Emulators on Android

Nintendo Game Boy/Color

Developer	Nintendo
Type	Handheld game console
Generation	Fourth generation
Release date	1989
Discontinued	2003
Predecessor	Game & Watch
Successor	Game Boy Advance
Emulated	✓

The Game Boy (GB) and Game Boy Color (GBC) are 8-bit, fourth-generation handheld consoles released by Nintendo on July 31, 1989 and November 18, 1998 respectively and retailed for $89.95. The Game Boy has a Sharp LR35902 core CPU at 4.19 MHz. It had a monochrome display that could only show four shades of grey, albeit with a olive green tinge on the original. The Game Boy Color uses the same LR35902 core as the original; while it is clocked at 8.38 MHz, it can be underclocked to 4.19 MHz for backwards-compatibility purposes. It was named such from its color screen, but it also had a larger memory size and a faster CPU. The hardware similarities allow cross-compatibility between the two platforms and they are often treated as one. They would both be succeeded by the backward-compatible Game Boy Advance.

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 Entertainment System called Super Game Boy in June 1994, which was modeled like a cartridge but included its own cartridge slot for Game Boy/Color games, as well as the hardware needed to translate the games. Many Game Boy/Color 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.

Emulators

Because of how relatively easy popular 8-bit consoles are to emulate, tons of Game Boy emulators exist. For a list of open-source projects, see this GitHub query. For a list of accuracy tests, see GB/C Tests.

Name	Platform(s)	Latest Version	Game Link Support	Libretro Core	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
SameBoy		0.16.3	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
BGB		1.6.2	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓
Gambatte		r571	✗	✓	✓	✗	✓
Gearboy		3.5.0	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓
BizHawk		2.9.1	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓
binjgb		v0.1.11	✗	✗	✓	✓	~
MAME		0.265	✗	✓	✓	✓	~
Emulicious		2024-03-31	✗	✗	✗	✓	~
higan		v110	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗
mGBA		0.10.3	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
VisualBoy Advance-M (VBA-M)		2.1.9	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
GBE+		1.8	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗
VGB		6.0	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗
Pantheon		13.640	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗
hhugboy		1.4.0	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗
UGE		1.0 beta 9	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗
KiGB		2.05	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
TGB Dual		git	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗
GiiBiiAdvance		git	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗
MetroBoy		1.02	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗
Mobile / ARM
mGBA		0.10.3	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
GBA4iOS		2.1	✓	✗	?	✓	✓
Game Play Color		2.4.2	✗	?	?	✗	✓
GBC.emu (Gambatte 0.5-wip based)		1.5.54git 1.5.46.01 Pyra	?	✗	✓	✓	✓
GBA.emu (VBA-M r1097 based)		1.5.54git 1.5.46.01 Pyra	?	✗	✓	✓	✓
GizBoy		1.0	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
gbc4NSpire		0.92git	✗	✗	~	~	✓
Prizoop		1.0git	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
GIOVANNI		git	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
CuteBoy		0.2	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
GB4ME		?	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
MjavaBoy		0.017	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
MeBoy		1.6git	✗	✗	~	✗	~
MeBoy-Asha		git	✗	✗	✓	✗	~
My OldBoy!		1.5.2	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗
John GBC		3.93	?	✗	✗	✓	✗
Ohboy		x.x	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
GameBoyjava		[1]	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
JavaBoy		git	✗	✗	~	✗	✗
JavaGB (JMEBoy)		1.5.3	✗	✗	~	✗	✗
MGB		?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
MeBoy-F		2.2	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
MiniBoy		?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Consoles
GameYob DS		git	✓ (NiFi)	✗	?	✗	✓
GameYob 3DS		1.0.8git	?	✗	✓	✗	✓
Visual Boy Advance-M (VBA-M)		r1231	✓	✓ (as VBA-Next)	?	✓	✓
PlutoBoy		git	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
MasterBoy		Theelf mod2.02git	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
RealBoy Vita		1.2git	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
Virtual Console		8.10	✓ (Pokemon only)	✗	✗	✓	✓
mGBA		0.10.3git	?	✓	✓	✓	✓
GeMP		3.3 Finalgit	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
RIN		gitRX 1.32n1.2	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
GBEmu		Beta	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Khedgb		U7	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
gacubeboy		[2]	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
GBiine		0.5.2	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
e[mulator]-PSP		0.82fgit	✗	✗	✓	✗	~
PSP-Gnuboy		r1	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
SpiceBoy		r2	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
Cinoop		git rel (PS4)	✗	✗	✓	✗	~
Gambatte		r2	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
InfoGB		rev 6c	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
aGBe		SF	✗	✗	✓	✗	~
Shuboy (Only GB)		1.0	✗	✗	✓	✗	~
GBEmu (Only GB)		0.1	✗	✗	✗	✗	~
Playstation Gameboy Emulator		[3]	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Super GB Booster		[4]	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
GBonGBA (Only GB)		0.4	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Goomba Color		2.1	✗	✗	~	✗	✗
PocketGB (Only GB)		0.1a	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Game Boy Emulator (POM '98) (Only GB)		0.1	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
GBLator (Only GB)		1.0	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Others
PlutoBoy		git	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓

Comparison

Game Boy-only emulators

SameBoy

A relatively new emulator, probably the most accurate Game Boy emulator currently. The UI is simple and easy to use. It includes open source bootroms, although these can be replaced with real ones. Also emulates Game Boy Camera and Game Boy Printer.

BGB

A closed-source emulator for Windows (and Wine) with excellent Game Boy and Game Boy Color accuracy, as well as near flawless link support. It has a wealth of options for color palettes and even enabling Super Game Boy colors and borders, though it doesn't emulate all of its functions. It also has an advanced debugger.

Gambatte

Extremely accurate open-source Game Boy/Color emulator. It has a good range of options and features, though not quite as much as some other emulators. It has not been as active lately.

TGB Dual

An ancient emulator that supports link cable emulation. It also supports netplay, but it requires a VPN. The libretro port supports local multiplayer using player 2's controls.

KiGB

An old and obsolete emulator which boasted its accuracy but was proven to be full of game-specific hacks. It has a wide selection of features, but other emulators have caught up and are already doing much better.

GiiBiiAdvance

Pioneered full GB Camera emulation, including webcam support. Aside from that, it's an unfinished emulator with the basics set up, but its promising future currently on hiatus. It has very accurate timing.

MetroBoy

Extremely accurate Game Boy simulator which being written in a subset of C++ that's designed to to be mechanically translated into Verilog HDL.

hhugboy

A Windows-only Game Boy/Color emulator based on GEST with a focus on bootleg and unlicensed games. It is capable of detecting and correctly emulating the mapper on a number of games that are otherwise broken on other emulators, but some ROMs require manually selecting the mapper on the Unlicensed Compatibility Mode menu. Besides the usual raw dumps, it also supports the footered GBX ROM format, which correctly informs the emulator which mapper to run regardless of what the internal headers say.

List of recommended GB/GBC emulators for Android:

• 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.)

Backwards-compatible GBA emulators

mGBA

Primarily emulates the Game Boy Advance but it also includes GB/C support much like the original system. It's still in development, but it's already on the level of many other emulators.

GBE+

A recently rewritten emulator that has a large effort in preserving the functions of obscure accessories that other emulators don't focus on. It can also load custom tiles in games, including colorized tiles for original Game Boy titles.

VisualBoy Advance-M (VBA-M)

Used to be the go-to for Game Boy Advance emulation and even included solid GB/C emulation. It's now behind mGBA on both fronts.

Multi-system emulators

higan

Because it started out as a SNES emulator (its original name was bsnes), it was the first and 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 v073 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 gameboy driver despite the sound being imperfect, as well as slightly worse Game Boy Color compatibility through its gbcolor 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_.

Mednafen

Its Game Boy Advance core is forked from an old version of VisualBoy Advance.

Emulation issues

Oversaturation

Comparison of saturation levels in VBA-M and Gambatte.

The Game Boy Color's screen is under-saturated. 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 shader functionality may be implemented.

This issue also affects Game Boy Advance emulation.

Emulator options

mGBA: Under Tools > Settings > Shaders, you will find three customizable Desaturation parameters.

VBA-M: Under Options > Game Boy, you will find the GB color option. The recent nightly builds also include the LCD Filter option.

Unlicensed Mappers

Much like the NES, the Game Boy (and by extension, the Game Boy Color) used Memory Bank Controllers (MBC) (called MMCs on the NES) and also known informally as mappers, to go beyond the restrictive initial hardware specifications. Nevertheless, Nintendo was much more careful to standardize their specifications to just a small number of possible mappers. Moreover, Game Boy ROMs now included an official internal header mandated by Nintendo that included the correct MMC type. This meant that for the officially licensed games, these mappers proved to be rarely a problem... with some notable unimplemented exceptions: Net de Get's MBC6 that offered downloadable content off the internet, and the MMM01 footer used for some official multi-cart games, among others.

However, shit hits the fan when it comes to unlicensed games, since they didn't necessarily respect Nintendo's specifications about how a given mapper type should handle its memory and behave in general, and internal headers were often filled with erroneous data to hinder dumping and emulation efforts. Some emulators like MESS and hhugboy try to emulate that behavior with various degrees of success (Compatibility List). The hhugboy project also proposed a similar solution to iNES for this mapper problem, as the gbx ROM format that appends a footer with extra information needed for some unlicensed games. However, this format, much less unlicensed hardware quirks, isn't widely adopted aside from tentative mGBA support.

Hardware Features

IR Transmitter

The Game Boy Color had an infrared transmitter and receiver. Generation II Pokémon games made use of this feature through Mystery Gift. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe could send high scores to another cartridge. GBE+ had basic IR emulation back in July 2016 but it then only worked with Pokémon games. Now, as of April 2018, it has full IR emulation for most IR-enabled games (Hudson Soft's HuC-1's IR capabilities need to be emulated for Japanese Pokémon TCG).

Game Boy Camera

Name	Platform(s)	Build to Use	Recommended
PC / x86
mGBA		0.7	✓
VBA-M		Latest	✓
GiiBiiAdvance		?	✗
BGB		?	✗
Hashcam		Source	✗

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.

As of version 0.7.0, or any dev builds post 0.6.0, mGBA can emulate this accessory by either using the PC's webcam or sending a BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, or other image format to the game, as if it was coming from the camera itself. The camera is also functional on the 3DS port. To enable the PC webcam, go to Game Boy under settings and switch the camera driver to Qt Multimedia, or by editing qt.ini and setting cameraDriver=1 under [General].

Game Boy Printer

Game Boy Printer is a thermal printer accessory released by Nintendo in 1998 used in conjunction with the Game Boy Camera and also used to prints images from compatible GB games such as Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Donkey Kong Country and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

VisualBoy Advance (including its forks), GBE+ and mGBA have Game Boy Printer support that turn the signals into a bitmap form of the image.

Motion Control (Tilt Sensor)

Two Game Boy Color games featured a built-in tilt sensor: Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble and Command Master. These games cannot be played without support for this feature. VBA and KiGB have a "Motion Sensor" option to map four directional keys to emulate the cartridge tilting, but the controls aren't analog. BGB can emulate the tilting features with the use of the mouse.

Rumble

A good number of cartridges came with a built-in rumble that required an AAA battery to power, such as Pokémon Pinball, but the feature is optional. So far, only VBA-GX emulates rumble in these games, including games that have their rumble feature dummied out (one being Tarzan).

Multiplayer

• Link Cable: BGB, KiGB, some versions of VBA-M and TGB-Dual supports link cable. It can also be used for Netplay on the corresponding RetroArch core.
• 4-Player Adapter: Currently only GBE+ supports it. There is a 16-Player adapter as well, but it went unreleased outside of unused code in some games, and as such isn't emulated.

Online Features

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 saw use on some Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games, but support was limited to Japan, and the servers went offline by 2002.

It is possible to partially emulate its feature for Pokémon Crystal by using BGB's scripting capability, and GBE+ can at least reach the title screen of Mobile Trainer and made some progress in July 2018, but otherwise, no emulators (except for a recently leaked at time of writing internal emulator) properly support this accessory.

Hudsonsoft KISS Link

This accessory both allowed IR communications between 2 gameboys before the Game Boy Color existed with it’s IR port and with a modem, it allowed users to download exclusive content by them from Hudsonsoft's website. No emulator supports this. Resources about this super obscure accessory include http://nectaris.tg-16.com/GB-KISS-LINK-FAQ-hudson-gameboy-nectaris.html and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOuJ0EcA8IQ

Accessories

There are a few accessories that the Game Boy and Game Boy Color had. Due to their very small and game-specific use, most emulators don't bother with them at all, save for GBE+.

• Game Boy Pocket Sonar: Japan only cartridge released by Bandai. It is a sonar-enabled device used for fishing with a fishing game included. Only GBE+ supports this feature. A similar cartridge was released for the WonderSwan (still unemulated).
• Barcode Boy: An obscure Japan-only barcode-scanning device released by Namcot (then-Namco's consumer division) in 1992. A total of 4 games were 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 accepts it as a valid barcode. GBE+ has proper emulation with the ability to read barcodes from binary files.
• Barcode Taisen Bardigun: Another Japan only barcode-scanning device with the dedicated game. GBE+ supports this accessory.
• Singer Sewing Machine: There is link cable support for the Singer IZEK Digital Sewing Machine. The IZEK was unique in that it came bundled with a specially coloured Game Boy and a cartridge for interfacing with the machine. Despite the IZEK's rarity, support for it has been added in a recent GBE+ release.
• Suzuki Pocket Dash Diagnostic System and Aprilia DITECH Interface: A series of diagnostic cartridges used for Suzuki and Aprilia scooters respectively, developed by Orbital Technologies in the early 2000s. Both were used to interface with a supported motorcycle's engine control unit (ECU) in a similar manner to OBD tools for automobiles. The diagnostic cartridges were only made available for use by motorcycle dealerships and were not licensed by Nintendo. No dump of either cartridge exists as of 2024.

External links

• Game Boy Development Wiki – Information about the Game Boy
• Emulating Game Boy Camera and Game Boy Printer in BGB (work in progress) – Game Boy Camera ROM running in BGB unofficially by exploiting linking capabilities