Game Boy Advance emulators: Difference between revisions

==Emulators==

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;line-height:1.5;width:100%;"

|+Before editing, review the [[Getting involved]] and [[Recommended emulators|Recommended]] pages. See [[Computer_specifications#Recommended_Specifications|system requirements]] page for performance demand of the emulators.<br>See tables for <span style="font-weight: bold; color: #CC0000; border: 1px solid #CC0000; padding: 2px;">[[#Enhancements|enhancements]], [[#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|hardware features and peripherals]].</span><br>For more details such as [[licensing]], [[Source_code#Language_levels|programming language]], [[High_and_low-level_emulation|emulation method]], visit each emulator’s dedicated page.

![[Licensing|License]]

![[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]

!colspan="7"|x86

|[[mGBA]]<br><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/mgba/ mGBA_libretro]</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD|Web}}

|[https://mgba.io/builds/1/ Dev builds]<br>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<ref group="lower-alpha">[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/12x3fsm/mgba_0102_released/jhigow4/ endrift confirming the libretro core is tracking the master branch], However, even though it's updated frequently, some [[#Hardware_features_and_accessories|hardware features]] are exclusive to the standalone version. Therefore, using the standalone version is recommended.</ref><br>[https://mgba.io/downloads.html {{MGBAVer}}]

|[https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/MGBA ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|MPL2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|[[Mesen]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2#development-builds {{MesenVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://nightly.link/nba-emu/NanoBoyAdvance/workflows/build/master Dev builds]<br> [https://github.com/nba-emu/NanoBoyAdvance/releases {{NanoBoyAdvanceVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}

|[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu/pull/321 Dev Builds]<br>[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu/releases/ {{SkyEmuVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MIT}} ({{License|Permissive}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[ares]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}

|[https://nightly.link/ares-emulator/ares/workflows/build/master git Artifacts]<br>[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases {{aresVer}}]

|{{Emulator compatibility|link=https://ares-emu.net/compatibility/nintendo-game-boy-advance?status=-1|2290|2921}} ||{{Green}} {{License|ISC}} ({{License|Permissive}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[GBE+]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://github.com/shonumi/gbe-plus/releases {{GBEVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[VisualBoy Advance#VBA-M|VBA-M]]<br><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/vba_m/ vbam_libretro]</small><br><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/vba_next/ vba_next_libretro]<ref group="note">VBA Next is a Game Boy Advance emulator based on VBA-M 2011 with backported patches for performance and compatibility improvements.</ref></small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}

|[https://nightly.vba-m.com/ Nightly builds]<br> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro cores] <br> [https://github.com/visualboyadvance-m/visualboyadvance-m/releases 2.1.11]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[GBAHawk]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|[https://github.com/alyosha-tas/GBAHawk/releases {{GBAHawkVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MIT}} ({{License|Permissive}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[jgenesis]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Web}}

|[https://github.com/jsgroth/jgenesis/releases {{jgenesisVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MIT}} ({{License|Permissive}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{?}}

|[[BizHawk]]<br><small>(mGBA 0.10.0)</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}

|[https://gitlab.com/TASVideos/BizHawk/-/pipelines Dev builds]<br>[https://tasvideos.org/BizHawk/ReleaseHistory.html {{BizHawkVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MIT}}<br>{{License|GPL}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[No$|No$GBA]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|DOS}}

|[https://problemkaputt.de/gba.htm {{No$GBAVer}}]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[MAME]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}

|git artifacts<ref group="lower-alpha">[https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-windows/master CI-Windows] [https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-linux/master CI-Linux] [https://nightly.link/mamedev/mame/workflows/ci-macos/master CI-Macos]</ref><br>[https://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]

|[https://adb.arcadeitalia.net/lista_mess.php?software_list_name=gba&compatibility= ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}}<br>{{License|BSD3}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]

|[https://docs.libretro.com/library/gpsp/#compatibility ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|[[Mednafen]]<br><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/beetle_gba/ mednafen_gba_libretro]</small>

|[{{MednafenURL|releases/}} {{MednafenVer}}]<br>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://github.com/hades-emu/Hades/releases/tag/v1.1.0 {{HadesVer}}]<br> [https://nightly.link/hades-emu/Hades/workflows/build/master Nightly builds]<br> [https://github.com/hades-emu/hades git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|[[higan]] (火眼)<br>byuu (謬/view)

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://github.com/higan-emu/higan/releases/tag/v110 {{higanVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}<ref group="lower-alpha">Superseded by [[ares]].</ref>

|agbemu

|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}

|[https://github.com/burhanr13/agbemu/releases 1.1]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MPL2}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}

|[https://web.archive.org/web/20150311100053/https://ciacin.site90.com/ideas.php {{iDeaSVer}}]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|[https://fms.komkon.org/VGBA VGBA]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}

|[https://fms.komkon.org/VGBA/#Downloads {{VGBAVer}}]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}

|[https://github.com/blastrock/meteor {{MeteorVer}}]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}

|[https://www.zophar.net/macintosh/gba/playboy-advance.html {{PlayBoyAdvanceVer}}]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|GameBeanAdvance

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|[https://github.com/bmchtech/GameBeanAdvance git]

|?

|{{Red}} {{License|SA}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|[[NooDS]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://github.com/Hydr8gon/NooDS/releases git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

!colspan="7"|ARM

|[[mGBA]]<br><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/mgba/ mGBA_libretro]</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|LiA|Pandora}}

|[https://github.com/huhao1987/mGBA_Android unofficial Android version]<br>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]

|[https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/MGBA ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|MPL2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|[https://www.explusalpha.com/contents/gba-emu GBA.emu]<br><small>(VBA-M 2.1.4 based)</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Pyra}}

|[https://github.com/Rakashazi/emu-ex-plus-alpha/releases/tag/Pre-release Pre-release]<br>[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.explusalpha.GbaEmu 1.5.82]<br>[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/75 1.5.46.02 Pyra]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|LiA|Pandora}}

|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|ISC}} ({{License|Permissive}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Pandora}}<br>{{Icon|Didj|Symbian}}

|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<br>[https://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=package.gpsp.notaz 0.9.2.8 Pandora]<br>[https://github.com/Summeli/gpSP4Cute Symbian]

|[https://docs.libretro.com/library/gpsp/#compatibility ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{~}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name=gpsp>libretro core-only.</ref> ||{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pixelrespawn.linkboy 3.5.0]<br>[https://apps.apple.com/app/linking-boy/id6695762604 AppStore]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|John GBA

|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details/John_GBA?id=com.johnemulators.johngba 2.13]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{~}}||{{R}}

|[[SkyEmu]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS}}

|[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MIT}} ({{License|Permissive}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|Pizza Boy A Pro

|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.dbtecno.pizzaboygbapro&hl=en_US 2.16.2]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}}||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fastemulator.gba 2.0.8]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{~}} ||{{Na}}<ref group="lower-alpha">Superseded by Linkboy.</ref>

|agbemu

|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}

|[https://github.com/burhanr13/agbemu/releases 1.1]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MPL2}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|VGBAnext

|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fms.emu {{VGBANextVer}}]

|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|[[NooDS]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hydra.noods 0.1]<br>[https://github.com/Hydr8gon/NooDS/releases git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|W10P}}

|[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]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|GBA4iOS

|align=left|{{Icon|iOS}}

|[https://iemulators.com/gba4ios 2.1]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}})||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|W8P}}

|[https://www.appx4fun.com/xap/15223/ 2.27]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|GBA_J2ME

|align=left|{{Icon|Java}}

|[https://oldfag.top/downloads/?act=view&id=168 1.0]

|? ||{{Dunno}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|GBA Emulator<br>(Rekkuzan)

|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Rekkuzan.UnityBoyAdvance 0.1.13]

|? ||{{Dunno}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}

|[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/manic-emu-game-emulator/id6743335790 {{Manic EMUVer}}]<br>[https://github.com/Manic-EMU/ManicEMU/releases git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|AGPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{TBD}}

|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}

|[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/provenance-app/id1596862805 {{ProvenanceVer}}]<br>[https://github.com/Provenance-Emu/Provenance/releases git]

|? ||{{Dunno}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Dunno}}

|[[Folium]]

|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}

|[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/folium/id6498623389 App Store] ($)<br>[https://folium.emuplace.app/downloads {{FoliumVer}}]<br>[https://github.com/emuplace/folium.emuplace.app/releases/latest Latest IPA]

|? ||{{Dunno}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Dunno}}

|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}

|? ||{{Dunno}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Dunno}}

!colspan="7"|Consoles

|[[mGBA]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Wii|WiiU|Switch}}<br>{{Icon|3DS|PSV}}

|[https://mgba.io/builds/1/ Dev builds]<br> [https://mgba.io/downloads.html#homebrew {{MGBAVer}}]<br>[https://www.retroarch.com/?page=platforms libretro core]

|[https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/MGBA ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|MPL2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}} 

|[[Nintendo Switch Online|Nintendo Classics]]<br><small>([[Sloop]])</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Switch}}{{Icon|Switch2}}

|[[Wikipedia:List_of_Nintendo_Switch_Online_games#Game_Boy_Advance|Only for selected titles]] ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}} 

|[https://docs.libretro.com/library/vba_next/ VBA Next]

|align=left|{{Icon|NGC|Wii|NX}}<br>{{Icon|PS3}}<br>{{Icon|PS4}}<br>{{Icon|Vita}}<br>{{Icon|Xbox|Xbox360}}

|[https://www.retroarch.com/?page=platforms libretro core]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|align=left|{{Icon|DC|PSP}}<br>{{Icon|PS2|NGC|Wii}}<br>{{Icon|3DS|Vita}}

|[https://www.retroarch.com/?page=platforms libretro core]<br>[[GpSP#PSP_Version|TempGBA4PSP]]

|[https://docs.libretro.com/library/gpsp/#compatibility ?] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{~}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name=gpsp></ref>  ||{{Ya}}

|[https://github.com/profi200/open_agb_firm open_agb_firm]

|align=left|{{Icon|3DS}}

|[https://github.com/profi200/open_agb_firm/releases 2024-07-30] 

|Virtual Machine (Hardware) ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}

|[[Virtual Console]]

|align=left|{{Icon|3DS|WiiU}}

|8.10

|[[Wikipedia:Virtual_Console#Titles_2|Only for selected titles (3DS)]]<br>[[Wikipedia:Virtual_Console#Titles_3|Only for selected titles (Wii U)]]<br>ROM injection is possible with both consoles with relatively high compatibility.  ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{Na}} ||{{Ya}}

|[https://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.php?title=Game_Boy_Interface Game Boy Interface]

|align=left|{{Icon|GCN}}

|[https://files.extremscorner.org/gamecube/apps/gbi/latest main]<br>[https://files.extremscorner.org/gamecube/apps/gbi/latest-extra extra]

|Uses real GBA Hardware (Requires Game Boy Player hardware) ||{{Red}} {{license|Proprietary}} ||{{Ya}} ||{{Ya}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name=gbinterface>Multiple versions available. Pick the version that fits best with your specific setup.</ref>

|align=left|{{Icon|GCN}}

|

|Uses real GBA Hardware<br>Limited to a filtered, 480i output with a slight amount of input lag ||{{Red}} {{license|Proprietary}} ||{{Na}} ||{{~}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name=gameboyplayer>Game Boy Interface is recommended instead</ref>

|ReGBA

|Align=left|{{Icon|PS2}}

|[https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1332 v1.45.5 revision 3]

|? ||{{Dunno}} ||{{Na}} ||{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|GCN|Wii|WiiU}}

|[https://files.extremscorner.org/gamecube/apps/mgba/latest git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|MPL2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|GCN|Wii|WiiU}}

|[https://github.com/dborth/vbagx/releases git]

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|[[GBARunner3]]

|align=left|{{Icon|NDS|3DS}}

|[https://github.com/Gericom/GBARunner3 git] 

|Virtual Machine (Hardware) ||{{Red}} Source available ||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name=gbarunner3>Recommended on DS</ref>

|DSTWO

|align=left|{{Icon|NDS}}

|N/A

|Uses SOC of flashcart itself for emulation||{{Red}} {{license|Proprietary}}||{{Ya}} ||{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|NDS}}

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|[[GBARunner2]]

|align=left|{{Icon|NDS|3DS}}

|[https://github.com/Gericom/GBARunner2/releases/tag/v20200812-131430_6e4ce45 2020/08/12] 

|Virtual Machine (Hardware) ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|[[gpSP|UO gpSP Kai]]<br>(UO gpSP改)

|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}

|3.4 test 4 build 230

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Na}} ||{{Na}}

|[[NooDS]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Switch|Vita|WiiU}}<br>{{Icon|PSP}}

|[https://github.com/Hydr8gon/NooDS git]<small> (Switch/Vita/WiiU)</small><br>[https://github.com/Xiro28/NooDS_PSP git] <small>(PSP port)</small>

|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{Ya}} ||{{Na}}

==Comparisons==

;[[NanoBoyAdvance]]:Highly [[Emulation_accuracy|accurate]]<ref group=lower-alpha>[https://github.com/nba-emu/NanoBoyAdvance/blob/master/docs/ACCURACY.md mGBA suite comparison]</ref> Game Boy Advance emulator. It aims for [[Emulation Accuracy|cycle-accurate]] emulation when possible (CPU, DMA, timers, PPU and Game Pak prefetch), while also offering enhancements such as improved audio quality. Very high compatibility, including games that require emulation of [https://github.com/nba-emu/NanoBoyAdvance/blob/master/docs/ACCURACY.md#Game-compatibility peculiar hardware edge-cases]. Unfortunately, following the release of the next major update, the developer "[https://github.com/fleroviux fleroviux]" [https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1auz9c9/nanoboyadvance_180_is_released_plus_announcement/ will step down from actively developing the project.]

;[[GBAHawk]]:A fork of the BizHawk emulator [https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/GBA_Tests focusing on console verification of Game Boy Advance TASes and hardware research.]

;[[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 minor improvements. It is behind in terms of [[Emulation Accuracy|accuracy]] compared to mGBA or other recommended GBA emulators, but is still useful for its robust debugging features and sound interpolation that reduces hissing.

::;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.

;[[SkyEmu]]:Low-level Game Boy/Color and Game Boy Advance emulator. Its primary focus is to provide a [https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/ybejxv/skyemu_v2_release/itutt2h/ good user experience] through a good tradeoffs mixture [[Emulation_accuracy|accuracy]]<ref group="lower-alpha">[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu#accuracycompatibility SkyEmu: Accuracy and Compatibility], [https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu/blob/dev/docs/Accuracy.md SkyEmu: Accuracy on Difficult to Emulate Games].</ref>, performance, features, and usability. Capable of full instruction pipeline, prefetch emulation, and per pixel PPU Implementation capable of both scan line and mid-scan line effects.

;[[higan]] / [[ares]]:[[Emulation accuracy|Accuracy]] wise, it is behind compared to NanoBoyAdvance and SkyEmu (and maybe mGBA), but it has dot-based instead of scanline-based renderer and does a better job compared to VBA-M. It is also behind in terms of compatibility compared to mGBA, NanoBoyAdvance, and SkyEmu, but Ares stands out being a [[Multi-system_emulators|multi-system emulator]] and supports some useful [[#Enhancements|enhancements]], like shaders/filters and simple debug features.

;[[Mesen]]: It has potential to be the best GBA debugger in the future. placeholder text

;[[MAME]]:Has a <code>gba</code> driver markup as working, but both graphics and sound are [https://adb.arcadeitalia.net/dettaglio_mame.php?game_name=gba "imperfect"] as of version 0.280.

;[[gpSP]]:Originally made for the PSP, its last official version was 0.91. There are, however, two forks of interest: [https://dl.qj.net/psp/emulators/gpsp-mod-20090720.html gpSPmod] and [https://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. TempGBA is another good fork. For other platforms, there is a libretro port of gpSP with fast x86 and ARM dynarecs. While it is behind the best GBA emulators in terms of accuracy, its great performance makes it a viable option for old/underpowered machines or for using extreme fast-forward in games.

;Pizza Boy A:Likely due to the [[Yuzu#Lawsuit|yuzu situation]], the project was pulled from the Play Store by its developer after seven years of development and was presumed [https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1b97uus/emulator_pizza_boy_for_gba_and_gbc_removed_from/ dead][https://old.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/1ba5h5g/pizzaboy_emulator_is_gone/ in][https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/7/24093867/another-emulator-is-shutting-down 2024]. However, in April, the project was renamed and [https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/23/24138403/speaking-of-turning-your-phone-into-a-nintendo-emulator development][https://gbatemp.net/threads/pizza-boy-a-basic-emulator-back-into-google-play-store-free-and-without-ads.654652/ has][https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1cbp2fx/pizza_boy_is_back/ resumed].

* Users are [[Wikipedia:List_of_Nintendo_Switch_Online_games#Game_Boy_Advance|limited to the selection of games]] Nintendo chooses to make available on the service;

* With version 3.0.0, it adopted the ''Nintendo Classics'' brand; adds the GBA BIOS as an easter egg, individual remaps and proper 1080p upscaling in handheld mode.

==Enhancements==

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"

! colspan=2 style="width:50%" |Name

! mGBA

! Mesen

|rowspan="2" |Controls

|{{Enhancements/Controls/Input lag mitigating}}

|{{~}}<ref name="lrExclusive" group="lower-alpha" />

|{{Ya}}

|{{Enhancements/Controls/Turbo button}}

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|rowspan="4" |Graphics

|Remove sprite limit<br><small>[https://www.vg-resource.com/thread-28888.html The GBA has hardware support for up to 128 sprites.] This limitation is indirectly responsible for some flickering seen in games at times, and different strategies must be used to achieve certain game design elements. When this option is enabled, the limit is disabled, allowing more sprites to be drawn on the same line.</small>

|{{Dunno}}[https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba/issues/3186 *]

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Texture_packs#Sprite_Replacement_.282D.29|Sprite replacement]]

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|[[Widescreen_hacks#Emulators_.282D.29|Widescreen hack]]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|rowspan="2" |Performance

|[[30/60_FPS_cheat_codes|Internal frame rate hack]]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Overclocking|Overclock]]

|{{Na}}[https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba/issues/2833 *]

|{{Ya}}

|rowspan="6" |Post-processing

|[[Shaders_and_filters#AI-powered filters|AI-powered filter compatible]]<br><small>([https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])</small>

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering anti-aliasing]]<br><small>(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)</small>

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]]<br><small>(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])</small>

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Shader_Presets|Shader chain]]

|{{~}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name="lrExclusive"></ref>

|{{Na}}

|rowspan="11" |Quality of life

|Automatic updater

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Ya}}

|[[Frontends#Graphical_User_Interfaces_.28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|cheat manager]]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Built-in [https://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106405 custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes]<br><small>For using this on Windows OS you need [https://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1009#p1009 CRT Emudriver].<br>Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility".</small>

| colspan="2" |<small>Exclusive to [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/crtswitchres/ libretro cores] and [[GroovyMAME]] at the moment.<br>Also there is a [https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer project] for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors.</small>

|Built-in [[Mods,_hacks_and_fan-translations#Built-in mod editor and manager for emulators|mod editor and manager]]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|patch manager]]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Command-line options

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Ya}}

|Pause/Resume emulation

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|Per-game profiles

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#portable Portable] and [https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#stealth stealth]<br><small>Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary [[Computer_specifications#Operating_System|prerequisites and dependencies]] for your operating system if it is not statically linked.</small>

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#Game_Boy_Advance_.2F_Nintendo_DS_.2F_Nintendo_3DS|Streamable compression format]]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|rowspan="6" |[https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]

|Fast forward/Turbo speed

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|Frame step<br><small>(forwards and backwards)</small>

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]

|{{Ya}}<ref name="ExStandalone" group="lower-alpha">Exclusive to standalone version.</ref>

|{{Dunno}}

|[https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]

|{{Dunno}}[https://forums.mgba.io/archive/index.php?thread-4910.html *]

|{{Dunno}}

|Rewind

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|Save states

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|[[Sound and audio#Audio filters and presets|Audio filters and presets]]<br><small>Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware.</small>

|[[Wikipedia:Category:Debugging|Debug features]]

|{{Ya}}[https://mgba.io/2021/03/28/mgba-0.9.0/#more-debugging-improvements *]

|{{Ya}}

|[[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]

|[https://github.com/ipatix/gba-hq-mixer High quality audio mixer]<br><small>HQ audio mixer for games which use Nintendo's MusicPlayer2000 sound engine</small>

|{{~}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Netplay]]<br><small>You can use either yuzu/Ryujinx for playing GBA games online via netplay.<br>This enhancement shouldn't be confused with GBA connectivity features emulation.</small>

|[https://mgba.io/faq.html#glossary WIP]

|{{Na}}

|[[RetroAchievements]]

|{{~}}<ref group="lower-alpha" name="lrExclusive">Exclusive to libretro core. There is also a [https://retroachievements.org/download.php#ravba modified version of VBA-M] for RetroAchievement support. [https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba/issues/2232 Feature request: RetroAchievements integration in mGBA standalone].</ref>

|{{Ya}}

|Rich Presence (RPC)<br><small>Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported.</small>

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Screen translator<br><small>Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.</small>

==Hardware features and peripherals==

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"

|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.<br>''[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art34.html Shonumi: The State of Emulation - 2024], [https://maru-chang.com/hard/agb/english.htm maru-chang.com - hardware]''

! mGBA

! Mesen

! GBE+

| rowspan="7" |Hardware features

| rowspan="4" |Cartridge

| colspan="2" |[[#Real-time_clock|Real-time clock]]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2/blob/master/Core/GBA/Cart/GbaRtc.cpp *]

|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/shonumi/gbe-plus#read-the-manual *]

| colspan="2" |Rumble

|{{Ya}}

| colspan="2" |[[#Inputs|Solar sensor]]

|{{~}}<ref name="manual-switch" group="lower-alpha">Only the Nintendo Switch port allows use of the Switch's light sensor.</ref>

|{{Dunno}}

|{{~}}<ref name="manual" group="lower-alpha">Only manual configuration. No automatic detection via light sensor/camera input/weather forecast/GPS location/other.</ref>

| colspan="2" |[[List_of_console_games_that_support_motion_controls#Game_Boy_Advance_Emulation|Tilt sensor]]<br><small>''Koro Koro Puzzle - Happy Panechu'' and ''Yoshi's Universal Gravitation'' use standard accelerometer, and ''WarioWare: Twisted!'' uses a different, much larger version but with a more accurate motion sensor.</small>

|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/shonumi/gbe-plus#read-the-manual *]

|colspan="3" |[[#GB.2FGBC_backward_compatibility_emulation.2FEnhanced_Mode|Game Boy (Color) backwards compatibility emulation/Enhanced Mode]]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|colspan="3" |Game Boy Player Rumble<br><small>Different from cartridge rumble. Very few games utilize this feature such as ''Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3'', ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'', and ''Drill Dozer''.</small>

|colspan="3" |[https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/game-boy-advance/#operating-system System BIOS]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

| rowspan="22" |Peripherals

| rowspan="5" |[[#Connectivity|Connectivity]]

| rowspan="3" |[[Wikipedia:Game_Link_Cable#Third_generation|Link Cable]]

|[[#GameCube Connectivity|GameCube connectivity]]||{{Ya}}<ref name="libretro" group="lower-alpha">Does not work on libretro core. Feature Requests: [https://github.com/libretro/vbam-libretro/issues/114 GBA Game Link Support], [https://github.com/libretro/vbam-libretro/issues/87 e-Reader support] for  for VBA-M libretro core.</ref>

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Na}}

|[[#GBA_Multi_Pak_Link_Multiplayer_.281.7E4GBA.29|Multi-Pak]]||{{Ya}}<ref name="libretro" group="lower-alpha" />

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Na}}

|[https://squallsnake.com/blog-gba-single-pak-multiplayer-game-list/ Single-Pak]||{{Ya}}<ref name="libretro" group="lower-alpha" />

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Na}}

| colspan="2" |Mobile Adapter GB||{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

| colspan="2" |[[#Wireless Adapter|Wireless Adapter]]||{{Na}} [https://mgba.io/timeline.html#IN+THE+FUTURE *]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{~}}

| rowspan="3" |[[GBA_e-Reader_emulators|e-Reader]]

| colspan="2" |[[GBA_e-Reader_emulators#Emulators|e-Reader + GBA Game]]

|{{~}}<ref name="libretro" group="lower-alpha" />

|{{Dunno}}

|colspan="2" |[[GBA_e-Reader_emulators#Emulators|e-Reader + NGC Game]]

|{{~}}<ref name="libretro" group="lower-alpha" />

|{{Dunno}}

|colspan="2" |[[GBA_e-Reader_emulators#Emulators|Standalone]]

|{{~}}<ref name="libretro" group="lower-alpha" />

|{{Dunno}}

|colspan="3" |[[#Game_Boy_Advance_Video|Game Boy Advance Video]]

|{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|rowspan="13" |[[#Special_hardware|Special hardware]]

|colspan="2" |Agatsuma's TV Tuner

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Ya}}[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art37.html *][https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1jp70fe/gb_enhanced_v19_release_dmggbcgbapok%C3%A9mon_mini/ *]

|colspan="2" |AGS-006 family<br><small>Play-Yan<br>Play-Yan Micro<br>Nintendo MP3 Player</small>

|{{Ya}}[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art32.html *][https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art35.html *]

|colspan="2" |Battle Chip Gate

|{{Ya}}

|{{Na}}

|colspan="2" |Campho Advance

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Ya}}[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art35.html *][https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art36.html *]

|colspan="2" |Glucoboy

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Ya}}[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art33.html *]

|colspan="2" |Jukebox

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Ya}}[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art31.html *]

|colspan="2" |[https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art27.html Magical Watch]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|colspan="2" |Official Nintendo Infrared Adapter

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|colspan="2" |Power Antenna & Bug Sensor

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

| rowspan="2" |[[Toys-to-life emulation|Toys-to-life]]

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|Soul Doll Adapter

|{{Na}}

|colspan="2" |Turbo File Advance

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Ya}}

|colspan="2" |Virtureal Racing System

|rowspan="3" |Misc.

|colspan="3" |[[wikipedia:Hot_swapping#Gaming|Cartridge hot swapping]]<br><small>It was sometimes possible to apply cheats (such as a player having infinite lives) and other temporary software alterations to games by hot swapping cartridges, even though the cartridges were not designed to be hot swappable.</small>

|colspan="3" |[https://www.thealmightyguru.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Cartridge_tilting Cartridge tilting]<br><small>Cartridge tilting is an action performed on cartridge-based systems to create otherwise impossible glitches. Cartridge tilting is not a glitch, but rather the process which creates glitches.</small><ref name="Tilt" group="lower-alpha">{{YouTubePlaylist|PLkAqx5EV7l_DkwOv4WmVEBLv39WPEUm3d|Cart Tilt Showcase Playlist}}</ref>

| colspan="3" | <small>There is no emulator currently includes built-in cartridge tilting simulation. As a workaround, you can try the external [https://github.com/redscientistlabs/RTCV Real-Time Corruptor (RTCV)] tool. It is a real-time memory/data corruption tool for inducing glitches during emulation, which might mimic some effects of cartridge tilting (e.g., visual/audio artifacts or crashes). However, it is not a true "cartridge tilting" simulator, as it works on live memory rather than simulating cartridge read errors.</small>

|colspan="3" |[https://shonumi.github.io/dandocs.html#jcc_gcn Joy Carry Cartridge GameCube connectivity]

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

===GB/GBC backward compatibility emulation/Enhanced Mode===

Game Boy Advance is backwards compatible with GB/GBC, resulting in some [https://cheapergamer.co.uk/gba-enhanced-gbc-games/ GB/GBC games enhanced if you play on GBA]. Having said that, this shouldn't be confused with [[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulation]] or [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulators#Hardware features and peripherals|Super Game Boy 1/2]]. Some of the multicore emulators support both GB/GBC and GBA emulation; however, they don't have support for "backwards compatibility/GBA mode" emulation.

===Real-time clock===

===Game Boy Advance Video===

:''See also: [[Wikipedia:Game Boy Advance Video|Game Boy Advance Video]] on Wikipedia''

===Connectivity===

'''Note''': A purple end in GBA means player 1, while a gray 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 midsection.[https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/agblink.pdf *]