GBA emulator for iPhone and iPad

Start with a .gba game file

Retropa plays GBA games on iPhone and iPad running iOS 18 or later. You bring the game file; the app ships without games or BIOS files. Keep your own copy somewhere outside the app as a backup, in case something goes wrong later.

• A GBA game normally uses the .gba extension.
• A .gb or .gbc file belongs to GB or GBC, not GBA.
• Renaming a file never converts it into another system.

Import from the Files app

A cloud placeholder looks identical to a real file in a list, but the import fails until the bytes are actually local. Tap the import entry in Retropa's library, pick the game, then open it once. Confirm the picture, the sound and the default controls before you start customizing the layout.

Pick a layout that fits the buttons

GBA controls need room for a directional pad, A and B, shoulder buttons, Start and Select. Try pressing them, not just looking at the artwork. Retropa imports .deltaskin packages, though a DS skin will not cover a GBA layout properly. Before you commit, check that the package supports the orientations you actually play in.

• Keep the game screen clear in every orientation you use.
• Pair a compatible controller in iOS first, then check how Retropa maps it.
• Premium skins and advanced filters require Retropa Plus; importing a file unlocks nothing.

LCD character or clean pixels?

Look at the plain picture first, before any treatment. A light LCD filter can bring back the feel of a handheld screen; a CRT one pushes the image somewhere else entirely. Advanced filters work on the area the game actually renders, with no integer-scale requirement. What changes is the picture, not the game's resolution or which files load.

When an import or a save will not work

Rule out the file extension, the selected system and the exact error message before anything else. If Files has not finished downloading the original, let it finish, then import again. BIOS errors follow whatever the chosen core asks for; an arcade neogeo.zip is not a GBA BIOS. A game's own save data and an emulator save state are separate artifacts, so never rename one into the other, and keep backups before you move between cores or apps.

• Switch to the default skin and a plain filter while chasing a control or display problem.
• Note the app version, system, core and error text for support.
• Leave commercial ROMs and BIOS files out of a support request.