Comparison

Folium vs Game Emulator

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

Head to head
About

Folium

Experience classic gaming on your device with this high-performance emulator. Play titles from a wide range of retro consoles and handhelds. Supports various external controllers for an enhanced experience.

Highlights
  • Multi-system emulation
  • Play retro console games
  • Play handheld games
  • Supports numerous controllers
  • High performance design
Features
Read full description

Folium is a beautifully designed, high performing multi-system emulation app bringing retro console and handheld gaming to Apple devices Supported Systems Bandai - WonderSwan - WonderSwan Color Coleco - ColecoVision Nintendo - 3DS - DS - Game Boy - Game Boy Advance - Game Boy Color - Nintendo Entertainment System - Super Nintendo Entertainment System SEGA - Genesis - Mega Drive Sony - PlayStation 1 Supported Game Controllers Backbone - One Nintendo Switch - Joy-Con - Pro Controller PlayStation - DualSense - DualShock 4 Xbox Series - S - X https://apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

About

Game Emulator

Relive the golden age of gaming with this emulator that supports multiple classic game formats. Enjoy perfect emulation, speed-up functions, cheat support, and save states to enhance your gameplay. Discover a vast library of classic titles and play without limits.

Highlights
  • Supports NDS, GBA, GBC, and GB formats
  • Perfect emulation of gameplay and visuals
  • Speed-up function for faster progression
  • Cheat code support
  • Intuitive game list interface
  • Save game progress anytime
Features
Read full description

Whether you're a nostalgic veteran gamer or a new player interested in classic games, this emulator will open the door to the golden age of gaming for you. Featuring multiple classic games, it lets you relive those wonderful gaming moments! FEATURES Multiple Classic Games: The emulator brings together a variety of classic games and supports *.nds, *.gba, *.gbc, and *.gb formats, allowing you to fully enjoy these nostalgic classics on your phone. Perfect Emulation Experience: Utilizing advanced emulation technology, the emulator perfectly recreates the gameplay and visual effects of each game, letting you enjoy the fun of the past on your mobile device. Speed-Up Function, Uninterrupted Play: A unique speed-up feature allows you to increase game speed, progress quickly, and easily skip through game dialogues. Cheat Support: You can import and use cheats for *.nds, *.gba, *.gbc, and *.gb formats, enhancing your gameplay with added fun and flexibility. Game List: The clean and intuitive game list interface lets you easily see all imported game covers and titles at a glance, so you can quickly pick a game and start playing. Save State: Save your game progress anytime and anywhere, without worrying about unexpected interruptions. You can pause and resume your game at your convenience. Whether you're a dedicated fan of classic games or interested in gaming history, this emulator will provide you with an unparalleled gaming experience. Come and relive the classics, play without limits! DISCLAIMER This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. It is solely an emulator service that allows users to play classic games on their mobile devices. The name "Nintendo" is a registered trademark of Nintendo Co., Ltd. and is used in this description only to indicate compatibility with the supported game environment. There is no association with Nintendo. ABOUT SUBSCRIPTION - Subscription periods are available for 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year. Your subscription will automatically renew on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, depending on the selected period. - Payment will be charged to your Apple Account upon confirmation of purchase. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - You can cancel your subscription via this URL: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 - Privacy Policy : https://multi.baseun.com/ln/GameEmulator/PrivacyPolicy/ - Terms of Service : https://multi.baseun.com/ln/GameEmulator/UserAgreement/

Screenshots

Folium4 screens
Game Emulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Game Emulator at 77% against Folium's 24%. Game Emulator also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (4.7 vs 2.4). Folium's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#10 vs unranked). On ratings volume, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Game Emulator is free to download; Folium costs $2.99 up front. Folium sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Game Emulator sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Game Emulator holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 846 and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Folium's written reviews are positive against 77% of Game Emulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Folium ships an update fortnightly, Game Emulator monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Folium versus Game Emulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFoliumGame Emulator
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating2.4 (846 ratings)4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.3% of reviews76.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8461.1K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB95 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJarrod Norwell彩连 刘

Customer experience

Folium

All ratings842 ratings
Positive28.1%
Neutral11.5%
Negative60.3%
Written reviews1,372 reviews
Positive24.3%
Neutral15.8%
Negative59.9%

Game Emulator

All ratings1,095 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews582 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral8.9%
Negative14.4%

User reviews

Folium

From 846 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Runs well on newer devices
  • 👍 Potential for 3DS emulation on iOS
  • 💡 Allows playing 3DS games on the go

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 Overheats and drains battery quickly
  • 👎 Laggy and poor performance on some games
  • 🤔 Lacking in customization and settings options

Game Emulator

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fully playable games
  • 🚀 Easy to use and install
  • 💡 Provides access to retro games
  • 👍 Wide selection of games

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
  • 🔋 Ads can be intrusive
  • 🔒 Potential legal concerns with downloading ROMs

Bugs and requests

Folium

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Games freezing or crashing during cutscenes
  • Keyboard input issues causing games to freeze
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
  • Compatibility problems with certain 3DS games

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add save state and load state functionality
  • Improve controller support and customization
  • Optimize performance and reduce stuttering
  • Provide more detailed settings and configuration options
  • Implement iPad support and optimization

Game Emulator

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Certain games fail to load or crash
  • Screen freezes or black screens on some games

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add support for Bluetooth controllers
  • Improve in-game save functionality
  • Implement cheat code support

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Folium

One-time1
  • Extra Features$1.99
6 purchases

Game Emulator

Subscriptions6
  • Weekly Membership3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Weekly Member$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Member$3.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Weekly Membership3 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Yearly Membership3 Days trial$17.991 Year
  • Yearly Membership3 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Folium free?
Folium costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Game Emulator free?
Game Emulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Folium or Game Emulator?
Game Emulator is rated higher. Folium averages 2.4 out of 5 from 846 ratings, while Game Emulator averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Folium or Game Emulator have ads?
Game Emulator shows ads; Folium does not.
Which is updated more often, Folium or Game Emulator?
Folium ships an update fortnightly, and Game Emulator monthly. Most recently, Folium was updated on November 9, 2026 and Game Emulator on November 8, 2026.

Other comparisons