What's the best way to play Game Boy Advance games today?

[HellHammer]

I've been playing a lot of GBA games lately (Zero Mission & Castlevania double pack) and as I do most of my playing at night while I'm tired, my eyes can't handle the GBA SP 101 screen.

Now I prefer to play on TV, and much as I love the GameBoy Player, I hate the GC's controller for playing GBA games.

Anyone have ever use a RetroBit 'Super Retro Advance' adapter? Essentially looks like an SNES Super GameBoy for GBA games. I love the SNES controller and it seems perfect for games like Metroid on GBA.

[darsparx]

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I'll admit that is a good choice but gba player is still cheaper especially if you have no intents to patch for english >_>

[Tanooki]

SNES controller is excellent for GBA games (Retron 5) but that device you're talking about...bleh. If you want a SNES controller, Hori releases a Gamecube SNES style purple controller for the Gamecube made specifically with the GB Player in mind if I recall. Not sure what they go for, but it could be horrible given it's Nintendo and Hori plus comfy for GB Player use I could see trolls either ignoring it or running it up the flag pole price wise.

[Ziggy]

If you don't mind the $140 price tag new or a bit less used, the Retron5 would probably be best, though I can't guarantee you some imported chinese swiss army emulation box will last anywhere near as long as a GB Player+Gamecube will. The up side is, if you have any old NES, SNES, Famicom, Super Famicom, Genesis or Megadrive carts they work too...and all in 720p over HDMI.

+1

Retron5 is an option, but be aware it is a software emulator. You can get the same results (possibly better) using a PC. You can connect your HDTV as a second monitor to a computer, though I realize that isn't as convenient for everyone as a dedicated (The Retron5 in this case) console is. The Retron5 is really just a consolized emulator, you can accomplish the same things right now on a computer for free.

The GB Player for the GCN would be my choice, if you want to play actual carts. Some people complain, regarding the GB Player and HDTVs, that GCN component cables are expensive. Though, mods exist for the GCN now. This is something to consider, as a Retron5 might be cheaper than a GB Player, GCN console, and component cables or HDMI mod combined.

As far as controllers for the GB Player go, the Hori pad is awesome but expensive. Pelican made a similar controller, though not quite as good as the Hori. Another great controller option that I feel gets over looked is the GBA Link Cable, which will allow you to use your GBA as a controller when using the GB Player. And it's cheaper than other controller options if you already own a GBA.

[HellHammer]

The GBA link cable seems like a decent option and I might even have one in a drawer somewhere..

As far as the SNES controllers go, has anyone used any type of GameCube to SNES adapters? If I had one, It would be double useful, as I could presumably use an SNES controller for GBA games on the GameCube Player, as well as to play Mother 3 on my hacked Wii.

[Tanooki]

I'm aware of others who have and liked it, but I personally have not. If you have one it's a nice cheat getting around the price abuse on the Hori pad which more or less is about the same thing anyway. I never looked into it, probably my guess would be Y or X end up mapped maybe for the Z button on the cube and then obviously start would be start, maybe select would be that too still as L and R GBA has and would cover.

[darsparx]

Ok yeah once i start getting paid I'm looking into that link cable. That or the hori the cable is probably still cheaper though and i could use it on either my ogba or sp if i'm lucky. The ogba as a controller would be ideal.

[samsonlonghair]

The GBA link cable seems like a decent option and I might even have one in a drawer somewhere..

As far as the SNES controllers go, has anyone used any type of GameCube to SNES adapters? If I had one, It would be double useful, as I could presumably use an SNES controller for GBA games on the GameCube Player, as well as to play Mother 3 on my hacked Wii.

I bought one from retrousb many years ago for this exact purpose. It was well made. I liked it a lot. Then I bought a Hori super game boy controller to complete the effect.

[Tanooki]

Hmm yeah it kind of makes me wonder if I should pop for a USB connector to use my SNES pad on the computer, or perhaps if there's something that'll lock into my android tablet. Probably on that second part more than it's worth given the bluetooth options around. I just don't like using the 360 controller for old Nintendo games or any old 2D games for that matter but it's what I'm stuck with.

I totally forgot about the Super Gameboy controller, it's an interesting option.

[ItsACerealWow]

The GBA link cable seems like a decent option and I might even have one in a drawer somewhere..

As far as the SNES controllers go, has anyone used any type of GameCube to SNES adapters? If I had one, It would be double useful, as I could presumably use an SNES controller for GBA games on the GameCube Player, as well as to play Mother 3 on my hacked Wii.

I bought one from retrousb many years ago for this exact purpose. It was well made. I liked it a lot. Then I bought a Hori super game boy controller to complete the effect.

I own a Hori Super Game Boy controller and it's awesome paired with a SGB or SGB2--especially for the exclusive slo-mo functionality! And the RetroUSB SNES-to-GC/Wii adapters are fantastic--I own 2 but am still searching for a pair of RetroUSB NES-to-GC/Wii adapters...

As far as a modern Gameboy Advance set-up, I have a great one but it's as impractical as all hell-- Gamecube with Gameboy Player and component cables with a Hori Gameboy Player Controller. The problem here is that the component cables and Hori controller are ridiculously expensive these days. Also, when using the Gameboy Player, you CANNOT eliminate the borders entirely... there will always be a simple frame (even when setting the border to black) and a "Z Buttons|Options" message in the upper righthand corner of the screen. That being said, the Retron5 is a great option for playing and displaying GBA games on an HDTV; they look fantastic and you can play with a SNES controller (just be sure to enable "Force Original Resolution" option!)