When I first read about this free Gameboy color emulator in the best Gameboy Color Emulators for Android article I couldn’t believe my eyes. I mean I know Android was capable of running emulators but was not aware it can run them so well. Naturally, I became curious because this article was not written by me. I eagerly downloaded the number one app on the list and sat down to “review” it. Oh! I was surprised when the app ran almost every game with ease. Now let’s get to the actual review of My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator and see what treasures it holds. Note: The My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator was tested on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Smartphone and an Asus Memo Pad 7 HD tablet. The app worked fine and there were no problems faced whatsoever during the testing phase. The joy of Android doesn’t endorse piracy so we won’t be linking any GBC Rom sites in our article. We believe you will be able to find them yourself as not many are considered illegal for personal usage. This article will not show any game running on the free GBC emulator, rest assured I have tested around 3 games which ran perfectly. Our Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars Google Play Store Rating: 4.2 out of 5 Stars The Free Version Paid Version Rating: 4.6 out of 5 Stars The Paid Version
JOA Recommends:
I personally recommend the paid version of My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator if and only if the free app runs flawlessly on your device. The free version is also a great way of reliving those fond memories or making new ones but if you want additional features, you will need to get the paid version of the emulator. While the free version is fully capable of running GBC games flawlessly, the paid version takes it a bit further and introduces some features which further enhance the experience. This review, however, is about the free version of the Android GBC emulator, just as the title suggests.
The Good
The My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator comes with a fully loaded file manager which can locate the ROMs anywhere. Not only is it able to access the internal memory but also external SD cards as well. Is this a security concern? I don’t think so because there is not an auto-location option. A wide variety of ROMs are supported by the app. The interface and almost every other aspect of the app are fully customizable.
The Bad
While I don’t consider these the essential features of the Gameboy Color experience, they were still advertised by the developers. First off the network linking has a mind of its own; it sometimes works flawlessly while other times completely crashes. The state save is also hokey, it works sometimes and sometimes I’m left with no saves at all. Thankfully you can manually save the games, just like they were intended to, so it is not that big of a problem.
The Bottom Line
For those veterans who are looking to rekindle their love of GBC, My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator is a very lucrative option. The app can run almost any ROM and plays the games at a stable frame rate. There are very few bugs which can hinder the pure spirit of playing a GBC game. However if you are looking to get additional stable features, you might be disappointed. The network link seems like a great idea but it is not reliable, the cheats also sometimes refuse to work and the state save system is OK at best. That being said, I absolutely had a blast playing some old games on this free GBC emulator for Android.
Turning it on – 5 out of 5 Stars
Installing the My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator is easy as 1 2 3. All you need to do is to get the app from the link above and install it. Once the app is downloaded and installed, you will only need to locate it in the app drawer and launch it. One of the best things about the app I liked is that it urges you to use legally owned ROMs on it. I know this won’t stop people from downloading ROMs from websites, by some games are just not available legally now.
Now the app will tell you to load a ROM and simply throw you at simple looking file manager screen. If you have used any of the File managers for Android before, this layout will be all too familiar to you. A point to be noted is that you will actually need to put some ROMs on your Android device for the app to find them. There are no ROMs hosted on the app so you will need to procure them yourself and manually place them on storage memory.
Performance – 4 out of 5 Stars
If you have a top of the line Android device, you will have absolutely no problems running the My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator on it. The games will run smoothly and with acceptable frame rates. The app also comes with some great options to enhance the performance of the games. For example the Frame-Skip option will ease the rendering load on lower end devices and the game will still retain playability.
Interface and Adjustments – 5 out of 5 Stars
This is where the My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator really shines. Normally I would recommend a particular device or screen orientation for a game. But this emulator makes it easy to recommend any device, be it a smartphone, tablet or a phablet. The interface is simply stellar.
That is not because of clever designing but because the interface is completely customizable. Want to play in the portrait mode on your smartphone? You can change the layout to suit your own needs very easily. The drag and drop method works remarkably well and allows you to adjust the button placement in mere seconds.
Another thing I really liked is that the My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator allows you to add additional buttons to the standard button layouts. This makes it adding great functions to the interface a really easy job.
Other Options – 4 out of 5 Stars
There are other options available on the emulator which has the potential to make your stay more enjoyable. There are some light audio quality options which can sometimes help you get the best possible sounds out of your games.
One of the best features is that the app allows you to select the console version. Gameboy Color, Gameboy and Gameboy Advance are listed as possible options. I have yet to test the respective ROMs but if a ROM is not running try changing the console type.
Permissions – 5 out of 5 Stars
The app only asks to read from a folder you specify. This is literally the only thing the app wants from you apart from the essential network and haptic feedback ones that is. My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator is one of the most secure emulator apps for Android around and I have no problems keeping it on my devices. The app only runs in the background when you use the state save and that too on occasion. Apart from that I didn’t see any suspicious behavior from the app.
Conclusion
My OldBoy Free GBC Emulator is a great emulator for Android. It will provide you with many joyful trips down the memory lane. I wholeheartedly recommend this emulator for those who have actually played on a Gameboy Color before. The app cannot replicate the feel of an actually (clunky and heavy) console but it sure comes surprisingly close. If there were no bugs or errors found on the app, it would have been a perfect package for new and returning players. Take a look at the best Gameboy Color emulators list too if you require other options. If you have any concerns or questions, beep them in the comments below. WHAT NEXT: How to Play Pokemon on Android to Catch Them All On The Go
