We presume that you know that emulators are special programs that help you run retro games on your computer by emulating a certain video game console’s hardware. Emulators become more popular nowadays, when more and more gamers get disappointed with modern games and choose to get back to playing such retro things as Nintendo, Sony PlayStation, or GBA games. In this article, we will speak in detail about downloading, installing, and configuring the emulator for GBA console. After finishing reading, you will be able to install your emulator, play GBA games on your computer and reconnect with your old friends, such as Mario, Pokemon Sapphire, Sonic, Zelda, and many others.

Downloading the Emulator

As you might have guessed, the first thing you should do if you want to start playing old games is to download an emulator from a reputable and safe website of your choice. Once you are ready with the download, get the program saved on your machine’s hardware. Please note that emulator file come in archives (.zip format, in the majority of cases).

Also Read: Best GBA Games | Best SNES Games

Decompressing the Acquired Files

The next step you will need to take is to decompress your new file. To do it, download and install WinRAR from the official website. It is completely free. (You can also use any decompression you have already installed on your comp).

Right-click on the unzipped file and extract its content into the appropriate folder. After the completion of the extraction process, you will see the newly created files and folder. Among them will be “Plugins,” “BIOS,” and the GBA file itself in the .exe format.

Getting BIOS Files

For your emulator to operate properly, it is necessary to retrieve the BIOS files. Search the Web for the BIOS file that will be compatible exactly with your emulator. Make sure to use official or reputable third-party websites only. Once you download the necessary BIOS files, which also appear in a .zip format, right-click on the new file and extract its content. This will prompt your decompression program to unzip the file.

Select the BIOS folder (the one that was automatically created upon extracting your emulator’s files and folders) and hit the “OK” button to launch the extraction process. By doing so, you will install the required files in the “BIOS” folder of your emulator.

And Now Plugins

Retrieving the BIOS files is not enough to ensure the smooth running of your emulator. Therefore, the next step is to perform the installation of downloaded plug-in files to make sure that your program displays the game graphics and has no difficulty reading CD drive and playing game sounds. Though many players complain that tinkering with plug-ins takes too much time and energy, we assure you that there is a less painful way to do that. It implies downloading the plugin packs for the GBA emulator you can find online. Download CD, Graphics, and Sound Plugin Packs links onto your computer. Upon doing so, navigate to the “Plugins” folder created earlier and extract each pack’s content into that folder.

Configuring the Emulator

Now it is high time that you clicked on your emulator .exe file and ran your program.

Press the “Config” button (different emulators may have slightly different names for this option), if you want to customize configurations manually. However, we would recommend taking advantage of the “Skip Config” option to avoid undesired problems with running your emulator.

Then, you may proceed to configuring your game controller and mapping your keys.

Once you are through with that, you can start playing your favorite GBA games on your emulator.

Also Read: Best GBA Emulators for Android