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GB/GBC/GBA Collecting Thread


From what I understand, the cases are decent, but can't close correctly if you have a GBA game inside without modifying the case a bit.
 

drizzle

Axel Hertz
If you are already looking for repros, why not get a flash cart and throw the latest/best fan translation on it?

I already tried to have this discussion on the SNES thread.

The answer you're looking for is "because people are crazy and have too much money"
 

Teknoman

Member
nobody? maybe i should dig up a reproduction thread...

It comes up pretty fast, but they go quickly as well. Also my reasoning (even though I only own a grand total of one repro, and thats Mother 3) is that I want an actual cartridge with the label.
 

IrishNinja

Member
If you are already looking for repros, why not get a flash cart and throw the latest/best fan translation on it?

The answer you're looking for is "because people are crazy and have too much money"

It comes up pretty fast, but they go quickly as well. Also my reasoning (even though I only own a grand total of one repro, and thats Mother 3) is that I want an actual cartridge with the label.

Tekno's got it - ive got Mother 2 on a shelf, and if i can find the english NES version of O with the easy/doable patch id prolly buy that as well. Mother 3 is one of the best JRPGs of all time, why wouldn't i want a spot for it?

also Tekno - do you mean it comes up & goes from that site, or where did you get yours? some guy on the nintendo age forums mentioned it but it looked stupid expensive in comparison
 

Downhome

Member
Are there ways to be pretty sure if a GBA game is authentic and not a bootleg? The one that leads me to even ask this question is Ninja Five-O.
 
Are there ways to be pretty sure if a GBA game is authentic and not a bootleg? The one that leads me to even ask this question is Ninja Five-O.

Check for an embossed number stamped on to the cartridge label. Compare the plastic to other carts you know are legit, they should be the same shade of dark gray. Make sure the back screw is a tri-wing screw. Check for copyright information.
 

IrishNinja

Member
see ninja five-oh is a perfect example, i'd pay a few bucks for a decent bootleg cause the legit one is stupid-expensive, and it's an awesome game
 

Grief.exe

Member
Playing some Superstar Saga before bed

R8eYlKG.jpg
 

Downhome

Member
I posted this in the GBM thread back in February, but since I may be more active in all things GBA soon I thought I'd post it here as well.

I found a GBM at my local Goodwill store for $15, complete with charger, case, and two games...crappy games, but games. I also discovered that I still had Gunstar Heroes and Minish Cap from back when I had my old GBA and everything. I have since started to seek out various GBA games that were some of my favorites in order to play on this GBM. I found the UK Kuru Kuru Kururin complete with the box and everything for like $10/shipped on eBay, that was the one I had to get first.

The second game I set out to find was likely my favorite GBA game that wasn't directly from Nintendo - Ninja Five-O. I'm well aware of the rarity of this game however. I ended up selling all of my GBA games when the DS stopped supporting them since I had already sold my normal GBA systems as I went along and when I could no longer play them, I sold them. I bought Ninja Five-O brand new myself, and it remained complete and in the box. I sold it for maybe $100 or less back then. As the years have gone by, I have continued to monitor the game, and have watched it go up, up, and up in value for the most part.

Just why is this game so rare? Is it known how many copies were ever produced?

Anyway, I started actively searching for it after I got this GBM, and I may have finally had some luck. Long story short and as long as it isn't a bootleg, I essentially paid $3 for a copy of the Ninja Five-O cartridge. It was in a lot of 13 other GBA games that I paid $40 for, another of which is also sorta rare I believe - Sabre Wulf. I never thought I would ever be able to own Ninja Five-O once again, so I feel incredibly lucky as long as it doesn't end up being a bootleg.

I may continue to try to track down other games I enjoyed back in the day, and maybe even try to find some of the other hard to find titles that I never got a chance to originally own in the first place. What are some other really rare, even if not "valuable", GBA games?

For now though, here are the pictures I took of my GBM back in February, complete with Goodwill's interesting description of it. I have since tested it, played it quite a bit (a lot of Kuru Kuru!), and it works just fine and holds a charge just perfectly. I never bought a GBM when it first came out, so this is my first experience with one.

XqZ174d.jpg


ZtDWPMH.jpg


qLOFhqo.jpg
 

Downhome

Member
Yeah, I got a pretty big kick out of that too. I walked into the store and they have two glass cases at checkout right up front and I noticed it as soon as I walked in. They had that white paper wrapping the entire case so that is all you could see. I just hoped that it was what I thought it was, asked to see it, and sure enough it was the GBM. I was in and out of the store in just a minute. Once I saw that, I checked out and left, lol.
 

Teknoman

Member
New craigslist/eBay search term acquired. Gonna grab those mislabeled postings!

Mission start! Good luck.



lol but seriously, another tip when looking for GBASP or Micro: Check those bags with toys on the wall in thrift stores or even bags with random cables and adapters. I got my GBA SP graphite back-lit for 3 bucks that way. Was in a bag of random McDonalds toys and a calculator.
 

Downhome

Member
Mission start! Good luck.



lol but seriously, another tip when looking for GBASP or Micro: Check those bags with toys on the wall in thrift stores or even bags with random cables and adapters. I got my GBA SP graphite back-lit for 3 bucks that way. Was in a bag of random McDonalds toys and a calculator.

You speak the truth on that one. Check the same things at yard sales and flea markets as well. Some people, a lot of people, just flat out don't care.
 

Grief.exe

Member
My GBA Light+ came in from Rose Colored Gaming today. I love it.

Too lazy to take a pic with my camera, so phone shots will have to do.


It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it.

That's sexy, did you get the glass screen as well?

Please break out your camera and show us a couple different games!
 

Gameboy415

Member
Could someone clue me in on the best Japan-only GB games? I have Picross 2, that's about all I know.

Picross 2 was one of the first games I tracked down when I lived in Japan. :)

Here's a few that I have/have played that are worth looking into:

Game Boy:

-Asmik-kun World 2 - sequel to Boomer's Adventure in Asmik World
-Beatmania GB - fun portable version of the music game (GBC black cart)
-Beatmania GB2: Gatcha Mix - sequel to ^ (GBC black cart)
-Chalvo 55 - prequel to the unreleased Virtual Boy game "Bound High"
-For Frog the Bell Tolls - an interesting precursor to Link's Awakening
-Genjin Collection - All 3 Bonk GB games on one cart - plus it comes in a cool tin case!
-X - a pretty amazing (for the hardware) first-person space shooter

GameBoyGamesJP.jpg



Game Boy Color:

-Beatmania GB: Gatcha Mix 2 - GBC-only sequel
-Mobile Golf - precursor to the Mario Golf series - it even came with a modem device that allowed you to share stats via a cellphone!
-Pokemon Card GB2 - Japan-only sequel to the Pokemon Trading Card Game
-Pop'n Music GB - portable version of my favorite music game :)
-Pop'n Music GB: Animation Medley - features songs from anime
-Pop'n Music GB: Disney Tunes - features songs from Disney movies
-Samurai Kid - fun 2D platformer

GBCGamesJP.jpg


There are quite a few Japan-only GBA games worth looking into as well.
Let me know if you'd like me to post some GBA recommendations!
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
There are quite a few Japan-only GBA games worth looking into as well.
Let me know if you'd like me to post some GBA recommendations!
Thanks for the great post! I'm actually only buying for my original GB, so no GBC/GBA for me...so For Whom The Frog Bell Tolls seems to be my next game to get, but I worry that getting the Japanese cart will just leave me lost when there's a nice translation out there now. Is it impossible to play without understanding it?
 

Teknoman

Member
Some GBA impressions would be cool, so yeah go for it. Samurai Kid for the GBC actually looks pretty fun, and seems import friendly too.
 

BriBri

Member
Thanks for the great post! I'm actually only buying for my original GB, so no GBC/GBA for me...so For Whom The Frog Bell Tolls seems to be my next game to get, but I worry that getting the Japanese cart will just leave me lost when there's a nice translation out there now. Is it impossible to play without understanding it?
I'm 3/4 of the way through. Gamefaqs helped here and there but it is quite self explanatory. Very Link's Awakening-y. Amazing music too.

Edit: and please add the GBA list Gameboy415!
 

Anth0ny

Member
My GBA Light+ came in from Rose Colored Gaming today. I love it.

Too lazy to take a pic with my camera, so phone shots will have to do.


It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it.

Fuck, I'm so close to picking one of these up. I love my Micro, but it doesn't play GB/C games. And I HATE the form factor of the GBA SP.

OG GBA just melts in your hands. So good.
 

drizzle

Axel Hertz
Rose Colored deals with official AGS-101 backlights. It's the same part in the 2005 and newer GBA SPs.

Damn, those are pretty nice. A little on the expensive side, but you can't blame them. Do they have to gut a GBA SP for each of those?

Aren't those like, super rare? The better backlit ones, I mean.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
So I just blind bought beatmania GB 1 and 2 for 28 bucks..
I'm planning to play on my gb light... Is the sound gonna be ok? The gbc doesn't have better sound hardware does it?
 
Damn, those are pretty nice. A little on the expensive side, but you can't blame them. Do they have to gut a GBA SP for each of those?

Aren't those like, super rare? The better backlit ones, I mean.

There are fewer of them in the wild, but I wouldn't consider them rare. You can deal with his RCG's supplier directly and get the backlight hardware much cheaper. Apparently it's not a difficult mod, so I'm going to go that route and install it myself.

So I just blind bought beatmania GB 1 and 2 for 28 bucks..
I'm planning to play on my gb light... Is the sound gonna be ok? The gbc doesn't have better sound hardware does it?
Over headphones, there will be a noticeable low-frequency hum when playing any game on the GBL with the backlight on. It's my only qualm with Game Boy Lights (this will go away when you turn the backlight off, obviously).
 

-KRS-

Member
The GBL will definitely have better sound than the GBC. GBC sound is pretty shitty actually unless you modify it. But there can be differences between even two Game Boys of the same model apparently. I know my yellow GBP has a bit louder sound and less hissing than my transparent GBP for example.

For the best possible sound though, the original classic Game Boy is pretty objectively the best sounding one.

Here are some sound tests of different Game Boys:
http://www.herbertweixelbaum.com/comparison.htm

And here are some that measure the differences between different GB Classics:
http://www.milkcrate.com.au/_other/gbc/content.html
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
Anybody wants to trade a mint complete with box and manual Donkey Kong Country 3 EU?

Looking for Contra EX or whatever games (Link to the past, Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World and others) too. Only complete tho.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
I figured the best place to ask would be here... does anyone know the best place to get a flash cart for the micro? Or what the best cart even is?

Got an EZIV for my Micro, worked wonders. No lag with Mother 3 either and it fits perfectly, all the way in.
Got it from Dealextreme

I have at least an extra ten of the ones with GBA cart holders that I bought brand new from Nintendo years ago. Shipping would be killer though if I were to sell them to you =/

EU NDS cases are still the ones with the GBA cart holder.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
So what's the deal with all the lsdj kitts on eBay?
They all have weird knobs and lights and stuff. Are those mods required to mess around with lsdj, or are they just for better sound, etc?
 
So what's the deal with all the lsdj kitts on eBay?
They all have weird knobs and lights and stuff. Are those mods required to mess around with lsdj, or are they just for better sound, etc?

AFAIK The sound mods (Prosound, Stereo RCA) will provide better sound than the default headphone jack. I think the knobs are usually for manual CPU clock speed control if you need to slow down or speed up the music on the fly during live performances. You can still mess around with LSDJ on unmodified hardware.
 

Grief.exe

Member
The GBL will definitely have better sound than the GBC. GBC sound is pretty shitty actually unless you modify it. But there can be differences between even two Game Boys of the same model apparently. I know my yellow GBP has a bit louder sound and less hissing than my transparent GBP for example.

For the best possible sound though, the original classic Game Boy is pretty objectively the best sounding one.

Here are some sound tests of different Game Boys:
http://www.herbertweixelbaum.com/comparison.htm

And here are some that measure the differences between different GB Classics:
http://www.milkcrate.com.au/_other/gbc/content.html

Interesting, so it seems most game boys have some kind of audible hum behind the music.

I've noticed this on the micro and its the exact same as what is on the site.

its really apparent and bad when I wear my higher quality AD700 headphones.
 

-KRS-

Member
Yes when I'm playing around with LSDj using my GBP with HD595 headphones and headphone amp it's pretty bad. But I sort of get used to it after a while. It's more of a hiss than a hum on the Pocket and the music usually overpowers it. Whatever you do though, don't hook a Pocket or Color up to an AC adapter... because then there's a really loud audio hum being added that is almost as loud as the regular sound making the headphone out pretty much useless. Or maybe the AC adapter I have just sucks. It's a Big Ben one. Are there official Nintendo-made AC adapters perhaps? And what do they usually go for?

On the micro there's probably more of a hum than on the Pocket simply because of the light in the screen adding noise to the sound output.

I've found that using a Super Game Boy is usually much less noisy, depending on the SNES AC adapter I suppose. But the SGB makes some things sound different compared to a regular GB. For example tone pitching can sound weird. Probably because of the slightly faster Z80 CPU in the SGB.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
Those of you who have bought Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, how much did you pay for it?
 

Grief.exe

Member
I might have a pretty solid lead on Craigslist.

I'm trying to temper my excitement because the guy is flaky and takes a while to get back to me.

But he seems to have a ton of GBA and SNES games, I'm trying to set up a meet with him now.
 

johnsmith

remember me
Just grabbed Sword of Mana for $10 off ebay. Nothing amazing, really.

Any other cheap JRPGs I should look out for?
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
Anyone made any good pick ups lately?

I haven't made any.
I got that Mole Mania game off ebay for $5, it's really every bit as good as that guy said it was.
 
Anyone made any good pick ups lately?

I haven't made any.

-Metroid IV for $4
-10-game GBC/GBA lot for $15 that included Pokemon Crystal, Warioland 3, Mario Party Advance, and an Indigo GBA.
Former was at the flea market, latter in a garage sale.

You haven't been having much Craigslist luck, Grief? Garage sale season usually kicks off in the summer so maybe things will get better in the next few months.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
Hey guys, how do GBA games look in a DS Lite? Streched or with borders of some sort?
 
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