As you can see in the amount of games and genres I hovered up last year(s), I am interested in a lot of stuff.
Mostly interesting, meaningful games which are not too long and have a good narrative or emotional impact. I also love a good puzzle game, as there the emotional impact comes from solving the puzzle and appreciating the design. But also big blockbuster experiences if they are well designed and have a captivating narrative. My favorite games I played this year are:
The Last of Us Part I
Monument Valley
God of War Ragnarok
The Case of the Golden Idol (waiting for a price dip on the sequel)
I have the Razer one. It said it was for Android, and I do have an Android phone, and it basically works, but back then, iPhones were using Lightning. For whatever reason, it does not support iPhones. My iPhone has a bigger screen (6.9" vs 5.8") and is more powerful. The Android phone is good enough for retro emulation, of course, but iOS wins Nintendo emulation with Delta, due to the Google Drive backup feature. I have a Flygrip on my iPhone, and I have an 8bitdo Bluetooth controller that can pair to the iPhone. I think Xbox controllers can, too. My old Xbox One controller pairs to my Macs just fine. Maybe it’ll pair to iPhone.
Fortunately RetroArch is on iOS as well. I don’t think it can use all the cores, but it can use the ones that count (like PS1 and prior). I know on Android you get all of them, including PS2, PSP, Wii, NGC, and so on. But my Android phone is a Galaxy S10 (2019), so I wouldn’t expect it to run the newer games. My iPhone 16 Pro Max is capable, but won’t run the actual cores due to iOS restrictions.
I wonder how hard it would be to homebrew a Raspberry Pi, a custom screen, and a custom controller. Though for what you’d spend doing it (and the value of your time!) there are existing devices (mostly from China, I think) that are meant to do exactly that. But I wouldn’t know where to start with those.
I can even play games on my Apple Watch, but you gotta think, with only one hand controlling it (assuming you’re wearing the watch), you can’t play too many games. I have Zelda, as a proof of concept, but Pokemon is far more likely.
These days, just about anything can emulate. Not too many of them can do it well. A good example is, the original Super Mario Bros… The latency is way too high to play it like you can on original hardware, and it sucks that as advanced as our tech is, the game is virtually unplayable in any emulator. It feels like you’re playing on an ice level (like in Mario 2) almost with how slow the game is to react. We didn’t have this problem in the 80s playing on an actual NES. Even the newer Nintendo consoles are just emulating, and they are subject to the same latency issue. Even first-party Nintendo games on modern consoles can’t beat the latency. For example, on Animal Crossing — fucking Animal Crossing — fishing is impossible to do if a fish has 3 (of 5) stars of rarity or higher. The fucking second it bites, you press the button, latency got ya — you were too late. But undock the Switch and I can catch 5 star sharks, whale sharks, the fucking Coelacanth — every time. It’s a game for grade school kids. It’s not hard. But latency makes it go from “tricky” to “what the fuck why is this game so hard?” real quick.
Thanks for bringing Delta to my attention! I use my Steam Deck for emulation - but now, I have another rabbit hole to go down for when I need to pack ultralight!
Any obvious iOS restrictions, assuming I’d be primarily interested in SNES gaming and have local access to any/every ROM file?
Okay, say we’re standing face to face and I’m showing you my iPhone. I swipe between library pages showing you my games. I go into Final Fantasy III and show you a 50 hour save. Then, to your astonishment, I swipe up to Home, then uninstall the app. “But your save!” you say, but I’m just smiling. I go into the App Store, re-download Delta. I show you my empty library. Then I go to sign into Google Drive, turning my back for privacy. I turn back and show you I’m hitting Enter/Submit/Log In/whatever. We watch as my games repopulate the library. I open Final Fantasy III. My save is intact.
You’re excited. You want Delta too. So you download it on yours. You have the games at home and you’ll load them up later, but you wanna get some time in on Super Metroid right now. So I scroll down to it, long press it, and tap AirDrop. You swipe down, long-press your connections widget, tap AirDrop, and change it to “Everyone for 10 minutes.” Your iPhone shows up, and I AirDrop you the game. Your iPhone receives it, and it opens in Files. You tap on it, it gives you the option to open it in Delta. It’s now in your library. And backed up to your Google Drive account, if you set that up.
Android guys have some better options than Delta, for sure, but they also kinda wish they had Delta.
Delta emulates only Nintendo and only up to the NDS. That said, as a Super NES gamer, you should be aware of better ports on later systems. Most notably IMO, Zelda 3 on Super NES vs Four Swords on GBA. Four Swords is a multiplayer thing, but it also includes Zelda 3 but with better translation, widescreen support, a better inventory, updated translations, and some other fixes. Of course, if you’re running a JP Zelda 3 1.0 for exploits and speed runs, well, that’s different. (You can do that, too.)
Razer Kishi. That’s what I have — but mine only supports Android (I have one of each). It’s USB-C, but doesn’t support my iPhone 16 Pro Max. That being said, if your controller is recognised by iOS, it should work. I use the 8bitdo controller that looks like a Super NES controller, only it has analogue sticks and a second set of triggers (like a PlayStation controller). Works great.
But yes, since Apple revamped the Files app, every app that exposes its files to iTunes/macOS should have its files accessible right in Files, and you can move from the app folder to the download folder and vice-versa. It still isn’t as open as Android, but functionally, it’s just as good. I have no problem moving files between my iPhone and either my Android phone, or my wife’s. What you really need for this is an app that will set up a file host, and that app also needs to expose its files to the Files app. Have one host, have the other connect to it, two-way communication over WiFi. No AirDrop needed, they just have to both be on the same WiFi network (could be one’s hotspot).
I highly recommend the Scuf Nomad. It’s a bit more expensive than other options. I think it’s worth it. I play a bunch of games on my phone and can’t be happier. In the past I used GameSir products and think those are pretty rad for budget options.
I do not recommend SteelSeries at fucking all. They used to ship the Stratus with known issues. Support would actively admit the problem. Sometimes you could get a replacement. Sometimes you couldn’t. I have no idea if their newer products are better; I have stopped buying them since then.
If you already have a Xbox/PlayStation/Switch controller, you can also use that. There are very cheap mounts you can buy for each of these controllers for ~$10 USD that will allow you to hook up to your phone seated on top of the controller. You might even be able to 3D print a mount too.
It’s not nearly as comfortable as this is (though you could say it is because the controller, itself feels better in the hands, but I’m talking viewing angle) but it’s a lot cheaper and doesn’t require buying a new, dedicated controller.
Not knocking your suggestion, OP. Just providing a secondary alternative too.
Tic Tac Toe is still a pretty good time though. Legit that was how i killed time growing up, and even now, the number of spontaneous tic tac toe games i’ve started in games while playing with friends is pretty high
Its probably more they just want to let streamers and people get their names instead of being impersonated. But yea, security usually falls by the wayside.
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