Bounder vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bounder
Experience a classic 80s arcade game faithfully recreated for mobile. Bounce and dodge through challenging levels, enjoying innovative features like parallax scrolling. This version offers multiple original platform ports with enhancements for modern devices.
- Faithful recreation of original game
- Parallax scrolling
- Multiple platform versions (C64, Spectrum, Amstrad)
- Challenging levels
- High score chasing
- Mobile-optimized controls
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Bounder was one of the most successful games in the 80’s and was published by Gremlin Graphics in 1985. Gremlin were responsible for many classics such as Bounder, Re-Bounder, Monty Mole, Thing on a Spring, Zool etc… they were one of the biggest developers and publishers in the world and started by Ian Stewart, Gremlin was one of the pioneers to kickstart the games industry. Bounder’s popularity spans decades and has continued to be featured in Retro Gamer with a 2 page spread only recently, Walk-through videos on Youtube, regular mentions about the game on social media and it’s been included in the new Mini C64 machine. This little tennis ball of fun continues to be highly regarded and fondly remembered in the retro-gaming community. Originally created by Christian Shrigley, Andrew Green, Robert Toone, Bounder featured many ground-breaking features such as Parallax Scrolling, first seen on a computer game. The game featured 10 levels, all as challenging as the first and at times is unforgiving but that's what kept drawing people back to this best selling game. Zzap!64 gleefully pinned a Gold Medal on the daredevil tennis ball in its tenth issue, calling Bounder “an absorbing, demanding and totally innovative approach to the ageing platform formula,” and that's exactly what Bounder is. Our Bounder version is faithful to the original and includes features which helps it translate to mobile devices. Our App includes the C64, Spectrum and Amstrad versions, not emulated but re-coded to a high standard so it looks and feels like the original computer versions but with new added extras to please retro gamers and attract new gamers to Bounder. Bounce and dodge your way to your highest score yet! This game is free to download but does offer in-app purchases.
ArcEmu
Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.
- Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
- Multiplayer support
- Cheat codes
- Customizable on-screen controls
- Save State sharing
- iCloud support
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Turn your Apple Watch into a retro game console. Play Game Boy, NES, SNES, Genesis, and more on your wrist, with multi-touch controls and the Digital Crown. ArcEmu also runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ▸ SUPPORTED CONSOLES Included for free: - Game Boy - Game Boy Color - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Available through in-app purchases: - Game Boy Advance - Pokémon Mini - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) - Atari 2600 - Sega Mega Drive / Genesis - Sega Master System - Sega Game Gear - Sega SG-1000 ▸ MULTIPLAYER AND LINK CABLE Play home-console games online and locally with friends, or link Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games over the internet. Game Link Cable supports up to four players in compatible games. Online play requires a Game Center account. ▸ SHARE ROMs WITH A CODE Import your ROMs on iPhone, keep them in iCloud, and download them directly to Apple Watch or Apple TV. Share them through iCloud using a code, including with an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup. ▸ SCREEN AND CONTROLS Move and resize the game screen, choose an LCD or CRT filter, and set up the controls the way you like them. On Apple Watch, use multi-touch controls, customize the control layout, and assign actions to the Digital Crown. On iPhone and iPad, adjust button positions and transparency, and play in any orientation. Connect a controller and customize its button mappings, or use a second controller on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ArcEmu also supports iPhone Duo. ▸ MORE FEATURES - Accurate, high-performance emulation - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Cheat codes with a built-in database of popular codes - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom Game Boy color palettes - Button hold/sustain - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone ▸ YOUR ROMs AND SAVES Keep your collection organized with per-console folders, sorting, and search. Import ROMs from ZIP and 7-Zip archives, use automatic saving, and share save states between devices. Both ROMs and save states can be stored in iCloud. ▸ APPLE WATCH COMPATIBILITY - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. ▸ GAMES FEATURED IN THE SCREENSHOTS - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Big2Small: https://mdsteele.itch.io/big2small - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Sega, or Atari. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ArcEmu at 4.9 against Bounder's 4.0. ArcEmu also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 63%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 34 months). Bounder's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Bounder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Bounder's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Bounder ships an update every 34 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bounder | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews | 94.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 1.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 34 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Atatio Interactive Ltd | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Bounder
ArcEmu
Bugs and requests
Bounder
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
ArcEmu
Reported bugs
3 issues- Occasional crashes
- Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
- Save data not transferring properly between devices
Requested features
6 requests- Add cheat/GameShark support
- Improve volume controls
- Implement fast forward/slow motion options
- Allow multiple save slots per game
- Improve Game Boy Color support
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- Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch
In-app purchases
Bounder
- Full Game$1.99
ArcEmu
- Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
- Game Boy Advance$0.99
- SNES$0.99
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- Pokémon Mini$0.99
- Atari 2600$0.99
- Mega Drive / Genesis$0.99
- Game Gear$0.99
- Master System$0.99
- SG-1000$0.99
- Unlock All (Upgrade 3)$1.99









