Comparison

TransPlay vs emu

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

Head to head
About

TransPlay

Features
Read full description

The retro classics you gave up on because you couldn't read them — play them and read them. The app reads the dialogue as it appears and lays the translation over it, in place. No dictionary in the other hand, no walkthrough on a second screen. Twelve consoles, from Game Boy Advance to Dreamcast and PSP, in one app. ■ 12 CONSOLES, ONE APP — STILL FOCUSED ON ONE GAME · Pick a console on the first screen and get a screen made for it alone: core, aspect ratio, controls, translation area and game packs tuned to that console, and a library of only its games. · Switch any time from the top-left button; the app reopens on the console you played last. Imported games are sorted onto the right console automatically. ■ TRANSLATION, RIGHT ON THE SCREEN · Text is recognized where it stands, and the translation covers it — you never leave the game. · Japanese and English source text into 14 languages. · Advanced translation — AI that understands the game's context and tone, and fixes misread characters along the way. Free 5 times a day; unlimited with Pro, which also adds offline On-device AI (a model you download). · Set a translation area per game. Mark the dialogue box and HUD numbers stop getting translated. · Freeze & Translate — when dialogue runs past too fast, hold the frame and read it at your pace. · 601 game packs — per-title glossaries of names, tone and plot, so translations land close to the original. ■ SUPPORTED CONSOLES · Game Boy Advance — .gba · Game Boy — .gb, .gbc · NES · Famicom — .nes · SNES · Super Famicom — .sfc, .smc · Mega Drive · Genesis — .md, .gen, .smd, .cue, .chd · PlayStation · PS1 — .cue, .chd, .pbp, .exe, .m3u · Sega Saturn — .cue, .chd, .m3u · Dreamcast — .cue, .gdi, .chd, .cdi · PlayStation Portable · PSP — .iso, .cso, .pbp, .chd · PC Engine · TurboGrafx-16 — .pce, .sgx, .cue, .chd · WonderSwan — .ws, .wsc · Game Gear — .gg, .sms, .sg · PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast need a console BIOS file; Mega Drive and PC Engine only for CD games. BIOS files are copyrighted and not included — dump them from hardware you own. · Fast-forward up to 10× (4× on PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast and PSP) · Snapshots at any moment · Runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro. ■ ALSO INSIDE · Time Machine — auto-saves as you play (every minute by default) so you can jump back to the moment you missed. · Box-art library — your games shown by their covers, fetched automatically. · Wi-Fi import from your computer's browser. No cable, no iTunes. · Bluetooth gamepads with button mapping per pad and per game; a movable, resizable on-screen controller. · Turbo buttons — the ones you pick fire repeatedly while held. · Cloud backup, plus direct transfer from your other iPhone, iPad or Mac on the same Wi-Fi. · Play statistics — what you played, and for how long. ■ APP LANGUAGES English · 한국어 · 日本語 · 简体中文 · 繁體中文 · Español · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Português (Brasil) · ไทย ■ PRO SUBSCRIPTION · Solo — every Pro feature for one console, one console at a time. · All-Pass — Pro on all 12 consoles. · Your first subscription starts with a 7-day free trial (once per account). · Prices are shown in your local currency inside the app. · Subscriptions renew automatically at the same price unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel any time in your account settings. · Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ · Privacy Policy: https://transplay-web.web.app/en/privacy/ ■ PLEASE READ · This app ships with no game files (ROMs or disc images) and does not point you to any. Use only files you legally own. · Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any console maker or game publisher. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About

emu

Play classic games from seventeen different systems on your iPhone without complex setup. Simply add your game backups and start playing. Enjoy features like a unified library, customizable controls, and automatic saves.

Highlights
  • Supports seventeen classic game systems
  • No core downloads or configuration needed
  • Unified game library with search and favorites
  • Customizable on-screen and gamepad controls
  • Automatic saves and rewind functionality
  • Two-player local and online multiplayer
Features
Read full description

emu runs seventeen game systems on one iPhone, from 8-bit cartridges to the disc-based 3D era. There are no cores to download and no configuration files to write. GETTING STARTED TAKES THREE STEPS 1. Pick a backup of a game you own from the Files app. 2. The system is identified from the file's contents, so you never choose one. 3. Tap it in your library and play. Files can stay inside a ZIP or 7z archive, and a CUE and its BIN files can be selected together. If a CUE points at a filename that no longer matches, emu repairs it on import. Large disc images are streamed into place rather than expanded in memory. ONE LIBRARY FOR EVERYTHING Search by name, star what you keep coming back to, and resume from the recent row. Import the same game under a different filename, or as both an archive and its extracted copy, and the CRC-and-size fingerprint still leaves you with a single entry. THE LAYOUT MOVES TO YOUR THUMBS The on-screen pad is multi-touch, with true diagonals and slide-to-change between buttons. Move the pad up or down, and pull the landscape buttons inward or outward. ANY GAMEPAD, MAPPED YOUR WAY Bluetooth and USB controllers connect on their own. Buttons are matched by position rather than by the vendor's printed labels, so a different controller still plays the same way. Reassign a button by pressing it, keep sticky 1P/2P assignment, and tune the stick dead zone. Touch input stays live alongside the gamepad. SAVES HAPPEN QUIETLY, MISTAKES ROLL BACK In-game and memory-card saves are written every 30 seconds, and again when you leave the player. SAVE and LOAD give you a quick state at any moment, and holding REWIND rolls the last seconds back for one more attempt at the jump you just missed. TWO IPHONES, TWO PLAYERS One player hosts and a code appears; the other types it in and joins as player 2. The player joining does not need a copy of the game. The two devices connect directly — gameplay never passes through a server, and a relayed route is detected after connecting and torn down. Two-player games for NES, SNES, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Mega Drive, Master System and PC Engine can be hosted. BRING YOUR OWN GAMES — REQUIREMENTS DIFFER BY SYSTEM No games and no BIOS files are bundled, and nothing can be obtained from inside the app. Use backups of software you are legally entitled to use. Runs with just your game file: NES, SNES, Game Boy / Color, Mega Drive / Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16, WonderSwan / Color, Nintendo 64, GameCube, PlayStation 2, PSP Also needs a BIOS you dumped from your own console: PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Game Boy Advance, Neo Geo Pocket / Color If you are here for Xbox: It needs three files you supply yourself — an MCPX ROM, a compatible Flash BIOS, and a hard-disk image. An unmodified retail Flash BIOS will not boot. Treat Xbox as experimental and for advanced users. ABOUT SPEED GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Sega Saturn support is experimental. The App Store build runs without a JIT, so how well a game plays depends on the title and your device. Please don't buy on the assumption that a particular game will run smoothly. FREE TO START The free version shows one banner and needs an internet connection. That banner only ever promotes the developer's own apps; there is no tracking-based advertising. A one-time in-app purchase hides it on every device signed in to your Apple Account. iPhone, iOS 17 or later. English and Japanese. emu is built on open-source emulators including ares, PPSSPP, Mupen64Plus, Dolphin, xemu, Play! and Yaba Sanshiro. Licenses and corresponding source links are under Settings > Licenses. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. emu is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any hardware manufacturer.

Screenshots

TransPlay4 screens
emu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: emu at none against TransPlay's shown. emu also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. TransPlay sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and emu sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TransPlay ships an update every 5 days, emu every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
TransPlay versus emu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTransPlayemu
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB146 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLittleBig AdConsultingCode and DESIGN inc.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

TransPlay

Subscriptions6
  • MD Solo7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • WS Solo7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • SNES Solo7 Days trial$1.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • NES Solo7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • SS Solo7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • PS1 Solo7 Days trial$1.991 Month
One-time4
  • 100 Translations$0.99
  • 250 Translations$1.99
  • 700 Translations$4.99
Show 1 more
  • 1,600 Translations$9.99
1 purchases

emu

One-time1
  • Hide Ads$4.99

Questions

Is TransPlay free?
TransPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is emu free?
emu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TransPlay or emu have ads?
TransPlay shows ads; emu does not.
Which is updated more often, TransPlay or emu?
TransPlay ships an update every 5 days, and emu every 2 days. Most recently, TransPlay was updated on November 6, 2026 and emu on November 6, 2026.

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