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Bake GBA Virtual Console CIA injects for the Nintendo 3DS.

What is this?

vcoven builds installable .cia files that let you play GBA games on a hacked 3DS using the console's native GBA hardware — not emulated. Games run at full speed with the official Virtual Console boot animation and integrate into the 3DS home menu with your custom icon and banner.

You need: A GBA ROM (.gba), a square icon image (48×48), a banner image (256×128), and a unique Title ID.

Install: Transfer the .cia to your 3DS SD card and install with FBI.

ROM size. Standard GBA ROMs up to 32 MB (the original hardware cart limit) are supported — Pokemon Unbound and other large ROM hacks work. Some ROM hacks exceed 32 MB and are hit-or-miss on AGB_FIRM.

GBA Video carts (Pokemon Video, Disney Video, etc.) use a proprietary Majesco codec. Not every volume has been verified on 3DS AGB_FIRM — if yours crashes or shows a gray X, try mGBA via RetroArch as a fallback.

GBA ROM

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Drop a .gba ROM here

The GBA game file, typically 4–32 MB. Standard ROMs up to 32 MB work. GBA Video carts use a proprietary codec that may not boot under AGB_FIRM.

Icon

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48×48 PNG

Shows on the 3DS home menu as the game's tile icon. Will be resized to 48×48.

Banner Displays on the top screen when you hover over the game on the home menu. Letterboxed to 256×128.

Title The game name shown below the icon on the 3DS home menu. Keep it short.

Long Title Shown on the bottom screen when the game is selected. Optional — defaults to Title if empty.

Publisher Appears under the title on the bottom screen. Use the original publisher or leave as "Homebrew".

Title ID

Unique 16-digit hex ID the 3DS uses to identify this title. Auto-generated — two games with the same ID will conflict. Click ↻ to randomize.

Product Code Shows in system settings and FBI. Format: CTR-N-XXXX. The last 4 chars are typically the GBA game code (e.g. BPEE for Emerald). Cosmetic only — doesn't affect gameplay.

Save Type Tells the 3DS how this game saves progress. Wrong save type = corrupted saves. Auto-detect works for most official ROMs. Use manual override for romhacks or patched ROMs where detection fails.

Upload a ROM to get started.

3DS Home Menu Preview

Your Game

Banner Preview

Title: —

Publisher: Homebrew

Title ID: —

Product Code: CTR-N-HMBW

Save Type: auto

ROM: —