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GB/GBC/GBA Collecting Thread

D.Lo

Member
Who cares though? If it has the correct screen it's all good!

I reshelled my 101 and I love it. Black with black buttons (usually black had grey buttons, and dark grey had black buttons), mine is a custom job that looks slicker than any released model. Except the limited edition Famicom one...
 
My GB Boy Colour arrived today. To my untrained eyes, I can't tell if the aspect ratio has been fixed. But, I'm very happy with my purchase! The model no. I got was GBC-405 (maybe those model no. refer to the color of the console you picked?).

faW8NZW.jpg
GGbENbD.jpg
 
My GB Boy Colour arrived today. To my untrained eyes, I can't tell if the aspect ratio has been fixed. But, I'm very happy with my purchase! The model no. I got was GBC-405 (maybe those model no. refer to the color of the console you picked?).
That's the wrong aspect ratio. Looks stretched horizontally.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Started playing the original Dragon Quest on my phone.

That lead to me thinking about picking up the GBC carts for the first three games.

That lead me to the thought that even if I snag them I have nothing good to play them on.

Just need something that doesn't require me to sit under a lamp like I did when I was a kid.

For my needs, I think it would be better to find some kind of GBA. I have a ton of GBA games as well and my DS Phat is old and blocky and gross. I would love to be able to retire it with this move as well.

I am not looking into doing this sort of thing myself. To put it mildly I am inept with this sort of thing. I also don't really want to spend a lot of time on it.

My birthday is coming up next month as well so spending a little bit of money on something of good quality isn't much of a problem.

Best place online to buy something like this?
 
Started playing the original Dragon Quest on my phone.

That lead to me thinking about picking up the GBC carts for the first three games.

That lead me to the thought that even if I snag them I have nothing good to play them on.

Just need something that doesn't require me to sit under a lamp like I did when I was a kid.

For my needs, I think it would be better to find some kind of GBA. I have a ton of GBA games as well and my DS Phat is old and blocky and gross. I would love to be able to retire it with this move as well.

I am not looking into doing this sort of thing myself. To put it mildly I am inept with this sort of thing. I also don't really want to spend a lot of time on it.

My birthday is coming up next month as well so spending a little bit of money on something of good quality isn't much of a problem.

Best place online to buy something like this?

Playing under a lamp or in sunlight isn't so bad. I actually prefer it for GBC games since the gamma or something of those screens is different than GBA -- GBC games just look better on a real GBC. Aside from the no-light thing, that screen is really great.

Otherwise, if you want to go cheap I'd recommend just getting a good condition used AGS-001 on ebay. There's a "better" model with a backlit screen, AGS-101, but it's getting very expensive now especially for a good condition one. You could get one with a replacement case but I've found aftermarket cases to be a bit dodgy, like carts don't sit in the slot as well which can be frustrating when they lose contact from twisting the GB.

If you want to go for the best thing possible to play at home, the GameBoy player is very good when paired with some homebrew software. You don't even need the original GBP software, which means you can even order a matching-color GBP hardware from Japan for cheap and just get something to run homebrew like the SD media launcher or a modchip or another method.
 

John Blade

Member
Anyone here been using the Everdrive for a while now? I feel like I need to pick one up.

I own both the GB and GBA Everdrive and both are fine for the most part except for games which need real time clock or accessories which the game need to work.

For the GB version, it make sense as they isn't any recent flashcard which can compete against the Everdrive. Most games work fine for the most part except those which use real time clock. The only issue I have to say when using the Everdrive is come down to which Gameboy you own. If it's the original and Gameboy Color, you should able to use the Everdrive but if you own the pocket, it won't work based on trying to use it on mine. I don't know if it's a common issue or just mine as I own a front lit mod Gameboy Pocket.

For the GBA version, it's still good but do know they is other flashcard (EV flash IV or V) can still do the same job as the Everdrive but much cheaper. Yea, they is some games which won't work on it but it's still cheaper at the end. Still, if you don't mind to pay the additional cost, then consider looking into it. If you can wait, wait for a bit as they is rumor of an update Everdrive for the GBA which should have real time save which the current one doesn't have. Not really a major issue for me but might be useful for certain people.
 
For the GB version, it make sense as they isn't any recent flashcard which can compete against the Everdrive. Most games work fine for the most part except those which use real time clock. The only issue I have to say when using the Everdrive is come down to which Gameboy you own. If it's the original and Gameboy Color, you should able to use the Everdrive but if you own the pocket, it won't work based on trying to use it on mine. I don't know if it's a common issue or just mine as I own a front lit mod Gameboy Pocket.

I had the same problem with the Pocket. Pro tip: try some different micro sd cards. Some use more power than others. I was using a really old 2GB one, which wouldn't work with the Pocket. When I switched to a newer 8GB Sandisk one it worked flawlessly.
 

D.Lo

Member
For the GBA version, it's still good but do know they is other flashcard (EV flash IV or V) can still do the same job as the Everdrive but much cheaper.
EZ Flash IV has 99% GBA compatibility except for additional hardware games (including real time clock). And best of all, is normal GBA cart sized, which is far more important to me that anything else.

Really the only issue with it is it needs a client to patch games, not drag and drop like the ED.
 
I own both the GB and GBA Everdrive and both are fine for the most part except for games which need real time clock or accessories which the game need to work.

For the GB version, it make sense as they isn't any recent flashcard which can compete against the Everdrive. Most games work fine for the most part except those which use real time clock. The only issue I have to say when using the Everdrive is come down to which Gameboy you own. If it's the original and Gameboy Color, you should able to use the Everdrive but if you own the pocket, it won't work based on trying to use it on mine. I don't know if it's a common issue or just mine as I own a front lit mod Gameboy Pocket.

For the GBA version, it's still good but do know they is other flashcard (EV flash IV or V) can still do the same job as the Everdrive but much cheaper. Yea, they is some games which won't work on it but it's still cheaper at the end. Still, if you don't mind to pay the additional cost, then consider looking into it. If you can wait, wait for a bit as they is rumor of an update Everdrive for the GBA which should have real time save which the current one doesn't have. Not really a major issue for me but might be useful for certain people.
Thanks for the feedback. I'd get the EZ Flash IV, but I can't be bothered with this patching business, prefer the drag and drop of the Everdrive.
 

John Blade

Member
Thanks for the feedback. I'd get the EZ Flash IV, but I can't be bothered with this patching business, prefer the drag and drop of the Everdrive.

No problem. I actually have three GBA flashcard version as I was early in the GBA flashcard than most people here (Super Mini SD Card, EZ-Flash IV (non SDHC version), and GBA Everdrive). The patching is not really a bummer as it's just another step you need to do to get the game working. Is been a while but the software to get to the rom into the micro SD shouldn't be too hard but depend on which Win OS you're using, you might have some minor issue. I know the Super Mini SD Card software, it's a bit of a nightmare to setup after Win 7 OS like 8.1 that I have to put it in retro laptop which have 7 to get it working fine. I don't know if Win 10 will have issue but something to watch for. For the EZ-Flash IV software, I don't have issue on 7 but never test on 10, so, do try to find the software to see if it work fine or not before buying the flashcard.

Other than that, the Everdrive one is fine if you have the money to spend but if you want to keep it cheap, the EZ-Flash IV will do the job without any issue.
 
I'm going to be in the market for a Backlit Biverted GB DMG soon. Anyone have any recommendations of people who make them or any shops? Was thinking of going with retromodding.com unless I find a good deal on eBay. But, I would love to support any awesome indie modders/shops.
 
I'm going to be in the market for a Backlit Biverted GB DMG soon. Anyone have any recommendations of people who make them or any shops? Was thinking of going with retromodding.com unless I find a good deal on eBay. But, I would love to support any awesome indie modders/shops.

check out /r/gameboymarketplace and the folks who mod gameboys there and on /r/gameboy. Lots of folks with competitive prices.
 

-KRS-

Member
Speaking of which, my friend gave me a bivert modded DMG as a christmas gift! He modded it himself and put a glass screen on it. One of the most awesome christmas gifts I've ever received.
 

ironmang

Member
Welp, just bought a used SP 101. Will probably look to sell my 001 which fortunately is complete in box so might be able to cover the costs of the 101. There are a ton of GBA games I never got into so I'm looking forward to playing them the way they were meant to be played.

Is there any preferred headphone adapter for the SP? I'm looking to pick one up since I've heard it helps with audio quality.
 

Stopdoor

Member
I recently broke the link port on my Game Boy Player just from regular use, the middle divider piece is physically gone.

I got a new base, but I'm pretty paranoid now about how I'm plugging in the link cable - it's a very snug connection and tough to pull out. Is there any best practices for it? Wiggling it, or pulling with the required force but straight out? It's pretty odd it would be fragile because you'd think kids would be yanking their link cables all the time.
 

ironmang

Member
Got my 101. The upgrade is so worth it. Won't get a lot of love from me until this winter wave of new games ends but soon as there's a drought I'll be head first into some gba gems.
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Got a 101 today! Playing Mother 3 on it.

It was listed as GBA SP Silver, buuut it turned out to be a GBA SP Silver Tribal lmao

It's one ugly looking linkin park fan of a 2004 console

Screen is absolutely amazing compared to the old 001 i had lying around though
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Got a 101 today! Playing Mother 3 on it.

It was listed as GBA SP Silver, buuut it turned out to be a GBA SP Silver Tribal lmao

It's one ugly looking linkin park fan of a 2004 console

Screen is absolutely amazing compared to the old 001 i had lying around though

Congrats and welcome to retro-gaf which is of course the real gaf. Be sure to check out the general Retro-gaf unite-thread for all kinds of retro-related discussions and links to the other awesome retro-threads.
 

Exeunt

Member
Welp, just bought a used SP 101. Will probably look to sell my 001 which fortunately is complete in box so might be able to cover the costs of the 101. There are a ton of GBA games I never got into so I'm looking forward to playing them the way they were meant to be played.

Is there any preferred headphone adapter for the SP? I'm looking to pick one up since I've heard it helps with audio quality.

I'm also curious what other people are using. The couple adapters I've tried on eBay have been rubbish.

I don't remember if I got it at the release of the SP or shortly after, but I tried to take a decent picture of the adapter I always used:


The cable is split so you can charge the SP and use headphones at the same time; I have no idea if this makes the sound quality any worse than the official Nintendo adapter or whatever's going around on eBay. I popped in some headphones and quickly compared it to the output on my DS: the DS can definitely pump out louder sound than the SP with the adapter, though both have noticeable hissing at higher volumes (possibly inherent in the GBA hardware). So I highly doubt it's fantastic, but it survived regular usage and the split cable gave some added utility over a standard headphone-only adapter.
 
Thinking about bidding on a copy of Golden Sun on eBay, this is a picture of the cart that the dealer posted, just want to make sure this looks legit based on the PCB showing in the photo:

WFCWZ3B.jpg
 
Thinking about bidding on a copy of Golden Sun on eBay, this is a picture of the cart that the dealer posted, just want to make sure this looks legit based on the PCB showing in the photo:

Looks legit! Just took a look at my copy of Golden Sun (that I know is real), and the PCB markings are exactly the same.

This video has some nice examples of signs of fake carts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zcvmKtDgZw

Some of the inspections you won't be able to do until you have the cart in hand, but for some of them you could ask the seller to show you a picture of if you're not sure. Does the listing have a picture of the back of the cart?
 
Looks legit! Just took a look at my copy of Golden Sun (that I know is real), and the PCB markings are exactly the same.

This video has some nice examples of signs of fake carts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zcvmKtDgZw

Some of the inspections you won't be able to do until you have the cart in hand, but for some of them you could ask the seller to show you a picture of if you're not sure. Does the listing have a picture of the back of the cart?

Thanks! No picture of the back of the cart but I think I will bid, based on the info you have regarding the PCB markings I'm sure it's fine. I've never played Golden Sun so really looking forward to it, and the game should look beautiful on my backlit modded 001.
 
Thanks! No picture of the back of the cart but I think I will bid, based on the info you have regarding the PCB markings I'm sure it's fine. I've never played Golden Sun so really looking forward to it, and the game should look beautiful on my backlit modded 001.

No problem! You are in for a treat. Golden Sun is amazing, one of my favorite GBA games. Just seeing your pic made me want to replay it!
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Sound quality while on headset is pretty garbage on both my SPs (humming noise). Are there ways to get rid of it, or is it a system wide issue?
 
That copy of Golden Sun I posted was being listed for $40, I made an offer of $35 which the dealer accepted, not bad I'd say for a complete boxed copy of the game.

Sound quality while on headset is pretty garbage on both my SPs (humming noise). Are there ways to get rid of it, or is it a system wide issue?

I've always had occasional humming or sketchy sound with my SP when using headsets.
 

Peagles

Member
Sound quality while on headset is pretty garbage on both my SPs (humming noise). Are there ways to get rid of it, or is it a system wide issue?

System wide I'm afraid, though I've heard that using lower quality headphones can help. I definitely seem to get more hum with my Sennheisers.
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
aww, that's too bad. I love playing handhelds with a headset, and Mother 3 music is so goood. :(
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
There is a pretty decent solution:

Yes, I know it has a handle, but not quite handheld enough for my taste :p

I guess a DS lite could work, but that would sort of make the recent purchase of an AGS101 screen sort of pointless haha
 
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