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GB/GBC/GBA Collecting Thread

dock

Member
After searching for about 2 years I finally managed to get a Game Boy Light Famitsu Skeleton edition (Mail order version). Only 500 was made with the black box.

Cant describe how stunning this device is!

http://i.imgur.com/T6Wqv3K.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RPXIVP9.jpg

Holy crap, that's a nice system.

I recently picked up a nice quality Japanese Game Boy Light in the UK, but I'm actually thinking about selling it in favour of a modded unit.
 

alf717

Member
Finally beat Mega Man 3. Only Mega Man left to complete is Mega Man 5.

Some screens:

20170718_230730qrl55.jpg


20170718_2312095ey8s.jpg


20170718_2312180fab1.jpg


20170718_231242kqatb.jpg
 

alf717

Member
World 5 is really fun. Too bad I'm so awful at megaman games.

Got to the end of MM5 years ago but lost to what I believe was the final boss with only one pixel of health left. Left it go since then but I was hankering to play some MM GB games so I decided to get through the ones I haven't beaten yet. The slow down in Mega Man 3 was bother some at times and a whole lot of perfect jumps made it a bit annoying but still a real fun game.
 
I wanted to know, are GBCs easy to repair/pinpoint problems? were they built like tanks? wanted to buy a lot of around 5 GBs and see if i can come away with at least two working units at the very least.
 
I wanted to know, are GBCs easy to repair/pinpoint problems? were they built like tanks? wanted to buy a lot of around 5 GBs and see if i can come away with at least two working units at the very least.
Generally yeah, but corrosion and bad screens are the most common issues iirc, and you just gotta replace the effected areas.
 
Generally yeah, but corrosion and bad screens are the most common issues iirc, and you just gotta replace the effected areas.

ok that's good to know ahead of time. maybe i'll just mod my one GBA .....leave all the DMG, GBCs alone ... although i do have one DMG ..... but no games i think. hrm
 
If you're looking for something straight forward, look for units that have weak or no sound. It's 99% a bad speaker, which can be replaced by a DS speaker for better quality. It's a mod that you want to do anyway if you ever play with sound on and without headphones.
 

alf717

Member
Finally beat Mega Man 5 on Gameboy. Decided to do a play through of Mega Man 4 first before taking on Mega Man 5 again. Really enjoyed the Mega Man games on the Game Boy and they are definitely worth playing. After completion I started thinking about Mega Man Mania that got canceled for the GBA. Heck I'd love to see these game play as regular NES titles. I'll be doing another play through of Mega Man 5 at some point but this time on the Super Game Boy if I ever come across one some day.

 
Finally beat Mega Man 5 on Gameboy. Decided to do a play through of Mega Man 4 first before taking on Mega Man 5 again. Really enjoyed the Mega Man games on the Game Boy and they are definitely worth playing. After completion I started thinking about Mega Man Mania that got canceled for the GBA. Heck I'd love to see these game play as regular NES titles. I'll be doing another play through of Mega Man 5 at some point but this time on the Super Game Boy if I ever come across one some day.


I need to check out the gameboy games one of these days! I recently grabbed a super gameboy 2 off ebay for dirt cheap. Definetly worth it!
 

TheFuzz

Member
Playing through Astro Boy Omega Factor for the first time. Man, this game is fun. Can't believe I overlooked it for so long.

Is it normal for the game to have some major slow-down? I'm in the third level with all the steam and there is one particular part that has performance issues and is barely chugging. I'm 99.99% sure it's a legit cart, I've checked the board. Does this just happen with everything going on?
 
Playing through Astro Boy Omega Factor for the first time. Man, this game is fun. Can't believe I overlooked it for so long.

Is it normal for the game to have some major slow-down? I'm in the third level with all the steam and there is one particular part that has performance issues and is barely chugging. I'm 99.99% sure it's a legit cart, I've checked the board. Does this just happen with everything going on?

Yup, completely normal, as far as I remember. Awesome game though. I lost my cart at some point, but wouldn't mind grabbing another copy again one day.
 

TheFuzz

Member
Yeah that game definitely suffers from slowdown, so it's probably working as intended.

Yup, completely normal, as far as I remember. Awesome game though. I lost my cart at some point, but wouldn't mind grabbing another copy again one day.

Whew, thanks guys. It always worries me when I'm buying GBA carts. I literally checked it on every single spot and it's legit, it was definitely chugging at one point but runs fine now.

I love it so much. It's just boss and after boss and the replayability is off the charts.
 

kbohs

Member
I love it so much. It's just boss and after boss and the replayability is off the charts.

I have Astro Boy on my "get to at some point" list. I love arcade beat 'em ups and shmups which it looks to be a mix of but hearing it is also a boss rush sounds pretty sweet. I imagine there are multiple difficulty levels or is the replayability mostly in the form of score/fun in chasing perfection?

Also, just started collecting GBA games since it and the SNES are probably my two favorite video game machines. It feels good to revisit what I love and realize that these games still hold up amazingly well. Got a modded AGB with the AGS-101 screen/glass lens ordered on the way to replace my creaky ol' AGS-001.
 
I have Astro Boy on my "get to at some point" list. I love arcade beat 'em ups and shmups which it looks to be a mix of but hearing it is also a boss rush sounds pretty sweet. I imagine there are multiple difficulty levels or is the replayability mostly in the form of score/fun in chasing perfection?

Yes to both of those. Multiple difficulty levels and score chasing. Your score is reset to zero if you die and there are high score tables for how far you can get from the beginning and per stage. A lot of little secrets as well.

I also want to say Treasure's other GBA title, Gunstar Super Heroes is great too. When I first got it years ago I was disappointed because it was so different to Gunstar Heroes but going back to it, the damn game is amazing. Lots of variety in the stages just like Astro Boy with lots of replayability perfecting different sections or playing different characters/difficulties. The graphics are also insane. Some of the effects are crazy.
 

TheFuzz

Member
Yes to both of those. Multiple difficulty levels and score chasing. Your score is reset to zero if you die and there are high score tables for how far you can get from the beginning and per stage. A lot of little secrets as well.

I also want to say Treasure's other GBA title, Gunstar Super Heroes is great too. When I first got it years ago I was disappointed because it was so different to Gunstar Heroes but going back to it, the damn game is amazing. Lots of variety in the stages just like Astro Boy with lots of replayability perfecting different sections or playing different characters/difficulties. The graphics are also insane. Some of the effects are crazy.

Yes to both of these. I received GSH and Astro Boy both recently, and Astro Boy grabbed me more starting off. It's a boss rush, but it's extremely fun.
 

Synless

Member
Walked into a local game store and they had 3 AGS-101's in stock. I bought two of them, one to do another GBA classic mod and the other I'm going to restore with the famicon shell.

Edit* Where the hell can I find a famicon shell? The white one with red buttons & screen...
 

kbohs

Member
Yes to both of those. Multiple difficulty levels and score chasing. Your score is reset to zero if you die and there are high score tables for how far you can get from the beginning and per stage. A lot of little secrets as well.

Damn, that sounds right up my alley. Do you find the slowdown annoying? I play a lot of shmups so slowdown can end up being helpful and even rewarding since it usually occurs when the screen is FILLED with bullets. If a handful of enemies or bullets causes it then I can imagine it would be pretty annoying.
 
Damn, that sounds right up my alley. Do you find the slowdown annoying? I play a lot of shmups so slowdown can end up being helpful and even rewarding since it usually occurs when the screen is FILLED with bullets. If a handful of enemies or bullets causes it then I can imagine it would be pretty annoying.

I definitely welcome slowdown during bullet hell as well! And no, it's definitely not annoying. The controls still feel responsive during it. It only happens at key points when there are taxing special effects or a lot going on. Otherwise it's pretty smooth.
 

kbohs

Member
I definitely welcome slowdown during bullet hell as well! And no, it's definitely not annoying. The controls still feel responsive during it. It only happens at key points when there are taxing special effects or a lot going on. Otherwise it's pretty smooth.
Sounds golden! Think I'll grab it next paycheck and when I finish Circle of the Moon. I saw my local shop has it for $30 which seems in line with online prices, but I might go for an eBay combo with the manual and throw it in a custom case.
 
Is there any reason to buy an OG Gameboy or Gameboy Color over an Advance besides aesthetic? The backwards compatibility and ergonomics of the Advance and SP seem better to me, but I know it's common for people to install AGS-101 screens in the Gameboy Colors.
I prefer the GBC for Gameboy games since the batteries last way longer than the lithium batteries of the SP. Also like the feel of the console and the fact the games aren't windowed inside a larger GBA screen.
 
Is there any reason to buy an OG Gameboy or Gameboy Color over an Advance besides aesthetic? The backwards compatibility and ergonomics of the Advance and SP seem better to me, but I know it's common for people to install AGS-101 screens in the Gameboy Colors.

I wouldn't say this is common. I think maybe 10 of us have one? The only reason I prefer a GBC over a GBA for gb/gbc games is feel. It just feels better playing them on the original vertical hardware design.
 
One thing that hasn't been mentioned, but is more subjective, is that I greatly prefer the colours of the GBC screen to the GBA's. It also offers a generally cleaner picture in motion. Obviously that's not relevant if you're gonna replace the screen with an AGS-101, but I'm not huge on that mod.
 
The original GBC screen is just fine in most lighting conditions and the gamma or whatever much better suits GBC games.

I like doing original GB games on a GameBoy Pocket as well since the monochrome screen better suits monochrome games.
 

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
Picked up an old beat-up GBA last week and ordered some new parts for it. Still waiting on the backlit screen, but the case and buttons came the other day and I was impatient.

soaWNSu.jpg


(The back is clear neon green, looks ace with the opaque neon green buttons and bumpers.)
 

Synless

Member
Picked up an old beat-up GBA last week and ordered some new parts for it. Still waiting on the backlit screen, but the case and buttons came the other day and I was impatient.

soaWNSu.jpg


(The back is clear neon green, looks ace with the opaque neon green buttons and bumpers.)
Both look really nice but I need to know where you got those snes buttons.
 

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/custom-buttons

(As an aside, why the hell aren't there a bunch of different color controller shells available for NES/SNES/Genny like there are for GB/GBC/GBA shells or recent consoles? Controller mods on those retro consoles are way easier than on handhelds or modern controllers. I feel like there's a market being neglected here.)
 

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
The kicker is that there's heaps of off-brand replacements/USB clones being produced for those retro controllers. It's not like the molds are gone or in disuse. If one of those manufacturing houses would just pour in some different colors, bingo bango, they're in on the ground floor of an under-served market instead of fighting for relevancy in an overcrowded one, using the same equipment they were already using.
I agree. 3D printers, get on this!
Enh, no. The finish on stuff from 3D printers generally looks like crap.
 
I grabbed a 3d printer during prime day and I've been dialing it in and getting a feel for it. Spent the past week or 2 just printing upgrades for it but once I get it all set I'm going to try printing some dpads and buttons.
 
I grabbed a 3d printer during prime day and I've been dialing it in and getting a feel for it. Spent the past week or 2 just printing upgrades for it but once I get it all set I'm going to try printing some dpads and buttons.

That's really not going to work without either falling apart fairly quickly or feeling like trash (or both). You really need injection molded plastic for that kind of thing.
 
That's really not going to work without either falling apart fairly quickly or feeling like trash (or both). You really need injection molded plastic for that kind of thing.

The prints are incredible strong. Theirs no way they are going to fall apart. They will more then likely feel like complete trash though even after sanding!
 
Picked up a few more GBA games recently. Added Summon Night Sword craft 1 and 2 and Rebelstar Tactical Command, all complete. I've noticed some of the GBA games are getting pricey to find complete copies. Was hoping it would go unnoticed for a while longer but it doesn't look like it.
 

hitgirl

Member
Started CastleVania Aria of Sorrow and really enjoying it. Last year I decided to go through the GBA CastleVania games as I loved them when they came out. Went through Circle of the Moon and was blown away by how well it aged. Continued through Harmony of Dissonance and that sort of put a speed bump in the plan, really didn't enjoy that one. Something felt off about it, too many bosses also. Now into Aria of Sorrow and I remember why it's one of my favorites!
 
Started CastleVania Aria of Sorrow and really enjoying it. Last year I decided to go through the GBA CastleVania games as I loved them when they came out. Went through Circle of the Moon and was blown away by how well it aged. Continued through Harmony of Dissonance and that sort of put a speed bump in the plan, really didn't enjoy that one. Something felt off about it, too many bosses also. Now into Aria of Sorrow and I remember why it's one of my favorites!

Harmony took me the longest to finish out of the three back in the day. I put it down for the longest time and then returned and kinda forced my way through it. It slowly grew on me though. I liked all of the different item crashes. My main problem with the game is the castle switching. It never felt natural to me exploring. I can't really articulate why though.
 

dock

Member
Are the refurb backlit GBAs totally okay?

I've wanted a 101 for a while, but ebay is littered with different colours or even the non-SP model.
 

BTails

Member
Anyone ever play Sigma Star Saga? I picked it up a number of years back because it was $5 and developed by Wayforward. It's a cool little RPG/Shmup mashup with a fun plot, and of course great sprite work. The designs basically look like "Sci-Fi Shantae", and even though it gets a bit tedious by the end, it's still a fun hidden gem.

I mention it because I find it aways gets forgotten about.
 

prateeko

Member
That guy does such a nice job with his videos, its a shame he doesn't have more subscribers

He does a fantastic job.


So for someone lightly out of the loop, how do the newly made AGS-101 screen compare to the previous ones (from a year+ back)? I could never tell if those were overstock or B stock but I figure the new AGS-101 screens available are clearly recently manufactured. I'm curious if it's worth it to put the new screen in place of a previously done AGB-101...


And as far as a backlit/backlight GBC, do we have a solution yet or are people slowly working on ways to modify the housing to hold the AGS-101 screen? I'd LOVE to get a backlit midnight blue GBC (I have the shell/system just sitting around).
 
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