3DS:GBA games: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:08, 12 June 2022

The Nintendo 3DS can play GBA games through several methods, both natively and through emulation.

Comparison of methods

In order of most to least recommended.

open_agb_firm

Runs natively, not via emulation (100% compatibility, but no cheats, fast-forward, etc)
Must be booted from chainloader (by holding START on boot), like GodMode9
Has a file manager that allows you to select a ROM
Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc. are inaccessible while a game is running
Saves are much easier to move
Lacks a user interface for configuring settings such as brightness (A text editor must be used to change the config file)
Still under active development

Virtual Console (VC) injects

Run natively, not via emulation (same caveats as above)
Must manually be created using a PC program (Windows-only, abandoned by dev)
Each game has its own separate icon on the HOME Menu
Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc. are inaccessible while a game is running
Saves are a pain to backup and restore (requires GodMode9 and multiple reboots for each save)

mGBA

A full emulator, which means that it has fast-forward, cheats, save states
Performance isn't perfect, especially on old 3DS
Not compatible with all games, but may have higher compatibility with ROM hacks that are not designed to run on actual GBA hardware
Runs in 3DS mode, so you can stream it or use the HOME Menu while it's running
Has a ROM picker
Saves are easy to manage
Can access 3DS motion sensors (for GBA games with tilt controls)

GBARunner2

A middle-ground between emulation and native * it's basically the worst of both worlds, still no emulator features, but some games are incompatible or have issues
Included with TWiLightMenu++
Has a ROM picker
Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc. are inaccessible while a game is running
Saves are easy to manage

Overview table


Feature	open_agb_firm	VC Injects	mGBA	GBARunner2
Games run natively	✓	✓	✗	△
Runs full speed on Old3DS	✓	✓	✗	✓
Retail game compatibility	✓	✓	△	△
ROM hack compatibility for hacks untested on GBA	△	△	✓	△
Runs from HOME Menu	✗	✓	✓	✓
Drag-and-drop / ROM picker	✓	✗	✓	✓
Cheats, fast-forwarding, save states	✗	✗	✓	✗
Motion sensor support	✗	✗	✓	✗
Easy save file access from SD	✓	✗	✓	✓
Wireless streaming via NTR (New3DS only)	✗	✗	✓	✗
Under active development	✓	✗	✓	?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The Nintendo 3DS can play GBA games through several different methods, native and emulation.
+The Nintendo 3DS can play GBA games through several methods, both natively and through emulation.
 == Comparison of methods ==
@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 === open_agb_firm ===
-* Runs natively, not via emulation (100% compatibility, but no cheats, fast forward, etc)
+* Runs natively, not via emulation (100% compatibility, but no cheats, fast-forward, etc)
-* Must be booted by holding START on boot, like godmode9
+* Must be booted from chainloader (by holding START on boot), like GodMode9
-* Has a file manager that allows you to select a rom
+* Has a file manager that allows you to select a ROM
-* Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc are inaccessible while a game is running
+* Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc. are inaccessible while a game is running
 * Saves are much easier to move
 * Lacks a user interface for configuring settings such as brightness (A text editor must be used to change the config file)
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 * Run natively, not via emulation (same caveats as above)
 * Must manually be created using a PC program (Windows-only, abandoned by dev)
-* Each game has it's own separate icon on the HOME Menu
+* Each game has its own separate icon on the HOME Menu
-* Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc are inaccessible while a game is running
+* Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc. are inaccessible while a game is running
-* Saves are a pain to backup and restore (requires godmode9 and multiple reboots for each save)
+* Saves are a pain to backup and restore (requires GodMode9 and multiple reboots for each save)
 === mGBA ===
-* A full emulator, which means that it has fast forward, cheats, save states
+* A full emulator, which means that it has fast-forward, cheats, save states
 * Performance isn't perfect, especially on old 3DS
-* Not compatible with all games, but may have higher compatibility with rom hacks that are not designed to run on actual GBA hardware
+* Not compatible with all games, but may have higher compatibility with ROM hacks that are not designed to run on actual GBA hardware
-* runs in 3DS mode, so you can stream it or use the HOME Menu while it's running
+* Runs in 3DS mode, so you can stream it or use the HOME Menu while it's running
-* Has a rom picker and easy to manage save files
+* Has a ROM picker
-* Can access 3DS motion sensors, for GBA games with tilt controls
+* Saves are easy to manage
+* Can access 3DS motion sensors (for GBA games with tilt controls)
 === GBARunner2 ===
 * A middle-ground between emulation and native * it's basically the worst of both worlds, still no emulator features, but some games are incompatible or have issues
-* Included with TWiLightMenu
+* Included with TWiLightMenu++
-* Has a rom picker
+* Has a ROM picker
-* Runs in DS mode, so streaming etc are inaccessible
+* Streaming, 3DS HOME Menu, etc. are inaccessible while a game is running
 * Saves are easy to manage
+== Overview table ==
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+
+!Feature
+!open_agb_firm
+!VC Injects
+!mGBA
+!GBARunner2
+|-
+|Games run natively
+|✓
+|✓
+|✗
+|△
+|-
+|Runs full speed on Old3DS
+|✓
+|✓
+|✗
+|✓
+|-
+|Retail game compatibility
+|✓
+|✓
+|△
+|△
+|-
+|ROM hack compatibility for
+hacks untested on GBA
+|△
+|△
+|✓
+|△
+|-
+|Runs from HOME Menu
+|✗
+|✓
+|✓
+|✓
+|-
+|Drag-and-drop / ROM picker
+|✓
+|✗
+|✓
+|✓
+|-
+|Cheats, fast-forwarding,
+save states
+|✗
+|✗
+|✓
+|✗
+|-
+|Motion sensor support
+|✗
+|✗
+|✓
+|✗
+|-
+|Easy save file access from SD
+|✓
+|✗
+|✓
+|✓
+|-
+|Wireless streaming via NTR
+(New3DS only)
+|✗
+|✗
+|✓
+|✗
+|-
+|Under active development
+|✓
+|✗
+|✓
+|?
+|}
 [[Category:Nintendo 3DS guides]]