If you ever played a Gameboy Advance emulator, then chances are you will need ROMs. The ROMs will act as the cartridges, which are basically the games.
A Gameboy Advance ROM will have a .GBA file format. This means that only a GBA emulator can run this type of file, or there are some NDS emulators that can run it as well.
It is like an MP3 player can’t play an MP4 file, or at least only the audio will play, but you can’t see the video.
That is the same for Gameboy ROMs, but there are those that come in a .IPS or .UPS file format. However, regular GBA emulators cannot play these file formats.
What you need to do is to know how to apply an IPS or UPS patch to these ROMs. What happens is that you need to do a step-by-step procedure to transform a .IPS or .UPS into a .GBA file.
*NEW
There’s a new file format that some rom hackers are now adapting, it is a .bps file. Check this guide to learn How To Patch A BPS ROM Hack File.
Table of Contents
What you need to do if you want to apply an IPS or UPS patch
The outcome that we want is to change the .IPS or .UPS into a .GBA. You can’t play the .IPS or .UPS files; hence patching the file is needed.
The process of patching means that we change or update the original content of the .GBA file to have the contents of the .IPS or .UPS files will be keeping the .GBA format.
In order for that to happen, we need a couple of things.
Things Needed for Patching a ROM hack
- Patch file
- ROM base
- Patcher app
The first thing that you need would be the .IPS or .UPS patch file. You’ll need those because they are the games you want to play. With Pokemon games, the ROM hacks will change the game’s content.
The next thing you need is the base ROM or the ROM on which the hack was based. For example, a ROM hack Pokemon Gaia uses FireRed as its base game.
The third thing you’ll need is the patcher which is the app or program that you will use to apply an IPS or UPS patch. The gist of this is that we will patch an actual Pokemon ROM into a ROM hack or whatever the contents are inside the .IPS or .UPS file.
Finally, always make sure you have a separate copy of the original Pokemon game ROM because once the patch is finished, all the contents of that ROM will be changed and gone forever.
Why the patch would fail
- There are several reasons, and the first one is that the .IPS or .UPS file from the start is unreliable. In short, it isn’t a good copy or it just wasn’t programmed correctly.
- The second reason is that you’re not using the right base game. You’re probably using Pokemon FireRed as the base game but it actually needs Emerald.
- Your copy of the base game isn’t reliable. There are ROMs out there and not just Pokemon that may have been corrupted or isn’t suited for patching the .IPS or .UPS format.
- The patcher is not good and unreliable. Don’t worry, we’ll be including reliable patchers in the step by step procedures.
How to Patch a .IPS file using Lunar IPS (Works for Windows PC’s)
In this procedure, we will guide you on how to apply a .IPS patch. The patcher we will use is Lunar IPS. This patcher will only work on .IPS formats. We will also use the Rocket Edition Final v1 as our .IPS file which we will patch with FireRed as the base game.
Step 1
Download the Lunar IPS patcher.
Step 2
Launch the Lunar IPS and click on Apply IPS Patch.
Step 3
Choose the .IPS file you want to patch which in this case is Rocket Edition Final v1.
Step 4
You will then click on the base game which is FireRed in this case.
Step 5
The patch will automatically happen which is usually a couple of seconds.
Step 6
This one is optional but you can rename the newly patched FireRed ROM to Rocket Edition Final v1 or whatever you want.
Step 7
Launch the GBA emulator and if the ROM loads properly and not it isn’t FireRed that comes out but Rocket Edition, then you did everything correctly.
IPS Patching Video Guide
How to apply a .UPS Patch using NUPS Patcher (Works for Windows PC’s)
We want to know how to apply an IPS or UPS patch, and we already know how to do it on a .IPS file. In this part, we will teach you how to apply a patch to a .UPS file. You’ll need to download the NUPS Patcher app for this one. Much like LIPS, the NUPS patcher only works on a .UPS file format.
Step 1
Download the NUPS Patcher.
Step 2
Launch the Patcher and click on Apply a UPS patch to file.
Step 3
Click on the Browse next to File to Patch.
Step 4
Choose the base game that we will be patching, and for this example, we have FireRed once again.
Step 5
Click on the Browse next to UPS patch.
Step 6
Choose the UPS file you want to patch and for this example, we’ll be using Pokemon Gaia.
Step 7
Click on Patch and wait for the file to patch.
Step 8
You’re done, and the FireRed will become Pokemon Gaia.GBA instead of UPS.
Step 9
Once again, it is optional to change the name of the file and try launching it on a GBA emulator.
UPS Patching Video Guide
How to Patch .IPS or .UPS files using ROM Patcher JS (Works for Mobile, Windows, and Macs)
The ROM Patcher JS is an interesting specimen because it can apply an IPS or UPS patch. This means that regardless of which file format you want, ROM Patcher JS can pull through. You still need the base game, but the interesting part is that you patch the files online. That’s right, the patcher itself is a website, and you don’t need to download any app or program, and here are the steps to use it.
This is a good site to use when you’re playing on mobile devices and want to patch a rom hack directly to your phone.
Step 1
Head to the website of ROM Patcher JS. Click here to go to the site.
Step 2
Click the Choose File on the ROM File section.
Step 3
Choose the base game for the patch and in this case, we’ll be using FireRed once again.
Step 4
Now click on Choose file in the Patch File section.
Step 5
Choose any .IPS or .UPS file you want to patch. If you take a look at the image, any of those two will do but we’ll use Pokemon Gaia.UPS for now.
Step 6
You’ll see a small green check meaning that both ROMs are compatible. All you need to do now is to click on Patch to start the process.
Step 7
Once the patch is done, the file will automatically be downloaded to your device or computer.
Step 8
You can rename it or not but launch the GBA emulator and see if the game works.
Patching with ROM Patcher JS Video Guide
Conclusion
Now that you know how patch IPS and UPS files to play a Rom hack, you can use any of the three methods above based on what you need.
Remember that the patcher you use will only patch specific to the ROM’s file type whether it is a .IPS or .UPS one. In some cases, you don’t have to download a GBA ROM file with a .IPS or .UPS format.
If you look hard enough, you may find an actual ROM with a .GBA format of the ROM hack that you want. Most of the time, these files are available if the ROM hack is currently having an update or patch being made for it.
If you want to get ahead, then by all means try to patch the ROM files that you have so you can play them on your GBA emulator.
For linux users, Floating IPS or Flips (https://github.com/Alcaro/Flips) works with the same instructions as Lunar IPS
Hi there Pingin. Yes, I heard a lot of good things also about Floating IPS and actually we created a guide about it here https://www.pokemoncoders.com/how-to-patch-bps-rom-hack-file/. Thank you for sharing the information.
I have a question. Is there an easier way to update the rom hacks to the newer versions of themselves without having to patch?
Hello Jared, each rom hack typically comes with its own set of instructions for updating, usually provided by the author. However, I haven’t come across any information on how to simplify these instructions.
What Verizon of fire red do I need ?
1.0
G** d***! It it required patching the worse part about downloading rom hacks
Thank you for dropping here Johnny. Sorry but that’s the most ethical way to play rom hacks.
I am struggling to get the updated Nameless (4.12) and I am following the steps but when I try to open the game in MyBoy the screen flashes white then goes to black! I am irritated by this! What am I doing wrong here?
Hi Joshua, happy to see you again here. Use a Fire Red V1.0 in patching the game.
I am trying to patch pokemon unbound with firered in the js patcher but there was no green check can you help
Hello, I am trying to patch Yu-Gi-Oh PokeDuel ups with Pokemon FireRed gba. It initially worked. However, when I started the game, it came up on the screen: “WRONG SAVE TYPE!
Please Change to Flash 128k.”
This message will not go away no matter what I try. I used the ROM Patcher JS. method. I am unsure what I should Do.
What is compatible for infinite fusion
Hi there Phoenix. Infinite fusion is made with RPG Maker or Essentials. Therefore patching is not required to play the game. Install the game directly on your Windows PC, almost like a normal software installation. If you wish to play it on Android, see our guide on How To Play RPG Maker XP Games On Android. Hope this helps.
hey i see that this reply i recent so i have a question what would the best gba emulator be like one that can also play ds gbc and gb games on for pc
I used the Js siteand The file is showing up as gba.txt
How to fix???
I’ve been struggling to patch emerald theta ex, I’ve been trying for 2 days even going to version 1.0 of emerald, but nothing is working, could you please help?
Struggling to patch radical red, the radical red rom is .ups so I have followed the steps provided and received a prompt saying ‘the patch doesn’t match the file, patching cancelled’ am I just making a simple error? I am using the NUPS patcher provided from this site
Hey Ashley, thanks for coming here. First off, Radical red is a FireRed rom. So you need to find and use a clean FireRed rom for patching, preferably the older version, which is V1.0 that most rom hacks require for patching. You can also watch this video on how to patch rom hacks with NUPS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ch5EPf8z80. Hope this helps.
Thank you for making this guide! Took me under two minutes to patch Pokemon Emerald Rogue thanks to you!
Hi Phoebe, I appreciate your feedback, and I’m glad the guide helped you out. If there’s anything from that guide you think needs improvements or need to be fixed, just comment here. Thanks for coming here.
i love pokemon so munch
We all do Rodrigo, thanks for coming here pal.
I’m trying to patch liquid crystal to fire red (its Rom base) and when I used patcher JS I put the base in rom base and it wouldn’t let me put anything in after that, what do I do? I tried restarting the website but it did it again.
I’m having the same problem too.
Trying to play unbound on my gba emulator on my phone. Do not own a laptop can I still do it?
Sure, you can play rom hacks on your phone, just use Rom Patcher JS.
Hi, after patching the file became txt and not gba. What should I do? Thank you.
Just remove the .txt thats what i did and it work
I’m trying to patch the latest Touhou Puppet Play Enhanced (Reloaded) version to FireRed and NUPS is giving me the “patch doesn’t match the file” error despite working for previous versions of the hack.
I have download ups file of pokemon unbound so I did as told in the video but it says “the patch doesn’t match the file” (the file I selected was fire red I am pretty sure that’s the one the game’s based on)
Which FireRed rom version do you have? Cuz most rom hacks require V1.0 and may not work for V1.1.
Where did you find the .gba format file for Firered? Ive been looking everywherw but cant find one.
Hi there, sorry but we don’t give out information related to roms here.
gameboy-advance/pokemon-fire-red-version
The patcher doesn’t look like the picture when I download it so I don’t know how to do it with the new interface.
When I patch it together and start the download it becomes a .txt file instead of gba. How would I fix this?
What would you recommend if I’m using an HP laptop?
Either of the mentioned methods works with your HP laptop.
I downloaded the latest GS Chronicles and played it to the point where my guys are level 16 and evolving but as soon as any of them evolve it crashes my game. I have seen several people ask this question but with no response. How do you fix this problem?
Could be a bug in the game? Or try switching to another emulator. I recommend using VBA for Windows or MyBoy for Android.
When i tried to do FireRed.gba and FireRed Radical ups that came from ur website, It says the patch is corrupt. What do i do? Get another version of FireRed or get a new ups?
Hello! I wanted to ask what patcher I need if I’m using a mac?
Thank you so much!
For Mac users, you can go with ROM Patcher JS which is the third tutorial in this guide. But you can also you the tool called Multipatch. I’m updating this article to include a tutorial for Multipatch.
I was using VBA-M for fire red rocket edition and when I tried to load up the patched file on the emulator it was just a white screen.
What patches should I use if I’m using android
Use ROM Patcher JS, see section How to Patch .IPS or .UPS files using ROM Patcher JS.
Can i do this in android phone?
Yup, please read on through the guide.
Trying to patch Pokemon XD to XG new gen an says the patch doesnt match the game file
how do i fix this problem
Hello. First, I want to say your articles are awesome. I’ve just recently gotten into pokemon ROMs and they have been a huge help. I’ve been going through this article in conjunction with your article about the best pokemon ROMs 2021 to get a good collection. So far, everything is working – i just am wondering, normally with my emulator (VBA) the version of Fire Red i play is a .zip file. With these methods, the games aren’t .zip, but .gba. Do I have to be careful If i plan on using both .zip and .gba with my emulator, or is it ok to switch between them for different games as long as it’s all working?
Hey there Nick, thanks for coming here. There shouldn’t be a problem if you’ll use .zip or .gba. But my suggestion is to put that file in a folder separate from other games you have.
hey, i imagine my issue is an easy fix and im just struggling because ive never been good with files and coding and the like. im trying to patch pokemon saiph to firered, however when i go to patch them nups says that theres an error opening the firered file. i can open the firered file fine on my emulator, so im not sure why its having issues opening if it can run as is. again, probably a really easy thing to fix, sorry if im asking the obvious or its a silly mistake, i really struggle with anything even remotely behind the scenes in computers and just patching them together period feels so out of my depth
I click on the fire red gba file, then go to try to patch it to pokemon gaia but it says file does not math. Any solution?
match*
Make sure the game is in .gba file format and not in .zip. Also, you might need a v1.0 FireRed rom version instead of v1.1.
I had the same problem as ZeroD and downloading v1.0 instead fixed it instantly. Thanks!
I’m glad my suggestion helps and yes, cheats can work only on V1.0 and not on v1.1
Why i can’t save the game? I am saving the game and im closing the program.. once i open it it brings me back to new game..
Thanks in advance!
Which game are you trying to play?