gpSPhone

Developer’s description of app: GBA Emulator for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

So I finally sat down and tried to get gpSPhone to work on my iPhone. I think a lot of people are confused by the name and think it’s some type of GPS for the iPhone. It’s actually an emulator for Game Boy Advance games. There have been a few updates lately and I’ve heard the developer got a little help from the developer of the NES app. A big difference in this app from NES is that you have to download the bios (gba_bios.bin) to run the game yourself. You can just search for gba_bios.bin on Google and it’s usually the first link or you can download it from an actually Game Boy Advance. Another big difference in this app from NES is that the buttons are layered over the game. This way the game plays full screen. The buttons appear as shaded shapes over the game. See screenshots below. Ok, so now how do you install gpSPhone, get the bios, games, etc. Here’s a step by step guide:

1. Install gpSPhone via Installer.app under the game category.
2. Install openSSH via Installer.app under the system category.
3. download the bios file needed to run the emulator – google search for gba_bios.bin or download from an actual Game Boy Advance.
4. upload the bios file (gba_bios.bin) to /Applications/gpSPhone/ on the iPhone via SSH.
5. download game files (end in .gba) these can be downloaded via P2P or bit torrents, or downloaded from actual Game Boy Advance games.
6. create a folder on the iPhone /private/var/root/bin/Library/ROMs/ via SSH.
7. create a folder on the iPhone /private/var/root/bin/Library/ROMs/GBA/ via SSH.
8. upload the game files (end in .gba) to /private/var/root/bin/Library/ROMs/GBA/ via SSH.

Now just run the app and pick a game. Most games I tried are still glitchy but the developer is working on this.