We've tested the NES Emulator for the iPhone. It installs easily and works with all the games we have tried so far. Now, how good it is?

 

The Good • It's a great start. Not perfect, that's for sure, but I am not surprised because this is just a first hacked version. • Emulator and games install just fine. The Bad • It's slower than a western villain's horse. Really slow for any kind of real gaming action, not even something as relatively relaxed as Zelda. • Like we said, it doesn't have sound. • The controls need more work. Right now, it's not playable. The Ugly • It has some rendering problems in some of the games we tested. • I am a User Interface whore and, beyond missing a cool icon, the app needs to correct the perspective on the buttons. Maybe it's time to move my lazy butt and try to help the project. The verdict • A good start and a good promise of things to come. Other emulators will appear —ScummVM anyone?— and the controlling aspect will be perfected for this new medium. Some games will be unplayable with touch screen, but many others could be adapted. The cool thing about this NES emulator is that it's the beginning of cool gaming on the iPhone but also another sign of how quickly the grassroots development on the platform is advancing.

Tags: emulators | games | iphone | nes | phones