Table of Contents
Game Boy Advance Review
In 2001, Nintendo released its new portable console - the Game Boy Advance. Over the years, this console has gained a huge number of fans.
This console immediately became popular. Watch this report from a Danish TV channel showing queues at Japanese stores during the launch of the Game Boy Advance. People started queuing up early and slept on the streets to buy the console. Surprisingly, it wasn't just children but also a large number of adults.
In 2022, the prices for the Game Boy Advance have skyrocketed, making retro gaming a truly expensive hobby. Even by the most modest estimates, you will have to spend between 8,000 and 20,000 rubles just to play games from twenty years ago. For that kind of money, you could buy a Nintendo Switch.
Today, I would like to tell you about the Game Boy Advance console. This is the console that inspired the creation of this website.
The development of this console began in 1995 with Project Atlantis.
The design, as we know it, was developed by Frenchman Gwénaël Nicolas. Thanks to the developers and Japanese journalists, a lot of interesting information about the creation of the console has been preserved. You can read more about the history of the Game Boy Advance in the article: «History of the Game Boy Advance».
Where to buy GBA and what to look for when buying?
Today, you can only buy the Game Boy Advance on platforms for used goods: eBay, Avito, Yula, and others. Unfortunately, you can no longer buy a new console. Although, it might be possible, but the price of such a console would be over $1000. And finding such a listing would be very difficult.
The approximate cost of a used console is 4000 - 5000 rubles on Russian platforms and 6000 - 10000 rubles on foreign platforms.
The Game Boy Advance does not have any significant technical issues that need to be checked when buying. Therefore, you can limit yourself to a simple check: insert a cartridge and play a little. The biggest problem that can happen with the console is the drying out of conductive rubber pads. These are the pads that close the contacts when a button is pressed. Over time, they wear out and stop conducting electricity. This means the buttons will either work poorly or not at all. However, this is very easy to fix. Just buy a new set of rubber pads on AliExpress and replace them. Fortunately, no soldering is required: just unscrew the console.
Console Bundle
The Game Boy Advance console came in a nice light-colored box.
The bundle included only the console, the box, and the manual.
Console Dimensions
The Game Boy Advance is the first console to change its form factor from vertical to horizontal. Despite this, the console still turned out to be very large and thick.
GBA dimensions:
Width: 144 mm
Height: 82 mm
Thickness: 24.5 mm
One of the problems with the console, in my opinion, is its thickness. If it were half as thick, it would be priceless, but as it is, it's not very portable. At least, carrying it in your jeans pocket is possible but not comfortable due to its thickness. On the other hand, it fits perfectly in a jacket pocket.
Usage
The first impression of the console is very good. It feels nice to the touch: the plastic doesn't feel cheap. Thanks to the shape of the console, it sits well in the hands.
The Game Boy Advance can run Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games.
However, there is a small problem: if you play Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, there will be black bars on the sides of the screen, and the cartridge will stick out of the console.
The buttons on the console are easy to press and generally very pleasant. Many people don't like that the D-pad on the Game Boy Advance SP is deeply recessed. This is not a problem with the Game Boy Advance.
The GBA runs on two AA batteries.
On top of the console is a network port. To the left and right of it are holes for accessories.
On the bottom of the console is a headphone jack, a volume control, and a power button.
Console Cons
This console has three significant drawbacks:
1. Screen without backlight;
2. Poor sound quality.
3. Runs on AA batteries.
And if you can do something about the batteries, in the end, you can just carry spare batteries, and they are sold everywhere. But the screen is a huge problem. You can only really play the Game Boy Advance in bright light.
However, as of 2022, these are solvable problems. There are ready-made solutions that often don't even require soldering.
Best Mods for the Console
Before we move on to mods, it should be said that the console is not playable without mods. Or more precisely, without one mod - the screen backlight. All other mods are optional.
1. Screen backlight.
In the past, around 2002, you could buy a frontlit mod for the screen (a transparent glowing plate that was installed on top of the screen). But now there are more pleasant and simpler ways.
First, you can install a screen from the Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101 in the Game Boy Advance. This is what I did.
To do this, you need to find a donor console (specifically the Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101), buy a simple adapter, and solder one wire.
Second, you can install a new IPS screen.
Screen without
backlight / GBA SP AGS-101 screen / IPS screen
Read more about the difference between these two screens in the article: «IPS screens for Game Boy consoles. Which IPS screen to buy?».
2. New case.
Of course, when buying a used console, you can't expect it to be in perfect condition. Most often, the console case will be scratched and worn. But there are plenty of new cases on sale. Moreover, there are even cases that are already prepared for installing an IPS screen. After all, if you install it in an old case, you will have to file it down.
3. Battery mod.
You can buy rechargeable batteries and not worry about batteries. But now there are ready-made battery mods on sale that also charge via USB Type-C. Moreover, such a mod is installed without soldering. Just unscrew the console and insert it.
How to play on the console?
The main function of the Game Boy Advance consoles is games. But here's a small problem. Original GBA cartridges (especially with top games) cost more than the console itself, and they are not freely available in Russia. Sometimes you can find them for sale, but most likely it won't be what you need. And then the question arises: what to do?
There are 3 types of cartridges for playing on this console:
1. Original cartridges from Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. But they are hard to find and expensive.
2. Pirated cartridges. They can be roughly divided into two parts. Those that are sold in Russia, for example on Avito, and those that are sold on AliExpress. The former have a plus - they often have Russian localization, but there is also a minus, as a rule, their battery is dead, which means saves don't work.
For those cartridges that are sold on AliExpress, everything is the opposite. The games themselves are in English, and instead of a battery, there is a chip that doesn't need a battery as such.
On the left are Russian pirated cartridges, and on the right are
those bought on AliExpress.
3. Flash cartridges.
It should be understood that the Game Boy Advance console does not have built-in memory (well, it does, but it cannot be reflashed, and you cannot write games to it either). The cartridge acts as the information carrier for the console. Special cartridges were invented that can be rewritten. That is, flash cartridges are like a hard drive for the console. You can write games to them and play them.
Find out which flash cartridge is better to buy in our FAQ.
iQue
There was also a version of the Game Boy Advance released by iQue. This is exactly the same Game Boy Advance, only released for the Chinese market.
You can read more about the history of the iQue GBA in the article «History of Nintendo in China - iQue Company».
You can see comparative photos of the Nintendo GBA and iQue GBA in the article: «Photos of iQue Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Game Boy Advance».
Epilogue
For 2001, this was a breakthrough console with very cool games. But even then, Nintendo was criticized for the lack of a backlit screen and a rechargeable battery. And it is these drawbacks that make you think before buying the console. On the one hand, these shortcomings can be easily fixed, but on the other hand, such a console will cost a lot of money. The console itself costs 5,000 rubles, an IPS screen is another 5,000 rubles, a battery - 3,000 rubles, and a flash cartridge - 4,000 rubles. That's 17,000 rubles for a twenty-year-old console. And unless you have big hands, I would recommend paying attention to the Game Boy Advance SP.
