Yeah, the GBA fakes seem to be hardest to spot for local charity shops here too. That was where I found the fake Mario Vs Donkey Kong box and game. I’m glad someone donated it but they were selling it for around £15 if I recall correctly thinking it was worth something. Probably based it on eBay prices. They probably didn’t realise.
Are there known bootlegs of Yu Yu Hakusho for the Megadrive? I got one off eBay a few years back that came in such great condition (and at a pretty reasonable price, I think) that I’m fairly convinced its a repro 
Don’t have an answer for that, but I do find it amusing that every time I get a really good condition game I think the same thing.
I can confirm that there are sellers selling reproductions of that game online.
Can’t find any circuit board images but there are cart shell photos.
Ineteresting, mine has the more rounded cart style so maybe it’s legit after all 
Fingers crossed my friend. Though, those rounded carts can be replicated for sure. Only way is to assure yourself is to check the PCB if you’re unsure about where the seller got it from.
Those are clearly repros. Not only the label features a completely different artwork and the wrong Mega Drive logo design, but the original game is a Japanese-only release, so the title is written in Japanese too. Finally, Japanese carts look nothing like those.
Here’s a pic (not mine) of the original Yu Yu Hakusho.
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That’s what mine looks like, even has the silver sticker on the front.
You’re fine then. Your copy sounds 100% legit. ^_-
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Thanks for the clarification @Galdelico! At least we all got to the bottom of that fairly simple 
Also, given that its a Japanese exclusive then it doesn’t surprise me that the condition was very very good. Japanese Used games tend to be in great condition.
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It is not exclusive to Japan. There is an localized Brazilian edition released by TecToy in 98 or 99.
It is pretty rare, though.
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Wow, you always learn. I didn’t know it was official.
I’ve seen fake GBA games at a certain large second-hand retailer, I’m guessing even staff don’t know how to spot them at a glance, or aren’t using a screwdriver to open the carts where it becomes more obvious.
It’s actually fairly straightforward to spot a real GBA game from the outside:
-older titles had a more matte finish to their labels, while almost all the fakes have glossy labels
-all real GBA carts have a two digit imprint in the sticker, or two two-digit imprints if they are a revision (some games had reprints without battery back-up saves)
-the shape of the front sticker should match the shape of the space in the cartridge to hold it. Fake stickers have sides which are too curvy.
Still, following this process isn’t foolproof - I bought a boxed copy of Advance Guardian Heroes due to the photos of the cartridge showing all the signs of legitimacy. But upon receiving it it was clear that the box was an obvious fake - far too glossy and with poorly focused printwork, despite the manual being genuine, and the cartridge itself (I opened it up to double-check after having doubts from the box).
After asking the seller, who bought a copy at a retailer while working there, it appears the game might have been sold in its display case, which remains a common practice even today, but I have to question why they’d go through the effort of reproducing these boxes.
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There was a time when Electronics Boutique would get some extra boxes for pre-order shelf space that were definite copies of originals or even incomplete versions. This definitely happened in the GBA era.
My guess is the original box was lost or damaged and the one you got was stuck with one of those.
Lately I’ve taken to shopping at local stores where the prices are not any better than eBay, but at least they’ll let you open carts to examine them and have a two week return policy for any reason.
I don’t buy very many old games anymore - maybe like 5-6 per year - but when it’s a cart based game that’s prone to piracy (eg GBA, SNES,and N64), I prefer to grab it that way as of late.
It’s can be worth the extra expense especially if it’s something rare like Earthbound.
I enjoy shopping at the local stores. You definitely have to be wary now of any carts you’re buying. For the most part, 25 years of wear is enough that you can tell immediately if something is a fake or not. It’s still worth opening things up to be sure though if they let you.
The thing is, you really can do better via Japan for a lot of stuff these days. Find sellers you’re comfortable with and all should be well. US sellers are definitely harder to trust depending on the game. 
Yeah, I too like to shop at local stores. It can be a bit pricier but at least they allow you to inspect the item. Buying online from Japan is fine but some sellers are being sneaky on ebay.
Currently at an expo where a game stall was selling a PAL copy of “The Firemen”, asked the guy if we could test it and he said no problem. So we got an SNES out and booted it up… Turned out to be “Kevin Keegan’s Player Manager” probably worth £1. The guy was apologetic and said he paid a lot for it (alongside other games as part of a bundle) from a Cash Converters. Guess he didn’t bother to check if the game was legit. Told him I’m glad that someone didn’t genuinely buy it and he proceeded to hide the game from display. It surprised me to see the game at this event and the front half of the cartridge had a legit label… Or probably a decent repro label. Oh well…Now I have zero faith in buying rare games from expos and conventions 
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I almost bought a PSP3000 recently, only to stop at the latest minute because “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”
I noticed that the repro box had some bad font spacing compared to a real device. If the box is fake I really don’t know what might have been inside it?
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Which expo?
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