ArcEmu vs Mu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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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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.
Mu
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For iPhone only. A multi system emulator that emulates a wide range of systems - home computers and games consoles. Pair easily with bluetooth controllers. Easy to use. Simply tap select rom to select game to load game and play. Feature rich. A wide range of emulators. Change the emulator cores for high compatibility with games. Switch virtual gamepad on/off (ie show/hide on screen gamepad). Switch to left-handed gamepad etc. It has a simple user interface where the user is simply presented with required rom to be selected. See website for F.A.Qs and troubleshooting. Supported Game Systems: Atari 2600 Atari 7800 Atari Jaguar Atari Lynx Bandai WonderSwan (Color) Commodore 64 Commodore PLUS/4 NEC TurboGrafx-16/SuperGrafx/PC Engine Nintendo 64 Nintendo DS Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo Game Boy Nintendo Game Boy Advance PlayStation SNK NeoGeo Pocket (Color) Sega Game Gear Sega Master System Sega Mega Drive Super Nintendo System For full list of supported systems see website. Controller Support 8BitDo controllers are highly recommended XBox Series X Other controllers and bluetooth keyboards should work but are at present untested Additional Features Save / Load States (Functionality dependant on emulated system) Custom configuration of controllers Multiplayer support - (Not fully tested) Fullscreen mode Virtual gamepad on/off toggle Also miscellaneous settings eg graphics settings, speed options etc **Mu Multi-System-Emulator is in no way affiliated with the respective manufacturers of the arcade machines, game consoles and computers. All associated names of arcade machines, games consoles and computers are the registered trademarks of the respective companies.** **The name "Nintendo" and all associated game console names are registered trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd** **Atari is the registered trademark of Atari, Inc.** **Commodore is the registered trademark of the respective owner of the trademark** **NEC TurboGrafx-16/SuperGrafx/PC Engine is the registered trademark of NEC Home Electronics** **Playstation is the registered trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.** **SNK is the registered trademark of the respective trademark holder.** **Sega is the registered trademark of Sega Corporation.**
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ArcEmu at $1.99 against Mu's $5.99. ArcEmu also leads on device support (5 vs 2). Mu's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0.0 vs 15.5). On ads and in-app purchases 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 costs $1.99 and Mu $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | ArcEmu | Mu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 12.0.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 172 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Raffaele D'Amato | Thaw Soe |
Bugs and 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
Mu
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ArcEmu
No in-app purchases
Mu
No in-app purchases







