LIJI32/SameBoy
FreeGame Boy and Game Boy Color emulator written in C
FreeFree tier
Outputs: video, audio
About LIJI32/SameBoy
SameBoy is an open source Game Boy (DMG) and Game Boy Color (CGB) emulator written in portable C. It offers high emulation accuracy, passing many test ROMs, and includes a text-based debugger with expression evaluator, disassembler, and conditional breakpoints. The emulator provides native Cocoa frontend for macOS, an SDL frontend for other operating systems, and a libretro core. Features include 96KHz audio, battery save support, save states, open source DMG and CGB boot ROMs, real-time clock emulation, frame blending, and several scaling algorithms (including OmniScale and Anti-aliased Scale2x). SameBoy also supports Game Boy Camera with the Cocoa version.
Key Features
Supports Game Boy (DMG) and Game Boy Color (CGB) emulation
High accuracy, passes blargg's test ROMs and mooneye-gb tests
96KHz audio output
Battery save and save states
Open source DMG and CGB boot ROMs with accurate palette support
Advanced text-based debugger with expression evaluator, disassembler, conditional breakpoints and watchpoints
Real-time clock emulation
Frame blending and multiple scaling algorithms (OmniScale, Anti-aliased Scale2x, etc.)
Retina/High DPI display support
Game Boy Camera support (Cocoa version)
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extremely high emulation accuracy, passes most official test ROMs
- Open source under the Expat license, encouraging community contributions
- Cross-platform: native macOS app, SDL version, and libretro core
- Includes a powerful text-based debugger for development and analysis
- Open source boot ROMs enable accurate palette and timing emulation
- Supports advanced features like frame blending and exclusive scaling algorithms
- Active development and community support on GitHub
Cons
- Some advanced features (frame blending, certain scaling) require OpenGL 3.2+ or Metal
- Game Boy Camera support is only available in the Cocoa (macOS) version
- Must be compiled from source; no pre-built binaries provided for all platforms
- May require manual ROM testing for complete compatibility with obscure titles
Best For
Playing original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on modern computersDebugging and reverse engineering Game Boy ROMsDeveloping homebrew Game Boy applicationsTesting and validating emulation accuracy across different hardware modelsPreservation and archival of Game Boy software
FAQ
What platforms does SameBoy support?
SameBoy runs on macOS via a native Cocoa frontend, and on other operating systems via an SDL frontend. It also has a libretro core for use with RetroArch and other frontends.
Is SameBoy free?
Yes, SameBoy is completely free and open source under the Expat (MIT) license, with an additional exception for the iOS folder.