Goomba (emulator)

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Goomba

Original author(s)	Fredrik Olsson ("FluBBA")
Stable release	2.0 / September 19th, 2004
Type	Console emulator
Website	http://www.webpersona.com/goomba/

Goomba Color

Original author(s)	Dan Weiss ("Dwedit")
Type	Console emulator
Website	http://www.dwedit.org/gba/goombacolor.php

Goomba, named after the iconic enemy in the Mario series, is a freely available Game Boy emulator for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Fredrik Olsson (FluBBA). When the project was first started, the only reason for development was for the sheer fun of it, since the GBA could already play GB games natively. After Nintendo DS and Game Boy Micro were released, Goomba has had a boost in speed optimizations and features since neither of them work with GB games.

Development of the original Goomba seems to have been ceased in 2004, however since the source code is available in the public domain, an unofficial version has been forked with Game Boy Color support, named Goomba Color, by Dan Weiss (Dwedit). While most games play with great compatibility, some heavy programs slow down in Goomba Color, and changing color palettes in the middle of a frame rendering is not supported (some GBC games use this trick to simulate "high-color" modes).

Contents 1 Purpose 2 See also 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Purpose

While FluBBa may not have had a good excuse to create this emulator, it filled an important need. GBA flash cards cannot natively play Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, even on the original Game Boy Advance. This is due to a difference in voltage used by the cartridges.^[1] The legacy hardware included with the Game Boy Advance in order to read and play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games can only be used when an actual cartridge is inserted. Since GBA flash cards are read as Game Boy Advance cartridges, this sector of hardware is locked out, making it impossible to run a Game Boy or Game Boy Color ROM natively, So, for all practical purposes, Goomba ironically enables original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to be played when they otherwise couldn't be, through software emulation, the same way that any other system, such as the NES or Game Gear, can be emulated on a flash card.

Furthermore, because the Game Boy Micro was designed without the legacy hardware at all and the Nintendo DS is only backward compatible with Game Boy Advance games, emulation through Goomba becomes the only way to play original Game Boy or Game Boy Color games on these systems.

Various versions of Goomba now come standard with almost all GBA flash cards.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• List of video game console emulators

[edit] External links

• Goomba - The Official Site
• Goomba Color - Official Site
• Forum for Goomba Color

[edit] References

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