Recently got interested in trying to find a way to use Borders for GBA games utilizing RetroArch-Wii.
I think I've come up with a decent solution... just a warning... it won't be pretty.

First, set your Wii and TV/Monitor to 4:3 Aspect Ratio. You can utilize 16:9 but I personally don't use these settings in neither because it's anamorphic 16:9 and not true 16:9.
Then you'll need to get RetroArch for Wii. Get your preferred GBA core from any build.
Personally, I utilize 1.8.9 - mGBA (0.8.1), where 1.8.9 stands for the version of RetroArch I grabbed the core from, and the rest is basic core information. Just an important warning about this, new versions of RetroArch has crackling sound in new cores, and old cores are not compatible with Overlays. Play it safe and use the version I use.

Once you get your GBA core, open up RetroArch in your Wii and load a GBA game with the core of your preference.
Press RESET to open the QUICK MENU.
Go to MAIN MENU -> Settings -> Video -> Scaling and make the following changes:

SCALING​

Name	Setting
Integer Scale	OFF
Aspect Ratio	Custom
Custom Aspect Ratio X Pos.	*90
Custom Aspect Ratio Y Pos.	*80
Custom Aspect Ratio Width	480
Custom Aspect Ratio Height	320
Set VI Screen Width	*640
Crop Overscan (Reload)	OFF
Overscan Correction (top)	0
Overscan Correction (Bottom)	0

Important Note: In "Custom Aspect Ratio X Pos." and "Custom Aspect Ratio Y Pos." values will be different for you. These are values to center your screen relative to the "Set VI Screen Width" value. So please adjust these values accordingly in order to center your screen. Alternatively, use a SNES core with 240p Test Suite and utilize the Grid function to properly find the best values for you.

After you made these changes, simply press RESET on your Wii to close the MENU, or press B all the way to the MAIN MENU -> Quick Menu -> Resume.
You should see a somewhat centered smaller GBA game screen. Here's a small video showing the difference between CUSTOM Scaling and Core Provided Scaling:

After you've done these steps, open the QUICK MENU with RESET.
Go to On-Screen Overlay and make the following changes:

ON-SCREEN OVERLAY​

Name	Setting
Display Overlay	ON
Hide Overlay in Menu	ON
Auto-Rotate Overlay	OFF
Overlay Preset	*Choose your Overlay*
Overlay Opacity	1.00
Overlay Scale	1.60

Once you've made your changes, simply navigate to your Overlays folder, and pick one from the "GBA" folder I've attached in this thread.

By following these simple steps, you'll be able to play any game in RetroArch with GBA borders around them!

Super Mario Land 6 - WarioLand 4

The King of Fighters EX 2: Howling Blood

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland

The Legend of Metroid - A Link to the Vaccine

In the attached ZIP file, you'll find 8 "different" Overlays for you to enjoy...
I'm planning to do ARCADE Bezels, but that's going to take a while and it's very likely that I won't do them anyways... It's just an idea I have for now.

Hope you guys try these out to bring back a bit of nostalgia to your Retro Gaming Sessions!

 

[MeXen]

good, but the scaling of GBA games at 4:3 is wrong, you see, it should be more like this.

 

[JuanMena]

Really?

That's strange given that 480x320 is literally x2 GBA resolution.

 

[MeXen]

Really?

That's strange given that 480x320 is literally x2 GBA resolution.

The thing is, even mGBA doesn't automatically scale GBA from the get go, you have to set it up manually like this

240p, stretched, 1/2 vertically & 0.8 Horizontally + Bilinear Sharp.

But i always wished i could get a way to load a SGB style GBA overlay while preserving such configuration and not having crunched scanlines or shimmering.

Like this:

And while we at it, one for EmGBA that overrides any alternate SGB border.

 

[JuanMena]

The thing is, even mGBA doesn't automatically scale GBA from the get go, you have to set it up manually like this

240p, stretched, 1/2 vertically & 0.8 Horizontally + Bilinear Sharp.

But i always wished i could get a way to load a SGB style GBA overlay while preserving such configuration and not having crunched scanlines or shimmering.

Personally, I believe there's not much you can do about it. I mean, have you realized you're talking about using a Wii for Emulation?

A Wii, a near 20 year old console with a very low resolution and analog video output?

Of course there's going to be some kind of imperfection as Analog Video Signals and Digital Displays with 3X the original resolution of a Wii doesn't get along too well.

There's always some tweaking you can do, but there's only so much you can do.

At this point in time, if you're somehow obsessed with "pixel perfect" / "no shimmering" gameplay, use modern solutions like a PC, or stick with original hardware.

Post automatically merged: Jul 22, 2024

Today I just made it a bit better by utilizing custom screen widths.
But since not everybody has the same screen, and considering the Wii displays differently from display to display, I can't post a "one guide to rule them all". So I would like to encourage you to play around with different settings and see what works for your personal taste.

 

[0arsoluto]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/retro-arch-hexaeco-video-settings-for-240p-480p-modes.604393/
resolutions and custom ratio for different systems. watch on gba. I could swear that I use that same configuration with the screen proportion as the original machine and a spectacular result... maybe the screen is a little small but it is the measure that gives that brilliance to the configuration. use retroarch hexaeco ss.

You have mGBA for this. I would recommend you using the standalone version, as it is updated regularly through nightlies, and it has better performance in some harder-to-emulate games. In any case, if you want to use it, it will run well a good chunk of games.

You should use Gambatte for GB and GBC. Here's the only setting, with the GBA games using a 240x160 you need:

For 240p:
Code:
Core Options (While game is loaded)
-----------------------------------
None!

Settings > Video
-----------------------------------
Screen Resolution : 480x224
Custom Ratio : 480x160
Force 288p : No
Aspect Ratio : Custom
Integer Scale : Off
Custom Viewport Y : 0
Custom Viewport X : 25
Custom View Width : 480
Custom View Height: 160
Auto-Switch Reso. : Off
Widescreen Correc.: Off
Correction Amount : 480
Screen Width : 480
Deflicker : No
Dither : No
Frame Blend : No
Prescale : No
Trap Filter : No
Texture Scaling : Point
Menu Scaling : Point
Blend Scaling : Point
Brightness : 0
Gamma : 0
Rotation : Normal
Vsync : Yes
Frame Delay : 0

 

[MeXen]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/retro-arch-hexaeco-video-settings-for-240p-480p-modes.604393/
resolutions and custom ratio for different systems. watch on gba. I could swear that I use that same configuration with the screen proportion as the original machine and a spectacular result... maybe the screen is a little small but it is the measure that gives that brilliance to the configuration. use retroarch hexaeco ss.

You have mGBA for this. I would recommend you using the standalone version, as it is updated regularly through nightlies, and it has better performance in some harder-to-emulate games. In any case, if you want to use it, it will run well a good chunk of games.

You should use Gambatte for GB and GBC. Here's the only setting, with the GBA games using a 240x160 you need:

For 240p:
Code:
Core Options (While game is loaded)
-----------------------------------
None!

Settings > Video
-----------------------------------
Screen Resolution : 480x224
Custom Ratio : 480x160
Force 288p : No
Aspect Ratio : Custom
Integer Scale : Off
Custom Viewport Y : 0
Custom Viewport X : 25
Custom View Width : 480
Custom View Height: 160
Auto-Switch Reso. : Off
Widescreen Correc.: Off
Correction Amount : 480
Screen Width : 480
Deflicker : No
Dither : No
Frame Blend : No
Prescale : No
Trap Filter : No
Texture Scaling : Point
Menu Scaling : Point
Blend Scaling : Point
Brightness : 0
Gamma : 0
Rotation : Normal
Vsync : Yes
Frame Delay : 0

What are the harder to emulate GBA games? last time i checked on 0.10.1 Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, the Shaman King games and Boktai 1 & 2 run fine.

 

[0arsoluto]

What are the harder to emulate GBA games? last time i checked on 0.10.1 Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, the Shaman King games and Boktai 1 & 2 run fine.

Yeah. For example, the Gradius Galaxies has strong image and sound slowdowns that are not real in the Game Boy Advance. I'm talking about retroarch hexaeco ss. I play that particular game through emgba as an app and it doesn't have those slowdowns

 

[JuanMena]

good, but the scaling of GBA games at 4:3 is wrong, you see, it should be more like this.

View attachment 448568
View attachment 448569

Yesterday was thinking about these pictures.

Are you sure, @MeXen the picture distortion you're noticing is not from bad CRT geometry? I can notice a bit of bowing on the top, but that's typical Flatscreen CRT picture rendering.

Reason why I was thinking about these pics, is because yesterday I learned that RA-Wii can't make perfect square pixels (which actually explains a lot for me).

 

[MeXen]

Yesterday was thinking about these pictures.

Are you sure, @MeXen the picture distortion you're noticing is not from bad CRT geometry? I can notice a bit of bowing on the top, but that's typical Flatscreen CRT picture rendering.

Reason why I was thinking about these pics, is because yesterday I learned that RA-Wii can't make perfect square pixels (which actually explains a lot for me).

Yeah i noticed my CRT aint the best, but its all i have, however scaling its at proper 4:3

 

[JuanMena]

Yeah i noticed my CRT aint the best, but its all i have, however scaling its at proper 4:3

Here's the best I could do about GBA. Scaling is literally x2 GBA resolution. That is: 480x320

You're looking at a 16:9 monitor.
Wii is set to 4:3.
Full picture, no black borders.

Here's WarioLand 4.

Yes, those are scanlines.

 

[BETA215]

You can also use borders in emGBA and it'll work all fine! Just takes changing some basic configuration parameters. 1:1 and correct aspect ratio.

 

[MeXen]

You can also use borders in emGBA and it'll work all fine! Just takes changing some basic configuration parameters. 1:1 and correct aspect ratio.

Where, on the XML? could you please show it? i use EmGBA exclusively for GBC, does your method work for regular mGBA too ?

Post automatically merged: Aug 19, 2024

You can also use borders in emGBA and it'll work all fine! Just takes changing some basic configuration parameters. 1:1 and correct aspect ratio.

You still havent said how to do it :/