Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators
The Game Boy is an 8-bit, 4th generation handheld console released by Nintendo in 1989. It had a monochrome display. Its successor, the Game Boy Color (GBC), was released in 1998. Unlike the original, it features a color screen.
Emulators
Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | GB/GBC | GBA | Game Link Support | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gambatte | Windows, Linux, OS X | 0.5.0 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | |
RetroArch (Gambatte) | Multi-platform | 0.5.0 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | |
BGB | v1.4.3 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Visual Boy Advance-M (VBA-M) | r1199 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ||
GameYob | Nintendo DS | Git | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ (NiFi) | ✓ |
Visual Boy Advance GX | Wii, Gamecube | 2.2.8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Comparison
BGB has excellent Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy accuracy, and also near flawless link support.
Visual Boy Advance doesn't emulate the color palette of the original hardware. Instead, it uses the color palette of a GBA, making Game Boy Color games look too saturated.
GameYob (on the DS) is the best GB/GBC emulator for that platform.
For the Wii, it's better to use the VBA-Next core of RetroArch than to use VBA-GX. However, VBA-GX supports using the Wiimote as a gyrometer (required for a few GBA games), whereas VBA-Next does not.