My new GBA

Jelvon · 25-12-2002 9:24pm #1

I got a nice new game boy advance for christmas, something I would of never of bought myself but equally something I am very happy to receive.

So the snatchs :

1. I got space invaders with it, I want some new games which I will purchase tomorrow maybe..

whats good for the gba? I do like rpgs, zelda was a favorite of mine on my very old gameboy and it seems to work on the new gba which is well cool. What do you guys play on yours?

2. Lastly the screen seems to be kinda dark.. my sis got one aswell (she got yoshi island with her one :eek: ) and it is dark enough aswell. Any solution to this problem? I have heard of a back lit screen thingy called "after burner" but I wouldn't mind some of you guy's thoughts on it b4 I purchase this kit and get out the soldering iron.

Shinji · 25-12-2002 9:50pm

Games...

Golden Sun is an excellent GBA RPG which I'm planning to give a fair bit of playtime to in the next few weeks - I've only scratched the surface so far.

Breath of Fire I and II are both on the system, and are both pretty good ports of SNES-era RPGs.

Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past is out on the GBA in the USA, and is apparently a better-than-perfect port of the SNES version of the game. There's also at least one new Zelda game in production for the GBA.

Advance Wars is a stunning turn-based strategy type thing - which may sound offputting, but it's probably the best handheld game I've ever played and completely addictive. Best of all, you can play it multiplayer with up to four people by passing around a single GBA, making your moves and passing to the next person.

A sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics is on its way to GBA, which is pretty much definitive proof that if God exists, he really does love us.

Regarding the lighting... Hrm, yeah, it's a pain. It's too dark, but if you get good lighting conditions still perfectly playable. The Afterburner is a neat solution, but it can make colours look washed out. Basically, it's worth getting an Afterburner, but you may not use it all the time simply because it's not a perfect solution by any means.

Placebo · 25-12-2002 10:00pm

Look at a post i made a while back on After burner ,
Its gonna cost u to get it and get it delivered , better off getting an external light .

Repli · 25-12-2002 10:27pm

Golden sun is a brilliant game.. one of the best for gba, broken sword is pretty good too..

The light thing is a kick in the teeth when u 1st get your gba but you get used to it, it's ok under good light conditions.. I'd love one of those afterburner things i 've been meaning to get 1 for a while now.. I have an external worm light which isnt much good..

Jelvon · 28-12-2002 12:34am

Just like to say thanks for your advice,

I bought Golden Sun this morning up @ GAME in lisburn on the strength of the you guys recomendations, plus I read a few reviews on the net

It is good!! bright, class graphics and just the type of rpg I love. And I got it for £29, a fiver off in the sales!

So thanks again..

theciscokid · 28-12-2002 7:36am

advance wars

DrunkLeprachaun · 28-12-2002 6:06pm

Am I the only one that thought Golden Sun sucked? I probably wouldn't have even played it through if I hadn't been stranded in sligo with no TV and no other games that I hadn't already beaten. I thought it had a crappy story, a dogy fighting system, and it seemed to just end in the middle of the game. I thought it was weak.
Advance Wars is pure class though, as are both the Castlevanias(I got Harmony of Dissonance yesterday).

TheAlmightyArse · 30-12-2002 10:58pm

Golden Sun... was alright. It had all the problems your average SNES-era RPG had, ie, stupidly restrictive, repetitive and hacknied, and for some reason they seemed amplified in Golden Sun. And it tended to fluctuate madly between boring and compulsive, spending nowhere near enough time in compulsive.

Still, I thought it was a reasonably playable game. Beautifully presented, too. I'm in the dark about what all the huge fuss is about, though.

By the by, Metroid Fusion, should I get it? Bearing in mind that I'm in no condition to afford more than one GBA game every few months, the length of time I'll spend playing it is my main worry here.

super_furry · 30-12-2002 11:51pm

Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past is out on the GBA in the USA

Mr Calculator off Grafton Street have it. Breath of Fire is also worth a look and HMV are selling it for €25 I think.

DrunkLeprachaun · 01-01-2003 5:44pm

Well, I do like a lot of snes RPGs, I just didn't like Golden Sun.
I got Metroid Fusion yesterday(it's only €35 in smyths', despite what the label says). It's very good. If you like metroid, whcih you should, you'll like this a lot. I also got ChuChu Rocket for €17 in Game. It's good too, the same as the Dreamcast game.

Praetorian · 02-01-2003 11:13am

Doom is fun. Castlevania (Both of them) are a great laugh.

Ohh i wish i knew who could do the backlight mod for me

Lorax · 02-01-2003 11:21am

dude do it yourself it aint hard

Funky · 02-01-2003 11:23am

if you had to get one GBA game there is out at the moment which would it be? (only need one to pass the time before i get a flash link cart for it)

Bard · 02-01-2003 11:46am

Originally posted by Funky
if you had to get one GBA game there is out at the moment which would it be? (only need one to pass the time before i get a flash link cart for it)

Mario Kart.

Lorax · 02-01-2003 11:52am

I didnt like mario kart at all for gba, and i thought it was nothing like snes or n64 version
best game for gba atm is *drum roll* :
Metroid Fusion

Hobbes · 02-01-2003 1:23pm

Most played games I have.

Advance Wars. If you like turn based combat with multiplayer options (you take turns with it).

Best RPG - Golden Sun (excellent graphics), only bad bit about it is that it's half the game/story. It ends mid-story and continues on in Golden Sun 2 which I have no idea when it comes out. Worth getting though.

Other RPG is Breath of Fire. Pretty good as well but graphics are dated (compared to Golden sun).

You can buy screen lights that plug into top. Some of them are really kack.

I recommend getting a battery charger docking station. I have two GBA's and two chargers about the house. You will save an absolute fortune on batteries and won't be tied down to plugging into the mains. This looks something like what I have. I didn't get a Nintendo branded one (can't remember the name). Basically a battery charger pack is put where the batteries go and it's got 2 charge points that link up to the station.

I currently have a GBA TV adapter still on route to me

But I would also recommend if you have the cash to get a GBA flashlinker -> http://www.gbadev.org/linker.html which you can use to download games (legit ones of course). More info at GBA Dev.

Praetorian · 03-01-2003 11:45am

Originally posted by Lorax
dude do it yourself it aint hard

Ok. Must buy solder and iron thing

DrunkLeprachaun · 05-01-2003 5:45pm

I was wondering what the best beat em up on the GBA is. Is it King of Fighters, Street Fighter Alpha 3 or maybe Street Fighter 2?
Or something else?

Placebo · 05-01-2003 5:52pm

Street fighter 2 turbo revival , is not great .
Character animation is the same as street fighter 2 , few new moves , Max of 6 hit combo , few chracters .

Id go for street fighter alpha 3 .

Hobbes · 06-01-2003 2:38pm

Backlight mod just requires moving a screw. However if you move it too far you will destroy your GBA.

deadl0ck · 06-01-2003 9:10pm

Bavkligh mod ?
Do you mean the Afterburner ? THere's alot more to do than moving a scew if you're talking about the Afterburner - you need to Solder and also cut the GBA case (using a tool like a dremel if you have one)

I've an afterburner installed in my GBA and it was WELL worth it !!

Also - on the Beat 'em up game fromt - Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper is by far the best

M.

Shinji · 07-01-2003 12:46am

Originally posted by Hobbes
Backlight mod just requires moving a screw. However if you move it too far you will destroy your GBA.

NO NO NO NO NO NO

Bloody IGN reported this ages ago as a miracle "backlight" hidden away in the GBA, and it's NOT. It's not even a contrast control as they later claimed - it's the power regulator for the GBA screen! They had to retract the story and print a hugely grovelling apology after rather a lot of people busted their GBAs fiddling with this.

Do NOT play with the power regulators on LCD screens unless you're sure you know what you're doing; and if you know enough to know what you're doing, you'll know to leave the power regulator alone!

theciscokid · 07-01-2003 6:08am

don't matter, they're unveiling a newer version in oh..erm,

about three and a half hours from now

i knew i sold my gba at the right time,

daveirl · 07-01-2003 7:37pm

This post has been deleted.

Zombrex · 08-01-2003 11:12am

I have tried a couple of the external lights for the GBA and they all pretty much suck, even the ones that got good reviews. The are bulky and they all leave a huge glare on the screen that blocks out some of the picture.

Does anyone know if you can get the Afterburner light in Ireland? Mr Calculator perhaps?

If you can't, which is a good company to order it from in the UK?

Hobbes · 08-01-2003 11:37am

Originally posted by Shinji
Do NOT play with the power regulators on LCD screens unless you're sure you know what you're doing; and if you know enough to know what you're doing, you'll know to leave the power regulator alone!

Prehaps I shouldn't of said Backlight mod. But Shinji stresses what happens better then I did.

Afterburner is the better way to go.

tHE vAGGABOND · 08-01-2003 12:10pm

F-Zero is the king of racing games on the GBA...

Prolly get it cheap now too

deadl0ck · 08-01-2003 1:03pm

Get the Afterburner here :

http://www.gbax.com

I've ordereed from them wnd they're pretty good. Xyramax, here:

http://www.xyramax.co.uk

are pretty good also

^CwAzY^ · 08-01-2003 1:20pm

The pre-modded backlight GBA looks promising although I doubt it will support the newer games made specifically for this GBA

deadl0ck · 08-01-2003 1:39pm

I'm sure bot versions will run the same software - it they didn't it cause a lot of problems.

I only hope my Flash Advance Linker will work with the new one when it comes out !

^CwAzY^ · 08-01-2003 1:43pm

Isn't that the multiplayer thing? I hope the gamecube link cable works with the new one too and more GBA games are released with compatability for the gamecube.

deadl0ck · 08-01-2003 2:31pm

Multiplayer thing ?
No - it allows you to put ROMs you download on a cart and play them on a GBA

Horsefumbler · 09-01-2003 8:56pm

Is that portable tv attachment for the GBA any good? I'd imagine you could only get RTE and Network 2 is that right? Might get one.

Streetfighter 2 is pretty damn good for the GBA its only 20 euro in Virgin in dublin. It's like the good old days of Streetfighter! While we're on the subject does anyone know how to do Zangief's special throws without getting serious thumb blisters?

deadl0ck · 10-01-2003 8:35am

Not sure - but check out GameFAQs for a complete move list

drrnwbb · 11-01-2003 10:41am

more new gameboy stuff

http://pocket.ign.com/articles/382/382062p1.html

dw

My new GBA

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