It’s not exactly the same situation. Unlike the GBC which doubled the CPU speed and tripled the RAM, The NGPC is basically the same machine with a colour screen. And black and white NGP games were so short-lived as to be almost a footnote.
Finally got my hands on Banishing Racer from Jaleco, looking forward to playing it! It’s a side-scroller where you play as a car.
Also picked up Cave Noire from Konami, the GB Genjin Collection from Hudson and Aero Star from Vic Tokai.
That they are all GB carts is no coincidence, it was around the late 90s where we stopped seeing games like this come about, I’d really love to know why though. For instance, Jaleco released over 20 games on Game Boy through to 1997, but only two Game Boy Color titles! Were publishers preoccupied with other formats by the end of the 90s? Or was it down to many of these experimental games not selling any more?
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On vacation today. Feels like 30 years ago (if I had been a Game Boy guy at 20… my first handheld was a Game Gear.)
I can easily see why this thing sold so much. Batteries last forever. The screen is fabulous in the daylight. We were just outside more back then!
I only got this Link’s Awakening cart a month or so ago. Still $29.99 like it was in 1993…
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Ironically after all the backlight mods etc, I prefer the OG screen. In a bright room or outside it is indeed great.
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Yup, even though I adore the Analogue Pocket for its sleep mode, the screen just doesn’t get bright enough outdoors to make playing Game Boy games with the pixel filters on workable.
Really enjoyed finally getting that silver early production GB Pocket (I grew up with the Color) in 2018 and using it on the commute and on walks. Even in winter the screen absolutely holds up for viewability.
I’ll tell you what’s a great screen for such situations - the Game Boy Light.
It’s really not bright enough at night, but the backlight works great for just giving you enough extra visibility to overcome glare and even out the image in mid-lit settings.
International Superstar Soccer 2000 on GBC makes me laugh, because it just sounds like someone is trying to go BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
I was just doing some end-of-year maintenance on my Game Boy collection and thought I’d pay a quick tribute to the legend while everything was out. First up, storage:
I really like those plastic cases for the OG carts — a shame Nintendo dropped them for the GBA. I use these eight-in-one boxes for GBA carts and they are OK. I tried a similar design for OG carts (four-in-one) and they don’t work quite as well, so I store them individually now. Oh, you can see my trusty lamp in this photo, an essential part of my set-up at home, especially in winter, as none of my handhelds are modded.
Next, boxed games:
So, I generally buy cart-only for convenience, but I like to have a few examples of the various types of packaging. DK acts as lookout through the window…
A big reason why I’ve consistently played my Game Boys over the years may seem silly, but Nintendo made great GBA cases back in the day. They are super sturdy, just check out that zip! In my opinion, these are way better than anything out there for the DS/3DS:
I’m not the most avid collector — I tend to move games along just as often as I pick them up. There’s something satisfying about Game Boy line carts, though. I’m sure I’ll be seeking them out for many years to come:
I travel with the Micro and use the OG unit at home or locally in the summer. The OG is the only system I ever picked up at launch. Wario Land 4 is a high point.
Finally, some Game Boy games:
I love the Pocket so much, I have two! Out of shot: a second copy of Tetris and a link cable. Donkey Kong is a high point in this library, for sure.
Anyway, Happy New Year RGB!
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Best RTS on GBA: Mech Platoon
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A late happy new year from myself!
Beautiful shots, and a lovely collection, very well organised.
Totally agreed about how having a good case really changes how you interact with a handheld. I particularly liked the pouch that came with the Game Boy Micro, just writing about it is reminding me of how it felt to have it in my pocket and how it protects the more fragile painted aluminium finish of the system.
Always loved this GBA case, my mate had one in 2001 and I wanted one.
Nice. What is the name of the third party company that made the cases?
These are the official Nintendo cases that were released in Europe at the GBA launch.
I’m not sure if they were available elsewhere (possibly Australia?) or if a company like Hori was involved…
I’ve seen them once in North America near the launch of the GBA (a friend had those individual cart cases on the school bus lol). I have no idea whether they were an official product though. Either way, I am sure they were sold separately as an accessory though, not with the carts (different from Gameboy games).
In NA, as far as I could remember, all games came in plastic wrap for cart itself inside the box.
Oh, I was referring to the cases for the GBA itself.
Just realised my post contains all sorts of cases…
When it comes to the carts, my GB and NGP cases are official. The eight-in-one boxes for GBA carts are generic, they’re all over eBay.
I really like your photo of the GB games lined up like that. They look like they’ve been kept in really great condition. Mine are all second hand and tend to have different levels of yellowing plastic.
The Japanese labels also look nicer than North American ones. Nintendo of America really loved leaving their thumbprint all over the localization of stuff back then (much to our detriment). Columns on the left and right of the label, one of which to say “This side out” had no purpose other than making it ugly.
Edge to edge artwork is always better.
Absolutely! European Game Boy cart art has the same design issues.
Funny thing is, most of my games are second-hand too… Japanese look after things better, for sure.
I umed and and about getting the Shantae reprint when it first came out, and decided not to spend the cash at that point, but managed to get one at RRP in the recent LRG blowout sale. Not sure when I’ll open it though…
Now I at least have a physical copy of all Shantae games. The only one that annoys me is Risky’s Revenge ‘Directors’s cut’, would have loved to have a DS or 3DS cart of that instead of the non-native HD port.
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I made a risky move, surely stupid in the eyes of some: I bought a first model GBA.
I read the topic, I have to thank you for bringing me knowledge, seeing it was the only model that displayed the colors as it was intended (edit: my mistake, it seems that colors haves been modified with the DS, but some complain about ghosting and lighting on other GBA), having never liked the fruity colors characteristic of GBA games as they are presented on the net.
Then the grip is the best (a bit small but I’m getting used to it, real D-pad, real buttons, being able to rest the index fingers behind L and R, and I can use my intermediate phalanges on them)
I was expecting the non-backlit screen to be dark, but I wasn’t ready for that: in a room normally lit by daylight you can’t see anything. You have to orientate the screen by standing in front of the window to see something. Basically the display works outside, but with invasive reflections that give you a headache.
I say to myself, oops, not sure I can enjoy it. There are the backlit replacement screens but I don’t want to go to those more fruity colors and I saw a video where the guy measured up to an extra 6 frames of input lag with an IPS 2.
Then I sit down at my desk in the dark (it avoids reflections), I place my articulated desk lamp 40~50cm vertically from the GBA that I hold comfortably, arms resting on the desk, screen with a 45°/horizontal angle, right in front of my eyes (roughly speaking), and it’s a revelation: it’s beautiful. It’s steampunk stuff.
It’s hard to describe and related to the “lit” screen. It’s a bit like looking at a black and white Casio liquid crystal watch screen in sunlight at the right angle: it’s beautiful as a natural crystalline object, and it’s a change from our modern screens in terms of rendering.
I have pictures below but it’s really not representative, only for the colors, not quite right faithfull and a bit washed out compared to reality, but it’s explicit enough to illustrate the difference in tone with GBA games displayed on modern screens, Switch included (I guess emulators offer a color range option closer to the original).
In real life we have a very soft image (we don’t see the pixels and the grid like on the pictures), glazed, glossy, with a very natural high contrast (like the watches), an image that has relief, and such beautiful colors, a bit sepia.
The image seems interlaced because I perceive slight scanlines during vertical scroll, not annoying. Probably to reduce the consumption (two AAA batteries that have already held me very well).
I ordered a card (EZ Flash Omega) that I’m waiting for, considering the crazy price of the games, I’ll do the two Metroid in priority.
Now I’m doing Zelda Minish Cap, a friend’s cartridge that had been lying around my house for 15 years. Good surprise, excellent on all levels (the intro is a bit boring, then it goes), it could even be the best one seen from above (I have to see the rest of the game, I’m trying to get to the fourth dungeon). And the graphics, damn, with those colors I immediately thought of the medieval arcade CPS games. Capcom must have been able to take advantage of its experience on this gorgeous pixel art.
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Thank you for this description. I agree, the GBA screen is something to behold under a desk lamp.
You are a rare purist! Enjoy the GBA, it’s special.
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