Kepler Attack vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kepler Attack
Engage in a retro arcade space shooter experience on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Destroy waves of alien invaders with power-ups and intuitive controls. Enjoy fast-paced gameplay perfect for short bursts of fun.
- Space shooter gameplay
- Alien invasion waves
- Power-ups (Shield, Triple Shot, etc.)
- Apple Watch Crown controls
- iPhone swipe controls
- Retro arcade graphics
- Short burst gameplay
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Featured in Apple's "Great on watchOS 6" and "Our Favourite Apple Watch Apps" collections! #2 Casual Game in the US! Kepler Attack is an arcade game for your iPhone and Apple Watch. Fly through space and destroy waves of alien space invaders from Kepler-452b. “I’m just amazed that this is on my Watch.” - Tom, host of The Apple WatchCast Podcast - http://www.applewatchcast.com “I think this is actually my personal favorite new game now on the Apple Watch because of its really fast pacing which is perfect for these types of games.” - HotshotTek, 10 Awesome Apple Watch Games Apps of 2019 • Inspired by Gyruss, Galaga, Galaxian and Space Invaders! • Beautiful retro arcade graphics! • Fast paced alien attack waves with a variety of enemy space invaders! • Power-ups include Shield, Triple Shot, Rapid Fire and Smart Bomb! • Intuitive and simple controls using the Crown on the Watch! • Swipe to move on the iPhone! • Short burst gameplay is perfect for the Watch and iPhone! • Retro sound effects on the iPhone! • Play anywhere, anytime! • Includes Valentine's Day and Santa Christmas Holiday theme! • Runs at 60fps on the Watch! Relive the glory days of the arcade on your Apple Watch and iPhone. Thanks for playing Johnno & Pete
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 price: ArcEmu at Free against Kepler Attack's $1.99. ArcEmu also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Kepler Attack's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and chart position (#62 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
ArcEmu is free to download; Kepler Attack costs $1.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Kepler Attack asks for nothing beyond the download.
ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 942 and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Kepler Attack's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Kepler Attack ships an update every 2 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kepler Attack | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (942 ratings) | 4.9 (1.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.4% of reviews | 94.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 942 | 1.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #62 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Red Sprite Studios | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Kepler Attack
ArcEmu
User reviews
Kepler Attack
From 942 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 😁 Great for apple watches
- 🎮 An actual video game
- 🎶 What's the music called?
- 📱 I love the fact that you can play this game on an Apple Watch
- ⏱️ Old School Arcade Immediacy and Brevity
Room to improve
- 🙄 Not worth paying for
- 💰 Ain't worth the money really
- 🙄 Fun but basic
- 😒 Stupid forced reviews
- 🐛 Won't install
ArcEmu
From 1.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fully functional
- 🚀 Impressive emulation on Apple Watch
- 👍 Great emulator for both phone and watch
- 👍 Seamless save state transfer between devices
- 👍 Customizable controls and layout
Room to improve
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
- 🐛 Audio quality problems on certain games
- 👎 Limited functionality on Apple Watch
- 👎 Difficult controls for action-heavy games on watch
Bugs and requests
Kepler Attack
Reported bugs
5 issues- Game doesn't play complete rip off
- Just says on the watch version that it has to be installed on my iPhone for it to work. It's installed on my iPhone. Doesn't work.
- This seems like a good game but I don't see it on my watch.
- I have the first version watch Apple one, and it does not work on the watch,And has offered me a refund, I appreciate it.
- It won't download on my watch
Requested features
2 requests- Add a golden starship IF
- Please add upgrades so we can have bettr ships
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
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch
In-app purchases
Kepler Attack
No in-app purchases
ArcEmu
- Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
- Game Boy Advance$0.99
- SNES$0.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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









