Game Boy - Doing it properly this time

[BRIK]

I've tried using my GBC while out and about but it's just too damn hard and un-practical.
Using an SP just isn't the same, but it saves a lot of headaches!

Also this:

Whilst I'm here, I thought I'd say that I can't recommend Donkey Kong for Game Boy enough, it's definitely one the best games for the system. Give it a go when you can.

[Zing]

I originally bought the Super Game Boy strictly for Donkey Kong. I really enjoyed the Mario Vs. DK game on the GBA and read that the Game Boy version was very similar. I've played to level 3 or 4 I believe.

[BRIK]

I think there is about 100 all up if memory serves me correctly It's the ultimate time waster.

[neilencio]

Another thing I love about the original GB is that it really feels durable. There's just something nice about holding something and being secure in the thought that you're not going to break it easily through incorrect handling (whereas I've been treating my handheld DS lite like a dainty princess. The lightness is one thing, but the hinges add to the paranoia).

[The Nihilist]

Anyone else still use a Game Boy or Game Boy Color while on the go? I imagine many people use a GBA SP or a flash cart these days.

I just found my GBC in the garage recently, and wondered why it hasn't made it on my last 5 deployments.
I'm trying to bolster up my (now liquidated) collection and take it over to Afghanistan.

As much as I like the backlighting of the SP, I'm sticking to my guns with GBC.

[Zing]

I really would love to be able to use the Game Boy as my primary GB device. The display is just far worse than I remembered. The blurring was expected, but it is only a minor part of the problem. The main issue is the contrast. I remember this being a problem back in 1990 and it feels even worse now. There just isn't enough difference between the light and dark areas.

It really seems like the Game Boy was designed to be played by daylight. If you play it with daylight, even on a bright cloudy day, it seems fine. Alternatively, a very bright room lit with diffused light. It just doesn't work very well if you are indoors with a lamp or overhead light. It reminds me of my first time playing Super Mario Kart on a regular GBA, except not as bad.

Anyway, I gave up on my desire to play on the original hardware and picked up two Game Boy Color systems. Both have only minor scratches on the screen and seem to work fine. In my town, I found a listing on Kijiji of $20 for both of these, so I confirmed they had the battery covers and went to the seller's house after dinner.



There is no comparison at all in display quality between the original and the Color. It's like the difference between VHS and Bluray. The screen, while 5mm smaller, is crisp and has minimal blurring. The contrast is perfect. The native colour palettes for games is cool, but I don't like how the coloured sprites can give away background objects that should be "hidden".

However, there is one major flaw: the sound. The speaker volume is noticeably quieter, but I suppose not un-usably quiet like the Game Boy Micro. The speaker is also more muffled sounding than on the original. The main issue is that the headphone output is noisy as hell. I read about this online, but didn't realize it was this bad. There is a constant high pitched noise, and various hums and other noise depending on what is going on in the game. It's terrible. A shame for what otherwise seems to be a good system. Conversely, the sound on the original Game Boy is flawless. Nice frequency range and no noise.

I can't believe Nintendo went from 10 hours on 4AA to 30 hours on 2AA. I suppose that is what 10 years of technology can do. I don't even know if using rechargeable batteries on this thing is worth it.

The kid I bought these from also had three copies of each Pokemon game. I considered picking up a few, but he wanted $15 each and the one I tested had a dead battery. Apparently, him and his brothers/sisters each had their own Game Boy and played a lot of Pokemon. He didn't have a spare link cable, for whatever reason, or I would have grabbed one.

[noiseredux]

wow. Really? I personally hated the GBC screen. I found that even sitting directly under a lamp I had trouble seeing things.

[Zing]

To me, it seems a slightly better than playing on a regular GBA. Testing my games on a GBA is actually what gave me the idea to try the GBC, since the display size on a GBA is identical to a GBC. The GBC seems to be a little easier to see, though.

The game that really made me consider switching was Metroid II. I swear, even in good light, that game must be unplayable on an original Game Boy. The dark scenes combined with tiny enemy sprites and blurring made it so I couldn't see what was moving on the screen. Other games like SML2 and such were fine.

[noiseredux]

To me, it seems a slightly better than playing on a regular GBA. Testing my games on a GBA is actually what gave me the idea to try the GBC, since the display size on a GBA is identical to a GBC. The GBC seems to be a little easier to see, though.

it's close to that of the original GBA, I'll give you that. But I don't think I'd say it's any better. Maybe my eyes suck, or maybe my apartment is poorly lit, but I could never actually USE my GBC which is why I eventually sold it (I had a really nice CIB Poke-Yellow edition).

[Zing]

I just did a direct comparison between the GBC and GBA. I have two copies of Super Mario Land, so I used that game. On booting, I set them both to the same palette (monochrome) because the default palette on the GBA seems to be different than the GBC.

I noticed two things. The actual display size is slightly smaller than the GBC. I thought I had measured them to be the same, but the GBC is about 2mm larger. The other is that the GBA is significantly darker in the dark areas. The shades of gray are much darker than on the GBC. I don't know if this is just a slight difference in the palettes, but the display on the GBA does seem overall more dark on any game, even a GBA game.

My determination is that the regular GBA blows for GBC playing, but I guess the regular GBA is no good at playing GBA games, either, so that is no surprise.