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Four inches of awesome: Let us love the Game Boy Micro
Lunker
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
First off, some porn:
With that out of the way: I figured this might be more pertinent now since the DSi has finally severed the Lord of DS's ties with the House of Game Boy. We all knew it was coming, but the prospect that this might be the last generation of devices that plays GBA games is frightening to a lot of people. Allow me to console you with the notion of picking up one of these glorious devices: The Game Boy Micro.
Mocked mercilessly when it was unveiled at E3 for the questionable price of $100 (when the GBA SP could still be had readily for $80), it failed to meet Nintendo's general sales expectations and was clearanced out by a lot of retailers by mid- to late 2006. The chances of finding one new in-store nowadays is exceedingly rare, so eBay and secondhand sites are your best bet. I've routinely seen for $50-$60-ish new in U.S. eBay listings.
The Micro's biggest strength is its inherent lack of bigness: This shit be tiny. We're talking the same height as a standard business card and only a half-inch longer, and about the thickness of a 5G iPod classic. You can throw this in your pocket along with your keys and cell phone with no fuss—hell, stick a loop on it and you'd have a Fire Emblem and WarioWare–playing key ring. It goes with me a lot of places where I normally wouldn't schlep my DS or PSP; I've never complained about waiting for my wife in the dressing room since getting a Micro!
The backlit screen is smaller than the regular GBA but has the same resolution—which means super-crisp, ultra-clean pixels. The brightness can be adjusted on the fly with five different levels of strength, much like the DSi can now. It's also small and cheap enough that I don't really freak out over scratches or dents, but if you're particular about your screens, it's also the only GBA model that has removable faceplates, and the outer screen is actually attached to the faceplate. Most new Micros come with a few extra plates, and most look cheesy but there are ways to trick them out on your own.
It's also, IIRC, the only GBA device that has the crazy advanced technological power to actually have a headphone port built in! We are living in the future, people. [edit: The original GBA apparently had one, never mind!]
I don't have an exceedingly large GBA library, but the titles that I do have tailor exceedingly well to the Micro—particularly WarioWare Twisted, which never played well on the larger DS but sings when you can spin and flip the teeny-tiny Micro, and the Fire Emblems, which looks even more beautiful with razor-sharp pixels. The BitGeneration games were also developed with the Micro in mind, if I'm not mistaken.
Anyway, I just picked up Rhythm Tengoku GBA and fell in love with my Micro all over again. It didn't get a lot of use after I bought a DS Lite, but now that mine is retired and the DSi lopped off the port, it's given me an excuse to give the Micro a spin and I'm reminded of how portable and fun the device really is. Who else loves their four-inch wonder? :winky:
With that out of the way: I figured this might be more pertinent now since the DSi has finally severed the Lord of DS's ties with the House of Game Boy. We all knew it was coming, but the prospect that this might be the last generation of devices that plays GBA games is frightening to a lot of people. Allow me to console you with the notion of picking up one of these glorious devices: The Game Boy Micro.
Specs wrote:* Dimensions: 50×101×17.2 millimeters (2×4×0.7 in)
* Weight: 80 grams (2.8 ounces)
* Processor: 32-bit 16.8 MHz ARM processor (ARM7TDMI)
* Colors: various
* Screen: 51 mm / 2 inches (compared to 74 mm / 2.9 in. for the GBA), backlight with adjustable brightness.
* Resolution: 240×160 pixels
* Battery: built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, up to 5 hours of battery life with top brightness and sound or 8 hours with both features on default
* Headphones: standard 3.5mm headphone jack
The Game Boy Micro has a two-way switch on its right side for adjusting volume up or down. By holding down the L shoulder button, the switch can also be used to adjust the backlight between five levels of brightness.
Mocked mercilessly when it was unveiled at E3 for the questionable price of $100 (when the GBA SP could still be had readily for $80), it failed to meet Nintendo's general sales expectations and was clearanced out by a lot of retailers by mid- to late 2006. The chances of finding one new in-store nowadays is exceedingly rare, so eBay and secondhand sites are your best bet. I've routinely seen for $50-$60-ish new in U.S. eBay listings.
The Micro's biggest strength is its inherent lack of bigness: This shit be tiny. We're talking the same height as a standard business card and only a half-inch longer, and about the thickness of a 5G iPod classic. You can throw this in your pocket along with your keys and cell phone with no fuss—hell, stick a loop on it and you'd have a Fire Emblem and WarioWare–playing key ring. It goes with me a lot of places where I normally wouldn't schlep my DS or PSP; I've never complained about waiting for my wife in the dressing room since getting a Micro!
The backlit screen is smaller than the regular GBA but has the same resolution—which means super-crisp, ultra-clean pixels. The brightness can be adjusted on the fly with five different levels of strength, much like the DSi can now. It's also small and cheap enough that I don't really freak out over scratches or dents, but if you're particular about your screens, it's also the only GBA model that has removable faceplates, and the outer screen is actually attached to the faceplate. Most new Micros come with a few extra plates, and most look cheesy but there are ways to trick them out on your own.
It's also, IIRC, the only GBA device that has the crazy advanced technological power to actually have a headphone port built in! We are living in the future, people. [edit: The original GBA apparently had one, never mind!]
I don't have an exceedingly large GBA library, but the titles that I do have tailor exceedingly well to the Micro—particularly WarioWare Twisted, which never played well on the larger DS but sings when you can spin and flip the teeny-tiny Micro, and the Fire Emblems, which looks even more beautiful with razor-sharp pixels. The BitGeneration games were also developed with the Micro in mind, if I'm not mistaken.
Anyway, I just picked up Rhythm Tengoku GBA and fell in love with my Micro all over again. It didn't get a lot of use after I bought a DS Lite, but now that mine is retired and the DSi lopped off the port, it's given me an excuse to give the Micro a spin and I'm reminded of how portable and fun the device really is. Who else loves their four-inch wonder? :winky:
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The original GBA has a headphone jack. At least mine does.
edit: oh hey beaten
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
They were just so damn easy to take literally anywhere, and even pockets that the SP couldn't fit in the Micro could.
I'm not too sure where my one is, I'll try to dig it up.
Do you have a pet? Maybe it was eaten.
XBL - Follow Freeman
Uh... they did....
Had one of those sitting at the gamestop I work at for months and months.
The Pipe Vault|Twitter|Steam|Backloggery|3DS:1332-7703-1083
Personally I have two. A Silver model with the black faceplate, and a Famicom model I imported when Play-Asia clearanced them.
The Famicom model has never left it's box, however.
I have the silver one in a nice little case but unfortunately the flap uses velcro so it's on it's way out.
Edit: I also have a NES SP mint-in-box.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I thought my cat was unusually rectangular this morning.
EDIT: Shiiiiit, I wanted one of the NES SP's so damn bad, but never got around to it.
Incidentally: any GBA games worth playing? If I have one I might as well use it.
When they came out, I bought two. The first I played as it was replacing my original model GBA. A few months after I got the original DS, I sold it.
But the second one stays sealed in it's box.
Lower Right.
Edit: In some ways I regret selling the first one, because it was a really neat little system and I kinda miss it. But it was also redundant.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
My rage is like the heat of a thousand burning original Gameboys.
I'd gladly take it off your meathooks...
No, I sold it a long time ago when I got my original DS.
I actually have one of the GBA SPs that a friend gave to me, but I don't use it much; the backlight is all washed out and dim, and at that point I had both a DS Phat and a GBM, so the Micro was my device of choice for the few GBA games I own.
i want it so, so, so bad though. I have a soft spot (or a hard spot, I guess) for the GBM.
That drawer is like pure awesome there. Not only is there a unopened NES GBA SP, but the unopened Famicom Micro is right behind it, and my original Arctic GBA is below that. One of these days I need to get a new battery door and screen cover for the GBA, I'd like to have it in decent condition for future generations.
Oh and JPN copies of the original Wario Ware, Inc. & Super Mario Advance (SMB2US) are in there as well.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I swear to God, I will find you, kill you, and take all your belongings.
Poor time to post this?
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
3DS FC: 5343-7720-0490
To Sir/Madam Maximiumzero
As per the will of Biosys, you will find inclosed within this letter:
a) a giant bomb
This was reported to be his last wish, before he exploded into a thousand nerdrage particles.
Yours sincerely,
George Reallfuckingangry esq.
He will find a video game website?
Play-Asia.
Though I've seen them in different colors and in larger sizes (About 3 times the size of this one.) in a local game store/import shop.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I have like 7. and 2 of them are metroid games. And 2 are pokemon.
The Pipe Vault|Twitter|Steam|Backloggery|3DS:1332-7703-1083
Oh you.
My K.K. Slider
needs a pal.
3DS FC: 5343-7720-0490
XBL |Steam | PSN | last.fm
I was thinking of selling it the other day, it's so cool and tiny but I never use the damn thing anymore.
I will buy it.
I can pay
in kisses.