GBA Sp vs.. GBA Micro

[Predatorxs]

Hey all,

I have a DS lite, and i'v recently sold pretty much all my gba sp and stuff, but the idea of having a micro appeals to me, My question is for the people that have "HAD" both, the GBA SP and the gba micro.

Is the Micro screen brighter? and is the micro screen smaller than the gba sp screen?

Any help or info would be great, thanks guys!

[THATinkjar]

I haven't seen the newer, backlit GBA SPs, but I still think I can help you.

Firstly, the Micro's screen is smaller than any of the other GBA screens. The Micro screen is brighter than the original GBA SP, but not the backlit SP. It is also brighter than the original DS.

There was a thread recently about the backlit GBA SP, and I believe someone made the comment that there is slight blurring on the new SP. The colours are also slightly different between the Micro and the backlit SP, though I don't know if one is better than the other.

It'll probably come down to which you prefer design wise. Personally, I find the Micro more comfortable to hold and use. It is also incredibly robust, and it really does fit in your pocket.

[Jorpho]

The Micro, of course, will not play GB or GBC games, should you feed the urge to do so.

[c0ldb33r]

Screen brightness: GB Micro > Original DS > Original SP

It's my understanding that the SP2 and micro have same brightness screens.

The micro's screen is MUCH smaller than the SP's. So much smaller that when I revert to the original SP, I feel like I'm watching a big screen TV!

If I only could choose one GBA variant, it would be the SP2, since it can play original GB games. That being said, I use my Micro more than my SP.

Here's a graphic to compare the size of the micro screen to the size of the SP screen: [link]

And here's another to compare them both with a DS: [link]

[THATinkjar]

Just going back to what I said earlier... IGN pretty much confirms the blur and slight colour differences on the backlit GBA SP. You can read it here. Just scroll to the bottom.

[klausien]

The "blur" on the SP2 is WAAAAY overstated. The PSP screen has a much worse refresh rate. The SP2 is the way to go, bar none.

And you can easily transplant the internals into any existing SP, including the fantastic Classic NES version.

[Kuros]

I'd say go with the Micro if you are looking for something that's easy to carry around.

I have a Micro and a SP and it's a lot easier to carry around my Micro in it's baggie with an extra game than it is to carry around my SP with an extra game.

Yea, the screen is small, but it's very sharp and clear.

[suckerpunch5]

I by far prefer the micro, cause I can just slip it in my pocket. You don't even notice it, but it's great to take out and play during breaks at work!

[c0ldb33r]

I like the micro because it just looks so damn sexy with that black skin

[KingCobra]

The micro is the BOMB! It's Caca in the poop'er room, awesome at the bed side and definitely way cool on the Bus/Train or at the job durring break-time

[Teknik_SE-R]

I think you have all the technical info you need.

blur is unnoticable on the SP2

the screen can be a little too small at times, like when playing a game with alot on screen, you tend to miss the details. a good analogy is low bit rate MP3 vs CD. some people prefer to have CDs so they can hear every detail. and some ppl just want to fit as much music on a disc as possible

I can honsetly tell you that I went through minish cap on my lite and then went back on my sp2, and I found stuff I missed. I must admit that this is only partially due to the screen size, but my point still holds

I also have alot of original GB and GBC games so if I want to play those, I need my sp2.

as for ergonomics, I can only stand to play my micro for a couple hours, then my wrists cramp

a micro is a must for any collector.. i have two 20th anniversary editions

if you just have/want gba games and don't care to collect, and can stand carrying a ds/ lite, just keep with the ds


Long story long... I have both, I play both depending on the game, my preferences at the time, and where I am.

[Predatorxs]

Thanks guys, that helps, i loved my SP, there's so many good games for it. I sold MY Gba sp a few weeks ago, i did it purely for the fact i have a ds lite.

So a Micro might be a nice extra too have, also i'm a snes collector and a videogamer in general, so i don't really collect for anything else i'll just keep my fav's for a particular system, for the GC, XBOX, GBA etc..

One last question, i know the DS lite (and the original) are backwards comp, so they play GBA games, but has anyone else noticed some of the gba games when played with a DS lite, look alittle too bright and just don't seem to look as they do on the GBA SP?

When i first played gba Mario Kart : SC, it looked to colorful? and the screen just didn't look right?? It's pretty obvious it's the newer screen, which is brighter and more colorful.

I know the DS top screen isn't as big as the GBA SP screen, maybe it's this as well.

I could be getting into too much detail, it's just i'v spend many, many, many hours on the GBA SP, when i switched to the DS Lite, i just seem to spot every little difference

[Xizer]

The DS's top screen is .1" bigger than the GBA SP's screen.

[Predatorxs]

The DS's top screen is .1" bigger than the GBA SP's screen.

But when you play a GBA game, it makes the screen small, there is a black border when you play a gba game, but i'm sure i compared the DS and the SP and the SP's screen was slightly bigger than the top DS screen, have you compared them both?

i'm pretty sure the SP screen is bigger than the DS top screen??

[Teknik_SE-R]

y4eah is shrinks the screen when you play gba games, and pretty much all my gba games lok a little off color. I noticed something was different, but couldn't put my finger on it till you said that

[poopnes]

y4eah is shrinks the screen when you play gba games, and pretty much all my gba games lok a little off color. I noticed something was different, but couldn't put my finger on it till you said that

It doesn't shrink the screen, it just doesn't stretch it. Kind of how GB/C play on a GBA. The DS screen might not be physically that much bigger, but it higher resolution.

[NE146]

[quote="poopnes"]

It doesn't shrink the screen, it just doesn't stretch it. Kind of how GB/C play on a GBA.

Well if you play a GB/C game on a GBA of course you can stretch it using the L/R buttons. Or not, if you want

As is... the GBA-SP (the one with the brighter screen) looks like it's the FINAL and best way to play actual GB/C carts. So it gets my vote over the Micro as a "must have".

[c0ldb33r]

I was playing Bomberman Tournament on my SP this weekend. It looked like crap compared to the micro. The screen was so much more washed out (it's an SP1) and the graphics looked really pixelly. So the smaller screen, while a little harder on the eyes, makes the graphics a little better looking

[Predatorxs]

[quote="NE146"]

It doesn't shrink the screen, it just doesn't stretch it. Kind of how GB/C play on a GBA.

Well if you play a GB/C game on a GBA of course you can stretch it using the L/R buttons. Or not, if you want

As is... the GBA-SP (the one with the brighter screen) looks like it's the FINAL and best way to play actual GB/C carts. So it gets my vote over the Micro as a "must have".

So how can you tell the differance between GBA SP1's and GBA SP2's? are they marked or numbered differently?

I remember reading about how the newer SP's had a brighter screen, and then i though how do you tell which is the newer brighter screen?

[c0ldb33r]

The box for an SP2 will say something about a new brighter screen.

And

On an SP1, if you press the light button, it'll turn the light on/off. On an SP2, it'll cycle through different levels of backlighting.