What is the best Gameboy option to buy

[Tanooki]

Newsdee: If they could remodel the GB Boy Color, make it obvious it was a new one where it didn't drain the battery in days (hours?) even when turned off due to a design defect I'd still own it. I didn't care if it was 1:1 pixel, it was very close, the screen was pretty and popped nicely and the audio was pretty clean too. It got the job done in a world where people want to ask asinine sums of money for a front lit hacked up original GBC.

 

 

I've known of the GB Light since the 90s because of online stuff. I had been probably a 15 year desire or so, and last year some American on facebook popped it up on there for sale and I was the first to the draw on it. I think I paid around $80 shipped for it, and aside from like 2 teeny little spots on the battery ribbing in the back it's spotless. I paid what a fairly scratched up one will go for, in that shape it's worth like double I paid. I keep it in this nice black leather GB pouch Nintendo made with their red logo embroidered on the front of it to keep it safe and so I can use it whenever I want near by in my desk. it's a really fantastic device, but I truly get why it didn't come here. The GBC was out within 6mo of its arrival, in Japan no less, and they still weren't quite on it with global launch dates for hardware until the GBA era. It would have arrived as the GBC showed up and it would have been slaughtered. Indiglo lighting vs COLOR, yeah that would not have gone over well.

 

 

And that $16 beat up GB, it seems like much, I wouldn't top 10 on it, but it depends on the end game there. If you're a modder who puts like dance club type attachment mods to it for chip tune/DJ jamming stuff, or you go nuts with the bivert and all the rest, or perhaps gut it and use it for a PI box you could sell something like that for $100+ easy so there's a margin of value there. Even if it wasn't for sale on the back end, but personal, perhaps even more since overhead is less of a concern vs paying some troll on ebay top dollar.

[0078265317]

Newsdee: If they could remodel the GB Boy Color, make it obvious it was a new one where it didn't drain the battery in days (hours?) even when turned off due to a design defect I'd still own it.

 

 

I have a color and have never heard of this before. I just take out the batteries when not in use.

[0078265317]

This looks good shape also.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Game-Boy-Light-Gold-Console-Nintendo-MGB-101-from-Japan-Free-Shipping/362538430949?epid=112256921&hash=item5468f971e5:g:RFQAAOSwn4ZcRYvV&redirect=mobile

Edited January 21, 2019 by 0078265317

[godslabrat]

 

 

I have a color and have never heard of this before. I just take out the batteries when not in use.

1). He's not talking about the Nintendo Game Boy Color. He's talking about a clone, the GB Boy Color.

 

2) Any design that requires you to remove the batteries to prevent discharge is bad.

[0078265317]

Or this looks good. To bad there is no sd slot.

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/retro-bit-go-retro-portable-blue-black-gray/6278205.p?skuId=6278205

Edited January 22, 2019 by 0078265317

[0078265317]

Of this looks good too.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GB-Station-Mini-Retro-Handheld-Video-Game-Console-50-Games-Portable-Game-Player/163192033809?_trkparms=aid=555018&algo=PL.SIM&ao=1&asc=20131003132420&meid=089d5eaf6dd6466499be480b0d771ffe&pid=100005&rk=4&rkt=12&sd=113279309099&itm=163192033809&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&redirect=mobile

[CatPix]

1). He's not talking about the Nintendo Game Boy Color. He's talking about a clone, the GB Boy Color.

 

2) Any design that requires you to remove the batteries to prevent discharge is bad.

There must be different makers of the GB Boy Colour then.

I have one, it does have the various issues pointed out : incorrect ratio (but really, hardly noticeable, and for me, the backlit and crisp screen they use is a good tradeoff) issue with one channel player from the speaker (but correct stereo sound from the earphones).

But I have left it several weeks with the same set of batteries in them and they still last. I'm even amazed as how long I played with it with the same set of batteries. I'm even under the impression that it last longer than in a real GB Color, but that might be because I play less with the original since you have to stay under a light to play, so I play shorter sessions.

[godslabrat]

It's pretty common for clone systems to vary widely in quality, even within the same manufacturer. It's just a matter of what batch they come out of. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case for the Gbbc.

[Tanooki]

I think you're both right. I think I said in the earlier post I know the thing can have this happen but not on all so it's a crap shoot which you get, like if there was a redesign but they didn't bother to mark it so you would know. The GB Boy Color was on the market for a few years, then it got pulled if you remember where people tried to find them and the price went from the old low of like $20-30 and shot up like double that for a time. The Chinese maker then re-issued the thing and has sold it since, but they use the same shells, same stickers, same boxes. It's a crap shoot, and my guess is I had an original model that I picked up, and maybe his copy up there since he doesn't do it is from the newer run. That or for all I know they flip flopped and the older one didn't have the problem. I've never been able to figure it out as I'd love to have one of them back again as it works great to light up GBC games and playing them basically as intended in that plastic mold format as they just don't look/feel as right in that GBC mode on GBA.

 

If someone could show me an obvious tell in the handheld like a unique color or box tell that says this GB Boy Color will not eat my batteries to death as if I had just left it on until they were drained, I'd buy it again. I'm not a huge fan of clone systems, but it's beyond accurate enough to not be painful to use for GBC games or GB for that matter either. I'd buy it again if I knew my batteries would last me as long as it took me to drain it turned on alone.

[deepthaw]

You no longer need to gut an AGS-101 to get a screen for GBA backlight mods; AliExpress has begun selling compatible screens.

 

But the price on *those* has gone up since I last checked, so I assume the AGS-101 has gone up as well.

[deepthaw]

Quick rundown of the lighting mods available for Gameboys:

 

Gameboy - backlight mod available.

Gameboy Pocket - backlight mod available.

Gameboy Light - no backlight mod needed.

Gameboy Color - Frontlight and backlight mods available, backlight mod still clunky and hacky (I think you use an AGS-101 screen and have to cut up the case to make it fit.)

Gameboy Advance - Frontlight and backlight mods available (backlight involves retrofitting AGS-101 GBA SP screen.) Very popular to mod because they're cheap, plentiful, and many people prefer its form factor over the SP.

Gameboy Advance SP AGS-001 - the original frontlit version.

Gameboy Advance SP AGS-101 - "brighter" version with backlit screen. Mainly used as source for screens for GBA mod.

_{^{Gameboy Micro - totally cute and small but nobody mods them. Backlit but only plays GBA games.}}

Nintendo DS: Some people literally cut these in half and turn them into a "Gameboy Macro." I'm not kidding. Basically a second way to get a backlit GBA with the horizontal form factor. (But it won't do original GB games so it's getting away from what we want...)

Edited January 22, 2019 by deepthaw

[Tanooki]

Yeah it's a known, they're pretty close in quality, just a little darker but it's nothing compared to the original vs the front lit mess. I think you can bag them for around $40, and a 101 SP can be that much on its own if it's in pretty jacked up shape, twice that easily for a nice one, and if you get into strange mods the you could see 100 easy enough.

 

Good run down on your lit screen choices for all form of things Gameboy. The only one that really hasn't been tweaked like you said is the micro, at least on a global scale, but also the GB Light needs none considering it does what it does so well with that sharp GBP style screen. The GB Macro is insane I remember the early ones just being snapped off, then people started getting creative if they were familiar with using bondo and auto body paint to round off and shine up the plastic in a coat of paint that truly lasts. The only downer really is that you can't gut the DS factor out, so you kind of get stuck with the menu or skip it mostly by just running the boot direct to GBA bypass from its own OS menu. It's a really nice choice if you don't care about 8bit gameboy that's for certain, at least from a comfort aspect. The most reasonable in the end is buying the after market 101 panel (or finding a broken 101 with a working LCD) and dumping it into a cheap GBA. Comfy controller like comfort, off the shelf batteries, runs all 3 systems. The 101 job can be done for $50 on your own, if you have the handheld already for the chopping. That's why if you find someone else who does them they often sell for like 90 and up for the margin on it.

[Newsdee]

I never noticed a battery drain issue with my GB Boy Color. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe it's because I use some high capacity rechargeable batteries. And when I don't use a device for a while, I have the habit of removing batteries.

 

In any case back when I got it, the price was really cheap and it exceeded my expectations. If money is no object my vote is on the GBA modded with the AGS101 screen, but as a much cheaper alternative I think the GB Boy works well enough.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Newsdee

[Austin]

I'm not sure about the short term. Usually I would play my GB Boy for a couple of hours at best, then it would go in a bag for about two months before firing it up again. In those cases the batteries would be dead and/or die shortly after powering it up again.

[Cynicaster]

I've got an original brick and an original GBA SP. The brick is comfortable to hold, but the screen is tough on the eyes in a world where I've become accustomed to bright, high-contrast displays on everything. I keep it mostly just as a nostalgia piece that maybe I'll show my daughter when she's old enough.

 

The SP is OK... screen looks nice enough for me, but I feel like it was designed with toddler-sized hands in mind. If I'm playing any game that requires rapid button pressing, it's useless because the screen shakes and I can't see what I'm doing.

 

Probably my biggest gripe with the SP is the fact it doesn't have a headphone jack. This is a completely ridiculous omission on a handheld gaming device. The only person who can even see the game is the person holding the device, so why would anybody else want/need to hear the noise? It boggles the mind...

 

For a long time I've been meaning to offload the SP and find an original GBA... this thread is motivating me to get on it.

[deepthaw]

I've got an original brick and an original GBA SP. The brick is comfortable to hold, but the screen is tough on the eyes in a world where I've become accustomed to bright, high-contrast displays on everything. I keep it mostly just as a nostalgia piece that maybe I'll show my daughter when she's old enough.

 

The SP is OK... screen looks nice enough for me, but I feel like it was designed with toddler-sized hands in mind. If I'm playing any game that requires rapid button pressing, it's useless because the screen shakes and I can't see what I'm doing.

 

Probably my biggest gripe with the SP is the fact it doesn't have a headphone jack. This is a completely ridiculous omission on a handheld gaming device. The only person who can even see the game is the person holding the device, so why would anybody else want/need to hear the noise? It boggles the mind...

 

For a long time I've been meaning to offload the SP and find an original GBA... this thread is motivating me to get on it.

 

If the SP is backlit (model number on the back has 101 in it) keep it. Original GBA has an even worse screen than the old brick of an original GB, but the 101 screen can be transplanted into it with a bit of work to give you the best screen and best form factor in one.

[Tanooki]

I'm not sure about the short term. Usually I would play my GB Boy for a couple of hours at best, then it would go in a bag for about two months before firing it up again. In those cases the batteries would be dead and/or die shortly after powering it up again.

That's exactly what I'm talking about right there. I keep seeing two stories which makes me wonder if we had an older model from the original run, and when they reissued selling them again a couple years back they fixed it. I wish there was some hard evidence to point out which are the crap ones from the good ones as I'd buy it again.