Comparison

Moon Child vs ArcEmu

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

Head to head
About

Moon Child

Embark on a retro-inspired platforming adventure as a magical elf. Utilize a unique touch control system to navigate vibrant pixel art levels, collect scattered gems, and defeat a techno-virus threatening the planet. Experience smooth scrolling and a captivating soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Pixel art graphics
  • Elastimotion touch controls
  • Collect Dark Diamonds
  • Save planet Utopia
  • Retro-techno soundtrack
  • Hand-crafted levels
Read full description

MOON CHILD Moon Child brings you back to the golden age of platform games, with detailed, hand-crafted pixel artwork, old school 3D animations, a stomping retro-techno soundtrack and silky-smooth scrolling. Guide Moon Child, a little green elf with magical mental and physical powers, on his quest to save the planet Utopia from an evil techno-virus, spread by a crashed meteor. Control Moon Child using a unique approach called Elastimotion. Your fingers will no longer miss on-screen buttons, the Elastimotion control establishes a flexible line that connects your finger with the main character. Moving your finger to the right will make Moon Child run to the right, moving your finger up will cause him to jump, etcetera. You will discover that the Elastimotion control is the most natural way of playing a platform game you've experienced on a touchscreen device. View the included demo sequence for an introduction to the game. The aim of the game is to collect at least 77 of the 84 Dark Diamonds that are spread throughout the various levels. Then you will be able to enter the psychedelic final world, where you need the Dark Diamonds to destroy the abstract heart of the techno-virus. Moon Child requires an iPad 1 (or higher) or an iPhone 4 (or higher) with iOS version 5 (or higher) to run. THE CREDITS Coding: Reinier van Vliet (http://proofofconcept.nl) Graphics: Metin Seven (http://metinseven.com) Audio: Ramon Braumuller

About

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.

Highlights
  • Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
  • Multiplayer support
  • Cheat codes
  • Customizable on-screen controls
  • Save State sharing
  • iCloud support
Features
Read full description

ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search 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. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Screenshots

Moon Child3 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Moon Child at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. Moon Child also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.5). ArcEmu's advantage is review sentiment (95% vs 57%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 15 months). On rating, ads, in-app purchases 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

Moon Child is free to download; ArcEmu costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Moon Child against 4.9 for ArcEmu. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Moon Child's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Moon Child ships an update every 15 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Moon Child versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoon ChildArcEmu
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.8 (13 ratings)4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews94.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings131.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 15 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperProof of ConceptRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

Moon Child

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral28.6%
Negative14.3%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews531 reviews
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.6%

Bugs and requests

Moon Child

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
Show 1 more
  • Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch

In-app purchases

None

Moon Child

No in-app purchases

None

ArcEmu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Moon Child free?
Moon Child is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Moon Child or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. Moon Child averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Moon Child or ArcEmu have ads?
Neither Moon Child nor ArcEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Moon Child or ArcEmu?
Moon Child ships an update every 15 months, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, Moon Child was updated on October 23, 2026 and ArcEmu on October 24, 2026.

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