3DS:open_agb_firm

open_agb_firm
Developer(s)	profi200
Console	Nintendo 3DS
Version	2024-07-30 (July 30, 2024; 3 months ago)
Links
GitHub	profi200/open_agb_firm
Download
	Universal-DB; GitHub release;
	v; t; e;

open_agb_firm is a bare-metal application for running Game Boy Advance games using the Nintendo 3DS's native GBA hardware capabilities.

Features

open_agb_firm uses the 3DS's native capabilities to run GBA software, just like the original AGB_FIRM. The main difference is that it allows running ROMs from files on the SD card, instead of requiring them to be installed as digital games. Save files are also put on the SD card, making access to them far easier than AGB_FIRM.

Like AGB_FIRM, additional hardware features like accelerometer and camera are not supported. Games that depend on these features like WarioWare: Twisted! and Game Boy Camera will not work. The exception is the real-time clock which is implemented, so games that use this such as the third-generation Pokémon games can use it as normal.

Installation

Universal-Updater

open_agb_firm is available on Universal-DB and can be installed and updated with Universal-Updater.

Manually

Download the latest release (the open_agb_firm .7z file)
Extract the open_agb_firm .7z file using 7-Zip (or another appropriate utility for your computer's operating system)
Copy open_agb_firm.firm from the extracted contents and place it in /luma/payloads/
Copy the 3ds folder from the extracted contents to the root of your SD card
- If your computer asks to merge or overwrite anything, allow it

Usage

Press and hold START while turning on the console to choose it through the Luma3DS chainloader. A reboot is required to select a different game.

ROMs can be placed anywhere on the SD card. Save files are put in /3ds/open_agb_firm/saves (e.g. if the game is at /roms/Mario Kart.gba, the save is at /3ds/open_agb_firm/saves/Mario Kart.sav).

Example

(root)
- 3ds
  - open_agb_firm
    - saves
      - Mario Kart.sav
      - Pokemon Emerald.sav
    - gba_db.bin
- roms
  - Mario Kart.gba
- mygames
  - gba
    - Pokemon Emerald.gba

Configuration

Configuration settings are available on GitHub.