The games can run from a naked DE10-Nano with the build-in DDR-RAM. However, using SDRAM is highly recommended, as some games may slowdown or loose sync when using DDR-RAM.

When using SDRAM, it requires 32MB SDRAM for games less than 32MB. 32MB games require either 64MB or 128MB module. SDRAM will be automatically used when available and size is sufficient.

Bios

Opensource Bios from Normmatt is included, however it has issues with some games. Original GBA BIOS can be placed to GBA folder with name boot.rom

PLEASE do not report errors without testing with the original BIOS

Homebrew games are sometimes not supported by the official BIOS, because the BIOS checks for Nintendo Logo included in the ROM, which is protected by copyright. To use these ROMs without renaming or removing the the boot.rom, you can activate the "Homebrew BIOS" settings in OSD. As the BIOS is already replaced at boot time, you must save this settings and hard reset/reload the GBA core.

Status

~1600 games tested until ingame. There is no known official game that doesn't work. Exceptions are games that require rare extra hardware (mostly japanese). Some small video glitches remain, see issue list.

Features

saving as in GBA
Savestates
Flickerblend - set to blend or 30Hz mode for games like F-Zero, Mario Kart or NES Classics to prevent flickering effects
Cheats - not working yet
Color optimizations: shader colors and desaturate
Tilt: use analog stick (map stick in Mister Main before)
Solar Sensor: Set brightness in OSD
Gyro: use analog stick (map stick in Mister Main before)
RTC: automatically used, works with RTC board or internet connection
Rumble: for Drill Dozer, Wario Ware Twisted and some romhacks

Savestates

Core provides 4 slots to save and restore the state. Those can be saved to SDCard or reside only in memory for temporary use(OSD Option). Usage with either Keyboard, Gamepad mappable button or OSD.

Keyboard Hotkeys for save states:

Alt-F1..F4 - save the state
F1...F4 - restore

Gamepad:

Savestatebutton+Left or Right switches the savestate slot
Savestatebutton+Down saves to the selected slot
Savestatebutton+Up loads from the selected slot

Cartridge Hardware supported games

RTC: Pokemon Sapphire+Ruby+Emerald, Boktai 1+2+3, Sennen Kazoku, Rockman EXE 4.5
Solar Sensor: Boktai 1+2+3
Gyro: Wario Ware Twisted
Tilt: Yoshi Topsy Turvy/Universal Gravitation, Koro Koro Puzzle - Happy Panechu!
Rumble: Wario Ware Twisted, Drill Dozer

If there is a game you want to play that also uses one of these features, but is not listed, please open a bug request.

For romhacks you can activate the option "GPIO HACK(RTC+Rumble)". Make sure to deactivate it for other games, otherwise you will experience crashes.

Not included

Multiplayer features like serial communication
E-Reader support
Gameboy Player features

Languages

VHDL 60.4%

Verilog 15.6%

Lua 12.2%

SystemVerilog 10.1%

Tcl 1.1%

Other 0.6%