The best GB/GBC clone (for me)?

[EmBlaze]

Not an original topic, but I just want some feedback and recommendations.

I sold my Japanese GBC childhood collection 5 years ago, and now I just want something in that form factor... Probably won't get another GBC, because of the investment needed to find games.

Therefore, here is what I've found:
Arduboy (more computer setup)
BittBoy (NES only)
Chinese clones with built-in games
GameShell (requires assembly)
GB Boy Color (Built-in games?)
My Arcade Go Gamer Portable (Easy to obtain at Walmart/Amazon Prime)
My Arcade Pixel Classic
My Arcade Gamer Mini
ODROID-GO (requires assembly)
Pigrrl 2 (probably ideal, but quite expensive)
PocketSprite (probably longest wait, won't be sure about it until I put my hands on one)
RetroMini (good compromise? How's the GB/GBC and modded ROM/save compatibility?)
RetroStone (cheaper than Pigrrl2)

I'm actually leaning towards the My Arcade Go Gamer Portable, because it's cheap, convenient to get, and doesn't replace my PSP/3DS for emulation (more original games hopefully). But I can't really find much info on it online, especially regarding battery life.

But if it is an emulation console, it must support my save files. Welcoming all sharing of experience with any of these handhelds or something eligible I've missed. Thanks!

 

[MrCokeacola]

GB Boy Color with an everdrive GB X3.

 

[EmBlaze]

GB Boy Color with an everdrive GB X3.

Thanks for the quick reply. The main issue with that would be price, but I'll take a closer look.

Do you happen to know if MasterBoy save files can be imported? Thanks again!

 

[MrCokeacola]

Ya they should.

 

[EmBlaze]

Some updates (just my thoughts; if someone could provide clarity on 5-7, that'd be great!):
1. Found Pixel Classic and Gamer Mini, both also from My Arcade. Even less information on those and harder to get in Canada.
2. Doubtful game quality for My Arcade products, and TBH would like a different color scheme than my red/black God of War PSP 3000 (for a reasonable price).
3. RetroMini is likely out, because it doesn't seem to support my GBC saves and Pokemon Prism.
4. Remembered Arduboy, but I think it's overpriced for its gaming capabilities...
5. Found my GBC charger, so probably GB Boy Color? Don't remember how well it worked though, can only confirm it still lights up. Only review is negative.
6. EverDrive quite overpriced as well, thinking about this multicart. So little information online, including conflicting reports of ability to save multiple games on a YouTube video.
7. Actually leaning towards GB Boy Color with that multicart. Especially if I can confirm the latter and my charger works well.

*Read some more reviews of the multicart. Excluding Amazon.com, they were positive. Still like to know more about my charger though. And the total more expensive than I'd like...
*Is this thread for real? Cause I can't find info of new GB Boy Colour version outside of it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/comments/54losu/psa_new_version_of_gb_boy_colour_available_with/

 

[EmBlaze]

Well, I impulse bought a GB Boy Colour and the 22-in-1 multicart. That was before finding out about the save corruption due to low power reset (and useless indicator light).

What is the likelihood of that happening? Will it just reset on low power or will some other symptoms show first? Did it ever happen to you (@MrCokeacola)?

Thanks. I'd really like to know, because corrupting multiple saves at once would suck... Hopefully my GB/GBC charger will work with it.

 

[Cha0tic]

Id say try a gb boy colour. Ordered one a few days ago so can’t vouch for how great they maybe just looked it up and people love it and saw a few prefer it over there back lit gb color

 

[tatumanu]

Why not a gameboy advance + everdrive or even a hacked Nintendo 2ds ?

 

[EmBlaze]

Why not a gameboy advance + everdrive or even a hacked Nintendo 2ds ?

What I'm mainly looking for is the GB/GBC vertical form factor... Guess it's mainly for nostalgia and collection, not necessarily the games. I already have a hacked New 3DS XL and PSP 3000.

Id say try a gb boy colour. Ordered one a few days ago so can’t vouch for how great they maybe just looked it up and people love it and saw a few prefer it over there back lit gb color

Yes, I've ordered it recently as well. I like how it supports GB/GBC carts, so maybe one day I'll get some proper ones again.

Let me know about the low power behaviour, I've read a number of instances where people got their saves corrupted because it just reset before running out of battery (with no change from indicator light).

 

[bootmonster]

The screen on the GB boy color is 4:3 aspect ratio and the games look stretched. Worth bearing in mind if that’s something that would bother you.

 

[EmBlaze]

The screen on the GB boy color is 4:3 aspect ratio and the games look stretched. Worth bearing in mind if that’s something that would bother you.

Thanks. I'm more worried about the low power resets that corrupt game saves, do you happen to know anything about that?

 

[EmBlaze]

Well, I got the GB Boy Colour and 22-in-1 GBC multicart today, but 2 problems:
1. The charger is as finicky as they say, and not reliable without batteries inside (plus uncertain with lol). Oh well, hopefully the save corruption issue isn't too unavoidable.
2. Half of the games of the multicart do not work. Funnily enough, the 6 original Pokemon games +Pinball, the 3 Harvest Moon, and Mortal Kombat were the ones that worked. Probably an issue with the cart, but the eBay seller claims it's because I did not use a Nintendo console... Here are the pictures I've sent them, does anyone notice anything wrong with the 3rd or 4th one?: https://m.imgur.com/a/fUVxwVw

Helpful replies will be much appreciated, thanks!

 

[MrCokeacola]

Gotta go with the real thing OP.

 

[EmBlaze]

View attachment 134704
Gotta go with the real thing OP.

Maybe if they weren't so overpriced or if I needed one more...

Anyways, can someone please clarify whether it just resets and corrupts your save if you save then, or there is some kind of indication of low power before that happens?

 

[MrCokeacola]

Got mine as a used older model Everdrive was less then 40USD. Gotta look around.

 

[EmBlaze]

Got mine as a used older model Everdrive was less then 40USD. Gotta look around.

Hard to find at that price, which I may actually consider. But at the $90+ CAD usual price, I'd much rather buy some games myself. And like I said, my PSP and 3DS fill most of my portable gaming needs.

Also, aren't those older models missing some features like RTC and save states? Anyhow, while buying GBC games I managed to test the 22-in-1 multicart with a real Game Boy Color. Turns out they're right, it was the GB Boy Colour that had the compatibility issues.

Darn, at least I got the refund. Finally, I still did not play enough to drain my 2300 mAh rechargeable batteries to find out myself about low power behaviour and potential save corruption... Not really into it I guess.

 

[lordhardware]

I bought two Odroid-Go because i wanted one for two button emulation and one for developing with.

So far the support has been pretty unreal, out for less than two months and the OS has had like 11 updates.

New emulators have been added and a compatibility is almost 100% now for the systems supported.

Save states for every game and the saves now live on the sd card, theres guides for exporting and importing things like pokemon saves as well

I get mine tomorrow so will tell you how it runs.

 

[lordhardware]

Ok so quick update because i got the units today.
I want to do a proper write up after spending a little more time with it so this will be short.

Firstly, assembly was simple, easy, fun, quick.

Firmware flash and update was less painless than any phone ive ever flashed. About 15 minutes to download all the new binaries and reinterpret the (slightly) out of date guide.
It worked first time.

Emulation is great:

Gamegear
Games tested: 3
All ran perfectly, controls were tight and everything felt right.

Sega MasterSystem
Games tested: 4
All perfect, full speed, 60fps, no graphical glitches, very happy.

GBC
Only tested Mario Tennis
There seems to be a flashing issue on this build of the emulator (or this rom) that's affecting the Black Layer on this game, also theres a fair bit of frame skip enabled.
Played two matches and the controls were perfect, certainly very playable, and not that distracting, need to log the issue because ive seen video of others playing this game without my GFX problems.

GB
Only tested Wario Land so far
It played perfectly.

NES
Only tested Super Mario Bros. so far
It plays really well (better than virtual console on 3DS) had an issue with backwards jumping but i think its because im used to less play in the controls (these are aftermarket GBC buttons in the odroid-go and they travel more than the NES or 3DS for instance)

 

[EmBlaze]

Other than that partially compatible multicart, I bought 3 other games so far and 4 plastic cases for them: Game & Watch Gallery 3, Wario Land 3, and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (Japanese). Not planning to get any more, unless I notice a great deal on a flashcart or something.

The charger I had was very impractical, so I threw it away and bought this on craigslist. Managed to snag it separately from the bundle they were selling, works much better.

And finally, I saw the low power behaviour myself. The indicator light stayed the same, but it did not reset. Instead, a white screen (slowly) takes over and the console freezes there. Didn't test save corruption, but I'll avoid that state from now on.

This will probably be my final update. It was not the smoothest ride, but enjoyable nonetheless. Can't shake off that feeling that "if only I knew about the ODROID-GO earlier", but w/e. I like cartridge support.

 

[MrCokeacola]

Yes the light on the GB Boy Colour does not dim like in a real Gameboy Color. Also like you said the console while on battery does not die fully the screen just goes white when the batteries finally stop giving it the full amount of juice it wants. I myself when playing a lot of GB Boy (like recently just beat pokemon blue yesterday) tend to change out my rechargeable batteries every night so as to not lose my progress in Pokemon.