Gameboy Color vs. Advance.

[Aswald]

In my post about the Gameboy Color I bought at that second-hand store, part of the thread involved comments about how one was actually better than the other.

Are there really ways in which the Gameboy or Gameboy Color are superior to the Advance?

If so, how? I know that the Color cannot play Advance games, but can the Advance play the earlier games?

How much power does the Advance use? The Color takes 200mA, so the kind of rechargeable batteries I use will get about 11 hours out of it (I built an adapter that lets it use "D" batteries).

[Aswald]

I dug up some old Telegames catalogs I used to get (latest: 1999), and checked off at least 3 dozen games that I would like- obviously, there may be more, such as the Wizardry games.

And those 2 power outages over the weekend made a portable cartridge system that much more appealing. Of course, it would help to actually have a cartridge; hell, I'd almost settle for Sylvannian Families at this point!

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

The GBA is backwards-compatible with GBC games, so that's just about enough to make it better in my book...

[josekortez]

Advance all the way. With the exception of Pokemon and a few others (Pokemon Puzzle League, Metal Gear Solid and Mr. Driller), I found that the GBC's library pretty much sucked.

[Bratwurst]

I've been trying a lot of GBC games lately and boy howdy does it feel like Nintendo was trying HARD to target the 13 year old crowd. I just didn't get that feeling with the classic gameboy and at least the GBA has some titles an older person can play without rolling their eyes.

Since I don't have anything but a GBA in my possession however, isn't the legacy display of the older games quite smaller than one would find in the GBC or brick boys? That'd be one advantage I think.

[Policenaut]

I enjoy both system's games, but the GBA is backward compatible with GBC, so I'd say GBA.

[Lady Jaye]

I didn't realize how limited the GBC catalog was until last year when I undertook the task of making game screenshots for DP. Once you're past games like the Zelda Oracle games (and to an extent Link's Awakening DX) and the various Pokémon incarnations, you're left with not that many must-have titles. That's too bad cuz it's not a bad little system at all.

Anyway, I gotta say that it's been a long time since I've taken out my Game Boy Color. I'm more likely to use my GBA SP for GBC games if only because of the backlighting. The only thing about the GBA that annoys me when it comes to GB/GBC games is that it's too easy to change screen ratio by hitting the shoulder buttons. That's lots of fun when playing Ms. Pac-Man Color Edition...

So, the love's gotta go to the GBA. Methinks that the GBC was never more than a transitional system for Nintendo.

[MegaDrive20XX]

GBA all the way, I personally love the original model over the SP because it looks like a normal GameBoy (Plus I felt the control setup on L/R was better)

[RetroYoungen]

I voted for the GBA, mainly because it can play GBC games. Though I remember when I got my GBA I was starting to wish for the layout of my GBC. MUCH more comfy in my not-too-big hands.

[calthaer]

The one and ONLY thing that the GBC has over the GBA is that IR port, and the Wireless adapter pretty much has that feature blown out of the water - or at least it would, if they'd ever get any stinkin' WONDER SPOTS OUT THERE! HELLO?! WHERE IS MY WONDER SPOT!?

Unfortunately, there is a heavy amount of suckage when it comes to the games on both systems. The GBA just has a lot more games that are really good. Even the Pokemon games just = r0><0r.

[tholly]

i got the gbc at release....and until recently at circuit city $5 sales i only had 1 game....zelda dx

gameboy advance on the other hand can play all those games, plus the entire libraries of GB and GBA games....making it the obvious better choice

[Deranged Crow]

well i have a gameboy advance so i would have to go with that one instead.

[Algol]

GBC didn't seem to have much anything outside of Pokemon. GBA on the other hand, has quite a few great titles- which by the way, are falling in price- as well as GB/GBC compatibility.

[ubikuberalles]

GBA baby! Of course that hasn't stopped me from owning a GBC, GB, Pocket GB, GBA SP...

[TripppsK]

GBA without question. I personally can't think of one thing that Color has to offer over Advance.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

GBC. Better design, and better games for what the hardware could do.

[GrandAmChandler]

Ummm, Advance it can do all that the Game Boy color can and more! I was sold when I saw Super Mario Advance 1 and Castlevania Circle of the moon in action! The SP just makes it even better! I'd like to see more companies take advantage of the SPs true power.

[Immutable]

I know I sound redundant, but I would go with the GBA (SP). The bigger the library, the better the system.

[Crush Crawfish]

GBA, definitely. It can already play all GB & GBC games, and has a much better and varied library with much less licensed shovelware than the GBC.

[Jed]

I'm all about the GBA.. it has plenty of cool features, better games, and a handy little adapter to play it all on my Gamecube.

[PentiumMMX]

GBA without question. I personally can't think of one thing that Color has to offer over Advance.

Try playing "Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3" and "Wario
Land 2" on a GBA! It too hard to see, But on a GBC, they are much easier to see!

...But I'm going with GBA. Sure, the Wario games look better
on GBC, but you can't touch Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and
Mayl- er, Mega Man Battle Network, and it's got the Game Gear
design I like!

[Jed]

I couldn't live without MMBN... I can't wait for 5 to come out. So yeah, that's another advantage that GBA has. >_>

[Kejoriv]

Gameboy Advance - Its backwards compatible. Backswards compatible is the one of the best features on a system. BUT, the system doesnt have a backlight.

[LocalH]

For GBC games, my order of preference is (from best to worst): GBASP -> GBC -> GBA. The palette is lighter on the GBC, so on a non-lit screen, it's easier to see than on a GBA. But, with the addition of the SP's light, I prefer GBC games on the SP.

[Aussie2B]

I'll be the odd one out and say the GBC wins. I play everything on GBC, and I only play Advance games on GBA because I have no other option. I don't like the big carts sticking out on the GBA, the colors are way too dark, the screen is smaller for the old games, it's not half as comfortable to hold, and to try to see the screen half decently, I have to sit or lay in an awkward position that always results in my body feeling like crap, all stiff and sore, when I'm done.

I don't have an SP, though, so maybe once I do, it'll be a different story. And honestly, I prefer playing b/w games on Game Boy Pocket.

Now if you want to compare the GBC-only library to the GBA-library, GBA wins, even if it is swamped with ports and rehashes. The b/w library beats them both, though.

[Aswald]

Well, it seems as though the GBA has it.

Can you "link up" on a GBA or GBC?

There are a couple of things I don't know about that GBC. Most things are obvious, but what is that tiny "panel" on top? it looks like what you see on a television remote.

And that small plug, labeled "EXT?" Does that allow linking-up, like a Lynx; if so, how many can link up? If not, what is it for?

Also, is the GBA backlit? What is its power requirements?

Where can one purchase inexpensive GBC games...Towers! Wizardry! Nemesis!