Comparison

SameBoy vs iMSX2

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

Head to head
About

SameBoy

Experience classic handheld gaming with a highly accurate emulator for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy. Enjoy advanced features like save states, rumble support, and controller compatibility. Play on your Apple Watch and customize your experience with various filters and themes.

Highlights
  • Accurate Game Boy emulation
  • Save states with gesture support
  • Rumble support
  • Apple Watch playability
  • Scaling filters
  • Game Boy Camera emulation
  • Controller support
Features
Read full description

SameBoy is a user friendly, powerful and open source Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy emulator. Features: - World's most accurate Game Boy emulation core - Save states, with gesture support for quick saving and loading - Rumble support, even for games without a Rumble Pak - Play on your Apple Watch - A wide range of scaling filters - Game Boy Camera emulation - Motion controls emulation - Fast forward, rewind, and slow motion - Game Boy Printer emulation - Use cheat codes - Support for MFi, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox controllers - Interface themes - No ads, no tracking - A lot more! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sameboy.github.io/privacy/ SameBoy is in no way affiliated with Nintendo. Game Boy is a trademark of Nintendo.

About

iMSX2

Play classic MSX and MSX2 games on your iPhone or iPad. Load games from ROM, MX1, MX2, DSK, or ZIP files. Features include save states, Bluetooth controller support, customizable buttons, and screen filters for an authentic retro experience.

Highlights
  • Play classic MSX/MSX2 games
  • Load games from ROM, MX1, MX2, DSK, ZIP
  • Save and load game states
  • Bluetooth keyboard and controller support
  • Customizable button layouts
  • CRT and scanline screen filters
  • Load BASIC programs
Features
Read full description

Experience Classic MSX and MSX2 Games on your iPhone/iPad with iMSX2! Turn your iPhone/iPad into a portable MSX2 emulator with iMSX2! Emulate classic MSX and MSX2 games in ROM, MX1, MX2, DSK or ZIP format Key Features: · Play Classic Games: Relive the nostalgia of playing your favorite MSX and MSX2 games right on your iPhone/iPad. · Run Your Cartridges: Reproduce MSX and MSX2 cartridges from ROM, MX1, MX2, DSK and ZIP files and enjoy them on your device anytime, anywhere. · Save States: Save and load game states and the configuration type easily (iCloud) · Bluetooth Compatibility: Support for Bluetooth keyboards and game controllers. · Customizable button layouts: Edit the button positions for each orientation and enjoy full compatibility with shells like GAMEBABY and PlayCase. · Choose Your ROM Type: If your rom is not loaded correctly, try to select from various ROM configurations including "Normal", "Type K", "Type K SCC", "Type ASC16", "Type ASC16 SRAM", "Type ASC8", "Type ASC8 SRAM" and "Type ASCII16-X". · Screen filters: Enjoy a more authentic and customizable retro experience with CRT and scanline filters. · Fast forward: Speed through gameplay with the new fast forward mode. · Load Your Own BASIC Programs: Run your own programs in BASIC format directly on your iPhone/iPad. · Powered by C-bios: iMSX2 is built using C-bios for the utmost accuracy and compatibility. · Custom BIOS support: Import your own BIOS files to enhance compatibility and personalize your emulation experience. · Improved Disk Support: Play more MSX disk games with improved DSK compatibility, multi-disk support, on-the-fly disk swapping, and user disks for saving data in supported games. · Auto-fire: Added switches to enable auto-fire for the A and B buttons. · Designed to be very basic: With a beautiful and user-friendly interface for both portrait and landscape orientations. · The app does not require an internet connection, contains no ads, and does not store user data. It also takes up little space. What's Next: Stay tuned for even more enhancements! Constantly working on improving iMSX2 and adding new features to provide you with the best MSX experience on iOS. LZ4 Library Copyright (c) 2011-2020, Yann Collet C-BIOS Copyright (c) 2002-2005 BouKiCHi. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2003 Reikan. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004-2006,2008-2010 Maarten ter Huurne. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004-2006,2008-2011 Albert Beevendorp. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004-2005 Patrick van Arkel. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004,2010-2011 Manuel Bilderbeek. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004-2006 Joost Yervante Damad. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004-2006 Jussi Pitkänen. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2004-2007 Eric Boon. All rights reserved. emu2413 Copyright (c) 2001-2019 Mitsutaka Okazaki Z80 Emulator micro MSX2+ Copyright (c) 2023 Yoji Suzuki.

Screenshots

SameBoy4 screens
iMSX24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SameBoy at Free against iMSX2's $1.99. SameBoy also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.4) and review sentiment (84% vs 59%). iMSX2's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On ads 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

SameBoy is free to download; iMSX2 costs $1.99 up front. SameBoy sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. iMSX2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SameBoy holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SameBoy has 110 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of SameBoy's written reviews are positive against 59% of iMSX2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SameBoy ships an update every 4 months, iMSX2 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
SameBoy versus iMSX2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSameBoyiMSX2
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.5 (110 ratings) — better3.4 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews83.6% of reviews — better59.3% of reviews
Number of ratings110 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLior HalphonEnrique Enguix

Customer experience

SameBoy

All ratings110 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral1.8%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive83.6%
Neutral8.2%
Negative8.2%

iMSX2

All ratings10 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral30.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive59.3%
Neutral22.2%
Negative18.5%

Bugs and requests

SameBoy

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • iPad portrait mode triggers menu on A button/Up arrow press
  • Game Boy Camera crashes on iPhone 17 Pro Max when switching cameras
  • Rewind function causes game data loss in some titles
  • 200% and 400% speed boost settings don't work
  • Cheats don't function properly for certain games
Show 7 more
  • ROM import fails with .zip files
  • GBA ROM files show 'not in ROM archive' error
  • Auto-save/auto-load switches between emulator cores unexpectedly
  • Turbo feature doesn't work without screen swiping
  • Tips popup appears too frequently during gameplay
  • PS4 controller recognized but non-functional in games
  • ROM sharing from Files app doesn't always work

Requested features

18 requests
  • Game Boy Advance emulation support
  • Cheat code functionality
  • Multiplayer/wireless linking for Pokémon games
  • Online multiplayer support
  • Adjustable screen and button sizes
Show 13 more
  • Separate save/load toggle options
  • Slow-motion feature (free version)
  • Game Boy Printer output to photo gallery
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Retro achievements system
  • One-time theme purchase option instead of subscription
  • Apple Watch complication support
  • Turbo button hold functionality
  • ZIP and 7z file format support
  • Fullscreen mode with scaling options
  • Language selection for interface
  • Super Game Boy border display
  • PS4/Backbone controller improvements

iMSX2

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

SameBoy

Subscriptions3
  • Supporter$0.991 Month
  • Supporter Plus$2.991 Month
  • Supporter Premium$7.991 Month
One-time2
  • Lifetime Theme Access$4.99
  • SameBoy for Apple Watch$4.99
None

iMSX2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SameBoy free?
SameBoy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iMSX2 free?
iMSX2 costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SameBoy or iMSX2?
SameBoy is rated higher. SameBoy averages 4.5 out of 5 from 110 ratings, while iMSX2 averages 3.4 from 10 ratings.
Do SameBoy or iMSX2 have ads?
Neither SameBoy nor iMSX2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SameBoy or iMSX2?
SameBoy ships an update every 4 months, and iMSX2 every 3 weeks. Most recently, SameBoy was updated on October 10, 2026 and iMSX2 on October 7, 2026.

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