Can you play Need for Speed: Most Wanted on iPhone?

Yes. Add a disc image of your own copy of the GameCube version to Nagori, an emulator on the App Store, and play it on iPhone and iPad with touch controls or a controller. Nagori includes adjustments for this game.

Is Need for Speed: Most Wanted free on iPhone?

Nagori doesn't include or sell games, so you need your own copy. The app itself lets you add your first game for free.

Which iPhone do I need for Need for Speed: Most Wanted?

For GameCube games, Nagori recommends an iPhone 12 or newer, or an iPad with an A14 chip or newer, running iOS 17.6 or later. Start with the default Medium quality.

Can I save during a police chase in Most Wanted?

Yes. In Nagori you can make a save state at any moment, including in the middle of a pursuit, and load it if you get busted.

Can I play Need for Speed: Most Wanted with a controller on iPhone?

Yes, and for a racing game it's the better choice: an analog stick steers more precisely than a touch stick. DualSense, DualShock 4, Xbox and other controllers that iOS supports work.

Can two people play Need for Speed: Most Wanted in Nagori?

No. Nagori plays GameCube games for one player, so modes that need a second controller aren't available.

How to Play Need for Speed: Most Wanted on iPhone

EA Black Box’s 2005 racer puts you on the streets of Rockport with the police on your tail. After Razor takes your BMW M3 GTR in a rigged race, you work your way up the Blacklist, 15 racers you can only challenge once you’ve won enough races and earned enough bounty and milestones in police chases. If you own the GameCube version, Nagori lets you play it on iPhone and iPad.

What you need

An iPhone 12 or newer, or an iPad with an A14 chip or newer, with iOS 17.6 or later.
Nagori from the App Store. Your first game is free.
A disc image of your copy of the GameCube version: .iso, .gcm, .rvz, .ciso or .gcz. The game fits on a single disc.
A controller, if you have one. Racing is easier with a real analog stick.

No BIOS file is needed.

How to play Need for Speed: Most Wanted on iPhone

Install Nagori from the App Store.
Copy your Most Wanted disc image to the Files app, in iCloud Drive or On My iPhone.
Open Nagori, tap + and select the file. Add GameCube games this way, from inside Nagori: the Files app’s Open in menu doesn’t work for every GameCube format. Nagori copies the game into its own storage, so you can delete the original file afterwards.
Pick a touch layout with a stick, such as D-Pad + Stick or Stick Focus, or connect a controller. The default Standard layout has no stick, and steering with a stick is much smoother than with a D-pad.
Find Most Wanted on the GameCube shelf and press Play.

Controls

Steer with the stick. On a controller you get the full range of a real analog stick, which makes fast sweeping corners and weaving through traffic much easier than on glass. Bluetooth controllers that iOS supports, including DualSense, DualShock 4 and Xbox controllers, work with Nagori. The right stick acts as the C-stick, pressing the left stick opens the pause menu, and if the controller disconnects mid-race, Nagori pauses the game.

The GameCube’s L and R triggers were analog. In Nagori they’re digital, so a press always counts as a full pull. If you accelerate or brake with a trigger, that means full throttle or full brakes, so tap it to ease off through tight turns.

On touch, if the buttons don’t sit where your thumbs rest, switch to My Layout, drag each control into place and pinch to resize it. GameCube games don’t vibrate in Nagori, so there’s no rumble when you hit a roadblock.

Saves: climb the Blacklist without starting over

On the GameCube, Most Wanted saves your career to the memory card. Nagori keeps that working and adds:

Quit any time. Leave the app in the middle of a pursuit and Continue puts you back in the chase where you were.
Save states. Pause and choose Save before you challenge a Blacklist racer, or when a chase is going well. If you crash out or get busted, Load and try again. Nagori keeps your last four saves per game.
The memory card still works. The game’s own saves go to its memory card inside Nagori, as on the console.

Let the game save your career as you go, and treat save states as a shortcut on top of it. The GameCube memory card isn’t shown in the Files app, and Save to iCloud isn’t available for GameCube games.

Best settings

Quality: Medium, the default, is where to start. Nagori includes adjustments for this game to keep it running steadily.
Low keeps the device cooler, and High is for the newest iPhones and iPads.
Play long sessions on Medium. Pursuits can run for many minutes, and the lower settings keep your iPhone cooler. If it still gets hot, drop to Low.
Resolution: Nagori shows GameCube games at their original resolution, without upscaling.

One player only

Nagori plays GameCube games for one player, so anything in Most Wanted that needs a second controller isn’t available. Cheat codes aren’t available for GameCube games either.