There are many ways to emulate the Game Boy Advance these days, whether it’s on modded games consoles or modern solutions such as the Raspberry Pi.
It can be a minefield to know which is the right emulator to use, this concise list of Game Boy Advance emulators should help get you on your way in minutes.
mGBA
mGBA has fast become a favourite with retro gamers looking to emulate the Game Boy Advance on the PC. It first began development in 2012 and appeared publicly as an alpha release in 2014. mGBA has since received regular updates, it even plays original Game Boy & Game Boy Color games.
mGBA has evolved into the definitive Game Boy Advance emulator. Not only does it do a fantastic job of allowing you to play all your Game Boy Advance games, but it also allows you to use GBA cheat codes, and has a comprehensive debug mode where you can access game assets and export them.
I am usually a fan of playing my Game Boy Advance games on a retro handheld console such as the Anbernic RG350, but mGBA is my go to GBA emulator and is full of great features.
mGBA Features Include:
- Not Just Game Boy Advance Emulation – You can also play Game Boy & Game Boy Color games.
- Game Boy Advance Peripheral Emulation – Many Game Boy Advance peripherals and special cartridges are supported, e.g. Realtime clock, Game Boy Printer, Game Boy Camera.
- View Game Sprites, Palette, Tiles & Maps – Utilise the excellent built-in tools that allow you to access the game’s assets.
- Video Scaling & Filter Options – Integer Scaling & Bilinear Filtering
My Boy!
My Boy! Is a great choice for Android devices with over 1 million installs. My Boy! Is well regarded for its quality of the emulation and wide range of features.
There is a free version of the app, but if you want the full experience, you will need to purchase the paid app.
My Boy! Features Include:
- Excellent Game Compatibility – Play virtually any Game Boy Advance game with no issues
- Link Cable Emulation – Play multiplayer games via Bluetooth or WiFi
- Gyro/Tilt/Solar & Rumble Emulation
- Cheat Code Functionality Built In
- Video Filters & Shaders
- On Screen Controls or Use Your Own Bluetooth Controller
- Easy To Use Interface
Other Android Game Boy Advance Emulators To Consider
GBA.emu
GBA.emu is an Android Game Boy Advance Emulator by Robert Broglia, who has also developed a number of other Android Emulators for Retro Systems, all of which are well regarded.
John GBA
John GBA is a simple-to-use Game Boy Advance Emulator for Android. It has a decent amount of functions built in, including cheat options, and cloud file support for saving config and save data.
GBA Emulator iPhone & iOS – RetroArch / mGBA Core
Since iOS is typically more difficult to install emulators too and usually requires some kind of workaround, I would recommend using RetroArch for your Game Boy Advance emulation on iPhone & iOS.
The mGBA core is available to iOS users via RetroArch, so once again, I make this the recommended core for Game Boy Advance emulation.
There are comprehensive tutorials available online to assist with the installation, so installing emulators on your iPhone / iOS device need not be a painful experience any longer.
As a retro gaming & retro computing enthusiast, I enjoy sharing help guides and about retro gaming in general, when I have the spare time to do so!