Customer Reviews

Game Boy Advance Console Black Edition

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What is the best selling and fastest selling video game machine ever? PS2?...nope, Xbox?...hardly, that's right it is the
GAME BOY!

It is so popular in fact, the Game Boy Advance has sold over 1 million units in 10 days so far during this holiday season. All Nintendo-made products have been of high-quality and well designed. This is especially true for the GBA.

*** Note: Currently, Amazon.com is selling this same colored Black GBA with Super Mario Advance included for free for the same price listed as a different item. You may want to check this out if you will be purchasing a GBA.

The GBA has a 32-bit processor, just like the Playstation (the Game Boy Color had only an 8-bit processor). It has very good screen quality. In fact, the image resolution on the Game Boy Advance's screen is greater than that of some HDTV's. The Game Boy Advance has incredible sound and the speakers can play louder. The sound is even better with headphones. A nice added touch is the power light--It is green with new batteries, but turns red when there is 20-30% battery left and the light slowly fades out.

The GBA is able to connect to the Nintendo Gamecube through a special link cable available separately. You can also purchase an e-reader for Game Boy Advance that allows you to scan in paper cards that let you play classic NES games. Another exciting recent development is the annoucement of an accessory that plugs into the expansion port of your Gamecube and allows you to play GBA games on your TV. However, this product I believe won't be available until around March or so of next year.

All these improvements are very helpful and amazingly have virtually no effect on the size. The GBA still fits easily in your pocket and is only about a centimeter or longer and wider than the game boy color. In addition, the GBA has two shoulder buttons on top that aid in game-play.

The game paks are half the size of old game boy games but the GBA still plays all 1000+ Game Boy games already released. Due to the smaller size of the new games, the old Game Boy games stick out the top half-way, which is disappointing.

It comes in the standard colors of glacier (clear purple), indigo (purple), fuschia (pink-ish red), white, and special edition platinum. You can also buy a black verison with Super Mario Advance free here at Amazon.com (through Toys "R" Us) and I have seen a red version available at Target.

I would say that the Game Boy Advance is a very well designed portable gaming system and definately well worth its newly-lowered price.

First off, I will not cut and paste a bunch of info that you already know and have seen countless times before, like so many others do here... Ecard, 26bit...Bla bla bla.

I will write about the device itself. It is well designed and highly functional. The GBA is sturdy, compact and lightweight. It's design is well thought out from finger grooves for the middle fingers to secure it while playing too the placement of the control buttons. It allows you to play without cramping up and having sore wrists from an unnatural position. The battery compartment is impressive as well... The contacts are spring loaded instead of a small piece of flat metal bent out to maintain contact with the 1.5v power cells. It even has a lanyard divit (like most cameras) for attachment of a lanyard. It also has the standard Headphone jack, volume control and link port. The GBA does not have (or need one) contrast control. To view it without glare it is held at a certain angle and it the screen display becomes bright, crystal clear and colorful.

The BLACK GBA (available only at Toys-R-Us) is a very classy looking handheld. For older gamers it fits well with pagers and cell phones and would not stick out like a sore thumb (as the color cased GBA would) if stored in a briefcase.

Looking at the box the GBA comes in, I didn't expect much. I was amazed just how ADVANCED it jumped in evolution over my Gamboy Pocket (also in black). The Computer of the GBA is wonderful. The graphics are clear and colorful... I was expecting some blurring when the screens scroll, but I was surprised to see that it did not blur at all. The sound the unit produces is clear and not "tinky" like the past GameBoys. Some of the games I have, have actual human speech and it sounds perfect.

Nintendo makes a small Ziparound Padded case (available in all colors) that will fit everything you need in 2 compartments with mesh pockets to secure your investment. I suggest getting one. It will keep your GBA, Games and accessories safe from dust, scratches and small impacts.

I am very pleased with this device. Nintendo just took over the Handheld System gene by brute force and I seriously don't think will be topped by anyone else. The only thing better than the GBA will be the GBA-SP that will be coming out in a few months. I just hope later down the line they make it in Black as well.

GBA = Well worth the money.

The Gameboy Advance is by far the most capable and versatile portable gaming device ever made! With the E-reader, camera (to be released soon), lights, battery packs, and hoards of other accessories, this gameboy can do just about everything! On top of all this we haven't even mentioned its awesome graphic capacity, or its system specs.

So, with all this said, if your going to get this amazing gaming machine why not buy the special edition? It is by far the most cool looking Gameboy Advance yet (even though the platinum runs a close second), if you're going to get one anyway why not get the best looking for the same price!

Hi, some thoughts from a 47 yr old new owner. I wanted a palm top computer, but since I only wanted it for games, I just couldn't spend the money. I got a GBA bundled with the e reader instead. I've never owned a game console like the GBA advanced before. Only had different hand held video games, and of course PC games. My thoughts were to use this during traveling, and occasionaly at home. THE GOOD: Small, and light. Backwardly compatable for ALL game boy games which makes for a HUGE variety of titles. Lots of original and aftermarket assesories. THE BAD: The small screen took some getting used to for my middle aged eyes. The screen is not lit so you need to be around decent lighting to see. Nintendo A/C power adapter is proprietary, and looks like it would not stand up to abuse. Since I'm an old guy, I don't have many of the popular titles, the Marios, Pokemons, and shoot em up games. I use it for chess, casino, baseball, football, battleship and for the 3 stooges (Soitenly) I find it to be a good buy for the money. The play could be better, but not at this price.

The GameBoy Advance was a gift for my daughter and she enjoys it although we haven't found a way to backlight the screen, limiting where and when the game can be played. Also, there is not a rechargeable battery. If I had known these two factors, I probably would not have purchased this product.

I had been meaning to buy this system to take on trips and when we lost power I finally took the plunge. Boy am I glad I did. This thing has very good graphics and sophisticated gameplay with plenty of entertaining titles. Many of the games look and play just like they did on my Super Nintendo back in the early 90's. The controller ergonomics are good as well. My only complaint is the lack of lighting for the screen. Sure I could have gotton the SP, but with no power at home I had no way to initially charge the batteries. Also, I plan to take this on week-long bareboat charters in the Caribbean with no AC power available. The SP's 10-18 hour battery life would not be enough. I tried a clip on magnifier/light but it did not work well at all. My advice is to get a headband flashlight that are used by hikers/climbers for lighting the screen. Yeah you will look like a nerd, but you will be too engrossed in your game to care.

On the picture on the box, it shows a bright screen, but the screen is dark because there is no backlit light. Since the screen is not lighted, it is very hard to see. I wish I bought the game boy sp instead because now I have to go buy a light for this thing. Buying all the accessories will cost as much as the game boy sp. The only thing good about it was that it was on sale.

A GREAT GAME FOR THE KIDDO'S MY GRANDSON LOVES HIS BLACK ONE HE GOT LAST XMAS FROM US. HOWEVER.. IF YOU HAVE BAD EYES LIKE I DO GO FOR THE SP.

I THINK THAT THE GAMEBOY GBA IS BETTER FOR KIDS UNDER 10 THOUGH. ALOT MORE HEAVY DUTY!

This handheld may have been a long-wait, but it came out as a great console.

-As you may find, there are 2 new buttons that haven't been introduced to the other GB consoles. The L and R buttons. The don't play too much of a role in most games, but sometimes they may prove useful in scrolling and sometimes are different ways in action games to achieve a trick.
-The screen is larger and the color palette is wider, providing more realistic colors to games.
-The console is more like a gamecube controller somewhat. A and B buttons on one side and the control stick/control pad on the other.
-Fortunately, this console is compatible with the games that have been introduced to the older ones: GBP and GBC, so you don't have to take the other consoles out to play an old favorite. But they stick out uncomfortably.
-There's tons of things you can do with it that you can't do before, as in e-reader and connections with the Gamecube.

Overall, this console is a 2nd best to the other larger gaming consoles that involve tons of cables and a TV. I hope you enjoy this handheld system that Nintendo has provided!

The Gameboy Advance and the available games for girls and boys makes a great item for kids to travel with. The graphics are very good. This was a good value for the money!