ArcEmu vs Wizards Codex
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.
Wizards Codex
Manage your tabletop roleplaying game characters with this digital character sheet app. It offers flexibility for various game systems and allows for in-depth character management. Subscriptions and in-app purchases are available for enhanced features.
- Digital character sheets
- Supports multiple TTRPG systems
- In-depth character management
- Subscription options
- In-app purchases
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Step into your next adventure with Wizards Codex, the ultimate digital character sheet for tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). Designed for flexibility and ease, Wizards Codex empowers you to manage every aspect of your character, no matter your game system. Subscriptions and In-App Purchases can be found within this app. When purchasing, a payment will be taken and the purchase will be applied to your account on confirmation. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime within the app by managing your subscription in your user settings. For more information, see our ToS: https://www.wizardscodex.com/terms-of-service and Privacy Policy: https://www.wizardscodex.com/privacy-policy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Wizards Codex at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. ArcEmu's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On review sentiment and update cadence 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
Wizards Codex is free to download; ArcEmu costs $1.99 up front. Wizards Codex sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. ArcEmu asks for nothing beyond the download.
ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 95% of ArcEmu's written reviews are positive against 100% of Wizards Codex's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ArcEmu | Wizards Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better | 4.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 172 MB | 58 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Raffaele D'Amato | wizardscodex |
Customer experience
ArcEmu
Wizards Codex
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
Wizards Codex
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ArcEmu
No in-app purchases
Wizards Codex
- UK English$1.991 Month
- Wizards Codex Premium Annual$22.991 Year
Questions
Is ArcEmu free?
Is Wizards Codex free?
Which has better reviews, ArcEmu or Wizards Codex?
Do ArcEmu or Wizards Codex have ads?
Which is updated more often, ArcEmu or Wizards Codex?
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