Latest 8 Best GBA Emulators for PC To Play in 2022
8 best GBA emulators for PC:
Game Boy Advance is one of the most popular handheld video game consoles of all time.
Followed by its predecessor Game Boy Color, GBA had better hardware and color quality. It was one of Nintendo’s most successful handheld consoles that users could take anywhere and play their favorite game boy games. And if you want to play GBA games on your Windows PC or Android smartphone, then you can use a GBA emulator.
In this article, we have mentioned the 8 best Game Boy Advance emulators that can be used to play any popular Nintendo’s GBA games on your PC.
Table of Contents
“Here are the 8 Best GBA Emulators for PC To Play in 2022”
1. mGBA
The first emulator on the list is called mGBA. Now the thing about these emulators is that they extend the support for the game beyond what is usually supported. So, when you decide to play GBA ROMS on PC, you get some additional features.
The additional features usually include the ability to save the game whenever you prefer. Some patches for games that do not run that well, and cheat code support as well. Some of the highlighted features of mGBA are listed below.
The emulator supports cheat codes.
It features the ability to override the game and enable ROM patches.
The good thing is that GBA is simple and easy to use, however, the simplicity comes with the cost of lack of features. It is not a bad thing, but I believe there should have been at least some advanced-level features for the sake of it.
Best features:
- Supports a huge catalog of GBA games.
- It allows you to use cheat codes.
- It is simple to set up, and simpler to use.
2. VisualBoy Advance
VisualBoy Advance is the oldest Game Boy Advance emulator I can think of. This is the one emulator I used to use when I did not own a GBA. At that time, there used to be some lag on slower hardware, but almost everything is now optimized for the different hardware.
VisualBoy Advance comes full of features that people will never get in a standard handheld console. This truly changes the gaming experience on this emulator and lets people enjoy the game just how they want to.
- The emulator supports all the older and modern operating systems.
- VisualBoy Advance has a lot of advanced features to make the experience better.
In simpler words, the VisualBoy Advance just might be the best GBA emulator that is available for use. It is completely free, gets constant updates, and allows you to play every GBA game on PC.
Best features:
- It allows you to save the game whenever you want.
- Take screenshots or record your gameplay.
- Use cheat codes to make the experience fun.
3. Higan GBA
Higan GBA Emulator is another great emulator that lets you play GBA games on PC. The emulator in nature is simplistic to its core, allowing it to run on almost all the hardware you throw at it.
The ease of use allows the user to control the emulator however they want. Apart from having support for just GBA games, Higan GBA Emulator also supports emulation for Famicom, Super Famicom, and Gameboy Colour, Sega Master System, Mega Drive, and even Game Gear.
- Supports emulation for multiple console types.
- Can be set up in a matter of a few seconds.
While the emulator is definitely a great option, I ran into some audio lag during my time with it. Albeit the issue was limited to a few games, it was still there and must be pointed out.
Best features:
- Supports a vast majority of ROMS to emulate.
- The emulator is not difficult to set up at all.
- It offers enhanced color reproduction.
4. NoCash GBA
No Cash GBA or No$GBA Emulator is a rather popular emulator for GBA that found a lot of relevance, and fame due to the unconventional name. However, the name is not the only thing that the emulator has to show you.
Apart from just being able to run GBA games, the emulator can also run Nintendo DS games. While the DS part is still not getting proper development and perfection, there are several games that work perfectly.
- The emulator can emulate both GBA and DS games.
- Allows the use of the controller.
- Lets the user configure the game any way they want.
There is no denying that No$GBA Emulator is a pretty powerful emulator that covers the majority of emulation with great ease. While it is not able to run all the DS games properly, every game on GBA can be played with ease.
Best features:
- The emulator has great optimization.
- Runs both GBA and NDS games.
- Allows support for a controller.
5. Bat GBA
If you are looking for a GBA emulator that focuses on simplicity more than anything, you are looking at one right here. The BatGBA is perhaps the simplest GBA emulator on the list. So much so that you do not get a lot of advanced options.
The emulator takes a very small amount of space and runs on almost any hardware with great ease. The emulator has been out for about a decade and allows the user to play all commercial and noncommercial GBA games with ease.
- No nonsense installation.
- Support for all the non-commercial and commercial GBA games.
I cannot really complain a lot about the emulator as it does what it is supposed to do. It is said that such a lightweight emulator lacks some of the advanced features, but that is how it is.
Best features:
- The emulator is perfect for people who want simplicity.
- It does not require a lot of knowledge.
- Runs every GBA game.
6. BizHawk
Explicitly designed for speed-runners, you will be able to play GBA games on PC and complete them in no time. BizHawk features a Tool-Assisted-Speedruns(TAS), which is technically not a cheat hack. This way, you can finish the game without using any unfair means.
Apart from that, you can automate different recurring functions and key requirements. Use the Macro tool with a full-fledged dashboard to assist in automation. There is an editor involved for advanced macros as well.
Save-state, slow-motions, and key-mapping are available by default, which can be accessed from the Config menu.
Best features:
- Advanced speed-runner tool.
- User-friendly macro dashboard.
- Dynamic saved-state menu.
7. Mednafen
Based on the command-line-based emulator source engine of Mednafen, this GBA emulator is all about getting you down to play games without any delay. The open-source Game Boy Advance emulator supports a wide range of platforms which is capable of running games of other older consoles.
You can play multiplayer GBA games online with the Netplay support on this emulator. Host your own servers with passwords or join others online. Swerving into the cheats, the supported standards include engines such as GameShark, ActionReplay, and Codebreaker. Access either of them using the keyboard hotkeys Alt+C after the initial configuration.
Best features:
- Wide range of support cheat engines.
- Play multiplayer online through Netplay.
- Supports many consoles apart from GBA.
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8. KiGB
GBA emulation cannot get any simpler than what KiGB has to offer. The overall interface exudes an MSDOS exterior, keeping everything well defined and structured. The free GBA emulator is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. It was initially available as a setup, but the latest also started offering zip, owing to popular demand from the fans.
KiGB offers a custom palette in the aesthetics departments that can display menus in various colors of the user’s choice. There are two themes – Ocean and Win95. The latter feels much smoother and accessible, as per our experience.
Coming to audio, 4 different channels are available at different frequencies. You can go stereo or speakers here. We are not expecting extra features from this DOS-based emulator, but it offers Auto Fire, which does exactly as the name suggests. You can assign it firing atomically to button A and B.
There are five modes of firing – Slowest, Slow, Normal, Fast, and Fastest. The controls have some room for experiment with keyboard, GB motion sensor, and joysticks.
Best features:
- Available on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
- Support for GB Sensor and keys.
- Auto firing that can be assigned to two keys.
End of the line:
In the above article, I have mentioned the 8 best GBA emulators for PC. If you find this article helpful then please comment and let us know about your thoughts and also mention in comments how we can improve in future articles.
