Asteroid Commando vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Asteroid Commando
Pilot a ship through a retro arcade experience, blasting asteroids and collecting gems while battling alien pirates and avoiding mines. Enjoy classic vector graphics and power-ups across iPhone and Apple Watch.
- Vector graphics (modern or classic)
- Power-ups (Shield, Triple Shot, Rapid Fire, Time Freeze)
- Intuitive Crown controls for Apple Watch
- Swipe controls for iPhone
- Daily global rankings
- Short burst gameplay
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Asteroid Commando is a vector graphics arcade game for your iPhone and Apple Watch. Pilot your ship as you blast asteroids in search of priceless gems. Battle alien pirates and avoid deadly space mines! • Choose between Modern Tron inspired graphics or original arcade Vector graphics • Vector style asteroids, enemies and mines! • Power-ups include Shield, Triple Shot, Rapid Fire and Time Freeze! • 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! • Daily rank to see how you compare to the rest of the world! • Retro sound effects on the iPhone and Watch! • Play anywhere, anytime! • Runs at 60fps on the Watch! • Watch features stylish Complications! • Ability to invert Crown controls on the Watch! • TouchArcade Game of the Week! Relive the glory days of the arcade on your Apple Watch and iPhone. Thanks for playing -Johnno and 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 review sentiment: ArcEmu at 95% against Asteroid Commando's 38%. ArcEmu also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and rating (4.9 vs 4.0). Asteroid Commando's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 16.0). On ads 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
ArcEmu is free to download; Asteroid Commando costs $1.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Asteroid Commando asks for nothing beyond the download.
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 134, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Asteroid Commando's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Asteroid Commando ships an update every 6 weeks, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Asteroid Commando | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (134 ratings) | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 37.5% of reviews | 94.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 134 | 1.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Red Sprite Studios | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Asteroid Commando
ArcEmu
Bugs and requests
Asteroid Commando
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
Asteroid Commando
No in-app purchases
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









