GSE is a free emulator for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, intended primarily for speedrunners. It uses Gambatte for Game Boy and Game Boy Color and Mesen’s GBA core for Game Boy Advance. GSE runs at approximately 59.7275 FPS and uses clock synchronization for consistent frame pacing and low input lag. An optional Low Latency Mode can lower input lag, with less consistent frame pacing as a possible tradeoff. The emulator stores input logs for runs as an additional source for verification and offers 100 savestate slots in ten sets. It supports ROMs compressed as 7z, rar, tar, gz, and zip, as well as controllers through SDL3, including GameCube USB Adapter and Switch controllers. Discord Rich Presence is configurable but off by default. Bootrom or BIOS files are required. Supported systems include Windows 7 SP1 or newer, macOS 10.15 or newer, Linux with specified glibc or libstdc++ versions, and Android 5.0 or newer. Cheat-code support is omitted because it is not considered useful for speedrunning. The project uses the Mozilla Public License 2.0, whose covered software is provided as-is without warranty.
Who it is for
GSE is aimed primarily at speedrunners playing Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance games. Its supported operating systems include desktop and Android devices, subject to the stated requirements.
What is good
- Stores input logs to support run verification.
- Provides 100 savestate slots in ten sets.
- Supports several compressed ROM formats.
- Offers optional Low Latency Mode.
What to know first
- Bootrom or BIOS files are required.
- Cheat-code support is omitted.
- Low Latency Mode may make frame pacing less consistent.
- Covered software is provided without warranty.
Verdict
GSE focuses on speedrunning timing, run verification, and practice features across three Game Boy systems. Check its system requirements and bootrom or BIOS requirement before using it.
Compared on Game Boy advance emulators
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platform scope
- desktop and mobile
- Save states
- Yes
- Cheat support
- No
- Graphics enhancements
- Yes
- Open source
- Yes
