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* '''Glucoboy:''' An obscure medical peripheral designed to monitor a child's blood glucose levels and reward them for keeping tabs on their condition. [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. It's emulated in GBE+ as of Nov 25 2023, but the last release was in April 2023 so you'll have to compile the source code yourselfsince version 1.8.
→PC / x86
|discontinued = 2010
|predecessor=[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|Game Boy (Color)]], [[Virtual Boy emulators|Virtual Boy]]
|successor=[[Pokémon mini emulators|Pokémon mini]], [[Nintendo DS emulators|DS family(i)]]
|emulated = {{✓}}
}}
==Emulators==
===PC / x86===
<div style="maxoverflow-x:auto;width:100%; overflow:auto;">{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|-
! scope="col"|Name
|[https://gitlab.com/TASVideos/BizHawk/-/pipelines Dev builds]<br/>[http://tasvideos.org/BizHawk/ReleaseHistory.html {{BizHawkVer}}]
|{{~}} ||{{~}} || ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
|[[Mesen|Mesen]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2#development-builds {{MesenVer}}]
|{{~}} ||{{~}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||WIP
|-
|[[MAME]]
|{{?}} || || ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
|}
</div>
===Mobile / ARM===
<div style="maxoverflow-x:auto;width:100%; overflow:auto;">{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|-
! scope="col"|Name
|{{~}} ||{{~}} ||[https://docs.libretro.com/library/gpsp/#compatibility ?] ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}<ref group=N name=gpsp>Libretro Core Only.</ref> ||{{~}}
|-
|Pizza Boy GBAA Basic
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.dbtecno.pizzaboygbapro 2pizzaboygba 1.612.81]|{{~}} ||{{~}} || ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
|[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 {{.emuVer}}]</br>[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/75 1.5.46.02 Pyra]
|{{?}} || || ||{{✓~}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
|[https://sites.google.com/site/fastemulator/ My Boy!]
|{{?}} || || ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|}
</div>
===Consoles===
<div style="maxoverflow-x:auto;width:100%; overflow:auto;">{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|-
! scope="col"|Name
|3.4 test 4 build 230
|{{?}} || || ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[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>
|{{?}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
|}
</div>
;[[mGBA]]:Free and open-source Game Boy/Color and Game Boy Advance emulator developed by endrift. Being written from scratch, it aims for speed, [[Emulation Accuracy|accuracy]], and portability. As of yet, it's the most complete GBA emulation effort with [[#Enhancements|enhancements]] and [[#Hardware_features_and_accessories|feature support]], passing the older project VBA and its forks. It is also available as a Libretro core for RetroArch. As of 0.9.0, mGBA with a stripped-down GUI has been integrated into Dolphin recently for games supporting [[#Hardware_features_and_accessories|connectivity features]].
;[[NanoBoyAdvance]]:Highly [[Emulation_accuracy|accurate]]<ref>[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, developer "[https://github.com/fleroviux fleroviux]" will step down from actively developing the project.[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1auz9c9/nanoboyadvance_180_is_released_plus_announcement/]
;[[VisualBoy Advance|Visual Boy Advance (VBA)]]:The original GBA emulator. Discovered to have an <abbr title="Arbitrary Code Execution">ACE</abbr> vulnerability detailed below.
;[[higan]] / [[ares]]:[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]] wise it is behind compared to NanoBoyAdvance, SkyEmu (and maybe mGBA) but it has dot-based instead of scanline-based renderer and doing better job compared to VBA-M. Also it is behind in terms of compatibility compared to mGBA, NanoBoyAdvance and SkyEmu, but Ares stands out being [[Multi-system_emulators|multi-system emulator]] and supports some useful [[#Enhancements|enhancements]] like shaders/filters and simple debug features.
;[[Mesen]]: It has potential to being 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 [http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/dettaglio_mame.php?game_name=gba "imperfect"] as of version 0.261.
;[[gpSP]]:Originally made for the PSP, 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. TempGBA is another good fork. For other platforms, there's a libretro port of gpSP with fast x86 and ARM dynarecs. While it's 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 dead in 2024[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1b97uus/emulator_pizza_boy_for_gba_and_gbc_removed_from/][https://old.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/1ba5h5g/pizzaboy_emulator_is_gone/][https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/7/24093867/another-emulator-is-shutting-down]. However, in April, the project was renamed and development has resumed[https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/23/24138403/speaking-of-turning-your-phone-into-a-nintendo-emulator][https://gbatemp.net/threads/pizza-boy-a-basic-emulator-back-into-google-play-store-free-and-without-ads.654652/][https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1cbp2fx/pizza_boy_is_back/].
; [[Nintendo Switch Online]] (Sloop)
==Enhancements==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;width:100%"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! colspan=2 | Name
! SkyEmu
! NanoBoyAdvance
! Mesen
! Game Boy Player
! Virtual Console
|-
| [[Texture_packs#Sprite_Replacement_.282D.29|Sprite Replacement]]
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|-
| [[Widescreen_hacks#Emulators_.282D.29|Widescreen Hack]]
|
|
|
| [[Overclocking|Overclock]]
|{{N}}[https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba/issues/2833 *]
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|-
| [[30/60_FPS_cheat_codes|Internal Framerate Hack]]
|
|
|
|{{N}}
|-
| rowspan=4 6 | Post-Processing
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering AA]]<br/><small>(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)</small>
| {{Y}}
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]]<br/><small>(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])</small>
|{{Y}}
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]<br/><small>[[Shaders_and_filters#NTSC_Filters|NTSC filters]], [[Shaders_and_filters#Tonemapping|HDR tonemapping]] etc.</small>
|{{Y}}
|{{Y}}
|
|
|{{Y}}
|{{Y}}
|
|{{Y}}
|{{Y}}
|-
|[[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>
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{N}}
|-
| [[Shader_Presets|Shader Chain]]
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{Y}}[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/pull/1397 *]
|{{N}}
|{{Y}}
|{{Y}}
|{{N}}
|-
|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{N}}
|-
| rowspan=5 | [https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]
|
|{{N}}
|{{?}}
|{{N}}
|{{?}}
|
|{{Y}}
|
|
|
| Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed
|{{Y}}
|
|
|
|{{Y}}
|{{Y}}
|
|
|
| [https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]
| {{?}}[https://forums.mgba.io/archive/index.php?thread-4910.html]
|
|
|
| [[Input_lag|Input lag-mitigating technique]]
|{{~}}<ref group=N3 name=lrExclusive></ref>
|
|
|
| rowspan=6 | Quality of life
| Built-in [http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106405 Custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes]<br/><small>For using this on Windows OS you need [http://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=13 14 | <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>
| {{N}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|Cheat Manager]]
|{{Y}}
|
|
|
|
|{{Y}}
|
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|-
| Per-Game Profiles
|
|
|
|
|
|{{Y}}
|
|
|-
| [[Frontends#Graphical_User_Interfaces_.28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]
|
|
|
|{{Y}}
|-
| rowspan=4 5 | Misc| [[Netplay|Netplay]]<br/><small>You can use either Yuzuyuzu/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]
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{?}}
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|
|{{Y}}
|
|
|
|
|{{N}}
|-
| [[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]
| colspan=14 | Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| [https://retroachievements.org/gameList.php?c=5 RetroAchievements]
|{{N}}
|{{N}}[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu/issues/36 *]
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{N}}
|{{Y}}
|
|{{Y}}
|{{Y}}
|
|{{N}}
|}
</div>
<references group=N3/>
==Hardware features and accessories==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;width:100%"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! colspan=2 | Name
! SkyEmu
! NanoBoyAdvance
! Mesen
! Game Boy Player
! Virtual Console
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{Y}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{Y}}
|{{?}}
|{{?Y}}
|-
|colspan=2 | [[#GB.2FGBC_backwards_compatibility_emulation.2FEnhanced_Mode|GB/GBC backwards compatibility emulation/Enhanced Mode]]
|{{?}}
|{{n}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}<abbr title="3DS only">*</abbr>
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?X}}<abbr title="Plays GB/GBC games through a separate app">*</abbr>
|-
| colspan=2 | [[#Game_Boy_Advance_Video|Game Boy Advance Video]]
|{{y}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✗}}[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu/issues/44 *]
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{~}}<abbr title="Pokemon only">*</abbr>
|{{✗}}[https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu/issues/44 *]
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{~}}<abbr title="Pokemon only">*</abbr>
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}[https://old.reddit.com/r/EmuDev/comments/vvdqyk/release_of_skyemu_10/ifjfj7a/ *]
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{✗}}
|[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/15pvssg/the_skyemu_v3_gbgba_and_newly_nds_emulator_is_now/jw1785m/ WIP]
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{✗}}
|{{TBD}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{~}}<abbr title="Wii U only">*</abbr>
|{{TBD}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{y}}
|{{✗}}
|Rumble Feature
| {{y}}
| {{tbd?}}| {{tbd?}}| {{tbd?}}|| {{tbd?}}| {{?}}
|
|
| {{~}}<abbr title="Allows rumble support for games that had such function back when played in a Game Boy Player (Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)">*</abbr>
|-
|[[#Inputs|Solar Sensor]]| {{~}}<ref name=manual-switch group=N2>Only the Nintendo Switch port allows use of the Switch's light sensor.</ref>| {{y~}}<ref name=manual group=N2>Only manual configuration. No automatic detection via light sensor/camera input/weather forecast/GPS location/other.</ref>| {{y~}}<ref name=manual group=N2 />| {{y~}}<ref name=manual group=N2 />| {{y~}}<ref name=manual group=N2 />| {{y?}}
|
|
|
|
| {{y~}}<ref name=manual group=N2 />
|
| {{y}}
|
| {{n}}
| {{?}}
|
|
|Battle Chip Gate
| {{y}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|Soul Doll Adapter
| {{y}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Multi Plust On System
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Turbo File Advance
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Power Antenna & Bug Sensor
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Official Nintendo Infrared Adapter
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Jukebox
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Virtureal Racing System
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Play-Yan
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Campho Advance
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|-
|Glucoboy
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
| {{n}}
|}
</div>
<references group=N2/>
*mGBA support both 32MB and 64MB video cartridges.
:See [[Home_Media_Player#Emulators|this dedicated page]] for more information about home media playback support for emulation softwares.
:See [[Ripping_games|Dumping/ripping]].
===Connectivity===
;Glucoboy
==Emulation issues==
