Help with suspected fake GBA game

[Retroisbest]

Hi all,
Please could somebody have a glance at these photos and see what you think of them? I've recently started collecting GBA games and this cartridge caught my attention, it's supposed to be a USA version of Mario and Luigi superstar saga.

I have no numbers indented on the label, the label looks correct though, it has a tri wing screw, the back case moulding looks ok fits fine in any GBA .

The font on the PCB looks ok to me, it had a MX chip as well BUT it has a very neat black blob which is worrying!
Apologies I'm typing this on my phone and the photo is way too big I've linked it to this post hoping that somebody could have a look?

https://gbatemp.net/threads/help-is-my- ... ke.485335/

Thanks for your time and help

[alienjesus]

Pretty sure it's fake if it lacks the indented number and has the black blob. I can open my pal copy to check if you like, but I'm almost 100% it's not real.

My PAL copy was bought sealed at launch, so I can guarantee it's legit, for comparison's sake.

[Tanooki]

That is a modern fake that has been around maybe the last 3-5 years. The newest stuff like that use off the shelf good quality stuff like that MX chip there which is a brand Nintendo uses often for the last 15+ years in their handheld chipped games. I had something like this when the first came out a dude sold a boot on UK ebay to me for Alien Hominid. The images since it wasn't cracked open were perfect even in person it was hard to tell but it came down to the single pixel width of thickness on some lettering, and nothing else on the sticker as the rating, nintendo, pics, emblems were 1:1 as was the plastic shell. What you have is almost the same board, except mine had this legit save chip that didn't need a battery and lacked that extra open circle on yours. The chip being used for the stored game has more pins so that gloptop there hides a conversion setup there that bottlenecks the data down to the pinouts on the GBA board. It maybe a fake, but it's an excellent one that should last much like a real game and not like the stuff a few years older that are ticking time bombs due to batteries nuking data going bad or garbage parts.

[Fragems]

I'd say it's most likely a fake. The board just doesn't look right to me and usually a blob is almost always a fake. Plus the placement of the nintendo logo on the label is slightly different then every version on RFGen.

http://rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/search.pl

This cart label looks the most similar to yours and this guy appears to be peddling a lot of counterfeit games and collectibles.

http://www.ioffer.com/i/mario-luigi-sup ... -586636371

[samsonlonghair]

It's a fake, but it's a really good fake. It fooled me at first glance too. Don't feel to bad. You're only human.

[alienjesus]

Of note is that I've had a cartridge like this before - mine even had the indented numbers too! GBA fakes are getting more convincing, that's for sure.

Mine was a copy of Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones

[Retroisbest]

Thankyou to everybody who replied!
At least I now know, the game plays fine and saves fine (for now),
Some great advice and photos here.

The only consulation is that it's at least a good fake!