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How to play Radical Red on iPhone, from patch to save file

Radical Red is a fan-made GBA hack by soupercell, shipped as a patch you apply to your own backup of one specific base game. Import the base game and then the patch with Import ROMs, tap Apply Patch, and open the patched copy. If the game complains about its save, set Flash memory size to Flash 128K in Settings → Saving.

3 min read · Updated 2026-09-26

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What you need before you start

  • A backup of the exact base game and revision the author's page lists, made from a cartridge you own.
  • The patch from the author's own page. At the time of writing it is a .ups file.
  • iGBA 2.17.0 or later, free to download. It applies the patch itself, so you need no separate patcher.

There is no BIOS step. iGBA has no BIOS setting and never asks for one.

From the patch to the first screen

  1. Import your base backup with Import ROMs.
  2. Tap Import ROMs again and pick the .ups file. iGBA asks which game to patch.
  3. Pick the base game and tap Apply Patch. If iGBA says the patch is for a different ROM revision, you have the wrong base; find the right one before going on.
  4. The patched copy appears in your games list with the patch name in brackets. Every save is tied to that name, so keep it.
  5. Tap it to start, and save once inside the game's own menu. Our general patching guide covers the patch screen in detail.

Your original backup stays in the list unchanged. Keep it: every new version of the hack goes onto that clean base, never onto the patched copy.

The save type warning

Radical Red is built on an engine that saves to a 128K flash chip. An emulator that gives it a 64K chip gets a "wrong save type" style warning, or saves that fail later. In iGBA 2.14.0 and later, Auto reads the flash type the game declares, so most people never see it.

If you do, open Settings → Saving, set Flash memory size to Flash 128K, close the game and open it again. The note under the setting says it applies on the next launch. With the game open, Save diagnostics on that screen shows a core: line, which should read core: flash 128K.

Put the setting back to Auto afterwards: it is one setting for every game. A save already written at 64K is not repaired by it. Our guide on the Flash 128K save error goes into recovery.

Updating to a new version such as 4.1

Patch the new version the same way, from the clean base still in your library. Then think about the save before you play, because iGBA identifies a game by its header title and a checksum of the file.

The new patched copy is a different file with a different checksum. If it ends up under the old game's name, iGBA sees a different game and does not hand the old save over: it sets it aside as a file ending in .sav.TITLE_CRC.bak and the states folder gets a matching suffix. Nothing is deleted. Either way, move the save across yourself.

What happens to your progress on an update
ItemAfter importing the new file
Battery saveSet aside as a .bak copy; the new file starts empty
Save statesSet aside in a renamed folder; old states belong to old code
CheatsCheck them again; a code for one version may not fit another
  1. On the old version, save inside the game, not with a save state.
  2. Open the game's saves list and tap Export .sav. Keep that file.
  3. Apply the new patch to your clean base, as above.
  4. Long-press the new game in the list and choose Import .sav, then pick the exported file.
  5. If asked Replace Battery Save?, tap Import Anyway. iGBA backs up the current one first and shows Save imported successfully.

Whether a save from one version loads cleanly in another is up to the author. Read their release notes before you update a run you care about.

Questions and answers

Can I play Radical Red on iPhone?
Yes, in iGBA. Import your own backup of the base game and the author's patch, and iGBA applies it when you tap Apply Patch.
What is the Radical Red .ups file?
It is the patch. It holds only the changes and needs the exact base file the author lists. Pick it with Import ROMs in iGBA and choose that base game.
Radical Red says wrong save type. What do I change?
Set Flash memory size to Flash 128K in Settings, Saving, then reopen the game. On iGBA 2.14.0 or later, Auto should already pick it.
Will updating to 4.1 delete my save?
No. iGBA sets the old save aside as a .bak file instead. Export it first and import it into the new game with Import .sav, then check it loads.
Do I need Pro to play it?
No. Pro changes save state, cheat, rewind and speed limits, not what you can open.

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