Game Boy/Color/Advance OT + Collecting Thread - Get into it!

I wonder if this is the same image as a front lit gba sp ags-001 model without the front light turned on.

I haven’t owned an og model GBA since the SP first came out. But I’d like to have a “purist” model too. The form factor alone is better and the launch model was my first experience with GBA hardware so it would carry some nostalgia.

I’ve been considering getting an AGS101. I have the OG GBA but it’s IPS modded and while nice in its own way, it just doesn’t feel right even though I didn’t grow up with actual hardware and actually spending considerable time with an emulator as a kid

I know even the AGS101 isn’t completely accurate, but I do want to try the different form factor, plus it seems like a middle ground between the brightness of an IPS mod and the less garish colors of the original models

I didn’t like the AGS101. Too much ghosting compared to the original GBA and original GBA SP. Personally, I like the GBA SP with a front light. It’s perfect for most games that were never meant to be viewed with a backlight.

Interestingly, the GBC and GBA games on the Switch Online Expansion Pass are also edited to be less garish than raw colors from the roms. They basically acknowledge that backlighting them is not ideal.

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is it the backlight that causes the color space to vary so much? I thought it might have to do with the calibration of the screens

the selection is pretty limited right now, but I’m seriously thinking of getting that NSO expansion. thinking of starting a new Metroid Fusion playthroiugh

Like someone said above in the topic (I guess it was you), it seems not easy to get one original GBA in good condition today.
Mine is a japanese model, with the box (135€). I saw many « good condition » GBA on eBay that were not in good condition at all.
I don’t know for the ags-001, I have just few experience with handheld gaming back in the day, never really got into it. But I would be curious to know.
Now I feel like a clockmaker dwarf under my desk lamp but Minish Cap is so beautiful.

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I think it’s the backlight. I wrote about it here:

Someone once posted that GB Micro is calibrated a bit better to not have such garish colors while still being backlit, but I’ve never used one myself.

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Yea… it’s a bummer. Modding is fine, but at this point there are very few OEM GBA’s in mint condition out there.

This is true, GBM looks very good. Different from the OG GBA, but nice in its own way.

Easier on the Japanese market but it takes some patience. May as well look in Japan, it’s a region-free device after all.

I have an excellent condition black OG GBA with an original Afterburner mod that I’ve been on the fence about removing. Having other front-lit and backlit options in my collection now makes it feel a bit unnecessary. And a truly stock GBA is appealing as some have already pointed out. But on the other hand, the Afterburner still works fine and is a fun piece of GBA history.

Someone convince me one way or the other. :slight_smile:

This is not so much an attempt to convince you, just an observation or two.

Whether you can appreciate a stock GBA could be influenced by how you perceive convenience. For some, video games are entertainment. Their value derives from the quantity of immediate gratification that they provide. This mentality is increasingly prevalent nowadays. Look at how often you see the word ‘consume’ used with regard to media. Viewed this way, an unlit GBA compares unfavourably with modern devices like smartphones. This is not the whole story, as battery life also factors into convenience and is curtailed significantly by any backlight mod. Of course, if you consider yourself a ‘consumer’, energy concerns are likely irrelevant…

To some extent, convenience is objective. But comfort is very much subjective. @Tchiko sits at a desk and positions the GBA under a lamp to achieve optimal play conditions. I often sit at a desk to play my Game Boys and feel good doing so. I also sit cross-legged on the floor to play on a TV… this would be strange to many, I’m sure. Decidedly uncomfortable! In certain parts of the world, interaction with the floor is rare and generally considered undesirable. As is sitting at a desk, though PC players may be more open to this.

lol me too, we certainly like to play video games the same way.

I had the white model and sold it. I should get it again.

Best looking GBA IMO.

I’m very happy with this little thing.
When I was 17 I sold my SFC to a friend of a friend because you know, I was a grownup and I didn’t need video games anymore.
7 years later I bought back my SFC to this same person.

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And as a grown-up you realised you had sense :blush::+1:

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I have one, and it’s very nice. The Micro is a very cool little device.

As for the OG GBA, I played a ton of stuff on there prior to the SP being released and when you get it in the right light, it’s amazing. I still look back very fondly on playing Boktai in the sunlight during breaks from work. Super cool stuff.

Hello everyone. Been a while eh?

This thread has been more active lately. A few things have happened since I’ve posted here. Lots of updates to the mister core, I got a new analogue pocket and a steam deck. As a long time hardware purist, I think the day finally came where its hard to justify it for me as my eyes just aren’t able to stare at these tiny screens anymore. The Pocket is pretty ok but I think its really only good for GB/GBC. If I am being honest, so much has changed since I ordered it that I am not really that interested in the system. I haven’t decided if I am going to sell it or not but I may. I am interested in some of the new FP mods. Not sure how they compare to the screen the pocket has but I am sure the carts will fit more securely.

I’ve been been begrudgingly using the steam deck for a lot of gba emulation since the form factor and screen aspect ratio lend itself pretty well for my needs. I wasn’t sure I would like it but the hardware is powerful enough for run ahead and low latency and I can’t exactly say its a bad experience. Its retro arch and it is what it is.

Maybe someone will come out with a gba xl (that uses real gba chips) with a larger ips or oled screen that I can actually use comfortably.

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The best 2D Tomb Raider. The environments could be more lively, but works well for what it is, like a Tomb Raider on SNES.

is the SP’s shell brittle or something? a good chunk of SP’s I see being sold online have deep gashes on the shell, like someone took a key to it or something. it’s very strange

I think the fact the SP was so small means people actually took it everywhere in their pocket which is something most other handhelds have always been too large to truly do comfortably.

Lots of things that can eff up your exterior in pockets.

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Yeah good point.

SP and Micro are the only true pocket devices.

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