How To Setup mGBA Cheat Codes For The Emulator

The mGBA emulator is hands down the best GBA emulator for Windows PC, macOS, and Linux computers. One popular question regarding mGBA is how to setup and use cheat codes for GBA games. In this article, we’ll be breaking down just how easily you can setup cheat codes in your favorite Game Boy Advance games for all kinds of game hacking fun.

Follow the steps outlined below in this mGBA cheat code tutorial to see where to add your cheat codes, how to save them, and setup them up correctly.

Note: This guide will work for only the standalone version of the mGBA emulator and not on the RetroArch core version.

If you’re an Android user, after you finish this article, be sure to check out our list of the best GBA emulator Android apps.

1. Opening The mGBA Cheats Menu

You’ll obviously want to make sure you first have the mGBA emulator installed on your device and that you have a GBA ROM available to use.

After starting up your Game Boy Advance ROM in mGBA, you’ll want to find and open up the Cheats menu.

To open the Cheats menu, you’ll want to head to the emulator’s top menu and go to Tools > Cheats. After making the selection, you should see the cheat code menu pop up where you’ll be entering your cheats.

2. Adding Your Cheat Codes For mGBA

Make sure you have a cheat code ready that you want to use for your GBA game. In the section of the cheat codes menu in mGBA, find where it says Enter codes here… as this is where you will be entering your cheat code.

After you have entered your cheat code into the input box, go ahead and click the Add Lines button to add the cheat code. After clicking to add it, you’ll see it show as untitled in the left side box.

3. How To Rename Your Cheat Code

To rename this cheat code, double click on the untitled cheat code in the box and then enter your new name for the cheat and hit enter to save. It’s helpful to add the game’s name to the beginning of your cheat code and also include what the cheat code does so that you can easily reference it in the future if needed.

4. Testing Your Cheat Code In mGBA

After successfully adding and renaming your cheat code, you’ll want to check to make sure that it’s working in the mGBA emulator. Go back into your game and verify that the changes related to the added cheat code have in fact occurred in-game.

If you notice that they haven’t you may want to try closing the emulator and restarting it to see if this refreshes the game and allows the cheat code to be used. If you’re still not seeing the cheat code changes in-game, go back to the cheat code menu and ensure that you have the checkmark next to the cheat code ticked otherwise mGBA won’t use that cheat code you entered.

You can turn cheat codes on or off at any time by checking or unchecking the box next to the cheat code on the left.

You can also add multiple cheat codes at once and mGBA will activate them all in one single block. You can save all of these as one cheat code which you can turn on and off as you wish, saving you time and the hassle of having to manage multiple different cheat codes.

If you have a Raspberry Pi lying around, be sure to check out our RetroPie GBA setup guide.