Files
libretro/emulators/nosgba.yml
T
Abdessamad Derraz bb19a6d5cf feat: profile what RetroBat and RetroPie run
100 emulator names the two platforms run had no profile, so their packs carried nothing for them. Each was read from the platform's own launcher or scriptmodule: the same program as an existing profile takes the name in cores:, a different build gets its own profile read from that version, a launcher or self-contained game goes to remove_cores, and the rest are new profiles written from their source or shipped binary. The files they need that the collection lacked are collected from the upstream distributions. Bungie and splitwolf trees are read by path and stay out of dedup.
2026-10-20 06:14:10 +02:00

218 lines
9.1 KiB
YAML

emulator: no$gba
type: standalone
core_classification: embedded_hle
source: "https://problemkaputt.de/gba.htm"
upstream: "https://problemkaputt.de/gba.htm"
version_source:
url: "https://problemkaputt.de/gba.htm"
pattern: 'no\$gba v(\d+(?:\.\d+)+)'
profiled_date: "2026-10-20"
core_version: "3.04"
display_name: "Nintendo - GBA/DS/DSi (no$gba)"
cores:
- nosgba
systems:
- nintendo-gba
- nintendo-ds
- nintendo-dsi
- sony-pocketstation
mode: standalone
notes: |
Freeware gaming build of Martin Korth's Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and
DSi emulator for Windows, closed source. RetroBat installs it as nosgba and
starts NO$GBA.EXE with the ROM. Its NO$GBA.EXE (220079 bytes, sha1
935b857bc1249479124247612755eeb2a247f23c) is the one in no$gba-w.zip of
v3.04, 23 Mar 2021, byte for byte. The official zip also carries
DSI-SD.ZIP, which RetroBat leaves out. Everything below is read from that
executable after removing its UPX layer. Addresses are virtual addresses of
the unpacked image (base 0x400000).
Every file is opened by bare name. Before each open the program builds its
own folder from the module path and makes it the current directory
(0x431741, 0x4316ea), so all of them sit next to NO$GBA.EXE.
The boot ROMs come from one table of six slots (0x471a81-0x471b80), loaded
by one routine (0x4357c6-0x4358a1). For each slot it clears the buffer, then
tries a list of (file, offset) pairs in order. The first file that opens and
is longer than its offset gives the bytes, read at that offset for the slot
size. No size is checked beyond that. The lists:
GBA, 16 KiB: NO$GBA.ROM at 0, BIOSGBA.ROM at 0, GBA.ROM at 0.
NDS ARM7, 16 KiB: NO$GBA.ROM at 0x4000, BIOSNDS.ROM at 0, BIOSNDS7.ROM at 0.
NDS ARM9, 4 KiB: NO$GBA.ROM at 0x8000, BIOSNDS.ROM at 0x4000, BIOSNDS9.ROM at 0.
DSi ARM7, 64 KiB: BIOSDSI.ROM at 0, BIOSDSI7.ROM at 0.
DSi ARM9, 64 KiB: BIOSDSI.ROM at 0x10000, BIOSDSI9.ROM at 0.
PocketStation, 16 KiB: POCKSTAT.ROM at 0.
NO$GBA.ROM, BIOSNDS.ROM and BIOSDSI.ROM are therefore concatenations of the
single images, GBA then ARM7 then ARM9.
After a slot loads, two 32-bit words are computed over it: the sum of its
dwords, and a value seeded with 0x42494f53 that takes each dword plus the
count of dwords left, XORs it in and rotates right by one. The GBA, NDS ARM7,
NDS ARM9 and PocketStation slots carry the expected pair, the DSi slots carry
none. A mismatch only raises "Incorrect GBA/NDS BIOS version!" and the image
stays in use (0x43586a-0x43589a, 0x4358f0-0x43591e). The md5 and sha1 given
below are those of the dumps that produce the expected pair.
Without a GBA image the slot receives a 236-byte stub held in the executable
(0x43578c-0x4357c5) and the BIOS calls run as x86 code, the default of the
"Emulate BIOS Functions" option. Only the BIOS sound functions then stop with
"Sorry, no$gba needs a copy of the original GBA BIOS". The NDS slots stay
zero and the calls are emulated the same way. The ARM7 image is what
decrypts the secure area of an encrypted cartridge dump and CodeBreaker
codes ("Encrypted Cartridge, requires files BiosNds7.rom and BiosNds9.rom").
Without a PocketStation image a built-in clone named pockclon is expanded in
its place (0x435750-0x435771). DSi mode needs the DSi images for their RSA
keys and stops with "Missing DSi BIOS dump (need RSA keys)" without them.
The DSi eMMC and SD card are files named from the emulated unit number, 1 for
the first machine: the name is written over a template as "DSi-", the digit,
then "mmc" or "sd" (0x43acea-0x43ad2d). The eMMC image must carry the
nocash footer with the CID and console ID ("Missing footer in .mmc file").
The template string itself reads New3DS-#.mmc, from the 3DS mode.
Written rather than obtained: NO$GBA.INI (generated config), NO$GBA.INP (key
setup), saves under BATTERY, snapshots under SLOT, QUIKSAVE.SNA, and
FIRMnnnn.BIN and BIOS dumps the xboo cable tools write. NO$GBA.CHT is a
cheat list the user writes, help.htm and help.txt are documentation, and
no$gba.key is the registration file of the debug version.
files:
- name: BIOSGBA.ROM
aliases: ["GBA.ROM"]
system: nintendo-gba
required: false
hle_fallback: true
size: 16384
md5: "a860e8c0b6d573d191e4ec7db1b1e4f6"
sha1: "300c20df6731a33952ded8c436f7f186d25d3492"
on_mismatch: warn
description: "Game Boy Advance BIOS"
note: >
Tried after NO$GBA.ROM and before GBA.ROM. Expected checksum pair
0xbaae187f, 0xc98cfa1d, which the retail GBA BIOS gives. Needed for the
BIOS sound functions and the Nintendo logo boot.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x471a81-0x471aac (slot), 0x4357c6-0x43589a (load and checksum), 0x43578c-0x4357c5 (stub when absent)"
- name: BIOSNDS7.ROM
system: nintendo-ds
required: false
hle_fallback: true
size: 16384
md5: "df692a80a5b1bc90728bc3dfc76cd948"
sha1: "24f67bdea115a2c847c8813a262502ee1607b7df"
on_mismatch: warn
description: "Nintendo DS ARM7 BIOS"
note: >
Tried after NO$GBA.ROM at 0x4000 and BIOSNDS.ROM at 0. Expected checksum
pair 0xbc180972, 0x36b3e1b2. Carries the key that decrypts encrypted
cartridge secure areas and CodeBreaker codes.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x471ab1-0x471adc (slot), 0x4357c6-0x43589a (load and checksum)"
- name: BIOSNDS9.ROM
system: nintendo-ds
required: false
hle_fallback: true
size: 4096
md5: "a392174eb3e572fed6447e956bde4b25"
sha1: "bfaac75f101c135e32e2aaf541de6b1be4c8c62d"
on_mismatch: warn
description: "Nintendo DS ARM9 BIOS"
note: >
Tried after NO$GBA.ROM at 0x8000 and BIOSNDS.ROM at 0x4000. Expected
checksum pair 0xbb212bf7, 0x1bec1d77.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x471ae1-0x471b0c (slot), 0x4357c6-0x43589a (load and checksum)"
- name: FIRMWARE.BIN
system: nintendo-ds
required: false
hle_fallback: true
max_size: 524288
description: "Nintendo DS firmware flash"
note: >
Read whole into a buffer of 256 KiB, or 512 KiB when the file is larger.
A file over 512 KiB stops the program with "Unexpected Error". Absent, a
256 KiB buffer stands in. No hash is checked.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x4356a8-0x4356e8 (load), 0x4358a2-0x4358d3 (buffer size), 0x4348fa (error)"
- name: BIOSDSI7.ROM
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
size: 65536
description: "Nintendo DSi ARM7 BIOS"
note: >
Tried after BIOSDSI.ROM at 0. No checksum. DSi mode stops without it
since it holds the RSA keys.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x471b11-0x471b38 (slot), 0x4357c6-0x435802 (load)"
- name: BIOSDSI9.ROM
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
size: 65536
description: "Nintendo DSi ARM9 BIOS"
note: "Tried after BIOSDSI.ROM at 0x10000. No checksum."
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x471b39-0x471b60 (slot), 0x4357c6-0x435802 (load)"
- name: WIFI-DSI.BIN
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
hle_fallback: true
description: "DSi wifi firmware flash"
note: >
Read whole. Absent, a 128 KiB buffer stands in. No hash is checked.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x435701-0x435741 (load), 0x4358d4-0x4358ef (buffer)"
- name: AR6002G.ROM
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
description: "Atheros AR6002 wifi chip ROM"
note: >
Read for a DSi when the byte at firmware offset 0x1fd is not 2. Absent,
the ROM area is filled with 0x55.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x46014c-0x4601bd"
- name: AR6013G.ROM
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
description: "Atheros AR6013 wifi chip ROM"
note: "Read for a DSi when the byte at firmware offset 0x1fd is 2. Absent, the ROM area is filled with 0x55."
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x46014c-0x4601bd"
- name: DSi-1.mmc
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
description: "DSi eMMC image with nocash footer"
note: >
eMMC of the first emulated DSi. The footer has to carry the CID and the
console ID. No hash or size is checked.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x43acea-0x43ad65"
- name: DSi-1.sd
system: nintendo-dsi
required: false
size: 125698048
md5: "a5feb3d3fc0cdf0f663ef1a80ba39e72"
sha1: "b473e101c7d22c15272f3cfce7c30b01f67839b4"
description: "DSi SD card image"
note: >
SD card of the first emulated DSi. The official zip ships a blank
FAT16 one as DSI-1.SD inside DSI-SD.ZIP. The hashes are those of that
file, the code checks none.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x43acea-0x43ad65"
- name: POCKSTAT.ROM
system: sony-pocketstation
required: false
hle_fallback: true
size: 16384
md5: "3bcdcef3d9aa7af85cd45e29986d11c8"
sha1: "6ae880493ddde880827d1e9f08e9cb2c38f9f2ec"
on_mismatch: warn
description: "PocketStation BIOS"
note: >
Expected checksum pair 0x27e94c07, 0x63beca34, given by the image ending
in J061. An image ending in J110 is checked against 0xb16ce96c,
0xbedf0d0f instead, and one with POCKBIOS at 0x40 is not checked.
Absent, a built-in clone is used.
source_ref: "NO$GBA.EXE v3.04 0x471b61-0x471b80 (slot), 0x43582b-0x435863 (variant tests), 0x435750-0x435771 (clone)"