BGB
BGB is a Game Boy emulator and debugger for playing games and inspecting emulation.
What BGB is
BGB is a Game Boy emulator and debugger for playing games and inspecting emulation. It supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy, with gamepad support, rewind, save states, low latency, and high-quality sound and graphics. ROMs can be loaded from ZIP and GZIP files. The debugger can analyze emulation, assist with creating or modifying ROMs, and create or search cheat codes; supported cheat formats include GameGenie and GameShark. BGB also emulates the Game Boy Camera using an image file, built-in test pattern, or webcam. TCP/IP game linking connects BGB instances, but does not work with every game and requires a modern PC with very low lag. The maker says it runs on Windows and Wine on Linux and macOS, and provides 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The listed current release is version 1.6.6, dated 2025-07-20. AVI recordings use an installed system codec and do not include sound; audio is recorded separately to WAV. The manual says the program has no warranty and is used at the user’s own risk.
Good
- Emulates Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy.
- Includes rewind and save states.
- Supports GameGenie and GameShark cheats.
- Loads ROMs from ZIP and GZIP files.
- Runs on Windows and Wine, according to its maker.
Watch out
- TCP/IP linking does not work with every game.
- Game linking requires very low lag.
- AVI recordings omit sound.
- The manual says the program has no warranty.
Who it suits
BGB suits players who want to emulate Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Super Game Boy titles, as well as people inspecting emulation or working with ROMs. It also supports cheat-code creation and TCP/IP linking between BGB instances.
Verdict
BGB combines play features with debugging and cheat-code tools for three Game Boy systems. Note the game-link requirements and separate audio recording workflow if those matter to you.
The facts
Each one read from BGB's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Accuracy
- The maker describes its emulation as hardware-accurate and says it is based on research with test ROMs.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Camera emulation
- BGB emulates the Game Boy Camera using an image file, built-in test pattern, or webcam.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Cheats
- It supports GameGenie and GameShark cheats, cheat loading and saving, cheat searching, and creation of new cheat codes.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Compatibility
- The maker says BGB runs on Windows and Wine and provides 32-bit and 64-bit versions.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Current release
- The current release is BGB 1.6.6, dated 2025-07-20 in the version history.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Current version
- The homepage lists version 1.6.6, dated 2025-07-20 in its version history.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Debugger
- The debugger includes a disassembler, assembler, breakpoints, watchpoints, tracing, and tools for viewing memory and registers.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Debug performance
- Enabling break-on settings or breakpoints activates debug mode and makes BGB run about twice as slowly because of extra checks.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Disclaimer
- The manual says the program has no warranty and is used at the user's own risk.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Emulated systems
- It emulates Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy.checked 2 Oct 2026
- File formats
- BGB can load ROMs from ZIP and GZIP files.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Game link
- It supports TCP/IP game linking between BGB instances.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Game-link limitation
- Game link requires a modern PC around 1–2 GHz and less than 1 ms lag, and it does not work with all games.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Gameplay
- Features include gamepad support, high quality sound and graphics, smooth VSync animation, low latency, rewind, and save states.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Gameplay features
- The emulator includes gamepad support, high-quality sound and graphics, smooth VSync animation, low latency, and rewind.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Multiplayer
- Super Game Boy multiplayer supports up to four gamepads, and the feature list includes TCP/IP game link support.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Older hardware
- The maker says it currently still works on Windows 95b and Pentium 1 PCs.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Product type
- BGB is a GameBoy emulator and debugger.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- BGB is a Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulator and debugger for playing games and inspecting emulation.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Recording limit
- AVI recordings use an installed system codec and do not include sound; audio is recorded separately to WAV.checked 2 Oct 2026
- ROM formats
- BGB can load games from ZIP and GZIP files.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Save states
- It supports save and load states with mappable quick keys and preview screenshots for state slots.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- The manual lists the contact address as bgb at bircd dot org; the homepage says to include “gameboy” in the email subject to avoid spam filtering.checked 2 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- The x86 version is tested on Windows 95b through Windows 11 and Wine on Linux and OS X; the x64 version is tested on Windows XP 64-bit, Windows 7, 10, 11, and Wine on Linux and OS X.checked 1 Oct 2026
