrepancy is that Apple does not allow emulators on the App Store to use JIT compilation. JIT compilation provides for significantly faster performance, however Apple’s entire ban on JIT compilation is most likely due to its use in malware.
If you have an M4 iPad Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro Max, you may be able to enjoy playing 3DS games on Folium. For anything less, you might be better off saving $5.99 for now.
RetroArch, the ultimate emulator.
RetroArch might be one of the best emulators available. Not only on the iPhone, but across all platforms. While that is a bold claim, there is a lot to like about RetroArch. For starters, RetroArch can replace all of the other emulators on this list. RetroArch supports PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, and all Nintendo console games accessible on Delta. Aside from those possibilities, RetroArch can replicate the following consoles:
Video game consoles include Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, Intellivision, Neo Geo, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, and Virtual Boy.
And that’s not even a complete list. RetroArch also supports DOS and old arcade games. RetroArch allows you to simulate a ridiculous number of different things. RetroArch’s emulation of these various consoles is generally superior to that of other emulators. However, there are exceptions. Delta offers considerably superior Nintendo DS emulation. RetroArch supports PSP emulation via the PPSSPP core. However, there is a significant improvement in quality when using RetroArch. RetroArch is far superior to Delta when it comes to emulating Nintendo 64 games. All of the texture difficulties that appear when imitating on Delta are not present when using RetroArch.
Despite all of this, there are certain drawbacks to adopting RetroArch. The major drawback is that RetroArch is incredibly unintuitive when compared to its iOS competitors. For individuals who are new to emulation, I would even recommend taking a tutorial on how to utilize RetroArch before jumping in. However, the high learning curve is rewarded with some of the greatest emulation available anywhere. RetroArch is available for Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux, so if you’ve used it on one of those platforms, you’ll probably want to remain with it on your iPhone. And it’s simple to do because the RetroArch UI is identical on the iPhone and iPad as it is elsewhere.
However, RetroArch has one feature that sets it apart from all other emulators available on the App Store. The one difference is that it’s available on Apple TV. This feature alone is massive. RetroArch may be used to imitate games on your iPhone or iPad, as well as any TV that can be connected to your Apple TV.
While it may not be the most visually appealing or sophisticated emulator, it is by far the most versatile and powerful. If you want a one-size-fits-all emulation solution in your pocket, RetroArch is unquestionably the finest option.
Recent Posts
Around the beginning of April, Apple decided to enable emulators on the Apple App Store. While it took some time for some to materialize, they surely did. With so many alternatives available, and more on the way, you may question which one to use. After all, some of these emulators have similar console compatibility.
While there is no apparent “best” emulator available on the App Store, each has unique advantages and downsides. Which one is best for you will be determined by what you desire from an emulator.
Delta: All-In-One Nintendo Emulator
The Delta emulator was the first significant emulator available on the Apple App Store. Delta can simulate a variety of Nintendo systems, including:
- Nintendo Entertainment System.
- Super Nintendo 64.
- Game Boy Color.
- Gameboy Advance
- Nintendo DS.
TEXT
TEXT
TEXT
TEXT