Folium became the first Nintendo 3DS emulator for iPhone available in the App Store, although there are some caveats to be aware of.

Folium Alpha Sapphire feature
First of all, it is the first Nintendo emulator in the App Store that costs money. Folium creator Jarrod Norwell charges $4.99 for the app, which is a bold choice considering Nintendo recently sued the makers of Yuzu, a Nintendo Switch emulator that profited from its subscription-based “early access” tier. Yuzu reached a settlement with Nintendo for $2.4 million and ceased production of the emulator earlier this year. It’s unclear whether Nintendo will take any action against Folium, but it could risk closer scrutiny as a paid app.

Second, Apple does not allow emulators to use just-in-time (JIT) compilation. This limitation may cause Nintendo 3DS games to experience reduced performance, especially on older iPhone models, but your mileage may vary. We recommend reading user reviews on Reddit and elsewhere before deciding to purchase Folium.

Third, it’s possible that another all-in-one emulator in the App Store, such as RetroArch, could add Nintendo 3DS support for free in the future.

With all this in mind, Folium is giving you the opportunity to relive classic Nintendo 3DS games on your iPhone right now, provided you supply the ROMs. However, please note that downloading copyrighted games is illegal in many countries.

Folium also offers Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS emulation, but we recommend using the free Delta app for these consoles. Folium is compatible with a variety of hardware controllers, including the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, Backbone One, and the latest PlayStation and Xbox controllers.

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