Your preferred way to play GB/GBC games

[Ninjamohawk]

I play them on my backlit GBA SP but I hate how the carts stick out. I wish there were a Gameboy color with that same screen. :(

What do you all prefer?

[Leo_A]

A Super Game Boy for Game Boy cartridges, and a Game Boy Player for color enhanced Game Boy cartridges, Game Boy Color cartridges, and Game Boy Advance cartridges.

And if I want to play them on a handheld, I always go with my backlit Game Boy Advance SP.

[SparTonberry]

I don't like how they stick out, but I play them that way anyways. For both the light, and avoiding the need for batteries in my GBC.
(though my GBA SP recently deciding to start resetting randomly on GBC. Replacing the GBA's battery seems to have helped, but I got an official AC adapter for my GBC as a backup. I was surprised to find it's almost as bulky as the NES and SNES bricks. :P)

[mattimeo310]

You can get a gameboy lite. Nintendo made a gameboy pocket with a backlight (or front-light, I'm unsure which) which was released in Japan but still appears on ebay once and a while. As for me I just use a worm light on my gameboy color.

[Rev. Link]

I normally just use my SP. If it's something I know I'm going to put a lot of time into, like an RPG, I would use my Game Boy Player, but I haven't had my GameCube hooked up for some time.

If it's a GBA game I tend to use my DS Lite.

[Tron 2.0]

GC gb player that's all realy.

[Aussie2B]

The backlit SP is the only way to go in my book. It's a little annoying, but I don't mind how the carts stick out that much. My fiance swears that it washes out the color compared to the GBC (and the original SP definitely did wash out colors), but I think it's more a matter of the picture just being so dark on the GBC. But for the convenience of no batteries and the bright clarity, even he usually grabs the SP.

[kupomogli]

My PSP. You can have either the original GBA 3:2 size, full 3:2 size where it increases it fully to the top of the PSP screen but leaves slight borders on the left and right so it's it's still the same ratio, but never wide because I don't like stretched or zoom.

If I use a cartridge then the Game Boy Player.

*edit*

I made mention of only the GBA. Well The GB and GBC run full speed on the PSP and you don't want to use an adjustable screen size so I didn't think to even make mention of that.

[Rickstilwell1]

A Super Game Boy for Game Boy cartridges, and a Game Boy Player for color enhanced Game Boy cartridges, Game Boy Color cartridges, and Game Boy Advance cartridges.

This is exactly what I do. I've always just classified the black cart "color enhanced Game Boy cartridges" as Game Boy Color games. Whatever it says on the left side of the original retail box is what determines it for me. That makes Pokemon Yellow a plain Game Boy cart and it gets played on my Super Game Boy. The Game Boy Color didn't add any more palettes to Pokemon Yellow than the Super Game Boy did. It just allowed the GBC to recognize palette changes between each area which the GBC couldn't usually do with other Super Game Boy cartridges.

A good example of Pokemon Yellow's palette scheme not being applied to gameplay on Game Boy Color is Donkey Kong Land 2. If played on GBC, the color palette you choose stays the same through the whole game. On Super Game Boy, each type of level has a different palette.

[Berserker]

The only GB/GBC game I actually play anymore is Link's Awakening. My preferred way of playing it is on the Super Game Boy, but ever since the battery in my cart died I've just been using VBA-M. Basically I prefer anything that scales the image up to fit a larger display.

[retro junkie]

I play my GB games on my Gameboy Pocket. And I play my GBC games on my Gameboy Color. Even though I have all of the portables that Nintendo has put out so far, I prefer playing those games on those systems.

[PentiumMMX]

I typically use my GBASP for playing original GB and GBC games, although I'll sometimes break out my trusty old GBC to do it.

[Press_Start]

GB/GBC go to the SP.

GBA go to the DS. (better backlight)

Gameboy Player just lacks character and polish imo unlike the Super Game Boy, which frankly, is the true Game Boy Color to me. Over 30 colors, interchangeable borders with cute little animations plus one you can draw on...so much better. Well, Gameboy Players has better sound, I'll give it that.

[Greg2600]

GBA SP (might use a GB Player on GC if I had one). Absolutely can't take the old Gameboy's anymore.

[Ninjamohawk]

Yeah I can't be bothered with batteries or attachable lights anymore.

Hey how long do batteries last in GB/GBC games? I was about to start a game on an Oracle of Seasons cart I got.

[Scissors]

I usually play them on a Game Boy Pocket or Game Boy Advance with the Afterburner backlight. Although I have an SP, I don't really like how the buttons feel. If I happen to already have my SNES or GC set up, I'll use the Super Game Boy or GB Player. I still occasionally use the original model Game Boy because I like the feel of it the best.

[Parodius Duh!]

Gameboy light (which is super expensive these days) or super gameboy. For Gameboy color games I use a gameboy color. Every other gameboy related stuff I dont go near..

[retroman]

backlit sp for me

[Sabz5150]

I play my GB games on my Gameboy Pocket. And I play my GBC games on my Gameboy Color. Even though I have all of the portables that Nintendo has put out so far, I prefer playing those games on those systems.

This.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Backlit GBA SP all the way. Or Gameboy Micro with flashcart.

[Cauterize]

A while back I added a GBA SP front light to a Game Boy Color:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/43028750.jpg

While it looks great in this picture, I sadly trapped a lot of dust in while I was doing it. It does work, but the glare is pretty bad too.

The GBA SP AGS-101 is the way to go :)

[Solertia]

OG (i.e. frontlit) Game Boy Advance SP for me.

Related: I can't wait for the GB/GBC library on 3DS!

[VACRMH]

Backlight SP all the way. I actually bought it just for the purpose of playing GBA, GBC and GB games because I hated playing GBA games on the DS (Didn't like how I had to hold it to hit the L and R Buttons) and wanted a better screen.

I've only had a problem with the carts sticking out once when I bumped it and the game froze, but I don't think I had cleaned the cart so I blame that. It was the last stage of Balloon Kid too :(

Other choice will always be the Gameboy Player, it's the only reason I keep the Gamecube around.

[stalepie]

Isn't both versions of the SP backlit? Recently I got into the Gameboy (had avoided it all these years) so I did a lot of reading about it and browsed a lot of auctions. The AGS-101 model of the SP is the brightest, and is called "backlit," but I've seen the earlier version called backlit, while others say it is just "front lit". Whatever the case, it's brighter than a regular Game Boy or Game Boy Color, so get that one...

... unless you want the superior sound of the original Game Boy, http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=474397 as Blaarg (Shay Green) and others have said, the first version of the Gameboy has the best bass.

However the sound on my SP AGS-101 seems fine and the GB Pocket I ordered from HK has yet to arrive.

I do often play the regular GB games in blue color mode (press left at the boot screen when starting a cart).... at first I thought this thing was going to force me to play in those hideous added colors, but then I learned you can press Left and B at the same time to get something like the original (B&W as opposed to G&Y). Kirby looks better this way.

It wouldn't surprise me if I end up liking the Game Boy Pocket too with its screen that's close to the original's. The SP AGS-101 supposedly has ghosting effects during movement, which the 1st SP supposedly didn't have, but I haven't noticed this.

[stalepie]

Also I recommend the KiGB emulator for Windows. I don't know how it truly compares to Virtual Boy Advance, but it's run all the many ROMs I've tried so far quite well. (AND it seems to have been programmed with Allegro - another example of the usefulness of this library!)

edit1: (ahh never mind, I see problems with it: why the hell can't I get it to go full screen without showing the border? Oh well, it seems to play most games well.)

edit2: (just tried playing Castlevania Adventure in VirtualBoy Advance - boy, this thing can't do sound at all! Sounds terrible!!!)

[jordandavid]

Isn't both versions of the SP backlit? Recently I got into the Gameboy (had avoided it all these years) so I did a lot of reading about it and browsed a lot of auctions. The AGS-101 model of the SP is the brightest, and is called "backlit," but I've seen the earlier version called backlit, while others say it is just "front lit". Whatever the case, it's brighter than a regular Game Boy or Game Boy Color, so get that one...

It wouldn't surprise me if I end up liking the Game Boy Pocket too with its screen that's close to the original's. The SP AGS-101 supposedly has ghosting effects during movement, which the 1st SP supposedly didn't have, but I haven't noticed this.

I think you kind of answered your question several times over. The 001 being "frontlit" tends to wash out the color on some games. The 101, being "backlit" supposedly reduces this to an extent. I'm not sure about the "ghosting" or sound differences between either SPs or other gameboy models, and I hope somebody else can further explain.

I usually still mostly play my gameboy games on the go or when I'm somewhere waiting for something e.g. waiting room at Dr., picking somebody up from work/school, and I also like the option to have something on tv in the back ground when I'm playing at home. This being said, I have a frontlit SP my dad got me as soon as the SP was released for doing well in school or something, and it suits me just fine. I tried throwing Link's Awakening DX in my gameboy color (I believe they called mine the "Aqua" color, I had a tendency to get new gameboys as soon as they came out) and in my original GBA, but they are just do damn dark in every room of my house!! How did we live without screen lighting??

[Dred]

Super Game Boy/Super Game Boy 2 for GB/GBC cart and Game Boy Player for GBA carts. If I'm not travelling, I really don't like playing on handheld systems.

But if I have to use one of them, I prefer playing on GBA SP.

[jwmollman]

I haven't been playing Gameboy Advance much anymore, but I have been into only one Gameboy classic and that's Dragon Warrior Monsters 2. I usually just play it on my Gameboy Pocket on the go (rarely play games on the go) or at home, but when I feel like looking at a bigger screen and relaxing, I'll pop it into my Super Game Boy on the SNES.

[Ninjamohawk]

Man I love the AGS-101 but I wish (I know this will sound lame) it came in more colors. I originally bought it in Platinum Blue when it was a new product and then last year bought a Graphite Gray one off of Ebay. It's the only one of the three US colors that I wouldn't be embarrassed carrying around in public.

The AGS-001 had all sorts of cool colors and special editions. I suppose it really comes down to when the 101 was released. Not much sense in making different designs and versions when the next handheld is already out. (iirc)

[Aussie2B]

Ghosting on the SP? I've never seen any, and I've played an ass load of both the frontlit SP and the backlit SP. If it's there, it's a non-issue, and this is from someone that is really bothered by ghosting (I feel like I'm the only one that complains about it on PSP). It's definitely a concern on the original Game Boy and the Pocket, but GBC, GBA, and both SPs are fine in my book.

[wingzrow]

Emulated on my DSi XL. It looks AMAZING.

[Leo_A]

If you've never seen ghosting on a GBA (Any model, including the backlit SP2), you just weren't looking.

For example, pop in either Namco Museum and fire up Galaga. Watch the colorful stars as they stand still suddenly lose most all their color and lose their crispness as they start to quickly scroll once gameplay starts.

That's LCD motion blur and it's present on any Game Boy model, any Atari Lynx, any Neo Geo Pocket, any Game Gear, any DS, any Nomad, any of those Genesis/NES/SuperNes clone handhelds, and any PSP to date. And that goes for television's and monitor's that utilize the technology as well. It's evident on the most high end of LCD displays, although they're clearly going to be better at it than a cheap LCD.

It's the nature of the technology and it's certainly there. Fire up any 2d game (It's not as evident in a game such as V-Rally 3 on the GBA) and pay close attention to motion. Watch details on the ground or background in something like a Mario Advance game and you'll pick up on it as Mario quickly runs.

Wasn't there some Sega compilation with 2-3 Genesis games like Ecco the Dolphin? Ecco is a fine game to quickly see this blur effect at work on any LCD screen as Ecco quickly moves around (Keep turning him 360 degrees and it's going to look like a muddy mess, for example).

That said, the SP2 certainly has less motion blur than something like a PSP 1000 (One reason why I never bothered to hack it to install emulators to play classic 2D games, along with the poor d-pad). It's at an acceptable level to my eyes, but it's still evident on the SP2.

That said, if you never noticed it before, don't bother looking closely now. It hasn't bothered you so far, so no need to closely examine it and start picking up on it now.

[Aussie2B]

If you have to LOOK for ghosting, then that just backs up my point that it's a non-issue and not even worth bringing up, especially in a conversation in which it could dissuade people from using a system because they'll think it's a problem when it's really not. In normal playing, when you're actually focusing on playing a game, I don't think most people will notice and/or care about any minuscule ghosting that there is on an SP. On the original Game Boy, Pocket, Game Gear, PSP, etc. it is not only readily apparent but it can also be a huge detriment to actual playing in some games.

[Enigmus]

Personally, I use GB/GBC games on either a GBA or GBC (both with worm lights) since both of my SPs had their hinges break. GBA on the DS isn't as great due to the fat DS taking up an entire pocket and the DS Lite I have has broken shoulder buttons.

[Leo_A]

If you have to LOOK for ghosting, then that just backs up my point that it's a non-issue and not even worth bringing up

You don't have to look for it, it's quite evident to most people and I'm shocked you've never noticed it.

I notice it when playing most any 2D game on my backlit SP. It's not something you have to closely scrutinize things to notice or perform some specific task to make it clear.

It's certainly worth bringing up if something dislikes the effect. Contrary to what you stated, the screens on both SP models suffer from ghosting like any LCD and it is noticeable.

But is it out of acceptable limits? I don't think so and I think the picture, especially on the backlit SP, is more than acceptable despite the ghosting that happens during fast movements.

[jordandavid]

I'm not sure about the "ghosting" or sound differences between either SPs or other gameboy models, and I hope somebody else can further explain.
\

Maybe I'm just being sensitive, but I feel like I'm being attacked for saying the SP has ghosting. What I was saying was that I was unaware if there was any such ghosting that stalepie suggested and would like somebody knowledgeable on the matter to explain...

that is all.

[stalepie]

Oh yeah, I see the ghosting now. It's especially obvious in Mario Land because of the white background. I kind of like it though. It makes it less boring. Sort of like Johnny Cage's shadow kick :)

[stalepie]

Sorry, I should have said originally: the person I read who said the machine had ghosting was saying it as a reason not to get it, and it actually gave me pause when considering which version to get, but a lot of people elsewhere saying AGS-101 was the best made me buy it. And I got a pink one too. Because I'm a boy and I'm thrifty.

Actually it looks pretty good. Is the reason why pink isn't liked is because it's not a naturally occurring color? Like this article says? http://www.biotele.com/magenta.html or is this article full of shite.

Mike Tyson wears a pink shirt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tf8YNUvXYw&feature=player_embedded But then again he has a pink voice.

[Aussie2B]

You don't have to look for it, it's quite evident to most people and I'm shocked you've never noticed it.

I notice it when playing most any 2D game on my backlit SP. It's not something you have to closely scrutinize things to notice or perform some specific task to make it clear.

It's certainly worth bringing up if something dislikes the effect. Contrary to what you stated, the screens on both SP models suffer from ghosting like any LCD and it is noticeable.

But is it out of unacceptable limits? I don't think so and I think the picture, especially on the backlit SP, is more than acceptable despite the ghosting that happens during fast movements.

Most people? I have NEVER heard any complaining or even mentioning of ghosting on the SP prior to this topic, and I've been on gaming message boards since before the original GBA even came out. I even visit GBA-specific boards from time to time, and I never see talk of ghosting.

And it seems like you're changing your story. First you talk about all LCD screens having ghosting and present your argument as if it's something you have to closely examine in specific scenarios to notice, now you're speaking as if it's some really obvious problem that anyone is going to notice. Like I said before, I consider myself sensitive to ghosting. I have a hard time not fixating on it when I'm playing handhelds like the original Game Boy, the Pocket, and Game Gear, and I know the ghosting has a direct effect on my playing on those, forcing me to slow down just to keep my bearings. In fact, even though the bright screen and rechargeable battery is great on the SP, I think the #1 reason why I have no desire to use older Game Boys any longer is because of the ghosting on those. And when I see people complaining about the PSP, it's always stuff like load times, dead pixels, the poor buttons/D-pad, etc., while I'm the only one who feels the ghosting is the biggest problem (and not only in the 1000). So given all that, I'm not buying that the SP has such obviously noticeable ghosting, nor is it an issue that I think anyone would be bothered by, unless they're so OCD that they can't stop staring at a sprite getting ever so slightly fuzzy rather than just playing the dang game.

[Leo_A]

How come you're so sensitive about this?


And it seems like you're changing your story. First you talk about all LCD screens having ghosting and present your argument as if it's something you have to closely examine in specific scenarios to notice, now you're speaking as if it's some really obvious problem that anyone is going to notice.

I didn't change my story. The ghosting is clearly evident and most anyone that plays 2D games regularly is going to notice it (In my opinion, of course). I was giving you easy examples where you could fire up a specific game and seconds later, see the effect yourself since somehow you never have. Something like Ecco would be a worst case scenario for any LCD screen due to the fast paced nature of movement when you're dashing and how quickly everything on the screen moves when you're rotating Ecco around. It was an easy suggestion to show you the effect occurring at it's worst.

But do I personally think it's much of a problem? No, I think it's well within acceptable limits. I think the backlit SP's screen is great and it's been my favorite handheld to date. In fact it's the first time I've felt really satisified with the screen on any portable (The backlit revision, I'm not as fond for the first version as you seem to be). I never even bought earlier models in the Game Boy line before the SP was introduced because I felt like the screens were so unsatisfactory, sticking with the console adapters over the years instead.

The SP2's screen really made you feel like there was a nice little tv on your handheld for the first time. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have ghosting and that it's unnoticeable.


So given all that, I'm not buying that the SP has such obviously noticeable ghosting, nor is it an issue that I think anyone would be bothered by.

I've agreed all along that it isn't a problem. I don't think the level of ghosting on SP screens is bothersome in the slightest.

But it's certainly still noticeable. Fire up Super Mario Land like the other poster did and watch, I remember it being one of the more noticeable examples from games I've played on mine over the years.

[Zing]

The backlit SP is the only way to go in my book. It's a little annoying, but I don't mind how the carts stick out that much. My fiance swears that it washes out the color compared to the GBC (and the original SP definitely did wash out colors), but I think it's more a matter of the picture just being so dark on the GBC. But for the convenience of no batteries and the bright clarity, even he usually grabs the SP.

The SP2 and Micro definitely show the games with washed out colors. This is evident in games which have their contrast cranked up to compensate for the original GBA. I immediately noticed it with the Super Mario Advance series, Super Mario World in particular.

[Zing]

In regards to "ghosting", I find that the frontlit GBASP are the best in this regard. Second, with almost identical results, is the original "fat" DS.

The backlit SP, Micro, and DS Lite are relatively blurry and have significant ghosting. The original SP has none perceptible to me. It probably has to do with the type of display used in backlit models.

[MarioMania]

I play GB/GBC game on my GBC

For Emulation I go VBA on my Laptop or Lameboy on the DS though the R4