Satisfying handheld experience?

I

Ignatz Mouse

Banned
I haven't been satisfied with a handheld since the Lynx-- and that was a qualified satisfaction.

And yet, like some untrainable rat, I keep buying them. I have bouts of real pleasure, followed by huge (years-long in some cases) droughts.

I loved my Lynx when it was new. It was spectacular-looking, and hte games were fresh. Briefly. Then Atari worked through the catalogue of properties that they stole from Epyx, made a few decent ones after that, and it was basically over. Many fond memories of the linking-up feature.

I had an original Gameboy. Apart from Super Mario Land 2, nothing memorable from this era.

I had a Game Gear. Sonic was well-done-- but I'm not that much of a sonic fan. And just about everything else I played was horrible.

I have had each of the successive GB models, hoping wiht each new release, the magic would be renewed and good games would flow. To be fair, GBA has been the best Gameboy ever, from a library standpoint. And yet still, mine basically gather dust.

So, my question to you-all out there in forum land:

Any of you feel the same way?

Have any of you made the jump to the DS or PSP?

And how do they compare?

Because I really, really want to like handheld gaming again.
 
Not likely to happen soon, if you've always felt this way .... As far as it's currently going, portable games are always a little behind rooted consoles .... (Though I did feel that GBA fully realized 2d gaming's potential)


The little DS has it in him to bring us many things that rooted-consoles can't (Real-Time strategy, mouse+keyboard style FPS, #'s of puzzle games, etc.) .... but time will tell.
 
I'm not sure it needs to be someting a console can't do. I think it's more about the quality of the games.

I liked the Lynx (what was on it anyway-- not a lot) in part becuase the games were designed as if they were console games, not scaled down games.

Ridge Racers sounds good for the sheer amount of tracks. Mario 64-DS, while neither my favorite game nor new, gives me hope for full-scale deep games (as it is both).

And I would love to play networked games, if I can get others in on the prospect. Particularly racing games (if well done-- Ridge Racers sounds problematic in that regard).

I would love a full-scale 3D exploration/world game, like GTA or an original 3D platformer. If well done, and I hadn't played it.
 
WarioWare is cool.


I guess what I am looking for is somebody with experience like mine, who's found one of these two new handhelds breaking the pattern. Anyone?
 
I feel the same as you, but I guess the PSP has me hyped for the exact reason a lot of people here hate it....the opportunity to have gaming experiences similar to my consoles when I'm not at home. Not identical, but more capable of being similar. Plus, I like devices that have several functions. That just makes them more useful to my everyday life with work, travel, etc.

I love some of the GBA library, but it never grabbed me the way it does some, and I've gone through huge periods where I never touch it. It's been the same with every other I've touched. The only thing that has come close to being satisfactory to me has been my Tapwave Zodiac, and certainly not for any first party games it has. I have a shitload of memory on it and the capability to emulate most of my favorite games from older gens.

Maybe the DS will be more exciting to me someday, but it doesn't seem to be offering anything exciting on it yet or for awhile (in comparison to even the GBA).
 
If they made Starcraft or Diablo II w/ Battle.net for Nintendoods, they know they'd never sell another game.

Honestly, the DS is cool, if you like 2d GBA games (and it's almost worth upgrading just to play on the improved screen). I can't imagine someone saying Astro Boy / Mario Golf / Final Fantasy Tactics / Pokemon / Final Fantasy I&II, etc. aren't comparable to console experiences.... Maybe you aren't playing the right games?
 
Unison said:
If they made Starcraft or Diablo II w/ Battle.net for Nintendoods, they know they'd never sell another game.

Honestly, the DS is cool, if you like 2d GBA games
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eerr .. have you ever used a DS !?
 
Folder said:
*Resists making a wanking joke*
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This post stopped me from making a wanking joke...



On topic: Ive yet to try DS and really can't imagine what its actually like playing a game with touchness, so i'd like to try it.




-SB
 
No, it has a lot of really good games. I'd say it's been easily the best handheld to ever be released. But if you do a lot of console gaming, some of those games feel very lacking to me. Even in comparison to the library of SNES/Genesis. Everyone calls it a port machine, etc. but I don't think that 's a completely valid criticism.

Advance Wars I would put against anything, console or otherwise. AstroBoy is great and there are others as well. But I for one couldn't care less about Pokemon, and FFTA is really boring, etc. I don't blame the GBA for being what it is, it's just not my favorite gaming machine.

as per the "buttons" - you can't tell me they shouldn't have thought more about the buttons and d-pad on the DS. Why wouldn't they think about that more?
 
Unison said:
Yeah. ?? Do you think it sucks for GBA games or something?

You better not tell me the buttons are too small or something.
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so I guess you would know that DS is not just a GBA SP + one more touch screen.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
I had an original Gameboy. Apart from Super Mario Land 2, nothing memorable from this era.
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Are you kidding me? Nothing memorable on the original GB? Have you even heard of Link's Awakening? One of the greatest Zelda games was on the system, in addition to countless others. And I think the GBA has had a pretty damn successful history thus far, especially some of the amazing first-party titles.

Maybe handheld gaming just isn't for you, as there's a ton of great titles out there. Personally, nothing about the DS has impressed me thus far, but the PSP has me wetting my Urkel pants with techowhore glee. Sure, game-wise it's not looking that amazing yet, but they will come, and that screen, my lord, that screen!
 
monkeyrun said:
so I guess you would know that DS is not just a GBA SP + one more touch screen.
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Are you a troll or something? Of course I know this. There are no in-depth DS games that he hasn't played before though, because the launch library was lame.
 
Unison said:
Are you a troll or something? Of course I know this. There are no in-depth DS games that he hasn't played before though, because the launch library was lame.
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well that's like saying "PS2 is good if you like PS1 games" at the first year of PS2 launch ....
 
monkeyrun said:
well that's like saying "PS2 is good if you like PS1 games" at the first year of PS2 launch ....
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That's kind of valid though.. Backward compatability is a plus for the system, and he said the GBA library was the best handheld one of any GB system.
 
There coming, keep the faith. Though I do wish GBA was equavalant of snes as some think. But load game on gameboy player and sounds, graphics and controls are alot closer to a nes :(
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
I haven't been satisfied with a handheld since the Lynx-- and that was a qualified satisfaction.

And yet, like some untrainable rat, I keep buying them. I have bouts of real pleasure, followed by huge (years-long in some cases) droughts.

I loved my Lynx when it was new. It was spectacular-looking, and hte games were fresh. Briefly. Then Atari worked through the catalogue of properties that they stole from Epyx, made a few decent ones after that, and it was basically over. Many fond memories of the linking-up feature.

I had an original Gameboy. Apart from Super Mario Land 2, nothing memorable from this era.

I had a Game Gear. Sonic was well-done-- but I'm not that much of a sonic fan. And just about everything else I played was horrible.

I have had each of the successive GB models, hoping wiht each new release, the magic would be renewed and good games would flow. To be fair, GBA has been the best Gameboy ever, from a library standpoint. And yet still, mine basically gather dust.

So, my question to you-all out there in forum land:

Any of you feel the same way?

Have any of you made the jump to the DS or PSP?

And how do they compare?

Because I really, really want to like handheld gaming again.
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I was EXACTLY like you, bro. I bought handhelds, played them for a couple of days, then shelved them and eventually forgot that I owned them. The watered-down nature of handhelds made it hard for me to stay interested.

The DS library thus far is a minigame-fest. They have a high fun factor the first time through, but enjoyment sharply declines as it doesn't take long to lose interest in the numerous 30-60 second diversions. I enjoyed my DS the most when I used it to play a borrowed copy of Metroid Fusion (excellent, excellent game, BTW). By the time I sold it, I hadn't played it (or even thought of it) in a few days. I will reconsider my stance once the software situation improves.

PSP, however, hits the spot for me. The games have an unabridged, not-watered-down feel that I'm frankly in love with. They look, sound, and control like current generation software. The experience is very, very different from that offered by previous handhelds. The launch games are already pretty damn good. I'm absolutely smitten by both the hardware and software (and I just got Dynasty Warriors; it's shaping up to be great game).

Still, try both.
 
mashoutposse said:
PSP, however, hits the spot for me. The games have an unabridged, not-watered-down feel that I'm frankly in love with. They look, sound, and control like current generation software.
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mashoutposse said:
and I just got Dynasty Warriors
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Well, there went that honeymoon. ;)
 
I guess you have to ask yourself why the GBA gathers dust. Handheld gaming isn't for everyone. If you dont have any chance to play games on the go then there's no point.
 
seismologist said:
I guess you have to ask yourself why the GBA gathers dust. Handheld gaming isn't for everyone. If you dont have any chance to play games on the go then there's no point.
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It's true. GBA has a diverse enough library where anyone really should be able to find something worth playing. I can maybe understand it appealing to those weaned on PS1/N64, to whom polygons and 3D space might be an asolute requirement, but otside that GBA has something to offer everyone. And actually it has some (crude) 3D games too.
 
Here's my take on handheld gaming:

I've always been a big handheld gaming fan. I used to buy LCD games from Tiger and Nintendo, and jumped all over the original Gameboy when it came out. After Gameboy, I became a handheld ADDICT; the Gameboy always went with me no matter where I was.

It was as if Nintendo could do no wrong. There were superior systems available such as the Lynx, Game Gear, and Turbo Express, but Nintendo's prices and game selection always kept me happy. Since then I've owned every version of the Gameboy available (White GB, new color shell GB, GB Pocket, GB Light, GBC, GBA, GBA SP, etc.) and no matter what happened on the console front, it was always clear that Nintendo would dominate the handheld market....

...Until now.

I've owned other handhelds as well. The Game Gear was great but sucked batteries dry way too quickly. Same with the Nomad, but its TV out and input for a second controller made it a must-have for trips. The Neo-Geo Pocket/Color was an awesome system that I played far more than my GBC for a few years, but didn't have the support it needed and was unfortunately killed off when Aruze aquired SNK a few years back. I even briefly owned the Lynx (most games sucked) and Turbo Express at one point a few years ago. I finally sold my Nomad this summer after I bought a Tapwave Zodiac 2, which lets me play Genesis games (and more) emulated on a much higher quality high-res backlit screen.

When the 32-Bit era came into full swing with the release of the Playstation, Saturn, and later Nintendo 64, gaming finally "grew up." Instead of being looked at as entertainment for kids, adults were now interested in these systems; it was the 3D "realistic" graphics that drew people in and made games like Madden and Gran Turismo so popular. Kids that grew up on Nintendo and Genesis were now teenagers/adults and were still very much into gaming, and the market greatly expanded. But handheld gaming, always a generation behind, was still "kiddy." The top selling Gameboy game was Pokemon, a title clearly aimed at a younger crowd.

Things have finally changed. However, this time it's not going to be Nintendo that's at the front. The Sony PSP is a console-quality handheld. It plays videos. It plays music. It's going to have a lot of appeal to adults and to people that didn't care about Gameboy in the past. The visuals that the system puts out are amazing and look incredibly sharp on the system's display. The handheld itself has a sleek, appealing design. Perhaps a better description would be "video game bling."

The Playstation 2 had an amazing amount of hype surrounding it. Even when people hadn't seen games, it was still being touted as the most-powerful system ever and that competitors didn't stand a chance. It didn't seem to matter that the Dreamcast had great games and seemed perfectly able to compete with the PS2; word of mouth made the PS2 the "it" system; it's DVD playback also helped the format to grow.

I believe that the PSP is going to do for handhelds what the Playstation and Playstation 2 did for consoles. Handheld gaming is finally going to "grow up" and the PSP is going to end up overtaking the competition. The Nintendo DS is a great system. I bought one at launch and had five games for it. The touch screen is a great idea. The lack of analog is not, but the stylus is a great replacement (the thumbstrap is just stupid). Hopefully there will be games that take advantage of the touch screen, and I have faith that Nintendo will release a game that will and that sells millions.

However, the PSP is in a class of its own. It's visual and audio quality are far beyond the competition. That definitely matters. It can play video and MP3. That also matters. The design is more sleek and "adult like" compared to the DS. Image matters, and the PSP's capabilties and look are going to draw in consumers that didn't care about the handheld market previously, and it's power is going to be a major factor in competition with the DS.
 
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GBA has a diverse enough library where anyone really should be able to find something worth playing.
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True. Almost every 2d genre is covered there. Games don't feel watered down as they did in the past. If it's still not interesting then maybe the games just aren't visually impressive enough to hold your attention very long.

I feel the same way. I haven't bought a GBA game in years. The few I bought I played the hell out of at one point, but then I go through these long droughts even though there are tons of games coming out. I know part of it for me is pricing. I see old GBA games still selling at $30+, and while I know there are better deals then just walking into Best Buy or whatever, I don't feel like making the effort to find them. I wish there was a Players Choice for handhelds with games 10 bucks and below.

I got a DS too though :p. Mainly cuz of the backlit screen. Only DS game that seems worth the price is Mario64, and they did a good job with that. Stylus minigames are fun but nothing that will keep you occupied for months. Just good to play once in awhile. I feel that drought settling in for the DS already :p

EDIT: I agree with Lyte Edge. PSP seems like it will take may view of handheld gaming as mild diversions and toss it out the window
 
I think some of you guys are a bit too hopeful for the future of handheld gaming. Portable gaming is about as hardcore as it gets and I expect it to stay that way unless games get forced on to other devices like cel phones as a secondary feature.

PSP will get some strong sales out of the gate because of the technology. But after that it's pretty big unknown as to where this thing will head. With the upcoming launch of new systems technology whores will shift their attention to that. I kind of laugh at my friend who bought a PSP. He's about as casual gamer as they come. Now he has a PSP as his first handheld and is probably wondering when he's going to have time play it. :lol I'm betting the thing ends up collecting dust in his closest 3 months from now tops.
 
tedtropy said:
Are you kidding me? Nothing memorable on the original GB? Have you even heard of Link's Awakening? One of the greatest Zelda games was on the system, in addition to countless others. And I think the GBA has had a pretty damn successful history thus far, especially some of the amazing first-party titles.

Maybe handheld gaming just isn't for you, as there's a ton of great titles out there. Personally, nothing about the DS has impressed me thus far, but the PSP has me wetting my Urkel pants with techowhore glee. Sure, game-wise it's not looking that amazing yet, but they will come, and that screen, my lord, that screen!
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I am not kidding you. I have Link's Awakening (the only Zelda I've ever bought) and I hated it. I despise "get the thing and give it to the guy who will give you the thing you need to give to the other guy" type games. Not an adventure-game fan in general (or RPG fan)

=======

I was gaming when Space INvaders was new, so fancy graphics is nto the be-all end-all. And I probably have more time now for handhelds than console, which is why I am asking. It has to be more compelling than cards games on my Palm device.

=======

To Unison:

I haven't played Astro Boy, I'll look into it-- and I'm not an RPG fan or Pokemon fan, so those games aren't that interesting to me.


======

And to anyone who wants to jam on me for not liking your favorite game-- screw you in advance. The whole point of this thread is to find out if the new consoles wil be to my liking, not to convinve me to like something I don't. That's why I aksed for people with similar experiences.

And I can't belive "handheld gaming" is not for me-- that doesn't make sense. More like-- the current offerings are lacking, to my taste. There's this weird backwards mentality (seeing it over on another thread, too) that says if you don't like the popular or already-proven, there'ws something wrong with you. Since far more people *don't* play videogames than do, perhaps there's something wrong with all of us? Me, and tons of people I knew didn't particularly care for the NES or its offereings, and yet to hear tell that makes us "crazy" or whatever. No, we found gaming more suited to our tastes (and, I would argue, considerably better by any measure but sales) on other platforms.

So back off with the "this is what handheld gaming is about" stuff and instead recognize that me != you.

==========


And, also, thanks to people answering seriously. If the shoe above does not fit, please don't wear it.
 
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Me, and tons of people I knew didn't particularly care for the NES or its offereings, and yet to hear tell that makes us "crazy" or whatever.
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That's probably part of the issue too. GBA is basically like a SNES, which mainly had better NES style 2d games
 
Well, the GBA does have a far better library than the NES did (IMHO, and relative to time on the shelf).

A lot of the games I have more my GBA are remakes (and remakes of really great games) but I crave a *new* really great game. Mario v Donkey Kong was decent, and in the right direction. But a guy can only play so many platformers.

As I said, I would love an original 3D platformer, or exploration game. Or a linkable Twisted Metal (none announced alas, that I know of).

PSP is probably more for me than DS, but I fear that seismologist may be right, and neither will be satisfying.

In the meantime, this has gotten me interested in a couple of GBA games I may have overlooked!
 
GBA:

Astro Boy - Man, this is the Treasure i remembered.

Wario Ware - Proving that despite the glut of mario sports titles, Nintendo can still come out of left field with something amazing

Castlevania:AoS - What the Ps2 version should have been.
 
This is about all I need for my satisfaction:
03.jpg
 
wow, good take Lyte Edge. Couldn't agree more.

Plus, I'm not alone with the Zodiac! Wheeee!

Portable Pirates! + Gunstar Heroes + Earthbound >>>> *
 
For what it's worth I find the DS more satisfying than I ever did the GBA. There's alot of reasons for this: the new control novelty, new console syndrome, 3D graphics, larger screen area.
When you look at everything as a whole I find the games to be more compelling than your average GBA game. PSP will probably have a similar effect.

As much flack as the DS gets for it's graphics you're still playing console (32-bit) level games on a handheld. Mario 64 is still great.
Ive been playing DS games non stop since launch. I feel like I can stand playing the games much longer. Frequenty playing until the battery goes dead. This never happened to me with the GBA. The games definitely feel alot more like a true portable console.
 
Seis: I have no problem with the DS graphics at all. I took a look at one and was pleased. I am not a gfx whore, though I do like the occassional pretty thing. My first puchase for GBA was Namco Museum!

SonicMD: My personal favorite GBA experience to date. I like Gradius a lot, too.
 
Nintendo DS left a sour taste in my mouth. I haven't seen any games that really use the hardware. The games feel so rushed and just plainly suck. I gave up on MP: H because of the controls, makes you wish that Nintendo had put an analog stick on the NDS. It is just too confusing and frustrating. If a game is frustrated to the point where I say "F*** this!" and want to break it, that is not a good sign. I just hope that Nintendo's 'trump card' is really a trump card when the PSP launch comes near.
 
seismologist said:
I think some of you guys are a bit too hopeful for the future of handheld gaming. Portable gaming is about as hardcore as it gets and I expect it to stay that way unless games get forced on to other devices like cel phones as a secondary feature.

PSP will get some strong sales out of the gate because of the technology. But after that it's pretty big unknown as to where this thing will head. With the upcoming launch of new systems technology whores will shift their attention to that. I kind of laugh at my friend who bought a PSP. He's about as casual gamer as they come. Now he has a PSP as his first handheld and is probably wondering when he's going to have time play it. :lol I'm betting the thing ends up collecting dust in his closest 3 months from now tops.
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LOL, super casual first-time handheld gamer spending upwards of $500 on a Japanese-imported portable console that hasn't even been released or marketed here at all... on a whim?

Oooohhhhhhhh kay.

On topic, why don't you just wait until you've played both? Or buy the DS now if what you've sampled suits your fancy; it's cheap and won't hurt if it doesn't turn out to be the one for you. In my particular case, it was a worthy exercise to try both as the online research turned out to be insufficient as far as making a true determination is concerned.
 
mashoutposse said:
On topic, why don't you just wait until you've played both? Or buy the DS now if what you've sampled suits your fancy; it's cheap and won't hurt if it doesn't turn out to be the one for you. In my particular case, it was a worthy exercise to try both as the online research turned out to be insufficient as far as making a true determination is concerned.
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AN excellent idea, and I plan to.

But I also know my desire to impulse-shop and how I've bought (and been disappointed in) handhelds before. I think of this thread as part of the looking-around-and-resist-the-impulse plan.
 
Associated Press
PlayStation Portable Likely to Be Big Hit
Wednesday December 22, 2:36 pm ET
By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer

PRODUCT REVIEW: Sony's New Multimedia PlayStation Portable Is Likely to Be a Worldwide Hit

TOKYO (AP) -- Even if you don't particularly like video games, you'd best resign yourself to what appears certain to anyone who's spent a little time with Sony's new PlayStation Portable: This is a gadget that's likely to eventually become a worldwide household hit. That holds true especially if your household includes, as mine does, a young man who grew up with the original PlayStation.

Yet while the PSP is a dazzling game machine, delivering sharp graphics on a 4.3-inch display and weighing just 10 ounces, it is also a multimedia player designed for music and movies.

And within the sleek, black plastic shell of this 7-inch by 3-inch wonder, there is Wi-Fi wireless connectivity and a USB 2.0 port for mating with computers.

The only big drawback is Sony's decision to go with a proprietary format for the PSP's main media: a 1.8-gigabyte disc the size of an Olympic medal. It's dubbed UMD for Universal Media Disc.

That's what the games come on -- and Sony Corp. promises to also deliver Hollywood movies on the discs, though it hasn't said when or offered a lineup.

The PSP went on sale in Japan this month and won't be available in the United States and Europe until next year. It's likely that the U.S. price will be similar to the $190 the device costs in Japan. That feels like a bargain to anyone who remembers paying more than $299 for the original PlayStation in the mid-1990s.

But then, the PSP has a competitor this time around in Nintendo's DS handheld. Perhaps that's why the PSP is stoked with enough technology to be worth twice its price tag -- it's got a Memory Stick slot for storing music and photos when the 32 megabytes of onboard memory don't suffice. You'll have to buy the Memory Stick, though.

There's good news, also, for music fans who prize to open MP3 standard for music. Sony formerly pushed its ATRAC proprietary standard. No longer. The PSP is an MP3 adherent, and its sound quality is quite good.

If you want to play video that doesn't come on a UMD disc, Sony recommends you buy special $10 computer software that will convert it to the MPEG-4 video format that the PSP and Memory Stick support.

Because of its networking capabilities, the PSP looks to have an edge on Nintendo DS. The new Nintendo handheld works strictly as a game machine.

As for recording your own content for playing on the PSP, Sony hasn't said whether it will sell recordable versions of UMD discs.

PSP games range in price from $24 to $46, but unfortunately there aren't many yet. About a dozen are available so far in Japan, including "Hot Shots Golf" from Sony Computer Entertainment and "Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower" from Capcom Co.

Sony says some 100 games are in the works, with about 20 titles promised by the end of the year.

By contrast, about 15 Nintendo DS games are on sale in Japan so far. But Nintendo DS, which costs about $145, can also play all the Game Boy Advance games.

In the games I played on the PSP, the attention to detail in the graphics was impressive.

In scenes from "Ridge Racers" made by Namco Ltd., camera flashes blink from roaring crowds and frothy waves break on sandy beaches. I found myself pushing on the joystick button for steering until my thumb got sore, happily tilting the PSP with the twists and turns as roaring race cars zipped through a swerving course, screeching on corners and sending tire-skidding virtual sparks on the screen.

The display, from Sharp Corp., is surprisingly easy on the eyes. The removable Lithium Ion battery lasts about four to six hours for games on a single charge. And the built-in 802.11b Wi-Fi chip allows up to 16 PSPs to play together.

PSP also has a microphone slot for future software with voice-recognition and an infrared connection whose uses aren't yet spelled out.

My son needed just a few minutes of checking out PSP before deciding he's definitely going to buy one.

Never mind that he isn't exactly sure how he's going to use its non-game functions (He's already got an iPod, a digital camera, a cell phone and a laptop).

Don't worry, mom, he said, everybody is going to figure it out.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
I liked the Lynx (what was on it anyway-- not a lot) in part becuase the games were designed as if they were console games, not scaled down games.
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That's what attracted me to the Lynx as well. The games didn't feel like they were "abridged" to fit the confines of a handheld machine. Instead, they were full-scale, high-quality console games that just happened to be portable. :)

That is also why I'm looking forward to getting the PSP when it comes out in the US--it's got great games that just happen to be on a handheld.

Just because a machine is portable doesn't mean we should expect a lesser experience. Today's portable music players give near CD-quality sound. Music on them sounds similar to what you would hear coming from a home stereo, not like it's coming from a little wind-up music box. That's a reasonable expectation. People wouldn't bother to buy song downloads from online music stores like iTunes or Sony Connect if they sounded like wind-up music boxes. In the same way, I don't see any reason why handheld video games should sacrifice quality for the sake of portability--the Lynx didn't have to, and from the looks of things, the PSP won't have to, either.
 
My experience almost mirrors yours Ignatz Mouse. I got a Lynx because the hardware was so damn good (better in some ways than any consoles available at the time) and the games weren't as cut down as GB. Never was much of a GB fan although I did pick up each new hardware revision through the GBA. With every new purchase I'd be interested for awhile, but eventually the handheld would go into the closet to collect dust for years. The only handheld that really kept my interest was the short-lived Neo Geo Pocket Color. Now that system rocked. Excellent library of games. I'm still surprised that I liked the system so much considering I don't care about any of SNK's properties in general. Other than that though handhelds have mostly been a novelty for me. I guess I'm just not a handheld gamer, not so much due to the types of games that appear on handhelds, but more due to the fact that I seldom have the opportunity to play games in a situation where a handheld would make sense. If I'm sitting at home (which is where I do virtually all my gaming) I'd rather play a console game on a big TV.

I've actually bought quite a few GBA games, not because they are handheld games, but because the GBA is about the only place you can still get 2D games with 2D game mechanics. However, I seldom play them on a GBA; usually I use a GB Player (which is a godsend despite some flaws).

I am looking forward to the PSP, both for the possibilities it offers in terms of games and media, but also to give some competition to Nintendo in the handheld space. I was quite disappointed by the GBA hardware; it could have been so much more if Nintendo wasn't so cheap.
 
Agent X said:
That's what attracted me to the Lynx as well. The games didn't feel like they were "abridged" to fit the confines of a handheld machine. Instead, they were full-scale, high-quality console games that just happened to be portable. :)

That is also why I'm looking forward to getting the PSP when it comes out in the US--it's got great games that just happen to be on a handheld.

Just because a machine is portable doesn't mean we should expect a lesser experience. Today's portable music players give near CD-quality sound. Music on them sounds similar to what you would hear coming from a home stereo, not like it's coming from a little wind-up music box. That's a reasonable expectation. People wouldn't bother to buy song downloads from online music stores like iTunes or Sony Connect if they sounded like wind-up music boxes. In the same way, I don't see any reason why handheld video games should sacrifice quality for the sake of portability--the Lynx didn't have to, and from the looks of things, the PSP won't have to, either.
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if you make a comment like games being less scaled down because they're on a portable (I take it that its nothing but a potshot @ gba..) you should realise that when we were gaming on SNES / Genesis, nothing about those games are cut down or lesser. Your point really is rather silly, there are tonnes of gba titles - they're 2d but it doesn't mean they suffer in presentation or goodness. Really people. Equating the platform to a lesser experience. Play more games before you make dumb comments like that.
 
bionic77 said:
The GBA SP is my favorite system this generation and Fire Emblem is the best game I have played in a long time.
Click to expand...
I've never agreed with someone more completely than I do with you in regard to the statement quoted above, bionic77.
 
The GBA is my favorite system this generation as well. Pokemon, FFTA, Fire Emblem, and Advance Wars are probably my most played games this gen. If you don't like portable games, I don't see what the debate is about. Don't buy them. The only times I'm ever unsatisfied with a purchase is when I do it from the urging of someone else, I know my own tastes and purchase accordingly.
 
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