Nintendo emulators for Windows Phone get new menu themes and enhancements

A while back, French developer M.k created a trio of well-loved emulators for Windows Phone 8 based on classic Nintendo platforms: SNES8x, VBA8, and VGBC8. Eventually M.k grew tired of Windows Phone development and surrendered his emulators to a new developer: Duc Le. And since then, Duc has worked tirelessly to add new features to all three emulators such as the much-requested MOGA controller support.

All three of Duc’s emulators have received significant updates recently, enhancing the appearance of their user interfaces, improving menu support while using MOGA controllers, and more. Head past the break for full details!

SNES8x version 2.5 release notes:

  • **FIX**: app crashes when returning to main screen and switching between games.
  • Go to Settings directly from game screen.
  • More realistic virtual buttons.
  • Customize background color in portrait mode.
  • Fix L2 and R2 button on Moga Pro controller.
  • Customize button mapping for MOGA controller.
  • Add landscape support in most frequently used pages.
  • Increase maximum frameskip to 9.
  • More meaningful progress messages when exporting saves.
  • Increase the recent ROM list to 5 items.
  • New app logo (thanks Eddi Bento).

Note that SNES8x is due to get a version 2.6 update soon that will bring it in-line with its sister emulators.

VBA8 version 2.6 release notes:

  • New design
  • Switch between dark and light theme in Settings -> General
  • Tap on the right side of a rom entry for context menu (the three-dot hint can be turned off in Settings)

VBGC8 version release notes:

  • New design
  • Switch between dark and light theme in Settings -> General
  • Tap on the right side of a rom entry for context menu (the three-dot hint can be turned off in Settings)

Keeping old games alive

All three emulators have advanced a great deal since Duc Le took them over. Not only do they support MOGA controllers, but the recent addition of landscape support for menus really makes them much easier to use with a controller. And the light theme looks great on VBA8 and VGBC8.

To learn about future enhancements to these emulators before they go live, check out our official forum thread. Duc posts as “illidanx” and always provides a heads up about upcoming features and changes.

  • SNES8x – Windows Phone 8 – 2 MB – Free – Store Link
  • VBA8 – Windows Phone 8 – 3 MB – Free – Store Link
  • VGBC8 – Windows Phone 8 – 3 MB – Free – Store Link

Paul Acevedo

Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don’t hate. Appreciate!