DolphiniOS is a promising GameCube and Wii emulator for iOS

Emulators for iOS have come a long way over the past few years, but a few systems have eluded iPhone gamers. Two of those are the GameCube and Wii from Nintendo. While Macs, PCs, and Android handsets have been able to reasonably play GameCube and Wii games for years, the iPhone has yet to have a competent emulator for the systems. Until now.

A new port of the popular Dolphin emulator for iOS recently exploded on the scene, and it shows a lot of promise. Gameplay of Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube runs at a consistent 30 frames per second, as does the Wii title Super Mario Galaxy 2. There are a few frame drops throughout, which is understandable considering the emulator is still in alpha.

It should be noted that there already exists a GameCube emulator for iOS dubbed GC4iOS. However, GC4iOS has had a difficult development and still cannot run some games at full speed. DolphiniOS appears to be able to handle most games thrown its way, and it is still in very early stages of development. Better still, DolphiniOS can also play Wii games and can even connect to a Wii remote for authentic gameplay, though motion controls are still unsupported (save for shakes and wiggles).

As with most emulators on iOS, there are a few caveats. DolphiniOS is only compatible with jailbroken devices at this time. Even then, it can be difficult to get installed and tricky to get games loaded into the emulator. As it is in its infancy, the emulator's GUI is still being fleshed out, introducing a roadblock to getting games loaded.

Still, it’s amazing to see GameCube and Wii games play fluidly on iOS. Hopefully, the emulator can garner enough support for solid and rapid development.