Alternatives to mGBA
A Game Boy Advance emulator that gets the accuracy right and still runs at full speed on weak hardware. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
mGBA
A Game Boy Advance emulator that gets the accuracy right and still runs at full speed on weak hardware.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as mGBA.
RetroArch
One front end for dozens of emulators, with unified settings, shaders and a controller setup you only do once.
RetroArch runs many systems through downloadable cores with one set of settings and controller configuration, on desktops and phones, though a core can be less accurate than the standalone emulator.
BizHawk
A multi-system emulator built for tool-assisted speedrunning, with rewinding, frame stepping, memory search and input recording.
BizHawk covers a wide range of systems with rewinding, frame stepping, memory editing and TAS recording, but it runs only on Windows and Linux and individual cores trail dedicated emulators.
OpenEmu
macOS emulator front end with a polished library interface.
OpenEmu is a macOS-only front end with a polished library interface, artwork handling and one controller setup across systems, with core updates depending on the OpenEmu team.
Provenance
Multi-system emulator for iOS and tvOS covering more than thirty consoles.
Provenance brings more than thirty systems to iOS and tvOS with full controller support, but installation involves sideloading or the App Store's changing emulator rules.
NooDS
A fast, portable open-source emulator for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.
NooDS emulates both GBA and Nintendo DS with an Android build and homebrew ports, but it has a smaller feature set and does not list the Game Boy models mGBA covers.
SkyEmu
A low-level emulator for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
SkyEmu covers Game Boy, Game Boy Color, GBA and DS with low-level emulation, but lists only macOS and Linux and its platform support is not clearly documented.
Also worth comparing
These listings name mGBA as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
BGB
A Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulator with a built-in debugger for Windows and Wine.
mGBA is an open-source MPL-2.0 emulator that adds Game Boy Advance support, rewind, Lua scripting and video recording on Windows, macOS and Linux, and runs at full speed on weak hardware.
Gearboy
An accurate Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Super Game Boy emulator with a built-in debugger.
mGBA adds Game Boy Advance support alongside earlier Game Boy models, with a built-in BIOS, rewind, cheats and Lua scripting, and runs at full speed on low-end machines.
no$gba
A Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and DSi emulator with a source-level debugger.
mGBA is an open-source MPL-2.0 Game Boy Advance emulator for three desktop systems with Lua scripting and rewind, but it does not emulate the DS or DSi.
SameBoy
Highly accurate Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulator.
mGBA also plays Game Boy Advance games with a built-in BIOS, rewind, Lua scripting and video recording, running at full speed on weak hardware, though without SameBoy's Super Game Boy focus.
VisualBoyAdvance-M
A Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance emulator that continues the original VisualBoyAdvance.
mGBA handles GBA cartridges with motion, solar and clock hardware, includes a built-in BIOS, rewind and Lua scripting, and runs at full speed on low-end machines.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
ScummVM
Replaces the original executable of hundreds of classic adventure games so they run on hardware that did not exist yet.
MAME
Documents and recreates thousands of arcade machines, consoles and old computers, with accuracy as the point.
melonDS
A Nintendo DS and DSi emulator focused on accuracy and speed, with local wireless between emulated consoles.
DeSmuME
Long-running Nintendo DS emulator with high-resolution rendering.
