GAMEBOY advanced SP hacking

omega59

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
627
Trophies
1
XP
1,559
Country
Canada
Hi guys, I wanna buy a GBA SP but I want to play homebrew if any . What is the latest you guys recommend, and which version of GBA SP console do I need. Thank you!
 
Last edited by omega59,

froggestspirit

Aspiring Game Dev
Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1,281
Trophies
1
XP
1,561
Country
United States
Flashcart is your only option as the GBA doesn't have onboard storage for roms. Any GBA model will work, although with SP go for the backlit screen
 

gamesquest1

Nabnut
Former Staff
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Messages
15,153
Trophies
2
XP
12,247
yeah specifically it should be listed on eBay etc as an AGS-101 model, unless you feel like trying to stalk new listings looking for someone to list one on a BIN and don't know the difference as the AGS-101 is fairly more expensive than a regular AGS-001 model which is front lit

not that i follow the GBA stuff too much last i heard there was aftermarket backlit screens but quality varies with some having blurring apparently
 
Last edited by gamesquest1,

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,321
Country
United Kingdom
Your only real option is a flash cart.

Top of the line these days are the EZFlash Omega and the Everdrive lines. Both should be in the review section here.

You might still find an EZ4 out there in some shop. They might not have as much in the way of features but "can they play essentially every game as it would on hardware, and the exceptions https://gbatemp.net/threads/buying-a-gba-flash-cart-in-2013.341203/page-18#post-4756995 being fairly readily managed?" "Yes, yes they can".

Everything else. If it is for a GBA-SP then don't bother. If it was for a DS a DS flash cart and a 3 in 1 might be an idea but this ain't that and it will not be easy to use with a SP.

SP model? None ever saw blocks on anything, however the AGS 101 model came with a backlight and thus is the more sought after revision of the device (naturally it was released before the whole thing was shut down and in fairly limited numbers). There are some methods to retrofit 101 screens to other GBAs (most go for the original GBA but you should be able to get kits for the normal GBA-SP too). Don't quote me on this but you should be able to mix and match case parts if you did decide you wanted a nice older colour scheme which the 101 never got released in.
Alas with the typical quality of online photos you are not going to be able to tell that easily, indeed even in person it can be hard. To that end you are left with looking at serial numbers for such a thing. You might get lucky and find some clueless kid at a yard sale (our show off your new crap thread has several such occurrences) to flog you one for $10 or something but don't count on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ryccardo

omega59

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
627
Trophies
1
XP
1,559
Country
Canada
Where would one find one of those flashcards. I used a site dealextream long ago but it doesn't sell anything
 

Ryccardo

Penguin accelerator
Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
7,690
Trophies
1
Age
28
Location
Imola
XP
6,907
Country
Italy
Where would one find one of those flashcards. I used a site dealextream long ago but it doesn't sell anything
Ebay and Amazon often have them, despite their own rules that say they are not supposed to be sold there
As for dedicated websites, a few great classic ones like nds-card, shop01media, ... are still going fine
 

gamesquest1

Nabnut
Former Staff
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Messages
15,153
Trophies
2
XP
12,247
Where would one find one of those flashcards. I used a site dealextream long ago but it doesn't sell anything
there is some really cheap ones on eBay (supercars gba), not sure of build quality or compatibility, but i would imagine if homebrew is your main priority they should be fine

there is also EZflashcards on there but they are about triple the price but should be better quality and use microSd instead on mini SD like the cheapo carts and seem to come with a nice half size adapter so they can sit flush in a NDS
 
Last edited by gamesquest1,

The Real Jdbye

*is birb*
Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
23,271
Trophies
4
Location
Space
XP
13,826
Country
Norway
Where would one find one of those flashcards. I used a site dealextream long ago but it doesn't sell anything
For GBA flashcarts the EZFlash Omega is your best bet these days.
They have a reseller list here:
http://www.ezflash.cn/dealers/
Most of those stores are not well known and might be dodgy but you can even find it on eBay and out of the rest of the stores, the only one that is reputable and well known is shop01media.
 

contezero

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2016
Messages
216
Trophies
0
Age
48
XP
1,787
Country
Italy
There are many ways to load small homebrew on your gameboy advance without a flashcart. They involve building a cable to connect the multiplayer port to PC. With the right software you can even dump your games. If you have a gamecube and a GBA-GC cable you can load homebrew to the GBA from the gamecube (assuming that you have a way to boot homebrew on the cube). I think you can do the same with a wii thru the gamecube ports. Another way is to use an e-reader and load homebrew thru printed cards (yes, printed with paper) and probably it should be possible to load something also using the official MP3 adapter called play yan altough I never see an homebrew for this device.
 

Spokenlastchance

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
21
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
79
Country
United States
I know they have some sellers of the OMEGA on ebay that are from the US I bought one myself might as well just go there. The problem with the Chinese dealers is mostly you're looking at 1-2 months for it to get to you, and since you're not trying to get an R4 card not need to buy directly from China.
 

Spokenlastchance

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
21
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
79
Country
United States
You can just buy a 001 model, it saves you a lot of money and it works fine.

If they plans to use a flash card he might as well just get a DS lite, and use the OMEGAS GBC/GB emulation. 40 dollars for the ags-101 screen. They can also buy a R4i card and play all the DS games.
 

zxr750j

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Messages
934
Trophies
2
Location
Utrecht
XP
2,929
Country
Netherlands
If they plans to use a flash card he might as well just get a DS lite, and use the OMEGAS GBC/GB emulation. 40 dollars for the ags-101 screen. They can also buy a R4i card and play all the DS games.
Sure! Thwe only reason to go for the SP is the form-factor. My girlfriend says size does matter... (I'm in the sp category)
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    fuck ubisoft, and fuck activision
    +1
  • realtimesave @ realtimesave:
    Nintendo needs to release a new console, switch is getting such shitty little games lately lol it's pathetic
  • Purple_Heart @ Purple_Heart:
    Lmao a new flashcart... The Unlock Switch... I knew it's not fake xD
    +1
  • NinStar @ NinStar:
    A new consoles won't solve that problem
  • NinStar @ NinStar:
    It will actually make it worse
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    well actually
    a new console won't do anything right now, because the games are still in development, that's why there are few games being released
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    it won't make the games finish any faster
  • Veho @ Veho:
    2/3rds of launch titles for the Switch 2 will just be lazy ports of Switch games anyway.
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    probably
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    maybe mario kart 9 will be a launch title
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    i really want a new mario kart
  • Veho @ Veho:
    What, you mean the endless stream of DLCs doesn't count?
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Why develop a new game when you can just sell season passes forever?
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I'm still on MKDS so I'm not bothered :tpi:
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    i like the dlc tbh, i'd like a new game more
  • ZeroT21 @ ZeroT21:
    but the current version is still selling fine at full price
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    Hello
  • ZeroT21 @ ZeroT21:
    sup
    +1
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @realtimesave, You seen the Unlock Switch flashcart yet?
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    I'll see the 19.0 update that blocks use ability to it
    +1
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Lol newegg+
    Screenshot-20240423-053504-Gmail.jpg
  • S @ salazarcosplay:
    does update 19 really block it
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    Update 19 never came out yet. Just the 18.1.
    SylverReZ @ SylverReZ: Update 19 never came out yet. Just the 18.1.