11 of the Finest Sport Boy Advance (GBA) Emulators for Android

The Sport Boy Advance is without doubt one of the hottest moveable recreation consoles of all time. Android smartphones take up such a big a part of the market, that it’s virtually inevitable that Android homeowners would take an curiosity in taking part in their previous GBA favorites on their telephones. The maturity of the Android platform means there are actually a couple of good Android GBA emulators price utilizing. We’ve gathered the very best of them for you right here.
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1. VGBAnext
VGBAnext just isn’t solely top-of-the-line GBA emulators for Android, however it’s additionally an emulator for Sport Boy Colour, Sport Boy, NES, Famicon, DiskSystem and VS System. You may play some actually esoteric stuff right here.
Nevertheless, the actual purpose to put in VGBAnext is the plethora of further {hardware} for the GBA that it provides. The app emulates tilt sensors, rumble packs, and even mild weapons! As well as, there are a bunch of pores and skin customization choices to raised fit your private aesthetic.
As well as, VGBAnext helps trendy gamepads in addition to older ones, like Nyko PlayPad and the PS3 Sixaxis controller. Save states could be shared between customers, and there may be even wi-fi multiplayer over Wi-Fi. You additionally get a neat “Rewind” function that allows you to roll again 16 seconds to rapidly retry that difficult part. Lastly, one of many weirder options of VGBAnext is the flexibility to report the soundtrack or sound results of a recreation and use them as your ringtone!
2. Pizza Boy
Pizza Boy is without doubt one of the more moderen Gameboy Advance emulators and extensively considered one of the correct GBA emulators for Android. It persistently scores very excessive ends in emulation accuracy exams.
Actually, fanatics have examined Pizza Boy’s accuracy towards different emulators, and it’s come out on prime. Along with glorious efficiency, Pizza Boy employs plenty of superior options, like saving recordsdata and configuration knowledge again to Google Drive, field artwork show for ROMs, native and community multiplayer, and emulation of cartridge options, such because the gyroscope and rumble. Moreover, there are customizable skins that basically make Pizza Boy stand out among the many competitors.

Since Pizza Boy is without doubt one of the newer emulators on this checklist, it’s nonetheless very a lot actively developed. There’s a free model of Pizza Boy accessible; nevertheless, most of the options that make the emulator so good are unique to the paid model. Each variations assist zipped ROM recordsdata. The identical developer has made a Pizza Boy emulator for Sport Boy Colour, which is equally spectacular.
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3. RetroArch
RetroArch is the poster youngster for the world of emulation, specifically as a result of it’s not precisely an emulator. As a substitute, it’s best described as a single, unified utility that organizes your video games and emulators. The sport and its corresponding emulator are launched from inside RetroArch, so there is no such thing as a have to fiddle with separate apps.
The front-end is appropriate with all kinds of platforms (together with Android) and helps a staggering variety of methods (together with Gameboy Advance).

RetroArch is a really handy option to play video games from plenty of consoles; nevertheless, there’s a vital quantity of configuration crucial. For instance, you will want to obtain particular person “cores” for every system you want to emulate. There are a number of cores to select from for every system. In regard to Gameboy Advance, VBA-M and mGBA are usually considered glorious choices. As a result of RetroArch could be intimidating, make sure to learn our full information for Retroarch on Android that can assist you get began.
4. John GBAC
John GBAC is the successor to 2 separate apps: John GBA and John GBC, that are each nonetheless accessible to obtain on the Google Play Retailer. Nevertheless, neither of them actively developed.

Like the sooner apps, the draw of John GBAC is its simplicity. It lacks some extra superior options, however the fundamentals are there. Gamepad assist, compatibility with zipped ROM recordsdata, and even save file importing to Dropbox (a separate app referred to as John Datasync is required to facilitate this) are all accessible. If you happen to’re in search of a fuss-free emulator for Gameboy Advance, John GBAC is an effective alternative. Moreover, John GBAC is totally free to make use of. Though, if wish to eliminate the adverts, you’ll have to cough up some money.
5. Nostalgia.GBA
Nostalgia has plenty of emulators accessible, and their Gameboy Advance variant is one other strong possibility. The person interface right here is nothing to put in writing house about however is useful. For the reason that UI is identical throughout all of Nostalgia’s household of emulators, you already know what you’re stepping into. If you happen to can look previous the lackluster aesthetics, there’s a strong GBA emulator to be discovered. Nostalgia.GBA relies on mGBA, one of the correct and in style open-source Gameboy Advance emulators accessible.

Along with accuracy, Nostalgia.GBA permits customers to share save states throughout quite a few gadgets. From inside the app, you may ship save states by way of Bluetooth, e-mail, Skype, and extra. Nostalgia.GBA additionally helps Bluetooth gamepads and ROM recordsdata in each .GBA and .ZIP codecs. As well as, customers can implement cheats and even activate a “rewind” function to retry sections of the sport till they “git gud.” The free “Lite” model of Nostalgia.GBA is equivalent to the “Professional” paid model, solely with the inclusion of adverts.
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6. My Boy!
My Boy! is without doubt one of the most well-known Gameboy Advance emulators on this checklist. It has earned this recognition with nice efficiency, accuracy, and options. My Boy! boasts excessive effectivity, guaranteeing higher battery life whereas utilizing the app. Moreover, My Boy! options BIOS emulation, that means that video games are emulated with extremely excessive accuracy. The app may also emulate numerous cartridge options, just like the gyroscope, rumble, and photo voltaic sensor.

As well as, My Boy! contains another helpful options, like native and community multiplayer, fast-forward, and slo-mo, in addition to save file syncing by way of Google Drive. There’s a free model accessible; nevertheless, it’s ad-supported and lacks a few of the options current within the paid model. One very last thing to notice: whereas My Boy! is correct and in style, it hasn’t seen any main updates in plenty of years. Subsequently, if you happen to’re in search of tweaks in efficiency or further options, you could wish to look elsewhere.
7. GBA.emu
GBA.emu is an extremely strong, feature-rich possibility created by Robert Broglia, the developer behind one of the in style SNES emulators of all time. Primarily based on VBA-M, GBA.emu focuses on low audio/visible latency. It achieves this by providing high quality BIOS emulation, that means video games run with excessive accuracy.

Specializing in efficiency, GBA.emu employs a really minimalist person interface. As well as, due to the emulator’s deal with efficiency, you received’t discover any flashy further options. GBA.emu provides controller assist, cheat codes, and customizable on-screen controls. And that’s about it. Whereas GBA.emu does what it units out to do, the worth tag is a bit steep – particularly for an emulator that doesn’t provide a few of the extra superior options.
8. Lemuroid
If you happen to’re planning on working extra than simply Gameboy Advance in your Android system, you’ll wish to try Lemuroid, an all-in-one emulation answer that runs video games from a lot of consoles (together with the Gameboy Advance), stretching all the way in which again to the Atari 2600 to more moderen consoles, just like the Nintendo 3DS. Lemuroid additionally helps controllers, customization of the contact controls when it comes to dimension and place on the display screen, and syncing save recordsdata to the cloud. As well as, there may be native multiplayer assist by the usage of a number of controllers on a single system and compatibility with zipped ROMs. To prime all of it off, Lemuroid is one hundred pc free, with no single advert in sight.

Like Retroarch, Lemuroid relies on the open-source Libretro. Nevertheless, the large distinction between them is their ease of use. Lemuroid is able to go straight out of the field: merely set up the app, scan on your ROMs and begin taking part in. Then again, Retroarch requires a little bit of fiddling round to get every little thing to work. If you wish to bypass the configuration and simply bounce straight into gaming, Lemuroid is what you’re after.
9. John GBA
A fairly correct GBA emulator with loads of further options, the no-nonsense John GBA is a superb possibility for individuals who wish to maintain issues easy. It has built-in cheats and numerous choices to enhance rendering. Significantly helpful is the Dropbox assist, which lets you sync your saves in addition to configuration knowledge to the cloud. You may then retrieve that knowledge and proceed taking part in on one other Android system.

The default digital gamepad structure isn’t nice, but there are customization choices that allow you to vary the scale and place of the on-screen buttons. As well as, there may be Bluetooth controller assist. There’s actually no purpose to make use of John GBA now that its successor, John GBAC is on the market, however we determined to incorporate John GBA on this checklist, as it’s appropriate with gadgets stretching all the way in which again to Android 4.1. To run John GBAC, you’ll want Android 6.0 minimal.
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10. VinaBoy Advance
One of many extra barebones Gameboy Advance emulators on the Google Play Retailer, VinaBoy Advance does what it says it is going to. You received’t discover any superior options right here: no rewinding, transferring save states between gadgets, and no tweaks. Nevertheless, what you do get is an easy and easy-to-use GBA emulator that performs .GBA, .7z, and .ZIP GBA ROM recordsdata.

VinaBoy Advance does have one main benefit over the competitors: it’s completely free. There aren’t any annoying adverts, nor are there options hidden behind a paywall. In fact, you’re sacrificing even a few of the extra primary options current in different emulators, however free is free, and that’s a powerful argument in itself. Even so, bear in mind that VinaBoy Advance’s final vital replace was in 2018. Regardless of that, the app is appropriate again to Android 4.0, so when you’ve got an older, low-power system, VinaBoy Advance could be price an set up.
11. EmuBox
One of many newer choices on the checklist, EmuBox is a type of jack-of-all-trades apps that emulates a number of retro gaming consoles, together with the Gameboy Advance, all beneath one roof. The GBA emulator is fairly bare-bones. It really works however don’t count on any superior options past save states and cheats. If you happen to’re all in favour of tweaking numerous settings, look elsewhere.

The upside to EmuBox is that the app is totally free, though you’ll have to tolerate a couple of adverts from time to time. Moreover, EmuBox is able to emulating consoles just like the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 1, supplied your system has the required energy. It’s additionally necessary to do not forget that whereas EmuBox could not have the identical quantity of options as different apps, it’s nonetheless within the early levels of improvement. Fingers crossed that sooner or later we’ll see added performance.
Honorable Point out – GBAoid
GBAoid (or Gameboid) is the OG in the case of Gameboy Advance emulation on Android. In comparison with the opposite entries on this checklist, GBAoid is a dinosaur. It’s primary in each sense of the phrase; nevertheless, it’s a light-weight utility that takes up little or no cupboard space and requires minimal processing energy. Moreover, GBAoid is appropriate with historic variations of Android. Total, this makes GBAoid the proper app to resurrect that previous cellphone sitting in your junk drawer.
Sadly, the app has been deserted by the unique developer and hasn’t acquired any updates in years. Consequently, it’s not even accessible for obtain on the Google Play Retailer. Nevertheless, there are some third-party web sites which are internet hosting the APK if you wish to give it a strive.
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Regularly Requested Questions
Do I have to unzip my ROMs?
IIf you favor to maintain your ROM assortment compressed, you’ll have to go for a GBA emulator that helps .ZIP or .7z codecs. Sadly, not the entire GBA emulators accessible on Google Play assist compressed ROM recordsdata. Double-check the emulator app’s particulars on the Google Play retailer to guarantee that it explicitly states that it helps compressed recreation ROMs.
The place do I put my ROMs?
Most of the emulators listed above have the flexibility to scan your whole system and discover ROMs routinely. However you’ll be having fun with your video games quicker if you happen to inform the app the place to search for them. All trendy apps will assist each inside and exterior storage. In our exams, we haven’t seen any efficiency distinction between the interior storage in your system or an exterior microSD card. Moreover, in case you are planning on working a number of emulators for various consoles in your system, we suggest creating subfolders devoted to every console.
Do I want a controller, or are the on-screen controls ok?
Like all consoles, the Gameboy Advance was designed with a standard controller with tactile buttons in thoughts. Subsequently, to get the very best expertise, we suggest utilizing a controller. In spite of everything, the emulators right here assist controllers for a purpose. If you happen to’re in search of a controller, try a few of the finest controllers accessible for Android.
You may undoubtedly get by utilizing the on-screen controls. Most of the emulators listed above provide on-screen button customization.
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