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[Peagles]

Thank you, this is what I needed. A lot of people don't do their own mods. It wasn't a slight on you, just didn't have the information if you did it yourself or not. I am fine doing some mods but I just had a rgb bypass board put on my snes mini recently. I am sure I could have done it, but it wasn't something I wanted to mess up nor was it something I had the time for. I have like 3 or 4 unfinished mods in my closet and this GBA AGS 101 mod is one of them.

I appreciate your help. Thanks again.

Edit. Just a quick question, does this 3 wire mod get as bright as the AGS 101 in the 2nd stage? I just want to know before I drop another $40 US on this.

Haha was just curious

The solder points are small but if you have steady hands it's fine. The trickier thing is fitting everything nicely into the shell so it closes (it's a squeeze for sure and you need to cut a lot of plastic off the casing).

As far as I remember, it actually goes brighter.

 

[Kawika]

Haha was just curious

The solder points are small but if you have steady hands it's fine. The trickier thing is fitting everything nicely into the shell so it closes (it's a squeeze for sure and you need to cut a lot of plastic off the casing).

As far as I remember, it actually goes brighter.

I actually did the mod already for the ags 101 screen. I just didn't like how the brightness was. I bought a "new stock" ags 101 screen. Figuring it was the screen. I bought a new original ags 101 and a new harness but wanted to get a new soldering iron to deal with the small solder points. But now that I've seen how that mod works. Its far superior to the switch in the battler compartment that I recently bought. Now that I have enough stuff to do two mods. I am looking for a clean white gba or clear. I don't like repro cases as they never seem to fit right so I am still on the hunt. Worst case scenario, I have 2 AGS 101 modded GBAs. (I think this would be my 6th gba).

 

[TheFuzz]

Anyone know what would cause a GBA cart to just go black? It's my copy of Yoshis Island, and when I set it down for a few min the screen will go black and I have to restart the GBA.

It's only that game. All my others work fine.

 

[socksfelloff]

Anyone know what would cause a GBA cart to just go black? It's my copy of Yoshis Island, and when I set it down for a few min the screen will go black and I have to restart the GBA.

It's only that game. All my others work fine.

Sounds like the flux capacitor

 

[TheFuzz]

Sounds like the flux capacitor

Jigawatt meter didn't show any issues. Weird.

 

[socksfelloff]

Jigawatt meter didn't show any issues. Weird.

Huh that's weird. Did you hook it up to the right device? When you open your cartridge you should see this on the right side.

In all seriousness I don't know what's going on with your cart. The only thing you can really do are make sure the pins are in good shape.

 

[Peltz]

Anyone know what would cause a GBA cart to just go black? It's my copy of Yoshis Island, and when I set it down for a few min the screen will go black and I have to restart the GBA.

It's only that game. All my others work fine.

Is it a bootleg?

 

[TheFuzz]

Is it a bootleg?

Nope, it's real. Even the board inside has the correct info and the Nintendo branding.

 

[Ben Morales]

When the screen goes black, did you try pressing L+R+Select? Maybe it's going to sleep.

 

[aidan]

When the screen goes black, did you try pressing L+R+Select? Maybe it's going to sleep.

Yep. Yoshi's Island has an "auto sleep mode" that puts the GBA to sleep if no buttons are pressed for one minute. L+R+Select will take it out of sleep mode.

 

[TheFuzz]

When the screen goes black, did you try pressing L+R+Select? Maybe it's going to sleep.

Yep. Yoshi's Island has an "auto sleep mode" that puts the GBA to sleep if no buttons are pressed for one minute. L+R+Select will take it out of sleep mode.

Thank you both!! That's it!

 

[TheFuzz]

Haggled and got a genuine Minish Cap cart for $22 off eBay.

I'm excited. Played the first dungeon on a ROM and loved it. Can't wait.

 

[NormalFish]

Haggled and got a genuine Minish Cap cart for $22 off eBay.

I'm excited. Played the first dungeon on a ROM and loved it. Can't wait.

Minish Cap is my 2nd favourite 2D zelda. Dungeons are a bit linear, but the world and atmosphere is amazingly well realized, and the little environmental puzzles are pretty well done. Love it.

 

[TheFuzz]

Minish Cap is my 2nd favourite 2D zelda. Dungeons are a bit linear, but the world and atmosphere is amazingly well realized, and the little environmental puzzles are pretty well done. Love it.

Yeah I played enough to see I would love it. Love the look of the world and the first dungeon was fun enough. I want to finish Link's Awakening and the oracle games, too.

 

[TheFuzz]

Does anyone recommend any of the current eBay sellers for purchasing a backlit/reshelled AGB model?

 

[D.Lo]

Minish Cap is my 2nd favourite 2D zelda. Dungeons are a bit linear, but the world and atmosphere is amazingly well realized, and the little environmental puzzles are pretty well done. Love it.

It's charming, but a bit sloppy/loose in design IMO. You can smell the Capcom on it, just like the Oracles games. Less tight integration of systems, too much restrictive and non-obvious progression (certain events randomly opening areas rather than using an ability or new knowledge, eg many kinstone options appear after doing unrelated tasks, and non-controllable events blocking areas) and too many head scratch moments.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Oh cool I found the post I made last time about Minish Cap:

The last time I played Minish Cap was right after doing LttP on GBA and I think that helped me to realize how many problems it has.

Aside from the cute style and interesting premise, it doesn't have a lot going for it. The items they added are terrible, the dungeon design is really plain, there's hardly any exploration, it's really short, and the game just ends up feeling really boring. And maybe it's nitpicking but the sound effects just sound awful... they're using the original GB audio channels but they sound out of place against the whatever GBA softsynth they're using, and even then (like there's some amazing GB-audio work out there) it sounds cheap and almost like they're from mid-90s shovelware.

 

[NormalFish]

It's charming, but a bit sloppy/loose in design IMO. You can smell the Capcom on it, just like the Oracles games. Less tight integration of systems, too much restrictive and non-obvious progression (certain events randomly opening areas rather than using an ability or new knowledge, eg many kinstone options appear after doing unrelated tasks, and non-controllable events blocking areas) and too many head scratch moments.

Oh cool I found the post I made last time about Minish Cap:

Yeah, I don't trust my memory to argue specifics but I never felt these issues like you guys evidently did. Really my only major gripe with the game is kinstones are a lazy way to offer progression. Enjoy the items, enjoy the dungeons, enjoy the overworld, etc.. Then again, twilight princess is still my favourite 3D zelda so maybe I'm just looking for something different.

 

[D.Lo]

The items are fun, miniature stuff is fun, the fairytale stuff is amusing, and the graphics are borderline spectacular IMO, best looking 2D Zelda easily. Animation is superb. And the world is nice and efficient - small but packed with stuff, just like Link's Awakening.

 

[NormalFish]

The items are fun, miniature stuff is fun, the fairytale stuff is amusing, and the graphics are borderline spectacular IMO, best looking 2D Zelda easily. Animation is superb. And the world is nice and efficient - small but packed with stuff, just like Link's Awakening.

Yeah, for sure. I think as to your previous comment, I find zelda in general to be pretty arbitrary in terms of what sets flags for progression. Series is great, but I don't think it's really found a happy medium between those arbitrary and frustrating flags and linearity. Maybe BotW is an improvement, but I haven't been able to play it just yet.

 

[D.Lo]

Yeah, for sure. I think as to your previous comment, I find zelda in general to be pretty arbitrary in terms of what sets flags for progression. Series is great, but I don't think it's really found a happy medium between those arbitrary and frustrating flags and linearity. Maybe BotW is an improvement, but I haven't been able to play it just yet.

Link's Awakening is borderline perfection in non-arbitrary progression IMO. The swap game is the only possible obscurity, and each step is clearly signposted backward (ie you speak to each person in order backward and you'll get all the info you need).

There are some non-logical event 'keys' like Bow Wow, but they are non-disruptive - you're not artificially blocked by an event (eg construction), it's an event that allows unexpected access to a new thing.

Link's Awakening is Super Metroid level perfection IMO.

 

[NormalFish]

Link's Awakening is borderline perfection in non-arbitrary progression IMO. The swap game is the only possible obscurity, and each step is clearly signposted backward (ie you speak to each person in order backward and you'll get all the info you need).

There are some non-logical event 'keys' like Bow Wow, but they are non-disruptive - you're not artificially blocked by an event (eg construction), it's an event that allows unexpected access to a new thing.

Link's Awakening is Super Metroid level perfection IMO.

Yeah I guess that's true. I'd say bow wow is pretty bad, but you're absolutely right that the bits that are gated off feel far more organic than in Minish Cap (or the vast majority of 3D zeldas, for that matter). I think Nintendo understood that particular aspect of level design better back then, when metroidvania-esque progression was more or less king.

 

[Peltz]

Link's Awakening is borderline perfection in non-arbitrary progression IMO. The swap game is the only possible obscurity, and each step is clearly signposted backward (ie you speak to each person in order backward and you'll get all the info you need).

There are some non-logical event 'keys' like Bow Wow, but they are non-disruptive - you're not artificially blocked by an event (eg construction), it's an event that allows unexpected access to a new thing.

Link's Awakening is Super Metroid level perfection IMO.

I still think LttP is better. LA feels a lot more linear than LttP. And the boss fights weren't as fun. And the 5 gold leaf section was pretty bad.

I honestly love both games, but I still feel like LttP is the gold standard and give it the slightest edge. Even though it's less tight from a level-design perspective, it feels more lush with interactivity.

Minish Cap is charming as hell by the way. I loved my time with it, but haven't played it with an eye to judge it on a critical basis. I may revisit it sometime soon.

 

[DeuceGamer]

videogameboxprotectors.com is pretty good

This is what I use and have always been satisfied in the quality never had an issue.

 

[milkham]

Thanks to Aidan for drawing my attention to the fact that screens are available again, and Peagles for answering a question I had.

I grabbed a "for parts" gba that just needed it's contacts cleaned and found a guy selling screen, ribbon cable with brightness switch and glass lens replacement in one package. I was eyeing an orange shell for it but in the end decided to keep the original. $90.48 and some elbow grease later and this really looks amazing.

Peagles wasn't kidding about it being a tight fit.

 

[aidan]

Thanks to Aidan for drawing my attention to the fact that screens are available again, and Peagles for answering a question I had.

I grabbed a "for parts" gba that just needed it's contacts cleaned and found a guy selling screen, ribbon cable with brightness switch and glass lens replacement in one package. I was eyeing an orange shell for it but in the end decided to keep the original. $90.48 and some elbow grease later and this really looks amazing.

Peagles wasn't kidding about it being a tight fit.

That's awesome! Glad it worked out for you.

There's something to be said about the original casing. Classic look and feel. The aftermarket case and buttons I have feel a little off.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Thanks to Aidan for drawing my attention to the fact that screens are available again, and Peagles for answering a question I had.

I grabbed a "for parts" gba that just needed it's contacts cleaned and found a guy selling screen, ribbon cable with brightness switch and glass lens replacement in one package. I was eyeing an orange shell for it but in the end decided to keep the original. $90.48 and some elbow grease later and this really looks amazing.

Peagles wasn't kidding about it being a tight fit.

Nice work. I modded a purple one back in the day too.

 

[RadarScope1]

Thanks to Aidan for drawing my attention to the fact that screens are available again, and Peagles for answering a question I had.

I grabbed a "for parts" gba that just needed it's contacts cleaned and found a guy selling screen, ribbon cable with brightness switch and glass lens replacement in one package. I was eyeing an orange shell for it but in the end decided to keep the original. $90.48 and some elbow grease later and this really looks amazing.

Peagles wasn't kidding about it being a tight fit.

Man that looks swell.

 

[Vespa]

That looks great! I was thinking of doing a front light mod but now I'm tempted by this. Where's a good place to get a screen? I take it that the screen is the same native res as the original?

 

[milkham]

That's awesome! Glad it worked out for you.

There's something to be said about the original casing. Classic look and feel. The aftermarket case and buttons I have feel a little off.

Yeah I was worried that the extra thickness might change how the buttons feel but it's all just like before the mod.

Man that looks swell.

Nice work. I modded a purple one back in the day too.

Thanks!

That looks great! I was thinking of doing a front light mod but now I'm tempted by this. Where's a good place to get a screen? I take it that the screen is the same native res as the original?

The screens are apparently leftovers that were intended to go in AGS-101 GBA SPs so they're the same resolution and aspect ratio. I got mine from a guy on ebay called "thegodofgaming" he's got everything you'd need, and I think sells modded ones himself. You can also get everything from https://www.retromodding.com/ . I went with ebay to save on shipping and the guy's right here in new york so I got my stuff basically overnight.

Now I kind of feel like doing a screen swap on my SP

 

[D.Lo]

I still think LttP is better. LA feels a lot more linear than LttP. And the boss fights weren't as fun. And the 5 gold leaf section was pretty bad.

I honestly love both games, but I still feel like LttP is the gold standard and give it the slightest edge. Even though it's less tight from a level-design perspective, it feels more lush with interactivity.

Minish Cap is charming as hell by the way. I loved my time with it, but haven't played it with an eye to judge it on a critical basis. I may revisit it sometime soon.

LTTP is looser, has more wasted space, more dead ends. And doesn't have as much story, including LA's super classily done central mystery.

It is bigger and more complex for sure. But I wasn't arguing overall best, just tightest design. LA is so efficient. Understated. It achieves so much with so little. I prefer LA, but fully understand someone preferring LTTP.

 

[Vespa]

Thanks for the info, milkham!

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Moved on to Kirby's Dreamland 2. I noticed the scrolling is oddly choppy in this game. Could it have been to make the image more clear on the original GB / pocket screen? Like less smooth movement gives more time for an image to appear on the screen rather than a continuous smear.

 

[Vespa]

Purchased a screen but now looking at the ribbon to go along with it, there's a 2 and 5 brightness version. Is your gba using the 5 brightness cable, milkham? Also came across a voltage regulator and I'm not sure if I need one, think that might be for when you use a 'B type' screen on a 40pin motherboard.

 

[ugly]

LTTP is looser, has more wasted space, more dead ends. And doesn't have as much story, including LA's super classily done central mystery.

It is bigger and more complex for sure. But I wasn't arguing overall best, just tightest design. LA is so efficient. Understated. It achieves so much with so little. I prefer LA, but fully understand someone preferring LTTP.

The flow of LA - the traversal from screen-to-screen (and room-to-room in the dungeons) is like a guided dance. The player becomes a leaf caught in a draft that the designers have expertly curated to bring out these beautiful swells - the flow is so meticulous. But the story beats and atmosphere feel so knitted into that flow... it's incredibly cohesive. I really feel strongly about this game.

I grew up on OoT and I remember playing a friend's copy of one of the Oracle games as a child, coming away thinking the graphics were stupid and it was just dumb. It wasn't until I was a teenager I was suddenly struck with a bizarre yearning to have and play a Gameboy, like some kind of nostalgia for something I never experienced. Obviously there are a lot of cheap games on the system that are just thrown together, but also some real gems on the system that when I got LA I knew I was playing a really good game, separate from any pre-conceived ideas. Same as when I played Super Metroid and other SNES and NES games for the first time in my late teens and 20's. No nostalgia required, man - there are some very, very well-made games out there. In fact, learning and experiencing the immediacy of older games (in terms of their mechanical play-styles) has actually retroactively diminished my appreciation for newer games I played in my youth and modern games of today that are so full of story and lore but are a chore to play sometimes! AH! Anyhoo...

Also to whoever was talking about the golden leaves quest up there - Yeah, the game is not flawless and there are two or three moments that aren't incredible, but that quest in particular really only takes a few minutes!

Why did I come into this thread..? Oh yeah! I just ordered Dragon Warrior 2 Cobi's Journey! Don't know much about it and am excited about going in fresh No spoilers, please and if you're going to rip into it like you did to TheFuzz's new puchase I shan't be reading! Good day!

 

[D.Lo]

The flow of LA - the traversal from screen-to-screen (and room-to-room in the dungeons) is like a guided dance. The player becomes a leaf caught in a draft that the designers have expertly curated to bring out these beautiful swells - the flow is so meticulous. But the story beats and atmosphere feel so knitted into that flow... it's incredibly cohesive. I really feel strongly about this game.

I grew up on OoT and I remember playing a friend's copy of one of the Oracle games as a child, coming away thinking the graphics were stupid and it was just dumb. It wasn't until I was a teenager I was suddenly struck with a bizarre yearning to have and play a Gameboy, like some kind of nostalgia for something I never experienced. Obviously there are a lot of cheap games on the system that are just thrown together, but also some real gems on the system that when I got LA I knew I was playing a really good game, separate from any pre-conceived ideas. Same as when I played Super Metroid and other SNES and NES games for the first time in my late teens and 20's. No nostalgia required, man - there are some very, very well-made games out there. In fact, learning and experiencing the immediacy of older games (in terms of their mechanical play-styles) has actually retroactively diminished my appreciation for newer games I played in my youth and modern games of today that are so full of story and lore but are a chore to play sometimes! AH! Anyhoo...

Am in 100% agreement.

I put it and Super Metroid as the equal best designed games of all time. Both in the genre (non-linear action adventure) that requires the most design.

Honestly the biggest issues with Link's Awakening are simply functional annoyances - assigning items to each of the two buttons becomes cumbersome, and magic acorns are annoying and pointless.

 

[ugly]

Am in 100% agreement.

I put it and Super Metroid as the equal best designed games of all time. Both in the genre (non-linear action adventure) that requires the most design.

Honestly the biggest issues with Link's Awakening are simply functional annoyances - assigning items to each of the two buttons becomes cumbersome, and magic acorns are annoying and pointless.

Yeah, I tried to get my brother to pick up LA but he cited grievances with the jars and never really played it -_- Guess they're too heavy for him.
Though I did buy it for him on the 3DS shop and I maintain that playing it on an actual GB (pocket in my case... mmmmm...) does change the feeling. There's something about the authenticity of the system actually generating those old tunes out of the box and the screen really being able only to display four tones. It really was pushing the limits of what you could fit into a little console like that, and to be backed by such behemoth companies - Nintendo's, Capcom's, Natsume's best developers putting everything into this little engine - it changes the feeling a lot. It's a hard thing to describe, whatever it is I'm saying. The thought seems to slip away as I examine it! It's like a relic, a time capsule. I can't help but respect everything about the system - particularly the GB Pocket. Such a sleek device! I think it looks timeless. Partially that I missed the boat on the GB as a kid might have something to do with it. It feels hallowed, this pocket of time that I can only admire, like looking at the career of The Beatles or something.

I've been wanting to make a video about the GB and Link's Awakening for some time, but I'm in two minds about it. I like appreciating it, and I like the mystery of it. If I sat down and note-by-note delineated what I respect about the system and my favourite games, I might quell the magic! Though I guess this post is already getting down to the guts of it.

 

[D.Lo]

Yeah, I tried to get my brother to pick up LA but he cited grievances with the jars and never really played it -_- Guess they're too heavy for him.
Though I did buy it for him on the 3DS shop and I maintain that playing it on an actual GB (pocket in my case... mmmmm...) does change the feeling. There's something about the authenticity of the system actually generating those old tunes out of the box and the screen really being able only to display four tones. It really was pushing the limits of what you could fit into a little console like that, and to be backed by such behemoth companies - Nintendo's, Capcom's, Natsume's best developers putting everything into this little engine - it changes the feeling a lot. It's a hard thing to describe, whatever it is I'm saying. The thought seems to slip away as I examine it! It's like a relic, a time capsule. I can't help but respect everything about the system - particularly the GB Pocket. Such a sleek device! I think it looks timeless.

I've been wanting to make a video about the GB and Link's Awakening for some time, but I'm in two minds about it. I like appreciating it, and I like the mystery of it. If I sat down and note-by-note delineated what I respect about the system and my favourite games, I might quell the magic!

Agreed again. That they were able to produce such depth and such an elegant design with just four shades of so few pixels.

It is kind of amazing that the Game Boy, of all platforms, has the most sophisticated 8-bit game on any platform.

 

[milkham]

Purchased a screen but now looking at the ribbon to go along with it, there's a 2 and 5 brightness version. Is your gba using the 5 brightness cable, milkham? Also came across a voltage regulator and I'm not sure if I need one, think that might be for when you use a 'B type' screen on a 40pin motherboard.

My system needed a 32pin ribbon cable, and I got that with a pre-soldered wire to connect to one of the points on the board and a 2 level brightness switch. I thought the 5 level was a more elegant solution but the only 32pin version I could find at the time was 40 dollars so I noped out on that idea pretty quickly. I did not get a voltage regulator, I'm not sure in what case it is required or if it is just to allow the screen to get even brighter.

Unfortunately, I never came across a video that covers all the current options. Most of what I saw only covered needing a 32 pin or 40 pin cable, requiring a solder point, and adjusting the potentiometer if the screen looks weird. Nothing specifically, about differences in available screens, brightness level switches or voltage regulators. (for reference, i received one with a white sticker and did not need to adjust the pot, it looked great as soon as i turned it on)

I did see some scattered forum posts about the screen with the white sticker on the ribbon cable being a perfect match for 32pin systems, vs the black sticker but I found no concrete confirmation of it.

here are the videos I watched for reference:
https://youtu.be/d2gK8AUx-o8
https://youtu.be/6NZaRSQ__jE
https://youtu.be/IsA5_TfnvGA


edit: unrelated to vespa's question I was wondering if anyone had come across counterfeit copies of Drill Dozer that have the full sized cartridge case. It's one of those games that I always wanted to play but never got around to picking up, I've never picked up a gba game over ebay before but I know to be wary of fakes.

 

[TheFuzz]

New Purchase!

Just won a genuine Gunstar Super Heroes cart for $20.

Stoked. Never played a Gunstar game and heard it's a good one.

 

[ugly]

Agreed again. That they were able to produce such depth and such an elegant design with just four shades of so few pixels.

It is kind of amazing that the Game Boy, of all platforms, has the most sophisticated 8-bit game on any platform.

I D.Love what you're saying

 

[sixteen-bit]

New Purchase!

Just won a genuine Gunstar Super Heroes cart for $20.

Stoked. Never played a Gunstar game and heard it's a good one.

Congrats. I ended up liking that game more than the original.

 

[ugly]

Also, wow at that gameboy neon sign a few pages back! I'm very envious

 

[TheFuzz]

Guys look what I did! Grabbed it in a hurry after the seller was willing to come down on the price since I was ready to pay immediately.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/192233382063?_mwBanner=1


Think I did okay?

 

[milkham]

Guys look what I did! Grabbed it in a hurry after the seller was willing to come down on the price since I was ready to pay immediately.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/192233382063?_mwBanner=1


Think I did okay?

I think you did fine, if I had replaced the shell on mine it would have been right around that price and I did all the work myself

 

[TheFuzz]

So I got the modded GBA I ordered and love it.... but, I noticed after powering it on a few times that every so often when I switch it on, nothing happens. It's like I'd apply pressure to the battery cover, it kicks on. Doesn't happen every time, like once every 10 tries and it does power on.

Is this a problem or something that's possible with a modded system?

 

[milkham]

So I got the modded GBA I ordered and love it.... but, I noticed after powering it on a few times that every so often when I switch it on, nothing happens. It's like I'd apply pressure to the battery cover, it kicks on. Doesn't happen every time, like once every 10 tries and it does power on.

Is this a problem or something that's possible with a modded system?

could it be just the power switch that is iffy?

 

[TheFuzz]

could it be just the power switch that is iffy?

I think so. I cleaned the battery contacts and all. Hasn't happened since and I love it. Any chance it was just one of those random things?

 

[Ben Morales]

I think so. I cleaned the battery contacts and all. Hasn't happened since and I love it. Any chance it was just one of those random things?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you cleared it up. It should be fine from now on. I had a similar issue with my modded DMG. Cleaned the contacts and it was as good as new.

 

[dock]

I might sell my GB Light. I thought the bigger screen and light would make it a better experience than the GB Color, but it turns out the screen blur isn't as charming as I thought it would be.

Which modded GBs are the best for classic GB games?