Customer Reviews

Nintendo Game Boy Advance - Indigo

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the GameBoy Advance, but seriously, WHAT WAS NINTENDO THINKING??? What was going through their minds when they decided not to have the GameBoy advance backlit. How would you feel if you bought a cell phone that wasn't backlit and the only way you could get a clear picture was in direct sunlight. I've tried EVERY aftermarket clip on light you can buy but they're not really practical. They are either not bright enough, have horrible glare, or don't light the screen evenly, and the ones that are bright enough are so heavy and bulky your GameBoy is hardly portable. It really annoys the heck out of me!

There is an aftermarket upgrade out there that fixes this problem. It's called the Afterburner and is made by Triton Labs. You must install it inside the GameBoy and it works beautifully. It completely lights up the entire screen with a brilliant, even light. But it's not perfect either. The installation takes about 4 hours and is an EXTREMELY stressful and difficult procedure. I ruined my GameBoy trying to install one.

I suggest buying a GameBoy with an Afterburner pre-installed from a PROFESSIONAL. ...Now I can play my GameBoy in complete darkness and can see every detail. It's awesome. I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!!!

My daughter received this as a gift. She had an original monochrome Game Boy (GB) that she liked so she asked for the latest version. Game Boy Advance (GBA) is leaps and bounds ahead of the orignal GB and Game Boy Color (GBC) in terms of graphics and the screen size. It is absolutely fun to play the games. However, there a few things in the design I didn't expect from the next generation GB line.

As other reviews have stated, the screen is somewhat dim. There are no controls for brightness or contrast of the display screen like there were on the original GB. I mean, the dimness of the screen isn't what I would call horrible but it would be much easier on the eyes if it were just a bit brighter. You definitely need to play the game near a light source.

Also, the horizonital orientation of the unit takes some getting used to if your accustomed to the GB and GBC units. I think Nintendo should have stuck with a design that more closely resembled the original GB and GBC units.

Even though the screen is a little dim if your trying to decide between a GBC and a GBA, then my recomendation is to go with the GBA. It will play all the other games from the original GB and GBC. Plus, the GBA games are much better with the larger screen and superior graphics.

Take it from me, a Toys 'R' Us R-Zone veteran, the Gameboy Advance is the gift to give or the thing to buy for yourself. The excitement built around this incredible, 32 bit system is amazing. And, the games for the system are even more incredible. If you are still trying to decide whether to buy it or not, go to Toys 'R' Us today and try Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. This game shows the true 3-D graphics ability of the system. Words cannot describe the reaction when one plays Tony Hawk 2 for the GBA.

And, if you are trying to decide color, the most popular is Glacier, then Indigo, and the least popular is Arctic.

Game Boy Advance is a great system with one huge, glaring exception: the screen. When I first played GBA, it was in rather dim light. I was shocked that there was no backlight, as the screen was nearly impossible to see. My thinking then was that this is definitely a system to use in bright light only...a rather large drawback. Actually, though, I find the screen hard to see in bright light as well, due to the reflectivity of the screen - it tends to shine bright light back in your face. The screen is bad enough that I've seriously considered taking my GBA back for a refund.

Otherwise, it's a great system. I bought Super Mario 2 for Advance as my first game, and the graphics and sound are better than the original NES game. Plus you have the ability to save your game, network with other players, etc. Battery life is very good. I used mine with rechargable NIMH batteries, and I'd say battery life is at least 10 hours on two AAs...maybe more. With alkalines I don't doubt that you can get the promised 15 hour life.

To sum up, I'd suggest before buying GBA, you head down to your local toy store and see if you can put up with the screen. If it doesn't bother you, you'll love the rest. When Nintendo fixes the screen, it'll be a 5. I might be tempted to wait until then to buy GBA.

I love my GBA! It is a lot of fun! Ok first of all do not buy the GBA SP it costs 80.00 and I just picked up my GBA for only 20.00! The only reason it is more expensive is because of a backlight. Most of the time I have no trouble at all seeing the screen of my GBA. But when I do play in the dark I just use a light shield attachment that I bout for only 5.00. So basically This is the same as the SP just a little older but it still plays the exact same games. Another think I like about my GBA is the size and shape, it fits my hands perfectly. Unlike the GBA SP, which I also used to own, which is so small and does not feel right in your hands at all. Another advantage over the Sp is it takes normal AA batteries unlike the Sp that has a rechargeable battery which by the way holds only a couple hours of life and even less if you play with the light on. I think it is better just to use regular batteries because what if you are on the go and your SP battery dies? If that happens you have no place to charge it. But with the GBA just pop in some new batteries and play some more. The last thing I dislike about the SP is it has no headphone jack. Sure you can buy an adaptor for it but you shouldn't have to it should come built in. Plus the adaptor hooks into the link cable port so you can't use a link cable while using the head phones. So believe me when I say The GBA is much better than the SP, I have had experience with both and the only advantage over the GBA is a back light. I am not going to tell you what to buy but I think it is better to pick up a GBA than waste 60.00 more on a system that plays the exact same games. SO why waste the money? I hope my review was helpful to you.

This Gameboy system isn't as good as the SP, but it's a nice gift for a first timer. When you buy you should buy at least 2 games so you won't get bored with it. I recommend Pokemon Ruby or Sapphire and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards. It has great graphics, sound and the ability to put smaller Gameboy Advance games in it. If you put a Gameboy Color game in it, it will work fine, but the game will stick up out of the thing you put the games in. I recommend the following games,

Pokemon Silver
Pokemon Gold
Pokemon Leafgreen
Pokemon Firered
Pokemon Crystal
Pokemon Red
Pokemon Yellow
Pokemon Blue
Rocket Power Beach Bandits
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 2
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario Kart Super Circuit
The Legend of Zelda A Link To The Past The Four Swords
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships 2004

If you like this Gameboy you'll love these games!!!!!!!

I can't believe that some people think that the gameboy advance stinks. First of all, people think that it needs a backlit screen! What handheld console ever had a back lit screen? I think that the gameboy advance is the best portable game system ever created. It's shape makes it easier to hold than the gameboy color, and it has the same type of graphics as a PS1! (Gameboy advance has the same amount of megabites as PS1) (32MB) I hope this review is helpful to you.

The gameboy advance with it's faster speed,wider screen, better graphics, better battery lifespan, and it's thinner yet a tad bid longer body, far out does the Gameboy Color. I was surprised to find that I could play my old Gameboy Color games on it. The new games are more compact and easier to carry around with it. The gameboy advance comes inmany different colors including Glacier, Indigo, Limited Edition Midnight Blue. It comes with many games including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Mario Cart Super Curcuit, and Super Mario Advance. The Gamenoy Advance has 2 new buttons R and L which makes it more like a Nintendo Controler. When playing Gameboy Color and Gameboy games you can press L to make the LCD fit the new wider screen.

Great system! First of all dont buy GBA SP it is 40$ more than normal GBA just because it is foldable hasa a light and rechargeable battery. You can buy a light and screen protector at gamestop for like 3$ plus the battery on the sp has to be charged every 2 days and the GBA dosent use hardly any battery poer at all. It also plays the same games as SP so why waist more money? here is some of the funnest games i have ever played that i reccommend

1.Pokemon emerald
2.Lord of the Rings Return of the king
3. Lego Star Wars
4. Pirates of the caribbean dead mans chest
5. Metroid zero/fusion

so overall great system and im not just saying dont buy sp because i dont .t think it was a waste of money buying the sp

Ok, I'm sure you've heard all about the "dimness" of the screen from the other viewers. I am prepared to comment on that as well as many other things about the system.

The dimness, I have found, is not an issue. It is no worse than the Game Boy Color, and the screen has somewhat of a glare protection, so you can have light on it and still be able to see the screen. I don't see how people can complain about it not being backlit and developing headaches from it, as none of the other handhelds were backlit, and pretty much the only way you can get a headache from a system is if you have a tendency for seizures or something.

The screen is wider and taller, which is a plus. The system feels lighter than the Game Boy Color, and is smaller, which gives both positives and negatives. Being lighter is obviously helpful, as it makes it easier to carry, but being smaller also makes the buttons and D-pad smaller. I also believe that the controls are inconveniently spaced, and it can be difficult to hold.

Other than that, it is definetly the best hand-held system to date. It provides extraordinary 3-D graphics, and the 32 bits the screen offers is the same as a Playstation! Think about that, it's like a hand-held Playstation with Nintendo 64 games. It's amazing.

I would, however, suggest keeping your old Game Boy or Game Boy Color. Although the GBA supports them, the wider screen sometimes causes the graphics of the games to stretch to the size of the screen, making them distorted. But test your old games first, some of them don't become distorted.