The backlighting on the SP seemed to wash out the colors a little too much for me. One of my favorite handhelds was the Game Boy Pocket, that sexy black and white display.
The Wonderswan had anywhere from 15 to 30+ hours of battery life. From 1 AA battery.
If I could understand Japanese or was willing to pay the ludicrous prices for the few really good games, I'd break this thing out all the time. Gunpey and the Digimon Smash Bros. game are fun, at least.
Everyone remembers the Game Gear. It's the Nomad no one remembers.
Was only released in the USA and was literally just a portable Genesis/Mega Drive.
That's why it was precisely what I wanted when I was in the market for a Genesis and had no portable system.
But it wound up costing way too damn much, so I bought a Genesis 2 bundled with a six-button controller and Sonic 3 & Knuckles along with Garfield instead.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
I had numerous chances to buya Nomad , but was pumping money into the PS and GB at the time. Plus the thought of having to buy Genesis games put it out of my mind.
Now the Lynx was a handheld that nobody remembers.
Speaking of memories, does anybody remember modding their GBA to have backlight? Man it makes me marvel at playing the 3DS these days.
Man, you want to talk about low battery life. I had one of these (and I actually really liked it!) but it was practically NOT portable because of the power draw. I had what amounts to a small backpack to carry it around since you had to bring the ac adapter along with you. Wish I still had it though, it did some really cool things especially for that time frame. Todd's Adventure in Slime World could be played multiplayer if by some miracle you knew another Lynx owner, and I've been pining for a multi SNES style Metroid ever since.
The game boy that no one ever remembers is the game boy light. Japan only model, it was basically the game boy pocket, with a backlight. People always think that it was the GBASP that was first with a built in light but the Game Boy Light had it years before, just that very few people outside of Japan ever saw one.
I remember reading about and seeing pictures of the GB Light. But you're right, I had forgotten it existed until you brought it up.
Just pulled out my Classic NES Edition SP. I'm not sure the last time I plugged it into a charger, but it definitely wasn't anytime this year. Came on with a green light.
The backlighting on the SP seemed to wash out the colors a little too much for me. One of my favorite handhelds was the Game Boy Pocket, that sexy black and white display.
What I did like about the SP, was that you could easily play it in sunlight with the frontlight off, but still had the light available when you needed it. Back in those days, I used to get around by bus, so all my handheld gaming was outside or by the window on the bus. The DS was awful playing outdoors since it was no longer reflective and it's backlight was too dim for outdoor use. Later models increased the brightness, but of course that just eats your battery faster.
Talking about batteries,
My 3DS XL got a puffy battery and it lasted for like 30 minutes use.
I bought a chinese battery and it still lasts for, like 20, 30 minutes tops, no matter how long it charges, no matter what kind of usage. It's all exactly like the original busted battery.
Is there a chance the 3DS itself got something broken in it? Or is it just that the new battery is shit?
(Also if anyone here wants to sell me a New 3DS XL pm me)
Talking about batteries,
My 3DS XL got a puffy battery and it lasted for like 30 minutes use.
I bought a chinese battery and it still lasts for, like 20, 30 minutes tops, no matter how long it charges, no matter what kind of usage. It's all exactly like the original busted battery.
Is there a chance the 3DS itself got something broken in it? Or is it just that the new battery is shit?
(Also if anyone here wants to sell me a New 3DS XL pm me)
you bought a chinese battery. those are always going to be tossups as to whether or not they'll be any good.
I can't go back to the old handhelds. I don't know how I ever put up with them, because I look at them now, and their screens are nigh unplayable. The SP with the light on, the screen is so washed out. Even the OG DS screen looks bad now. Every new handheld has improved the screen just enough to make the previous one nigh unplayable. I can only go as far back to the DS lite, which even today still looks bright and crisp. I'm worried about my system though. It's a launch unit, it has a very discernable crack on the left hinge, and every time I open it up, I can catch the top screen become completely garbled for a moment. It's my last remaining handheld that can play GBA cartridges outside of a Gamecube w/player, so I'm basically treating the thing like it has brittle bone disease every time I touch it.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
I would love another single screen clamshell portable. Without having to leave room for a second screen on the bottom half, they can make the whole thing smaller without sacrificing screen size on the top half. I'm basically imagine the SP, but just a little bit wider.
I can't go back to the old handhelds. I don't know how I ever put up with them, because I look at them now, and their screens are nigh unplayable. The SP with the light on, the screen is so washed out. Even the OG DS screen looks bad now. Every new handheld has improved the screen just enough to make the previous one nigh unplayable. I can only go as far back to the DS lite, which even today still looks bright and crisp. I'm worried about my system though. It's a launch unit, it has a very discernable crack on the left hinge, and every time I open it up, I can catch the top screen become completely garbled for a moment. It's my last remaining handheld that can play GBA cartridges outside of a Gamecube w/player, so I'm basically treating the thing like it has brittle bone disease every time I touch it.
Yeah, the og DS is super ugly and has a terrible, terrible screen.
Also, my DSL got a huge area of dead pixels on the top screen. At least I can still play GBA games on the lower screen.
the trick for the GBA SP is to find a model that has a backlit screen. Very late in the life of the gameboy (I believe this happened after the Micro), Nintendo put out a different version of the SP that actually had a proper backlit screen, not the frontlight of the original model. i'd love to see one of those in person, I remember reading that the screen quality was way better than the original SP.
I tried searching for one of those for a while, but anyone who knows what the proper color/model number is of the GBA they're selling also knows to overprice it. I only have my original DS to play my handful of GBA games on.
Anyone have any experience with the 2ds? I'm in the market for some kind of gaming handheld but my budget is pretty tight. The reviews I've read have basically said it's fine if a little cheap feeling, but first hand impressions are always helpful.
Anyone have any experience with the 2ds? I'm in the market for some kind of gaming handheld but my budget is pretty tight. The reviews I've read have basically said it's fine if a little cheap feeling, but first hand impressions are always helpful.
I love mine. The screen is small and definitely not the same quality as the 3DS, but I absolutely love the way it fits my hands. I find it more comfortable overall than the clamshell handhelds. It doesn't really feel "cheap" to me. Maybe the shoulder buttons, but I haven't had any problems with them. Feels about the same as any other piece of Nintendo Hardware.
Switch Friend Code: SW-4598-4278-8875
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
I still, to this day, feel like the GBA SP was the best console I have ever owned.
It was certainly a very physically impressive bit of hardware for the time, especially as compared to the vanilla GBA.
Actually pocket sized.
Clamshell to protect screen.
Backlit.
Integral battery that didn't quit.
I was more than a bit in love with mine.
I had a GBA and I remember my little brother and sister really wanting the SP, and my Dad asked if I wanted one too (for Xmas). The GBA was the first console I paid for myself so I was really proud of it, and for some reason scoffed at getting an SP. Well he got me one anyways, and I turned it on just to mess with it and immediately fell in love. I never knew having a backlight would be a game changer!
The only reason I even keep my DS Lite around is to play GBA games. The DSi does a better job otherwise.
In regards to bad screens I recently dug out my original White GBA and sold it and you're absolutely right...I have no idea how I managed to play that thing for three years.
Anyone have any experience with the 2ds? I'm in the market for some kind of gaming handheld but my budget is pretty tight. The reviews I've read have basically said it's fine if a little cheap feeling, but first hand impressions are always helpful.
My friend has it and enjoys it. I've spent a couple minutes with it and it seems comfortable to hold, the screen size is fine (note: I like the regular 3DS, not the 3DSXL, so smaller screens are good for me), construction feels solid. If I was in the market for a new console, I would definitely consider it.
Anyone have any experience with the 2ds? I'm in the market for some kind of gaming handheld but my budget is pretty tight. The reviews I've read have basically said it's fine if a little cheap feeling, but first hand impressions are always helpful.
If money is an issue, 2DS is a fine unit. Only downside is you don't get certain games from a very limited list (SNES Virtual Console, Xenoblade Chronicles, Hyrule Warriors). But you can get everything else and play it well.
The Wonderswan had anywhere from 15 to 30+ hours of battery life. From 1 AA battery.
If I could understand Japanese or was willing to pay the ludicrous prices for the few really good games, I'd break this thing out all the time. Gunpey and the Digimon Smash Bros. game are fun, at least.
I still find it bonkers that you could get it at one of the BXs in 29 Palms
I can't go back to the old handhelds. I don't know how I ever put up with them, because I look at them now, and their screens are nigh unplayable. The SP with the light on, the screen is so washed out. Even the OG DS screen looks bad now. Every new handheld has improved the screen just enough to make the previous one nigh unplayable. I can only go as far back to the DS lite, which even today still looks bright and crisp.
I feel you on this. Every Nintendo handheld I get - within the same generation - makes me wonder how I put up with the deficiencies of the previous one. The DS to DS Lite was a truly insane upgrade. I remember taking it back to my house, sitting on the floor, turning it on, and wondering how the hell I could even see the screen on the original DS.
I'm given to understand the micro model of the Advance is really good, but that was made AFTER the DS was launched and good luck with that?
yea the Micro came out after the DS. The Micro was an odd product, the screen was hilariously tiny, but I kind of loved it. I played a number of GBA games on it, and for a long time it sat by my bed and i'd do a quick GP on Mario Kart super circuit before going to sleep most nights.
I actually grabbed the famicom model off of ebay before the prices of them went up because it looks fantastic.
If I could go back in time and tell myself to buy a Micro and just stick it in a drawer in case I ever need it, I probably would. The reason I never did was because it came out right around the time I was starting to question my buying habits on the subject, and the whole "Nintendo = buying the same things over and over again". "As neat as this thing is... do I really need another device that plays GBA games?".
Turns out yes. Yes I do.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
I'm given to understand the micro model of the Advance is really good, but that was made AFTER the DS was launched and good luck with that?
yea the Micro came out after the DS. The Micro was an odd product, the screen was hilariously tiny, but I kind of loved it. I played a number of GBA games on it, and for a long time it sat by my bed and i'd do a quick GP on Mario Kart super circuit before going to sleep most nights.
I actually grabbed the famicom model off of ebay before the prices of them went up because it looks fantastic.
I have a Famicom Micro but I'm afraid to use the damn thing lest the unreplacable faceplate get scratched.
I've been trying to sweet talk my aunt into gifting/selling me her Famicom GBA Micro that's been gathering dust in a box for years, but no dice yet. A former roommate had one when I was just out of college and I played through all of Zero Mission on it. The thing's clarity for being so small was incredible, and the buttons were the non clicky ones like on the DSlite that I loved. One of my biggest gaming regrets is not getting one myself when I had the chance.
the Micro's screen looked so good because it was well backlit, and hilairously because the screen was so small, the pixel density was a lot higher so the games actually looked a lot better.... if you could see them because the screen was so tiny.
The Micro was actually the first Game Boy ever released with a backlit screen. The GBA SP model with the backlit screen was actually released after the Micro.
Nintendo did a lot of odd things at the end of the Game Boy's life.
You've gotta remember, they were trying so hard to convince investors that they weren't ditching the super lucrative GameBoy brand name in favor of the DS that they seemed to have actually convinced themselves that they weren't going to ditch it. And released the GBA Micro, which might be as close to being a new GBA system as you could get without actually making a new system.
Yeah, forget that tiny NES; if Nintendo released a GBA Micro with the 3DS ambassador games built in (and maybe a Final Fantasy for good measure), I would be all over that.
Posts
If I could understand Japanese or was willing to pay the ludicrous prices for the few really good games, I'd break this thing out all the time. Gunpey and the Digimon Smash Bros. game are fun, at least.
That's why it was precisely what I wanted when I was in the market for a Genesis and had no portable system.
But it wound up costing way too damn much, so I bought a Genesis 2 bundled with a six-button controller and Sonic 3 & Knuckles along with Garfield instead.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
Man, you want to talk about low battery life. I had one of these (and I actually really liked it!) but it was practically NOT portable because of the power draw. I had what amounts to a small backpack to carry it around since you had to bring the ac adapter along with you. Wish I still had it though, it did some really cool things especially for that time frame. Todd's Adventure in Slime World could be played multiplayer if by some miracle you knew another Lynx owner, and I've been pining for a multi SNES style Metroid ever since.
Picture is a link because it's a tad big. http://s.cdaction.pl/obrazki//gb-light_177f2.jpg
Just pulled out my Classic NES Edition SP. I'm not sure the last time I plugged it into a charger, but it definitely wasn't anytime this year. Came on with a green light.
What I did like about the SP, was that you could easily play it in sunlight with the frontlight off, but still had the light available when you needed it. Back in those days, I used to get around by bus, so all my handheld gaming was outside or by the window on the bus. The DS was awful playing outdoors since it was no longer reflective and it's backlight was too dim for outdoor use. Later models increased the brightness, but of course that just eats your battery faster.
My 3DS XL got a puffy battery and it lasted for like 30 minutes use.
I bought a chinese battery and it still lasts for, like 20, 30 minutes tops, no matter how long it charges, no matter what kind of usage. It's all exactly like the original busted battery.
Is there a chance the 3DS itself got something broken in it? Or is it just that the new battery is shit?
(Also if anyone here wants to sell me a New 3DS XL pm me)
you bought a chinese battery. those are always going to be tossups as to whether or not they'll be any good.
Then there was this thing that made it even exponentially more amazing.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Yeah, the og DS is super ugly and has a terrible, terrible screen.
Also, my DSL got a huge area of dead pixels on the top screen. At least I can still play GBA games on the lower screen.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
I love mine. The screen is small and definitely not the same quality as the 3DS, but I absolutely love the way it fits my hands. I find it more comfortable overall than the clamshell handhelds. It doesn't really feel "cheap" to me. Maybe the shoulder buttons, but I haven't had any problems with them. Feels about the same as any other piece of Nintendo Hardware.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
I had a GBA and I remember my little brother and sister really wanting the SP, and my Dad asked if I wanted one too (for Xmas). The GBA was the first console I paid for myself so I was really proud of it, and for some reason scoffed at getting an SP. Well he got me one anyways, and I turned it on just to mess with it and immediately fell in love. I never knew having a backlight would be a game changer!
PSN - CardboardNine
http://gonintendo.com/stories/262379-the-snack-world-looking-likely-for-localization
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
In regards to bad screens I recently dug out my original White GBA and sold it and you're absolutely right...I have no idea how I managed to play that thing for three years.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
My friend has it and enjoys it. I've spent a couple minutes with it and it seems comfortable to hold, the screen size is fine (note: I like the regular 3DS, not the 3DSXL, so smaller screens are good for me), construction feels solid. If I was in the market for a new console, I would definitely consider it.
Let's Plays of Japanese Games
If money is an issue, 2DS is a fine unit. Only downside is you don't get certain games from a very limited list (SNES Virtual Console, Xenoblade Chronicles, Hyrule Warriors). But you can get everything else and play it well.
I haven't owned a Nintendo handheld since the Gameboy Advance SP, so this should be fun.
I still find it bonkers that you could get it at one of the BXs in 29 Palms
And yet Fantasy Life 2 was relegated to mobile hell.
Reverse Nightmare Colors!!
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
I feel you on this. Every Nintendo handheld I get - within the same generation - makes me wonder how I put up with the deficiencies of the previous one. The DS to DS Lite was a truly insane upgrade. I remember taking it back to my house, sitting on the floor, turning it on, and wondering how the hell I could even see the screen on the original DS.
You're going to have a lot of fun!
yea the Micro came out after the DS. The Micro was an odd product, the screen was hilariously tiny, but I kind of loved it. I played a number of GBA games on it, and for a long time it sat by my bed and i'd do a quick GP on Mario Kart super circuit before going to sleep most nights.
I actually grabbed the famicom model off of ebay before the prices of them went up because it looks fantastic.
Turns out yes. Yes I do.
I have a Famicom Micro but I'm afraid to use the damn thing lest the unreplacable faceplate get scratched.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
The Micro was actually the first Game Boy ever released with a backlit screen. The GBA SP model with the backlit screen was actually released after the Micro.
Nintendo did a lot of odd things at the end of the Game Boy's life.
Let's Plays of Japanese Games
Let's Plays of Japanese Games
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595