The emulator we are taking a look at today is the mGBA. Like previous articles, this will be our mGBA review for playing Pokemon games. Let’s take a little history lesson with the mGBA. The earliest version of this emulator was released around 2014. Around this time, there were already existing GBA emulators.
Naturally, the people behind mGBA had to find ways to make sure it stood out from the rest. The m stands for mini, and this emulator is used on different platforms except for Android and iOS. Like any of the existing GBA emulators, the mGBA can run GBA, GBC, and GB games.
Downloading can be easy when you head to their main website. It is free, and the emulator is still getting updates as long as users are reporting bugs with it. The latest update was just May this year, and the current version is 0.9.3; we’ll divulge the features you need to know.
Other Related Topics
- Visual Boy Advance (VBA) Review
- My Boy Review
- Alternative VBA Emulators for Mac
- Best GBA Emulators for Pokemon Gaming
Table of Contents
mGBA Review Information and Details
Features
- The mGBA can run ROMs for systems such as the Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Color, and Gameboy.
- Save states are available aside from the in-game save system. Save and load your game at any point without using save points and other in-game requirements.
- Quick save and quick loading is also available. It’s similar to save states, but you might overlap your saves in the process.
- Turbo and game acceleration features are also applicable. Speed your game up if you want to get through those unwanted dialogues and more.
- A couple of advanced features you can check and configure. We’re talking about frame rates, emulation settings, and more.
- Cheats are usable on the mGBA as it supports cheats in Game Shark, Code Breaker, and Action Replay-types.
- It can be played on multiple systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD. It is even usable on existing consoles such as the Switch, 3DS, Wii, and Playstation Vita.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The emulator is usable on numerous systems.
- If you have the time and effort, you can adjust and tinker with the different settings to make your emulation and gaming experience a bit better.
- Even without tinkering with the settings, the emulator runs fine.
- It is free to download.
Cons
- The advanced and added settings may not be user-friendly. Most people wouldn’t know how to adjust these things without looking at a guide.
- The emulator might have some bugs not seen yet, so check the updates.
- Not for Android and iOS.
- In our experience, some Pokemon cheats do not work on mGBA.
Alternative Emulators
Visual Boy Advance
The Visual Boy Advance needs no introduction as it has been around for almost 20 years now. It’s a good emulator to use, having many of the features you want even without the advanced and added settings.
No$GBA
Another good emulator has some of the basic features right. Cheat inputs may be a bit of an issue, but nevertheless, there are no issues with the entire emulation.
GB Enhanced+
Can run GBA, GBC, and GB games with the basic features intact. One thing is that it can be able to connect to some of the available Gameboy accessories around.
Conclusion
Now that you have read through the mGBA review for playing Pokemon games, you might want to consider getting it. Downloading it is easy and free and if you encounter any bugs, feel free to leave them on the emulator’s official page.
The key here is that the emulator works, and you have the features that you want, such as state saving, speed boosting, and using cheats. You can also check those advanced features that you might want to edit and adjust or not at all, and it will still give you a nice emulation experience for playing Pokemon and other games.
