GBA SP - I'm sorry, but the screen still sucks to me!

[Anthony1]

I guess I just can't get into portable game systems. None of the screens are good enough as far as I'm concerned. They just aren't bright and vivid enough for me. Whether they are in the dark or in the light.

Sucks either way.


I got a GameBoy Advance SP recently, thinking that the backlit screen would be just the thing that the GBA needed to be up to par. Well, I've had it for awhile now, and I have to say that the screen still sucks.

It's hard to get a decent looking view of the action on the screen. Back in the day I had a Atari Lynx, and I don't remember the Lynx being that hard to see. A buddy of mine had a TurboExpress, and his TE was damn clear. I also have a Game Gear right now, and that screen isn't too bad. At least it has a brightness/contrast dial on it.

Does anybody here own about ever portable in existence? Which one has the best screen?

I think one of the real problems with portables and screens, is the fact that to put a really solid screen into the device, then the price is going to be very high. And companies like Nintendo, aren't interested in having high priced units.

That Zodiac system looks like it might be pretty sweet, but I haven't actually seen one at any retailers, and I'm kinda leary of getting something that might die out. Honestly I would only really want it to play Emu's on it. So it would probably fit the bill for that.

Anyways, what is your guys takes on screens for portables. Is it just me?

[ubersaurus]

The screen on the sp only sucks if you turn the backlight off. It's perfect otherwise.

[§ Gideon §]

That's too bad about your SP opinions.

I'd be happy to take it off your hands free of charge.

[kai123]

Let me get this straight you think the Gamegear screen is better than the GBAsp? I don't think you will ever be happy in the portable market if you think the gbasp screen is that bad.

[bargora]

The GBA SP screen may not be the best portable screen ever, but it's reasonably decent. Maybe take a look at a Neo Geo Pocket Color. Those screens are pretty vivid.

I think that in the end, though, you're just going to have to face up to the fact that your standards are too high. (Haven't I seen you post in those "I spent $40,000 on my home theater" threads?)

Or else the presbyopia is setting in. :P

[BHvrd]

The glare from direct sunlight is the only hinderance to the gameboy advance sp screen i've noticed, but then again so it is to every other type of display.

Maybe you can write Nintendo and say you want them to start using radioactive screens or something, cause you seem to want to get cancer.

[YoshiM]

Every lit portable, at least I have played, needs a bit of darkness so that outside light doesn't clash with the any built in light. Any light on my Game Gear would glare horribly until I shifted out of direct light. With Gameboys I always NEEDED direct light as they were all built with reflective LCD screens.

Problem with the SP is that the light isn't bright enough. I tried playing the SP at places like Best Buy and the bright lights hindered having the built in one. Turning it off yielded better results but then it was a bit too dark because I can't open the lid all the way. This is why I got a regular GBA (besides the fact I like the button placement better)-reflects better with direct light.

Anthony, it took me a while to get used to the GBA in my home as I don't *have* direct light-it's mainly all indirect. The Floodlight was about the best portable accessory ever as it rained down bright direct flourescent light. The only sucky part of the Floodlight is that I can't use the GC connection cord or the eReader as the light's hinges are in the way.

Slightly OT question: are Afterburner kits still available?

[davidbrit2]

I also have a Game Gear right now, and that screen isn't too bad. At least it has a brightness/contrast dial on it.

...What?? Are we talking about the same Game Gear? That's got just about the worst screen on a handheld ever. The freaking Microvision is more visible than that thing. It's a shame, too, because it's got some damned fine games.

[PDorr3]

out of all the handheld systems I own the best is the Sega Nomad. The backlight on it is about 5x brighter than the SP, but iut eats batteries up like crazy :o the SP screen to me comes in handy because unlike your opinion, I think it comes in perfectly visable.

[Oobgarm]

I also have a Game Gear right now, and that screen isn't too bad. At least it has a brightness/contrast dial on it.

...What?? Are we talking about the same Game Gear? That's got just about the worst screen on a handheld ever. The freaking Microvision is more visible than that thing. It's a shame, too, because it's got some damned fine games.

I just fired up my Game Gear recently and I was appalled at the poor visibility of the screen. I mean seriously, I cannot believe that such poor quality was acceptable-same goes for the OG Game Boy.

I just recently got a Turbo Express, and I'm quite pleased with the clarity of the screen-but that bastard eats batteries like there's no tomorrow. Not to mention the fact that it takes SIX of the things to power it!

I'm quite pleased with my SP's screen, and I was equally pleased with my standard GBA with an Afterburner installed. It's the perfect balance of visibility and battery use.

(I think you might be a bit spoiled since you play all your home systems in RGB) ;)

[Ze_ro]

Frankly, I think the screen on the original GBA is perfectly fine.... I don't have any trouble with it anyways.

--Zero

[hezeuschrist]

I've never been a fan of handhelds for the simple hand cramp factor, but I always miss out on the great handheld games.

Along comes the GB Player, a godsend. Now I can enjoy all the great gameboy games I've missed over the years and in full screen joy as well. I'd suggest this if you're really having that much trouble with the SP's screen.

Plus, some of the earlier GBA games (CV:CotM especially) were massively criticized for being too dark to be playable on the GBA, and even though the SP has a backlight, it doesn't change the fact that the entire game was just too dark with far too few contrasting colors.

[§ Gideon §]

Slightly OT question: are Afterburner kits still available?
Definitely (http://tritonlabs.com/index.php?page=products).

[nesuser2]

Once you score the GB Player then you have to get the Hori pad......or atleast that's what I hear. I have both and have never used either.....how odd LOL

[evilmess]

After I got my GBA SP that was it for my Game Gear, that thing had to go!
The screen on the GG was horrible!

Someday I'd at least like to see a Turbo Express in action or own one but for now I still have my Nomad (another notorious battery hog) and it's not bad but compared to the SP it's not as crisp either.

My wifes Compaq PDA is only slightly more crisp than the SP however the PDA is terrible for playing games since the buttons and control pad aren't set up for gaming and stylus gaming flat out sucks.

[neuropolitique]

Actually, the SP is frontlit.

Compared to older systems, the SP's screen is fantastic. I love my Lynx, but it's screen blows. he NGPC's screen is pretty good, but, again, compared to the SP it isn't so hot.

Portable screens can definitely get better though. Screens will pack more and more pixels into the same size screens. Portable gaming will only get prettier.

neuropolitique

[CitizenWhite]

The handheld with the best screen (besides PDA) that I have had is my GP32. It is very large and very reflective. I liked the NGPC screen better than the GBA screen in any case.

[djbeatmongrel]

anyone forget the Nomad, it had a pretty good screen. it was way better than the gamegear

[jonjandran]

I agree that the GBA SP screen could be better.

When you look at all the PDA's on the market, most have awesome backlit screens that totally blow away the SP. But then again the cost $500 and the SP costs $99 .

So there you go.

Oh and the GP32 is better but not by much. :o

[Anthony1]

I guess I'm pretty much out on my own island on this one. That's fine. I've never really been a fan of the portables. I guess this is why. I had a GBA for awhile but didn't play it much. I disliked the fact that you couldn't play in the dark, and how you had to angle the screen just right at a light source.

When the SP came out, I figured that finally this would be a decent screen for a portable. I eventually got one, and I have to say that although the screen is definitely better, it just didn't blow me away.

I didn't say that the Game Gear screen was better, I just said that it had a brightness/contrast controll on it. I liked that. I like how you can adjust the brightness the right way. I wish I could do that on the GBA SP.

Maybe I am just expecting too much from a portable. But my wife had a Pocket PC that she was able to use from her work, and there was a Sonic game built into it, and I remember that looking DAMN GOOD! Of course this was like a $500 or $600 Pocket PC.

Like I said originally, I just don't think you are going to get that good of a screen for $99

I think, ultimately for me to really get into a portable, I'm going to need a super kick ass screen on the thing.

Maybe the new Sony portable will fit the bill.

[Anthony1]

Plus, some of the earlier GBA games (CV:CotM especially) were massively criticized for being too dark to be playable on the GBA, and even though the SP has a backlight, it doesn't change the fact that the entire game was just too dark with far too few contrasting colors.


You know, it's funny, because the only game that I've played on the SP is Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. So maybe that is the problem. When I first got a SP, I asked for recomendations and everybody recomended that game, so that is the one that I got.

I guess I really should try several games on this thing before declariing that the screen outright sucks.

[§ Gideon §]

Jeez! Well... That would be a good idea. I recommend either Wario Ware or Fire Emblem.

[Daniel Thomas]

Hmm....when you mentioned Circle of the Moon, everything suddenly made sense to me. You just haven't played the right games to judge the SP properly. Granted, Cotm looks better with the frontlit screen, but it's still a very dark (visually) game.

You'll need some brighter games that show off the unit better. How about Lunar, or, Kelly Slater, or Pinball of the Dead for starters? Those were my favoriites, and offer a fairly varied mix of graphics. Then you can get into the new Metroid or Mario Kart.

And, for the record, that screen is terrific. The SP plays perfectly in sunlight, and it plays perfectly in the dark.

[kai123]

Get one of the sonic games and compare it to the pda. ;)

[Isometric_Bacon]

Consider yourself lucky you have a SP... I bought one of the original GBA's way back when, and that screen is absolutely ghastly. I just about stopped playing any games altogether on the damn thing, because I could never find a good enough place to play them without either seeing my reflection or seeing nothoing at all. To this day I hardly have played it just for the fact it gives me tremendous neck cramps trying to lean over to find a perfect position for play. It does have some great games however.

I did play a SP at one stage, but it's not worth the cash in my opinion, considering I already have the original GBA.

Despite the unanimous hate for the system itself, I found that the N-Gage's screen is great, both during daytime and night. It's really crystal clear... Pity it's a vertical screen.

[nesuser2]

Consider yourself lucky you have a SP... I bought one of the original GBA's way back when, and that screen is absolutely ghastly. I just about stopped playing any games altogether on the damn thing, because I could never find a good enough place to play them without either seeing my reflection or seeing nothoing at all. To this day I hardly have played it just for the fact it gives me tremendous neck cramps trying to lean over to find a perfect position for play. It does have some great games however.

I did play a SP at one stage, but it's not worth the cash in my opinion, considering I already have the original GBA.

Despite the unanimous hate for the system itself, I found that the N-Gage's screen is great, both during daytime and night. It's really crystal clear... Pity it's a vertical screen.

You forgot to mention the price of the ngage.....

[Isometric_Bacon]

Consider yourself lucky you have a SP... I bought one of the original GBA's way back when, and that screen is absolutely ghastly. I just about stopped playing any games altogether on the damn thing, because I could never find a good enough place to play them without either seeing my reflection or seeing nothoing at all. To this day I hardly have played it just for the fact it gives me tremendous neck cramps trying to lean over to find a perfect position for play. It does have some great games however.

I did play a SP at one stage, but it's not worth the cash in my opinion, considering I already have the original GBA.

Despite the unanimous hate for the system itself, I found that the N-Gage's screen is great, both during daytime and night. It's really crystal clear... Pity it's a vertical screen.

You forgot to mention the price of the ngage.....

Good point. That said, I only paid about the same price for the N-Gage as I did for my GBA, but i gather it's usually a much more expensive system.

[YoshiM]

Slightly OT question: are Afterburner kits still available?
Definitely (http://tritonlabs.com/index.php?page=products).

Thanks for the link, but they aren't selling them anymore. You can't buy it from the web site and the scuttlebutt on the forums is that Triton isn't making them anymore. No official word but if I can't buy it from the site. Might have to check eBay.

[farfel]

I guess I just can't get into portable game systems. None of the screens are good enough as far as I'm concerned. They just aren't bright and vivid enough for me. Whether they are in the dark or in the light.

Sucks either way.

Agree! I use VGA emulator and Gameboy Player. Only way to get a proper view.

[The Manimal]

Am I the only one who finds that their Game Gear screen SHADOWS ITSELF? Looks pretty horrible when it's an all white screen and there's a blue STAGE COMPLETE or something for example in Sonic and it is like it is on the screen twice, though one is faint...but it's still there. Argh.