What are the advantages of a Game Boy Advance? Cons? [Archive]

View Full Version : What are the advantages of a Game Boy Advance? Cons?

Steven

03-06-2006, 12:31 AM

I'm thinking of picking one up. Yes, over the SP. Why, I dunno really, lol, but I like its size for my hands. What is the average going rate for the system, and some must-have games? Are the games for the system in general cheap? Thank you so much in advance.

eightbitonline

03-06-2006, 12:44 AM

the gba does not have a back or side lit screen. the screen is not lit. the system runs off of AA batteries.

that being said, i too prefer the shape of it in my hands over the SP.

if i could pick up one with an afterburner kit and a battery pack mod i'd be one happy chappy.

Chrome

03-06-2006, 12:45 AM

I personally love the Advance, just wish it was backlit. I consider alkalines over rechargables, but that's a matter of opinion. Unlike the SP, the Advance has a headphone jack, so no adapters or special headphones are needed.

As for needed games, pick up the regulars... Zelda, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes. All of those are practically guaranteed winners.

Anyway, Gamestop was selling them used here for $19.99. So I'd say a $20 ballpark for them.

Later,
Chrome...

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 01:19 AM

I think the controls are much better too. my SP buttons and + pad is overly sensitive. I keep laying down 2 bombs instead of one on bomberman

KingCobra

03-06-2006, 01:27 AM

I love the standard GBA! Sure would've been nice to see back-lit version, ohh.. well.

There is a buttload of after market goofy lighting stuff for it, but it adds to the size and weight, atleast it use's regular Batt's, soo decades from now you'll still be able to game on it.

price ranges from $10-40 depending on condition/color.

I use this funky lighting thing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/JeepDog/Picture001Custom.jpg

They end loops fold up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/JeepDog/Picture002.jpg

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 01:55 AM

there is a (new?) afterburner type light that goes over the screen rather than inside the GBA case. It looks pretty small. it goes for about $20 and they still sell it at online retail stores (unlike the afterburner) I think I have seen it on lik-sang or success-hk or play asia, and have definitely seen it on ebay

HA!
found it (http://www.success-hk.com/pp/product.asp?id={0DCFCA5F-7D76-4F05-9FEE-09EAB9DCC8A8})

HERE (http://gameboy.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r21400.htm) is a review

look here (http://www.gameboy-advance.net/accessories/gameboy_advance_light.htm) for other lights. not all of them are sold anymore though

KingCobra

03-06-2006, 02:12 AM

That Halo light seems cool! I might have to check that out, and retire this 2 arm'd light thingy.

Ed Oscuro

03-06-2006, 02:34 AM

I would rather have a console that takes double-As...ugh, I can never seem to find AAAs :(

Of course, wall adapters are even better for me :P

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 02:53 AM

I still haven't bought a GBA-SP myself, mainly because I sold off most of my GBA carts. Be sure to check out Street Fighter II Turbo Revival and the Super Mario Advance series, especially the first which is a port of my favorite SMB game of the series, SMB2. (no correction about SMB2 being a heavily reworked version of Dream Factory Doki Doki Panic needed)

The other reason I haven't bought a GBA-SP is because I still have the Japanese GBA (I wanted solid black and they hadn't came out in the US yet - they did two weeks after I bought the Japanese system though) that I put an afterburner in...

http://www.startoursinfo.com/junk/AfterburnerGBA01.jpg

A problem developed with the stealth V3 dimmer so I have to hold down R when pressing select or the backlight runs through it's dimming settings until it turns off - then I have to tap R upon startup to get the light to go back to 100% again. I could open it and remove the dimmer chip but the install went in just so damn clean I can life with the tweak.

Tan

03-06-2006, 08:52 AM

i bought a joytech starter kit from EB awhile back, it had all the usual goodies but in particular it had a rechargeable battery pack that when placed under the gba became a wing grip handle, makes it very comfortable for those with big hands.

Iron Draggon

03-06-2006, 10:43 AM

I've been thinking about getting a regular GBA too. Mainly just so I'll have one, but also because one of my pinball games (Pinball Tycoon) uses the L & R buttons for the flippers by default, and you can't change the setting. This is very annoying in itself, but it is even more annoying on the GBA SP, because the L & R buttons are just not in a very comfortable position for playing a game like that for long periods of time. However, the position of the L & R buttons on the regular GBA looks like they're alot more comfortable, so I could probably do alot better at that game by playing it on the regular GBA instead of the SP.

Damaramu

03-06-2006, 10:50 AM

I bought a new copy of Metal Slug Advance from Wally World a few months back; it seems the game glitches and freezes up on my SP2, but works fine on my GBA.

I tried to exchange MSA, but I had bought the last one and they wanted me to drive out to some other Walmart in Pearland (a really long drive/don't know area well at all) to get that store's copy.

I never did go, so I still have the game. No biggie though.

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 11:15 AM

on the GBA SP, the L & R buttons are just not in a very comfortable position for playing a for long periods of time. However, the position of the L & R buttons on the regular GBA looks like they're alot more comfortable, so I could probably do alot better at that game by playing it on the regular GBA instead of the SP.

yeah, shoulder buttons are way easier to use (although it still is a little small for me) but the lack of visibility on the gba will make it harder to play more than the awkward controls on the SP.

you absolutely have to get a decent light if you want a GBA

HEY INSANE DAVID:
THanks for the info. so that issue only applies to the V3 dimmer, not the afterburner itsself?

I'm still tossing around getting an afterburner (for the insane ebay prices), but I think i'll end up getting the halo, supposedly its the same quality light as the afterburner just external.
I have heard that the afterburner isn't quite as good as a SP1. what are your thoughts

staxx

03-06-2006, 11:58 AM

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:56 am Post subject: GBA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GBA:
Pros:
The GBA in my opinion has a better joypad and buttons than the SP. Another good thing with the GBA is that when you play GB games on it, it doesn't stick out like the SP. The screen also can be easily replaced if it gets scratched up (much harder on the SP). More color options and you can buy replacement shells that are easier to exchange than the SP. It's cheaper than the SP.

Cons:
Lack of a backlight. You need to buy rechargeable batteries or regular batteries vs a rechargeable battery comes with the SP system. The screen is exposed (i.e. easier to scratch) vs the SP (not exposed).

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 04:29 PM

HEY INSANE DAVID:
THanks for the info. so that issue only applies to the V3 dimmer, not the afterburner itsself?

I have heard that the afterburner isn't quite as good as a SP1. what are your thoughts

Yeah, if I remember correctly (it was a long time ago when I dealt with afterburner stuff) if you install just an afterburner you have options of putting an on/off switch in or a brightness dial. Which actually is fine. Yet when I went to mod my system stealth dimmer switches were all the rage and I got one free with my afterburner kit so I figured I'd shove it in there. It controls backlight power and brightness without external switches. The dimmer allows for like 48 variable degrees of brightness, you wire it so when a button is held down another button increases the brightness while another decreases it. I wired mine to the select button and then the brightness controls to L and R. So...

Hold Select - R increases brightness.
Hold Select - L decreases brightness.

Note that the default dimmer chip instructions provided by Division-6 note to wire these settings to A and B respectively, but I wanted them on the shoulder buttons - the connection for L is out there a ways from the rest of the connections (and where the problem came from) so maybe that was a bad idea.

About a year ago (after using some NiMH batteries, I think something went awry from them since all was fine before then) the screen would constantly dim until the backlight shut off if select was pressed. The only way to get it back is to hold select upon turning the system on and tap R until the brightness comes back to 100%. My guess is the dimmer chip has a short in it where it's constantly trying to dim the screen. It's not a GBA control problem (ie. the L button being jammed or Select being stuck down) since all controls work fine.

I could open the GBA back up and simply replace the dimmer or rewire the connections to the afterburner but I don't want to risk botching the mod, getting it all back in there was a tight fit to begin with. The dimmers are pretty small, Division-6 still has the basic install information (http://www.division-6.com/install.htm), mine is a V3, just to give an idea of why I don't want to mess with it again.

I'm guessing that since the problem is frequent but still kind of random, that it could also be a connection that broke loose or a faulty piece of wire. Just the same, right now I have it locked in 100% bright mode, took awhile to get it to stick there but it's all good now. Make sure you get genuine Division-6 dimmer switches, not the immitation junk.

I don't care what anyone says, my afterburner GBA looks better than the backlight in an SP, a tad bit brighter too. For some reason the SP backlight makes the image look faded out somewhat. I also think a properly modded A-GBA looks much better than a DS screen running GBA games. The DS backlight for GBA games looks grainy to me. In both cases an afterburner modded GBA has a smoother image, especially when playing GBC games.

The Manimal

03-06-2006, 05:25 PM

for actual playing, i think the original GBA is best for my hands. however, you need a lot of light in the area or an add-on light. i love the design of this, and wish they would have stuck with this style with later versions (though it's good to see the DS go this way).

as far as a GBA SP, the screen is nicer in that it's lit, however, I had to purchase these 'wing grips' that snap to the back so I can actually play it without getting hand cramps.

so in the end, both require (for me at least) hooking some gadget up to it to be able to play. one needs a light to play, one needs grips to play. LOL

i have a new/sealed translucent purple original GBA. i'm kind of pondering whether to sell it now (I want $50 for it) or to wait until 10 years from now and see what it goes for on eBay, given it's still sealed.

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 06:48 PM

Make sure you get genuine Division-6 dimmer switches, not the immitation junk.
these are not included in the kit though right? these are the dimmer switches you buy as an add on and you see on , say, lik-sang right?

I don't care what anyone says, my afterburner GBA looks better than the backlight in an SP, a tad bit brighter too. For some reason the SP backlight makes the image look faded out somewhat. I also think a properly modded A-GBA looks much better than a DS screen running GBA games. The DS backlight for GBA games looks grainy to me. In both cases an afterburner modded GBA has a smoother image, especially when playing GBC games.

Hmm... you mean the frontlight SP1? I agree they look washed out. my SP2 however looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I love it, but I want to use my gba too. it just sits there now cuz the screen sucks. poor little guy! :puppydogeyes: I miss my gbc too. that thing had an amazing screen. pocket bomberman blew me away when I first got it. pokemon blue also (or was it yellow with the gbc functionality?).

so... question? should I pay out the wazoo for an afterburner, or just get a halo? the light w/o the dongle would be nice. i hate perphs on a "portable system" kinda defeats the purpose (recall the "D cell" fanny packs for the game gear/ lynx? my point exactly. about as portable as a springbar tent).

joshnickerson

03-06-2006, 06:59 PM

I bought a new copy of Metal Slug Advance from Wally World a few months back; it seems the game glitches and freezes up on my SP2, but works fine on my GBA.

Yeah, I had the same problem with my copy. Kept freezing in my SP2, but worked fine on my GBPlayer. Oh well, it's more fun to play with the Hori pad anyway. LOL

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 09:20 PM

Make sure you get genuine Division-6 dimmer switches, not the immitation junk.
these are not included in the kit though right? these are the dimmer switches you buy as an add on and you see on , say, lik-sang right?

Correct, the dimmer chips were never part of the afterburner kit although years ago when they were popular most places that sold an afterburner had the dimmer chips as well. You can contact Division-6 directly and see if they're still selling directly. It looks like lik-sang has the V4 chips which was the latest release Division-6 was selling. There are a lot of knock-off V4's so I'd check to make sure lik-sang has the genuine Division-6 parts, the Division-6 site can help you with that since it has the chip numbers (http://www.division-6.com/whichone.htm). You can even install a V4 dimmer in a GBA-SP to give you the 48 brightness levels, controlling the factory installed Nintendo light.

pokemon blue also (or was it yellow with the gbc functionality?).

Pokemon Yellow I believe.

pokemon blue also (or was it yellow with the gbc functionality?). so... question? should I pay out the wazoo for an afterburner, or just get a halo? the light w/o the dongle would be nice. i hate perphs on a "portable system" kinda defeats the purpose (recall the "D cell" fanny packs for the game gear/ lynx? my point exactly. about as portable as a springbar tent).

What's funny is back during the afterburner craze, a GBA with an afterburner and a stealth dimmer would sell in upwards of $300 on eBay. Afterburners are no long manufactured so while an A-GBA isn't worth all that much, an uninstalled afterburner kit is usually worth more. LOL I may order a few dozen V4 chips sometime in the future for installation in GBA-SP1's as I'm sure over the course of this year people will start dumping them for SP2's. ...which is just stupid, but hey, everyone loves tossing money Nintendo's way - when it took them over three years to make something as good as the afterburner.

jonjandran

03-06-2006, 09:28 PM

so... question? should I pay out the wazoo for an afterburner, or just get a halo? the light w/o the dongle would be nice. i hate perphs on a "portable system" kinda defeats the purpose (recall the "D cell" fanny packs for the game gear/ lynx? my point exactly. about as portable as a springbar tent).

The Halo light is crap. I've tried the older version and the newer version and it stinks. The Afterburner is MUCH better.

*edit* Well I've tried version 1 and 2 , I see there is a version 3 now ? It might be better but the first 2 were nearly unuseable IMO.

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 10:28 PM

jonjandran

03-06-2006, 10:30 PM

hmm. funny you say that. the review i saw (linked in a post above) said it was the best, and also has pics of it that look comparable to the afterburner. (the review is worded like it was written about when the sp1 was released in 2003)

Well I tried version 1 and 2 and they were complete and utter crap.

Do some more review searches , 95% say it is crap.

GarrettCRW

03-06-2006, 10:38 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/JeepDog/Picture002.jpg

Ack! You're a cat! Someone let Rog know, the revolution has begun!

;)

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 10:52 PM

so the afterburner price aint so shabby afterall... hmm... *opens wallet* 8 lousy bucks. well its gonna have to wait. Nice to know that there is hope for my gba. 2 gba controllers for 4 swords adventure here I come!

that halo light can't be a s crappy and battery draining as the incandescent lights though...can it?

any other lighting suggestions?

jonjandran

03-06-2006, 10:54 PM

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 11:01 PM

i might, but, it seems like there is really no comparison to the afterburner. I might as well save up another 20 bucks for the best. or buy a halo for my gba and buy a A-GBA for cheap

david:

Is there any real advantage of a sp1 with dimmer chip over just a unmodded sp1? of course there is the 48 levels of dimming, but imo i wouldn't want an sp1 any dimmer than its single level. or would it make it brighter (doubtful)?

KingCobra

03-06-2006, 11:09 PM

Ack! You're a cat! Someone let Rog know, the revolution has begun!

LOL! You saw that ;) He's holding the cards in his paw X_x wouldn't it be cool if you played the backdrop, awww... his little paw would be animated to slam down on ya with the last card.

I love that backdrop! There's a doggie one too, I'm addicted to Ultimate Card Games period. It stat tracks also.

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 11:18 PM

david:

Is there any real advantage of a sp1 with dimmer chip over just a unmodded sp1? of course there is the 48 levels of dimming, but imo i wouldn't want an sp1 any dimmer than its single level. or would it make it brighter (doubtful)?

Well it's a lot easier to install (http://www.division-6.com/instalsp.htm) since you have more space to work with and you only have to mess with the lower part of the GBA-SP - no screwing around with the screen. It adds the five minute sleep timer for power conservation and as you said, 48 levels of dimming, that scroll smoothly. That doesn't sound like a whole lot but when my A-GBA was working 100% I did find that varying degrees of backlighting came in handy, especially when playing under different room lighting / outdoors. I suppose it COULD give the SP light more power to possibly brighten it a little, there haven't been any reports of a V4 (a Division-6 one) burning out a screen that I've ever read of.

I'm sure you've realized that playing a GBA-SP you never turn the light off, because while you might not need it 100%, even under bright light the screen is just too dim without it. Using a V4 dimmer would allow you to adjust the level of light to meet your needs and conserve battery power. Honestly I don't see why Nintendo just didn't install a brightness adjustment to begin with.

KingCobra

03-06-2006, 11:23 PM

Whare do you buy the afterburner kits? I see some GBA case's for the mod on ebay, but no kits?

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 11:32 PM

Whare do you buy the afterburner kits? I see some GBA case's for the mod on ebay, but no kits?

That will take some looking around, they're no longer being manufactured since the GBA-SP was released. That's why bare kits are usually more valuable than GBA's with them installed now days.

Teknik_SE-R

03-06-2006, 11:35 PM

KingCobra

03-06-2006, 11:45 PM

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 11:45 PM

some dude has a stockpile of them and sells one at a time.

they are there (there is one right now), but don't expect an easy auction. I have bid on two of them over the past two weeks and had both sniped from me (one a A-GBA and the other the kit). I was happily winning at a low price, do the usual up my max bid at the last second to prevent snipes and BAM! i still get sniped. I have watched a few too and they usually end at over $50 bucks + ship

what are opinions on afterburner cases? I see the HK shops have stopped carrying them recently. those come with the dimmer switch (version?) and enough space for the afterburner. thoughts anyone?

Sign up for AuctionSniper (http://www.auctionsniper.com). You get three free snipes, they don't take any credit card information, etc. and you get three free additional snipes for every person you refer. I've used it for free for over a year and it works great. My eBay User ID is thelaststarfighter in case you do sign up, I could always use more free snipes. LOL

A lot of the HK shops have the generic dimmer chip, a V2. Division 6 never created a V2 chip, they went from V1 to V3 because of all the knock off V2's. There are also knockoff V4's that are just repackaged V2 bootlegs, check the numbers against the ones at Division 6. The premodded cases for afterburner installation for GBA's aren't worth it really, they're not as nice as the plastic your GBA is made out of to begin with. If you have a pair of wire cutters you can take out the plastic required to install the afterburner, it's really not all that much. (it's been awhile and I only did a few, but I remember using wire cutters) Most sources years ago recommended a small rotary too to make the opening for the power switch and brightness dial prior do stealth dimmers, not to modify the case for the afterburner itself.

InsaneDavid

03-06-2006, 11:51 PM

$50+ and some shipping :?

I just threw down on $400 on some muffler work on the Roush, counts me out for the time being.

GOD! You gotta love to hate this hobby, it's as Frick'n bad as my AFX slot car hobby :/

I need to find a new hobby? Like thooth pick collecting.

LOL Try model railroading, especially concerning I use two of the most expensive scales. N Scale (second smallest mass produced, about $100 a locomotive for anything really nice - my girlfriend gave me one of these for valentines day (http://www.katousa.com/n-scale/F40PH.html)) and G Scale (outdoor garden railway operation, anywhere from $300 to $8,000 per locomotive).

I sure wish afterburner modded GBA's were bringing in the $200 - $300 they used to. I knew about the scene for a long time but began modding them myself toward the end of when they were super popular so I only performed and sold a handful. Heck, I wish PS1 mods were like they were when I was in high school. $_$ Now days it's US/JPN conversion for Genesis, N64, and Saturn - none of which bring in very much. :/

KingCobra

03-07-2006, 12:03 AM

Try model railroading? Umm... O_O

Then there's the RC hobby, and Rockets! *watches 2 Grand in rocket blow away*

Did they really go for $200+ woaw!

InsaneDavid

03-07-2006, 12:18 AM

Try model railroading? Umm... O_O

Then there's the RC hobby, and Rockets! *watches 2 Grand in rocket blow away*

I got smart about the RC hobby, I bought a couple Mini-Z's (palm sized RC cars from Kyosho) a few years ago and stopped there. I have a Skyline GT-R and the David Coulthard McLaren 2002 F-1 (because it uses the non-cigarette smoking countries paint scheme, so the side pods, rear wing, monocoque, and driver's helmet say "David" instead of "West." LOL). Did rockets in small quantities for awhile but got tired of losing them when they would end up drifting back to earth a few miles away.

Did they really go for $200+ woaw!

Yup, $200 easy, most would end around $220 that I would put on eBay, a few sold in the $300 range but weren't mine. I was selling them locally for $200 cash. Remember though, back then the GBA was still about $80 or so alone. Was still over $100 for a couple hours of work and was a nice bonus - even though I was making mad cash then... oh how things have changed. LOL

InsaneDavid

03-11-2006, 05:36 AM

Well I was bored for a few minutes earlier today (at like 1am) so I decided to pop open my A-GBA and take a look as to where the problem with the dimmer was.

Oh man, I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I did some of the work on this unit but it's no where up to my usual quality. Maybe I was in a rush when I did mine because I remember doing an excellent job on the ones I sold. It kind of disturbed me since I'm very professional in my mods (anyone here that has bought one from me will tell you that) but this was kind of messy. Anyway, yeah, the connection over to the point for the L button had broken free and was shorting itself out. It appears that the wire had slipped beneath the elastomer for the directional pad, eventually causing it to put stress on the connection and break. (that and this GBA used to have a permanent place in my pocket, so it got banged around pretty good) This is again another reason most people wire the brightness controls to A and B instead of L and R. I think I was in a rush when I installed the dimmer in my GBA because I was going to a LAN / gaming meetup that night or something and wanted to try to pick up more sales and had sold the other modded systems I had done. I swear my work isn't bad. LOL

So I resoldered the connection for the dimmer and made sure the wire was out of the way of the elastomer and wouldn't be moving back. Since I was only messing with the dimmer chip and NOT the afterburner it was easy and actually brought back a lot of memories. LOL Reassembled it and now it works 100% again. :)

Pictures below show the unit open and the broken connection...

http://www.startoursinfo.com/junk/DP-GBAopen01.jpg

If you grab a kit and are going to install one of these yourself you really don't need to order a tri-wing screwdriver. (now if you're going to do a dozen or so as we did years ago, then you should get one) Also many of the odd bits toolkits some of us have won't have a tri-wing bit thin enough for these screws. If you have a very small flathead precision screwdriver you can use it to remove the six tri-wing screws on the back of the GBA. (don't forget the phillips one in the battery compartment and the two phillips that hold the PCB down to the front of the case) The small precision screwdriver can be pressed between two of the slots in the tri-wing screws and once you get them going they'll come out easy. I couldn't find my mini tri-wing so that's what I used to do the repairs.