One of the most popular portable game systems of all time is the Game Boy Advance.
Because Android devices account for such a large portion of the market, it’s practically a given that Android users will want to play their old favourites on their phones. Because of the Android platform’s maturity, there are a few solid Android GBA emulators to try. We’ve compiled the most important information for you.
1. RetroArch
In the realm of emulation, the RetroArch is a poster child, mostly because it isn’t truly an emulator. RetroArch is a single, unified programme that allows you to connect to various emulators. RetroArch cores represent these emulators, and there are numerous to pick from for any system you want to imitate. VBA-M and mGBA, in particular, are good choices. To get started, see our Complete Guide for Retroarch on Android.
2. Pizza Boy
Pizza Boy, one of the most recent and most accurate GBA emulators available, is widely regarded as the best GBA competitor for Android, alongside Retroarch’s mGBA base (more on that later). We have a number of pizza boys games that can improve the accuracy of the emulation. It features some lovely skins that resemble the GBA versions, which is even more great than the nostalgia.
Pizza Boy’s sound and visual skills have even been put to the test against other emulators, and it has come out on top. To think that this outstanding feature of the software is so far ahead of the competition on this list makes you wonder how much better it can get! A Pizza Boy emulator for Game Boy Color was also created by the same developer, and it is as excellent.
3. My Boy
My Boy! is the most eye-catching inclusion on this list. It is without a doubt the most popular, because to its excellent performance, accuracy, and emulation capabilities. On the Google Play Store, there used to be a free homepage, but it appears to have been gone; the only option now is to purchase the Premium version. It’s still a great programme, but the $5 price tag brings it down to earth, since it’s difficult to justify the cost when there are so many excellent free emulators available. The free version is still available at Emuparadise, but it hasn’t been updated in a long time, thus it may be out of date compared to the Play Store version.
4. John GBA
The no-nonsense is a GBA emulator that is fairly realistic and has a lot of extra features. For those who wish to keep things simple, the John GBA is a great option. It comes with built-in cheats and a plethora of distribution possibilities. Dropbox integration is useful since it allows you to sync your saves and configuration data to the cloud and then play on another Android device. The default virtual gamepad style isn’t terrific, but it can be changed, and a Bluetooth controller is also supported. (We can’t emphasize enough how much better GBA games are when played with a gamepad.)
5. GBA.emu
GBA.emu is a great solution with a lot of features. Its free version, which is linked above, is functionally identical to its commercial version. You may choose the premium version if you want to help the developer, but you won’t have to worry about commercials.
Because it’s one of the few open-source Android GBA emulators, it gets regular upgrades. This is our favourite free choice on the list, aside from RetroArch. Finally, there are several Android GBA emulators, but only a handful are worth utilising. My boy! is hopefully your best option if you need to avoid the lengthy setup associated with RetroArch (especially if you’re only interested in GBA titles).