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I ported the gameboy advance emulator gdkGBA (originally made by gdkchan) to the nintendo switch!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).

 

[jakibaki]

I'm still having the issue where this emulator keeps randomly deleting all my save data on all my ROMs. Even though the sav files and save states are still there and everything.

I even tried to bring over save data from my mGBA emulator from my 3DS, but nothing is working? How can I fix this? It's making the entire emulator unusable for me.

I have no idea why your savefiles are getting deleted D: You seem to be the only one who's experiencing that issue and I certainly don't have any code that could result in that. Please try reformatting your sdcard (as fat32) and then only create the folders and move the roms over using ftpd. (this shouldn't normally be needed but it's the only thing I can think of that might fix your issue)

Getting savefiles over from other emulators isn't going to work since I don't use the same save-format.

 

[Twistedziefer]

I have no idea why your savefiles are getting deleted D: You seem to be the only one who's experiencing that issue and I certainly don't have any code that could result in that. Please try reformatting your sdcard (as fat32) and then only create the folders and move the roms over using ftpd. (this shouldn't normally be needed but it's the only thing I can think of that might fix your issue)

Getting savefiles over from other emulators isn't going to work since I don't use the same save-format.

Soo this has happened to me a few times now and I think its happens more when the app has crashed. Once my roms were deleted too and once when quitting a game using the home button it messed up the application and I had to re copy it over.

 

[FischeR1612]

Got a problem with a savegame. Can‘t load any savegame since a crash. Can someone help?

 

[jakibaki]

Soo this has happened to me a few times now and I think its happens more when the app has crashed. Once my roms were deleted too and once when quitting a game using the home button it messed up the application and I had to re copy it over.

D:
I have no idea whatsoever what might be causing it but I'm reasonably sure that it's not caused by the homebrew itself. So maybe a bug in the cfw/homebrew-launcher/libnx.
Savefiles vanishing might be something that maybe could've been related to the emulator but the only place where it's opening the roms is right in the beginning where the emulator simply reads the file and then closes it.

 

[ownedlol]

I haven't had any actual savegames disappear, but I've had savestates disappear frequently. Are you guys talking about savestates or actual save files?

 

[Cencil]

Hey just wanted to chime in that I'm having an issue today since updating to v8 with my saves as well. Was playing pokemon emerald the past couple days and now it's in game save is deleted as it shows "new game" when running it. The odd part is my .sav file is still there in the folder but it's just not using it. Tried a few other games and most of them still have their saves in tact and some don't anymore. Sucks can't continue any games with this bug as losing save files is too rage inducing haha.

 

[jakibaki]

Hey just wanted to chime in that I'm having an issue today since updating to v8 with my saves as well. Was playing pokemon emerald the past couple days and now it's in game save is deleted as it shows "new game" when running it. The odd part is my .sav file is still there in the folder but it's just not using it. Tried a few other games and most of them still have their saves in tact and some don't anymore. Sucks can't continue any games with this bug as losing save files is too rage inducing haha.

Hm that sounds like an issue with the emulator :/. Could you please send me one of those broken .sav-files?

 

[ownedlol]

Hey just wanted to chime in that I'm having an issue today since updating to v8 with my saves as well. Was playing pokemon emerald the past couple days and now it's in game save is deleted as it shows "new game" when running it. The odd part is my .sav file is still there in the folder but it's just not using it. Tried a few other games and most of them still have their saves in tact and some don't anymore. Sucks can't continue any games with this bug as losing save files is too rage inducing haha.

Have you made sure you're pressing start and not A? I'm unsure how the menu works in Emerald, but with FireRed whenever I pressed A on the main menu it would queue a new save file, but if you pressed Start it would open the menu where you could select your Pokémon save file.

I'm sure you know this, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[Cencil]

Yep I've always pressed start. No idea why this is happening if the .sav is still in there

 

[ownedlol]

Yep I've always pressed start. No idea why this is happening if the .sav is still in there

Make sure you're not using the savestates as well as that could cause issues with the save file.

(The + and R feature.)

EDIT: Turns out my save file was gone as well once I launched V8.5
Could using an updated version delete your savefile?

Doesn't matter anyways, should be expected.

 

[Eternam]

I have no idea why your savefiles are getting deleted D: You seem to be the only one who's experiencing that issue and I certainly don't have any code that could result in that. Please try reformatting your sdcard (as fat32) and then only create the folders and move the roms over using ftpd. (this shouldn't normally be needed but it's the only thing I can think of that might fix your issue)

Getting savefiles over from other emulators isn't going to work since I don't use the same save-format.

My saved for Link to the past was delete today too once i used v8.5. The save file is there. But it was overwritten with an empty save. I had no problem with the others save files. I did do a backup just in case.

 

[jakibaki]

If anyone is experiencing the save-issue again please upload the broken .sav file here so that I can look into what's happening.

 

[Eternam]

If anyone is experiencing the save-issue again please upload the broken .sav file here so that I can look into what's happening.

How can I send you the file? I a "new" user on gbatemp I dont think Iam allowed to upload a file.

Update: Heres my sav file www 21.zippyshare. com/v/VCdd6XMq/file.html
stich it together to get the link for link

 

[ownedlol]

Apparently the internal battery problem can be fixed quite easily for Ruby and Sapphire, I know it's not a major concern but I'm hoping every little thing helps.

Also not sure if this fix applies to the specific emulator or if it's universal, but I'm hoping it's the latter.
http://www.vbalink.info/internal-battery-has-run-dry-fix.htm

 

[Leonidas87]

Apparently the internal battery problem can be fixed quite easily for Ruby and Sapphire, I know it's not a major concern but I'm hoping every little thing helps.

Also not sure if this fix applies to the specific emulator or if it's universal, but I'm hoping it's the latter.
http://www.vbalink.info/internal-battery-has-run-dry-fix.htm

Wonder if this will help with Dragon Ball Z games

 

[LordDragon]

Hey, i was able to get the emulator on my switch (running version 5.0.2)
but whenever i open the emulator, it shows a message "Failed to open dir!"
I do not know what is the problem, since i have everything fine, my direct to my roms is sd/Switch/GBA/roms/gba
and GBA folder is where the .nro file is in, i tried v7 and v8 and nothing happened... still the same thing

 

[XCJLongbow]

Hey, i was able to get the emulator on my switch (running version 5.0.2)
but whenever i open the emulator, it shows a message "Failed to open dir!"
I do not know what is the problem, since i have everything fine, my direct to my roms is sd/Switch/GBA/roms/gba
and GBA folder is where the .nro file is in, i tried v7 and v8 and nothing happened... still the same thing

The proper path for the ROMs is sd:/switch/roms/gba - your path is wrong.

Also, your NRO file needs to be under sd:/switch - not an extra GBA folder.

 

[LordDragon]

Hey, i was able to get the emulator on my switch (running version 5.0.2)
but whenever i open the emulator, it shows a message "Failed to open dir!"
I do not know what is the problem, since i have everything fine, my direct to my roms is sd/Switch/GBA/roms/gba
and GBA folder is where the .nro file is in, i tried v7 and v8 and nothing happened... still the same thing

never mind, i saw the problem, and it was the direction that i had it in

 

[DiJornios]

@jakibaki Do you know the issue with some games not being able to save? There’s thread for games being tested on your emulator and they’re a lot of games playable just not having the ability to save

 

[jakibaki]

I pushed another update which should hopefully fix the savegame vanishing issue (reverted it to the way saving was detected in v7).

EDIT: Oops I just experienced a crash again D: Don't download this version yet!
EDIT2: Fixed! I accidentally compiled with an outdated libnx again...