Gone are the days of jailbreaking to play Retro game emulators On iOS devices. After years of strict regulations, Apple has done just that Finally, the ban on them was lifted, allowing players to revisit yesteryear's consoles — and legally, to boot. Less than a month later, Delta It is the leader in the all-in-one emulator, making waves with support for many older consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), N64, Nintendo DS, and more.
It's been a strong start for developer Riley Testot. The app currently ranks first in the Entertainment category, scoring an average score of 4.9 (out of five) against 13.6k reviews. Being free certainly adds to its appeal, but its impressive feature set is largely responsible for its rapid rise to popularity.
For starters, the Delta emulator is compatible with all major consoles, as well as wired and Bluetooth keyboards. Specific input methods, such as gyro and microphone controls, are supported for select titles, while Delta Sync allows users to sync their games, save files/states, cheats, control surfaces, and mappings between different devices.
Customization options are also available, which take the form of customizing the layout, assigning additional buttons, and creating a custom look. Those looking to share the joy are in luck – the app supports local multiplayer on NES, SNES and N64, inviting up to four players in a team.
As with all emulators, Delta requires ROM (short for “read-only memory”), or digital copies of the game, in order to function. Simply download the required ROM, import it into the app, and it will automatically be sorted into its appropriate platform. To run the game successfully, make sure you meet the following basic requirements:
- iPhone and iPod touch – Requires iOS 14.0 or later
- Mac – Requires macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later, and a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or later
- Apple Vision – Requires VisionOS 1.0 or later
Delta is available on Apple App Store Free. For those familiar with the emulator scene, its popularity should come as no surprise — the app has taken five years to work out any kinks since entering version 1.0 in 2019, and is now known as one of the most polished options on the market.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart — or as casual as someone who has a Sephiroth theme on her Spotify playlist. A fan of Japanese movies, games, and culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any sale on Steam, really.
