Gaming Which unit should I buy?

[Deleted User]

I was thinking on buying a GBA with a flash cart, GB Micro or SP 101 with a M3 Perfect, but seeing the high prices and the ridiculously low availability (and that I'm not really convinced about any flash cart), I'm starting to raise the buy of one of those GBA hardware clones.

I've found 3 relatively interesting units: K1 SP, K101 Revo, and this one http://r4i-3ds.com/buy-cheap-wholes...3ds-psp-go-vita-wii-u-game-consoles-c-45.html

I'm a bit skeptical about these clones, because one of the reasons of why I want a GBA, is for the Nintendo seal of quality. I want to ask, how are the materials of these units compared to the official ones?, I mean the shell, the battery...

What do you think, guys?

 

[Another World]

the nintendo seal of quality means absolutely jack for the past 10 years. they seem to slap it on everything now.

the k1 team made a software-on-a-chip solution. they sold it, not the design of the console. this means that anyone can buy the chip and shove it into any number of designs. the 2 best of these were the k1 gba sp and the k101 revo. it is also one of the few licenses that was allowed to receive updates. the k1 gba sp is an awesome clone, it looks pretty much like the real thing. the problem is that the d-pad and buttons suffer from sensitivity issues. the unit i reviewed required me to press some buttons as far down as they would go, making it near impossible to play some games and really difficult to enjoy most others. the k101 revo fixed all of the major k1 gba sp complaints but again managed to get it wrong. the software has a save bug that will delete your saves. the firmware coder has yet to be able to replicate it and/or track down the cause of the issue. as of right now, if you buy a revo you will eventually lose your save data. the problem seems to happen during powering off the unit, so it isn't like you can just back up your saves after each play and hope they aren't deleted on a reboot.

i have used and abused the original gba, gba sp, and gb micro. of all 3 i really like the original the most. it has the best feel to it and is the most comfortable to game with. its major draw back is that it isn't back lit. however, if you have some time and a little bit of skill you can remedy this situation. you can buy a gba sp 101 screen and an adapter kit so that you can mod it (rather easily) into the original gba.

check here: http://rosecoloredgaming.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/gba-backlight-kits-are-officially-for-sale/

the m3 perfect is hands down the best gba flash kit (of the latest generation) that i have used. however, it is no longer manufactured and next to impossible to find. if you find one used you can expect to pay well over $100 USD for it. the ez flash iv is a worthy alternative but requires a 2 gb mini-sd (not micro, mini) and some software to get everything working. you'll find great enjoyment with the ez flash iv but you will have to spend a little bit of time researching how it all works.

ez flash iv info: http://ezflash.sosuke.com/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=b1c0733166ec441f3ee412c384faa93e

if you are going to go the route of clone/emulation then perhaps you want to consider the supercard ds2 and the emulator tempgba.

tempgba info: http://gbatemp.net/threads/tempgba-ndsgba-revival.343210/
scds2 info: http://eng.supercard.sc/manual/dstwo/

good luck and happy researching!

-another world

 

[Count Duckula]

AGS-101 or a Backlit-Modded AGB-001 from Zerey or Wiggatron for sure.

IMO the micro is just too small and the clones aren't perfect.

 

[Deleted User]

Thank you guys for the opinions.

I really like the idea of an AGB-001 with 101 screen. You can find it at taobao at good price, but all the components are original?, they are chinese people, you know...

The problem, again, is the flash cart. EZ Flash IV doesn't have RTC, you have to do weird things to play games like Mother 3, and the idea of my saves depending on battery life is not very appealing.

Another World, can you say me something about this one? http://r4i-3ds.com/buy-cheap-wholes...3ds-psp-go-vita-wii-u-game-consoles-c-45.html it seems interesting, if all these features are true, sure.

I also think the best option is the real deal, but the flash carts are holding me back.

And guys, how is the battery life in 001 with 101 screen and flash cart?

 

[Deleted User]

Another question for Count Duckula, these modded 001 from these guys, are new just modded units?

 

[dickfour]

I think the best setup that you can still afford is the ags 101 with an ez flash. I have a K team console and it's just not as good as the original

 

[exangel]

I have had my Revo for nearly a month and put well over 60 hours total gameplay into it (mostly on Final Fantasy Tactics Advance) and have never lost any saves nor even been able to replicate the bug that many others have had. Take that with a grain of salt; due to the prevalence of the save bug, I will not sincerely recommend it until a verified fix is released.

I have placed two orders with RoseColored Gaming and the guy who does it all is a really great fellow. I didn't want to do the mod myself, so I ordered a pre-modded system. Unfortunately, pre-modded is just about the most expensive way you can go, but the original GBA form factor with the backlit SP screen is really the best experience. However, I only use mine for GBC games now that I have my Revo. (My second order was for a GB Micro faceplate.) Until the time comes that I actually experience a save file loss, I'm preferring the lighter weight and rechargeable battery of the Revo to the $165 custom GBA I had made-to-order.

As far as battery life goes, with some basic alkaline AAs from RadioShack, I got about 4 hours, with "less bright" setting (I have a 2-way brightness toggle in my unit). I don't have a non-backlit GBA to compare the same batteries with, and you may get better battery life with other battery brands too.

 

[Count Duckula]

Thank you guys for the opinions.

I really like the idea of an AGB-001 with 101 screen. You can find it at taobao at good price, but all the components are original?, they are chinese people, you know...

The problem, again, is the flash cart. EZ Flash IV doesn't have RTC, you have to do weird things to play games like Mother 3, and the idea of my saves depending on battery life is not very appealing.

Another World, can you say me something about this one? http://r4i-3ds.com/buy-cheap-wholes...3ds-psp-go-vita-wii-u-game-consoles-c-45.html it seems interesting, if all these features are true, sure.

I also think the best option is the real deal, but the flash carts are holding me back.

And guys, how is the battery life in 001 with 101 screen and flash cart?

Another question for Count Duckula, these modded 001 from these guys, are new just modded units?

I bought my pre-modded AGB-001 from Zerey. The casing is original and in decent condition, but certainly not 'as new' (label on the back looks legit but is worn etc). Wiggatron of rosecoloredgaming does really nice looking units with various options, but obviously charges more for his efforts.
Wiggatron uses the screens and cables to fit an ABG-001 from Zerey. I strongly doubt they are original AGS-101 screens but (speaking from the look of my own unit) they are running at native resolution and look really good.

I'm not much of an RPG fan so cant really comment on the RTC/RTC patching issues.

The EZ-Flash IV's SRAM is powered by the GBA while in use, the battery is to keep saves after the unit is powered off. You can soft reset using a button combination while in game and this allows the save to be written back to miniSD even if the battery in the cart is flat. The batteries in my 2 carts are still fine, but they dont look too hard to replace as you would an official GB/GBA cart that used battery backed SRAM saves.

I've honestly never tested the time I get from a set of batteries. I normally only play it for 1/2 an hour to an hour at a time, at a really rough guess maybe 4 - 4 1/2 hours or so (on a set of duracell AAs and using an EZ-Flash IV), so pretty much as exangel said.

 

[Another World]

Another World, can you say me something about this one? http://r4i-3ds.com/buy-cheap-wholes...3ds-psp-go-vita-wii-u-game-consoles-c-45.html it seems interesting, if all these features are true, sure.

never heard of it and never used it. for $40 its worth the risk, but make sure they accept returns in case it ends up having issues.

-another world

 

[Deleted User]

Thank you guys, I think I'll go the modded 001 + flash cart way.

I've saw some Wiggatron videos and I really like the way this guy works. I'll buy a modded 001 from him.

I've found 2 online stores selling M3 Perfect at relatively low price.

This is from a russian (I believe) store: http://shop.01media.com/uploadImg/33285_1_large.jpg
This is from a spanish store: http://www.virtual-byte.com/images/VIRTUALBYTE/1487.jpg

The one from the russian store says something about not supporting 32 mb games. Are these the correct ones?

 

[exangel]

I only have the EZ-Flash IV personally, and I got the 2GB MiniSD off Amazon. My collection started a bit late to get any others, and I ordered my EZ-IV about a week before Realhotstuff.hk started displaying the product as out of stock a few months ago.. I really like the EZ-Flash IV, and there are some very clean looking skins out there for it. I only have had problems with one game on it and that is "Chu Chu Rocket!" seems to get stuck on the save-file initialization screen (it's fine on Revo and emulators.. but I gave up because I bought the android re-release of the game a year ago anyway).

If RTC is worth it though I hope someone else can answer your question. If you can find that cart for less than $60, the price of Revo, I'd like to buy it myself to add to my collection.

I don't have any problems with RTC in the Revo, and if it turns out any GBA flash carts with RTC are over $100, it could actually be worth considering to just get EZ-IV if possible and get a Revo later on for games that benefit from RTC, after they have verified and addressed the save-overwriting issue.

(Last I read, the Revo team are still trying to replicate the problem.. since I have attempted 20+ times to intentionally cause the save-overwriting bug to occur in a variety of games and never lost data a single time, I think it may have been a manufacturing quality control issue rather than something that can be fixed in a firmware update.. but I am waiting for a response from one of the reps on the thread discussing it before I bring that up there.. I ordered my Revo only recently, on 21st of April and it shipped on 1st of May.)



Edit:
Oh, and if you've seen Wiggy's work and agree that it's worth it, you won't be disappointed! He's a real perfectionist. My system was more expensive than the basic "pre-modded" price because I got custom paint on my case and buttons, and the brightness toggle switch is also optional. http://imgur.com/a/xeTf1 is my system =)

 

[Deleted User]

That's an awesome looking unit, exangel. Personally, I want a pre-modded one without switch. I will think about if I want color paint or not.

Can anyone confirm if any of those two M3 is the correct one?

 

[Another World]

This is from a russian (I believe) store: http://shop.01media.com/uploadImg/33285_1_large.jpg
This is from a spanish store: http://www.virtual-byte.com/images/VIRTUALBYTE/1487.jpg

only the first link is working, and that is a mini sd m3. i don't know if an adapter will work and finding mini sd cards is becoming rather difficult.

http://www.m3adapter.com/SLOT-2_Accessories.htm

keep in mind that the m3 team has not released a slot-2 update for years. you'll find some software bugs in the real time save, cheats, and speed hack features. there are also some games that i recall were unplayable or corrupted while using RTS. you will need to download the m3 game manager to flash your roms, it basically patches saves and other optional hacks.

when you do finally get everything, make sure you explore gba homebrew: http://filetrip.net/gba-downloads/homebrew/

-another world