BGB vs DocBoy
BGB
bgb.bircd.orgDocBoy
github.comSide by side
| Figure | BGB | DocBoy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 0 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Emulators | 7.9 (#6) | 7.6 (#9) |
| Accuracy | The maker describes its emulation as hardware-accurate and says it is based on research with test ROMs. | The emulator uses M-cycle accurate CPU emulation and T-cycle accurate PPU emulation with a Pixel FIFO. |
| Debugger | The debugger includes a disassembler, assembler, breakpoints, watchpoints, tracing, and tools for viewing memory and registers. | An optional GDB-style CLI debugger supports disassembly, breakpoints, watchpoints, stepping, rewind, and memory viewing. |
| Support | The manual lists the contact address as bgb at bircd dot org; the homepage says to include “gameboy” in the email subject to avoid spam filtering. | The project invites bug reports and feature proposals through issues and pull requests. |
In their own words
BGB
BGB is a free Game Boy emulator and debugger for playing games and examining emulation. It emulates Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy, with gamepad support, rewind, save states, low latency, and high-quality sound and graphics. ROMs can be loaded from ZIP and GZIP files. The debugger can analyze emulation, help create or modify ROMs, and create, search, load, and save cheat codes; supported formats include GameGenie and GameShark. BGB can also emulate the Game Boy Camera using an image file, test pattern, or webcam. TCP/IP linking connects BGB instances, while Super Game Boy multiplayer supports up to four gamepads. BGB is listed for Windows, and its maker says it also runs under Wine on Linux and macOS; 32-bit and 64-bit versions are provided. The listed current release is version 1.6.6, dated 2025-07-20. Game linking may not work with every game and requires a modern PC with very low lag. AVI recordings omit sound, which is recorded separately to WAV. The manual states that the program has no warranty and is used at the user's own risk.
DocBoy
DocBoy is a free, open-source Game Boy emulator written in C++17. It emulates the original DMG Game Boy and Game Boy Color, with M-cycle-accurate CPU emulation and T-cycle-accurate PPU emulation using a Pixel FIFO. Supported cartridge types include NoMBC, MBC1, MBC2, MBC3, MBC5, MBC7, HUC1 and HUC3. Its frontends provide save and load, save states, fast-forward, configurable palettes, screenshots and an SDL graphical menu. An optional GDB-style command-line debugger offers disassembly, breakpoints, watchpoints, stepping, rewind and memory viewing. DocBoy can also operate as a libretro core through RetroArch. Releases provide Windows and Linux executables, while the project documents an Android libretro build; RetroArch is described as supporting Android and iOS. Save states, link cable emulation and a real-time clock are listed. The project says perfect emulation remains distant and accuracy can affect performance. It uses the MIT license and accepts bug reports and proposals through issues or pull requests.