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Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators

6 bytes added, 15:40, 11 September 2018
grammar
The '''[[wikipedia:Game Boy|Game Boy]]''' is an 8-bit, fourth-generation handheld console released by Nintendo in 1989. It had a monochrome display that could show only two colors, black and white (though the white was more green). Nintendo re-released the console as the '''Game Boy Pocket''' in 1996, with a more compact body and a better screen. A front light was added to a special edition of the Pocket in Japan called the '''Game Boy Light''', a feature that wouldn't be seen outside of Japan until the Game Boy Advance SP.
Nintendo released a peripheral for the [[Super Nintendo emulators|Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] called [[wikipedia:Super Game Boy|Super Game Boy]] in 1994, which was modelled like a cartridge but included its own cartridge slot for Game Boy games, as well as the hardware needed to translate the games. Many Game Boy emulators offer at least some of the special features it included, such as added borders, colorization, custom button mappings , and other features. It was possible to link, but without the external port, as well as errors in the CPU, it would not be feasible to the end user; these issues would later be corrected in the Japan-exclusive Super Game Boy 2.
The Game Boy's successor, the [[wikipedia:Game Boy Color|Game Boy Color]] (GBC), was released in 1998. It was named such from its color screen, but it also had a larger memory size and a double-clocked CPU. The hardware similarities allow cross-compatibility between the two platforms and they are often treated as one. They would both by succeeded by the backwardsbackward-compatible [[Game Boy Advance emulators|Game Boy Advance]].
==Emulators==
====Multi-system emulators====
;[[higan]]:Because it started out as an a SNES emulator (its original name was bsnes), it was the only one that properly emulated all of the Super Game Boy's features, such as SPC sound chip utilization. Versions of bsnes at and before 0.73 used the Gambatte core for its Super Game Boy functionality, but Byuu eventually made his own Game Boy core, which ended up having pretty good accuracy.
;[[BizHawk]]:Uses a modified Gambatte core. It provides speedrunning tools.
;[[MAME]]:Has solid Game Boy emulation through its <code>gameboy</code> driver despite the sound being imperfect, as well as slightly worse GBC compatibility through its <code>gbcolor</code> driver (where both the graphics and sound are imperfect). Despite its setbacks, it aims to feature compatibility with obscure mappers that other emulators usually ignore, like Wisdom Tree games or MMM01 multicarts. Accuracy was improved upon with contributions by Judge_.
===Oversaturation===
[[File:Gbc over saturation2.png|thumb|right|350px|Comparison of saturation levels in VBA-M and Gambatte.]]
The Game Boy Color's screen is understaturatedundersaturated. Game developers often work around this by using brighter colors knowing it'll be compensated for on hardware. This does not translate well in emulation, because standard LCD screens don't account for this sort of issue. Many emulators attempt to combat this issue with options that adjust accordingly; if not directly, then [[Shaders_and_Filters#Image_Adjustment|shader functionality]] may be implemented.
This issue also affects [[Game Boy Advance emulators#Oversaturation|Game Boy Advance emulation]].
The Game Boy Camera is an official Nintendo accessory for the Game Boy and was released in 1998. Users can take pictures and modify them with stickers and frames, as well as play several included minigames. In addition to the original model, there was a US-exclusive Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time edition that included different stamps.
The first emulator to have some capability of emulating the Game Boy Camera was a modified version of an old emulator called Hash. This version, named Hashcam, can still be found on the author's website. While there were some efforts to run the Game Boy Camera ROM in BGB unofficially, the author didn't show much interest in it. However, it is fully emulated with webcam support in a lesser-known emulator called GiiBiiAdvance.
The latest dev builds of mGBA post 0.6.0 release can emulate the accessory by either using the PC's webcam or send a BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, or other image format to the game, as if it was coming from the camera itself.<ref name="mGBA_Cam">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/mGBA_emu/status/890954205472501762|title=Game Boy Camera in mGBA dev builds|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=2018-08-10|date=2017-07-28}}</ref> To enable the PC webcam, go to <code>Game Boy</code> under <code>settings</code> and switch the <code>camera driver</code> to <code>Qt Multimedia</code>, or by editing <code>qt.ini</code> and setting <code>cameraDriver=1</code> under <code>[General]</code>.
====Rumble Enhanced Games====
Some cartridges came with a built-in rumble that required an AAA battery to power, such as ''Pokémon Pinball'', but the feature is optional. It is unknown if any emulator supports this feature.
====Game Boy Pocket Sonar====
====Barcode Boy====
An obscure Japan -only barcode-scanning device released by Namcot (then-Namco's consumer division) in 1992. Total of 4 games were was released to utilize this accessory. KiGB and [[GEST]] claim support for this device, but they only feed random data to Game Boy until the game accept accepts it as a valid barcode. GBE+ has [https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art7.html proper emulation] with the ability to read barcode from binary files.
====Barcode Taisen Bardigun====
====Mobile Game Boy Adapter====
There is a Japan -only accessory that communicates with Mobile Golf and Japanese Pokémon Crystal. It was bundled with Mobile Trainer cartridge which allowed the player to use e-mail as well as browse Nintendo's website. It is possible to partially emulate its feature for Pokémon Crystal by [http://forums.glitchcity.info/index.php?topic=7509.0 using BGB's scripting capability], and GBE+ can at least reach the title screen of Mobile Trainer, but otherwise , no emulators properly supports support this accessory.
====Singer Sewing Machine====
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