John GBA

About

"John GBA is a single-player arcade game that functions as a GBA emulator, offering a straightforward user experience. Immerse yourself in its features for approximately 40 quarters' worth of gameplay, or about 4 hours, to fully beat the game. Ideal for gamers seeking a nostalgic and uncomplicated experience."

Genres & Tags

Arcade

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 860 reviews

optimization11 positive mentions

monetization27 negative mentions

The emulator offers a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience with customizable controls and features like save states and fast forward.
Many users appreciate the app's ability to run a wide range of GBA games without significant issues, making it a reliable choice for nostalgic gaming.
The app has a user-friendly interface and is easy to set up, with some users noting that it works well with Bluetooth controllers.

Recent updates have caused the app to fail in detecting game files, rendering it unusable for many users who previously enjoyed it.
Several users have reported issues with the cheat functionality, stating that valid codes are often marked as invalid, which is frustrating for those looking to enhance their gameplay.
There are complaints about the app's handling of save files, with some users losing progress unexpectedly or being unable to save their games properly.

monetization
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
73%
The monetization model of the app is primarily based on a low-cost purchase option to remove ads, which many users find appealing. However, there are significant complaints regarding the persistence of ads even after payment, leading to frustration among users who expected a completely ad-free experience. Overall, while the app is praised for its functionality and low ad frequency in the free version, the inconsistency in ad removal for paid users detracts from its value.
- “Paid only for no ads; the free version has already all features.”
- “Perfect gameplay, detection of my ROMs, no ads, good price, perfect.”
- “No ads, no issues, great quality of life features like speedup.”
- “But please fix the issue where I've paid for this almost 2 years ago and I'm now back to getting ads.”
- “Paid for the ad-free version and still getting ads.”
- “Why pay if we're still gonna get advertisements?”
optimization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
85%
15%
Overall, the optimization of the emulator is highly praised, with users noting smooth performance across a range of devices, including older models. While some users experienced minor issues with specific settings, such as resolution multipliers and stuttering at high refresh rates, the emulator is generally lightweight, user-friendly, and free of ads, making it an excellent choice for playing GBA games. The customization options for controls and display further enhance the user experience, although some users noted a trade-off between performance and graphical quality.
- “Excellent optimization (even older phones will benefit from physical camera buttons etc that can be mapped to shoulder buttons or load/save functions).”
- “Lots of adjustment options for the controls and display and always runs smoothly even on my $40 phone.”
- “Amazing performance, useful features and makes it super easy to play GBA games.”
- “Simple and light emulator that works perfectly, but it has a few issues on my device (Samsung A52s 5G). With the screen set to 120Hz, the games seem to be stuttering. Customizing layouts and setting the resolution multiplier (e.g., 4x or 5x) doesn't work; if I set 4x, it's actually 5x but not pixel-perfect. The result is slightly more than 5x, and some pixels look wrong if you zoom in.”
- “I have a ROG Phone 3, so there's no way there would be performance issues, right?”
gameplay
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, users find the gameplay to be smooth and user-friendly, with a good tactile interface. However, some express frustration with persistent ads, even in the paid version, and issues with game saves being erased in certain Pokémon games. Despite these concerns, many appreciate the app's performance and features, particularly when using the paid version.
- “Don't hesitate to purchase this app; it's very user-friendly. The lite version only has some ads, so it will not disturb your gameplay that much, but it needs a Wi-Fi connection to use game speed settings. It's better to get the paid version to have all settings.”
- “Smooth usage and gameplay as always.”
- “Perfect gameplay, detection of my ROMs, no ads, good price, perfect.”
- “Costed me 1 hour of gameplay in Pokémon.”
- “The app is pretty good, and I do not have any problem with gameplay, but even with the paid version, some ads still appear on my cellphone, even outside of the app, and it's kind of boring. It annoys me because now, when I try to use WhatsApp or YouTube, these ads start to appear.”
- “Please add screen cast to watch gameplay on smart TV!”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The stability of the game is mixed, with some users reporting smooth performance and no issues, while others experience frequent crashes, freezes, and persistent problems despite troubleshooting efforts. Additionally, there are complaints about annoying button press vibrations that cannot be disabled. Overall, the experience varies significantly among players.
- “Runs great and I never have a problem with it.”
- “It runs great, but the vibration on button press gets a little annoying. I had a look to see if it could be turned off, but no luck; maybe I'm missing something.”
- “Tried all troubleshooting steps and changing of folders, but the same issue persists.”
- “Had a really good experience up until the last week or so when I've had numerous freezes. There are ways around them, but it's frustrating.”
- “Poorly coded... crashes and freezes!”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
20%
40%
The graphics are generally praised as top-notch and decent, with good settings options for customization. However, some users noted limitations in enhancing graphics compared to other emulators, and there are challenges with adding game artwork to the list. Overall, the graphics performance is solid, and the emulator runs smoothly.
- “Graphics are top notch, sound is good, and everything works as it should.”
- “Customizable controls layout, great settings options for graphics.”
- “Great, but unlike other emulators, it offers no way to improve graphics.”
- “The emulator runs really well and has pretty decent graphics.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is described as truly heartbreaking, indicating that it effectively evokes deep feelings and resonates with players on a profound level.
- “Truly heartbreaking.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players appreciate the speedup feature for making the grinding process in Pokémon more efficient, allowing them to level up their Pokémon more quickly.
- “The grinding feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- “I find the grinding mechanics to be overly repetitive and not rewarding enough.”
- “The amount of time required for grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”