• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

GB/GBC/GBA Collecting Thread

S

sixteen-bit

Member
Happy to hear about the GBA ED developments. I would love if krikzz could get the cart size down so it doesn't protrude as much, but it's not a dealbreaker.
 
Kawika

Kawika

Member
sixteen-bit said:
Honestly, GB flash carts are some of the most practical for me since I can take my entire library on the go.
Click to expand...

I don't know what I would do without flash carts. My collection is basically in storage at all times except for the games that aren't compatible which whatever ED I am using.

Basically, I buy a game, check it to see if its legit and works clean it and put it in my game box. I don't know why I do it this way but its been my habit for a few years now. GB/GBC/GBA EDs are really great for that.
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
sixteen-bit said:
Honestly, GB flash carts are some of the most practical for me since I can take my entire library on the go.
Click to expand...
Yeah I hear that, but with the gameboy I find I just take 2 carts with me and that's sufficient. When I want a bunch of stuff at once I just bring my PSP or Vita and use homebrew emulators. The gba I tend to use my flashcard more, though. I think part of it is that I prefer having one smaller bite size game and one larger game with the gameboy: Megaman and a shmup, Pokemon and pinball, dragon quest and a puzzle game, etc.
 
P

Peagles

Member
socksfelloff said:
I'm really enjoying my backlit GBC. It's a real GBC running BennVenns converison board with a 101 screen.

I'm having trouble taking some good pictures of it but it's a 101 screen so we all know how it looks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, just made an order for one. Looks great!
 
J

Joqu

Member
So, my GBA's d-pad has gone really squishy. It's gotten to the point where I really need to press down for it to register inputs at times, is that a common age thing? Something I could fix by swapping some parts?

It's a backlight modded one with one of those new shells, but I'm pretty sure I got one with original buttons so I don't think the issue lies there. (It's one you made me, Peagles! I'm not complaining, it's been ages. :p )

socksfelloff said:
I'm really enjoying my backlit GBC. It's a real GBC running BennVenns converison board with a 101 screen.

I'm having trouble taking some good pictures of it but it's a 101 screen so we all know how it looks.
Click to expand...

Oh, yum. It's a shame we still need to cannibalize 101 screens but it's nice to see some GBC progress like that, I just love the form factor.

Looks like the picture ends up a fair deal smaller than the original though, huh? I'm sure it still looks fine but that's a pretty noticeable black border.

The Chinese GBC one ( really does look like it was legit with the eBay listings that popped up) has a similar thing going so maybe those were also using 101 screens anyway.
 
P

Peagles

Member
Joqu said:
So, my GBA's d-pad has gone really squishy. It's gotten to the point where I really need to press down for it to register inputs at times, is that a common age thing? Something I could fix by swapping some parts?

It's a backlight modded one with one of those new shells, but I'm pretty sure I got one with original buttons so I don't think the issue lies there. (It's one you made me, Peagles! I'm not complaining, it's been ages. :p )



Oh, yum. It's a shame we still need to cannibalize 101 screens but it's nice to see some GBC progress like that, I just love the form factor.

Looks like the picture ends up a fair deal smaller than the original though, huh? I'm sure it still looks fine but that's a pretty noticeable black border.

The Chinese GBC one ( really does look like it was legit with the eBay listings that popped up) has a similar thing going so maybe those were also using 101 screens anyway.
Click to expand...


Had to check your profile to see who you were :p Long time no see!

You've definitely got original buttons, but the conductive rubber parts underneath can develop tears and sometimes even dislodge with time and use. If it's torn you could replace it (check for tears in the circle around the conductive pads), or if not you could just reseat it after using some isopropyl on the contacts. Just be aware if you haven't opened it up before, it's a bit more delicate cos of the extra junk under the hood hehe.

Edit: You are of course always welcome to send it back to me to look at too, but given the distance that could be quite cost prohibitive.
 
J

Joqu

Member
Peagles said:
Had to check your profile to see who you were :p Long time no see!

You've definitely got original buttons, but the conductive rubber parts underneath can develop tears and sometimes even dislodge with time and use. If it's torn you could replace it (check for tears in the circle around the conductive pads), or if not you could just reseat it after using some isopropyl on the contacts. Just be aware if you haven't opened it up before, it's a bit more delicate cos of the extra junk under the hood hehe.

Edit: You are of course always welcome to send it back to me to look at too, but given the distance that could be quite cost prohibitive.
Click to expand...

Ah, I haven't posted here in a while, but I also got a name change recently so that plus a somewhat recent avatar change can't have helped, I doubt anyone would recognize me on here at this point. S'okay. :p

Yeah, I don't think sending it back to New Zealand is a good idea so I'll figure it out myself, I've never opened up one of these up before but I'll be careful. I've also got a spare non-backlit one lying around so maybe I'll mess with that one first, it's not like I use it. Thanks for the help~
 
socksfelloff

socksfelloff

Member
Joqu said:
Oh, yum. It's a shame we still need to cannibalize 101 screens but it's nice to see some GBC progress like that, I just love the form factor.

Looks like the picture ends up a fair deal smaller than the original though, huh? I'm sure it still looks fine but that's a pretty noticeable black border.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately all my gameboy stuff is packed away so I can't compare it to an original but the screen does seem to be slightly smaller but by no means an issue . To me it's worth it to maintain the proper scaling

Glad you guys enjoyed the pics! It's all about the form factor. GB/GBC just feels so much better in the vertical form factor over a GBA

Edit : So far I've got a good 10 hours playtime on it with a fresh pair of eneloops. I'm not doing any exact testing but I'm expecting to get better batter life then the original screen just like with my Backlit GBA
 
T

theSlacker

Member
Damn Peagles, if you get into making those GBCs I want on the list for that as well. Will wait till the end of time.
Hows the baby?
 
J

Joqu

Member
Oh yes. Money's a bit tight right now but I'd certainly be up for some Peagles-modded GBC goodness in the future. Just saying. ;)

...Though I did get hit by some pretty bad customs fees with the GBA back then, I don't think I ever mentioned that here. No one's fault but customs but they drastically overvalued the damn thing for some reason, it wasn't pretty. It was paying up or losing it so I went with the former but I recall it was like, more than half of what I paid Peagles for it, it wasn't some regular import fee. :L

socksfelloff said:
Unfortunately all my gameboy stuff is packed away so I can't compare it to an original but the screen does seem to be slightly smaller but by no means an issue . To me it's worth it to maintain the proper scaling

Glad you guys enjoyed the pics! It's all about the form factor. GB/GBC just feels so much better in the vertical form factor over a GBA

Edit : So far I've got a good 10 hours playtime on it with a fresh pair of eneloops. I'm not doing any exact testing but I'm expecting to get better batter life then the original screen just like with my Backlit GBA
Click to expand...

Yeah, it still looks like a great upgrade to me, just something I noticed. I'm jealous!
 
P

Peagles

Member
Joqu said:
Ah, I haven't posted here in a while, but I also got a name change recently so that plus a somewhat recent avatar change can't have helped, I doubt anyone would recognize me on here at this point. S'okay. :p

Yeah, I don't think sending it back to New Zealand is a good idea so I'll figure it out myself, I've never opened up one of these up before but I'll be careful. I've also got a spare non-backlit one lying around so maybe I'll mess with that one first, it's not like I use it. Thanks for the help~
Click to expand...

Good luck! Feel free to PM if you hit any snags.

socksfelloff said:
Unfortunately all my gameboy stuff is packed away so I can't compare it to an original but the screen does seem to be slightly smaller but by no means an issue . To me it's worth it to maintain the proper scaling

Glad you guys enjoyed the pics! It's all about the form factor. GB/GBC just feels so much better in the vertical form factor over a GBA

Edit : So far I've got a good 10 hours playtime on it with a fresh pair of eneloops. I'm not doing any exact testing but I'm expecting to get better batter life then the original screen just like with my Backlit GBA
Click to expand...

This sounds so good, you're making me excited for the arrival of my ribbon cables!

theSlacker said:
Damn Peagles, if you get into making those GBCs I want on the list for that as well. Will wait till the end of time.
Hows the baby?
Click to expand...

Noted :) Though the supply of 101 screens remains a problem :(
He's awesome, but keeping me very busy!

Joqu said:
Oh yes. Money's a bit tight right now but I'd certainly be up for some Peagles-modded GBC goodness in the future. Just saying. ;)

...Though I did get hit by some pretty bad customs fees with the GBA back then, I don't think I ever mentioned that here. No one's fault but customs but they drastically overvalued the damn thing for some reason, it wasn't pretty. It was paying up or losing it so I went with the former but I recall it was like, more than half of what I paid Peagles for it, it wasn't some regular import fee. :L



Yeah, it still looks like a great upgrade to me, just something I noticed. I'm jealous!
Click to expand...

I remember that, it was ridiculous! Maybe someone there was in the know about backlit GBAs? Still though... I've not come across it before or since.
 
J

Joqu

Member
Well, since it's been such a long time I might as well post a little about my game boy collection here. I'm mostly focusing on the GBA, recently I've tracked down some really cheap CIB copies of Pokemon Ruby, A Link to the Past and Superstar Saga, not too shabby if I might say so myself.

AlttP has disappointing issue though, the box looks pretty much mint from the outside, but someone clearly did a botched repair on it once. One of those little cardboard tabs must have come off once because it looks like they tried to glue it back to the box. Pretty much fell off as soon as I opened it, and the cardboard in the region has totally hardened, it's a bit of a bummer considering how good it looks. But at least you can't see it from the outside.

So now I've got that little hardened cardboard piece and I don't really know if I should attempt a repair myself or just throw the piece away. I really don't know how I'd go about it, I can't think of anything that could work but tape and tape is ugly.

Peagles said:
Good luck! Feel free to PM if you hit any snags.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Will do if necessary, but I'm going to try not to bother you, lol. Gonna need to get myself a tri-wing first, but that's okay I'm not in a hurry here.

I remember that, it was ridiculous! Maybe someone there was in the know about backlit GBAs? Still though... I've not come across it before or since.
Click to expand...

Yea, I don't know how it happened but I sure remember I didn't expect anything like that! GBAs are such an easy thing for customs to ignore, it would have looked like any old thing to them. But yeah, somehow they figured out it was worth a lot to me, I think I just got really unlucky... I've imported plenty of things before or since myself, pricey things, and haven't run into any more issues either. Ah well, these things happen. Apparently.
 
D

DeuceGamer

Member
Joqu said:
Well, since it's been such a long time I might as well post a little about my game boy collection here. I'm mostly focusing on the GBA, recently I've tracked down some really cheap CIB copies of Pokemon Ruby, A Link to the Past and Superstar Saga, not too shabby if I might say so myself.

AlttP has disappointing issue though, the box looks pretty much mint from the outside, but someone clearly did a botched repair on it once. One of those little cardboard tabs must have come off once because it looks like they tried to glue it back to the box. Pretty much fell off as soon as I opened it, and the cardboard in the region has totally hardened, it's a bit of a bummer considering how good it looks. But at least you can't see it from the outside.

So now I've got that little hardened cardboard piece and I don't really know if I should attempt a repair myself or just throw the piece away. I really don't know how I'd go about it, I can't think of anything that could work but tape and tape is ugly.



Thanks! Will do if necessary, but I'm going to try not to bother you, lol. Gonna need to get myself a tri-wing first, but that's okay I'm not in a hurry here.



Yea, I don't know how it happened but I sure remember I didn't expect anything like that! GBAs are such an easy thing for customs to ignore, it would have looked like any old thing to them. But yeah, somehow they figured out it was worth a lot to me, I think I just got really unlucky... I've imported plenty of things before or since myself, pricey things, and haven't run into any more issues either. Ah well, these things happen. Apparently.
Click to expand...

Couple of my CiB GBA games have some damage on that tab like yours. I've also thought about trying some sort of repair but have always opted not to, at least at that time.

Wish the GBA boxes were more robust. The boxes in good condition are going to be pretty expensive some day soon. Hopefully I'm able to get most of the ones I want first.
 
J

Joqu

Member
DeuceGamer said:
Couple of my CiB GBA games have some damage on that tab like yours. I've also thought about trying some sort of repair but have always opted not to, at least at that time.

Wish the GBA boxes were more robust. The boxes in good condition are going to be pretty expensive some day soon. Hopefully I'm able to get most of the ones I want first.
Click to expand...

Yah, I just can't think of a good way of repairing the tab so I'm just keeping it in the box in case I think of something someday. It just bothers me because the box is in great condition, the tab is in great condition, they're just separated. And sort of hard because of the glue, but hey, that's not something you can see.

Game Boy boxes are just a pain, yeah. And I know I really want stuff like all the Pokemon games complete in box, which sucks. You can still get a lot of good games CiB for a reasonable price though, so now's the time to do so for sure!

But yeah, it's basically why I love collecting DS games. It's so convenient in comparison. >.>
 
A

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
I got my first Gameboy when I was kid, with Tetris and Super Mario Land, and have been a fan of the system ever since. Owned a GBA at launch (still fighting a headache from playing Circle of the Moon in low light), bought an SP later on, etc.

Most of my Gameboys are in storage, so a week or two ago I grabbed this bad boy for a decent price:

kW3bMCyl.jpg


Today, I received my AGS-101 screen, new casing, buttons, etc., and will embark on my first full GBA mod. Will posts results when I'm finished!
 
B

Boylamite

Member
Found a new addition to my game room this weekend. Saw this hanging from the roof of a vendor's stall at the antique market. It was daytime so we had no idea how colorful and beautiful the sign was...It looks amazing in motion, it changes colors and sparkles... I can't stop just staring at it, lol

 
B

Ben Morales

Member
Boylamite said:
Found a new addition to my game room this weekend. Saw this hanging from the roof of a vendor's stall at the antique market. It was daytime so we had no idea how colorful and beautiful the sign was...It looks amazing in motion, it changes colors and sparkles... I can't stop just staring at it, lol
Click to expand...

Oh my goodness, you have to make a little gif of it animating, please! 😍 lol
 
B

Boylamite

Member
Since taking this home on the weekend I've done a bunch of research on these signs. It looks like There's a few different kinds of these fiber optic signs -
Kay bee - world of nintendo
World of nintendo (without the kay bee)
Nintendo Entertainment system
Super nintendo
N64
And this gameboy one

We got it for a steal apparently. Not that it matters, it Will never leave my gaming room:)
 
A

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
aidan said:
I got my first Gameboy when I was kid, with Tetris and Super Mario Land, and have been a fan of the system ever since. Owned a GBA at launch (still fighting a headache from playing Circle of the Moon in low light), bought an SP later on, etc.

Most of my Gameboys are in storage, so a week or two ago I grabbed this bad boy for a decent price:

kW3bMCyl.jpg


Today, I received my AGS-101 screen, new casing, buttons, etc., and will embark on my first full GBA mod. Will posts results when I'm finished!
Click to expand...

Mod is complete!

BdMPq3lh.jpg


It was my first time doing anything of the sort, so it took a few hours, but the end result is really nice. I find the buttons (particularly the d-pad) a little mushy and unresponsive, so I may need to take it apart again to check the membrane. Otherwise, it's absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to rediscover my library of GBA and GB games.
 
B

Ben Morales

Member
aidan said:
Mod is complete!

It was my first time doing anything of the sort, so it took a few hours, but the end result is really nice. I find the buttons (particularly the d-pad) a little mushy and unresponsive, so I may need to take it apart again to check the membrane. Otherwise, it's absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to rediscover my library of GBA and GB games.
Click to expand...

Man that is beautiful!! You did a great job! I need to take mine apart and check the button mushiness as well. It's really starting to bother me.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
aidan said:
It was my first time doing anything of the sort, so it took a few hours, but the end result is really nice. I find the buttons (particularly the d-pad) a little mushy and unresponsive, so I may need to take it apart again to check the membrane. Otherwise, it's absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to rediscover my library of GBA and GB games.
Click to expand...

It probably is not the membrane; the backlight mod can make the unit a bit thicker inside if you're not very careful which can cause the button presses to require excessive force. Also aftermarket cases are not perfect and slight warping or plastic weakness can cause the same thing.
 
R

Roi

Member
socksfelloff said:
I only buy gameboy stuff boxed, complete and local for that reason.
Click to expand...

Sadly most of the (game)stores that sell retro game in my area do sell fake GBA games, or new made SNES boxes. I'm not sure if they don't know or if they just don't care. Oh, and they all ask premium prices. :(
 
TheFuzz

TheFuzz

Member
I was able to find zero mission and fusion for decent prices (both less than $20) off eBay. Just be patient and find an auction with lots of pictures.
 
J

Joqu

Member
Huh, I didn't realize the EZ Flash IV had been updated for on the fly patching, it relied on this really annoying program in the past. Happened only recently too. Neat.
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
Joqu said:
Huh, I didn't realize the EZ Flash IV had been updated for on the fly patching, it relied on this really annoying program in the past. Happened only recently too. Neat.
Click to expand...

You can use a command line to patch thousands of files in an automated process, however I'm not sure I have it still.
**
Actually maybe I'm misremembering. I have a .bat for doing whole folders with goomba but I can't find one for EZFIV.
 
J

Joqu

Member
NormalFish said:
You can use a command line to patch thousands of files in an automated process, however I'm not sure I have it still.
**
Actually maybe I'm misremembering. I have a .bat for doing whole folders with goomba but I can't find one for EZFIV.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if you or someone else had a similar solution for EZFIV to be fair, it seems possible? Not that it really matters much anymore with the update.

I went ahead and updated, grabbed a new spiffy theme because the update comes with a pretty bad one by default, and everything seems to be working flawlessly. It's simple drag and drop and the cart handles the rest, only the initial boot is a little longer than usual but that goes away afterwards so it's a non-issue. So yeah, I'm pretty pleased with my good old EZ Flash. Still getting support in the year 2017.
 
J

Joqu

Member
J

Joqu

Member
NormalFish said:
And apparently another update on the way. Guess the everdrive spurred them in to that competitive mood lol.
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah, I read they're planning universal soft reset support? It certainly sounds good. I dunno what exactly the everdrive offers over the IV right now, but I gotta say I'm pretty pleased with the latter now that it's on the latest firmware.
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
Joqu said:
Haha, yeah, I read they're planning universal soft reset support? It certainly sounds good. I dunno what exactly the everdrive offers over the IV right now, but I gotta say I'm pretty pleased with the latter now that it's on the latest firmware.
Click to expand...

do you have one of the newer EZFIV models? the dark case and spring loaded SD slot? I'm having a hard time getting mine to boot the updater.
 
J

Joqu

Member
NormalFish said:
do you have one of the newer EZFIV models? the dark case and spring loaded SD slot? I'm having a hard time getting mine to boot the updater.
Click to expand...

I've got an older one, no. (the SD card is a pain to get out btw, ugh)

But the update process should be the same, no? You need to hold R and then turn it on, and keep holding it until the update process has started. You doing it that way?

NormalFish said:
when I hold R the screen goes black but it never loads the .bin
Click to expand...

What bin are you using by the way? I updated using the one from the official EZ flash site and only then installed the improved theme bin for what it's worth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Rumor: Several Pokemon Games are coming for Gameboy and GBA NSO
Rumor
21
2K
Sooner replied
Circana/NPD: US Top 20 Best-selling Video Games of the Year, 2000 through 2023
13
674
iseedeadpeople replied
Nintendo Q2 FY 24/25 Earnings Release: Hardware 2.62m LTD 146.04m. Zelda:EOW 2.58m
Sales-Age 2 3
137
5K
Hookshot replied
Game Boy Color + Game Boy Advance games coming to Nintendo Switch Online
News Hardware Hype 2
77
6K
Xellos replied
Dexerto's top 100 games of all time
Social Opinion 2 3
125
6K
_Idea_of_Evil_ replied
Top Bottom