Hello. I'm really interested to buy Gameboy, but I don't know which one I should buy. Let's say, that I'm a kid who really enjoys playing with his Nintendo DS Lite. I know that I can play Gameboy games on my Nintendo DS, but I just want the Gameboy. Colourful screen isn't necessary, but backlit screen would be good. I also don't want Gameboy Advance because I really don't like the design of it. Some of you may say like, "Hey, you made a topic where you wanted PC and phone recommendations, get them first and then start thinking about the Gameboy!" but I just can't get them now (Well, I'd get the phone now, but phone isn't so important to me, so I'd better add this money to my PC building) So if you can, please recommend me a Gameboy :)

10 years ago*

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Buy a good Android phone, get an emulator with games = profit, you can play NDS, Game Boy's, Super Nintendo, PSP, PS1, etc.

10 years ago
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I can't buy a phone now because I added this money to my PC budget (Stupid in some people's opinion). Thing is, that I want a real Gameboy, not some emulator :)

10 years ago
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playing on a phone can be a bit shit, my advice get yourself a DS Lite, they are cheap and youll be able to play Game boy, Color, Advanced and DS games.

10 years ago
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Did you even read my text? I said that I have DS Lite but I want Gameboy.

10 years ago
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10 years ago
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You can't play GB and GBC on DS. Unless you use an emulator, but I think that's not what OP wants.

10 years ago
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I don't recommend to play old games on touch screen devices.

I bought Gameboy Advance SP and a flashcart years ago. It was fun for sure but there is not so much good games on GBA, maybe about 30-45. Some of them are really bad. But in that case, you can even play Gameboy Color/Gameboy games, since GBA SP supports old cartridges from 90s.

Also DS Lite would be better than GBA SP as Luchingador said before.

10 years ago
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No, gaming on a phone is not a good thing unless it's a game made specifically for touch screens. Virtual controls are the worst way you could play a game, I'd rather play games with an Atari 2600 controller than use virtual controls.

10 years ago
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I was just suggesting, since some ppl like doing this, I hate playing on the phone my self, if I would like to play some old consoles, I will just use an emulator and an Xbox 360 controller on the PC. Also the Game Boy screen is very small and uncomfortable, so is better using the PC screen, you can also make the window bigger, game will be very pixely, but I don't think this means it looks bad, I have a Game Boy(no color) myself, I played a lot when I was child.

10 years ago
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For Gameboy models, the best choice is the GBA SP, because of the lit screen. Before that, the only model with a lit screen was the Gameboy Light (an alternate version of the Pocket) which was unreleased outside Japan.

Also, your DS only plays Gameboy Advance games, the SP is fully compatible with older titles.

10 years ago
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Okay, thanks :D

10 years ago
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YEAH, GET THE SP

The Micro is kinda cool though... and nobody has it.

10 years ago
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Plus it has even better lighting, and it's slightly more portable

10 years ago
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Sadly, the Micro can't play Gameboy/Gameboy Color games though, just GBA. Still, for just GBA stuff, the screen's really nice. It's slightly smaller, so everything looks sharper, and it's one of the rare handhelds I own that actually fits in my pockets.

10 years ago
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+1
Had the tribal one cause I am a badass

10 years ago
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+1 for the SP

10 years ago
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10 years ago
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Probably not because the shipping itself is 20£ (~25€) :(

10 years ago
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In the GBA SP, you can play both GBC and GBA games. Not sure about the GB original tho.

Or you can get GBC PIKACHU EDITION!!!

10 years ago
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+1 for gba sp, it can play everything, or a normal game boy advance, it'll play everything too but the sp has a backlight and recharable batteries.

10 years ago
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Hmm... Sadly, I don't like the design of GBA SP. I'd want something that is in one piece.

10 years ago
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10 years ago
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Haha :D

10 years ago
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The normal GBA is one piece design, but no backlight.

10 years ago
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There's is also the Gameboy micro. It can only play gameboy advance games but has backlight (better than SP) and is, as the name suggests, very handy.

10 years ago
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Smaller, and does nothing the DS can't already do, so really no reason unless he wants the tiny system for what it is.

10 years ago
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I have a micro and like it for what it is, I also use a flashcard to get all GB/GBC games to run (since the cartridges doesnt fit). Ofc I own the games on the flashcard also as originals with a working Gameboy Color but I like the screen from the micro much more, so I use that one most of the time instead.
The micro has the best screen from all of those old gameboys, its much sharper than the SP one.
Also have PSP, Vita and DS but still the micro is the one which gets used most of the time.
I can recommend it.

10 years ago
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Yes, but he says that he wants a GB for GBA games and not use his DS.

10 years ago
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Better to have a system that can do it all. The Micro is probably cool, but the limitation on games sucks. There are some great Gameboy / Color games worth owning.

Also, given right below, he asks if owning a Color is a good idea, he clearly intends to play other stuff.

10 years ago
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Yeah, now. But not when I wrote my reply :)

10 years ago
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8 hours ago, 1 day ago. Um, you sure about that?

10 years ago
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I had a Micro a while back, would definitely recommend it if all they want is Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games. Screen might be small but you could literally stuff it in your pocket and carry with you. Get that and the re-writable cartridge that fits perfectly in it and you are set.

To the ones who complains about it not playing DS games, he already said he doesn't care about that.

10 years ago
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Would Color be good idea?

10 years ago
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Sure.

10 years ago
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If you are content to play all Advance games on your DS, it was a decent system, but the screen can be difficult to see in poor lighting. The original and pocket had a contrast slider, the GBA SP and Micro have a lit screen, but both the Color and original Advance have neither, so only external lighting can make everything viewable.

Its why I recommend the SP. :P

10 years ago
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Okay, thanks Delta :)

10 years ago
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transparent purple ftw

10 years ago
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I have my eye on the transperent purple ;)

10 years ago
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as other people said, you may have some issues with the screen as its hard to see much when there is much light on it (and trust me, Im talking from experience since I used to have a gameboy color myself, the screen was quite difficult to watch at times XD)

10 years ago
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Well, going to sleep now. I'll take a look at your comments in ~15 hours ;)

10 years ago
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10 years ago
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I'd wait for the New 3DS. Possibily in a bundle with Monster Hunter 4. :)
Or for a second-hand 3DS XL, once the New 3DS has been released.

10 years ago
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I personally have hacked an old PSP to play dumped Gameboy ROMs, since my Gameboy died ages ago. The D-pad is inferior compared to my old GB, but by running on a non-native system, I do get the advantage of save-states.
For actual Gameboy models, I can recommend the GBA SP, GBC, and the old GB Slim, although only the GBA SP had a backlit screen.
If you have a little DIY streak in you, I like the gamegirl project (https://learn.adafruit.com/pigrrl-raspberry-pi-gameboy/overview).
For all other cases, I suggest just emulating on PC. I've long ago given up on trying to coax my old carts and original GB to cooperate. The old cart technology just wasn't made to stand the tests of time. I really wish Nintendo would just cave to pressure and release an "official" cross-platform emulator and host paid ROM downloads, but that's extremely unlikely. They don't want my money unless I'm buying their console, too...

10 years ago
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If a gameboy game doesnt work any more, usually you just have to open it and clean the contacts.
if it doesnt save anymore you have to open it and change the battery.
All of my old games are still working after so many years, after doing the above steps on some of them.
bad contacs vs. clean ones
how to clean it with q tips and alcohol

10 years ago
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10 years ago
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I really can't recommend the GBC or GB models, not in relation to anything else. The backlit GBA SP is fantastic, but the Micro is a neat little device. The screen on it is great, but it's tiny, and one reason it's a little more expensive is consumers just didn't embrace something quite that small.

10 years ago
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I'm a big fan of the Game Boy Player addon for the Gamecube. Granted, it's a more expensive option and it's not portable, but ever since I tried one, I haven't gone back to handhelds for the older games. It's literally just GBA hardware using a Gamecube to output to your TV, so everything that works on a real GBA will work on it.

10 years ago
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I do own the first B&W GameBoy and I love it. And coincidence or not, I just bought a GameBoy Color, should arrive by tomorrow. Those would be my pick for you, if you don't carre for the backlit screen. GBA's design is really awful, and I find the SP really clumsy to handle.

But be warned, once you start buying those you won't stop. I am a happy owner of an Atari 2600, one Intellivision, one Sega Master System, one NES clone and those 2 GameBoy (and for those willing to ask if I have a life, I actually do. I'm married and father of 4)

10 years ago
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You should buy one of those fancy Gameboys 360 Slim or Gameboys One.

10 years ago
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:D

10 years ago
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I would go with either Gameboy Advance SP or Gameboy Color.

10 years ago
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Color has better design imo :)

10 years ago
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I would go with a grey classic one myself if had the chance (and the cash) for one.

10 years ago
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Also, 2 questions. Can Game Boy Color run all Game Boy games and are Game Boys somehow region-locked? I saw many Game Boys on eBay that were Region-Free and in some Japanese Game Boy's description I saw Japanese Version :P

10 years ago
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i'd suggest the GBA sp, the game boy color can only run the GBC cartridges, GBA can run both types
p.s.
i'm not really sure aboout region locked games, but i don't think they had implemented it

10 years ago
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None of the Game Boys are region locked, neither is original DS. 3DS is when Nintendo first introduced region locking in their handhelds, and I think that's a horrible decision.

10 years ago
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Also, which one has better games, GBA or Game Boy Color?

10 years ago
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get the GBA sp, it has a backlit screen and it can play all cartridges made for game boys

10 years ago
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I don't really know... I could play GBA cartridges on my Nintendo DS Lite and I don't like the design of GBA or GBA SP. In my opinion, Color has the best design.

10 years ago
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DS can't play GB/GBC games though, only GBA & DS games. GBA can play GBA & GB/GBC games. So you need to ask yourself which system has the most appealing games, GB/GBC or DS.

10 years ago
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Yea, I know that DS can't play GB/GBC games. I'll try to pick up a GBC from eBay and play GBC games on it, and if I want to buy GBA games, play them on DS :)

10 years ago
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you need an SP if your playing gameboy or gameboy colour games, need that backlight....

10 years ago
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mayybe a gba would be a better deal for you, since that way you would be able to play all gb/gbc/gba games, not just the gameboy color ones :)

10 years ago
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Also, does GBA support SD card? :)

10 years ago
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No, don't think so

10 years ago
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Not by itself, at least. If you want to buy a flashcard for your GBA, it will most likely require an SD card.

10 years ago
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10 years ago
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The best portable console of all time is the GBA SP. It has great games and is backwards compatible with the Gameboy but I don't know how much. It's a truly portable console, the DS and PSP are a little too big to be considered a portable console unless you have a bag to put it in, where the GBA SP would fit in just about anybody's pocket. I still have my limited edition NES classic GBA SP.

10 years ago
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Nice. The only sad thing is that GBA SP has really bad design imho. I'd like to have GBA (SP) with the design of GBC. Sadly it isn't possible.

10 years ago
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Gameboys ;_; so many memories.... I had the huge gray bulky older one. it was AMAZING

But yea, GB Color looks okay. Advance looks crap :D

Sup with amazon cartridge prices? :O holyshait!

10 years ago
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Closed 10 years ago by CarlEric.