Topic: The GameBoy Advance Thread

@ThanosReXXX I wouldn't have been able to keep it short either if I was listing the games. As it is, I mentioned a few more than I initially intended, and have thought of a couple of others in the last few minutes. I was lucky or well informed back in the GBA days, as I picked up things like Metal Slug and Gunstar when they were new.

It was nice to see the Iridion games on your list. People talk about part two, and with good reason. I found part one to be unfairly panned. It has its issues, but it was so negatively reviewed at the time that I was a bit worried when I received it as a gift. I kept it and found it far better than I expected. And it's quite a tech demo as well.

@sdelfin It certainly is. Shin'en have always been good at getting the most out of Nintendo's hardware, and it definitely shows. They're almost on equal foot with Nintendo themselves, in that regard. All of their Wii and 3DS games are solid as well, and of course also FAST Racing NEO/RMX on the Wii U and Switch.

@sdelfin a couple of the games I bought form eBay I opened up to clean. My Mario Kart wasn't saving data. But after I used some electronic contact cleaner on it, it saves. My power switch on the GBA was also finicky. The switch has a little play in it and would either make it shut off or act like the battery was low. I cleaned it with the contact cleaner and have no problems wanting to shut off. The switch still feels a little loose though. It clicks into the on or off position but jiggles in place. Is that the norm for them?

I thought Shin'en sounded familiar when I started up Iridio 2. Didn't realize thats who made Fast RMX too.

@DTMOF84 Really? How could you have missed that? Nintendo Life has done plenty of articles on both the game and the team who made it, complete with in-depth interviews.

By the way, I have a couple more recommendations for you, well at least: if you like jRPG's. I mentioned Shining Force in my original list, but forgot about the other two games in that same series, which are also quite good, namely Shining Soul and Shining Soul II.

So, if jRPG's are your kind of game, you might also want to check those out.

@DTMOF84 good to hear you were able to remedy those issues. I just wanted to point out a few issues I have encountered, as GBA seems a bit more tricky than older consoles. As for the switch, on my original GBA it's jiggly and always has been. As you've pointed out, the issue is with the contacts inside and not with the plastic slider. That issue seems quite common. But the jiggly switch is normal from what I've seen.

I am happy with my 2 GBA SP AGS-101. One I bought for 50$ and the other for 5$! Yeah I guess the second guy did not know what he was selling when asking for that price. Also both are in near perfect condition with only light scratches on their shells.
After that I started to buy GBA games from ebay and the shopping spree is hard to stop.

Check out my collection and mods
JoshuaDolsak.tumblr.com

4 gba games you must all have:
all 3 castlevanias and mother 3.
tis all.

I have heard that there was a version of the GBA SP that had a significantly better (and brighter) screen, can someone tell me what version that was and how I would identify it vs other "regular" GBA SP?

I'm getting back into the GBA scene. I've considered it off and on for a while, cause there is the OCD collector in me that wants the games CIB. However, that's expensive (I already collect for Switch) and I decided to do like the Gameboy...cart only. If I see a good price on a boxes then yeah. I ordered a Micro (used to have one and loved it) with charger, case and two DK games. Waiting for it to ship but I honestly can't wait to have one again. After owing a GBA, SP and Micro...I prefer the Micro. I'll be doing some game shopping when it arrives...and I get some money. Already planning to buy many games I used to own.

@Heavyarms55 the brighter screen is the ags101 model. You can identify it by seeing the black screen when off compared to the normal side lit screens ags001 which look grey.

@1UP_MARIO Thanks. Hey I read somewhere that that model was only released in the west, is that accurate?

@ReaderRagfish Thanks for the info. Since that is the case, I think I am just gonna go with Retro modding and build my own GBA.

@Heavyarms55 No offense to ReaderRagfish, but I don't agree at ALL with his comment on there not being much difference or not getting why they're so sought after (EDIT: kinda misread that part there: it's already quite late over here... ), so I'd advise you to disregard it. The older model (AGS-001) is front-lit, whereas the new and improved model (AGS-101) is backlit, and it makes a WORLD of difference. The newer model AB-SO-LU-TE-LY deserves all the praise it's getting.

Oh, and the more logical (and FAR simpler) way to recognize it, instead of looking at the screen when it's switched off, is to look at the label at the back, which shows you all the info you'd need, much like with any other Nintendo handheld...

In the interest of fairness, I've selected three videos from three entirely different channels, all showing you the truly massive difference in screen clarity, so I would kindly suggest you to think again, and if you can, by any means, get your hands on an AGS-101 for a decent price, then I would highly recommend you to get it.

Here are the videos:

P.S.

You might wanna turn the volume down on the second video, unless you really like loud guitars and rock music...

@ReaderRagfish I'd say just get a Chinese replacement, it's likely not super different, and I don't think official faceplates are super common nowadays.

Adapting some plastic screen protectors to protect the plate should save you some money too. That way you can replace the scratched protector instead of the whole plate.

@Heavyarms55 I’m not too sure but they do pop up in eBay. I still have the old model

@1UP_MARIO I have an old model too, but I am thinking that getting one of the custom built ones with the AGS 101, and the power modulator with a glass screen instead of plastic would be really nice. MetalJesus on YouTube sure made it look good. I don't know if I would go with all the bells and whistles he got, but man, it is tempting.

@Heavyarms55 it is tempting. Just found it too expensive.

@ReaderRagfish Yeah, the original model is perfectly playable with front light, and it is more dramatic on camera, but I have also seen it in real life, and the difference IS significant, there's no denying that. And concerning other devices: perhaps the OP wants to play the games on original hardware, so he might not be interested in the fact that you have the same quality screen on the DS Lite, and the Game Boy Micro also isn't for everyone, and like the AGS-101, it isn't all that readily available anymore, so it's a treasure hunt either way.

Oh, and the screens aren't superior: they are actually of the same type and manufacturer.