Playing Games¶
Inserting a cart¶
Tap A on a cart to insert it. If you've played it before, you pick up right where you left off.
Hold A to start the game fresh. The game will launch without autoloading your save state.
If you'd rather always start fresh, turn off Load State on Insert in Settings → Gameplay.
Ejecting¶
Hold MENU to eject the cart and go back to the shelf.
slot creates a save state on the way out, unless you've turned off Save State on Eject in Settings → Gameplay.
The in-game menu¶
Tap MENU while playing. The game pauses behind it.
| Row | Does |
|---|---|
| Resume | Back to the game |
| States | Opens the save state switcher |
| Screenshots | Opens the screenshot gallery |
| Settings | Screen and Gameplay for the system you're playing, and Controls |
| Exit Game | Ejects the cart |
Picking an emulator¶
GBA games can use mGBA or gpSP. Game Boy and Game Boy Color games always use mGBA.
On the shelf, press START on a GBA cart. It opens to show the circuit board with a chip in one of two sockets. Left puts it on mGBA, Right on gpSP. A saves your choice, B backs out.
slot remembers the choice per game. mGBA is the default.
Which should you use?
- mGBA is more accurate but at the expense of using more resources.
- gpSP is faster but less accurate. It's also the one that does the wireless adapter for Pokémon trading. See Linking Up.
Save states belong to a core
States made on mGBA don't show up on gpSP and the other way around. Your battery save is shared, so in-game saves carry over.
Battery saves¶
Games that save on the cart write to Saves/.
Rumble¶
Games with a rumble pak rumble. Turn it off in Settings → Gameplay if you'd rather they didn't.
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire still needs rumble turned on in the game's own options.