Support NeoGAF

[cafemomo]

Suppa, I can actually help with this! First of all, if you're going to be on the Base in Coronado, you should totally hit up the Nite & Day Cafe for a bit, it's 24 hrs and delicious. Okay, with that out of the way. My wife and I hit up several indie gaming shops in the LA area when we were out there on vacation in December. The best by far was Next-Gen Games, and apparently they just moved to a bigger space. So that's the one I'd recommend for sure.

Thank you. I'll be sure to check that place out. (and the cafe)

I'm only gonna be in California for about 4 days, so I guess I can try to at least scour for other stores in the region within that time frame. (assuming it isn't hell on earth on the highways there, but last time I was there, it was)

 

[maxcriden]

Thank you. I'll be sure to check that place out. (and the cafe)

I'm only gonna be in California for about 4 days, so I guess I can try to at least scour for other stores in the region within that time frame. (assuming it isn't hell on earth on the highways there, but last time I was there, it was)

Sure thing! And honestly suppa, the highways will probably be terrible. And although we did check out a bunch of other stores, none of the other ones were very impressive...I think one was called Level 8....then there were a couple in Torrance (South Bay area, south of LA)...none of those were really worth your time, they were all ridiculously overpriced. I felt like Next-Gen had reasonable prices though. Make sure to hit up a Rubio's if you like fish tacos, that's a good chain IMO. Feel free to PM me for any restaurant or activity recommendations. Santa Monica or RB pier is a must do.

 

[littlegrasshopper]

Read through the whole thread in the past few days, great stuff!

For some reason last week I got the urge to get myself a GBA, never had one before. Decided to get a Micro as it just simply looks stunning and also found a cheap DS Lite if the Micro is uncomfortable. Decided to get the games loose as they are much cheaper and easier to found and I have some serious space issues.

Been hunting games online and went to the couple local indie stores. Found a European Final Fantasy V sealed and in mint condition. Had no idea (still don't have) how much it is worth and they asked for 59€. I had brought in a couple of things I had no use for and couldn't find anything else that was interesting so decided to pay the remaining 22€ for it. Sadly can't post a picture right now. How did I do?

Here's a picture of the Micro from eBay. Seller said it's old stock that is not sealed but never been used.

Games I've ordered:
FF V (new and sealed)
Rebelstar: Tactical Command (new and sealed)
Shining Force (CiB)
Super Mario Advance 1, 2 and 4
Advance Wars 1 and 2
Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3
Golden Sun 1 and 2
Astro Boy
FFTA
Metroid: Zero Mission
Sonic 1
Pokemon LeafGreen (never even tried a Pokemon game, thought now is a good time to try one)
Mario Tennis and Golf
Sword of Mana
Aladdin
Breath of Fire
Shaman King: Master of Spirits

Have the GBA ambassador games and they are fine for now, might track them down later. Still obviously missing a lot of stuff. Castlevanias and Fire Emblem are THE must games missing but haven't seen many European versions even as carts only. Wasted like the past five days reading this thread, different GBA recommendation threads and online shops.

Ugh, I want a gameboy micro sooooo bad but I cant justify spending over $70 in buying a used one with scratches.

 

[Coda]

Ugh, I want a gameboy micro sooooo bad but I cant justify spending over $70 in buying a used one with scratches.

I spent way too much money on my Mother 3 one but I don't regret it at all once I got it and realized how it was the best.

 

[koopas]

Read through the whole thread in the past few days, great stuff!

For some reason last week I got the urge to get myself a GBA, never had one before. Decided to get a Micro as it just simply looks stunning and also found a cheap DS Lite if the Micro is uncomfortable. Decided to get the games loose as they are much cheaper and easier to found and I have some serious space issues.

Been hunting games online and went to the couple local indie stores. Found a European Final Fantasy V sealed and in mint condition. Had no idea (still don't have) how much it is worth and they asked for 59€. I had brought in a couple of things I had no use for and couldn't find anything else that was interesting so decided to pay the remaining 22€ for it. Sadly can't post a picture right now. How did I do?

Here's a picture of the Micro from eBay. Seller said it's old stock that is not sealed but never been used.

Games I've ordered:
FF V (new and sealed)
Rebelstar: Tactical Command (new and sealed)
Shining Force (CiB)
Super Mario Advance 1, 2 and 4
Advance Wars 1 and 2
Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3
Golden Sun 1 and 2
Astro Boy
FFTA
Metroid: Zero Mission
Sonic 1
Pokemon LeafGreen (never even tried a Pokemon game, thought now is a good time to try one)
Mario Tennis and Golf
Sword of Mana
Aladdin
Breath of Fire
Shaman King: Master of Spirits

Have the GBA ambassador games and they are fine for now, might track them down later. Still obviously missing a lot of stuff. Castlevanias and Fire Emblem are THE must games missing but haven't seen many European versions even as carts only. Wasted like the past five days reading this thread, different GBA recommendation threads and online shops.

Hah I'm pretty sure I bought mine from the same seller. It didn't happen to ship from India did it?

 

[DracoBlade]

Read through the whole thread in the past few days, great stuff!

For some reason last week I got the urge to get myself a GBA, never had one before. Decided to get a Micro as it just simply looks stunning and also found a cheap DS Lite if the Micro is uncomfortable. Decided to get the games loose as they are much cheaper and easier to found and I have some serious space issues.

Been hunting games online and went to the couple local indie stores. Found a European Final Fantasy V sealed and in mint condition. Had no idea (still don't have) how much it is worth and they asked for 59€. I had brought in a couple of things I had no use for and couldn't find anything else that was interesting so decided to pay the remaining 22€ for it. Sadly can't post a picture right now. How did I do?

Here's a picture of the Micro from eBay. Seller said it's old stock that is not sealed but never been used.

Games I've ordered:
FF V (new and sealed)
Rebelstar: Tactical Command (new and sealed)
Shining Force (CiB)
Super Mario Advance 1, 2 and 4
Advance Wars 1 and 2
Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3
Golden Sun 1 and 2
Astro Boy
FFTA
Metroid: Zero Mission
Sonic 1
Pokemon LeafGreen (never even tried a Pokemon game, thought now is a good time to try one)
Mario Tennis and Golf
Sword of Mana
Aladdin
Breath of Fire
Shaman King: Master of Spirits

Have the GBA ambassador games and they are fine for now, might track them down later. Still obviously missing a lot of stuff. Castlevanias and Fire Emblem are THE must games missing but haven't seen many European versions even as carts only. Wasted like the past five days reading this thread, different GBA recommendation threads and online shops.

Welcome! Looks like some awesome pick ups there!

Both Fire Emblems on GBA are considered some of the best in the series, I'm still trying to track them down as well.

As for the Castlevania games, Aria of Sorrow is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, in the entire series and is required for any GBA collection. Circle of the Moon is middle of the Castlevania hierarchy, and HoD is considered on the lower end of the entire series.
I haven't played the latter, just reiterating what I tend to hear.

Welcome! And Grief I support your Castlevania hierarchy, though Aria imo isn't THE single best game in the entire series, within the top 5 for sure though. Also Sacred Stones is my personal favorite FE of all time bar none, highly recommend you seek that baby asap

Spoiler

(Path of Radiance and Awakening tied for second)

 

[hairypeckpeck]

oh and I'll be heading up to California next month, anyone from there can share some awesome shops that sells GBA games (LA region & San Diego (for san diego, somewhere preferably near the Naval Base)

bookoff in san diego usually has a decent selection.

 

[PixelPeZ]

Next, you need to get all of the Wario games!

I have SML 1-3
Super Mario Advance 1, 2, and 4. I have Yoshi's Island on SNES so that makes that entry redundant.

The Super Mario Advance entries are great as I don't have an original Nintendo and they upgraded the audio/visual to the GBA level.

Yeah, I don't mind double dipping, I have SNES and Virtual console versions of most. But I agree, somehow these cart versions, especially in a PAL area, feel like the "Ultimate" versions of these games, having none of the drawbacks of the home versions and a lot of extras. But yeah, Wario (or maybe Zelda) is next, I have a bunch of those already, just not all from the series.

 

[-KRS-]

Did the Japan release have anything the NA one doesn't? I know sometimes Zelda's are localized differently.

I know in the Japanese version, there is a hippo character (don't know the name) that apparently has tits. Not very well defined and no nipples of course, but they're there. This was altered in the western release.

Edit: Found this comparison. JP version on the top.

Odd that they made the character more naked in the western version though. Maybe that was to compensate? lol.

 

[deadbluesky]

Games I've ordered:
Rebelstar: Tactical Command (new and sealed)

Oh yeah! -- Such a great game. X-COM minus the base management and resarch boredom.

 

[Rich!]

Just bought a backlit Pocket. Looks very well done:

 

[-KRS-]

Looks great indeed. And a yellow one as well. Even better! I love the yellow GBP.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Just bought a backlit Pocket. Looks very well done:

How's the battery life on 2 AAAs? I've considered doing this with one of my Game Boy Pockets and sourcing a backlight from one of my busted parts DSLites.

 

[TnK]

Honestly, I think its a shot in the dark. I imagine the vast majority of people get a nice one, but I'm going on 5 weeks now with one single response since I returned mine for repairs. They were very quick to tell me that despite being put together improperly, that they device is full functional...as if nothing else matters as long as the fucking screen works.

Basically, you are only their customer for the few minutes it takes you to check out. If you have an issues after that they will be extremely hard to work with. I emailed them the day I got my GBA and noticed issues, sent it back, they said they would fix it that day and return it. That was 4 weeks ago. I'm starting to think I'll have to open a Paypal dispute.

Well, this sounds downright horrible =/

 

[Rich!]

How's the battery life on 2 AAAs? I've considered doing this with one of my Game Boy Pockets and sourcing a backlight from one of my busted parts DSLites.

Ehhh, no idea yet! The seller is, coincidentally, about 3 miles from my house so hopefully I'll get it tomorrow!

 

[womp]

Well, this sounds downright horrible =/

And considering the crazy prices, even worse. Stuff like this is why I will never order from them. Damn shame.

 

[Sephiroth87]

Any Londoners with tips on where I could search for some GB games?

 

[Rich!]

And considering the crazy prices, even worse. Stuff like this is why I will never order from them. Damn shame.

I would never, ever deal with RCG. Horror stories about the dude EVERYWHERE.

 

[cafemomo]

bookoff in san diego usually has a decent selection.

Woah, they have bookoffs in California? Last time I've been to one was in Japan. Didn't know they had em stateside

 

[Grief.exe]

I would never, ever deal with RCG. Horror stories about the dude EVERYWHERE.

That bad?

 

[hairypeckpeck]

Woah, they have bookoffs in California? Last time I've been to one was in Japan. Didn't know they had em stateside

There's a couple in the states. I know there's another one somewhere in LA (Torrance I think?).

I'm lucky I live relatively close to the one in SD (about 15 minutes from my place).

 

[maxcriden]

Just my two cents on BookOffs, at least that one in Torrance. Everything was obscenely overpriced when I've gone to that one. Not sure if the SD one is better, but prices were much higher than what I've seen online.

 

[Rich!]

That bad?

From what I've read on various forums, yeah. The guy is a dick. One guy received his ridiculously expensive item from RCG (think it was a modded/backlit neo geo pocket). The customer had sent his handheld in, in brand new mint condition. When he received it back, it was scratched to hell, ruined and the mod was hastily put together. When he confronted the owner of the site, he basically told the customer to fuck off - stated it was sent to him in that condition, even after confronted with before and after photos.

I wouldn't ever, ever order anything from there for the chance of the above happening, as I've heard many similar reports about the guy. At least with buying modded consoles/handhelds on ebay, you can issue a claim and almost 100% guaranteed be covered by ebay/paypal.

 

[zonipoi]

Hah I'm pretty sure I bought mine from the same seller. It didn't happen to ship from India did it?

This is from the UK but I did see the guy selling them from India.

Circle of the Moon and Kuru Kururin ordered today. Also received the Shining Force (CiB). So glad I opted to buy mostly carts. The seller had stuffed it in a standard envelope and while the box looked pretty bad in the pictures, it doesn't even look like a box anymore. Still, the price was good even if it was basically for the cart and the manual.

 

[cafemomo]

Just my two cents on BookOffs, at least that one in Torrance. Everything was obscenely overpriced when I've gone to that one. Not sure if the SD one is better, but prices were much higher than what I've seen online.

How much overpriced?

 

[maxcriden]

How much overpriced?

I don't remember the exact numbers, just how far my jaw dropped when I saw these prices for mostly used games.

Spoiler

Very far. Like, to the floor.

 

[Brianimaniac]

From what I've read on various forums, yeah. The guy is a dick. One guy received his ridiculously expensive item from RCG (think it was a modded/backlit neo geo pocket). The customer had sent his handheld in, in brand new mint condition. When he received it back, it was scratched to hell, ruined and the mod was hastily put together. When he confronted the owner of the site, he basically told the customer to fuck off - stated it was sent to him in that condition, even after confronted with before and after photos.

I wouldn't ever, ever order anything from there for the chance of the above happening, as I've heard many similar reports about the guy. At least with buying modded consoles/handhelds on ebay, you can issue a claim and almost 100% guaranteed be covered by ebay/paypal.

Thanks for the warning.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Thanks for the warning.

Ditto. I was considering buying from there at one point and may now think twice. It's probably safer to buy from people selling these on eBay due to the buying guarantee.

 

[cafemomo]

I don't remember the exact numbers, just how far my jaw dropped when I saw these prices for mostly used games.

Spoiler

Very far. Like, to the floor.

Thanks for the heads up.
Still curious to see what's in there though. It's been a while since I've been to one.

and I'm shocked that we don't have a bookoff here in Chicago. I mean, we have a kinokuniya.

 

[maxcriden]

Thanks for the heads up.
Still curious to see what's in there though. It's been a while since I've been to one.

and I'm shocked that we don't have a bookoff here in Chicago. I mean, we have a kinokuniya.

Sure thing. Do you guys have a Mitsuwa? If you end up at the BookOff in Torrance there's a Mitsuwa there with some legit amazing ramen and katsu curry.

 

[Grizzo]

I've been switching between the OG backlight GBA and my Micro. I had totally forgotten how convenient the Micro is, especially when you want to take it outside (which is like, the main attraction about an handheld system). It's so tiny and stylish, it looks like an iPod Nano. I might take it with me everywhere I go from now on.

Still getting some cramps in my left thumb and index fingers but I could get used to it.

 

[cafemomo]

Sure thing. Do you guys have a Mitsuwa? If you end up at the BookOff in Torrance there's a Mitsuwa there with some legit amazing ramen and katsu curry.

yeah we have a mitsuwa. literally live like 5 mins away from it I go there every other day lol.

Really awesome place inside the place called Gabutto Burger. Mang, their burgers are top notch.

if you are ever in the area, drop by, cause those burgers, It's pure bliss

oh and there is a video game store called "video games & now" which is like a 10 min drive from said Mitsua. They have some pretty good deals on GB/GBA games.

 

[maxcriden]

yeah we have a mitsuwa. literally live like 5 mins away from it I go there every other day lol.

Really awesome place inside the place called Gabutto Burger. Mang, their burgers are top notch.

if you are ever in the area, drop by, cause those burgers, It's pure bliss

oh and there is a video game store called "video games & now" which is like a 10 min drive from said Mitsua. They have some pretty good deals on GB/GBA games.

Sweet, I'll definitely keep those in mind next time we're in the Windy City. Thanks suppa!

 

[Rich!]

A few more images of this backlit GBP I ordered:

Game Boy Camera comes with it. Looking forward to getting it, should be good! Far, far cheaper option than a Game Boy Light. Not too keen on the green buttons, but they can always be replaced!

 

[Het_Nkik]

Did the Japan release have anything the NA one doesn't? I know sometimes Zelda's are localized differently.

In the NA version of the game, at some point you have to retrieve a mermaid's necklace.

In the Japanese version, it's her bikini top.

 

[Grief.exe]

A few more images of this backlit GBP I ordered:

Love the color combination on that.

 

[maxcriden]

BTW Grief, any news on the handheld mega OT?

 

[Zeppeli]

A few more images of this backlit GBP I ordered:





Game Boy Camera comes with it. Looking forward to getting it, should be good! Far, far cheaper option than a Game Boy Light. Not too keen on the green buttons, but they can always be replaced!

Yellow and green? Gross. Looks nice though.

How's the battery life?

 

[Grief.exe]

BTW Grief, any news on the handheld mega OT?

I've been stupid busy with school the past few weeks. I have spring break starting on the 20th, so I will get to work then.

 

[sixteen-bit]

A few more images of this backlit GBP I ordered:





Game Boy Camera comes with it. Looking forward to getting it, should be good! Far, far cheaper option than a Game Boy Light. Not too keen on the green buttons, but they can always be replaced!

I own a couple Game Boy Lights, and while I'm a fan of the green electroluminescent screen on them, that white LED looks phenomenal! It's an improvement over the GBL, IMO.

 

[koopas]

In the NA version of the game, at some point you have to retrieve a mermaid's necklace.

In the Japanese version, it's her bikini top.

Lol oh Japan ....

 

[koopas]

This is from the UK but I did see the guy selling them from India.

Mine shipped from India in the strangest manner. The package was wrapped in some strange cloth of some sort that was held together by melted hot wax.

Coolest ebay shipping materials ever. When I got the package I felt like Nathan Drake lol.

 

[zonipoi]

Mine shipped from India in the strangest manner. The package was wrapped in some strange cloth of some sort that was held together by melted hot wax.

Coolest ebay shipping materials ever. When I got the package I felt like Nathan Drake lol.

That's amazing lol.

 

[baphomet]

Well my original DS came in today so I was able to test out the capture board. Works really well from the little amount of time I've messed with it today. Very happy with the quality as well. My only issue so far is it captures everything at the actual resolution, and I haven't messed with it enough to figure out how to record a scaled up picture.

just a few examples of the screen shot function.

Ketsui

Metroid Fusion

If anyone knows a program that I can capture screen shots and footage from a specific window, I would be greatful.

 

[Grief.exe]

You can always scale it up in photoshop or something after the fact.

When you look at those shots, its crazy how far we have come.

 

[Olly88]

How do I save in Mole Mania? I can't find an option anywhere (I have a Japanese copy which probably doesn't help).

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

RetroGamer had a feature this month in top 25 best OG Game Boy games. Top list was pretty predictable but I was impressed to see things like Mole Mania, Gargoyle Quest, Mega Man 2, and Revenge of the Gator. Virtual Console has a surprisingly decent amount of good titles from the back catalogue, but also goes to show for a system that survived as long as it did it really didn't have an extreme list of quality software (especially that has aged well). It has to be one of the most lacking in 1st party quality from a Nintendo perspective.

Also other thread about Mario friends playing Wii U made me jealous of Japanese box arts, the Game and Watch Gallery 2 box is awesome.

 

[sixteen-bit]

How do I save in Mole Mania? I can't find an option anywhere (I have a Japanese copy which probably doesn't help).

It's been a while since I've played, but I'm 99% sure it just constantly autosaves.

RetroGamer had a feature this month in top 25 best OG Game Boy games. Top list was pretty predictable but I was impressed to see things like Mole Mania, Gargoyle Quest, Mega Man 2, and Revenge of the Gator. Virtual Console has a surprisingly decent amount of good titles from the back catalogue, but also goes to show for a system that survived as long as it did it really didn't have an extreme list of quality software (especially that has aged well). It has to be one of the most lacking in 1st party quality from a Nintendo perspective.

Also other thread about Mario friends playing Wii U made me jealous of Japanese box arts, the Game and Watch Gallery 2 box is awesome.

Do you have a link to the whole top 25?

 

[maxcriden]

I've been stupid busy with school the past few weeks. I have spring break starting on the 20th, so I will get to work then.

Sweet, thanks. Looking forward to it!

 

[Joqu]

Correct me if I'm wrong but there are no backlight GBC mods out there are there? I'm trying to figure out the best way to play my old Game Boy games and I'm not too fond of the ergonomics of my backlight GBA SP.

Also I'm pretty sure I remember something about a certain clone console having a backlight screen but with a wrong aspect ratio or something like that?