Space War GS vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Space War GS
Engage in a retro-style space arcade battle across multiple stages. Destroy waves of attacking aliens with innovative touch controls or an iCade controller. Experience fast-paced action and excellent soundtracks on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
- Retro-style space game
- Supports Apple Watch Series 7
- Multiple stages of gameplay
- Innovative touch screen control
- Supports iCade controller
- Fast alien formations and attacks
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Space War GS is the space arcade game for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch! Fly through the space and destroy waves of attacking aliens! Be prepared for the final battle! • retro-style space game for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch! • multiple stages of continuous game play! • innovative touch screen control • supports iCade controller • fast full screen alien formations and attacks! • excellent soundtracks from Apple IIGS legend FTA! •• Reviews •• "Fun game! Give it a try, everyone." - No Quarter Podcast "This game is simply fantastic." - BriefMobile "I miss Galaxian. This has great graphics and action. I even play it with a stylus." - app review "My husband love this game - He really like this game, hew said is similar to a game he used to play when he was 10." - app review "Amazing app! I love it! You have to download this! Very fun and smooth!" - app review •• Special Thanks! •• • Olivier Goguel of FTA and Hameed for background image
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 Space War GS's $1.99. ArcEmu also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (95% vs 54%). Space War GS's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On update cadence, 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; Space War GS costs $1.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Space War GS asks for nothing beyond the download.
ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Space War GS's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Space War GS | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (52 ratings) | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews | 94.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 52 | 1.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — 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 | 27 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Virtual GS | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Space War GS
ArcEmu
Bugs and requests
Space War GS
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
Space War GS
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









