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Finally!!! =o)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 25
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. ...!! 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.

The best...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: May 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Don't listen to the reviews below about how bad the Game Boy Advance is. They have no idea what they're talking about. The GBA is the worlds most powerful handheld console. This puppy has a whopping 32-bits, which easily crushes over the Game Boy Color and Super Nintendo(16 bits). Plus, multiplayer on this machine is going to be great. Four way multiplayer action, with games like F-Zero, Super Mario Advance, and Krazy Racers, it's going to be great. You might not like it right now, because it's only coming out in three bad colors, arctic(white), indigo(blue, sorry but it looks more like purple to me), and galcier(see through blue). All in all, This system has alot of power behind it so I hope you pre-order this now before it's too late.

Wow!! Handheld has reached a whole new level

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: June 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I don't know why you are reading this review. If you have gotten this far, I am sure you are already planning to buy one. But let me break down my opinion on the GBA. To my credit, I am 23 and an avid video game player (aka a nerd) so my opinion should help you out:

First- How is it different from the original GB, you ask? It has the power of a Super Nintendo and in some cases the power of a Playstation (both PS and GBA have 32-bit CPU). It can't handle CGI or full animated sequences, PS did that through the CD-ROM drive (that goes for background music as well). It's basically almost 3 times more powerful than a regular GB.

GBAs appearence: It's actually a bit smaller and lighter than than the GB color. It's screen is a bit larger (it's got a widescreen look to it).

Games: So far the two games I have played (Super Mario Brothers and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2) are superb. The games are great, a way vast improvement from the GB's games.

Flaws??? Well, only a couple. You can't compare this to any other platforms accept the other handhelds, so don't expect the GBA to perform like your PS2 or DC (and in many cases, your PS1). Handhelds, in my opinion aren't really meant to played similar to the PS2 or DC. It's to kill time when you don't have access to your PS2 or DC. The GBA may break that mold. I found myself playing the GBA for hours (while I did have access to my PS2 and DC). Plus, if you are an older player and only want the quality of your PS2 or DC (or even your N64), then don't bother with the GBA. Plus, if you are like me, your hands are too big to seem to play the GBA. I found my long fingers in the wierdest positions trying to play this thing. I even purchased a slightly fatter controller for my PS2 because I think the regular PS2 controllers are sort of small. I was guessing the GBA was geared toward kids, but I found it enjoyable. If you are like me and like to play games between plane and bus trips, then this is for you. If you are looking for the greatest handheld game, this is for you. If you have money to burn and you love video games, this is for you. If are between the ages of 10 - 15, then definatily get one. The 4 stars (and not 5) is because I hoped it would have been more grander. I hope this doesn't turn into a GB that just looks prettier, like the PS2 from the PS in many cases.

Good games to bad you can't see them.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: June 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Be warned the screen is horrible. I would not be surprised if they change it soon. First off it is not backlight and is a reflective screen. You can't even play this thing indoors under lots of light and outside it's washed out. To say the least I'm very disappointed and returned my machine. With this screen Stevie Wonder will see just as much as you will.

You best SEE it before you buy....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 14
Date: June 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Yes, I fell for all the hype and purchased a Nintendo Gameboy Advance. I have an actual unit sitting next to me as I type this – so this review is based on hands-on game play, not just a restatement of Nintendo... In short, the Gameboy Advance is definitely the worst waste of money I’ve made in my entire life.

The advance games are very good, and backward compatibility seems to be excellent. The sound is very decent coming from such a cheap little speaker, and you feel like you playing mini-versions of the console games. So what’s not to like? The screen.

I have this peculiar desire to actually SEE the games that I play on a gaming system. Yes, that might sound like a rather extreme demand to place on electronic gaming equipment, but I’m kinda weird that way.

Well, the folks at Nintendo obviously do not think that seeing is all that important a part of game play. The Gameboy Advance has the most horrid screen that I’ve ever come across on any type of hand-held device, whether it be a PDA, game system or calculator. It is absolutely revolting.

Unless you live in sunny Hawaii, and like playing with your Gameboy outdoors at lunch time, you are going to be in for a shock. The screen, except for in extremely bright light, is impossible to see. Not hard to see, impossible to see...

And when you do find something that gives off enough light, (like the noon day sun, for instance...) then you have to deal with the ultra-high glare screen that Nintendo thoughtfully put on this unit. Very handy if you ever need a mirror. It’s always nice to be able to see your face while you are playing Super Mario.

If you think the dinky little worm light is going to save the day, guess again. All it is capable of doing is creating a small, white disk on the screen designed to shine in your eyes while attempting to play the game. I guess you could consider it a handicap for advanced players. It’s more worthless than the Gameboy Advance itself.

I’ve never been so disappointed with a purchase. If you think you might want to buy one of these, go off to a store and get a hands-on demonstration. You’ll see for yourself what I’m talking about... very poor excuse of electronic entertainment.

If I could, I would give it –5 stars.

This thing is not fun at all!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Picked up the gameboy advance yesterday. Tried to play it last night but the screen is so dark its almost imposible to play the game. You have to be in perfect light to be able to do anything and even then you have to move the screen around to find the best view. I called the store where I bought it and complained and they said they would take it back so thats what I'm doing today. Very disapointed in this product as I had high expectations.

One word to describe the GBA : art

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The Game Boy Advance is now out and it is waiting for every snotty nosed pokemon fan to buy one but this thing is not a toy it is a sophisticated peice of hardware that only deserves the hands of a master i've played 4 out of 5 of the game boy's maneifestation's first the One that started it all the Game Boy then i moved on to play Game Boy Color and while for a short while i played a game boy Pocket that belonged to a friend and now i have played The Game Boy Advance and it Ko'ed me after the first 10 minutes i could not beilevie it check this little sucker out and it will fall in love with your hands

good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The games are good the system is good everything is excellent. The only thing is that you can't use old acceseries with the new gameboy that is bad

Tick Tock time is running out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: June 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

...Boy! oh Boy, whas it worth it this handheld ROCKS! I have heard lot's of complaints about the glare being so bad, well at certain angles it might be hard to see, most of the time in most light it's just fine. It's not worth not getting a GBA just because of the glare. So for all you people who have a chance to get a GBA take it while you have it.

Unusable in its current state - screen is CRAP

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I got one of these expecting to love it.

I want to love it. I really do.

The games look great - in magazines and on display units with televisions attached.

The one thing that keeps this fantastic device from reaching its full potential is the absolutely LOUSY screen. It's not just hard to see the screen in average light - it's IMPOSSIBLE. You'll be lucky to distinguish shapes, let alone colors.

You really do need to be sitting in noon-day sun to make out anything on the scren. You can try using any of the five-billion third-party add-on lights (Nintendo: hop on the CLUE train!) but those will only throw glare onto the screen, giving you yet another obstruction to work around. Playing in the sun introduces near-blinding glare onto the highly reflective screen.

Without some type of internal lighting solution, this thing is doomed. Of course, Nintendo will sell millions because it's a "Game Boy," but that won't stop kids from complaining to their parents about not being able to see the screen.

In all fairness, the games are EXCELLENT. The system is *extremely* powerful for a handheld device. The only flaw to this system is that you can't see what's going on. At all. In any lighing conditions.

If you'd still like to get the benefits of the Game Boy Advance "experience," your best bet is to get your hands on a Game Boy Advance emulator so that you can play (and see!) the games on your PC.

Nintendo claims that including an internal light in the GBA itself would bring the battery life down to three or four hours and increase the price of the unit. To this I say "So what!?"

I'd be willing to pay the extra money and buy the rechargable battery pack (released by Nintendo themselves!) if it meant I could see the games I'm playing.

Here's hoping that Nintendo releases a back-lit version of the Game Boy Advance - and soon!

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