You Can Finally Play 3DS Games on Your IPhone With This App
Since Apple changed its App Store rules in April , quite a few retro iPhone game emulators have appeared on the market . You can use an emulator like Delta for games from NES to DS and Retroarch to relive some of the OG PlayStation games. But until now, there hasn’t been a way to play Nintendo 3DS games on your iPhone. If you want to play something like Ocarina of Time 3D or Super Mario 3D Land , you’ll need to choose a different emulator platform or purchase the 3DS itself .
However, this was the case before Folium . Folium is the first emulator to hit the Apple App Store to support 3DS games. Plus, it supports DS and Game Boy Advance games, so it’s ideal for anyone interested solely in the last three eras of dedicated Nintendo handhelds. However, if you want older Game Boy or retro console games like the SNES or N64, you’ll need to download a different emulator.
Unlike Delta, Folium is not free: developer Jarrod Norvell charges $4.99 for the app. If you want to play DS games for free, you can try another app, but if you’re dead set on playing 3DS games on your iPhone, you’ll have to pay for it. Considering that $5 is eight times less than the 3DS game sold for one, that’s not a bad deal.
Like other retro iOS emulators, Folium doesn’t actually provide you with games. This would be against Apple’s App Review guidelines , which allow the use of emulators but not the distribution of copyrighted material. Once you’ve paid for and installed Folium on your iPhone, you’ll need to add your own ROMs or game files to the app. While the legality of this topic is unclear, you will find emulator fans insisting on its legality if you have a game that you are trying to play through an emulator program.
Once you get the 3DS ROM, you’ll be able to run Folium on iPhones running iOS 15 or later, iPads running iPadOS 15 or later, Macs running macOS 12 or later, and even Vision Pro. The app supports various upscaling filters such as HQx and xBRZ, so you can control how old games play on your modern smartphone display. For DS and 3DS games, you can also choose whether to boot from the main menu or launch the game straight away.
Folium supports a number of controller options. Of course, you can play on your iPhone’s touchscreen, but pairing the app with one of the following dedicated controllers may be more enjoyable and precise: