RustBoyAdvance-NG vs Sapphire
RustBoyAdvance-NG
github.comSapphire
dylanbutler.devSide by side
| Figure | RustBoyAdvance-NG | Sapphire |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 7.9 (#10) | 6.7 (#26) |
| License | The repository is distributed under the MIT License, which grants permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, sublicense, and sell copies subject to its conditions. | Sapphire is licensed under the MIT License. |
| Purpose | RustBoyAdvance-NG is a Nintendo Game Boy Advance emulator and debugger written in Rust. | Sapphire is a Game Boy Advance emulator written from scratch in Go. |
| Save states | The desktop key bindings include commands to save and load snapshot files. | Save states work on desktop and in the browser, saving progress to a file or browser local storage. |
Plans
In their own words
RustBoyAdvance-NG
RustBoyAdvance-NG is a free Nintendo Game Boy Advance emulator and debugger written in Rust. Its WebAssembly demo accepts ROM files by drag and drop, while the desktop emulator loads ROM files or ZIP archives containing .gba files. Desktop use requires a GBA BIOS binary; the project says an open-source BIOS is supported. The repository lists SDL2 and minifb desktop frontends, with minifb marked as unmaintained, plus Java JNI bindings and a terminal frontend. A proof-of-concept Android application can be opened in Android Studio and requires Rust Android targets with the NDK. The custom debugger and experimental GDB server are gated behind build features. Desktop key commands include saving and loading snapshot files, but controls cannot currently be reconfigured. Desktop builds require Rust 1.51 or later and SDL2 dependencies on Linux and macOS. The project identifies CGB audio, including four wave-generator channels, as remaining emulation work. It is distributed under the MIT License and lists Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and Android platforms.