Hi. I was wondering what people thought of the GBASP. Like it? Love it? Loathe it? I just bought one from eBay. I have never touched one until now.. I want to replay Pokemon Silver and it's not fun with no light available for a Gameboy Colour! (Side note, I got a GBC with 2 games and a case for a tenner delievered, MINT condition). I've just played a quick bit of Mario on the SP and.. meh.. hardware wise, the original GBA felt more solid and refined. The SP feels.. a bit tacky to me. And the frontlight isn't amazing- colours become washed out and there is visible banding. Better than the dark, but still... and the microswitch buttons are a bit odd. Maybe it's because the one I got is a bit tatty (Chinese charger- check!) but it doesn't fill my heart with retro warmth! So what were your first impressions of the unit?
I did feel kind of gutted when I pre-ordered and paid full whack for my GBA, only to have it superseded by a new model (i.e how it should have been in the first place..) Tatsujin: GBA Pocket? You mean GB Pocket?
I like the old GBA over the SP. The only reason why I bought an SP was the light but as others said too, I dislike the clicky buttons. I still might get an afterburner kit for my old GBA.
The GBA SP is great, but then again if you play a game on an SP and then put it in a DS Lite, you'll be amazed at how much better it looks.
I have the final generation SP (AGS 101). 1. Better screen than DS, larger, brighter. Better than the DS lite even. 2. Simple and to the point, easy and fast to use. DS can't be played with one hand. I would recommend to anyone, to get a AGS-101, even if you have a SP. It really elevates the system to a new level. There's only a few models that were 101, so look for the pikachu, graphite, pink pearl, pearl blue. These models sell for MORE MONEY than a used DS.
Assembler is on the right, here. The final iteration of the GBA SP, the backlit (not front-lit) one, looks awesome - and all those famicom mini carts and Snes ports, as well as the BitGeneration games and all other quirky titles (I'm still looking for that weird Galaxy Angel board-game, for example) make it an awesome system to have. If not, the Famicom or NES models were also very, VERY pretty. The two things that bother me about the GBA in general are the original non-lit GBA which looked awful, and the lack of X and Y buttons. But at its time, being able to play Link to the Past or F-Zero, or Super Mario World everywhere I went was fucking awesome. Also, the metroid games were fantastic. Yup, I love the GBA SP.
I love it. I just got a new gunmetal black version for $40. Excellent handheld although it's a tad too small for my hands.
I never liked the tact-switch dpads.. they just feel wrong. I was going to pick up a backlit final-gen SP when they were still around, but got a Micro instead. And damn am I glad I did! As an all around package, the micro is the best GBA in my opinion.
Y'know, I've never played a Micro. I've seen it at the shops and whatnot, but I have never seen it working. The screen does seem too small for me to see anything on it, but I've heard it's really, REALLY bright. I find it to be VERY pretty, but I'd never have one. Also, I've heard that it's easy to lose or forget in your pocket - which would make laundry a tragedy. Now, I'm quite happy with my red brick-DS, mostly because it's sturdy and really large.
Was the backlit DS releaased in the UK? On eBay UK I get results from the US of around $40. I don't need it that much to warrant spending that, but backlit is always going to be better! I have a Micro.. £20 brand new from eBay 8) I love it a lot- played a lot of Rhythm Tengoku on it. But the screen is poor.. its not as sharp as I would ahve imagined (but a good size). What gets me is that the colours are not very saturated (eg compare to the DSlite). When the screen is black, you can see freckles of colour- it is not pure black(like the DSlite or PSP), similar to first generation colour screens on mobile phones.. ZerdoPwerko, the Micro is quite bright. Hey, I have them all to hand, some photos.. Turning the DSlite on after using the other two, the screen really does impress in terms of sharpness and colours.
To this day, the GBA SP has been the only handheld that I've actually carried with me on a regular basis (I didn't have a micro). The form factor was great.
I liked the GBA SP. Probably my fave GB model out of the lot. My graphite GBASP with the improved backlight always reminded me of the PC Engine LT and had a good form factor and size for travelling. And I loved teh microswitch controls.
I'd like a Micro... I had more fun playing games on the original ice blue GBA. It was so cool when it came out. I had one of those screen protector light things. GBA SP wins because of the light....but I hate the way you hold it. The final SP is the winner. Really want one of those, or a Micro. Or hell, if they do Virtual Console GBA/GB/GBC for DSi and the price is decent...that'll be cool.
The GBA SP is the best of all Game Boy models, because it is compatible with GB and GBC games. The backlit is as good as on the micro, as long as you own an AGS101 model. I also like the small form factor and the folding mechanism. And in my opinion the SP has the best d-pad because it isn't so tiny as on the Micro or the DS.
