Comparison

Classic Marathon Infinity vs Phosphor Emulator

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Classic Marathon Infinity

Experience the epic conclusion to a classic sci-fi shooter trilogy. Engage in single-player campaigns with exploration, puzzles, and combat, or test your skills in intense multiplayer battles. Features enhanced graphics and sound.

Highlights
  • Single-player campaign with story and missions
  • Multiplayer cross-play support
  • Enhanced HD graphics
  • 3D positional sound
  • New weapon: KKV-7 SMG
  • 25 main levels and 5 hidden levels
Read full description

Rage hard.. Marathon Infinity® is the climactic conclusion to Bungie's groundbreaking Marathon® Trilogy. Learn the the truth about the events of Classic Marathon® and Marathon: Durandal® first hand in "Blood Tides of Lh’owon", the single player portion of Infinity. ENHANCEMENTS • High frame rate support • Updated HD Sprite set • 3D positional sound with HRTF • Texture parallax mapping • Multiplayer cross-play with Linux, Mac, PC, and Steam • Fan soundtrack by Talashar FEATURES • 25 levels divided into four chapters • 5 hidden levels • missions include exploration, puzzles and extermination • "Carnage is as easy as point and shoot." ~Marathon Manual • introducing a new weapon: KKV-7 10mm SMG Flechette submachine gun ===== to.be.a.vidmaster ==== What does it mean to be a Vidmaster? It is being balanced in the calm center of a whirling and untouchable tornado of destruction, while showers of grenades patter harmlessly around you and bullets crawl toward you in slow-mo. It is when your brain develops a new bundle of nerves whose only function is to re-route impulses directly from your eyes to your finger muscles, so that you can twist and snap off a rocket long before you’re conscious of the yellow blip in your motion detector. It is when the difference between a roomful of alien warriors and a carpet of them is a matter of seconds. The word "vid" entered the Marathon lexicon during development of the first game, to distinguish the excellent players (particularly in net games) from the fodder. The Oath of the Vidmaster was inscribed into the skip-levels dialog (Command-Option-Begin New Game), to remind players of the highest level of excellence they could aspire to: "I pledge to punch all switches, to never shoot where I could use grenades, to admit the existence of no level except Total Carnage, to never use Caps Lock as my 'run' key, and to never, ever, leave a single Bob alive." To do these things is to invite maximum peril, and requires one to play the game as hard and unrelentingly as possible, at the highest level of skill; to play as a Vidmaster. These three games, the Marathon® saga, are the best training and testing ground for Vidmasters. You can play against aliens alone or in a networked group through more than 80 levels. But the true challenge is surviving in one of the 50 included netgame arenas against other people. It is in such trials by fire that mighty Vidmasters are forged. Rage hard.. ===== BUNGIE™, MARATHON® and the Bungie and Marathon logos are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Bungie, Inc., used with permission.

About

Phosphor Emulator

This app provides a premium emulation experience for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games on modern iOS devices. It features advanced controls, instant save states, and unique functionalities like rewinding gameplay and AI play.

Highlights
  • Rewind and fast-forward gameplay
  • Instant save and load states
  • Customizable touch controls
  • MFi controller support
  • Game Boy Camera and Printer integration
  • AI Play feature
Features
Read full description

Phosphor is a free retro game emulator for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games, plus Nintendo DS games on iPhone and iPad, with save states, fast-forward, rewind, iCloud save sync, controller support, and community mods. No ads. No subscriptions. No accounts. No tracking. Import your own compatible ROM files through Files, iCloud Drive, or AirDrop. Organize your library, pick your controls, and take your favorite handheld games anywhere. WHY PHOSPHOR? Phosphor is designed to feel like a handheld console. Deep black screen wells, glowing CRT effects, responsive controls, and color themes bring classic games to modern Apple hardware. Play in portrait or landscape, adjust your speed with a scrolling dial, and return quickly to your last session. NINTENDO DS ON IPHONE AND IPAD Import compatible .nds files and choose single-screen or dual-screen play. Start with a focused single-screen layout, switch to both screens from the menu, and swap screens when you need to. Touch-screen input, microphone controls, and portrait and landscape layouts keep DS play flexible. MODS POWERED BY GEN1RECOMP Supported games can use the integrated gen1recomp engine to run compatible community mods inside Phosphor. Keep your library, controls, and display framing while exploring new ways to play. The updated engine brings gameplay and compatibility fixes. Features vary by game, engine, and mod. Rewind and cheat codes are available with Phosphor’s standard emulator core, not during gen1recomp play. FEATURES Classic handheld games Play compatible .gb, .gbc, and .gba ROMs, with .nds support on iPhone and iPad. Import individual games or supported ZIP archives and search your library. Link Cable trading Connect supported games over the same Wi-Fi network. Gen 3 Pokémon Link Cable support covers Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen. Compatible games, in-game progress, and normal trading restrictions apply. Fast-forward up to 15× Choose 1×, 2×, 3×, 5×, 10×, or 15× where supported to move through battles, travel, and repeated sections. Available speeds depend on the game, core, and device. Live rewind Hold rewind to return to an earlier moment and try again with the standard emulator core. Save states and quick resume Create quick saves and save-state slots, then return to your session with quick resume where supported. iCloud saves Sync compatible in-game saves, quick saves, and save-state slots across devices using the same Apple ID. Check for saved progress in Settings and choose which copy to keep when saves conflict. Game files are not backed up; after reinstalling, reimport them with their original filenames to reconnect your saves. CRT display and themes Customize your screen with scanlines, phosphor glow, dot-grid texture, vignette, contrast, and color themes. External controllers Play with compatible controllers or use responsive touch controls, haptics, and layouts designed for portrait and landscape. Cheat codes Use supported cheat formats with compatible games on Phosphor’s standard emulator core. Apple Watch play Take supported games to your wrist. Platform and feature availability vary by device; Nintendo DS play is available on iPhone and iPad. Live Activities See your current game, play time, and quick-resume status from the Lock Screen. BRING YOUR OWN GAMES Phosphor does not include games or ROMs. Provide your own legally obtained, compatible game files. Community mods have their own authors, licenses, and compatibility requirements. Save states and other features may vary between emulator cores, engine versions, and devices. A classic handheld feel. Modern Apple features. Your games, your library, your way to play.

Screenshots

Classic Marathon Infinity3 screens
Phosphor Emulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phosphor Emulator at none against Classic Marathon Infinity's 10. Phosphor Emulator also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Classic Marathon Infinity's advantage is ratings volume (159 vs 31) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Classic Marathon Infinity sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Phosphor Emulator asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phosphor Emulator holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Classic Marathon Infinity has 159 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Classic Marathon Infinity's written reviews are positive against 80% of Phosphor Emulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Classic Marathon Infinity ships an update every 5 months, Phosphor Emulator every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Classic Marathon Infinity versus Phosphor Emulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClassic Marathon InfinityPhosphor Emulator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (159 ratings)4.7 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.4% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings159 — better31
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.0 GB84 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDome-C Studio LLCSquatchCraft LLC

Customer experience

Classic Marathon Infinity

All ratings160 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral5.0%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral9.3%
Negative16.3%

Phosphor Emulator

All ratings31 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative6.7%

Bugs and requests

Classic Marathon Infinity

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Game crashes on iOS 8 and later versions
  • Crashes when loading specific levels (Level 1, Despair)
  • Cannot progress past end screen
  • Stuck in 'Rage' chapter loop
  • Level 0 to 1 transition crashes
Show 10 more
  • Black screen except HUD visible
  • Cannot open doors
  • Texture rendering issues on Level 3
  • Sky texture rotated 90 degrees
  • Game Center broken
  • App Store purchase features not accessible
  • Screen zoomed in and distorted on iPad Mini
  • Menu covering half screen on iPhone 4s
  • Levels advancing out of sequence
  • Achievements bugged (level progression)

Requested features

16 requests
  • Controller support (Backbone, MFi controllers)
  • Multiplayer/network gameplay
  • Custom map support and community maps
  • Map builder tool
  • Inverted aim option
Show 11 more
  • Adjustable sensitivity settings
  • Field of view customization
  • Auto-center view toggle
  • Run/swim toggle option
  • Rearrangeable on-screen controls
  • Bluetooth keyboard support
  • Bootable from Backbone app
  • Texture filtering options
  • Scenario packs (Marathon Evil, Rubicon, Tempus Irae)
  • Pathways Into Darkness port
  • Desktop/CPU version

Phosphor Emulator

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Classic Marathon Infinity

One-time10
  • Master Chief Mode$0.99
  • Enhanced Reticules$0.99
  • Just a tip$0.99
Show 7 more
  • HD Mode$1.99
  • Not the smallest tip$1.99
  • A good tip$2.99
  • A pretty good tip$4.99
  • An excellent tip$7.99
  • The best possible tip$12.99
  • Better than the best tip$20.99
None

Phosphor Emulator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Classic Marathon Infinity free?
Classic Marathon Infinity is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phosphor Emulator free?
Phosphor Emulator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Classic Marathon Infinity or Phosphor Emulator?
Phosphor Emulator is rated higher. Classic Marathon Infinity averages 4.4 out of 5 from 159 ratings, while Phosphor Emulator averages 4.7 from 31 ratings.
Do Classic Marathon Infinity or Phosphor Emulator have ads?
Neither Classic Marathon Infinity nor Phosphor Emulator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Classic Marathon Infinity or Phosphor Emulator?
Classic Marathon Infinity ships an update every 5 months, and Phosphor Emulator every 3 days. Most recently, Classic Marathon Infinity was updated on October 13, 2026 and Phosphor Emulator on October 16, 2026.

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