mGBA Fixed Audio Tempo — v0.5-preview
Hi everyone!
I've released v0.5-preview of mGBA Fixed Audio Tempo, an experimental and unofficial mGBA-based RetroArch core for Windows x64.
Play supported GBA games at 2x or 3x speed while keeping the background music at its normal tempo and pitch!
The project uses an independent audio clock rather than audio time-stretching or pitch correction.
New in v0.5 — Aggressive / Force Probe
This new optional mode lets you try Fixed Audio in GBA games that haven't been tested or confirmed as compatible.
Compatibility is not guaranteed. Audio issues, crashes, freezes, or save problems may occur. Use at your own risk and back up your saves before testing.
Unsupported sound drivers may still fall back to normal emulator audio.
Core Options
Experimental (Default)
Tries Fixed Audio in games with supported, detected sound-driver paths, including unverified games.
Aggressive / Force Probe (New)
Tries additional untested games and ambiguous MP2K sound-driver candidates when runtime safety checks pass. This does not guarantee support for every GBA game.
Conservative
Uses more restricted, previously tested Fixed Audio paths at 1x/2x. At 3x, normal emulator audio is used.
Disabled
Uses normal mGBA audio without Fixed Audio Tempo.
To enable Aggressive:
In RetroArch, select Core Options → Fixed Audio Tempo Mode (Restart) → Aggressive / Force Probe (Unverified), then reload your game.
If you experience problems, switch back to Experimental or Disabled and reload.
Gameplay Demonstrations
These are the existing v0.4 demonstration videos. Both show actual RetroArch gameplay switching from 1x to 2x to 3x twice, while BGM remains at normal tempo on the tested paths.
They demonstrate the core Fixed Audio Tempo feature, not the new Aggressive mode specifically.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance — Battle Gameplay
Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai — Walking Gameplay
Version History
v0.1 — Initial research and proof of concept (local development only).
v0.2-preview — Early 2x Fixed Audio preview (preserved in a private archive).
v0.3-preview — Expanded 2x support, Experimental Core Option and compatibility database.
v0.4-preview — Experimental 3x Fixed Audio support and broader BGM verification.
v0.5-preview — New Aggressive / Force Probe option for additional untested games.
Full version history:
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo/blob/main/PROJECT_HISTORY.md
Compatibility
The compatibility database currently contains:
3,075 GBA release identities
601 identities eligible for Experimental trials
44 developer BGM confirmations in limited test scenes
These numbers do not mean that every listed game is fully supported. Aggressive can attempt additional candidates, but successful playback is not guaranteed.
Known Limitations
Some sound effects may end early at 2x/3x, and minor audio glitches may occur.
Loading a save state or using Rewind may interrupt ongoing sound effects. In some games, such as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA), normal Fixed Audio playback may take longer to resume.
Unsupported games or sound drivers may fall back to normal emulator audio, which does not preserve BGM tempo during fast-forward.
Download v0.5-preview
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo/releases/tag/v0.5-preview
Source code and compatibility database:
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo
Help Test More Games!
I especially welcome compatibility reports from players using different regional versions of GBA games.
You can report working games, minor audio issues, native fallback, crashes and other problems here:
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo/issues/new?template=compatibility-report.yml
Please do not upload ROMs, BIOS files or savestates.
This is an unofficial project and is not affiliated with the official mGBA development team.
Thank you for your support!
Hi everyone!
I've released v0.5-preview of mGBA Fixed Audio Tempo, an experimental and unofficial mGBA-based RetroArch core for Windows x64.
Play supported GBA games at 2x or 3x speed while keeping the background music at its normal tempo and pitch!
The project uses an independent audio clock rather than audio time-stretching or pitch correction.
New in v0.5 — Aggressive / Force Probe
This new optional mode lets you try Fixed Audio in GBA games that haven't been tested or confirmed as compatible.
Compatibility is not guaranteed. Audio issues, crashes, freezes, or save problems may occur. Use at your own risk and back up your saves before testing.
Unsupported sound drivers may still fall back to normal emulator audio.
Core Options
Experimental (Default)
Tries Fixed Audio in games with supported, detected sound-driver paths, including unverified games.
Aggressive / Force Probe (New)
Tries additional untested games and ambiguous MP2K sound-driver candidates when runtime safety checks pass. This does not guarantee support for every GBA game.
Conservative
Uses more restricted, previously tested Fixed Audio paths at 1x/2x. At 3x, normal emulator audio is used.
Disabled
Uses normal mGBA audio without Fixed Audio Tempo.
To enable Aggressive:
In RetroArch, select Core Options → Fixed Audio Tempo Mode (Restart) → Aggressive / Force Probe (Unverified), then reload your game.
If you experience problems, switch back to Experimental or Disabled and reload.
Gameplay Demonstrations
These are the existing v0.4 demonstration videos. Both show actual RetroArch gameplay switching from 1x to 2x to 3x twice, while BGM remains at normal tempo on the tested paths.
They demonstrate the core Fixed Audio Tempo feature, not the new Aggressive mode specifically.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance — Battle Gameplay
Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai — Walking Gameplay
Version History
v0.1 — Initial research and proof of concept (local development only).
v0.2-preview — Early 2x Fixed Audio preview (preserved in a private archive).
v0.3-preview — Expanded 2x support, Experimental Core Option and compatibility database.
v0.4-preview — Experimental 3x Fixed Audio support and broader BGM verification.
v0.5-preview — New Aggressive / Force Probe option for additional untested games.
Full version history:
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo/blob/main/PROJECT_HISTORY.md
Compatibility
The compatibility database currently contains:
3,075 GBA release identities
601 identities eligible for Experimental trials
44 developer BGM confirmations in limited test scenes
These numbers do not mean that every listed game is fully supported. Aggressive can attempt additional candidates, but successful playback is not guaranteed.
Known Limitations
Some sound effects may end early at 2x/3x, and minor audio glitches may occur.
Loading a save state or using Rewind may interrupt ongoing sound effects. In some games, such as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA), normal Fixed Audio playback may take longer to resume.
Unsupported games or sound drivers may fall back to normal emulator audio, which does not preserve BGM tempo during fast-forward.
Download v0.5-preview
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo/releases/tag/v0.5-preview
Source code and compatibility database:
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo
Help Test More Games!
I especially welcome compatibility reports from players using different regional versions of GBA games.
You can report working games, minor audio issues, native fallback, crashes and other problems here:
https://github.com/granbone/mgba-fixed-audio-tempo/issues/new?template=compatibility-report.yml
Please do not upload ROMs, BIOS files or savestates.
This is an unofficial project and is not affiliated with the official mGBA development team.
Thank you for your support!
Last edited by granbone,
