Nintendo - Game Boy Advance (mGBA)¶

Background¶

mGBA is an emulator for running Game Boy Advance games. It aims to be faster and more accurate than many existing Game Boy Advance emulators, as well as adding features that other emulators lack. It also supports Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.

The mGBA core has been authored by

endrift

The mGBA core is licensed under

MPLv2.0

A summary of the licenses behind RetroArch and its cores can be found here.

BIOS¶

Required or optional firmware files go in the frontend's system directory.

Warning

In order for the BIOS to be used, the 'Use BIOS file if found' core option must be set to On.

Filename	Description	md5sum
gba_bios.bin	Game Boy Advance BIOS - Optional	a860e8c0b6d573d191e4ec7db1b1e4f6
gb_bios.bin	Game Boy BIOS - Optional	32fbbd84168d3482956eb3c5051637f5
gbc_bios.bin	Game Boy Color BIOS - Optional	dbfce9db9deaa2567f6a84fde55f9680
sgb_bios.bin	Super Game Boy BIOS - Optional	d574d4f9c12f305074798f54c091a8b4

Extensions¶

Content that can be loaded by the mGBA core have the following file extensions:

.gb
.gbc
.gba

RetroArch database(s) that are associated with the [Core name] core:

Features¶

Frontend-level settings or features that the mGBA core respects.

Feature	Supported
Restart	✔
Saves	✔
States	✔
Rewind	✔
Netplay	✕
Core Options	✔
RetroAchievements	✔
RetroArch Cheats	✔
RetroArch SaveRAM Autosave Interval support	✔
Native Cheats	✕
Controls	✔
Remapping	✔
Multi-Mouse	✕
Rumble	✔
Sensors	✕
Camera	✕
Location	✕
Subsystem	✕
Softpatching	✔
Disk Control	✕
Username	✕
Language	✕
Crop Overscan	✕
LEDs	✕

Directories¶

The mGBA core's library name is 'mGBA'

The mGBA core saves/loads to/from these directories.

Frontend's Save directory

File	Description
*.srm	Cartridge battery save

Frontend's State directory

File	Description
*.state#	State

Geometry and timing¶

The mGBA core's core provided FPS is [FPS]
The mGBA core's core provided sample rate is 32768 Hz
The mGBA core's base width is [Base width]
The mGBA core's base height is [Base height]
The mGBA core's max width is [Max width]
The mGBA core's max height is [Max height]
The mGBA core's core provided aspect ratio is [Aspect ratio]

Core options¶

The mGBA core has the following option(s) that can be tweaked from the core options menu. The default setting is bolded.

Settings with (Restart) means that core has to be closed for the new setting to be applied on next launch.

Solar sensor level [mgba_solar_sensor_level] (0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10)

Can be used by games that employed the use of a solar sensor on their cartridges. E.g.: Boktai games.
Allow opposing directional input [mgba_allow_opposing_directions] (OFF|ON)

Allows opposing directional inputs. Up with Down. Right with Left.
Game Boy model (requires restart) [mgba_gb_model] (Autodetect|Game Boy|Super Game Boy|Game Boy Color|Game Boy Advance)

Runs loaded content with a specific Game Boy model.

Autodetect will select the most appropriate model for the current game.
Use BIOS file if found [mgba_use_bios] (ON|OFF)

Uses BIOS present in RetroArch's system directory. Look at the BIOS section for more information.
Skip BIOS intro [mgba_skip_bios] (OFF|ON)

The 'Use BIOS file if found' core option must be set to On for proper operation.

Skips the BIOS intro when a BIOS is present in RetroArch's system directory is used.

Skip BIOS intro - Off

Use Super Game Boy borders (requires restart) [mgba_sgb_borders] (ON|OFF)

Display Super Game Boy borders for Super Game Boy enhanced games.
Idle loop removal [mgba_idle_optimization] (Remove Known|Detect and Remove|Don't Remove)

Optimizes game performance by driving the GBA's CPU less hard.

Use this on low-powered hardware if its struggling with game performance.
Frameskip [mgba_frameskip] (0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10)

Choose how much frames should be skipped to improve performance at the expense of visual smoothness.