mGBA vs Panda3DS
mGBA
mgba.io
Panda3DS
panda3ds.comSide by side
| Figure | mGBA | Panda3DS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 8.4 (#6) | 8.3 (#8) |
| License | mGBA is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. | The emulator is licensed under GPLv3, while the website is under the MIT License. |
| Purpose | mGBA is an open-source Game Boy Advance emulator designed to run on lower-end hardware without sacrificing accuracy or portability. | It lets fans play Nintendo 3DS games with enhancements and other features on computers and portable devices. |
| Scripting | Starting with version 0.10, mGBA includes built-in Lua scripting capabilities. | The project supports Lua scripting. |
| Support | The FAQ directs users to file bug reports on the GitHub issue tracker and recommends attaching the built-in bug report ZIP on PC for version 0.9.0 or newer. | Users can ask for support or submit ideas through the Discord server, or submit an issue on GitHub. |
| What it does | mGBA is a Game Boy Advance emulator that aims to run on lower-end hardware without sacrificing accuracy or portability. | Panda3DS is an emulator for the Nintendo 3DS. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
Panda3DS
Panda3DS is a free, open-source emulator for Nintendo 3DS games on computers and portable devices. It supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, with Lua scripting, cheats, controller input, support for some system apps, and work-in-progress amiibo support. The project offers automatically updated nightly builds and manually updated stable builds released every few weeks. Desktop builds include an SDL frontend without a GUI and an experimental Qt frontend with a user interface. Panda3DS is still in early development: many games boot, while many do not, and graphics, audio, and usability features can be incomplete. Compatibility information may not always be up to date, and not all games have been tested. Android is also early in development, so compatibility and performance may differ from desktop. Audio support is experimental; the configuration menu is still being developed, and settings must be changed by editing config.toml in a text editor. The emulator is licensed under GPLv3.