Game Boy Advance SP in 2021? – My New Favorite Handheld!
Taki Udon
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For this first video in a series on official gaming handhelds, I take a look at the AGS 101 Game Boy Advanced SP. I cover why I bought the GBA SP, some considerations for others looking to get one for themselves, and how it became one of my favorite handhelds that I own.
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13.08.2022
I mistakenly deleted all my games in my gameboy . Can I reinstall those games ?
I miss my gameboy advance sp 😔
Im selling mine today (Pearl Pink Color), should I sell it?
You’ve really hit the nail on the head. I’ve been obsessing over my first emulator console. But in the end I’m probably going to choose 5 GBA games that I enjoy and play those on rotation until I feel like a change. Rg351m vs RP2?… who actually cares!
the sound and input delay of the gba is really the only perfect way to play the original rythem heaven or rythem tengoku. Since you need a patched rom on a flash cart to play it, i own a flashcart aswell with a gba sp, and It really does help with illussion of choice like you said. Sure, you can play these games on any other device that can emulate gba games, but with the gba itself having no downsides to using instead of an emulator and being better for certain things, it really is great for a more limited quality game selection handheld. You play a gba with a flashcart and theres every gba game ever on it but its just a small enough collection that you can still play without having to think forever which game to play. it even compells me to try weird games i find, would have never played gba smashing drive, gba doom, gba duke nukem, gba need for speed, and much more if i dident run into it on my flashcart.
0:3 hey what is the name of this game ?
I never had GBA SP back in days (2002-2004), but i had GBA, for short time. This year, i started to think that, it would be good to own some portable game console, if electricity from the apartment is off, or if thunderstorm is close (it's better to take those wires off of the wall socket). So today, i ordered my first GBA SP, one replacement battery, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
I didn't understand one thing: how can you know which ones of these are frontlit vs backlit???
ive been carrying my gba sp 101 with me for years. always saves me from boredom. ez flash cart was made for it
I got given a busted gbmicro a few years ago, got a replacement screen and its one of the best portable gaming devices ever with an everdrive IMO. Because this one was so beat up, i have no qualms chucking it in my pocket and i have another 2 x good condition ones in my cupboard, so having a somewhat carefree micro to throw around is the best.
Funnily enough, I've had the same issue of spending way too long trying to decide what to play. But having my GBA and DS Lite(for gba games) has rectified that a bit. I still have a ton of games for 'em because I bought some flash carts. I stuck a whole bunch of games on a GBA flash cart, and a GB/GBC flash cart. But simply limiting myself to GB/GBC/GBA games has helped a ton.
Like, I have 400+ games for my Xbox. I also have Retroarch on my Xbox with entire rom sets for most of the old 2D systems, as well as a ton of PS1 games and such. So when I turn my Xbox on and want to play something, I usually spend ages trying to decide what to play. Do I want to play something with a story? If so, which game? Do I want to start a new game or continue an old game? Do I want to play something quicker, like a fighting or racing game? Do I want to emulate one of thousands of games?
But when I grab my Game Boy Advance, I have a list of games on a flash cart, sure, but it's a lot more limiting. I also don't throw the entire rom set on it. I just have a folder of games that I know are good. Lately I've mostly been focusing on Pokemon Crystal and various Pinball games. As soon as I get my headphone adaptor in the mail, I'm gonna work on playing through Shantae (I HAVE to be able to hear the music in Shantae. I can't play on mute.)
___________
Also, yeah. The slower loading on that emulation handheld would drive me nuts. When I want to play a game…..I want to play a game. I don't wanna spend almost an entire minute booting up a device, opening an app, clicking through a menu, opening a game, and THEN finally playing. With a real GBA, I can just turn it on, click the game I want on my flash cart, and start playing.
I just rebuilt my sp, it's been sitting in a drawer for over 6 years because I broke the screen and forgot to install a new one. So I got a new shell because mine was all faded and scratched from being in my pocket and backpack as a kid and got a new screen and as I turned it on for the first time in 6 years I was hit with nostalgia hard. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was and still is my favorite game.
My childhood! Sadly I lost my SP in my locker.
Why tf would anyone want to move to China
Jokes on you, my grandma found one at a garage sale for $5 and gave it to me 😎
Also it works perfectly and has very minimal scratches
I remember being on the school bus with my game boy advance fighting to get the window seat so I'd be able to use the sun to see my screen 😂
In my opinion I believe real hardware is the way to go for stuff like this. All those handhelds or flash carts that play games are more likely emulations (not sure about the flash carts) but theres just something really nice about having a collection of physical games you can just pop in the system and play, and it would reduce the constant thought of "what game should I get next what game should I get next??"
I bought a perfectly fine gba sp yesterday for 70$ and Leaf Green and have played it nonstop since so 😂😂
Ah yes. The gba was the last of the old generation where game systems did not have giant OS's that you had to slog through to get to your game. You flip the switch and you're gaming within seconds. I love it.
Non of his friends owned one everybody i know had one weird
What flash card are you using?
How do I fix mine
i just got my first gba sp last year when i was 30 years old, it's too expensive when i was young
In my opinion yes. I remember the hour I would spend play classic Mario games, power rangers, donkey Kong, sonic, scooby doo, Batman. Im gonna purchase one soon
The best Nintendo handhelds are:
1. The GBA SP (AGS-101 backlit model).
2. The New 3DS.
3. The New 3DS XL.
And 4. The New 2DS XL.
Some people realize there's never enough Time to do the things we love to do some people realize it early on in life some will never realize it and some realize it too late in life for me do what you wanna do and be happy
That's one of the main reasons why I'm not really interested in buying A PS 5 or the new xbox I have so many Games I wanna play that I haven't got to on the PS4 xbox 360 PS2 game cube even wii there are so many games out there
I REALLY wish that instead of the original advance, or older game boys, some hardware modders would make a pi PCB for the SP, preferably with an extra two buttons. That form factor was just solid.
I've already found this to be the case when I dug my old Gameboy out. I had about 5 or 6 games on it and they really do mostly stand the test of time because of how limited the choice is, and because how quick it is to boot them up from off power. Many games have no save state, so they are designed to be played right away without much repetitive needless story exposition/narrative. No trashy p2w or advert ridden games. No much needless filler, because again it's designed to be replayed frequently without save states, and so the gameplay is very meaty right from the get go – albeit simple and cut dry.
The GBA has far more save state games as standard compared to the Gameboy classic, but is still at the point where most games are designed with the old style of pick-up-and-play within minutes.
The value proposition of jumping into a single player game is beat by the modern out-of-control instant gratification dopamine drip of social media. Otherwise you'd still be looking at your illusion of choice but you'd also get on genre kicks and the mental barrier to entry for would be low enough to start
I like the idea of having a system for each individual platform. Without being overly purist, I also think non-handheld console games should be mostly played on TVs with OEM controllers & USB adapters. I use my 3DS XL for 3DS and DS games only. Looking to find a good GBA handheld for GB, GBC and GBA.
The illusion of choice conversation is one that should be studied and understood far more by everyone. Since I removed social media from my phone, I find my willingness to play a handheld game has gone up tremendously. Also being an adult gives me "particular" taste in what I want to play. My compiled game library is "all games I remember enjoying or heard were good" + /v/s recommended games list for that system. IMO that's the perfect fat trimmed library to carry on a handheld. 100-150 curated games per platform. The illusion of choice gets cut and if your other pocket doesn't have Twitter or whatever your addiction is, you will easily continue your game or commit to a new one.
From where did you bought it? Gameboy advance sp
If i am being honest i think i have around 200 games across all my console that i haven't finished yet and new games are always being added on to the to play list
Dude that console is awesome
Before buying the Nintendo Switch Lite, I attempted to repair my Gameboy Advance SP. But unfortunately found it was its time to go to electronic waste… I just really wanted to play Donkey Kong Country , Pokémon Emerald, and Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, ext…). I really wish that Nintendo made all their previous games for older consoles (GB, GBA, and GBA SP.) available for download on the switch- since I’m not techy’ like everyone else. In all honesty, these games I remember had their creators heart and soul poured into their games. Seeing this pop up on my recommendations reminded me of how much more I loved those games instead of something “shiny and new” .And that often the perspective of newer things brings into assumption that they are better than something older- when it is not always the case.
I really liked this video, I hope you make more content like this on your channel. I truly relate to how you feel about the. “More isn’t always better” view on games. I feel that they aren’t just for the entertainment but, their storytelling qualities and thought processes your put through to move forward in the game. It builds up your mind with clever puzzles , while being fun at the same time.
(Sorry for the lengthy comment.)
I loved my SP. I have countless hours playing FFTA, Golden Sun, Warioware, MegaMan on road trips and vacations. Kinda want another one. My Steam library is huge and all I do is spend 10-15min looking at more deals than actually playing the games and when I do I play, I'll just play PoE for 5 min and then be like "meh", I guess I'll go do something productive.
I believe the SP is a better handheld for me than the Steam Deck, which I had the privilege to pre-order, but now am rethinking cause I'm just going to have the same issue on my PC. Maybe I'll swap my order for an SP instead 🤔
Update: getting a PocketGo S30 instead 😅 more variety with emulation
I just bought one yesterday 😌
Always been my favorite because I had this one as a kid
God I have a very simmilar story to you other than I never figured out how to emulate games till 2014. I also have that flashcart and a gbsp and while I was very excited to get one because gameboy library is amazing, I never play it. its kinda sad.
Best thing about my psp go to play any gameboy advance game I want well any old game I want
I feel like this with the psp.
I have a 3ds and I keep my 3ds turned on so I don’t get bored befor I start playing and I only keep a few games out even dou I have loads because most arnt that good and gives me too much time to think about it
What I do is to make sure what game to play before opening any ambulator, right now I'm playing Kid Drácula from Famicom (English translation) on PS Vita using RetroArch.
There are so many things I regret selling in life, such as this… 😪😔
How is the cost
I hear this argument all the time about if you have everything at your fingertips you won't finish any games. I think that's a console gamer's problem as of recent. I started out playing console games, but in 1998 I went full on PC for the most part until 5 years ago when I dug out all my old consoles. Having played games via Steam for years, Everdrives feel the same. I pick a game and work at it until I beat it most of the time. If I get bored I switch to something else for a while. I have no desire to finish the entire catalog of games. That doesn't sound fun. Just play what you want to.
I am thinking of getting this for the sake of reminiscing the old times of me, as a kid, playing this one game I miraculously was able to recognize from a YouTube vid recently called Summon Night. I play it on my phone now using an emulator but it made me think, I want a GBA.
I had one way back but left it at someone's house and I never got it back 🙁
I just found my gameboy sp from 2003 today 🥳
i just spent a few days looking for a deal on an sp got 2 for 75 on offer up we bout to play some pokemon!