With the release of vba this emulator is now officially discontinued!

Many many thanks to everyone that helped!


I ported the gameboy advance emulator gdkGBA (originally made by gdkchan) to the nintendo switch! (Works on all versions as far as I know)

To set up I strongly recommend putting the original gba_bios.bin in sd:/switch/gba_bios.bin!
After that put the roms into sd:/switch/roms/ and start the homebrew.

As soon as retroarch gets updated for 5.0 this will instantly become obsolete!

source (you need the sdl2-libraries from the devkit-pro pacman to build this)

Known issues:
Sound is a bit weird (it seems like sometimes the wrong instruments play)
Some games seem to crash the switch after a while. (mostly fixed in v8)
Sometimes the switch likes to crash even in games that normally run pretty stable :/ (fixed in v8 I think)
Some games have graphical glitches/don't work at all
Saving doesn't work on some games. If that happens please don't hesitate to tell me and for now you can set (buggy) savestates using plus+r and load them using plus+l.

Please update to the latest version before reporting Problems!

Game compatibility list

UPDATE:
Sound now much better now! Many thanks to @renhei for the fix!
UPDATE2:
Changed rompath from sd:/switch/roms to sd:/switch/roms/gba in order to avoid confusion with the gbc emulator. Also double joycons now work in unattached mode!
UPDATE3:
Merged gdkchans changes to the ppu. Some games that had problems with artifacts on screen (I tried harvest moon) now look much better! However this is apparently causing trouble in some games so I also attached v2.
UPDATE4:
Added proper in-gaming-saving support! The old buggy savestate-feature is now read-only (so that you can move your progress to the new save-files). I recommend removing the old .savegame-file after making sure the new, better in-game-saving works correctly in order to make sure that you don't accidentally load it
Many thanks to @gdkchan for fixing some underlying issues with the in-game-saves of this emulator!
Also I added support for the original gba_bios.bin:
If you want to use it (which I strongly recommend since the open-source-one that's bundled is causing trouble with some games) put it into sd:/switch/gba_bios.bin
UPDATE5:
In game saving should now actually work in most games! Many thanks to @gdkchan for explaining to me how the gba handles saves!
UPDATE6:
Recompiled everything with latest libnx. Hopefully fewer crashes now.
UPDATE7:
Savestate feature is back. Please only use if the savegames fail as it is known to sometimes cause issues!
UPDATE8:
Updated libnx (again) and made a few small fixes. If you're experiencing fewer/more crashes please don't hesitate to tell me
UPDATE8.5 (Experimental only):
Pushed the new graphics-fixes from @gdkchan. Please only use them if you're experiencing graphical glitches since they introduce a large slowdown in some games.
UPDATE8.6 (Experimental only):
Pushed @gdkchans new fixes+optimisations. The experimental version should now run a bit faster!
UPDATE9:
Saving should now be more reliable again (makes the save-feature work as it did in v7 again).

 

[Nerdtendo]

Mine says: Can't find dir!

What's the problem? i inserted roms into switch dir, and then roms dir

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Technically is: Failed to open dir!

Put it in a "gba" folder inside of roms

 

[chronoss]

Mine says: Can't find dir!

What's the problem? i inserted roms into switch dir, and then roms dir

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Technically is: Failed to open dir!

patch of rom : sd:/switch/roms/gba

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Put it in a "gba" folder inside of roms

This doesn't work

 

[OblivionReign]

I ported the gameboy advance emulator gdkGBA (originally made by gdkchan) to the nintendo switch! (Works on all versions as far as I know)

Unfortunately this emulator doesn't support in-game-saving (it crashes when you attempt to save!) so I added an savestate feature:
Press Plus+R so save the current state and Plus+L to load it again.

Simply put the rom into sd:/switch/roms/ and start the homebrew.

As soon as retroarch gets updated for 5.0 this will instantly become obsolete!

source (you need the sdl2-libraries from the devkit-pro pacman to build this)

Known issues:
Sound is a bit weird (it seems like sometimes the wrong instruments play)
After loading a savestate the sound gets even more weird for a while (or until the music changes)
Some games seem to crash the switch after a while.

UPDATE:
Sound now much better now! Many thanks to @renhei for the fix!
UPDATE2:
Changed rompath from sd:/switch/roms to sd:/switch/roms/gba in order to avoid confusion with the gbc emulator. Also double joycons now work in unattached mode!
UPDATE3:
Merged gdkchans changes to the ppu. Some games that had problems with artifacts on screen (I tried harvest moon) now look much better! However this is apparently causing trouble in some games so I also attached v2.

I will just say that minish cap on gba doesnt work ita all glitched out on file select and doesnt let you start

 

[OkazakiTheOtaku]

I'm 1000% percent sure my roms are in the right directory but I'm still getting the "Failed to open dir!" message on both emulators. I was using update 6 successfully but now I can't rollback because the download from before the directory split is gone
just quadruple-checked, yep they're in the right spot. Still not working. Oh well, I'll wait for an update.

 

[jakibaki]

UPDATE4:
Added proper in-gaming-saving support! The old buggy savestate-feature is now read-only (so that you can move your progress to the new save-files). I recommend removing the old .savegame-file after making sure the new, better in-game-saving works correctly in order to make sure that you don't accidentally load it
Many thanks to @gdkchan for fixing some underlying issues with the in-game-saves of this emulator!
Also I added support for the original gba_bios.bin:
If you want to use it (which I strongly recommend since the open-source-one that's bundled is causing trouble with some games) put it into sd:/switch/gba_bios.bin

This update doesn't have the graphics-fixes from v3 applied since they've caused trouble with some games

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I'm 1000% percent sure my roms are in the right directory but I'm still getting the "Failed to open dir!" message on both emulators. I was using update 6 successfully but now I can't rollback because the download from before the directory split is gone
just quadruple-checked, yep they're in the right spot. Still not working. Oh well, I'll wait for an update.

Try deleting the folder and then creating it again using ftpd on your switch. For some reason sometimes the switch sometimes doesn't correctly detect folders on sdcards if they were created somewhere else.

 

[OkazakiTheOtaku]

UPDATE4:

Thanks for the update!

Try deleting the folder and then creating it again using ftpd on your switch.

Will try that right now.

 

[S1DD]

Put it in a "gba" folder inside of roms

Thank you =)

 

[gdkchan]

This update doesn't have the graphics-fixes from v3 applied since they've caused trouble with some games

I think the Pokémon issue was related to save states as the other user noted (peharps because a few register aren't/wasn't being saved?). I wonder if it happens on a fresh run of the game without save state loading.

 

[OkazakiTheOtaku]

Try deleting the folder and then creating it again using ftpd on your switch.

Cheers, that did the trick. That's a bit of a PITA though, is that a Horizon issue or a homebrew issue?

 

[jakibaki]

Cheers, that did the trick. That's a bit of a PITA though, is that a Horizon issue or a homebrew issue?

I think that's an issue with the switch-extfat-driver (not sure if it's nintendos or a reimplemented one).
Formatting the sd as fat32 should fix it though.

 

[OkazakiTheOtaku]

Formatting the sd as fat32 should fix it though.

Mine is fat32...heh...

 

[jakibaki]

Mine is fat32...heh...

Oh. Then I have no idea

 

[JJTapia19]

Just tested the newest update and the in game saving is not working for me for some reason. I tried Zelda minish cap and Wario land 4.

 

[Twistedziefer]

Hey thanks for the update works alot better breath of fire now works link to the past has a purple screen but when u save and reload it works but once you head out in the rain you cant see anything lol

 

[jakibaki]

Just tested the newest update and the in game saving is not working for me for some reason. I tried Zelda minish cap and Wario land 4.

I'll look into it tomorrow if I have the time.

 

[gdkchan]

Hey thanks for the update works alot better breath of fire now works link to the past has a purple screen but when u save and reload it works but once you head out in the rain you cant see anything lol

Hmm this game needs the ppu fixes (that were removed on the latest update), since it uses alpha blending for the rain and purple fade effect.

I'll look into it tomorrow if I have the time.

I took a look on the code. It seems you only saved the flash save memory. Games can actually have one of the 3 memory types for storing save data: SRAM, EEPROM or Flash. Which one it uses depends on the game, and theres no way the emulator can know the type beforehand (some emulators have options to manually set the save type). What most emulators does (including gdkGBA) is detecting the type the game uses heuristically. On gdkGBA this is stored on some bools inside arm_mem.c, if "eeprom_used" is true then the game is storing save data on the "eeprom" memory, if "flash_used" is true then it is being stored on the "flash" memory, if both are false then the game is using "sram". SRAM also has the disadvantage of being volatile, so its needs a battery to keep the save data. afaik Zelda Minish Cap uses eeprom, and wario land 4 uses sram.

 

[JJTapia19]

I'll look into it tomorrow if I have the time.

No rush! I'll stick with v2 in the meantime playing Wario Land 4. I love that game and I wanted to play it on the switch since I got it on day one. Thanks again for making that possible. Thank you too @gdkchan for the original emulator. I can't thank you both enough.

 

[jakibaki]

Hmm this game needs the ppu fixes (that were removed on the latest update), since it uses alpha blending for the rain and purple fade effect.


I took a look on the code. It seems you only saved the flash save memory. Games can actually have one of the 3 memory types for storing save data: SRAM, EEPROM or Flash. Which one it uses depends on the game, and theres no way the emulator can know the type beforehand (some emulators have options to manually set the save type). What most emulators does (including gdkGBA) is detecting the type the game uses heuristically. On gdkGBA this is stored on some bools inside arm_mem.c, if "eeprom_used" is true then the game is storing save data on the "eeprom" memory, if "flash_used" is true then it is being stored on the "flash" memory, if both are false then the game is using "sram". SRAM also has the disadvantage of being volatile, so its needs a battery to keep the save data. afaik Zelda Minish Cap uses eeprom, and wario land 4 uses sram.

Ah, alright. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Leonidas87]

I'll look into it tomorrow if I have the time.

Can also confirm both those games are not saving and loading correctly on 4.1.0 and 5.0.2

 

[Deletedmember448668]

I ported the gameboy advance emulator gdkGBA (originally made by gdkchan) to the nintendo switch! (Works on all versions as far as I know)
UPDATE4:
Added proper in-gaming-saving support! The old buggy savestate-feature is now read-only (so that you can move your progress to the new save-files). I recommend removing the old .savegame-file after making sure the new, better in-game-saving works correctly in order to make sure that you don't accidentally load it
Many thanks to @gdkchan for fixing some underlying issues with the in-game-saves of this emulator!

Hmm, I tried in-game save on 4 games so far, none of them work. Getting similar messages to this one? Am I doing something wrong here?: