Nintendo‘s Game Boy Advance emulator has leaked online, as well as the titles of games that are supposedly being tested on it.
Yesterday (April 18), four files were leaked that included emulators that appear to be in development at Nintendo Europe Research and Development (NERD). One is called Hioyo, which is reportedly for the classic Game Boy. And another is called Sloop, which is for the Game Boy Advance. Both emulators are apparently buggy, but they are functional.
Included in the leaked files are screenshots showing off the games currently being tested for the Nintendo Switch. Games like Mario Kart, Golden Sun, and Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Londis, were shown in the screenshot.
Interestingly there was ROM titled Pokémon – Trade, which could mean that Nintendo is working on trading functionality for the games. As well as this, at least for the Game Boy emulator, there is apparently netplay support for link cables.
A larger list of games was also later shared, but while testing is likely taking place for these titles at Nintendo, there is no way of confirming if all of them will join the Nintendo Switch Online service – if that is even the intention of the emulator.
One of the images included in the leak was of an EZFlash cartridge, which is typically used for homebrew projects, and normally something Nintendo regards as a vehicle for piracy.
As the leaks only included files for the emulators, it’s also unclear if the intention is for them to be included in the base package for Nintendo Switch Online, or if it will be a part of the Expansion Pass introduced last year.
