Gaming A very concerned secondhand gba cartridge buyer

[OyunTerzisi]

Hello all

First of all sorry for any future grammar crimes.. I am very experienced about pokemon on emulators, and recently installed pokemon HOME app on my phone. So i decided i want to tackle Ultimate Masterdex challenge (except with no time limit) and aiming to get every pokemon from their debut region to Pokemon HOME.

Now i am planning to get secondhand gen3 pokemon game(s) and a DS for a start. Thats where my concern come in. I don't know anything about physical cartridge, so i have couple questions about them. I will go inception here.

First layer, plastic cover of cartritge could be fake: i will skip this part as there is plenty of videos to tell if its fake or not.

Second layer, plastic cover could be original but cartridge itself could be fake: Since fake games almost same shape as originals, i am assuming someone could open original game's cover, take out cartridge and put a fake one. I don't know why someone would do that but since i am unfamiliar with this, i am very cautius.

Third Layer, cartridge and cover is could be original but game itself could be not: i am talking about software itself here. İs it possible to original cartridge can be hacked? My primary concern about fake games is for original experience. I don't want to play the fire red to the end to find mewtwo in the cave is replaced with a magikarp, or on the contrary every encounter will be shiny.

How could i tell i will be getting original game?

 

[Deleted User]

Hello all

First of all sorry for any future grammar crimes.. I am very experienced about pokemon on emulators, and recently installed pokemon HOME app on my phone. So i decided i want to tackle Ultimate Masterdex challenge (except with no time limit) and aiming to get every pokemon from their debut region to Pokemon HOME.

Now i am planning to get secondhand gen3 pokemon game(s) and a DS for a start. Thats where my concern come in. I don't know anything about physical cartridge, so i have couple questions about them. I will go inception here.

First layer, plastic cover of cartritge could be fake: i will skip this part as there is plenty of videos to tell if its fake or not.

Second layer, plastic cover could be original but cartridge itself could be fake: Since fake games almost same shape as originals, i am assuming someone could open original game's cover, take out cartridge and put a fake one. I don't know why someone would do that but since i am unfamiliar with this, i am very cautius.

Third Layer, cartridge and cover is could be original but game itself could be not: i am talking about software itself here. İs it possible to original cartridge can be hacked? My primary concern about fake games is for original experience. I don't want to play the fire red to the end to find mewtwo in the cave is replaced with a magikarp, or on the contrary every encounter will be shiny.

How could i tell i will be getting original game?

Check the back of the cartrdige you should be able to see the PCB through the plastic. Real ones will always have gold squares in the top left of the PCB

 

[OyunTerzisi]

Thanks for the quick answer
So what about editing PCB by a computer or something, is it possible?

 

[zero9112]

For Gen 3 only Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald used clock batteries so if you see Firered or Leafgreen with a visible battery it is a fake. Also if you see a blob of black epoxy (basically looks like melted rubber) covering a chip on the PCB it is also fake.

 

[rmorris003]

Watch some youtube videos as some will tell you how to spot fakes and you def dont want reproduction carts if you want originals. People on eBay pass off reproductions all the time but they advertise it as a reproduction. If buying games at conventions etc always carry a gamebit or ask them to open the cart for you.

It is much easier to buy the flash boards and sell as a legit game to make money if people are willing to get scammed.