The only emulators really worth using IMO don’t have IAPs or ads or any of that. Delta is Nintendo only (and GBA), you can skin the controllers, and it has Google Drive backup. Like I can uninstall the app and clear the space, re-download it, reconnect it to the cloud, and it’ll pull all my games and saves back down again. It’s awesome… but it’s Nintendo only. I suspect the developer of some kind of shenanigans, like there’s some reason it’s Nintendo only and not GameCube, but I wouldn’t know where to begin with the why. In any case, it works, and it works with external controllers — I like the 8bitdo SN30 Pro. I don’t think they make mine anymore. It’s a Super NES/Super Famicom controller. You used to get SNES/SFC lookalike controllers, but Nintendo sued and now it looks a bit less like one, but retains the shape. Bonus, it has a second set of triggers, and two analogue sticks. Playing Xbox games with it (it supports Xinput, Switch, and Bluetooth connections) feels illegal, but it works. Oh, and then of course there’s RetroArch. Supports almost everything (the iOS version is more limited than the computer one), but it’s not very user friendly.
I can remember the days when emulators on iPhones were out of reach for all but those who liked voiding their warranties to jailbreak the devices. It’s nice to see the iPhone open up a little bit more (though calling the iPhone “open” is taking mad liberties) even if it remains a curated walled garden. I could probably use my GameSir (love that name) controller case, or my 8BitDo SNES-like controller (that thing is so wonderful, but I need to prop my phone up with it), but I probably won’t emulate much on my phone. I don’t consider myself a hardware purist, but I do have a thing for using the original device over emulation when I’m feeling particularly nostalgic.
There is something to be said about using the original hardware. While I have no problem playing, say, a Zelda game to completion, a Mario game is another matter entirely. Even with a Switch with Switch Online membership, the latency that exists whether I’m using the attached controllers wirelessly, the Switch in handheld mode, or a third-party controller wired over USB, or wireless over Bluetooth, the latency is greater than it was on an actual NES. I just can’t control Mario as tightly as I could on original hardware. You could chalk it up to my age (let’s just say I played the NES when it was brand new), but there is a discernible latency that was not there with the original hardware, and even Nintendo themselves can’t get rid of it. And that’s if you pay them an annual fee.
The only emulators really worth using IMO don’t have IAPs or ads or any of that. Delta is Nintendo only (and GBA), you can skin the controllers, and it has Google Drive backup. Like I can uninstall the app and clear the space, re-download it, reconnect it to the cloud, and it’ll pull all my games and saves back down again. It’s awesome… but it’s Nintendo only. I suspect the developer of some kind of shenanigans, like there’s some reason it’s Nintendo only and not GameCube, but I wouldn’t know where to begin with the why. In any case, it works, and it works with external controllers — I like the 8bitdo SN30 Pro. I don’t think they make mine anymore. It’s a Super NES/Super Famicom controller. You used to get SNES/SFC lookalike controllers, but Nintendo sued and now it looks a bit less like one, but retains the shape. Bonus, it has a second set of triggers, and two analogue sticks. Playing Xbox games with it (it supports Xinput, Switch, and Bluetooth connections) feels illegal, but it works. Oh, and then of course there’s RetroArch. Supports almost everything (the iOS version is more limited than the computer one), but it’s not very user friendly.
I can remember the days when emulators on iPhones were out of reach for all but those who liked voiding their warranties to jailbreak the devices. It’s nice to see the iPhone open up a little bit more (though calling the iPhone “open” is taking mad liberties) even if it remains a curated walled garden. I could probably use my GameSir (love that name) controller case, or my 8BitDo SNES-like controller (that thing is so wonderful, but I need to prop my phone up with it), but I probably won’t emulate much on my phone. I don’t consider myself a hardware purist, but I do have a thing for using the original device over emulation when I’m feeling particularly nostalgic.
There is something to be said about using the original hardware. While I have no problem playing, say, a Zelda game to completion, a Mario game is another matter entirely. Even with a Switch with Switch Online membership, the latency that exists whether I’m using the attached controllers wirelessly, the Switch in handheld mode, or a third-party controller wired over USB, or wireless over Bluetooth, the latency is greater than it was on an actual NES. I just can’t control Mario as tightly as I could on original hardware. You could chalk it up to my age (let’s just say I played the NES when it was brand new), but there is a discernible latency that was not there with the original hardware, and even Nintendo themselves can’t get rid of it. And that’s if you pay them an annual fee.