While you're probably still clinging onto any remaining hope you might have for an upcoming N64 Classic Mini, you may be intrigued by this little tease for a miniature Game Boy Advance design. Before you get too excited, though, this is absolutely not a real GBA Mini - it's actually a NES game emulator.
If you're a regular reader of Nintendo Life's utterly glorious pages, you might remember that we posted a hardware review of the BittBoy Portable Video Game Handheld last year. Looking like an original Game Boy (seen below), this device provided players with a portable solution for their NES gaming needs, emulating 300 different titles and fitting all snug in your pocket. We had mixed feelings on its overall quality, but it was an interesting little device nonetheless.
Now, the very same company that released that device, BittBoy, has shared a small tease online of this brand new machine. The tweet would suggest that this will also carry a selection of NES games (and will likely contain the very same hardware as the last model), but this time the electronics will be contained within an eye-popping Game Boy Advance outer shell. The yellow might not be to everyone's taste, but we like it.
Of course, with the Switch now slowly but surely building up its own selection of portable NES games, the very idea of an unofficial portable emulator will likely lose some of its appeal. Still, for those who like to collect the many weird and wonderful console clones found around the world, this might make for a nice little item on your shelf.
Would you like a real Game Boy Advance mini? Are we getting too far ahead of ourselves even considering such a thing? Let us know down below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 29
Official portable SNES mini that also plays a generous selection of the best GBA titles. Now that would interest me.
The problem is the bittboy is a slightly less quality device than some of the other similar Xin1 devices you can get on amazon between $20-25. The one that does not say retro fc on it, the ANBERNIC Handheld Game Console with 168 games for 22.99 has a better screen and audio going for it, and a little bit nicer game selection.
Bittboy cuts corners then wants a little more of a premium price for a bit less nice quality parts. I don't see them stuffing this stuff in a GBA shell is going to make them suck much less.
Are we going to have a Gamecube Mini that can only play Virtual Boy games?
"Unofficial" means cease and desist notice incoming.
How can they sell something like this when the ROM sites have been closed down??
Would have preferred something with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games all-in-one. I mean I love the NES, but it's being done to death lately. Let's move on to something else nostalgic.
There have been tons of these things coming out non-stop for the past decade...
I’m sure there’s plenty of consoles like this
I'd jump on a real GBA Classic Edition in a heartbeat if it had the right games (Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen, both Metroids, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Zelda: The Minish Cap, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, etc... the GBA actually had a really stellar library, especially for such a relatively short-lived system).
@nesrocks
My thoughts exactly. You can go on eBay right now and find literally dozens of these things for cheap. Heck, i have one on my shelf right now that looks like a GB Micro knock off. It's rubbish, but it was like $10 and is handy for a quick game.
Utter garbage.
I'm interested until the part where it says but it plays NES games.
Guess ill report to Nintendo.I'm against illegal gaming
More NES anathema. Yay.
it's been done
In my opinion, a perfect handheld would be the size and shape of the Wii U gamepad. That was the only “handheld” that was comfortable enough to allow me to play for more than 20 minutes without terrible hand cramps.
MetalJesus also just reviewed something like this on his YT channel, except it is based on a retropie so it emulates all 8-16 bit systems, even psx.
@PixelStef A much better way to play more than boring NES games.
@retro_player_22 sure, gba had the classic nes library too, so it's pointless. Could've even included Pokemon yellow and be a gb/gbc/gba/nes/snes portable but blown opportunity just like classic snes mini not going to have a game boy port with a library of game boy games in color to mirror the super game boy, especially with dragon quest iii.
Haven't the pirates been making these since the days of the actual GBA, by making bootleg consoles loaded with a fan-written NES emulator (which even some legitimate compilations reportedly used) with ROMs?
Junk stuffed full of unlicensed, stolen roms. Only reason trash like this sneaks under the radar is because anyone who might be interested in in, knows it's almost always just trash.
If you want something interesting, check out that new video MetalJesusRocks just put out. Retromodding managed to build a GBA-style Rasberry pie with built in emulators for basically everything N64 and earlier. And that one doesn't break the law by shipping with unlicensed roms.
my Bootleg NES classic was worth it for the humor value alone. 7 grandad and Mario 10 are hilarious.
...The NES is a meme at this point.
In 2006 when the Wii came out with the Virtual console the idea of being able to play NES games again was really a really novel one.
Fast forward 12 years to 2018 and its just.... "meh.. Nes games again"
Don't know about anyone else but I'm sick to the back teeth of them, which is why I've held off on signing up for Nintendo online until they at the very least give us some Snes and N64 games
I would rather have a game boy or game boy advance classic than a n64 classic any day.
@Bunkerneath Torrents
Besides not every rom site is down.
Why make it smaller?
It amazes me how Nintendo go after emulation sites but will let this slide. The Famiclone has been around forever but it's usually a low key affair made in small numbers. This is trading on everything Nintendo owns, from the Gameboy Advance casing to Nes games without which would make the machine worthless. I'm not sure NL should be promoting it.
@Hordak Except the Wii U gamepad was bulky!
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