Comparison

Santa Fighter vs ArcEmu

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

Head to head
About

Santa Fighter

Engage in festive combat with Santas battling at the North Pole. Experience a chaotic and epic Christmas showdown.

Highlights
  • Santa battles
  • Christmas chaos
  • North Pole showdown
  • Festive combat
Read full description

Get ready for some Christmas Chaos! Santas battle it out in an epic showdown at the North Pole. Brace yourself for a festive face-off like never before!

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

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

Santa Fighter4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Santa Fighter at none against ArcEmu's 10. Santa Fighter also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). ArcEmu's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 70). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Santa Fighter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 70, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Santa Fighter's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Santa Fighter ships an update every 2 days, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Santa Fighter versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSanta FighterArcEmu
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (70 ratings)4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better94.6% of reviews
Number of ratings701.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB234 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperAndrew BaxterRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

Santa Fighter

All ratings63 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,333 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews533 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.6%

Bugs and requests

Santa Fighter

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

Santa Fighter

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

ArcEmu

One-time10
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
  • Game Boy Advance$0.99
  • SNES$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 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

Questions

Is Santa Fighter free?
Santa Fighter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Santa Fighter or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. Santa Fighter averages 4.7 out of 5 from 70 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Santa Fighter or ArcEmu have ads?
Santa Fighter shows ads; ArcEmu does not.
Which is updated more often, Santa Fighter or ArcEmu?
Santa Fighter ships an update every 2 days, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, Santa Fighter was updated on October 21, 2026 and ArcEmu on October 27, 2026.

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