My OldBoy! – GBC Emulator

About My OldBoy! – GBC Emulator

I picked this up maybe a year and a half ago when I was bored one Saturday night and remembered how much I used to love playing Pokemon Crystal on my old Game Boy Color that died in a drawer somewhere. I was super skeptical at first because there are tons of free emulators out there, but they always feel janky or crash after 20 minutes of playing. My OldBoy! caught my eye because it had good reviews and I figured if I’m going to waste time replaying old games, I don’t want to fight with buggy software. I’m the type of person who reads every single one-star review before downloading anything because I hate getting tricked into paying for something that barely works. This app runs smoothly on my OnePlus 11, no lag even with fast-forward on, and it hasn’t crashed a single time in over a year of use. That alone surprised me.

Core Features

The main thing I care about is whether it can actually play the games I throw at it without glitching out. My OldBoy! handles pretty much every GBC and original GB ROM I’ve tried, including some weird homebrew stuff I found online. The save/load state feature is essential for me because I don’t have time to replay entire dungeons when I die. I just save before a boss fight and reload if I mess up. It also supports cheat codes if you’re into that, though I mostly use them for unlocking stuff I’m too lazy to grind for. You can map external controllers too, which is nice because I have a cheap Bluetooth controller I picked up on Amazon. The fast-forward option is a lifesaver for grinding through battles in Pokemon or speeding up slow walking sections. They also let you take screenshots and record video, which I’ve used maybe twice to show my friend a funny glitch. Nothing groundbreaking, but it works.

Real-World Use

I mostly play this on my lunch breaks at work or when I’m waiting for my girlfriend to get ready. The virtual controls are actually okay for touchscreens, though I had to tweak the button sizes a bit because my thumbs kept hitting the wrong buttons. You can move them around and resize them, which is more than some free apps let you do. I remember one Thursday afternoon I was stuck on a train for two hours and played through half of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX without any problems. The battery drain is reasonable too, not like some games that suck up 30% in an hour. I also tested the link cable emulation with my buddy’s phone to trade Pokemon, and it actually worked with no issues. That was cool, but not something I use regularly. For daily use, it’s solid. Just load up a ROM and you’re good to go.

Pricing & Value

Okay, here’s the thing I hate about paid apps: you pay once and then it’s yours, right? But this one has a free version with ads that limits some features, and honestly I used that free version for two weeks before deciding to buy. The paid version unlocks save states, cheats, fast-forward, and controller support. If you’re a casual player who just wants to play a few games without extras, the free version might be enough. But for me, save states and fast-forward are non-negotiable, so I bit the bullet and bought it. It’s not expensive compared to other emulators — I think I paid around four or five bucks? No recurring subscription nonsense, just one payment. That’s fair for what you get, especially since I’ve used it almost daily for a year. No hidden costs, no in-app purchases begging you for money every five minutes.

Updates & Support

I haven’t needed to contact support because the app just works, so I can’t speak to how helpful they are. But I did check the app store reviews before buying and saw the developer actually responds to complaints and bug reports, which gave me some confidence. Over the past year, I’ve gotten maybe two or three updates. They added some bug fixes and improved controller support for newer devices. Nothing huge, but it’s nice to know it’s not abandoned. The app store page says it’s been around for years, so it’s not some fly-by-night operation. If something broke, I’d probably just leave a review like everyone else rather than email them.

Data & Privacy

This is another thing I checked before buying. The app asks for storage permissions to load your ROMs and save files, which is expected. It does offer Google Drive backup for your save states, which I use because I don’t want to lose my progress if my phone dies. But I don’t think it’s collecting any weird data or spying on you. The privacy policy seems standard, nothing creepy like tracking your location or reading your contacts. For a paid app with no ads, I feel like my data is safe enough. Still, I turned off automatic backups just out of paranoia because who knows what happens in the cloud.

Pricing & Value

Look, if you want a free emulator, there are options, but they usually suck or have constant ads. My OldBoy! is worth the few bucks if you actually plan to play old games regularly. I’ve gotten hundreds of hours out of it, so the cost per hour is basically nothing. Just don’t expect it to do anything fancy like stream to Twitch or play N64 games. It’s a GBC emulator, and it does that one thing really well. No regrets from this budget-conscious guy.