In an accomplishment that she calls a “ridiculous passion project”, a Super Monkey Ball enthusiast has created an advanced iOS emulator for the specific purpose of replaying her favorite iPhone game.
I mean… I don’t see anything ridiculous about that. It sounds like a worthy task.
In a February 3rd Twitter post, @hikari_no_yume tells a sentimental tale of the first time she saw demos for the iOS port of Super Monkey Ball. And the excitement she had for the game.
The 2008 iOS port of Super Monkey Ball was based on the Nintendo DS version of the game. But as Hikari explains, the iOS version was so much more. And it quickly became a special game for her.
One of those games that just hit all the right notes and had potent nostalgia for her.
Tragically, in 2017 Apple made the decision to end support for 32-bit applications on the iPhone and iPad. Which instantly killed thousands of apps. Including Super Monkey Ball.
In 2022, Hikari decided she could not let Super Monkey Ball disappear. She had to figure out for herself how to bring back Super Monkey Ball.
In an effort that surely anybody could relate to and support, Hikari got to work.
And in less than one year, she was able to complete her dream of bringing Super Monkey Ball back to life in an iOS emulator that she created from scratch.
TouchHLE iOS Emulator
The high-level iOS emulator that Hikari created to revive Super Monkey Ball is called touchHLE.
It is a program for Windows PC and MacOS, and is intended to specifically emulate obsolete 32-bit games, which would never be accessible in the current iOS.
We’ve previously covered the best emulators for iPhone, but never an emulator OF an iPhone.
There are low-level iOS emulators out there, but they were not capable of running the full iOS environment needed to play Super Monkey Ball. So a new solution had to be created.
TouchHLE not only allows Hikari to play the long lost Super Monkey Ball game, but it opens up the possibility for any obsolete game from the 32-bit era of iOS.
And of course, the emulator is available for free to anybody looking to relive a special memory.
Happy Ending
The biggest take away here is to not give up on your dreams. No matter how “ridiculous” they may seem.
Putting a bunch of time and energy into reliving a sentimental memory is something I can fully relate to and see the value in.
Just to add even more to the list of achievements for Hikari in her passion project…
She live streamed today on Twitch playing her beloved Super Monkey Ball and one of the developers for the iOS port joined her stream to talk about the development.
Needless to say, she was pretty stoked.
TouchHLE launched only hours ago, and people are already in Hikari’s comments telling her about their favorite games that they can now revisit.
And as news about TouchHLE spreads, we imagine that thousands of people will be able to relive long lost games that have strong nostalgic value to them.
A true happy ending for the gaming community.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
