Visual Boy Advance (VBA) Review for GBC and GBA Gaming on Windows

The Game Boy Advance needs no introduction because it is one of Nintendo’s most successful handheld devices. Naturally, several Nintendo IPs dominated the system, including the Pokemon series.

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The main games for the GBA are FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. We didn’t even include the spin-off games like the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games.

That being said, there are numerous GBA emulators out there. The one we’ll be taking a look at is the Visual Boy Advance, or called the VBA for Windows PC users.

Vba review

The earliest version of the VBA was released around the early 2000s’. The date was presumably around 2003 or even 2004. It has been updated continuously, adding more features in the process.

Also read: MyBoy Review: Why Use It Over Other GBA Emulators

That’s where our Visual Boy Advance review can come into play. We’ll tell you why you may want to play your GBA or GBC games. Speaking of GBA games and aside from the regular Pokemon games, you can also play your favorite Pokemon GBA ROM hacks or even Pokemon GBC ROM Hacks.

It could be hacks of other games, but we’re more on Pokemon hacks here. There are a ton of them out there, so we’ll convince you to play using the emulator once you’re finished with our VBA Review.

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VBA Review Information and Details

Features

  • The VBA can play multiple ROMs for the GBA system. It can also play ROMs or games for the Gameboy and Gameboy Color.
  • The VBA has a save state function. Basically, you can save your game using specific commands. That way, you don’t need to go to a save point in the game.
  • There’s also the quick save and quick load function. You can save and load your game quickly, which is a nice trick that some people do to cheat the game.
  • Speaking of cheats, you can also input cheats for the VBA. Input the codes as either Game Shark or Code Breaker, depending on what the code is.
  • There’s also a turbo or speed boost button that you can hold. It gives you the power to speed up scenes and dialogues that you don’t want to read and want to get through the game so much faster.
  • You can even record your gameplay, which captures video and audio output on the VBA emulator. The save file can be used later on however you wish.
  • The VBA also has joypad support. This means you can plug in a controller on your PC and play the VBA using a controller.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • The VBA is easy to find and download online. It’s simple to search and make sure that you have the latest version.
  • The VBA is also safe because it won’t carry any viruses and problems as long as you download it from reputable sites.
  • The emulator is easy to use, and with all the features mentioned above, this VBA review will persuade you to use it.

Cons

  • You might have to check some ROMs and see if saving is possible. You must do some manual tweaking with the settings to ensure the game saves.
  • There could also be situations where your file might get corrupted if you keep changing the save file settings.
  • It can only be used for Windows PC.

Alternative Emulators

No$GBA

It is pronounced as No Cash GBA, which is a good alternative. It has some of the features of the VBA emulator. There are usually issues with cheat inputs but a good substitute for the VBA.

GB Enhanced+

This emulator can run your basic GBA, GB, and GBC ROMs. It also has some of the basic features mentioned above. It does have an ambitious little feature where you can connect it to a Barcode Boy and other supported GB accessories.

mGBA

Another typical emulator for your GBA needs. Can run those ROMs easily and the file size for this emulator is smaller than the rest.


Conclusion

The VBA is currently the best emulator out there for Gameboy Advance, Gameboy, and Gameboy Color games. This VBA review gives you an idea of what it can do compared to other emulators. If we had to give it a rating, it’d probably be a 4/5.

If you go to sites where they allow you to download emulators, you can see that the VBA is usually at the top of their list. Those alternatives fall between being number 2 and so on.

Remember that these emulators are free, so don’t pay for any of them.



About Taichee

Taichee is the ultimate writer for Pokémon gaming enthusiasts. With extensive experience, he expertly delves into popular Pokemon game series and ROM hacks for GBC, GBA, and NDS, meticulously testing cheats and sharing general gaming strategies on Pokemoncoders.

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