BlastEm vs mGBA
BlastEm
retrodev.com
mGBA
mgba.ioSide by side
| Figure | BlastEm | mGBA |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 9.0 (#2) | 8.4 (#6) |
| Supported systems | The official site lists Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega CD, 32X, Master System, Game Gear, SG-1000, SC-3000, Sega Pico and Yamaha Copera support. | mGBA also emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color; DS support is very early and only available in the medusa branch. |
| What it does | BlastEm emulates Sega 16-bit and 8-bit consoles, with emphasis on speed and hardware accuracy. | mGBA is a Game Boy Advance emulator that aims to run on lower-end hardware without sacrificing accuracy or portability. |
Plans
In their own words
BlastEm
BlastEm is a free, open-source emulator for Sega's 16-bit and 8-bit consoles. It supports Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega CD, 32X, Master System, Game Gear, SG-1000, SC-3000, Sega Pico, and Yamaha Copera. Downloads are listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with an experimental web version. Gameplay features include save states, cartridge save RAM and EEPROM support, turbo and slow modes, controller input, and VGM logging. Its integrated debugger can inspect and modify state, set conditional breakpoints, run scripts, and show visual VDP tools. Developers can use the GDB remote debug protocol for source-level debugging of SGDK and other C or C++ projects. The maker describes it as fast enough for older PCs and accurate enough for demanding demos. Most Sega CD and 32X games are playable, but compatibility is not perfect. Yamaha Copera emulation is incomplete: games generally lack music, though Copera-specific ADPCM samples play. The listed macOS download is x86-64 and not notarized; the page directs ARM users to Homebrew.
mGBA
mGBA is a free, open-source emulator for Game Boy Advance games, designed to run on lower-end hardware while maintaining accuracy and portability. It also emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color; most GBA games boot, while the FAQ notes bugs in Game Boy and Game Boy Color support. Nintendo DS support is very early, limited to the medusa branch, and has poor compatibility. Desktop downloads cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and Ubuntu, with homebrew builds for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Wii, and PlayStation Vita. Supported GBA peripherals include rumble, rotation and tilt sensors, a solar sensor, realtime clock, partial link cable support, and BattleChip Gate. Game Boy features include rumble, tilt, realtime clock, Game Boy Printer, and partial Game Boy Camera and Super Game Boy support. The Wireless Adapter, IR Adapter, and Soul Adapter are not supported. Built-in Lua scripting can access emulator memory, registers, save states, buttons, game information, screenshots, callbacks, and frame or instruction advancement. The project began in April 2013 and uses the Mozilla Public License 2.0.