Is this the same V3 that HandHeld Legends sells or did you get it from some where else?
edit ohh yeah I see this is a different one than the one I got from HHLegend. Man there are so many options now.
Started Operation C today, after a few attempts I finally made it to stage 4 since the game only gives you one continue.
Loving how it almost feels like a director’s cut of Super-C. How did Konami’s programmers pull this off on the Game Boy? It looks phemomenal, particularly the use of shading, and - on the Contra Collection at least - the action stays fast and fluid throughout.
From a technical standpoint it’s a huge improvement from Castlevania: The Adventure, even if that game was smartly designed around its programming limitations. But so is Operation-C. While you can see, visually, that they had to re-use level layouts and enemies due to a lack of cart space, it never feels repetitive in practice, since the enemy programming and setups are often always unique.
It’s strange though, while Operation-C certainly is the business as a tightly designed game, the two Game Boy Castlevanias are more interesting because their slower gameplay led to level designs and challenges we’d never seen in Castlevania before, whereas Contra GB isn’t breaking new ground. That’s not at all a bad thing, but it doesn’t feel as surprisingly fresh as those games did.
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Sharing my recent work on an IPS install and Audio Amp/Clean up on a Gameboy pocket for @GraveyardDuck. I’d never worked on a Gameboy system before and after doing this I totally want one! What a cool little device. The Funnyplaying IPS screen is really awesome. Super impressed with it.
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Loooove the GB Pocket in the original color scheme. Perfect piece to upgrade with these screens. Looks lovely!!
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Looks beautiful, how’s the battery life?
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With regular aaa batteries its around 3 hours
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Don’t think this was posted yet
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Heading out for vacation, decided to do it old school with my original gb case. I even decided to only bring 5 games, much like I would have done when I was young. Got Tetris, Operation C, Castlevania, Batman and Double Dragon coming along for the ride.
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Was really hoping the last game you listed was going to be an “and everdrive”.
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Nah, I wanted to limit my choices to make it more nostalgic.
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Ah yes, saw this the other week.
I was worried when the video was extolling the virtues of pixel doubling (and tripling) but thankfully it was pointed out the appeal of having the dot matrix.
Would have appreciated some discussion about colour accuracy though - they are wrong to use the AGS-101 as some sort of ‘correct’ baseline!
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This trend of modding Game Boys isn’t my bag man.
It’s getting harder and harder to buy original unmodded Game Boy systems with stock hardware on eBay that are in decent condition.
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They are definitely getting harder to find. I mostly try to look locally on craigslist, facebook marketplace, etc. Seems like they are still a lot to be found there but a lot of times they are beaters and “require” modding to get them back into good shape.
@Peltz If you’re patient and know what you’re looking for, Goodwill auctions (filtered for GBA - you can only filter for one system at a time) will reap benefits.
I’ve purchased way too much off there. Not GB/C/A, but one of my most recent purchases was a PS Vita TV which arrived CIB with the twist ties still on the power cable. I bought my Dreamcast there which unexpectedly arrived with sealed copies of NFL 2k and Virtual On. A while back I picked up a Genesis model 1 for parts or repair that only had the PSU port mount broken inside, but otherwise worked fine. I don’t have pics, but also got a GBA SP AGS-101 in good condition - some scratches on the top exterior. Pre pandemic I saw three Switch Lites NIB go for $300 each (multiple bids). Who the F donates new stuff like that to Goodwill? Deals are there if you’re diligent - please people bid on these things so I don’t buy more gaming stuff I don’t need! please! lol
Thanks for the tips fellas. I still am looking for GB Pocket, an original GBA, and an original Brick Game Boy with original plastic screens (not glass replacement) that haven’t been scratched to hell, at an affordable price.
It’s not looking pretty though. Especially the original GBA. None of them are in mint condition.
It’s been really popular to mod them for a long while now I feel, I’m sure instagram and reddit have contributed a lot to the interest in these handhelds and there’s a lot of people with a side hustle on selling pre-modded ones. I imported mine from Japan (Yahoo auction) and notice how the larger batches always have large bidding wars on them now. Yahoo auctions is probably still a good place to get them in decent condition if you don’t mind the expensive shipping.
I’m glad I’ve got stock versions of these handhelds but I do like the various options available to change parts. I just hope people are keeping working screens/parts and not cutting into original shells to mod them.
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So I picked up this recently.
I’d been thinking for a while to get one, mostly as an authentic and comfortable controller for Cube GBP - GBi. Finding a nice one I can inspect in person was hard, so I probably overpaid a little. At the time I was kind of questioning my sanity - I used to have one back in the day but got rid of it after getting SP, DS, DS Lite etc. I KNEW that screen was horrible lol. Though i’ve looked around at the replacement screens, it’s more trouble than i want to get into (and more money than i want to spend to get an already modded one). But, it just looked so pristine, I couldn’t resist.
I have a tonne of ways to play GBA games already. Recently I got a few on Wii U and was kind of surprised just how much i’m enjoying that - by far the best visual/audio representation of all the methods I have at my disposal. And just simple face button remapping makes many games feel much better.
So when I turned this on for the first time and was taken aback by just how impossible it is to see that screen… I had that moment of “What have I done?!”. Then, i inched forward under the ceiling light and things came into focus. Somewhat. Let’s call it dark focus. Colours are not right. But then … they somehow felt right too. I couldn’t see the pixels as finely as on my 50" TV 
But that was kind of a good thing… somehow?
I started playing and i’ll admit, i’m glad i’m familiar with these games because visibility can make some things more difficult! But as I played, I realised my perception of the game was different. It wasn’t “this was a great game back in the day” that I felt when playing on Wii U etc. That feels great but something feels off at the same time. Playing on this, I was literally back in 2001 and my mind was blown this was on a portable.
A great portable, even though we know, especially now, they could have made it so much better even back then. The ergonomics of the original GBA design is just so much better than the ones that came later. And the dpad (although small), and buttons (especially triggers) have that old school Nintendo feel that was lost/changed when they moved to the DS. Even the black frame around the screen just felt right. No unused pixels, the right size, no scaling (referring to 3DS ambassador pixel perfect being tiny, scaled being blurred). The shadow caused by the depth of the screen from the bezel! 
Am I nuts/just trying to justify my purchase? Maybe hehe. But damn, original hardware boys. It’s the way to go! Screw hacking them up with screen enhancements, especially when you have a million other ways you can play them. Sure I might hardly ever play this over the alternatives, but you can’t replace that feeling of being in 2001 with anything. I will always want that option!
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You need the right light (ideally sunlight) but an original unmodified GBA is a great console.
But yeah a worse-is-better authenticity is important in a lot of ways. Sets off pleasure centers in your brain and gets you more into the experience in a way nothing else can.
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You’re not at all nuts or just trying to justify your purchase. I totally get it 
I want a completely stock GBA too, just like yours, but they’re very hard to find unmodified in good condition these days.
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