GameCube games will actually encrypt the GBA binary that is sent to the various games, and the way it does this actually posed a bit of a problem for Dolphin early on. While we don't know the exact details behind connecting the earliest versions to a GBA emulator, we do know from developer accounts that multiple ideas were trialed with a focus around the best GBA emulator of the era, VBA-M.īut before we could connect to another emulator, we needed to understand how the connection actually worked. The earliest recorded implementations of GBA connectivity emulation go back to around 2009, with the feature first being spotted in Dolphin r2578. Over the years, several developers have embarked on the multi-system mission. Still, the few games that truly embraced GBA connectivity presented an interesting emulation challenge. Bridge the gap between GBA and GCN Pokemon games using the link cable. Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex's GBA connectivity bonus leaves a lot to be desired. Pokemon Box also let you store Pokemon and had an adventure mode where you could play the GBA games on the big screen without a Game Boy Player.įour Swords Adventure has tons of four player fun and the japanese version has an exclusive party mode. Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokemon Box, and their bonus discs can all connect to various Generation 3 Pokemon GBA games for bonuses, trading, and battling.
Sometimes it is a bonus NES game, sometimes it's a miniature version of the game you're playing.