iPhone users without a penchant for jailbreaking can finally enjoy the blocky polygons and shifting textures of the original PlayStation with Spectrum, a free PS1 emulator that arrived last night on the iOS App Store. Gamma comes courtesy of developer ZodTTD, who has been creating iPhone emulators since the early days of third-party iOS apps.
The app has versions for iPhone and iPad with support for Bluetooth controllers and keyboards, as well as customizable on-screen controller skins. Use Google Drive and Dropbox sync to back up game files and save states (those are the snapshots you can save at any time and reload, a bit like pausing the game; great for games on the old school that they don't allow you to save). anytime you want). Just like the Delta emulator that ruled the App Store's top free apps list for weeks before being unseated by free donuts, the app will also search for the game cover automatically.
In fact, the app's interface is almost identical to developer Riley Testut's Delta emulator, so if you've used it, it will look very familiar. However, the default skin for landscape orientation is mostly transparent and difficult to see, so you'll want to replace it when you can.
Fortunately, Gamma doesn't require you to search for any BIOS files to run PS1 games. That being said, I had trouble getting my hands on the first two games I tried. NASCAR 98 and Shrek's treasure hunt. But those may have just been the game files I was using, since I could run Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee very good. Third time's the charm, right?
According to Gamma's App Store page, it collects identifiers that can be used to track you and may collect location and usage data. For what it's worth, the app did not generate a location data access request or ask for tracking permission.