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[Deleted member 126221]

Quickest way of telling is by comparing the curve above where Game Boy Advance is etched. If the curve is as wide as the sticker, like in the 2nd pic, well, you're not out of the woods but it's a good sign. If the curve is shorter than the sticker it's almost definitely a fake.

Outside of looking at the pins, that'd be even quicker. All we got is that pic, though.

Wait, so that means the one in my picture is definitely fake? Or not necessarily?

Ugh, buying used GBA games is a nightmare.

 

[Mzo]

Wait, so that means the one in my picture is definitely fake? Or not necessarily?

Ugh, buying used GBA games is a nightmare.

I don't want to be responsible for telling you one way or the other, but I have never seen a real cart where the curve doesn't reach as wide as the stickers.

 

[Gameboy415]

I just found a $20 copy of Castlevania Double Pack on classified ads, which is pretty great as I never played these games. Anything to know about it? Any downside compared to the original releases?

Also, any way to know if it's a fake from this picture...?

No it doesn't. The ESRB rating font is too thin.

Quickest way of telling is by comparing the curve above where Game Boy Advance is etched. If the curve is as wide as the sticker, like in the 2nd pic, well, you're not out of the woods but it's a good sign. If the curve is shorter than the sticker it's almost definitely a fake.

Outside of looking at the pins, that'd be even quicker. All we got is that pic, though.

Apart from what's already been mentioned, the actual 'GAME BOY' text above the label looks a little sketchy to me - the 'O' & 'Y' seem narrower than they should be.
If you zoom in on the image you can see what I mean (right click & 'View image', use CTRL & + to zoom in).

 

[Deleted member 126221]

Well, fuck. I'm supposed to meet the guy tonight. Are you positive it's a fake? What you're saying seems to indicate it is, but it's hard to confirm from such a small and low-res picture...

 

[Craft]

Well, fuck. I'm supposed to meet the guy tonight. Are you positive it's a fake? What you're saying seems to indicate it is, but it's hard to confirm from such a small and low-res picture...

Can't you just take a tri-wing with you, crack it open and confirm for sure before paying any money...

 

[Deleted member 126221]

Nah, I won't have time to go back home to get my triwing before meeting him...

Meh, the "thin letters" on the gameboy logo are the final nails in the coffin I think... Guess I'll cancel the meeting.

 

[Mzo]

Use your phone's flashlight to look at the pins themselves. If the holes are all over the place instead of a neat row above the pins then it's definitely a fake.

I think we've all gotten burned on GBA games in the past. There are just so many fakes out there.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

So I found this thread where someone bought a fake Castlevania Double Pack, and it looks identical to the one I found: slightly weird looking "game boy" logo, thinner-looking ESRB rating...

These fakes are getting really convincing... Buying GBA games is pretty much impossible now unless you can inspect the cart before buying (which I could've done, but I would have lost almost 1 hour and a half going back and forth to the meeting point).

I'm so disappointed. I was so happy to find the game at a reasonable price, but now I don't feel like looking for the game online anymore. Guess I'll just buy the Wii U VC version.

 

[blast processed]

When buying used GBA games, if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

I honestly doubt the guy even knew he was selling a fake. I thought I was safe as long as I didn't buy GBA games from eBay, but it looks like these bootlegs propagated everywhere (the guy probably got it from eBay himself, or he bought it from someone who did).

 

[PumpkinSpice]

I honestly doubt the guy even knew he was selling a fake. I thought I was safe as long as I didn't buy GBA games from eBay, but it looks like these bootlegs propagated everywhere (the guy probably got it from eBay himself, or he bought it from someone who did).

There are probably a lot of bootlegs are from a decade ago as well. Bootleg GBA games, especially Pokemon stuff, seemed really popular for sale in greasy flea markets at the time.

 

[dcx4610]

I'm sticking with it's a legit copy. If you could get a shot of the pins, right above is a PCB model stamp and Nintendo logo. That is the best indicator.

 

[redhairedking]

I have a CIB copy of the game bought at Gamestop years ago. I can take pics of the cart later if you want to compare.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

I'm sticking with it's a legit copy. If you could get a shot of the pins, right above is a PCB model stamp and Nintendo logo. That is the best indicator.

Even with the different ESRB logo, slightly off "Game Boy" text and shorter "arc"? And according to the thread I linked earlier, there's a Nintendo stamp on this fake PCB...

I have a CIB copy of the game bought at Gamestop years ago. I can take pics of the cart later if you want to compare.

Thanks!

 

[dcx4610]

Even with the different ESRB logo, slightly off "Game Boy" text and shorter "arc"? And according to the thread I linked earlier, there's a Nintendo stamp on this fake PCB...


Thanks!

The Nintendo stamp is different on the fake cart. The pic of the cart in question is taken at an angle as well so the text and the arc are a bit difficult to judge. The fake going around that I've seen has the wrong sticker all together.

I'll take some pics of my cart in a couple of hours to compare. As mentioned earlier, I played and beat both games. I spent 20+ hours and no telling how many saves. Yours on looks like mine. If it's fake, it's a reflash of another game.

 

[Teknoman]

The number one best indicator is the one picture guide that showed the pins. No opening cart or any of that. Can someone repost that? The one that showed if the indents in the pins are all over = fake, and if they are in a straight line at the top = legit?

EDIT: Found it.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

The Nintendo stamp is different on the fake cart. The pic of the cart in question is taken at an angle as well so the text and the arc are a bit difficult to judge. The fake going around that I've seen has the wrong sticker all together.

I'll take some pics of my cart in a couple of hours to compare. As mentioned earlier, I played and beat both games. I spent 20+ hours and no telling how many saves. Yours on looks like mine. If it's fake, it's a reflash of another game.

Text and arc made me hesitate, but the ESRB logo definitely looks off now that I compare it with pics of legit carts.

I can't believe how difficult collecting GBA games has become.

 

[blast processed]

EDIT: Found it.

Curious, is this always the case?

 

[Teknoman]

Curious, is this always the case?

After that pic was introduced, it's never failed me yet. If the Label and ESRB logo test fail, then that seems to be a surefire test.

 

[Dash Kappei]

I just found a $20 copy of Castlevania Double Pack on classified ads, which is pretty great as I never played these games. Anything to know about it? Any downside compared to the original releases?

Also, any way to know if it's a fake from this picture...?

That's 100% fake, sorry
You can see the convex curve falls short of the label's sides, ESRB font logo is wrong and the GameBoy Advance's incision looks strange tho the pic is so compressed I can't tell for sure since there were some specific games were the incision was strangely different (it's been sometimes speculated they are from a different factory but they're just rumors, nothing concrete). Either way I guarantee you that isn't a legit cart.

edit: whoops, seems I was super late... oh well, what matters is that you didn't fall for it

 

[dcx4610]

Sigh, looks like my Double Pack is a fake then. I have the holes in the pins and now that I compare the "Game Boy Advance" logo to all of my other carts, it's different. The lettering is beveled and smooth where as a real cart, the lettering is textured and only slightly raised.

Thankfully the cart works fine and I was able to play, save and beat both games but that still chaps my ass a bit.

Blurry, big pictures...

 

[Deleted member 126221]

Oh man, sorry for making you notice that...! Ignorance is bliss!

Well, that confirms the one I almost bought was a fake. I give up trying to find it used, Wii U VC it is.

 

[Gameboy415]

How are all you guys storing your loose GBA and Gameboy carts?
I've got about 100 of each loose which I've got stored stacked up in a couple of boxes, so it's a bit of a bugger if I want to find a certain game quickly.

I still have the original boxes for the majority of my Game Boy collection, but I don't actually use them for storage.

I keep all of my GB/GBC games in Nyko Deluxe Care Cases:

The cases are made of hard plastic, have a built-in clasp on the top, are available in multiple different colors (at least 6), and each case holds up to 12 games across 4 rows that flip forward/back for easy access.
I think I have at least 16 full cases at this point but I could always use a few more, haha! It looks like a few 3rd-party sellers are selling them for ~$10-12 on Amazon if anyone else is looking for one.


As for GBA games, I used custom cases made from DS game cases for a while:

I ordered the cases in bulk from Nintendo, trimmed the inner plastic to make room for the manuals, and got the custom inserts from The Cover Project (I actually created/uploaded the Zelda insert and a few others back in the day).
It became prohibitively expensive to keep making a custom box for every GBA game I picked up, so now I keep all of my GBA games in trading card sheets in giant 3-ring binders:

I currently have 2 full binders - each binder fits 10 sheets and each sheet holds 9 games.

 

[Mzo]

I got burned on a CIB Hajime no Ippo. Box and everything were fake. I wasn't as anal back then and didn't realize it for years.

I should really go through everything one by one, just to be safe.

 

[dcx4610]

Interestingly, the Mother 3 reproduction I have has the exact same shell and PCB as the Castlevania Double Pack fake. AGB-E05-01. I guess these are the main boards used on fakes and repros. I'd be curious to know where they come from as well as the cases.

I'm pretty blown away by the sheer number of fakes in the GBA lineup. From the games, accessories, straight down to the GBA shells. It might be the most pirated system out there.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I'm pretty blown away by the sheer number of fakes in the GBA lineup. From the games, accessories, straight down to the GBA shells. It might be the most pirated system out there.

Famicom clones probably has GBA beat due to the Russian and Asian markets.

 

[Craft]

I still have the original boxes for the majority of my Game Boy collection, but I don't actually use them for storage.

I keep all of my GB/GBC games in Nyko Deluxe Care Cases:

The cases are made of hard plastic, have a built-in clasp on the top, are available in multiple different colors (at least 6), and each case holds up to 12 games across 4 rows that flip forward/back for easy access.
I think I have at least 16 full cases at this point but I could always use a few more, haha! It looks like a few 3rd-party sellers are selling them for ~$10-12 on Amazon if anyone else is looking for one.


As for GBA games, I used custom cases made from DS game cases for a while:

I ordered the cases in bulk from Nintendo, trimmed the inner plastic to make room for the manuals, and got the custom inserts from The Cover Project (I actually created/uploaded the Zelda insert and a few others back in the day).
It became prohibitively expensive to keep making a custom box for every GBA game I picked up, so now I keep all of my GBA games in trading card sheets in giant 3-ring binders:

I currently have 2 full binders - each binder fits 10 sheets and each sheet holds 9 games.

Thanks for the information I'll probably go for the binder solution too, printed boxes would be nice but I don't really have the space. All the boxes I do have are currently in storage.

Sigh, looks like my Double Pack is a fake then. I have the holes in the pins and now that I compare the "Game Boy Advance" logo to all of my other carts, it's different. The lettering is beveled and smooth where as a real cart, the lettering is textured and only slightly raised.

Thankfully the cart works fine and I was able to play, save and beat both games but that still chaps my ass a bit.
]

That really sucks, I think I'm going to have to whip open mine tonight too. Do any legit games have a daughter board like that?

 

[jonno394]

Do I need to play(and buy) Mother 1+" before going in to Mother 3? Contemplating buying a translated version of it but don't know whether to buy a translated version of 1+2 as well...

 

[TheMoon]

Do I need to play(and buy) Mother 1+" before going in to Mother 3? Contemplating buying a translated version of it but don't know whether to buy a translated version of 1+2 as well...

No. But why wouldn't you want to play Earthbound?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Mother 3 is a better game if you beat Earthbound before it.

 

[dancrane212]

Been playing around more with my AGS-101 modded GBA system I picked up a year or two ago and have noticed the screen seems to have a bad refresh rate or something. When I first got the machine I only played around with slower games like Golden Sun so I didn't really notice the issue but it's very apparent with games like Super Gunstar Heroes. Game has a tendancy to turn into a blurry mess on that GBA.

Is this common with AGS-101 screens or did I get some c-tier replacement screen? If it's not an issue with original screens anyone know of a place that sells GBA with a legitimate AGS-101s?

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Been playing around more with my AGS-101 modded GBA system I picked up a year or two ago and have noticed the screen seems to have a bad refresh rate or something. When I first got the machine I only played around with slower games like Golden Sun so I didn't really notice the issue but it's very apparent with games like Super Gunstar Heroes. Game has a tendancy to turn into a blurry mess on that GBA.

Is this common with AGS-101 screens or did I get some c-tier replacement screen? If it's not an issue with original screens anyone know of a place that sells GBA with a legitimate AGS-101s?

The ghosting? It's common with 101 screens.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Yeah, probably consistent with a 2005 era LCD

 

[dancrane212]

The ghosting? It's common with 101 screens.

Yeah, probably consistent with a 2005 era LCD

Good to know, I'll just keep to playing the less "intense" games on that GBA then.

 

[dcx4610]

Do I need to play(and buy) Mother 1+" before going in to Mother 3? Contemplating buying a translated version of it but don't know whether to buy a translated version of 1+2 as well...

Mother 1+2 repro only has Mother 1 in English. I highly recommend playing Earthbound/Mother 2 before Mother 3. Mother 1 is enjoyable but feels more like a prototype to Earthbound. It's not crucial to playing 2 & 3.

 

[Cloggerdude]

So I recently came across a decent size collection of the Kings Jame Bible "game" boxes and manuals for Game Boy. I got a good deal on them and wasn't planning on selling them, but I don't need as many as I have, so if a few people are interested, just let me know. Again, I'm not actively trying to sell/make a profit on them. I just figured some people in here might be interested. Now I just need to find one of the actual games for my collection...

 

[v1perz53]

Oh man I really missed out as a kid. Finally decided to pick up a GameBoy Player with disc for my GCN and I cannot believe I didn't have one of these when it was new, I was super into GB/GBC/GBA games. I think since money was tight as a kid I didn't want to waste a gift on a different way to play games I already had as opposed to getting more games, or I told myself I wouldn't enjoy handheld games on a TV. But boy was I wrong, I think it translates quite well to my CRT (forced to boot 240p via Swiss). Also love the option to use a real GBA as a controller with the link cable, eliminated my main gripe where I thought I would have to use the GCN controller's D-pad to play. I think this will curb my desire for a backlit OG GBA, my AGS-101 SP and this is enough I think.

E: Also, my copy of Aria of Sorrow came today and was genuine! Glad I don't have to deal with the headache of returning another fake. Only Metroid: Zero Mission left and my collection of "likely to be fake" GBA games will be complete.

 

[Craft]

So I opened my castlevania today, and it was a fake! First time I've seen a fake with a PAL label, luckly I got it from Amazon so I should be able to get a refund:

Too make things worse my zero mission was also a fake

This could be the worst day of my life...
I just assumed that there would be no PAL fakes of these games, so I didn't inspect them very closely, on closer inspection the Gameboy advance logo on the top of the cart is totally different to genuine carts.

Edit: seller refunded me instantly and said I could keep the cart.

 

[TheMoon]

Just for funzies I should look through all my carts since I bought most of them through eBay in the mid-00s. ...

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

Finally found a decent gameboy micro for a good price. 65$ shipped with original charger. The faceplate and back of the system was a bit scratched, so I bought this decal and now looks awesome.

ps: the "bubbles"on the back are actually the serial number sticker lifting up a bit

 

[sixteen-bit]

That's a really cute skin!

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

That's a really cute skin!

thanks, I agree. I bought at decalgirl.com

 

[v1perz53]

I'm lucky in that pretty much 90% of my GBA game collection was games I bought new as a kid, so I don't have to worry too much about having fakes and not realizing it. Though I have had some issues lately, though at least now I know what to look for when something comes in. Really is crazy how prolific fakes are though, search for Zero Mission on eBay and you can find no less than 5 different labels, with many of the sellers having no idea what they have up is even fake (and many just hoping the buyer won't notice).

 

[Craft]

I'm lucky in that pretty much 90% of my GBA game collection was games I bought new as a kid, so I don't have to worry too much about having fakes and not realizing it. Though I have had some issues lately, though at least now I know what to look for when something comes in. Really is crazy how prolific fakes are though, search for Zero Mission on eBay and you can find no less than 5 different labels, with many of the sellers having no idea what they have up is even fake (and many just hoping the buyer won't notice).

This is true, usually its pretty easy to spot the fakes, but its getting harder and harder to spot. I wonder if we will get to a point where is not possible to spot the difference...
The quality difference between my fake sonic and my fake castlevania is huge.
Sonic has a crappy misaligned label, the GBA logo is completely different, no Nintendo on the PCB and the soldering job on the board is a complete bodge.

 

[theSlacker]

Just for funzies I should look through all my carts since I bought most of them through eBay in the mid-00s. ...

Do you really want to know?

 

[TheMoon]

Do you really want to know?

Not but I also kinda don't care since I know they all work. A few years ago I found that my ALTTP GBA cart was a fake despite coming in a proper EU box but it works and I already 100%ed it so I don't really mind.

 

[Dash Kappei]

So I opened my castlevania today, and it was a fake! First time I've seen a fake with a PAL label, luckly I got it from Amazon so I should be able to get a refund:



Too make things worse my zero mission was also a fake


This could be the worst day of my life...
I just assumed that there would be no PAL fakes of these games, so I didn't inspect them very closely, on closer inspection the Gameboy advance logo on the top of the cart is totally different to genuine carts.

Edit: seller refunded me instantly and said I could keep the cart.

Oh FUCK. The dream is dead, the end is nigh etc. etc.

Goddamn, there you go I gotta stick to EU CiB or loose JPN only to be on the safe-ish side now, terrible discovery.
First time I see a UK/EU fake myself.

 

[Teknoman]

Just save the fake/real image to your phone or something, and never have to open a gba game again. Just look at the inside under decent lighting and bam. Well in person anyway.

 

[Rizzi]

Found my old Gameboy.

It seems like the screen is slightly off centre.
Is that easy to fix?
Edit;
Actually, where's a good place to get a backlight and a replacement shell for this thing? I kind of want to breath new life in to this thing.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Was your screen always like that? Maybe it's valuable if it's a manufacturing defect.