Tutorial  Updated

How to use a GBA as a controller for Wii U!

This tutorial is based on sections of tutorials listed below.
https://sites.google.com/site/completesg/backup-launchers/gamecube/cmios
https://gbatemp.net/threads/gameboy-advance-original-sp-micro-as-gamecube-controller-for-wii.435282/
https://sdremix.com/installation/gamecube-installation/running-gcn-homebrew/
This requires a Wii U + Gamecube Adapter, and a Wii with Gamecube Ports or a Gamecube capable of running Homebrew!
You'll need to follow these steps each time you want to play using the GBA!
1. Extract the ZIP located at the bottom of this post to the root of your SD Card.
2. Obtain the latest MIOS version using NUS Downloader (the steps are located at the top of the first link).
3. Place the MIOS wad renamed to "RVL-mios-v10.wad" on the root of the SD Card.
4. Remove the SD Card from your computer, and place it into the Wii.
5. Go to Homebrew Channel and launch "Installer for WiiGator's cMIOS."
6. Set the install IOS to IOS 249 and Press A.
7. Press the button it tells you when it pops up.
8. Press the A button for the remaining menus.
9. Launch WiiXplorer and navigate to the SD Card.
10. Click on gbi.dol and select GC Homebrew.
11. Connect your GBA to any port using the Link Cable.
12. Turn the GBA on without a Game in the slot, and wait for the screen to turn blank.
13. Press buttons on the DPad, If the values on the screen change, then that means it worked. If the values don't change, try plugging it into another port.
2. Enter Homebrew through your preferred method.
3. Launch gbi.dol.
4. Connect your GBA to any port using the Link Cable.
5. Turn the GBA on without a Game in the slot, and wait for the screen to turn blank.
6. Press buttons on the DPad, If the values on the screen change, then that means it worked. If the values don't change, try plugging it into another port.
The GBA should work if plugged into the GC adapter for a game like Super Smash Bros.
However, you won't be able to control the characters as the DPad is mapped to the normal DPad.
Thankfully there's HID to VPAD! https://github.com/Maschell/hid_to_vpad/releases (or the Wii U Plugin System by Maschell https://github.com/Maschell/WiiUPluginSystem/releases)
I've included an ini file called "GBA Smash.ini" which I have tested with Super Smash Bros. It works somewhat well.

Wii U Steps
1. Take the SD Card out of your Wii/Gamecube and plug it into your computer.
2. Add HID to VPAD to your SD Card.
3. Remove the SD Card from your computer.
4. Plug the SD Card into your Wii U.
5. Launch Homebrew through your preferred method
6. Run HID to VPAD.
7. Assign the GBA to a controller slot, and press the Plus/Start button on your Wii U Gamepad/Wiimote.
8. Start the game of your choosing and play with a GBA!
 

Attachments

  • GBA on Wii U.zip
    2.7 MB · Views: 492
Last edited by Deleted member 424658,

Cloudest

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jun 22, 2007
Messages
4
Trophies
0
XP
232
Country
Cote d'Ivoire
Wait, this means that we can use pokemon (GBA) through cable link for Pokemon XD/Collosseum in near future? (i hope so) (sorry my broken english though)
 

Argonitious

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
103
Trophies
1
XP
260
Country
United States
I didn't think this could even be done. Nice find. :yayu:

I could actually use this for the increasingly common occasion where I need an extra GC controller. I'm too cheap to buy extras right now. :rofl2:
 

KevinLSX

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Messages
526
Trophies
0
XP
1,113
Country
United States
Works perfectly fine on my Switch with the original WiiU Gamecube adapter and controller.gba from GBI running on the GBA. Kind of useless since it doesn't emulate all buttons, but it seems to work quite fine.
But thats different from this technique
Still works though
 

MikaDubbz

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Messages
3,872
Trophies
1
Age
36
XP
7,355
Country
United States
This is really cool, but I imagine we still can't use the GBA in Nintendont on the Wii U for the games that could link up with the GBA. I bet that simply is impossible, but I so would love it if somehow we could make that work, Four Swords and Crystal Chronicles deserve much more love.
 

FIX94

Former Staff
Former Staff
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
7,284
Trophies
0
Age
30
Location
???
XP
11,248
Country
Germany
those wii instructions seemed way too complicated for me, so I made a process without the whole mios requirement.
-Grab this little program I just wrote up:
https://github.com/FIX94/gba-link-cable-rom-sender/releases/tag/v1.0
-Put the gbaromsend_wii.dol renamed into sd:/apps/gba-link-cable-rom-sender/boot.dol
-Put controller.gba from gbi into a folder called "gba" on your sd card
-Boot up gba-link-cable-rom-sender with a powered on gba plugged into port 2 of your wii
-Select controller.gba, you can use a gc controller in port 1 or wiimote/classic controller/wiiu pro controller thats player 1 for that selection
-After screen on gba turns white you can then exit gba-link-cable-rom-sender and use it as a gamecube controller
 

Metoroid0

Samus Aran
Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
2,273
Trophies
1
Location
Unknown region of space
Website
www.metroidwiki.org
XP
2,235
Country
Japan
I have EZflash for GBA SP, GBA to GC link cable, and a hacked wii runing Nintendont through WiiFlow to play GC games.

I played Sonic adventure and tried to transfer chao from SA chao garden to sonic advance tiny chao garden, but its saying No gba is in port 2, but it is, and tiny chao garden is runing on GBA....whats wrong?

Same goes for metroid prime and Zelda four swords...

Thanks!
 

Deleted member 424658

Annoying Weaboo Girl
OP
Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
499
Trophies
0
Age
24
Website
www.reddit.com
XP
677
Country
United States
I have EZflash for GBA SP, GBA to GC link cable, and a hacked wii runing Nintendont through WiiFlow to play GC games.

I played Sonic adventure and tried to transfer chao from SA chao garden to sonic advance tiny chao garden, but its saying No gba is in port 2, but it is, and tiny chao garden is runing on GBA....whats wrong?

Same goes for metroid prime and Zelda four swords...

Thanks!
You can't use a GBA (as a GBA) with the Gamecube Adapter.
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • AncientBoi @ AncientBoi:
    ooowwww a new way for me to beat NFS 510 :D @SylverReZ
    +1
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @AncientBoi, Yeah, believe you can do PSP games as well. But a Pi5 is much powerful in comparison.
    +2
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Not sure about other models of Pi4 but the Pi 4 B with 8GBs OCed to 2Ghz handles PSP really great except like 1 game I found and it is playable it just looks bad lol Motor Storm Arctic something or other.
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Other games I can have turned up to like 2X and all kinds of enhancements, Motorstorm hmmm nope 1X and no enhancements lol
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Waiting for Anbernic's rg[whatever]SP price announcement, gimme.
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    I will admit that one does seem more interesting than the usual Ambernic ones, and I already liked those.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I dread the price point.
    +1
  • Veho @ Veho:
    This looks like one of their premium models, so... $150 :glare:
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    To me that seems reasonable.
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    I mean since basically all the games are errmmm free lol
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I mean yeah sure but the specs are the same as a $50 model, it's just those pesky "quality of life" things driving up the price, like an actually working speaker, or buttons that don't melt, and stuff like that.
    +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    I think all in my Pi 4 was well north of 200 bucks 150ish for the Pi 4 the case the fancy cooler, then like 70 for the 500GB MicroSD then like 70 for the Xbox controller. But honestly it's a nice set up I really enjoy and to me was worth every penny. (even bought more controllers for 2 or 4 player games.) hmmm have never played any 2 player games yet :(
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Yeah that's what I hate about the RPi, it's supposedly $30 or something but it takes an additional $200 of accessories to actually turn it into a working something.
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    yes that's the expensive part lol
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I mean sure it's flexible and stuff but so is uremum but it's fiddly.
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Yeah a lot of it I consider a hobby, using Batocera I am constantly adjusting the collection adding and removing stuff, scraping the artwork. Haven't even started on some music for the theme... Also way down the road I am considering attempting to do a WiiFlow knock off lol
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I want everything served on a plate plz ktnx, "work" is too much work for me.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Hmm, with that in mind, maybe a complete out-the-box solution with all the games collected, pacthed and optimized for me would be worth $150 :unsure:
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Yeah it's all choice and that's a good thing :)
  • Bunjolio @ Bunjolio:
    animal crossing new leaf 11pm music
  • Bunjolio @ Bunjolio:
    avatars-kKKZnC8XiW7HEUw0-KdJMsw-t1080x1080.jpg
    wokey d pronouns
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    What its like to do online shopping in 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwag5XE8oJo
    SylverReZ @ SylverReZ: What its like to do online shopping in 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwag5XE8oJo