iPad/iPhone Emulation and Retro Games.

Steve X2

Anyone here using the iPad to play emulators or retro games at all?

It's a damn good device for them I must say if you travel much and want to bring some retro goodness with you in a small package.
And by travel I mean from Dublin to New York to Japan or just on the DART/Bus/Train in the morning heading into work.

Anyway, I've a list here of the some of the best ones I have, if you have any others please post a comment.
You will need a jailbroken iPhone or iPad for the emulators or Cydia apps but they do have a few normal appstore retro games as well that are actually very good and a lot of them are just running on an official emulator.

One of the reasons I'm sticking this up is that the guys in work were always wondering why I bring a Wii controller with me when we are going away with work. I use it as a controller for the emulators on the iPad. I think they thought I was a bit mental, in fairness they're probably right

Here's a list of some of the emulators and retro games worth a look on the iPhone and iPad:

MAME: iMAME4all (Cydia) - decent version of MAME that supports about 2500 games at full speed.

SNES: Snes9x EX (Cydia) - A new and great SNES emulator.
SNES: SNES (HD) (Cydia) - A SNES emulator that allows you to use the iPhone as a controller and and the Ipad as the screen.

NES: NES A.D. + (Cydia) - NES emulator thats works very well.

GBX A.D.X + (Cydia) - Game Boy emulator (Looks best on the iPhone as the iPad screen is a bit big for it)

Commodore: C64 (AppStore) - A well presented Commodore 64 emulator/App with a decent collection of games.

There are loads more retro games on the app store and Cydia, some good and some bad. Check out "Atari Greatest Hits" or "Capcom Arcade" for a couple of official new ones. "Atari Greatest Hits" also supports the upcoming iCade.


So, anyone else using the iPad or iPhone for a hit of retro goodness?


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Retr0gamer

Old school games + on screen pad = fail

It may be able to runthe games but I just find those on screen pad solutions absolutely appalling. Maybe a slow paced RPG it will work but anything the requires any sort of skill and finesse, forget it.

Steve X2

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Old school games + on screen pad = fail

It may be able to runthe games but I just find those on screen pad solutions absolutely appalling. Maybe a slow paced RPG it will work but anything the requires any sort of skill and finesse, forget it.

That's why I said I use the Wii controller. Most of the emulators support the Wii controller and the Wii classic controller.

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Retr0gamer

Kind of defeats the purpose of it being portable though

Steve X2

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Kind of defeats the purpose of it being portable though

If you reckon.
I travel a lot for work and have stopped bringing a laptop and just use my iPad/iPhone as the battery life is great and its very portable and does what I need it to do (without dying after 5 or 6 hours like most laptops or netbooks). The Wii controller fits nicely in my carry on bag as I rarely check in luggage, even when heading to New York or places like that. Plus its nice to be able to stick on a retro game when I'm back in the hotel and play away.

Obviously if I'm at home I can play the real thing or load up an emulator on the pc etc. But when you travel a lot every comfort you can bring with you is a plus, as long as it doesn't weigh that much



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Andrew76

I could see the attraction with the iPad or an Android tablet with the decent screen size and half decent controller via the Wii remote. But I wouldn't bother with it on a phone.
I've tried the GBA emulator on my Android phone but the touch screen controls just get in the way and don't feel right (or I could just be crap using them). Personally I would just bring a DS Lite + an R4 card for any on the go emulation and leave the phone gaming to games designed for phones.

Steve X2

Andrew76 wrote: »

I could see the attraction with the iPad or an Android tablet with the decent screen size and half decent controller via the Wii remote. But I wouldn't bother with it on a phone.
I've tried the GBA emulator on my Android phone but the touch screen controls just get in the way and don't feel right (or I could just be crap using them). Personally I would just bring a DS Lite + an R4 card for any on the go emulation and leave the phone gaming to games designed for phones.

Yeah, the iPhone is not ideal. Your better of bringing a handheld. But if you have an iPad or other tablet then the bigger screen is great if you have a controller.
The Wii classic controller pro is great, but if you don't have the space for it the normal Wii controller does the job as well.


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longshotvalue

ondafly

i have EspgaludaII and DoDonPachiResurrection on my iPhone, and I find them pretty enjoyable to say the least. I found emulators to be a bit tricky to use, again due to the controls. Whereas the above 2 of been specifically customized for the iPhone.

megaten

I use a caanoo handheld for portable emulators. It may not pack as much power but at least I have buttons.

Steve X2

aidankkk wrote: »

I'm on the waiting list for this like a load of other people. As soon as I get that email I'm getting this.
Will make a nice iPad dock if nothing else