Game Gear Emulator for iPhone & iPad | Retropa

Prepare a .gg file

Game Gear titles ship as .gg files. Retropa carries no games and no BIOS files, so bring your own copy and keep a second one outside the app before you import anything.

• A .gg file is a Game Gear game.
• A .sms file belongs to the Master System instead.
• Renaming one to the other does not make it run.

Which core handles Game Gear

JGenesis handles this one, the same core that runs Mega Drive, Genesis and Master System. Because that single core serves several Sega machines, confirm the game is detected as Game Gear before you go hunting for a compatibility bug.

Import and first launch

For Game Gear, save the file to the device first, then pick it from the library import entry. Launch it once and confirm picture, sound and the stock controls before layering on a skin. Otherwise a display bug can come from anywhere.

A small backlit screen

The Game Gear's panel was small and lit from behind, so an LCD Grid preset usually suits it better than a heavy CRT look, which reads much darker than the real handheld ever did. The advanced filters fit the actual output area instead of demanding an integer multiple.

• Hold each preset up against the plain picture.
• Advanced filters come with Retropa Plus.
• Keep the skin clear of the picture itself.

Controls and orientation

The hardware had a directional pad, two action buttons and Start, and nothing else. That short button list makes a portrait layout comfortable, but check that Start sits under your thumb without a grip change, and run a few diagonals.

When a Game Gear game will not run

Verify the extension, the detected system and the error message. The classic mix-up is a Master System file imported while the system is set to Game Gear, or the other way around. Keep your original file untouched while you test.

• Have the app version, detected system, core and error ready.
• Do not send us commercial ROM or BIOS files.
• Back up saves before you move them between cores.