How to Play ANY Retro Game on iPhone! (Delta Emulator)

Brandon Butch
17 Apr 202410:44

Summary

TLDRThe video script introduces 'Delta,' a groundbreaking emulator application now available on the App Store, which allows users to play retro games on their iPhones without jailbreaking. Previously, such applications were restricted by Apple, making Delta's launch a significant moment. The script provides a step-by-step guide on how to download and import ROMs into Delta, as well as how to customize the app with different skins and settings. It also covers advanced features like save states, cheat codes, and fast-forward capabilities, enhancing the gaming experience. The video concludes with a demonstration of playing a game on Delta, highlighting its user-friendly interface and the nostalgic appeal of retro gaming on modern devices.

Takeaways

  • 🎮 The Delta application is an emulator that allows users to play retro games on their iPhone without jailbreaking or sideloading.
  • 📱 Delta was previously only accessible through sideloading or jailbreaking, but has now officially launched on the App Store.
  • 🕹️ The application supports various gaming systems including NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS, with more systems to come.
  • 💾 Users need to download ROMs, which are files containing the game data, not the full games themselves.
  • 📁 It's recommended to organize ROMs in a dedicated folder within iCloud Drive for better management.
  • 🌐 ROMs can be imported into Delta via the Files app after downloading them through Safari.
  • 🔍 The Delta app categorizes games by the system they belong to and allows users to change the artwork and rename games.
  • 🎨 Users can customize the look of the emulator with various skins available from skinsfordelta.com.
  • ⚙️ Delta offers settings to adjust controller types, skins, opacity, game audio, haptic feedback, and more.
  • 🔄 Delta Sync enables users to synchronize game save data, save states, and cheat codes between devices using Google Drive or Dropbox.
  • ⏯️ The app includes features like fast forward, which is particularly useful for games with long dialogues like Pokémon.
  • 📲 Delta is also compatible with iPad, offering both portrait and landscape modes, although it does not take up the full screen by default.

Q & A

  • What is the significance of being able to play retro games on an iPhone without jailbreaking?

    -This is a monumental moment for the App Store because emulator applications were not allowed by Apple for over a decade and are now accessible through official channels like the App Store.

  • What is the name of the application that allows you to play retro games on your iPhone?

    -The application is called Delta, and it is considered one of the best emulator applications for the iPhone.

  • What are ROMs and how are they used in the Delta application?

    -ROMs are special files that contain the data of the games. They are used in the Delta application to play retro games, and users need to download these files to play the games.

  • How can you organize your ROMs within the iCloud Drive?

    -You can create a folder named 'ROMs' within your iCloud Drive to organize and keep track of all your downloaded ROMs.

  • What is the recommended tool by Delta for importing ROMs?

    -Delta recommends using GB Operator, which allows you to convert your cartridges to play on your computer or iPhone, but this is a paid solution.

  • How can you change the controller skin in the Delta application?

    -You can change the controller skin by visiting skinsfordelta.com, downloading the desired skin, and then importing it into the Delta application.

  • What is the purpose of the 'Delta Sync' feature in the Delta application?

    -Delta Sync allows you to sync your game save data, save states, and cheats between devices, which is useful if you want to play on multiple devices like an iPhone and an iPad.

  • How can you quickly access your favorite games in the Delta application?

    -You can use the home screen shortcuts feature, which allows you to quickly launch into one of your favorite or recently played games by tapping and holding the app icon.

  • What is the 'Fast Forward' feature in the Delta application used for?

    -The 'Fast Forward' feature is used to speed up the gameplay, which is particularly useful in games like Pokémon to skip through long dialogue scenes.

  • How can you hold down specific buttons in the Delta application?

    -You can use the 'Hold Buttons' feature, which allows you to keep specific buttons pressed down so you can use your other fingers for additional controls.

  • Is the Delta application available for iPad as well?

    -Yes, the Delta application works on iPad, but it does not take up the full screen by default. Users can tap to zoom for a better view or switch to portrait mode.

  • How can you add cheat codes to your games in the Delta application?

    -You can add cheat codes by clicking on the plus icon in the top right corner of the menu and entering Action Replay, Code Breaker, or Game Shark codes.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Introduction to Delta Emulator App

The first paragraph introduces the Delta emulator app, which allows users to play retro games on their iPhones without jailbreaking. It's a significant moment for the App Store, as emulator apps were previously not allowed. The video aims to guide viewers on how to use Delta to play these games for free. Delta supports various gaming systems and has recently become available on the App Store. The process of downloading ROMs, which are the files containing game data, is explained, along with how to import them into the app and organize them within iCloud Drive. The paragraph also touches on changing game artwork and renaming games within the app.

05:02

🎮 Customizing Delta Emulator Settings

The second paragraph delves into the settings and customization options within the Delta emulator. It explains how to select different controllers, connect game controllers, and change the app's skins to mimic various console designs. The process of downloading new skins from the Delta website is outlined. Additionally, the paragraph covers adjusting controller opacity, game audio settings, haptic feedback, and the Delta sync feature, which syncs game save data across devices. It also mentions the home screen shortcuts for quick game access and concludes with a demonstration of playing a game, highlighting features like save states, cheat codes, fast forward, and hold buttons.

10:02

📘 Conclusion and Additional Information

The final paragraph wraps up the video by emphasizing the availability of the Delta emulator on the App Store and its compatibility with iPad, albeit not in full screen. The presenter expresses enthusiasm for the app and encourages viewers to like, subscribe, and look out for future updates. It concludes with a thank you note to the viewers and an indication that the presenter will see them in the next video.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Retro Games

Retro games refer to classic video games that were popular in the past, often from older gaming consoles. In the video, the theme revolves around playing these nostalgic games on a modern device like an iPhone, which is a significant change from the traditional way these games were played.

💡iPhone

The iPhone is a series of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. In the context of the video, it is the device on which the user can now play retro games without needing a jailbreak, highlighting a shift in technology and app availability.

💡Emulator Application

An emulator application is a software that allows one computer system to behave like another, enabling the user to run software designed for a different system. In the video, the Delta emulator is used to play retro games on an iPhone, showcasing its compatibility with various gaming systems.

💡ROMs

ROM stands for Read-Only Memory and in the context of video games, it refers to files that contain the game data. The video explains how to download and import ROMs into the Delta application to play the games, emphasizing the importance of these files for the emulation process.

💡Delta

Delta is the name of the emulator application featured in the video that allows users to play retro games on their iPhones. It has gained significance as it has officially launched on the App Store, marking a change in Apple's policy towards emulator apps.

💡Game Boy

Game Boy is a series of handheld game consoles developed by Nintendo. The video mentions emulating the Game Boy and other retro devices through the Delta application, demonstrating the breadth of gaming systems supported by the emulator.

💡iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is a cloud storage service from Apple that allows users to store files and access them from various devices. In the video, it is suggested to use iCloud Drive to organize and store ROMs for the Delta emulator, illustrating its utility for app-related file management.

💡Skins

In the context of the Delta emulator, skins refer to the customizable visual themes or layouts that can be applied to mimic the look of different retro consoles. The video discusses changing skins to personalize the gaming experience on the iPhone.

💡Save States

Save states are a feature in emulators that allow users to save the exact state of a game at any point and return to it later. The video mentions this feature as one of the important settings in Delta, allowing for convenient game pauses and resumption.

💡Cheat Codes

Cheat codes are a series of instructions or button combinations that players can input into a game to unlock special features or advantages. The video highlights the option to add cheat codes in Delta for an enhanced gaming experience.

💡Fast Forward

The fast forward feature in the Delta emulator allows games to be played at an accelerated pace. This is particularly useful for games like Pokémon, where it can speed up dialogue and reduce waiting times, as mentioned in the video.

Highlights

Playing retro games on iPhone without jailbreak is now possible, marking a monumental moment for the App Store.

Delta is the best emulator application for the iPhone, now officially available on the App Store.

Delta supports NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS, with more systems coming soon.

ROMs, the special files containing game data, are used instead of full games and are typically under 100 megabytes.

GB Operator is a recommended tool for converting cartridges to play on devices, but it's a paid solution.

ROMs can be easily downloaded and imported into Delta via Safari search and download.

Organizing ROMs in a dedicated folder within iCloud Drive helps keep track of files.

Delta allows importing ROMs from the Files app, with no need to unzip the files.

Game artwork can be changed if not included, using the Games Database feature in Delta.

Renaming games is possible within Delta to remove unwanted characters from the download file.

Settings in Delta allow users to choose different controllers, connect game controllers, and change skins.

Custom skins for different consoles can be downloaded from skinsfordelta.com for a personalized experience.

Controller opacity, game audio, haptic feedback, and other settings can be adjusted in Delta.

Delta Sync enables syncing of game save data, save states, and cheats between devices using Google Drive or Dropbox.

Home screen shortcuts allow for quick access to recently played or selected games.

In-game features include save states, cheat codes, fast forward, and hold buttons for enhanced gameplay.

Delta is also compatible with iPad, offering both portrait and landscape modes for gameplay.

The video provides a nostalgic experience, highlighting core childhood memories for many viewers.

Delta is highly recommended for those interested in playing retro games on their iPhone or iPad.

Transcripts

00:00

this feels surreal I never thought that

00:02

I would live to see the day where you

00:04

can play retro games on your iPhone

00:07

without the need of a jailbreak or side

00:09

loading I don't think a lot of people

00:11

realize that this is a Monumental moment

00:13

for the App Store since these emulator

00:15

applications were frowned upon for over

00:18

a decade by Apple and were never allowed

00:21

into the App Store until recently so in

00:23

this video I want to show you how to

00:25

play these old retro games on your

00:28

iPhone for free so this application is

00:31

called Delta and this is the best

00:33

emulator application ever for the iPhone

00:36

now this is not a brand new application

00:38

it's been around for a while but it was

00:40

only accessible through side loading or

00:43

jailbreaking in the past but now it has

00:45

officially launched on the App Store and

00:48

you can see that my rewind wallpaper

00:49

collection did a pretty good job of

00:51

emulating the Game Boy and all these

00:53

other retro devices which you can

00:55

download this wallpaper pack by clicking

00:57

on the link down in the description

00:59

below but anyways let's go and check out

01:00

the app so let's go into the App Store

01:02

and we're going to look for Delta so

01:05

here is the Delta application in the App

01:07

Store I will leave a direct link to this

01:09

application in the description below as

01:11

well if you do not want to search for it

01:13

but this is what it looks like and when

01:15

you download it and you go to open up

01:17

the application this is what you will

01:18

see so you're just going to see most

01:20

likely a blank screen unless you had you

01:22

know ROMs already downloaded previously

01:24

which you likely have not but this is

01:26

what you see so it's going to be

01:28

categorized by Game Boy Color game Game

01:30

Boy Advance and so on you can see up top

01:32

now the supported game systems as of now

01:35

are NES SNES nintendo64 Game Boy Color

01:39

Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS however

01:42

the developer has said that more game

01:44

systems are on the way okay so I'm going

01:47

to show you how to download games first

01:49

and then I'm going to go through some of

01:50

the important settings that you need to

01:52

know within the Delta application

01:55

afterwards so the first thing you need

01:56

to know is that you're going to be

01:58

downloading ROMs not games so ROMs are

02:01

the special files that contain the games

02:04

data so just you know kind of just keep

02:06

a mental note to always refer to these

02:08

as ROMs and not games so you're not

02:10

downloading you know larg size full

02:13

games most of these files are going to

02:15

be under 100 megabytes a lot of them are

02:17

going to be even below 10 megabytes and

02:19

there are many ways to get ROMs imported

02:22

into the Delta application the tool that

02:24

Delta recommends is GB operator which

02:27

lets you convert your cartridges to RW

02:30

to play on your computer or your iPhone

02:32

however that is a paid solution and

02:34

that's something that really only you

02:35

know enthusiasts are going to do so the

02:38

most common way and the way you're most

02:40

likely going to want to download and

02:41

import these ROMs is just through a

02:44

simple Safari search and download now

02:46

once you do download those ROMs or those

02:49

games they will save to your iCloud

02:52

drive now what I would recommend is

02:54

making a folder inside of your iCloud

02:57

drive just named ROMs that way you can

03:00

organize this you know a lot better and

03:02

keep track of all your ROMs a lot better

03:04

and if you don't know how to move files

03:05

it's very simple just go into the

03:07

downloads here which is where your games

03:09

or your ROMs are going to download too

03:11

just tap and hold and then go to move

03:13

and then just select the new folder that

03:15

you created called ROMs in the iCloud

03:17

Drive section and then once you've done

03:19

that just go back into Delta and go to

03:21

the top right and click on the plus icon

03:23

and you have two options here either

03:25

iTunes or files so we're going to import

03:27

our ROMs from the files application and

03:30

it's going to open up Delta by default

03:32

but you want to just tap again on browse

03:34

down here and then you want to go to

03:36

your locations iCloud drive and then

03:39

from here you should see your ROMs

03:41

folder or you can just go into downloads

03:43

and select it from there and then you

03:45

just want to select whatever

03:46

applications or ROMs that you have

03:48

downloaded just select the zip file you

03:50

do not need to unzip those files keep

03:53

them as zip files and then just tap on

03:55

open and it will Auto Import them and

03:57

auto categorize them by the game system

04:00

and some of these will come with the

04:02

artwork but some will not so you can see

04:04

down here we have Super Mario Bros

04:06

deluxe which did not come with any

04:08

artwork and it looks really bad down

04:09

there so to change that just simply tap

04:11

and hold on the game and you can go to

04:14

change artwork now from here you have

04:16

multiple different options but what I

04:18

would recommend is just to go to games

04:20

database and then from here you just

04:21

want to search whatever game it is so

04:24

Super Mario and if you ever forget what

04:25

the exact name of the game is you can

04:27

just swipe down here to see a preview of

04:28

it so this is for the Game Boy Color so

04:30

there we go it looks like it's right

04:32

here so simply tap on that and it will

04:33

autoload it in there and now you have

04:35

the artwork for that game and the same

04:37

goes with renaming as well sometimes you

04:39

will see some extra you know characters

04:42

added in there like for Golden Eye For

04:43

example you can just tap and hold and go

04:45

to rename and you can remove the EXs you

04:48

know U and the exclamation point there

04:50

or whatever may be included in the

04:52

download file so that is how you can

04:54

download and import your ROMs into the

04:56

Delta application so now I want to cover

04:58

some of the important settings that you

05:00

need to know within Delta and also how

05:02

to change your skins and all of that so

05:04

first off let's go to the settings so

05:06

the settings is going to be up here in

05:07

the top leftand corner and from here you

05:09

have multiple different settings so

05:11

first off you can choose what controller

05:13

you want to play as so for some reason

05:15

you want to play as controller you know

05:17

three or four player three or four you

05:19

can choose that by just going into here

05:20

and then selecting touchcreen it could

05:22

also connect game controllers as well so

05:25

there are many game controllers

05:27

supported so you can see all of the

05:28

controllers that are recorded on the

05:30

screen now now you can also change the

05:33

skins and this is my favorite part so

05:35

you saw that I had the red Game Boy

05:37

Advanced Skin at the beginning that's

05:38

because it shows up right here so you

05:40

can have a different skin for the

05:41

portrait and the landscape version of

05:44

every specific console that you have in

05:46

here now there's a easy way to do this

05:49

you just need to go to skins for

05:50

delta.com so if you go into our safari

05:53

here is skins for delta.com so if I

05:54

wanted to have a different layout for

05:56

Game Boy Advance for example for maybe

05:58

the landscape version we'll we just go

05:59

to this top one up here and we're going

06:02

to go into this and just simply click on

06:04

download let's make sure that downloaded

06:06

so there we go it's downloaded so I'm

06:07

going to go to this right here and I'm

06:09

just going to move this into my uh

06:11

folder for ROMs that way everything is

06:13

organized I will make a subfolder in

06:16

there eventually but anyways let's go

06:17

into Delta again and now if I want to

06:20

change from the default landscape skin I

06:22

can just simply tap right there tap on

06:24

the Plus in the top right corner we're

06:25

going to go into our ROMs folder right

06:27

here and spice was the name of it so

06:29

we're going to do that and we're going

06:30

to tap on open and you can see it shows

06:32

up right here so we're going to tap

06:33

again and now we have that skin when we

06:36

go to landscape mode with the Game Boy

06:38

Advance emulator and you can just do

06:40

that for all of these different consoles

06:43

and then below the controller skins we

06:44

have the controller opacity so if you

06:46

want to change the opacity you can you

06:48

have game audio so if you want it to

06:50

respect your silent mode so if you're in

06:51

silent mode you're not going to hear any

06:53

game audio but if you're out of silent

06:55

mode you will you can change that right

06:57

there you have haptic feedback for the

06:59

control sticks and also the buttons and

07:01

then right here is an important one so

07:02

we have Delta sync this is going to

07:05

allow you to sync your games save data

07:07

save states and cheats between devices

07:10

if you get a new device or if you want

07:12

to maybe play on your iPad and then on

07:13

your iPhone and go back and forth you

07:15

can do that with syncing so you do need

07:18

to have this hooked up to your Google

07:19

drive or Dropbox but you can do that

07:22

right here and you will just need to

07:23

sign in and then we also have home

07:25

screen shortcuts right here so this

07:27

allows you to quickly and easily play

07:29

games by tapping and holding on the app

07:31

icon and you can see the four games

07:33

right there so you can have that set to

07:35

recently played or you can manually

07:37

select it if you want to okay so now I'm

07:38

going to actually play a game and show

07:40

you kind of how this works and some of

07:42

the other additional features in here so

07:44

you can see I do have the skin here for

07:45

the Game Boy Advance SP which is awesome

07:48

you can see all the buttons here

07:49

including the turbo button down there

07:51

now if we go to menu you will notice

07:53

that we have a few options here so we

07:55

have Save State so there are save states

07:57

in this so you can save your game and

08:00

also load your game at a future date and

08:02

then we also have cheat codes so if you

08:04

are into cheat codes you can add those

08:07

there by clicking on the plus up in the

08:08

top right and you can use Action Replay

08:11

code breaker and also game shark codes

08:14

and then if we go back we have fast

08:15

forward which is a must if you play

08:17

Pokemon so what this does is it just

08:19

runs the game at a faster pace so it's

08:22

much much better to play Pokémon cuz you

08:24

don't have to sit there and tap a for 10

08:26

minutes on the long dialogue scenes so

08:29

fast forward is a great feature and then

08:30

we also have hold buttons and you can

08:33

see when you press that it says select

08:34

buttons to hold down so what this does

08:36

is it basically allows you to keep

08:38

specific buttons held down so that you

08:40

can have your fingers free to press on

08:42

additional buttons like for example if

08:44

you're playing a racing game or Mario

08:46

Kart you can hold down on a you can

08:48

press a to hold down that way it's

08:50

always going to be pressing on the gas

08:52

and you're always going to be able to go

08:54

forward and you could use your other

08:55

fingers to do other things and of course

08:57

anytime you want to get back to the main

08:59

menu menu you can just press on menu and

09:00

then the red main menu button right

09:02

there and it will take you back right

09:04

here where you can go through and see

09:05

all your different games that you want

09:07

to play so here is what the landscape

09:09

version of The Game Boy Advance emulator

09:11

looks like and you can see I do have

09:12

that custom skin on here now Pokemon

09:15

like I mentioned earlier is going to be

09:16

very very slow so you definitely want to

09:18

have where's the menu on here okay so

09:20

some of these skins you'll notice have a

09:22

different icon for the menu so it might

09:23

get confusing but we're going to go

09:25

ahead to fast forward just so this game

09:27

goes a little bit faster I guess back in

09:28

the day we had a much stronger a much

09:30

longer attention span than what we do

09:32

now we're going to go with Squirtle this

09:33

time just because I never used to do

09:35

that back in the day so we got Squirtle

09:37

as our first Pokemon and we're going to

09:39

nickname him a I guess we're just going

09:40

to do it really quickly so now we're

09:42

going to have our first battle this

09:44

takes me back I mean this game takes me

09:46

back I remember as right when we leave

09:47

yep this is core childhood memories here

09:49

at least for me there we go we just won

09:51

our first Pokemon battle and you can see

09:54

I'm going to be on this all night I can

09:55

already tell Apple Vision what I'm

09:58

playing Delta all night but anyways guys

10:00

there you have it that is Delta that is

10:02

the new emulator application available

10:04

now on the App Store it is awesome check

10:06

it out I will leave a link down in the

10:08

description below oh and if you're

10:09

wondering if this works on iPad it does

10:11

work on iPad but it's not going to be

10:13

the full screen so you can see you have

10:14

it like this by default but you can tap

10:16

to zoom right there and you can also

10:18

play it in portrait mode I think it's

10:20

better in landscape mode though so not

10:23

bad it actually looks good resolution

10:25

wise for being a nonnative iPad

10:28

application anyways hope you you guys

10:29

enjoyed this video if you did I would

10:30

appreciate if you give it a thumbs up

10:32

also be sure to subscribe in case I do

10:33

any future updates on Delta and if you

10:36

just want to see more iPhone and iOS

10:38

videos make sure to hit that subscribe

10:39

button down below but anyways guys

10:41

thanks again for watching and I'll see

10:43

you soon

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Related Tags
Retro GamesiPhone EmulatorApp StoreDelta AppGame BoyNintendoROMsiCloud DriveController SkinsSNESNostalgiaMobile GamingiOS ApplicationEmulationGBAN64Save StatesCheat CodesFast ForwardiOS GamingApp Review