ArcEmu - Watch Emulator 4+
Arcadia's Retro Games Emulator
Raffaele D'Amato
Designed for iPad
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- $1.99
Screenshots
Description
ArcEmu is the first emulator for Apple Watch.
It also works on iPhone and iPad, providing a comprehensive gaming experience across all your Apple devices.
Consoles Supported
- Game Boy (.gb)
- Game Boy Color (.gbc)
- Game Boy Advance (.gba)
Main Features
- Precise and fast emulation thanks to mGBA core
- Frame independent emulation with 30 or 60 fps
- All orientations support on iPhone and iPad
- Precise and well-designed on-screen controls
- Customizable controls (transparency and position) on iPhone and iPad
- 8-directional or 4-directional D-Pad on iPhone and iPad
- Fast-Forward (2x and 3x)
- Slow-mo (0.5x)
- Color Palette modification for GB games
- Button hold/sustain feature
- Accelerometer support
- Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, using the Digital Crown on Apple Watch
- Rumble support on iPhone
- Digital Crown support on Apple Watch
- Game controllers support on iPhone and iPad
- Zip file support
- Auto-Save feature
- Save State sharing between devices
Compatibility
- Apple Watch Series 3 or later
- Apple Watch SE or later
- Apple Watch Ultra or later
ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs.
You can import Game Boy ROMs directly from your iPhone.
ROMs will be automatically transferred to your Apple Watch.
The games shown in the screenshots are:
- Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove
- Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna
- Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield
- µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance
ArcEmu is in no way affiliated with Nintendo. The name “Nintendo” and all associated game console names are registered trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
What’s New
Version 1.5
** This update is not compatible with existing GB and GBC (SameBoy) save states. To avoid losing progress, please save normally in-game before updating. **
- Core change for GB and GBC games (SameBoy -> mGBA)
- Exceptional performance and battery consumption improvements
- Fast-Forward feature (2x and 3x) to speed up the game
- Slow-mo feature (0.5x) to slow down the game
- Save file import feature (.sav)
- Color Palette modification feature for GB games
- New in-game menu with many features easily accessible without returning to the main menu (Save, Load, Reset, Volume, Vibration, Hold/Sustain, Fast Forward, Crown Mapping, D-Pad ways)
- Autosaving when the screen goes to sleep, the app goes to the background, and when returning to the menu
- Modified Hold/Sustain button function, now activatable on all buttons from the new in-game menu
- Minor bug fixes
Ratings and Reviews
Truly exceptional but needs tweaks
This is an insanely cool concept to be able to play game boy and game boy advance games on your watch. But to be usable, it needs a few improvements. I'd love it if you could swipe to hit two buttons, like pressing right for Mario and swiping up onto A to jump. Right now, a new tap is required for any distinct action. In addition, volume controls would be great.
Edit: thanks for the reply! My suggestion with swiping is more so just to allow rollover between the right and A buttons, like how it is between the up and down dpad buttons now.
Edit 2: Yes, overall I think it's intuitive to allow swiping button presses on any button. More freedom that way. The buttons are quite large so accidental swipes should be a minimum. That allows games like Mario to be played (the new crown button remap option works well there too).
Developer Response ,
Yes, unfortunately, multitouch is a limitation of the Apple Watch, and there's not much we can do about it. Your idea of using swipe gestures is interesting; I'll have to investigate how to implement that.
The volume is already adjustable from the Settings menu on the Home screen, where the ROM list is located
Edit: Actually, it is a design choice to make only the arrows activate with a swipe. So, in your opinion, would it make more sense if they were all clickable?
Good emulator
This a good emulator for all intents and purposes and its ability to be played on the Apple Watch really bumps it up. My only current complaint would be if you could add multi touch support for the Apple Watch companion app. I’ve noticed that I am unable to push the arrow keys and the A of B buttons at the same time. A small thing that makes a big difference in some games. Thx in advance and keep up the great work!
Developer Response ,
Hi, unfortunately, Multi-Touch is not supported by third-party apps on watchOS.
We have added the ability to map the Digital Crown as A/B or L/R, which might help mitigate the issue
Get this for classic rpg’s on your watch
This is great for turn based games like pokemon and finial fantasy where you can play them on your watch in like 5 min increments. I just hope they add the ability to sync saves between phone and watch.
Edit: this review was already 5 stars but after your reply this app is perfect!
Developer Response ,
Hi, the feature already exists. You just need to do Save State on one device and then Load State -> iPhone or Apple Watch slot
App Privacy
The developer, Raffaele D'Amato, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Raffaele D'Amato
- Size
- 17.8 MB
- Category
- Games
- Compatibility
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- iPhone
- Requires iOS 15.3 or later.
- iPad
- Requires iPadOS 15.3 or later.
- iPod touch
- Requires iOS 15.3 or later.
- Mac
- Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- Apple Watch
- Requires watchOS 8.4 or later.
- Apple Vision
- Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- Game Controller
- Recommended The developer, Raffaele D'Amato, designed this game to be played with a controller for the best experience.
- Languages
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English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
- Age Rating
- 4+
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2024 Raffaele D'Amato
- Price
- $1.99
Supports
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Game Controllers
Play this game with your favorite compatible controller.
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Family Sharing
Up to six family members can use this app with Family Sharing enabled.