Video: MVG Investigates Switch Online's "Impressive" Game Boy & GBA Emulation

Not surprising, I remember emulating GBA games on my old Windows XP PC from around 2009.

I'm more concerned with the release schedule, Nintendo is likely to drip feed us those games throughout the entire year, making the service almost pointless for now.

Good video.

It's cool that they implemented color options for OG Gameboy games. Even cooler that they added rumble from GBA games that supported it(via Gameboy player).

If Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald come to NSO, I hope there's a way to directly upload caught creatures to Bank or Home. Something like what the Virtual Console did to the 3DS ports of the first two Gens.

I hope they will use GBA emulator for Zelda Ages and Seasons, so I can collect all the rings

I loooove the GBA games. For whatever reason, I’m having more fun with them than most of the other NSO offerings. The colourful, chunky pixel graphics have generally held up well, and the fact they were designed for pickup-and-play sessions makes them really easy to dip into. It was a long time coming, but it’s been a really wonderful addition so far. Yay GBA!

@Narrator1 I hope they do that as well

Well, he's not wrong

Nintendo got 30 year-old, black and white 2 bit games working correctly on their latest device? Impressive indeed...

@Pigeon Maybe it's an idea to watch the video to find out why it's impressive before making such a comment?

@Pigeon its not as simple as that
they added a classic mode which makes it REALLY look like its on a Game Boy
they added filters for Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, or Game Boy Color, the last of which is a huge step up from the 3ds
they made the games look fantastic on tv and handheld
the GBA has Game Boy Player features for Mario Advance 4 because that game had special features if played on a TV
thats why people are impressed with the emulation

I don't get why none has commented on MULTIPLAYER being present.

They never did that in 3DS Virtual Console, or any other virtual console, aside of Pokémon Games.

Maybe Pokémon from Red/Blue will useable in Pokemon Stadium now? I know the N64 trailer stated Pokémon wouldn't be transferable, but Stadium isn't out yet, so we still might get that feature, right?

I would absolutely lose my marbles if they'd add the Pokémon games to this service. I would just love to replay those games and do Nuzlocke runs. But I very much doubt it will happen. I hope I'm wrong

@Pigeon It's not just about getting something to work, but also about accuracy. Not to mention implementation of integer scaling, pretty good retro filters and color palettes, and also stuff like rumble and E-card support in certain games.

Bruh. Gba and Gameboy ain't hard to emulate lol.

I was immediately disappointed with the service, albeit not with the emulation itself.

I set the system filter to classic Game Boy, and booted up Link's Awakening DX, only to find that it still booted with color.

That game was NOT a 'Game Boy Color Only' title, as was perfectly playable in peasoup monochrome on the original brick. Boooh!

As good as the hybrid concept is, I miss the days when we had home and portable gaming divided and hardware constraints forced developers to use their creativity.

Loving these games, I wish Nintendo launched a retro hardware line with the same form factor and modern functionalities. They might sell them through their stores, just like they do with the controllers. Nes/Snes mini sold millions of copies, so I guess there’s still a decent market for this.

@Korsica_Is_Best_Girl
I mean yeah I was doing that back in 2001 with GBA and N64 but the trick then was the heavy use of speed hacks and other tricks that weren’t accurate, current emulators mostly avoid this which has upped the system requirements considerably compared to a typical 00s PC and is the main reason why a lot of retro handhelds until recently have had issues running GBA and N64, even Switch has trouble matching the performance of a real N64 at F-Zero X and that’s after the numerous improvements they’ve made to that emulator since last year.
@Pod
They likely did this to avoid having to have separate save states between GB/GBC considering some games with cross compatibility had extra features on GBC like LADX’s color dungeon, they should have a option like the region setting that includes these as separate versions in the library.

@Pigeon Ignoring your condensing tone, I do agree with the sentiment that this shouldn't be that impressive, if anything this should be the bare minimum.

@SwagaliciousJohnson I did see some article for another site that claimed it was coming in someform and that the video saying pokemon wont be transferable disappeared.

Though it seemed to be hinting at "Pokemon Stadium + RBY" being a thing, so the GB pokemon games would be played in the N64 game not part of GB NSO.

It makes me feel a little bit better knowing that Nintendo at least has good experience with emulating GBA games. I still can't forgive them for making the 3DS such a wasted opportunity with those Ambassador-exclusive GBA games.

Fingers crossed we get Looney Tunes Martian Alert as well if anyone ever played that game for the GBC.

@Pigeon I suppose 'impressive' is a pretty strong word to use in this context, but it's positive news nonetheless. And seeing how even big companies sometimes fail to deliver good ports or even fail to use decent emulation software on their releases, I do think it's worth mentioning that these games are emulated well.

People are ecstatic because Nintendo incredibly did the bare minimum would be a better title

Needs Super Game Boy filter.

I see the inportance of good emulation but Bums me out a little the criticism towards the n64 could of delay the relese of the gba thus making it longer to release the library instead of improving it after

The best thing would be to offer a new game every month but from all platforms at the same time

@Pigeon Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

Gameboy and GBA Emulation has been around for over 20 years already. It would be a shame if Nintendo didn't get it right.

Why compare it to the analog pocket and not compare it to the gameboy? The filter is not trying to simulate the pocket, it is trying to simulate the gameboy. It is an interesting comparison but it's missing the real comparison.

It shouldn't be a celebration for things to work as should, though I'm happy for these games to exist on switch, but it would be nice not having to quit games to mess with the filters or options, and maybe it would be nice to be able to remap controls like every other free emulator out there

@Wheatly His complaint is perfectly valid. There were two types of GBC games. The first were GBC exclusive, the casing had a different mold and were usually clear. Such as Mario Bros. DX. It would work only on a GBC. The other type were color-enhanced Game Boy games that would offer an improvement on the newer system, but were still playable on an OG Game Boy. They usually came on a black GB cart -like Link's Awakening DX. So even back then it was perfectly plausible to play this game in greyscale on an old Game Boy, and if you want to use an OG Game Boy filter, that's how it should look. I first played the original version and have fond memories of it, but have no way to replicate that experience using my real DX cart. I should be able to do that with a "Game Boy filter" if that's what I want to. Otherwise, it's not really a GB filter is it?
Edit: To avoid confusion, I could use my DX cart to play in greyscale if I had a GB old enough. Incidentally my oldest surviving hardware is GB Color. So Nintendo added a filter to make it look like the only hardware so old I don't have it anymore, and it doesn't work. COMPLETELY valid complaint lol

@Maxz yeah even someone younger like myself always found old 16 bit graphics and music so charming. love that the mario and luigi series is getting some love from nintendo again.

@Wheatly
I know there are two versions. That's why I'm writing this.
The DX release specifically did NOT require the Game Boy Color, but also ran fine on the original Game Boy. Only the color dungeon was inaccessible.

I feel I should be able to make this choice myself, seeing as they included the option to pick hardware.

@SalvorHardin
They could also let you access the color dungeon on original hardware in this release, using the same save state, but then tell you in the interface "this specific dungeon will toggle on GBC colors", instead of forcing the color version on you from the outset.

That would solve the problem, but also require a bit of effort, of course.

@Wheatly Wrong. I can't play it on Game Boy because I don't own one, as stated lol. It doesn't make any sense to release an emulator for games with features to make it match the experience of an old system, and if it doesn't work, to say "use the old system". This flies in the face of the purpose of the emulator, or in this case, that feature. One of the great things about emulators is that I could use the filter to have the same childhood experience when I want, and turn it off when I want color or need it for the new dungeon. Just saying don't call it a Game Boy filter if it isn't a Game Boy filter. It made me also think the greyscale option would be there, which is the only one I don't have access to without buying more hardware...what was the point of emulating again?

Not surprising? Too simple a challenge to be labeled as impressive?

Emulation is not simple. It is, like many things, built on generational hard work, each new step building on steps others took in the past.

For emulators, since they were originally frowned upon by the original hardware makers, it's generally a passionate work of enthusiasts that never pays off in a substantive way. Ask them if it was "easy" or "simple" or if "anyone can do that".

Even though this stands on the work of previous developers and it is paid work, this emulator stands up with the best, as it passes more compatibility tests than than other emulators.

That is not how the story of official emulation has gone in the past.

It's also far more convenient from a player's point of view to get to that point of nostalgic fun than keeping up with most other options.

In my opinion, it's not remotely a stretch to say it's "impressive".

Meanwhile there are people who develop near perfect cores for FPGA devices like Analogue, for free. I'm not talking about ROMs, I'm just talking about the time to get the emulation right and doing it well. I would HOPE the company who owns these devices could do even better but to be honest, it's nothing that would make me want to play on the Switch vs on an Analogue. Much less pay a perpetual subscription to do so.

I'm happy these are here and think it's a cool bonus. It's just a neat addition to their online service and it's nice that things run well and look well and they included a few surprises in their initial launches.

The failure of the N64 service? I was able 100% Banjo Kazooie, I call that a success. The only thing the N64 service is lacking is the rest of the Rare games, it’s Star Wars titles and Buck Bumble.

@Pigeon Such a powerhouse, the Switch, emulating Gameboy titles. Might melt the processor down if they aren't careful!

@Wheatly
That could be solved a multitude of ways though.
Primary issue remains that they let you pick a system yourself, but don't display the game the way it would look on that system.

@Wheatly
They don't actually have to fix anything. The DX release is perfectly playable on the OG Game Boy.
But, they could write in the documentation that the Color dungeon would be displayed in GBC mode. Or even just write that it wouldn't be accessible when played that way.

This is not about me wanting to play the original release. It's about wanting to play DX on the OG Game Boy if that's what I asked for. It's about wanting the service to make sense fresh out of the door.

I just wish the NSO games didn't have that ugly speckled border. I know it's silly to say but it really makes it hard for me to enjoy the games. Wish there was an option for a plain black background.

@aaronsullivan

Reading the development articles of the RPCS3 team is genuinely crazy.

PS3 emulation is an absolute nightmare. And it’s a miracle that relatively small team of passionate PS3 fans has managed to get 70% of the library either fully playable or “playable with errors.”

@Wheatly
I want the service to function in a predictable manner.

I am pretty happy with the emulation as well. Playing the remake of Super Mario Bros 3 on switch has been a dream with the image quality.