The Best GBA Emulator iOS Apps of 2024

GBA emulation has come a long way in recent years. These days you can play classic retro games on just about anything with a screen. In this article we’ll be going over the best GBA emulator iOS apps you can install on your iPhone.

With these emulators, you can relive the nostalgia of the classics and play your favorite GBA games with a GBA emulator for your iOS device! Lets get into it and start exploring some of the best options available, how to set them up, and get to playing some fun games.

With just a couple of taps on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll immediately be taken back in time to experience all the joy and excitement of your favorite handheld classics!

Short Summary

• Find out with GBA emulators to install for playing classic retro GBA games on your iPhone/iPad with features like multiplayer gaming and custom controller compatibility.
• Learn about the free and paid options available and which might be right for you.
• Play popular GBA games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, WarioWare Inc, and many more.

What Are The Best GBA Emulators for iOS?

Discovering the emulator iPhone app that suits your needs may seem a bit intimidating as there are a few different solid options available, however the ones we’ll be sharing typically will play Game Boy Advance, Color, and even original Game Boy games on your iOS devices.

We’ll do our best to make it easy to find the right one for your setup.

Legal and Safety Aspects

In general, emulators themselves are perfectly legal. ROMs on the other hand are a bit of a grey area. If you download game ROMs online, technically you’re breaking the law. That’s because the material in these ROM files is actually the copyrighted games files created by companies. The legal way to obtain ROMs is to dump them from physical games that you own and then use those dumped ROM files to play them on your Game Boy emulator or Game Boy Advance emulator of choice instead of visiting websites to directly download game ROMs.

That being said, we’re well aware that many people don’t bother with dumping games. We’re not here to tell you what to do, but please be sure to check the legality in your area and be informed before going and downloading anything online.

Recommended Emulators

When looking for the right emulator, you’ll want to consider factors like device compatibility, performance of games, user interface, customizability, and how easily you can get setup and playing. To help you pick the right one, we’ll be going over features for each option as well as listing any potential downsides such as not being compatible on all iOS devices.

Delta Emulator

• Price: Free
• Official Website

The Delta emulator is not only the best GBA emulator for iPhone and iPad users, but along with being able to emulate games from the Game Boy Advance, it can also play games from the original NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy Color, and many more. Delta supports the user of external controllers and also has built-in on screen controls available. Users can easily customize each game session exactly how they want and there are of course save states available for saving your progress.

One thing to keep in mind with Delta though is that while it does work quite well with most iOS devices, both iPhone and iPad, some users have reported issues with freezing and crashing on older versions of iOS. If you’re on a newer model you should be good to go, but for those using an older phone or tablet to emulate their games, you might not have the best experience. That considered, Delta is the best GBA emulator you’ll find for iOS devices and it’s clear why it made the number one spot on our list.

As previously mentioned, it supports external controllers which give a better gaming experience and allows you to remap controls and use cheat codes as well.

One other notable downside is installing the Delta emulator. Because Apple removed it from the Apple Appstore, there are a couple of extra steps that you’ll need to take to get it on your iOS device. The team behind the Delta emulator actually built out an entire Appstore for iOS devices of their own called the AltStore.

This other AppStore is the official way to install the Delta emulator on your device:

• First head on over and download AltServer for Mac or PC from the following URL: https://altstore.io

• Next, connect your iOS device to your computer via lightning cable (or USB-C for iPad)
• Then you’ll want to Follow these instructions for your specific device to install the AltStore
• Next, head to the Browse tab in the AltStore and find the Delta emulator
• Tap FREE to begin installing Delta
• After it has finished installing you can then launch the app from your device’s Home Screen

You can tell the developers really did their best to simplify the process. They went out of their way to create an entirely new AppStore. For that alone you deserve to give Delta a shot.

Other Notable GBA Emulators

There’s no denying it, when it comes to emulating the GBA on iOS devices, Delta is the go to emulator. With that said though, there are some other notable options that we’d like to mention.

The Provenance emulator can load and run games decently without too much lag and have customizable on screen controls. Another option is the Happy Chick emulator as well. Happy Check can play games from the N64, GBA, PSP, PS1, and more. Also, don’t sleep on the RetroArch emulator either.

RetroArch actually made our list of the best GBA emulator Android apps as well.

Both the Provenance and Happy Chick emulators are free to download and use.

Playing GBA Games on Your iOS Device

Next up, we’ll be covering how simple it is to playing GBA games on these emulators and how to get some further replay value out of your games by setting up and using cheat codes.

Loading Games onto Your Emulator

Once you’ve decided on which GBA emulator you’d like to use, you’ll next need to load up your game ROMs. Yes, it really is that simple! Some emulators are able to search your entire iPhone or iPad’s storage for ROM files, but some might require you to search and locate them on the device individually.

Using Cheat Codes and Save States

Setting up and using cheat codes can be a lot of fun depending on the game you’re playing. You can get cheats pretty easily just by doing a simple google search of the name of the game followed by “cheat codes”.

Once you have some cheats that you want to enable, you’ll simply just enter them into your emulator’s cheats menu where after saving them, they will automatically be applied to your game.

You can also easily save your game’s progress at any time using save states. This means you don’t need to replay levels or boss fights you’ve already beaten just like when you’re playing on other consoles or systems. The save menu should be simple to find in any of the emulators you’ve chosen.

Summary

In summary, no matter the GBA emulator for iOS that you chose to go with, they should all offer a ton of fun classic gaming.

Delta however is the clear choice for iOS users in terms of quality and performance. There are some other notable options though like RetroArch and the Provenance emulator. We hope you found this guide helpful and are ready to get down and play your favorite games!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any GBA emulators for iPhone?

The Delta emulator is an amazing GBA emulator for iPhone and iPad that allows you to play all of your favorite Game Boy, GBC, and GBA games nearly flawlessly. It’s hands down the best GBA emulator you’ll find for iOS devices and the developers are very passionate about the project. We highly recommend you give it a shot!

Is GBA for iOS safe?

The developer behind the original GBA emulator, GBA4iOS is very well respected in the emulation community and has built up a lot of trust over the years. They later went on to develop a successor to the GBA4iOS app known as the Delta emulator which is an all in one emulator for iOS that not only supports the Game Boy Advance, but plays games from the SNES, N64, Game Boy, and more.

The developer goes by the name of Riley Testut and you can check out his updates on the project on his Twitter profile here.

How do I choose the best GBA emulator for my iOS device?

That will depend on the age of your iOS device. Older phones may not work very well with certain emulators so you’ll need to test and see which have a decent level of performance. If however you’re on a newer iPhone or iPad, you should consider using the Delta emulator as it runs very well and has great performance for most games.

Is it legal to use GBA emulators on my iOS device?

GBA emulation itself typically isn’t illegal in most parts of the world, however it’s the ROM files that are a bit of a grey area. Depending on how you choose to obtain these ROMs matters. Legally, you should only dump ROM files directly from physical versions of games that you actually own. Downloading ROMs from online is technically breaking the law.