Difference between pages "Game Boy Advance emulators" and "Cellphone emulators"

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(Emulators)
(Tags: Mobile edit, Mobile web edit)
 
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{{Infobox console
+
Before the smartphones we know today were staples of mainstream culture, mobile phones, and their technology were pretty rudimentary and often relied on apps made in Java seeing as the language was designed to be portable (though Windows Mobile and Symbian were also somewhat popular as proto-smartphone platforms of choice). This didn't keep games from being developed for these platforms. Casual simplistic games and rip-offs of retro franchises thrived, but it attracted some genuinely fun games that forever remained obscure, such as those from Gameloft.
|title = Nintendo Game Boy Advance
+
 
|logo = gbagba.png
+
The situation is quite different in Japan where mobile hardware was much more developed, only loosely Java-based, and major video game developers were much more invested in creating unique and high-quality content that's most obscure and unpreserved, let alone emulated, today. Those are the very different [[wikipedia:Galapagos syndrome|Galapagos mobile phones]] (like NTT DoCoMo i-mode, DeNa, RoID...). Some of these games got ported to the inferior Western hardware but these are in the tiny minority.
|developer = [[:Nintendo]]
+
 
|type = [[:Category:Handheld consoles|Handheld game console]]
+
<code>.JAR</code> files of Java-based non-Japanese cell phones can be still found online with some effort, namely on WAP sites offering (pirated) mobile content e.g. [http://dedomil.net dedomil.net], [http://phoneky.com phoneky.com], [http://mobiles24.co mobiles24.co]
|generation = [[:Category:Sixth-generation video game consoles|Sixth generation]]
+
 
|release = 2001
+
==Java 2 Micro Edition <small>(J2ME)</small>==
|discontinued = 2010
+
 
|predecessor = [[Virtual Boy emulators|Virtual Boy]]
+
»» A free cross-platform language capable of working in devices with highly reduced capabilities. It was basically Java stripped down to the bare essentials.
|successor = [[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]
+
While originally not intended for games (until its more advanced game-oriented API came), it became the ''de facto'' market standard for cell phone gaming - due in no small part to the SDK being free and without licensing costs.
|emulated = {{✓}}
+
 
}}
+
»» Sony Ericsson 3D Engine (Mascot Capsule 3D) rendering engine enables real-time processing of 3D graphics for applications running on a wide variety of embedded devices such as mobile phones, handheld games, arcade game equipment, etc. It can be implemented on any OS and platforms to create 3D expressions that are far more versatile than 2D, in the environment with limited resources.
The '''[[wikipedia:Game_Boy_Advance|Game Boy Advance]]''' (often shortened to GBA) is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001. It has a ARM7TDMI CPU at 16.78 MHz and a Zilog Z80 CPU at 8 MHz and 4 MHz. It has 32KB of RAM and 96KB of VRAM.  
+
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
 
 +
Currently, [[KEmulator]] and [[FreeJ2ME]] should suffice for most games, but there's a minority of games making use of obscure vendor-specific APIs supported only on their respective SDK tools. Given the scarcity of such tools, this list aims to comprehensively list the available ones for convenience.
  
==Emulators==
 
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
|-
 
|-
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
+
! scope="col"|Version
! scope="col"|GB/GBC
+
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Sony Ericsson 3D Engine">Mascot Capsule 3D</abbr>
! scope="col"|NDS
+
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
! scope="col"|Game Link Support
+
! scope="col"|VM
! scope="col"|e-Reader
+
! scope="col"|Derived from
! scope="col"|[[libretro|Libretro Core]]
 
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 
! scope="col"|Active
 
! scope="col"|Active
 
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 
|-
 
|-
!colspan="12"|PC /x86
+
!colspan="10"|PC / x86
 +
|-
 +
|[[KEmulator]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://archive.org/details/KEmulator103 1.0.3]<br>[https://github.com/ancient-empires-resources/KEmulator git]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[mGBA]]
+
|[[FreeJ2ME]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Java|LiA|Libretro}}
|[https://mgba.io/downloads.html {{MGBAVer}}]
+
|[https://sourceforge.net/projects/freej2me/files/ 2018/09/07][https://github.com/hex007/freej2me git]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}}<ref group=N name=medusa>Experimental separate build under the name of [[mGBA#medusa|medusa]].</ref> ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|Host JVM
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[higan]]
+
|[[Kahvibreak]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[http://byuu.org/emulation/higan {{higanVer}}]
+
|[https://bluemaxima.org/kahvibreak/Kahvibreak%201.5.zip Stable]<br/>[https://bluemaxima.org/kahvibreak/Kahvibreak%20Brewer%201.5.10.zip Dev]<br/>[https://bluemaxima.org/kahvibreak/linux-testing/index.html Linux]<small> (Beta)</small>
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
| Mid
 +
| Host JVM (FreeJ2ME)
 +
| ?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}<small> (WIP)</small>
 
|-
 
|-
|[[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-M|VBA-M]]
+
|SJ Boy Emulator
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://github.com/visualboyadvance-m/visualboyadvance-m/releases {{VBAMVer}}]
+
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20061120062624/http://www.sjboy.cn:80/setup.zip Beta 4]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|iDeaS
+
|[[SquirrelJME]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Java|Libretro}}
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20150311100053/http://ciacin.site90.com/ideas.php 1.0.4.0]
+
|{{SquirrelJMEVer}}
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{SquirrelJMEAccuracy}}
 +
|Custom (Java)
 +
| -
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|?<small> (WIP)</small>
 +
|-
 +
|Jademula
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://github.com/RobDangerous/Jademula git]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|[http://me4se.org ME4SE]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Java}}
 +
|[https://sourceforge.net/projects/kobjects/files/me4se/2.2.0 2.2.0]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|Pstros
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Java}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20060720210353/http://www.volny.cz/molej/pstros/download.htm 1.6.0]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|MicroEmu
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Java|Windows|mcOS|Lin}}
 +
|[https://github.com/artem-frolov/microemu git]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|Host JVM
 +
| -
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|MiniSoyo
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20061026100050/http://www.sjboy.cn:80/images/minisoyo_en.zip 1.0]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|MidpX (NHAL)
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070831144240/http://kwyshell.myweb.hinet.net 1.0.1]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|MPowerPlayer
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Mac}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070126100250/http://mpowerplayer.com:80/mppwin.zip 2.0]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|Midp-Emulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070729182344/http://www.perimind.com/midpEmul.zip 1.31]<br/>[https://github.com/ichisadashioko/midp-emulator git]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|GameMagic S60
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://gamemagic-s60.download.it 1.2.1]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|N-GAGE COOL!
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Lin}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20060214111930/http://www.amazingmobile.com:80/DownFiles/NgageCool(Trial).zip 1.2.1 (Trial)]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[GBE+]]
+
|Nokia SDKs
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://github.com/shonumi/gbe-plus {{GBEVer}}]
+
|[https://archive.org/details/nokia_sdks_n_dev_tools Part 1] <br/>[https://archive.org/details/nokia_sdks_n_dev_tools2 Part 2]<br/>[https://archive.org/details/nokia_sdks_n_dev_tools3 Part 3]
|{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://fms.komkon.org/VGBA VGBA]
+
|Sony Ericsson SDKs
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://fms.komkon.org/VGBA {{VGBAVer}}]
+
|[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xHSPbVOGSG84y1hlvGDI0RC4iGiCQ7HP/view?usp=sharing 2.5.0.6]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[MAME]]
+
|Siemens SDKs
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]
+
|[https://archive.org/details/siemens-club.ru-siemens-emulators Site 1]<br/>[http://www.siemensmania.cz/emulatory.php Site 2]
|{{}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|Meteor
+
|Motorola SDKs
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://github.com/blastrock/meteor 1.4.2]
+
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070213084711if_/http://trix2.cellmania.com:80/downloads/downloads/files/sdk41ga.zip 4.1]<br/>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051106121510if_/http://trix2.cellmania.com:80/downloads/downloads/files/SDK521.zip 5.2.1]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|NanoboyAdvance
+
|Motorola iDEN SDK
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://github.com/fleroviux/NanoboyAdvance Git]
+
|[https://motorola-iden-sdk-for-j2me.software.informer.com Mirror]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[[No$|No$GBA]]
+
|JS2ME
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|DOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|FirefoxOS}}, JavaScript
|[http://problemkaputt.de/gba.htm {{No$GBAVer}}]
+
|[https://github.com/szatkus/js2me git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|?
 
|-
 
|-
|BoyCottAdvance
+
|Pluotsorbet
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|FirefoxOS}}, JavaScript
|[http://boycottadvance.emuunlim.org/Downloads.htm 0.2.8]
+
|[https://github.com/mozilla/pluotsorbet git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{}}
 +
|?
 
|-
 
|-
|PlayBoy Advance
+
!colspan="10"|Mobile / ARM
|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}
 
|[https://www.zophar.net/macintosh/gba/playboy-advance.html 1.0]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
!colspan="12"|Mobile / ARM
+
|[[J2ME Loader]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 +
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.playsoftware.j2meloader 1.7.2-play]<br/>
 +
[https://github.com/nikita36078/J2ME-Loader/releases {{JLVer}}]<br/>
 +
[https://install.appcenter.ms/users/nikita36078/apps/j2me-loader/distribution_groups/testers 1.7.2-dev-1555]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|High
 +
|Host JVM
 +
| -
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[mGBA]]
+
|[[JL-Mod]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Pandora}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://mgba.io/downloads.html {{MGBAVer}}]
+
|[https://github.com/woesss/JL-Mod/releases {{JL-ModVer}}]
|{{}} ||{{✓}}<ref group=N name=medusa /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{~}}
 +
|High
 +
|Host JVM
 +
|J2ME-Loader
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[http://www.explusalpha.com/ GBA.emu]<br/><small>(VBA-M r1097 based)</small>
+
|Java J2ME MiDlet Runner
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.explusalpha.GbaEmu 1.5.49]
+
|[https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B0WSQzohaqtBa0ZpSHUwUUxqYXM 2.0.3.7]<br/>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110223233807/http://www.netmite.com/android Netmite.com]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/software/content/VBA8_1.php VBA8]
+
|Jbed
|align=left|{{Icon|W8P}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://www.appx4fun.com/xap/15223/ 2.27]
+
| [https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachments/jbed-zip.668332 2.3.1]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://forums.windowscentral.com/app-spotlight/252987-trio-nintendo-emulators-vba8-vgbc8-snes8x.html VBA10]
+
|Jblend
|align=left|{{Icon|W10P}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://forum.xda-developers.com/windows-10-mobile/windows-10-mobile-apps-and-games/app-vba10-emulator-t3588704 1.22]<br/>[https://emulator.games/emulators/gameboy-advance/vba10/ Alt]
+
| [https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachments/jblend-rar.589116 0.1]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[gpSP]]
+
|Project Kava
|align=left|{{Icon|Pandora}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|KaiOS}}
|[http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=package.gpsp.notaz 0.9.2.8]
+
|[https://gitlab.com/suborg/project-kava git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-M|VBA-M]]
+
|PhoneME
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Pandora}}
+
|
|[https://github.com/visualboyadvance-m/visualboyadvance-m 2.1.4]
+
|[https://archive.org/details/phoneme-svn.dump SVN Dump]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||? ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|Vendor Specific
 +
|Reference Implementation
 +
|KVM (Reference Implementation)
 +
|Reference Implementation
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://sites.google.com/site/fastemulator/ My Boy!]
+
|PhoneME (unofficial)
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Maemo|MeeGo|WinMobile|PocketPC|WinCE}}
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fastemulator.gba 1.8.0]
+
|[https://github.com/nikita36078/phoneME-android git]<br/>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180305064344/http://davy.preuveneers.be/phoneme/?q=node/10  b168 rev20547]
|{{✓}}<ref group=N name=myoldboy>Separate paid app called My OldBoy!.</ref> ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|PhoneME
 +
|PhoneME Advanced (unofficial)
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
|GBA4iOS
+
|KarinME <small> (Based on MicroEmu)</small>
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Maemo}}
|[https://iemulators.com/gba4ios 2.1]
+
|[https://openrepos.net/content/karinzhao/karinme 3.0.1]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
!colspan="12"|Consoles
+
|MicroEmu <small> (Converter)</small>
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Maemo}}
 +
|[http://microemu.blogspot.com/2009/08/converting-javame-applications-to.html?m=1 Android]<br/>[https://code.google.com/archive/p/microemu/wikis/Maemo.wiki Maemo]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|Host JVM
 +
| -
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[mGBA]]
+
|PhoneME-featuredevices (unofficial)
|align=left|{{Icon|Wii|Switch}}<br>{{Icon|3DS|PSV}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Symbian|WinCE}}
|[https://mgba.io/downloads.html {{MGBAVer}}]
+
|[https://github.com/hbao/phonemefeaturedevices git]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|phoneME CLDC
 +
|phoneME Feature
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.php?title=Enhanced_mGBA emGBA]
+
!colspan="10"|Consoles
|align=left|{{Icon|GCN|Wii}}
 
|[https://files.extremscorner.org/gamecube/apps/mgba/latest Git]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[[gpSP#PSP_version|TempGBA4PSP]]
+
|[[PSPKVM]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}
|[http://www.mediafire.com/download/41ny5xrwxizalx4/TempGBA4PSP-26750221.zip 26750221]
+
|[http://sourceforge.net/projects/pspkvm/files/latest/download 0.5.5 Final Edition]<br/>[https://github.com/vadosnaprimer/pspkvm git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|phoneME CLDC
 +
|phoneME Feature
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|Bittboy-j2me
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Bitt-Boy}}<br>{{Icon|Pocket-Go}}<small>(Miyoo)</small>
 +
|[https://github.com/pthalin/bittboy-j2me git]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|phoneME CLDC
 +
|phoneME Advanced
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|-
 +
|Midpath
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|RetroFW}}
 +
|[https://github.com/jbanes/midpath git]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-GX|VBA GX]]
+
|PhoneME (unofficial)
|align=left|{{Icon|GCN|Wii}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|GP2X|Wiz}}<br>{{Icon|Caanoo}}
|[https://github.com/dborth/vbagx/releases Git]
+
|[https://github.com/j2me-preservation/phoneME-GP2X-SDL git]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}<ref group=N>As VBA-Next.</ref> ||? ||{{}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|phoneME CLDC
 +
|phoneME Feature
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[gpSP]]
+
|Pstros-nds
|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|NDS}}
|0.91
+
|[https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/Pstros_NDS 0.7.2 r6][https://github.com/ole00/pstros-nds git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||? ||{{}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✗}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
;Emulators via ~
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|Via
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Sony Ericsson 3D Engine">Mascot Capsule 3D</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|VM
 +
! scope="col"|Derived from
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|[[PSPKVM]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Windows|macOS|Lin|LiA}}
 +
{{Icon|PSVita|Switch}}
 +
{{Icon|Symbian|BB|MeeGo|Pandora|Pyra}}
 +
|[http://sourceforge.net/projects/pspkvm/files/latest/download 0.5.5 Final Edition]<br/>[https://github.com/vadosnaprimer/pspkvm git]
 +
| PSVita : [https://github.com/TheOfficialFloW/Adrenaline/releases Adrenaline]<br/>
 +
Other : [[PPSSPP]]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Mid
 +
|phoneME CLDC
 +
|phoneME Feature
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|[[SquirrelJME]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Mac}}
 +
{{Icon|APK|iOS|Vita|PS2}}
 +
{{Icon|3DS|Wii|WiiU|GCN|NX}}<ref group=N name=libretro>Only available as a libretro core (e.g. [[RetroArch]]).</ref>
 +
|{{SquirrelJMEVer}}
 +
| [[RetroArch]]
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{SquirrelJMEAccuracy}}
 +
|Custom (Java)
 +
| -
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{}}
 +
|?<small> (WIP)</small>
 
|-
 
|-
|[[Virtual Console]]
+
|SJ Boy Emulator
|align=left|{{Icon|3DS|WiiU}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Mac|Lin}}
|8.10
+
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20061120062624/http://www.sjboy.cn:80/setup.zip Beta 4]
|{{✓}} <small>(Nintendo 3DS only)<small> ||{{}} <small>(Wii U only)<small> ||{{✓}} <small>(Pokemon only)</small> ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}}
+
| [[Wine]]
 +
|{{}}
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 
<references group=N />
 
<references group=N />
  
===Comparisons===
+
;[[FreeJ2ME]] — Free and open-source
;[[mGBA]]:Aims for accuracy, speed, and features. For its accuracy, it's gradually becoming the best at that. It's actively developed and has features VBA-M lacks such as a Tilt Sensor, and more recently Game Boy Camera support.
+
:Has fewer features than [[KEmulator]], but better compatibility. It is recommended for games that don't work with [[KEmulator]]. It has an optional [[libretro]] core and development is active. Games that freeze on [[KEmulator]], such as Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG, run on FreeJ2ME with no issues, although compatibility and accuracy are not as good as [[J2ME Loader]]. Some games run too fast and require tinkering with the frame rate options. No 3D support.
;[[VisualBoy Advance|Visual Boy Advance (VBA)]]:The original GBA emulator. Discovered to have an <abbr title="Arbitrary Code Execution">ACE</abbr> vulnerability detailed below.
+
 
:;[[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-M|Visual Boy Advance-M (VBA-M)]]:A fork with additional improvements. It is behind in terms of accuracy and performance compared to mGBA.
+
;[[KEmulator]] — Closed-source
::;VBA-Next:A [[RetroArch]] fork from an older revision of VBA-M with added speedhacks and tweaks, making it useful for lower-end devices. A bit less accurate in some respects, but fixes a few games such as Advance Wars 2.
+
:Has more features and compatibility than other ones, as well as 3D emulation. Has support for custom resolutions and full screen (View/Options). You can even set a proxy server for mobile Java apps that connect to the internet under options. Requires Java Runtime Environment installed. It is a recommended emulator if you're on a Windows PC, although some games (such as Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG) freeze indefinitely on the loading screen. Last update was in 2012.
;[[gpSP]]:Its last official version was 0.91. There are, however, two forks of interest: [http://dl.qj.net/psp/emulators/gpsp-mod-20090720.html gpSPmod], and [http://filetrip.net/psp-downloads/homebrew/download-gpsp-j-12-06-16-f29570.htmlgpSP-J gpSP-J]. gpSP-J has superior compatibility, while gpSPmod has more options for customization (full screen, cheats, etc). Both are superior to Kai.
+
 
;[[higan]]:Its GBA core is cycle-accurate as of v095, but it is behind in terms of performance compared to mGBA and VBA-M.
+
;Nokia SDKs
;[[MAME]]:Has a <code>gba</code> driver markup as working but both graphics and sound are "imperfect".
+
:A set of different device emulators released by Nokia along with their J2ME SDKs. Keyboard bindings are not friendly for playing games. Some of them are buggy. The Nokia 3410 SDK emulator is capable of running some ancient black&white J2ME games no other emulator can.
 +
 
 +
;Sony Ericsson SDKs
 +
:Device emulators released by Sony Ericsson along their J2ME SDKs. Some of them have support for Mascot Capsule V3 3D APIs. Can run some games at better framerates than the original devices
 +
 
 +
;Siemens SDKs
 +
:Device emulators released by Siemens along their J2ME SDKs. Can run some older games that depend on old Siemens APIs
 +
 
 +
;Motorola SDKs
 +
:J2ME development kits released by Motorola. Can run some older games that depend on Motorola-specific APIs
 +
 
 +
;Motorola iDEN SDK
 +
:J2ME development kit released by Motorola. Can run some older games that depend on iDEN-specific APIs
 +
 
 +
;Pstros
 +
:Haves support for some obscure vendor-specific APIs that other emulators don't support.
 +
 
 +
;Sj Boy
 +
:More compatible than MidpX. Can take snapshots. More resolutions (but still buggy). Appears to run correctly some older games [[FreeJ2ME]] and [[KEmulator]] don't.
 +
 
 +
;Minisoyo
 +
:Experimental emulator from the SJBoy authors. Appears to properly emulate transparency on older games making use of Nokia APIs. To open a game, drag and drop the JAR file onto the MiniSoyo window.
 +
 
 +
;MidpX
 +
:One of the older emulators. Fixed low resolution (176x220) and compatibility, no handler app support. The installer may contain adware.
 +
 
 +
;MPowerPlayer
 +
:Emulator from a company that used to develop solutions to allow users to try J2ME game demos on their computer before purchasing them. Doesn't have any known advantageous features. Requires [https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp JRE].
 +
 
 +
;[[SquirrelJME]] — Free and open-source
 +
:Project developing a full JVM implementation + Java ME 8 APIs. Full compatibility with old J2ME software and high portability are among its main goals. Under heavy development.
 +
 
 +
;[[J2ME Loader]] — Free and open-source
 +
:This is currently the highest-compatibility J2ME emulator available. Converts .jar files offline using its own resources. Easily launches both 2D & 3D apps. Samsung & Nokia API implemented. Supports different keyboard layouts and customization. It is highly accurate, with the right frame rate for each game, as well as vibration. Has slightly improved performance through hardware acceleration, but games won't run too fast. Runs almost every Nokia game, even ones that don't work with [[KEmulator]] or [[FreeJ2ME]], but fails with Sony Ericsson 3D engine (Mascot Capsule), due to the fact that the mascot capsule is almost impossible to port. This is common with most of other emulators as well.
 +
 
 +
;[[JL-Mod]] — Free and open-source
 +
:This is the experimental mod of the J2ME Loader app with Mascot Capsule 3D (MC3D V3) support. Has some new and experimental features. Converts .jar files offline using its own resources. Easily launches both 2D & 3D apps. Samsung & Nokia API implemented. Supports different keyboard layouts and customization. It is highly accurate, with the right frame rate for each game, as well as vibration. Has slightly improved performance through hardware acceleration, but games won't run too fast. Runs almost every Nokia game, even ones that don't work with [[KEmulator]] or [[FreeJ2ME]], as well as Sony Ericsson 3D engine (Mascot Capsule).
 +
 
 +
;Java J2ME Runner
 +
:Old tool, launches Java Applications on Android using native library. Apps have to be converted first, using [http://www.netmite.com/android/srv/2.0/getapk.php Netmite.com]. Overall 2D stability is acceptable, but 3D support almost does not work. Different types of keyboard & screen stics are included. Unfortunately, often experiences troubles with *Jar conversion.
 +
 
 +
;Netmite.com
 +
:This is a Android J2ME MIDP RUNNER so that any J2ME or MIDP applications can run without modification. Developers can enter the Android Market quickly. You can use your familiar development environment such as J2ME and MIDP or easily port your existing J2ME Application to Android with minimum code change. Users can use java applications directly inside Android
 +
 
 +
;[[PSPKVM]] — Free and open-source
 +
:Available for cellphones. Might be the first one that's open-source. Last update was in 2011 <small>(0.5.5 Final Edition)</small>. PSPKVM is a [[Emulators on PSP|PSP]] port of Sun's open-source JavaME implementation phoneME Feature.
 +
 
 +
;phoneME
 +
This is the reference implementation of J2ME made initially by Sun Microsystems, now owned by Oracle Corporation.
 +
 
 +
;phoneME (unofficial ports)
 +
:phoneME for Windows CE/Mobile and Android is an implementation of the phoneME open source J2ME application platform for your Windows Mobile phone or Android handheld device. There are two different platforms of the phoneME Virtual machine : <u>phoneME Feature</u> and <u>phoneME Advanced</u>. Beyond precompiled binaries of these VMs for WinCE and Android based operating systems, this website provides information, patches and instructions in order to compile the phoneME sources yourself.
 +
 
 +
==Symbian and N-Gage <small>(Nokia)</small>==
 +
 
 +
Originally a joint Nintendo-Nokia cellphone handheld hybrid project slated for 2005, Nintendo backed away from the project (and its plans for NES/Game Boy ports for mobile were repurposed for their Virtual Engine project). Nokia continued the project on their own anyways and released N-Gage on October 7, 2003, for <abbr title="$377.10 in 2018 money">$299</abbr> as the most powerful handheld of its time, that is up until the DS and PSP came along and ended Nokia's hopes at dominating the handheld gaming market. It had an ARM920T CPU at 104 MHz.
 +
 
 +
However, while gaining support through GBA/PS1 ports (including the only English version of the JP-only Xanadu series until 2016) and a few original exclusives, the thing suffered from huge design flaws, from the button layout to the display and cell phone functionality.
 +
 
 +
Has a revision called the QD which was unveiled on April 14, 2004, with an ARM9E CPU. ROM dumps of Symbian and N-Gage games are available.
 +
 
 +
===Emulation===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|PC / x86
 +
|-
 +
|[[EKA2L1]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|}}
 +
|[https://github.com/EKA2L1/EKA2L1/releases {{EKA2L1Ver}}]
 +
|Mid
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|Engemu
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://github.com/mrRosset/Engemu git]
 +
|None
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|NGEmu
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://github.com/NGEmu/NGEmu git]
 +
|None
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}} <small>(see below)</small>
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|N-Gage COOL!
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://ngage-cool.soft32.com 1.2.1] ($)
 +
|Terrible
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
 +
|-
 +
|[[EKA2L1]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|}}
 +
|[https://github.com/EKA2L1/EKA2L1/releases {{EKA2L1Ver}}]
 +
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.eka2l1 0.0.6]
 +
|Mid
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
;[[EKA2L1]] — Free and open-source
 +
:A Symbian OS emulator with [https://www.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/8aotzq/eka2l1_a_symbian_os_emulator high-level emulation], 25 Symbian games (6 N-Gage Games) have been labeled In-Game, 9 have been tagged Playable, and many more have yet to be tested.(Note : The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey and Ashen are among 6 N-Gage Games that go In-Game.)
 +
 
 +
;Engemu
 +
:A Nokia N-Gage focused emulator with [https://www.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/8aotzq/eka2l1_a_symbian_os_emulator/ low-level emulation].
 +
 
 +
;NGEmu
 +
:The [https://github.com/NGEmu/NGEmu/commit/7500b41959c686e65eaed871490c97b2de5da0d6 first] known Nokia N-Gage emulator (with high-level emulation), although it is currently on hiatus due to a lack of information required to further development. Linux support is planned for the future.
 +
 
 +
;N-Gage COOL!
 +
:A dead payware emulator for Windows. It only partially emulated the J2ME-based Nokia N-Gage exclusives and nothing else from the rest of the bunch.
 +
 
 +
==Execution Engine <small>(ExEn)</small>==
 +
 
 +
A freeware solution developed by French mobile game developer [https://www.insightpartners.com/portfolio/in-fusio#:~:text=B2C%20Prior%20Investment%20IN%2DFUSIO,130%20carriers%20and%20portals%20worldwide. In-Fusio] around 2000. It was a Java-based solution presenting itself as an alternative to the limitations of J2ME's game development (offering missing feautures like sprite zooming, parallax scrolling, rotations...).
 +
 
 +
It achieved relative success and widespread hardware support in Europe, and was also used in China.
 +
 
 +
===Emulation===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|EXEN-V2 Generic Simulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|?
 +
|Low
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
;EXEN-V2 Generic Simulator
 +
:A very old dead emulator for ExEn software. While many games will go in-game, they'll crash at various points.
 +
 
 +
==Classic BlackBerry OS==
 +
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|BlackBerry Simulator Series
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://www.softpedia.com/dyn-search.php?search_term=blackberry+simulator Varies]
 +
|Cycle
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==Palm OS==
 +
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|PC / x86
 +
|-
 +
|Mu
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Libretro}}
 +
|[https://palmdb.net/app/mu 1.0.0]
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|-
 +
|POSE
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://palmdb.net/app/palm-emulator Varies]
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|Palm Simulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://palmdb.net/app/palm-simulator Varies]
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
 +
|-
 +
|PHEM
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 +
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.perpendox.phem 1.43a]
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|-
 +
|StyleTap
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|WinMobile|Android|Windows|macOS|Lin}}
 +
|[https://newsblog.styletap.com/index.php 0.8.033]
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==Mediatek Runtime Environment <small>(MRE)/MAUI</small>==
 +
 
 +
Being the turnkey solutions firm that they are known for, as their chips are used on millions and millions of el-cheapo "Shanzhai" devices all over the world (especially counterfeit Nokias and Goophones among other things), Mediatek has also come up with their own mobile platform and API known as the [http://news.softpedia.com/news/Opera-Mini-Arrives-on-MediaTek-s-Runtime-Environment-MRE-238105.shtml Mediatek Runtime Environment], aka MAUI. It is targeted for so-called "smart" feature phones, i.e. those that offer similar functionality to standard mobile operating systems like Android, but are watered down for entry-level users. An SDK is available on their [http://mre.mediatek.com/en/sdk/2.0 developer site] for members, and <code>.VXP</code> files for games and other applications appear to be available on the usual WAP sites.
 +
 
 +
===Emulation===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|Mediatek MRE SDK
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[http://mre.mediatek.com/en/sdk/2.0 3.0]
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|}
  
'''NOTE:''' There's a ''huge'' <abbr title="Arbitrary Code Execution">ACE</abbr> vulnerability affecting VBA and most of its forks, except for VBA-M. The function for adding GameShark codes ("Import > Gameshark code file") doesn't check if the file's size is within 1024 kilobits, meaning cheat code files from dubious sources can be engineered with malware in mind. There is good news; VBA-M still doesn't do a sanity check for those files, but it just crashes instead of letting the code wreak havoc. So, depending on your use case, avoid using:
+
==Mophun==
# Cheat code files bigger than 1024Kb that you got online from untrustworthy sources.
 
# The import code files feature.
 
# The old emulator altogether, and settle for other options like mGBA or VBA-M. All of them support the same SRAM save data the cartridge uses.
 
  
'''List of recommended GBA emulators for Android:'''
+
'''Mophun''' was an even more hardware-efficient free European-centric mobile gaming solution developed by Swedish company Synergetix. It was supported on various devices, such as the Sony Ericsson T2xx, T3xx and T6xx series, Symbian S60v1, S60v2, S60v3 and UIQ3 phones, and Windows Mobile Smartphones running at a resolution of 176x220 or 240x320. There are 303 known games,<ref>[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AXmupwvgxuI_NRINDsN8azlKtONcQYf6CD6HfKYc8gM Mophun Game List]</ref> of which 255 have been released, 41 are unknown to have been released, 3 are demos and 5 are unreleased. It was later overtaken by advances in J2ME that came with the MIDP 2.0 framework.<ref>[https://twitter.com/sczther/status/1345476460107194368 Mophun preservation thread on Twitter]</ref>
* [https://www.androidauthority.com/best-game-boy-emulators-for-android-368530/ 10 best Game Boy Advanced, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy emulators for Android] (SEPTEMBER 2, 2018. Includes some emulators not found in above charts. Reviews may be subjective.)
 
  
==Emulation issues==
+
===Emulators===
  
===Oversaturation===
+
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
[[File:1406913527173-1-.png|400px|thumb|right|'''Left:''' The default game.<br/>'''Right:''' The "Gameboy Colors" mode on [[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-M|VBA-M]].]]
+
|-
The screen on the original Game Boy Advance is not backlit and can be hard to see in some conditions. To compensate, game developers often used oversaturated colors by default so that the result would look normal on hardware. On standard computer screens, saturation is not an issue so this can look jarring and undesirable for gameplay. Some games made after 2003 may have also taken the Game Boy Advance SP <abbr title="AGS-001">model</abbr> into account since its screen was actually <abbr title="A newer model, AGS-101, was released in 2005 that was actually backlit">frontlit</abbr>. For everything else though, emudevs have given some solutions:
+
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|PC / x86
 +
|-
 +
|4Mophun
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|WinMobile}}
 +
|1.1
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|[[mophun]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/793085042020450324/803269504859766814/Mophun_emulator_2.5.4__games.zip 2.5.4]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|MoRePhun
 +
|align=left|N/A
 +
|[https://github.com/Luca1991/MoRePhun git]
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
 +
|-
 +
|Mophun Games Launcher
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Symbian}}
 +
|[https://andredream13.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/mophun-games-launcher-v1-01-s60v3-12-games-in-one 1.01]
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
;Mophun Games Launcher
 +
:only compatible with 13 games, all of which use the 3D engine and were released for Symbian. The emulator is available for S60v3.
 +
 
 +
;4Mophun
 +
:does not work with games that are locked (e.g. have a predefined IMEI recognition algorithm) or do not use the 3D engine.
 +
 
 +
;[[mophun]]
 +
:an official emulator, designed for development and demos. As such, encrypted or compressed games do not boot. However, this has been worked around, both by decrypting the files and decompressing them (except for compressed resources), and modifying the emulator to perform decryption on the fly, albeit only when opening them via the Open menu. Exile is not known to work in any found version of the emulator.
 +
 
 +
;MoRePhun
 +
:a new, open source emulator by Luca91. It is only a proof of concept, as only a few opcodes and a couple of SDK APIs are emulated, and there is no heap. There is sprite and input support, as well as support for the collision API. It is compatible with a few small homebrews. Luca91 mentions the SDK API handler needs to be better organized.
 +
 
 +
==Japanese cellphones==
 +
 
 +
Several Japanese-centric mobile game technologies spawned during the 00's as part of convoluted all-in-one technological solutions, mostly based on Java.
 +
 
 +
* NTT DoCoMo released <b>DoJa</b> (later renamed to Star), based on Java ME CLDC, but not MIDP. Applications come in the form of .JAR files accompained by a .JAM descriptor.
 +
 
 +
* KDDI released <b>ezplus</b> (later renamed to "EZ-appli (Java)"), based on Java ME extended with propietary APIs. Applications come in the form of .KJX files. It was later replaced with a BREW-based solution called "EZ-appli (BREW)"
 +
 
 +
* J-PHONE released <b>J-SKY</b>, based on standard J2ME MIDP extended with several propietary 3D/sound/gfx APIs. It was later renamed to "Vodafone Live!" and "Yahoo! Keitai" as the company got purchased by Vodafone and SoftBank, respectively. Applications come in the form of .JAR and .JAD files.
 +
 
 +
It is possible to develop applications that work both under ezplus, J-SKY and standard J2ME devices by using only MIDP1.0 APIs
  
====Emulator Options====
+
===i-mode (DoJa)===
'''No$GBA:''' Under "Emulation Options", select "GBA Mode". There are four modes.
 
  
* '''GBA (no backlight):''' Strong desaturation
+
Japanese mobile manufacturer NTT DoCoMo released [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoJa DoJa] (DoCoMo's Java) as part of their i-mode set of standards for mobile telephony. It is based on Java ME CLDC, but not MIDP. The profile received several updates, being later renamed to "Star". It was used on DoCoMo's mova and FOMA series of mobile phones, being first featured on the mova 503i from 2001.
* '''GBA SP (backlight):''' Strong desaturation
 
* '''Nintendo DS in GBA mode:''' Some desaturation
 
* '''VGA Mode (poppy bright):''' No desaturation
 
  
'''mGBA:''' Under Tools > Settings > Shaders, you will find three customizable '''Desaturation''' parameters.
+
While i-mode phones were made available in a limited fashion in Europe, the game apps weren't exported, the i-mode specific features were mainly used for enhancing web pages for mobile browsers and even the Java API is the different more limited "Overseas Edition". The main reason behind this was the fierce push back by Nokia and other western mobile hardware manufacturers refusing to support the DoJa software standard until very late.
 +
 
 +
DeNa (Mobage), Namco (Tales of Mobile) and Level-5 (RoiD) set up Steam-like game distribution portals specific to some cell-phone models yet i-mode based. The different names are to confuse dirty gaijin, probably.
 +
 
 +
Applications were denominated "i-αppli" (Japanese : iアプリ) and come in the form of .JAR files accompained by a .JAM descriptor text file.
 +
 
 +
====Emulators====
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|PC / x86
 +
|-
 +
|DoJa SDKs
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|Various
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|-
 +
|DoJa Overseas Edition SDK
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070614131147/http://www.doja-developer.net/downloads/index.php?node=41 1.03]
 +
|Low (DoJa 2.5 OE)
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20030407232654/http://www.zentek.com/jpn/products/mobile/jade/index.html i-JADE]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20040618195810if_/http://www.mobilejava.co.kr:80/bbs/temp/midpboard/i-JADEsetup0.exe 1.2.3]
 +
|Low (DoJa 1.X)
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|Jade
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Java}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151127190756/http://mujweb.cz/molej/jade/index.htm 0.1.7]
 +
|Low (DoJa 1.5)
 +
|?
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|[[SquirrelJME]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Mac|Java|}}
 +
|{{SquirrelJMEVer}}
 +
|{{SquirrelJMEAccuracy}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|?
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
 +
|-
 +
|iApp Archives <br/>(i-appli)
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 +
|[https://m.apkpure.com/jp/%E6%87%90%E3%81%8B%E3%81%97%E3%81%AEi%E3%82%A2%E3%83%97%E3%83%AA%E3%82%92%E3%81%8A%E6%89%8B%E8%BB%BD%E5%AE%9F%E6%B3%81%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%82%A4%EF%BC%81i%E3%82%A2%E3%83%97%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96%E3%82%B9/com.develga.iapp 2.6]
 +
|Low
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
;DoJa SDKs
 +
:Official development kit from NTT DoCoMo, featuring a device emulator. Several releases were archived by Wayback Machine ::[https://web.archive.org/web/20051125214529if_/http://communaute.imode.fr:80/pages/13/idk_doja1.5_vers_1.0.6.zip DoJa 1.5] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp:80/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emu504_1.03_021217.zip DoJa 2.?] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emudoja2.1f_1.00_021217.zip DoJa 2.1] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emufordoja3_0_322_p.zip DoJa 3.0] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emufordoja3_5_222_p.zip DoJa 3.5] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emufordoja4_0_205_p.zip DoJa 4.0] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp:80/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emufordoja4_1_111_p.zip DoJa 4.1 (111)] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emufordoja4_1_201.zip DoJa 4.1 (201)] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519052212if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/imode/make/content/download/contract/emufordoja5_0_3_00.zip DoJa 5.0] [https://web.archive.org/web/20000426191235if_/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/archive/service/developer/make/content/iappli/tool/star/star20/download/emuforstar2_0_1_01.zip Star 2.0]
 +
 
 +
;DoJa Overseas Edition SDK
 +
:SDK for the stripped down Overseas Edition DoJa profile
 +
 
 +
;i-JADE
 +
:iappli development kit from Zentek
 +
 
 +
;Jade
 +
:Open-source project implementing several DoJa 1.5 APIs. Low compatibility
 +
 
 +
;[[SquirrelJME]]
 +
:Open source emulator that can run J2ME software, will be adding i-Mode support in 2022.
 +
 
 +
===KDDI ezplus===
 +
 
 +
Japanese carrier KDDI/Au released ezplus as part of their EZweb set of standards for mobile telephony. It is based on Java ME extended with propietary APIs. The first device supporting it was released on 2001 (Hitachi C451H).
 +
ezplus was later renamed to "EZ-appli (Java)" (Japanese : "EZアプリ (Java)") and gradually replaced with a BREW-based solution called "EZ-appli (BREW)" until 2004 when the last ezplus device was released.
 +
 
 +
In 2006 an Open Application Player (Japanese: オープンアプリプレイヤー) feature was added allowing to run MIDP 2.0 Java apps on the BREW devices, which were often denominated as オープンアプリ. It lacks support for the original propietary extensions of ezplus. On 2011, Open Application Player was updated and renamed to "EZ-appli (J)" along EZ-appli (BREW) which became "EZ-appli (B)"
 +
 
 +
Applications were denominated "ezplusアプリ" (during the ezplus name era) and come in the form of .KJX files.
 +
 
 +
====Emulators====
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|ezplus emulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202203659if_/http://www.au.kddi.com/ezfactory/tec/spec/exe/ezplus_emulator.exe 1.0]
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|}
  
'''VBA-M:''' (nightly only): Under Options > Game Boy Advance, you will find the option, '''LCD Filter'''.
+
;ezplus emulator
 +
:Official development tool from KDDI, developed by Zentek
  
'''higan:''' Under Settings > Video Filter, you will find the "Color Emulation" checkbox.
+
===J-SKY===
  
* '''Color Emulation off:''' No desaturation
+
Japanese service provider J-PHONE released the J-SKY platform as part of their set of standards for mobile telephony. It was based on J2ME and MIDP extended with several propietary 3D/sound/gfx APIs called JSCL.
* '''Color Emulation on:''' Gamma correction and adjusted color range.
+
J-PHONE had been purchased by Vodafone on 2001, which two years later took over the original branding renaming the carrier to Vodafone KK.  The J-SKY technology became then known as "Vodafone Live!" and it was extended with the VSCL set of APIs.
 +
On 2006, Vodafone KK was purchased by SoftBank Group, getting this technology rebranded again as "Yahoo! Keitai".
  
====Shaders====
+
Applications were called "Java™ App" (Japanese : Java™アプリ) during the J-SKY era, "V-Appli" (Japanese : Vアプリ) during the Vodafone era and "S! Appli" (Japanese : S!アプリ) during the SoftBank era. They come in the form of .JAR accompained by a .JAD descriptor text file.
Cg [[Shaders and Filters|shaders]] can be used in [[OpenEmu]] or [[RetroArch]] that adjust the colors to those of a real GBA screen, as well as other screen types. These are available in GLSL<ref name="GLSL">https://github.com/libretro/glsl-shaders/tree/master/handheld/shaders/color</ref> for OpenGL, and Slang<ref name="Slang">https://github.com/libretro/slang-shaders/tree/master/handheld/shaders/color</ref> for Vulkan.
 
  
For GBA, there is <code>gba-color.cg</code><ref>https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/blob/master/handheld/shaders/color/gba-color.cg</ref>, which simulates the color profile of a GBA screen under an external light source more accurately than VBA-M or No$GBA color options. If you prefer the darker color options that those emulators have, then use <code>vba-color.cg</code><ref>https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/blob/master/handheld/shaders/color/vba-color.cg</ref> instead.  
+
====Emulators====
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|J-SKY Application Emulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20040201023001/http://www.mobilejava.co.kr:80/bbs/temp/midpboard/J-SKY_Application_Emulator-1_3_B.exe 1.3]
 +
|Mid
 +
|?
 +
|{{~}}
 +
|}
  
There is also <code>nds-color.cg</code><ref>https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/blob/master/handheld/shaders/color/nds-color.cg</ref> and <code>psp-color.cg</code><ref>https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/blob/master/handheld/shaders/color/psp-color.cg</ref>, which simulates the color profiles of the original Nintendo DS frontlit screen and the PSP-1000/PSP-2000 backlit screen, respectively.
+
;J-SKY Application Emulator
 +
:Official development tool from J-PHONE, developed by Zentek. It does not supports any of the later APIs.
  
===Horrible Sound Quality===
+
==Korean cellphones==
As a handheld rushed to the market (because of the WonderSwan Color competition), the Game Boy Advance had some cut corners. The sound hardware was affected the hardest: while it could play Game Boy Color sound in addition to samples and sequenced music like what would be heard on the SNES, the actual sound playback quality is awful compared to the actual higher quality sound samples stored internally in the ROM.
 
  
There were [https://www.romhacking.net/utilities/881/ tools] made to extract the internal high quality music (as midi files plus a sound font, to be played on foobar2000), however interest remains limited in implementing its playback in real time on emulators. It's worth noting it exists as a very experimental feature on [[mGBA]] (nightly versions) under Enhancements as "XQ GBA Audio", but very buggy and still limited to games using the standard sound engine, the so-called "Sappy" engine, which is still a big part of the GBA's software library.
+
===Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability <small>(WIPI)</small>===
  
===High Resolution Affine Transformation Graphical Effects===
+
WIPI a national middleware platform standard in South Korea. Almost all cellphone games released in South Korea from 2002 to 2009 were developed as WIPI.
Similar to the scaling effects used on the Super NES known commonly as "Mode 7" graphics, the Game Boy Advance has affine transformation effects for some backgrounds and individual sprites that can be done in hardware. Due to the GBA's lower resolution, some detail may be lost.
 
  
The [[mGBA]] emulator added an Enhancements menu where you can change the resolution of those graphical effects, for a smoother effect. The graphical render engine will need to be OpenGL for those to take effect. It won't work on games where those effects are done in software instead of the hardware scaling features (like the 3D environment in Asterix & Obelix XXL)
+
==Chinese cellphones==
  
===Save formats===
 
Originally, when saves were implemented, nobody settled on a format, so the Visual Boy Advance devs made its own. Because other emulators often went with raw data, having to exchange different saves caused problems. The original Visual Boy Advance tries to figure out which format a given save is but often fails at it. By explicitly telling the emulator to read it as a specific type using a file called <code>vba-over.ini</code>, VBA complies. VBA-M includes this config file by default, but older revisions like VBA 1.7.2 and VBALink do not.
 
  
The VBA-Next and VBA-M cores in Libretro have the file baked into the binary so that it can load raw .sav files, but converts the format to its own derivative at exactly 136 KB every time, with save type info contained within the file. This completely avoids the previous issues at the cost of incompatibility with standalone VBA and most others.
+
===MiniJ<small> (MRP Platform)</small>===
  
To solve this incompatibility, Libretro devs created a  
+
'''MiniJ''' is a mobile platform widespread in China (and in other countries). It is analog of java for phones with MTK CPU. Games for this platform are in <code>.mrp</code> format.
[https://github.com/libretro/vbam-libretro/blob/master/src/libretro/gbaconv/gbaconv.c command-line tool] to convert .srm save files made from these cores to raw .sav save data for other emulators. It takes standard input (i.e. just drag and drop the .srm onto the executable) and outputs accordingly. It can also be done in reverse. A 64-bit binary of this tool for Windows can be found
+
There is many original Contra games for this platform, created by different companies. It also has some Konami's mobile game.
[https://www.mediafire.com/?6bg8ag0bjs1b7ng here].
 
  
==Connectivity==
+
===Emulators===
There are five different kinds of connectivity, support varying by game:
 
*Single Pak
 
*Multi Pak
 
*Wireless
 
*GameCube
 
*Nintendo DS
 
Purple end in GBA means player 1, while a grey end in GBA means P2, P3, or P4. Daisy chaining up to three cables will set up the additional P3 and P4 by connecting the purple end to a purple mid section.<ref>https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/agblink.pdf</ref>
 
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
|-
 
|-
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Supported Version
+
! scope="col"|Version
! scope="col"|Single Pak
+
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
! scope="col"|Multi Pak
+
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Wireless
+
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|GameCube
+
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
! scope="col"|Nintendo DS
 
 
|-
 
|-
!colspan="8"|PC / x86
+
!colspan="7"|PC / x86
 
|-
 
|-
|[[mGBA]]
+
|vmrp
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://mgba.io/downloads.html {{MGBAVer}}]
+
|[https://github.com/zengming00/vmrp git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|Mid
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-M|VBA-M]]
+
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
||[https://github.com/visualboyadvance-m/visualboyadvance-m/releases {{VBAMVer}}]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[[No$|No$GBA]]
+
|Mythras
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|DOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
||[http://problemkaputt.de/gba.htm {{No$GBAVer}}]
+
|[https://github.com/CounsellorPolonius/mythras git]<br/>[https://github.com/Yichou/mrpoid2018 mrpoid2018]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|Mid
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
===KaiOS===
 +
 
 +
'''KaiOS''' is a mobile operating system, based on Linux, for keypad feature phones. It is developed by KaiOS Technologies (Hong Kong) Limited.
 +
 
 +
==Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless <small>(BREW)</small>==
 +
 
 +
A mobile development platform by Qualcomm, originally intended for CDMA handsets such as those sold by Verizon. Unlike Java ME, applications and games for BREW use native code as opposed to running in a virtual machine in the case of Java ME. Also, BREW development has a higher barrier to entry due to stringent certification requirements, which led it to be significantly less popular than Java ME even in markets where CDMA has a significant market share, such as in North America. To top it all off, downloaded BREW apps are tied to an individual handset via a digital signature, making piracy or sideloading difficult if not impossible; it is however possible to unlock certain BREW-enabled CDMA phones to run backups and pirated apps, though downloads for BREW apps and games are rare and hard to find compared to Java ME.
 +
 
 +
The Zeebo, a video game console and online distribution platform developed and released with developing markets in mind, also runs on BREW. Dumps of the Zeebo and its games exist, and gameplay footage of them have been uploaded on YouTube.
 +
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 
|-
 
|-
|[[DeSmuME]]
+
|[[Infuse]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|WinMobile}}
|[https://ci.appveyor.com/project/zeromus/desmume {{DeSmuMEVer}}]
+
|? (POC)
|{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
+
|Low
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|-
 +
|Melange
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 +
|[https://gitlab.com/usernameak/brewemulator/ ? (Prototype)]
 +
|?
 +
|{{}}
 +
|{{~}}<ref>Contains proprietary Qualcomm components</ref>
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==Danger OS==
 +
 
 +
Developed by Danger Incorporated, Danger OS was a Java-based OS used on phones that Danger designed themselves. These devices were sold under many names such as Hiptop, Mobiflip, Sharp Jump, and (most notably) T-Mobile Sidekick. While it could run some J2ME apps (from version 2.3 onward), it also used its own proprietary J2SE-based APIs and SDK; for this reason, anything built using these APIs won't run on a standard J2ME emulator.
 +
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|Active
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|[https://archive.org/details/hiptop_sdk Danger Hiptop/Sidekick SDK]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Mac}}
 +
|?
 +
|Mid
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 
|}
 
|}
===GBA Mutli Pak Link Multiplayer (1~4GBA)===
 
;VBA-M: This doesn't work with old VBA versions.
 
:Just disable "Pause when Inactive", configure all four Joypads each with their own button layout, enable "Link, Enable GBA Link". Now open VBA-M again as many times needed for each player, and have them each use their separate Joypad configuration. Each player will have a separate SRAM save file.
 
;VBA Link + e-Reader:Useful if you want to use the Pokémon Battle-eCards. Downloads and instructions reside [http://projectpokemon.org/forums/showthread.php?42433-RELEASE-VBA-LINK-E-READER here].
 
;mGBA:Select "New multiplayer window" from the menu. As you load your ROMs into each window, "Player [X] of [Y]" will appear across the title bar. This can be done for up to four players. However, multiple instances of the same ROM will share a save file.
 
;No$GBA:Set the number of Emulated Gameboys in the Emulation setting to be 2 or more, and the Link Gamepaks Options to Gamepak in all GBAs.
 
  
===GBA Wireless Multiplayer===
+
;Danger Hiptop/Sidekick SDK
The [[Wikipedia:Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter|wireless adapter]] has the ability to connect five players<ref>https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/agbwireless_trilingual.pdf</ref> to each other and includes its own software to download a subset of another player's game that runs when no cartridge is inserted. ''Pokémon Fire Red'' and ''Leaf Green'' came bundled with this accessory but it can also work with ''Pokémon Emerald'' and the ''Classic NES Series''.
+
:Official SDK from Danger Incorporated
 +
 
 +
==Dark Age of Monochrome Mobile Phones==
 +
 
 +
Earlier black & white cellphone games (both in Japan and worldwide) didn't get as much love either when it comes to emulation and preservation of game binaries. There were, however, recreations of Snake and Space Impact for Nokia phones on their website at one time, along with remakes of the aforementioned games for Android and iOS. There are several Nokia phone models with MAME support, though they are preliminary at best with most models displaying a "CONTACT SERVICE" error if not a white screen.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
==TTPcom's Wireless Games Engine <small>(WGE)</small>==
 +
 
 +
==Firefox OS==
 +
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
{{No current emulators|OS}}
 +
 
 +
==Fire OS==
 +
 
 +
===Emulators===
 +
{{No current emulators|OS}}
  
No emulator has currently implemented this add-on. The only project whose developers put this on its roadmap is [[mGBA]].
+
==Tizen==
  
===GameCube Connectivity===
+
===Emulators===
The Game Boy Advance can also connect to the GameCube.<ref>https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/agbgcncable.pdf</ref> e-Reader functionality with GC games has now been emulated thanks to mGBA. [[Dolphin]] supports connectivity through rudimentary joybus emulation made in parallel with VBA-M. Because this emulator has fallen behind, the feature was recently added to [[mGBA]], a more accurate emulator. They showcased early higan support in a video, but nothing has been released as of yet.
+
{{No current emulators|OS}}
  
====Dolphin/VBA-M====
+
==webOS==
:''Requires VBA-M r947 or newer.''
 
  
# Reduce your volume. You won't want it to be high, especially with headphones.
+
===Emulators===
# Open Dolphin and VBA-M. Make sure neither are blocked by your firmware.
+
{{No current emulators|OS}}
# In Dolphin, launch the game and navigate to the area where you're asked to connect the GBA. Then, under the controller options, assign the GameCube controllers as "GBA" for whichever you need.
 
# In VBA-M, uncheck Pause When Inactive in Options > Emulator. Then, under Options > Link > Joybus Options, Make sure to "Enable Joybus Connection" is on and set "IP/Hostname" to use default settings, that is <code>127.0.0.1</code> or <code>localhost</code>.
 
# Dolphin will freeze.
 
# Open the GBA BIOS in VBA-M as if it were a regular GBA ROM. The regular splash screen will stutter a bit.
 
# Dolphin should recognize the Joybus Link by then and the GC game will detect that a GBA was connected.
 
# To connect other units, open another VBA-M instance and repeat its process.
 
  
Notable games that work:
+
==Bada OS==
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Four_Swords_Adventures The Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventures]: Both two modes available for the US/PAL version work. The third Japan-only Navi Trackers mode works as well, but the game crashes after the naming screen due to a bug in the GC/GBA connectivity.
 
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Final_Fantasy_Crystal_Chronicles Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles]
 
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Billy_Hatcher_and_the_Giant_Egg Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg]: You can download games to your GBA. Amusingly, a RAM dump from VBA-M can be opened as a functional GBA ROM.
 
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Kururin_Squash! Kururin Squash!]
 
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Sonic_Adventure_2:_Battle Sonic Adventure 2: Battle] (buggy)
 
  
Notable games that don't:
+
===Emulators===
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Mr_Driller:_Drill_Land Mr. Driller: Drill Land]
+
{{No current emulators|OS}}
*lots more
 
  
===GBA/DS Connectivity===
+
==Windows Phone==
:''Main section: [[Nintendo_DS_emulators#GBA.2FDS_Connectivity|Nintendo DS § GBA/DS Connectivity]]''
 
  
===e-Reader===
+
===Emulators===
:''Main page: [[GBA e-Reader emulators]]''
+
{{No current emulators|OS}}
This device can read content off e-Card paper stripes either as standalone content, or additional content to GBA/GC games. Can be thought of as DLC.
 
  
==Special Hardware==
 
Most of these have not been emulated as of yet. There used to be patches that could be applied to GBA ROMs with a utility like Lunar IPS (mostly from [http://bubbz.pocketheaven.com/?system=gba&section=patch No Frills]), but they're for the most part lost to time nowadays. Your best bet is to use Action Replay to emulate those.
 
  
===Solar Sensor===
+
==Windows Mobile series==
====Emulation====
 
This feature has been emulated in mGBA, VBA-M, No$GBA 2.6 onwards, and My Boy!:
 
* mGBA: In the shortcuts editor, shortcuts can be configured to raise/lower the solar level incrementally or to set any particular brightness level.
 
* VBA-M: This emulator uses the keys of the lateral motion controls to change the Solar Sensor levels. You can find those keys and modify them in Options -> Input -> Configure... -> "Special" tab.
 
* No$GBA: Under '''Options/Emulation Setup''', you can find the Solar Sensor Level option. You are given the choice between only three brightness levels though: Darkness, 100 Watts, and Bright Sunlight.
 
* My Boy! This emulator uses a button combination or the devices light sensor to check the brightness level. You can change this under Settings -> Input -> Cartridge Features -> "Solar Emulation By" menu.
 
  
====ROM Patches====
+
===Windows Mobile<small> (Earlier)</small>===
Fixes applied directly to the ROM by various scene release groups to make it compatible with any emulator/flashcard, making the in-game brightness level controllable with L+Left/Right. It's argued this makes for a better experience actually, but sadly not all releases are covered.
 
* '''Boktai 1:''' [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1567 JP], [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1145 US], <s>EU</s>.
 
* '''Boktai 2:''' [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1567 JP], <s>US</s>, [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1992 EU].
 
* '''Boktai 3:''' [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=2048 JP Fix].
 
* Combinations of Boktai 4 JP with earlier solar sensors to get solar sensor bonuses aren't emulated yet in any DS emulator.
 
  
===Motion Control===
+
Released in 2000 by Microsoft as their first mobile OS, originally called "Pocket PC" and made to run on PDA's, the name changed to Windows Mobile when the PDA market began to shrink. WM was initially based on Windows CE before evolving into something unique. It was mainly designed for business users, so it didn't have a lot of games for it.
VBA-M has an option for Motion controls "Input, Set, Motion". It currently works with all versions of the GBC title Kirby Tilt'n Tumble, which also was a special cartridge with a motion sensor built-in to control movement in-game. But VBA-M does not support motion controls for GBA games yet.
 
====Emulation====
 
* VBA '''doesn't''' emulate this feature, and its "Motion Control" option (with keys mapped to each tilt direction) covers the GBC title Kirby Tilt'n Tumble.
 
* mGBA supposedly includes this feature but key remapping for tilt sensors is not present in the latest builds.
 
* My Boy! uses the device's accelerometer to emulate this feature. You can change the sensitivity under Settings -> Input -> Cartridge Features -> "Motion sensitivity" menu.
 
  
====ROM Patches====
+
===Emulators===
Fixes applied directly to the ROM (with the Lunar IPS utility, or at runtime using mGBA or VBA-M and naming them the same as the ROM in the same directory) by various scene release groups to make it compatible with any emulator/flashcard. D-Pad controls substituting motion controls don't work as well here as they tilt it "too much" at times to be very playable.
+
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
* Yoshi Topsy Turvy/Universal Gravitation: [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1799 JP], [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1947 EU], [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=2001 US]
+
|-
* WarioWare Twisted! (Patch: [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1682 JP], [http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1979 US])
+
! scope="col"|Name
 +
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 +
! scope="col"|Version
 +
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 +
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 +
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 +
|-
 +
|Microsoft Device Emulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://www.mediafire.com/file/u6g8z7sq2lb82re/MSDeviceEmu.zip/file 3.0]
 +
|?
 +
|?
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|}
  
===Rumble Feature===
+
Images are required. They can be downloaded [https://archive.org/details/WM614Emulator here]
There are various rumble features found in GBA/GBC cards:
 
* '''GBC Rumble:''' GBC games which came on special cartridges with additional hardware for the rumble feature. It was actually used by dozens of releases, and some games like Tarzan 2 GBC were programmed to have rumble support but shipped on regular cartridges. Emulated by VBA-M GX (Wii-only), which also cover the dummied-out rumble games. Not emulated anywhere else.
 
* '''GBA Gyro Rumble:''' WarioWare Twisted was shipped on a cart with rumble support. It would rumble when you tilt to one "extreme". Emulated by VBA-M GX (Wii-only, functional), mGBA has this feature but it's not enabled in current builds,
 
* '''GBA Variable Rumble:''' Drill Dozer has rumble support, with variable force and speed depending on the rock type you drill through in-game. Partially emulated by VBA-M GX (Wii-only, functional), mGBA has this feature but it's not enabled in current builds.
 
* '''Game Boy Player Rumble:''' Many regular GBA games, shipped on regular cartridges, enable rumble during gameplay when played on GB Player hardware (which is essentially GBA hardware). These include Super Mario Advance 4, Summon Night Hajimari no Ishi, Mario & Luigi 1, Shikakui Atama wo Marukusuru Advance (both releases), Pokémon Pinball, as well as Drill Dozer which disables its original cartridge rumble scheme and enables this one instead. None of the emulators support this, though it's being under development for the mGBA emulator.
 
  
===Figurine Readers===
+
===Windows 10 Mobile===
* '''Figurine Add-on:''' Legendz: Isle Of Trials, Legendz: Sign Of Necromu, Plaston Gate ([http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=1020 Fix]), Plaston Gate DX ([http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbreleases.php?id=2006 Fix]). The add-on is essentially Skylanders before it became popular.
 
  
[[mGBA]] (dev channel only) and [[GBE+]] partially support the add-on used for the Legendz series.
+
==Acknowledgments==
  
===BattleChip Gate===
+
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=tCxvX60J8OAC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA145#v=onepage&q&f=false Micro Java Game Development], mentions Japanese i-mode emulators that are currently dead, like i-tool.
An peripheral device by Capcom and Takara compatible with ''Mega Man Battle Network 4'' (Japanese edition). It can be connected to the Game Boy Advance and allow the player to transmit real-life toy Battle Chips to the NetNavis in the game. It's also compatible with toy Advanced PETs and ''Rockman.EXE 4.5 Real Operation''. It can also unlock minigames in ''Mega Man Zero 3''.
 
  
[[mGBA]] and [[GBE+]] partially support this add-on.
+
* [https://www.gamedev.net/articles/programming/general-and-gameplay-programming/the-clash-of-mobile-platforms-j2me-exen-moph-r1944 A 2003 article from GameDev.net] about the major Western mobile phone systems.
  
===Glucoboy===
+
* [http://www2.sys-con.com/itsg/virtualcd/Java/archives/0609/blut/index.html Article] about DoCoMo Java programming.
* '''Glucoboy:''' An obscure medical peripheral designed to monitor a child's blood glucose levels and reward them for keeping tabs on their condition. No known emulator supports this so far, especially given the niche nature of this accessory. Not to mention that [https://assemblergames.com/threads/glucoboy-for-gameboy-is-this-the-rarest-game-accessory-for-gameboy-advance.41853/page-2 Bayer Healthcare destroyed all unsold stock] making it hard to find.
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
+
{{Reflist}}
 +
 
 +
- <b><u>Moscot Capsule 3D Engine</b></u>
 +
 
 +
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120203183920/http://www.mascotcapsule.com/en/products/ Moscot Capsule]
 +
 
 +
* [https://www.hicorp.co.jp/en/products_v3/ hicorp.co.jp V3]
  
{{Nintendo}}
 
  
[[Category:Consoles]]
+
[[Category:Mobiles]]
[[Category:Handheld consoles]]
+
[[Category:Cellphone emulators|*]]
[[Category:Nintendo consoles]]
+
<!-- [[Category:Not yet emulated]]
[[Category:Sixth-generation video game consoles]]
+
[[Category:Very early emulation]] -->
[[Category:Game Boy Advance emulators|*]]
 

Revision as of 03:23, 20 September 2021

Before the smartphones we know today were staples of mainstream culture, mobile phones, and their technology were pretty rudimentary and often relied on apps made in Java seeing as the language was designed to be portable (though Windows Mobile and Symbian were also somewhat popular as proto-smartphone platforms of choice). This didn't keep games from being developed for these platforms. Casual simplistic games and rip-offs of retro franchises thrived, but it attracted some genuinely fun games that forever remained obscure, such as those from Gameloft.

The situation is quite different in Japan where mobile hardware was much more developed, only loosely Java-based, and major video game developers were much more invested in creating unique and high-quality content that's most obscure and unpreserved, let alone emulated, today. Those are the very different Galapagos mobile phones (like NTT DoCoMo i-mode, DeNa, RoID...). Some of these games got ported to the inferior Western hardware but these are in the tiny minority.

.JAR files of Java-based non-Japanese cell phones can be still found online with some effort, namely on WAP sites offering (pirated) mobile content e.g. dedomil.net, phoneky.com, mobiles24.co

Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME)

»» A free cross-platform language capable of working in devices with highly reduced capabilities. It was basically Java stripped down to the bare essentials. While originally not intended for games (until its more advanced game-oriented API came), it became the de facto market standard for cell phone gaming - due in no small part to the SDK being free and without licensing costs.

»» Sony Ericsson 3D Engine (Mascot Capsule 3D) rendering engine enables real-time processing of 3D graphics for applications running on a wide variety of embedded devices such as mobile phones, handheld games, arcade game equipment, etc. It can be implemented on any OS and platforms to create 3D expressions that are far more versatile than 2D, in the environment with limited resources.

Emulators

Currently, KEmulator and FreeJ2ME should suffice for most games, but there's a minority of games making use of obscure vendor-specific APIs supported only on their respective SDK tools. Given the scarcity of such tools, this list aims to comprehensively list the available ones for convenience.

Name Platform(s) Version Mascot Capsule 3D Accuracy VM Derived from FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
KEmulator Windows 1.0.3
git
Mid ? ?
FreeJ2ME Java Linux ARM 2018/09/07git Mid Host JVM ?
Kahvibreak Windows Linux Stable
Dev
Linux (Beta)
Mid Host JVM (FreeJ2ME) ? (WIP)
SJ Boy Emulator Windows Beta 4 Low ? ? ? ~
SquirrelJME Java 0.2.0 Aims for 100% Custom (Java) - ? (WIP)
Jademula Windows git Mid ? ?
ME4SE Java 2.2.0 Mid ? ?
Pstros Java 1.6.0 Mid ? ? ?
MicroEmu Java Windows Linux git Mid Host JVM -
MiniSoyo Windows 1.0 Low ? ? ?
MidpX (NHAL) Windows 1.0.1 Low ? ? ?
MPowerPlayer Windows Linux macOS 2.0 Low ? ? ?
Midp-Emulator Windows 1.31
git
Low ? ?
GameMagic S60 Windows 1.2.1 Low ? ? ?
N-GAGE COOL! Windows Linux 1.2.1 (Trial) Low ? ? ?
Nokia SDKs Windows Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Mid ? ? ? ~
Sony Ericsson SDKs Windows 2.5.0.6 Mid ? ? ? ~
Siemens SDKs Windows Site 1
Site 2
Mid ? ? ? ~
Motorola SDKs Windows 4.1
5.2.1
Mid ? ? ? ~
Motorola iDEN SDK Windows Mirror Mid ? ? ? ~
JS2ME FirefoxOS , JavaScript git ? ? ? ? ?
Pluotsorbet FirefoxOS , JavaScript git ? ? ? ? ?
Mobile / ARM
J2ME Loader Android 1.7.2-play
1.7.9

1.7.2-dev-1555

High Host JVM -
JL-Mod Android git ~ High Host JVM J2ME-Loader
Java J2ME MiDlet Runner Android 2.0.3.7
Netmite.com
Low ? ?
Jbed Android 2.3.1 Low ? ?
Jblend Android 0.1 Low ? ?
Project Kava KaiOS git Mid ? ?
PhoneME SVN Dump Vendor Specific Reference Implementation KVM (Reference Implementation) Reference Implementation
PhoneME (unofficial) Android Maemo MeeGo Windows Mobile Windows CE git
b168 rev20547
Low PhoneME PhoneME Advanced (unofficial)
KarinME (Based on MicroEmu) Maemo 3.0.1 Mid ? ? ~
MicroEmu (Converter) Android Maemo Android
Maemo
Low Host JVM -
PhoneME-featuredevices (unofficial) Symbian Windows CE git Low phoneME CLDC phoneME Feature
Consoles
PSPKVM PSP 0.5.5 Final Edition
git
Mid phoneME CLDC phoneME Feature
Bittboy-j2me Bitt-Boy
Pocket-Go (Miyoo)
git Mid phoneME CLDC phoneME Advanced ~
Midpath RetroFW git Mid ? ? ~
PhoneME (unofficial) GP2X GP2X Wiz
Caanoo
git Mid phoneME CLDC phoneME Feature ~ ~
Pstros-nds Nintendo DS 0.7.2 r6git Low ? ?
Emulators via ~
Name Platform(s) Version Via Mascot Capsule 3D Accuracy VM Derived from FLOSS Active Recommended
PSPKVM Android iOS Windows macOS Linux Linux ARM

Vita Switch Symbian BlackBerry MeeGo Pandora Dragonbox Pyra

0.5.5 Final Edition
git
PSVita : Adrenaline

Other : PPSSPP

Mid phoneME CLDC phoneME Feature
SquirrelJME Windows Linux macOS

Android iOS Vita PlayStation 2 Nintendo 3DS Wii Wii U GameCube Switch [N 1]

0.2.0 RetroArch Aims for 100% Custom (Java) - ? (WIP)
SJ Boy Emulator macOS Linux Beta 4 Wine Low ? ? ? ~
  1. Only available as a libretro core (e.g. RetroArch).
FreeJ2ME — Free and open-source
Has fewer features than KEmulator, but better compatibility. It is recommended for games that don't work with KEmulator. It has an optional libretro core and development is active. Games that freeze on KEmulator, such as Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG, run on FreeJ2ME with no issues, although compatibility and accuracy are not as good as J2ME Loader. Some games run too fast and require tinkering with the frame rate options. No 3D support.
KEmulator — Closed-source
Has more features and compatibility than other ones, as well as 3D emulation. Has support for custom resolutions and full screen (View/Options). You can even set a proxy server for mobile Java apps that connect to the internet under options. Requires Java Runtime Environment installed. It is a recommended emulator if you're on a Windows PC, although some games (such as Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG) freeze indefinitely on the loading screen. Last update was in 2012.
Nokia SDKs
A set of different device emulators released by Nokia along with their J2ME SDKs. Keyboard bindings are not friendly for playing games. Some of them are buggy. The Nokia 3410 SDK emulator is capable of running some ancient black&white J2ME games no other emulator can.
Sony Ericsson SDKs
Device emulators released by Sony Ericsson along their J2ME SDKs. Some of them have support for Mascot Capsule V3 3D APIs. Can run some games at better framerates than the original devices
Siemens SDKs
Device emulators released by Siemens along their J2ME SDKs. Can run some older games that depend on old Siemens APIs
Motorola SDKs
J2ME development kits released by Motorola. Can run some older games that depend on Motorola-specific APIs
Motorola iDEN SDK
J2ME development kit released by Motorola. Can run some older games that depend on iDEN-specific APIs
Pstros
Haves support for some obscure vendor-specific APIs that other emulators don't support.
Sj Boy
More compatible than MidpX. Can take snapshots. More resolutions (but still buggy). Appears to run correctly some older games FreeJ2ME and KEmulator don't.
Minisoyo
Experimental emulator from the SJBoy authors. Appears to properly emulate transparency on older games making use of Nokia APIs. To open a game, drag and drop the JAR file onto the MiniSoyo window.
MidpX
One of the older emulators. Fixed low resolution (176x220) and compatibility, no handler app support. The installer may contain adware.
MPowerPlayer
Emulator from a company that used to develop solutions to allow users to try J2ME game demos on their computer before purchasing them. Doesn't have any known advantageous features. Requires JRE.
SquirrelJME — Free and open-source
Project developing a full JVM implementation + Java ME 8 APIs. Full compatibility with old J2ME software and high portability are among its main goals. Under heavy development.
J2ME Loader — Free and open-source
This is currently the highest-compatibility J2ME emulator available. Converts .jar files offline using its own resources. Easily launches both 2D & 3D apps. Samsung & Nokia API implemented. Supports different keyboard layouts and customization. It is highly accurate, with the right frame rate for each game, as well as vibration. Has slightly improved performance through hardware acceleration, but games won't run too fast. Runs almost every Nokia game, even ones that don't work with KEmulator or FreeJ2ME, but fails with Sony Ericsson 3D engine (Mascot Capsule), due to the fact that the mascot capsule is almost impossible to port. This is common with most of other emulators as well.
JL-Mod — Free and open-source
This is the experimental mod of the J2ME Loader app with Mascot Capsule 3D (MC3D V3) support. Has some new and experimental features. Converts .jar files offline using its own resources. Easily launches both 2D & 3D apps. Samsung & Nokia API implemented. Supports different keyboard layouts and customization. It is highly accurate, with the right frame rate for each game, as well as vibration. Has slightly improved performance through hardware acceleration, but games won't run too fast. Runs almost every Nokia game, even ones that don't work with KEmulator or FreeJ2ME, as well as Sony Ericsson 3D engine (Mascot Capsule).
Java J2ME Runner
Old tool, launches Java Applications on Android using native library. Apps have to be converted first, using Netmite.com. Overall 2D stability is acceptable, but 3D support almost does not work. Different types of keyboard & screen stics are included. Unfortunately, often experiences troubles with *Jar conversion.
Netmite.com
This is a Android J2ME MIDP RUNNER so that any J2ME or MIDP applications can run without modification. Developers can enter the Android Market quickly. You can use your familiar development environment such as J2ME and MIDP or easily port your existing J2ME Application to Android with minimum code change. Users can use java applications directly inside Android
PSPKVM — Free and open-source
Available for cellphones. Might be the first one that's open-source. Last update was in 2011 (0.5.5 Final Edition). PSPKVM is a PSP port of Sun's open-source JavaME implementation phoneME Feature.
phoneME

This is the reference implementation of J2ME made initially by Sun Microsystems, now owned by Oracle Corporation.

phoneME (unofficial ports)
phoneME for Windows CE/Mobile and Android is an implementation of the phoneME open source J2ME application platform for your Windows Mobile phone or Android handheld device. There are two different platforms of the phoneME Virtual machine : phoneME Feature and phoneME Advanced. Beyond precompiled binaries of these VMs for WinCE and Android based operating systems, this website provides information, patches and instructions in order to compile the phoneME sources yourself.

Symbian and N-Gage (Nokia)

Originally a joint Nintendo-Nokia cellphone handheld hybrid project slated for 2005, Nintendo backed away from the project (and its plans for NES/Game Boy ports for mobile were repurposed for their Virtual Engine project). Nokia continued the project on their own anyways and released N-Gage on October 7, 2003, for $299 as the most powerful handheld of its time, that is up until the DS and PSP came along and ended Nokia's hopes at dominating the handheld gaming market. It had an ARM920T CPU at 104 MHz.

However, while gaining support through GBA/PS1 ports (including the only English version of the JP-only Xanadu series until 2016) and a few original exclusives, the thing suffered from huge design flaws, from the button layout to the display and cell phone functionality.

Has a revision called the QD which was unveiled on April 14, 2004, with an ARM9E CPU. ROM dumps of Symbian and N-Gage games are available.

Emulation

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
EKA2L1 Windows Linux macOS 0.0.8.1 Mid
Engemu Windows git None
NGEmu Windows git None (see below)
N-Gage COOL! Windows 1.2.1 ($) Terrible
Mobile / ARM
EKA2L1 Android 0.0.8.1

0.0.6

Mid
EKA2L1 — Free and open-source
A Symbian OS emulator with high-level emulation, 25 Symbian games (6 N-Gage Games) have been labeled In-Game, 9 have been tagged Playable, and many more have yet to be tested.(Note : The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey and Ashen are among 6 N-Gage Games that go In-Game.)
Engemu
A Nokia N-Gage focused emulator with low-level emulation.
NGEmu
The first known Nokia N-Gage emulator (with high-level emulation), although it is currently on hiatus due to a lack of information required to further development. Linux support is planned for the future.
N-Gage COOL!
A dead payware emulator for Windows. It only partially emulated the J2ME-based Nokia N-Gage exclusives and nothing else from the rest of the bunch.

Execution Engine (ExEn)

A freeware solution developed by French mobile game developer In-Fusio around 2000. It was a Java-based solution presenting itself as an alternative to the limitations of J2ME's game development (offering missing feautures like sprite zooming, parallax scrolling, rotations...).

It achieved relative success and widespread hardware support in Europe, and was also used in China.

Emulation

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Recommended
EXEN-V2 Generic Simulator Windows ? Low ?
EXEN-V2 Generic Simulator
A very old dead emulator for ExEn software. While many games will go in-game, they'll crash at various points.

Classic BlackBerry OS

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Recommended
BlackBerry Simulator Series Windows Varies Cycle ?

Palm OS

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
Mu Windows 1.0.0 ? ~
POSE Windows Varies ? ? ~
Palm Simulator Windows Varies ? ? ~
Mobile / ARM
PHEM Android 1.43a ? ~
StyleTap Windows Mobile Android Windows macOS Linux 0.8.033 ? ~

Mediatek Runtime Environment (MRE)/MAUI

Being the turnkey solutions firm that they are known for, as their chips are used on millions and millions of el-cheapo "Shanzhai" devices all over the world (especially counterfeit Nokias and Goophones among other things), Mediatek has also come up with their own mobile platform and API known as the Mediatek Runtime Environment, aka MAUI. It is targeted for so-called "smart" feature phones, i.e. those that offer similar functionality to standard mobile operating systems like Android, but are watered down for entry-level users. An SDK is available on their developer site for members, and .VXP files for games and other applications appear to be available on the usual WAP sites.

Emulation

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Recommended
Mediatek MRE SDK Windows 3.0 ? ?

Mophun

Mophun was an even more hardware-efficient free European-centric mobile gaming solution developed by Swedish company Synergetix. It was supported on various devices, such as the Sony Ericsson T2xx, T3xx and T6xx series, Symbian S60v1, S60v2, S60v3 and UIQ3 phones, and Windows Mobile Smartphones running at a resolution of 176x220 or 240x320. There are 303 known games,[1] of which 255 have been released, 41 are unknown to have been released, 3 are demos and 5 are unreleased. It was later overtaken by advances in J2ME that came with the MIDP 2.0 framework.[2]

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version FLOSS Accuracy Active Recommended
PC / x86
4Mophun Windows Mobile 1.1 ?
mophun Windows 2.5.4 ?
MoRePhun N/A git
Mobile / ARM
Mophun Games Launcher Symbian 1.01 ?
Mophun Games Launcher
only compatible with 13 games, all of which use the 3D engine and were released for Symbian. The emulator is available for S60v3.
4Mophun
does not work with games that are locked (e.g. have a predefined IMEI recognition algorithm) or do not use the 3D engine.
mophun
an official emulator, designed for development and demos. As such, encrypted or compressed games do not boot. However, this has been worked around, both by decrypting the files and decompressing them (except for compressed resources), and modifying the emulator to perform decryption on the fly, albeit only when opening them via the Open menu. Exile is not known to work in any found version of the emulator.
MoRePhun
a new, open source emulator by Luca91. It is only a proof of concept, as only a few opcodes and a couple of SDK APIs are emulated, and there is no heap. There is sprite and input support, as well as support for the collision API. It is compatible with a few small homebrews. Luca91 mentions the SDK API handler needs to be better organized.

Japanese cellphones

Several Japanese-centric mobile game technologies spawned during the 00's as part of convoluted all-in-one technological solutions, mostly based on Java.

  • NTT DoCoMo released DoJa (later renamed to Star), based on Java ME CLDC, but not MIDP. Applications come in the form of .JAR files accompained by a .JAM descriptor.
  • KDDI released ezplus (later renamed to "EZ-appli (Java)"), based on Java ME extended with propietary APIs. Applications come in the form of .KJX files. It was later replaced with a BREW-based solution called "EZ-appli (BREW)"
  • J-PHONE released J-SKY, based on standard J2ME MIDP extended with several propietary 3D/sound/gfx APIs. It was later renamed to "Vodafone Live!" and "Yahoo! Keitai" as the company got purchased by Vodafone and SoftBank, respectively. Applications come in the form of .JAR and .JAD files.

It is possible to develop applications that work both under ezplus, J-SKY and standard J2ME devices by using only MIDP1.0 APIs

i-mode (DoJa)

Japanese mobile manufacturer NTT DoCoMo released DoJa (DoCoMo's Java) as part of their i-mode set of standards for mobile telephony. It is based on Java ME CLDC, but not MIDP. The profile received several updates, being later renamed to "Star". It was used on DoCoMo's mova and FOMA series of mobile phones, being first featured on the mova 503i from 2001.

While i-mode phones were made available in a limited fashion in Europe, the game apps weren't exported, the i-mode specific features were mainly used for enhancing web pages for mobile browsers and even the Java API is the different more limited "Overseas Edition". The main reason behind this was the fierce push back by Nokia and other western mobile hardware manufacturers refusing to support the DoJa software standard until very late.

DeNa (Mobage), Namco (Tales of Mobile) and Level-5 (RoiD) set up Steam-like game distribution portals specific to some cell-phone models yet i-mode based. The different names are to confuse dirty gaijin, probably.

Applications were denominated "i-αppli" (Japanese : iアプリ) and come in the form of .JAR files accompained by a .JAM descriptor text file.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
DoJa SDKs Windows Various Mid ? ~
DoJa Overseas Edition SDK Windows 1.03 Low (DoJa 2.5 OE) ?
i-JADE Windows 1.2.3 Low (DoJa 1.X) ?
Jade Java 0.1.7 Low (DoJa 1.5) ?
SquirrelJME Windows Linux macOS Java 0.2.0 Aims for 100% ?
Mobile / ARM
iApp Archives
(i-appli)
Android 2.6 Low
DoJa SDKs
Official development kit from NTT DoCoMo, featuring a device emulator. Several releases were archived by Wayback Machine ::DoJa 1.5 DoJa 2.? DoJa 2.1 DoJa 3.0 DoJa 3.5 DoJa 4.0 DoJa 4.1 (111) DoJa 4.1 (201) DoJa 5.0 Star 2.0
DoJa Overseas Edition SDK
SDK for the stripped down Overseas Edition DoJa profile
i-JADE
iappli development kit from Zentek
Jade
Open-source project implementing several DoJa 1.5 APIs. Low compatibility
SquirrelJME
Open source emulator that can run J2ME software, will be adding i-Mode support in 2022.

KDDI ezplus

Japanese carrier KDDI/Au released ezplus as part of their EZweb set of standards for mobile telephony. It is based on Java ME extended with propietary APIs. The first device supporting it was released on 2001 (Hitachi C451H). ezplus was later renamed to "EZ-appli (Java)" (Japanese : "EZアプリ (Java)") and gradually replaced with a BREW-based solution called "EZ-appli (BREW)" until 2004 when the last ezplus device was released.

In 2006 an Open Application Player (Japanese: オープンアプリプレイヤー) feature was added allowing to run MIDP 2.0 Java apps on the BREW devices, which were often denominated as オープンアプリ. It lacks support for the original propietary extensions of ezplus. On 2011, Open Application Player was updated and renamed to "EZ-appli (J)" along EZ-appli (BREW) which became "EZ-appli (B)"

Applications were denominated "ezplusアプリ" (during the ezplus name era) and come in the form of .KJX files.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Recommended
ezplus emulator Windows 1.0 Mid ? ~
ezplus emulator
Official development tool from KDDI, developed by Zentek

J-SKY

Japanese service provider J-PHONE released the J-SKY platform as part of their set of standards for mobile telephony. It was based on J2ME and MIDP extended with several propietary 3D/sound/gfx APIs called JSCL. J-PHONE had been purchased by Vodafone on 2001, which two years later took over the original branding renaming the carrier to Vodafone KK. The J-SKY technology became then known as "Vodafone Live!" and it was extended with the VSCL set of APIs. On 2006, Vodafone KK was purchased by SoftBank Group, getting this technology rebranded again as "Yahoo! Keitai".

Applications were called "Java™ App" (Japanese : Java™アプリ) during the J-SKY era, "V-Appli" (Japanese : Vアプリ) during the Vodafone era and "S! Appli" (Japanese : S!アプリ) during the SoftBank era. They come in the form of .JAR accompained by a .JAD descriptor text file.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Recommended
J-SKY Application Emulator Windows 1.3 Mid ? ~
J-SKY Application Emulator
Official development tool from J-PHONE, developed by Zentek. It does not supports any of the later APIs.

Korean cellphones

Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability (WIPI)

WIPI a national middleware platform standard in South Korea. Almost all cellphone games released in South Korea from 2002 to 2009 were developed as WIPI.

Chinese cellphones

MiniJ (MRP Platform)

MiniJ is a mobile platform widespread in China (and in other countries). It is analog of java for phones with MTK CPU. Games for this platform are in .mrp format. There is many original Contra games for this platform, created by different companies. It also has some Konami's mobile game.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
vmrp Windows git Mid
Mobile / ARM
Mythras Android git
mrpoid2018
Mid

KaiOS

KaiOS is a mobile operating system, based on Linux, for keypad feature phones. It is developed by KaiOS Technologies (Hong Kong) Limited.

Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW)

A mobile development platform by Qualcomm, originally intended for CDMA handsets such as those sold by Verizon. Unlike Java ME, applications and games for BREW use native code as opposed to running in a virtual machine in the case of Java ME. Also, BREW development has a higher barrier to entry due to stringent certification requirements, which led it to be significantly less popular than Java ME even in markets where CDMA has a significant market share, such as in North America. To top it all off, downloaded BREW apps are tied to an individual handset via a digital signature, making piracy or sideloading difficult if not impossible; it is however possible to unlock certain BREW-enabled CDMA phones to run backups and pirated apps, though downloads for BREW apps and games are rare and hard to find compared to Java ME.

The Zeebo, a video game console and online distribution platform developed and released with developing markets in mind, also runs on BREW. Dumps of the Zeebo and its games exist, and gameplay footage of them have been uploaded on YouTube.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy Active FLOSS Recommended
Infuse Windows Mobile ? (POC) Low
Melange Android ? (Prototype) ? ~[3]

Danger OS

Developed by Danger Incorporated, Danger OS was a Java-based OS used on phones that Danger designed themselves. These devices were sold under many names such as Hiptop, Mobiflip, Sharp Jump, and (most notably) T-Mobile Sidekick. While it could run some J2ME apps (from version 2.3 onward), it also used its own proprietary J2SE-based APIs and SDK; for this reason, anything built using these APIs won't run on a standard J2ME emulator.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy Active FLOSS Recommended
Danger Hiptop/Sidekick SDK Windows Linux macOS ? Mid ?
Danger Hiptop/Sidekick SDK
Official SDK from Danger Incorporated

Dark Age of Monochrome Mobile Phones

Earlier black & white cellphone games (both in Japan and worldwide) didn't get as much love either when it comes to emulation and preservation of game binaries. There were, however, recreations of Snake and Space Impact for Nokia phones on their website at one time, along with remakes of the aforementioned games for Android and iOS. There are several Nokia phone models with MAME support, though they are preliminary at best with most models displaying a "CONTACT SERVICE" error if not a white screen.


TTPcom's Wireless Games Engine (WGE)

Firefox OS

Emulators

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS OS. ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CLAIMING TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!

Fire OS

Emulators

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS OS. ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CLAIMING TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!

Tizen

Emulators

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS OS. ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CLAIMING TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!

webOS

Emulators

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS OS. ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CLAIMING TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!

Bada OS

Emulators

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS OS. ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CLAIMING TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!

Windows Phone

Emulators

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS OS. ANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS CLAIMING TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!


Windows Mobile series

Windows Mobile (Earlier)

Released in 2000 by Microsoft as their first mobile OS, originally called "Pocket PC" and made to run on PDA's, the name changed to Windows Mobile when the PDA market began to shrink. WM was initially based on Windows CE before evolving into something unique. It was mainly designed for business users, so it didn't have a lot of games for it.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Version Accuracy FLOSS Recommended
Microsoft Device Emulator Windows 3.0 ? ?

Images are required. They can be downloaded here

Windows 10 Mobile

Acknowledgments

  • Article about DoCoMo Java programming.

References

  1. Mophun Game List
  2. Mophun preservation thread on Twitter
  3. Contains proprietary Qualcomm components

- Moscot Capsule 3D Engine