User Reviews (1 - 8 of 8)

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great googly moogly!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Wow...

This system is truly amazing. It's also a tremendous value because it can play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. I have recently played Super Mario Advance on an import machine and both are great! The moment I picked it up, I was in awe. It feels so great holding it. The new design is really comfortable. The butons are arranged well. and although they dont have much function in Mario, the two new trigger buttons will probably be great in other games. The screen is beautiful, the sound is perfect. It is a great thing to have.

Super Mario Advance isn't anything new for gamers like me but its still a great game. It contains both Super Mario Brothers 2 AND the original arcade game in which you must disable the enemies by hitting the platforms under them and then running into them to kill them. Super Mario 2 is the one where you can pick from Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach. The game consits less of the jumping on things and more of picking large vegetables with eyes out of the ground and throwing them at your enemies. It is quite enjoyable. The new character voices are great too. I have never seen such quality on a handheld. Both games have been updated with new sounds, new graphics and a few touches here and there. The new cartriges are much smaller, lass than half the height of original cartriges but the same width. The game slot was made to fit these smaller ones so any GB or GBC games you put in will protrude a little but its not so bad. Also, since the new screen is bigger, you have the option of running your old game with black borders or stretching the image which looks rather odd in most games. I would reccomend just leaving the regular screen.

The pack itself i have not gotten but it seems to have everything you would want. Carrying case, fast battery charger, and a nifty wormlight. Yes, the game boy is STILL not backlit but I have realized that that is a good thing. If it were backlit, performance and quality would drop. All these little accessories are a great value for the system and I would highly reccomend this bonus pack over buying things separately.

Overall, the Game Boy Advance is a very promising new system. Many wonderful new games are on their way and all your old games will work on it. This is a must buy for all game enthusiasts. Its gonna be so awesome.

Simply the best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I didn't get a bundle, but I did get a GBA and a SMA game pack. And I can tell you, it doesn't get much better! If you are older, you may remember playing it on nes, if you are young, it's a new experiance and the multiplayer is awesome. This is probably the best game you can possibly start off with you new GBA.

Be careful what you order

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This was one of the greatest video game systems I ever used. It was very challenging, but I must express my concern about how poorly they advertised which games you would be getting and how you show NO game shots. If I was to get another of these game systems, I would make sure of which game I was getting. So if you were to get one of these, make sure you know exactly which game(s) you are getting. And of course, I most certainly LOVED! the Super Mario Advance game BUT! Iridion was the worst game I have played in a loooooooooooooooooong time. I would totally recommend Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 ANY day! That is all.

I love the GBA

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought the GBA the first day and am simply in love. It is a great system with great games and wonderful graphics. I'm glad the screen isn't backlit, as that draws a lot of battery power, and can usually only be seen from one angle. The GBA is much harder to see in a dark room than regular gameboy, but any light source (even a distant one) really illuminates it well. Besides, why would you sit in the dark? As far as I've seen, there hasn't been a lamp shortage yet. So if you were a fan of old Game boy, you'll love the game boy advance!

No.1 poket counsle in the world!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: June 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Last week i got my gameboy advance for my birthday. When i got i bought 2 games . Mario and GT racing.They are both really good. I like it because it is easyier to hod,more colors,more bottons, and the screen is bigger. What i dontlike about the Gameboy advance is that the screen is too dark and also on Color gameboy it has a infrared but GBA doesnt. Trust me GET GBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my view of GBA

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: May 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I actually dont have a gba yet. My dad just bought me one from amazon.com! he bought me a glacier mario action pack. I think its gonna be great! I have been waiting for two years for the GBA and in one month i will have one!! I have heard from recent reviews that mario advance is an awesome game for all ages and so is iridion 3D! Also the powerpak EX does come with a rechargeable battery pak for all of you wondering!! Thank you for reading my review. BYE

Game Boy Advance

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: May 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The game boy advance is so much fun. If you are looking for a gift or yourself get it now. It is worth it a millions times over. It is a great improvement over the game boy color. I got my from over seas and it is lot o fun!!!!!!! So if you want this great system that is portable get it now you won't be disappointed.

Finally! =o)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 38 / 43
Date: May 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I remember reading YEARS ago about "portable SNES" plans in Nintendo Power, but to my utter disappointment they never actually went through with it. When they released the Color Gameboy along with remake titles like Super Mario Bros. and Dragon Warrior, I thought, "Ok, they've finally made me my portable NES - now where's my portable SNES?"

Well, here it is, finally - SNES on steroids, at 1/5 the size. Does that make sense? Probably not. I just picked up an import console with Mario Advance for myself, so please excuse me if I seem a little incoherent. Bbwbwlblwllbwllbrlbrlwlblwblwblwllwwwlwrrr! Shall I explain now? SNES was 16 bit, GBA is 32. More powerful? YES. And nearly the same size as a GBC. I've only had a chance to sample Super Mario Advance (along with all my older games), but so far I am thoroughly impressed. It looks and sounds just like SMB2 from Super Mario All-Stars for SNES, plus a few extras. Like the characters' voices. Hehehehe you read that right, they all have digitized lines, and they blow the SNES's digitized speech out of the water! Great visuals, great audio quality, the orientation of the console makes it MUCH easier to hold, and is it just me or is the screen easier to see? ;)

The biggest gripe I have with the system is the method it uses in stretching the screen for older GB games. You can play them in the normal square-screen format, or you can tap a button and stretch the screen horizontally to play in a funny squished "wide-screen" format. Unfortunately, it doesn't stretch the image vertically, so you actually do have those black "widescreen lines" at the top and bottom, as you do with, say, a widescreen DVD on a standard TV. I understand why (it has to do with the pixel resampling limitations), but it's kind of weird. Most side-scrollers will benefit immensely from this, as it gives you a better view of the screen (despite the squashed view of the hero). Games such as Metroid II and Castlevania Adventure (yeah, I'm an "olde-tymer", laugh it up) worked particularly well. It didn't revolutionize the gameplay, but it made them easier to see. A few others, notably Super Mario Bros. (GBC version), were playable, but not so well. Games like SMB rely totally on your ability to gauge distances and timing, and stretching the screen out can throw you off a good deal. At least until you get used to it :) Still others just don't work very well at all in widescreen format. Zelda and Dragon Warrior are two such games. Designed to be played in a square field, overhead-view games are thrown off-balance when stretched. It feels like Link zips from one side of the screen to the other, but getting from top to bottom drags. It's weird, but it's possible to adjust if you give it a little time.

The only other problem is that since the console has a new design, most of the old GB/GBC peripherals obviously won't work with the GBA. The gamelink socket is the same general shape as the GBC, so the gamelink cable itself should run fine. I tried my Nyko wormlight with the GBA and was pleased to find that with a little twisting, it would work with my older games. However when I tried it with the new GBA games, the light was noticably more dim, and the power light turned from green to red. I'm guessing this means something bad (since I can't read japanese). Will you have to buy new peripherals? Yep. That's ok, 'cause the GBA-specific lights/magnifiers I've looked at so far are pretty decent.

Despite this couple of little things that could have been done better, the GBA is a GREAT machine. Is it worth it? If you have a GB or GBC, that depends on whether you want to play the new games. Super Mario Advance is excellent, and I'm really looking forward to games like Castlevania and, eventually, Metroid and Zelda. These excellent titles make the ...price tag more than worth every penny. If you don't have a gameboy yet. . . WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? This is the one we've been waiting for, folks. . .

My portable SNES has finally come home to me. . . and I'm loving every second.

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