Gaming The Ultimate GBA

[Takatoshi]

Hi, I would like this to be a nice summary of how to get the ultimate GBA experience (not for people going for nostalgic/retro), and I’m looking for the help of old timers and experienced members to improve on this ><.

For the best console for GBA, it would be the DS Lite as it is the latest and last console to support GBA. It has powerful processing, good screens and screen size, superior lighting with 4(?) states. It is decently compact, and instructions on how to modify by removing the top screen and compacting it to specifically run GBA games is available, as well as the modified DS Lite for sale. However, Retail carts jut out of the device which can be inconvenient/annoying (or maybe a testament to just how compact the device is).

UPDATE: Link Cable compatibility. Can DS Lite use GBA multiplayer features? If it cannot then Gameboy micro might be superior

As for the cartridge, M3 Perfect is well, the perfect GBA flash cart, being able to run almost all games. The lite version has a flush fitting for the DS Lite. HOWEVER, the battery of the flash cartridge runs out after about 2-3 years, and needs to be replaced. A work around would be to exit to the flash cart menu using the reset keys in order to save every time.
http://www.m3adapter.net/SLOT-2_Accessories.htm
https://gbatemp.net/threads/the-ultimate-m3-perfect-gba-guide-final.336658/
http://linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds/

EZ-Flash 3in1 Expansion pack is decent, with a flush fitting for the DS Lite. HOWEVER, the battery of the flash cartridge runs out after about 2-3 years, and needs to be replaced. A work around would be to exit to the flash cart menu using the reset keys in order to save every time. However, it cannot run pokemon emerald.
http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=1760.0

I do not understand why these carts do not use Flash memory like the newer GBA cartridges such that a battery is not required. Does there exist such a flash cartridge?

Some game experiences require the original retail cartridge. So far, I only know of two, so PLEASE add in more. Wario: twisted has a built in tilt sensor which the gameplay uses. Boktai, Boktai 2, Boktai 3 has a light sensor where the amount of light affects in game events.
UPDATE: Yoshi's Universal Gravitation (tilt sensor)

Accessories like E-reader also adds in extra gameplay elements. For megaman battle network 5 there is a seperate device called battle chip gate.

Some Slot 1 flash cartridges have built in GUI to load GBA games with a flash cart in place (CycloDS and DSTWO). DSTWO also has a downloadable plugin that can emulate GBA games INCLUDING pokemon emerald, but is unable to run certain games. Are there any other Slot 1 Flash cartridges that can successfully emulate GBA? The one available for R4 is terrible.

List of all GBA games:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Game_Boy_Advance_games


http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Game_Boy_Advance_games

 

[emigre]

I just use my PSP.

Haven't touched it in yonks.

 

[tatumanu]

I think a GBA (original model) with a AGS 101 Screen Mod, is the best experience. Bigger screen , just as bright as Ds Lite, awesome comfortable controls.
An EZ-Flash is probably the best flashcard yep.
I use a G6 Lite, its similar to M3, works great but uses old software to write games into internal memory but has Extra Ram that is useful to play Quake on the NDS & NDS lite

 

[FAST6191]

There is also the GB player option. In that case it becomes as good as your TV. Personally I would emulate it on the PC as other than tilt and solar sensors you are good to go, have great cheats, have savestates, have audio and visual filters, rapid fire....

I do have to mention for the DS there is no link cable option and there are a fair few GBA games that do really well for having link/multiplayer.

"I do not understand why EZ Flash does not use Flash memory like the newer GBA cartridges such that a battery is not required"
All GBA flash carts used SRAM for save memory, give or take the supercards and those are not exactly things to look up to for the GBA, and thus require save batteries. Many did use rechargeable batteries though and would thus give you a far longer lifetime.

Games which require hardware... give or take real time clock (no flash cart you will easily be able to find supports it, the m3 does but you are unlikely to find one these days) there are a handful of known ones. http://gbatemp.net/threads/buying-a-gba-flash-cart-in-2013.341203/page-18#post-4756995 lists them though not as you want it, however if you read it I did make it fairly obvious. It does also include links to a patch for emerald to patch the RTC it has (such a patch has been around for some time now).

 

[eriol33]

actually I have been hunting gba sp for a while, but pretty surprised that it still cost around 40 bucks. I don't really like to buy ds lite because I already have a 3ds xl, it feels kinda redundant. so which one is superior to play gba? gba sp or ds lite?

 

[Zerousen]

I preferred the GB Micro. My hands have always been small, so playing on it did not cause me very much discomfort too quickly. Ironically, because it was so small, I ended up misplacing it though, oh well.

 

[Vipera]

The original GBA is (supposedly) the best one to hold in your hands, but the lack of brightness makes it a joke, unless you have a mod that doesn't look like crap. I really like the GBA SP (the good edition) because it has good brightness and a nice design, but some people say it's uncomfortable to hold. I wouldn't suggest the Micro, because I love it just because of its portability, and I don't look for ultimate gaming experience when I'm abroad.
My recommendations are GBA SP (good edition), or GBA with good backlight mod.

 

[Heran Bago]

Gamecube Gameboy player. With component cables. Run with SD Gecko to force 240p video.

good luck!

 

[Jayro]

I still have my GBA SP, and there's no way in hell I'd ever sell it. It's the back-lit model, Graphite in color, and in "near-mint" condition. he battery is still just as good as the day I bought it, too.

 

[Vipera]

I still have my GBA SP, and there's no way in hell I'd ever sell it. It's the back-lit model, Graphite in color, and in "near-mint" condition. he battery is still just as good as the day I bought it, too.

How can a 10+ years old battery be as good as new?

 

[Cartmanuk]

My ultimate's are:

 

[Joe88]

for me: (this is also just a dstwo but its "ok", the ones below are much better, and the 3ds dpad is absolute trash)

option 1
GBA SP backlit + grip + ez flash iv + 2GB minisd

option 2 (this option offers rts + rtc + cheats)
NDSL + m3 real + m3 gba expansion pak + 8GB microsd

option 3
gamecube + gameboy player + gba to gcn connectivity cable + original gba + ez flash iv + 2GB minisd

 

[Jayro]

How can a 10+ years old battery be as good as new?

I don't use it much.

 

[Vipera]

I don't use it much.

That doesn't make any sense. A battery will get worse if you don't use it for long periods of time. My Micro's battery dropped ~50% and I use it everyday.

 

[_Chaz_]

Best GBA machine I've used was the original model DS. Perfect D-pad, really comfortable, and durable as a brick. If you could boost the backlight output to DSlite levels, it would be the the perfect device.
PSP is a also a really good choice if you don't mind mid-tier emulation.

 

[Jayro]

In all honesty, I wish more people would keep working on improving the PSP's emulators, mainly the SNES and GBA ones. They made very good progress, but even the Kai fork got very minimal support, and not much was changed or improved... In some cases, the Kai GBA version performed worse in some first-party games for me, and that's a big no-no. :/

That doesn't make any sense. A battery will get worse if you don't use it for long periods of time. My Micro's battery dropped ~50% and I use it everyday.

Well on a full charge, I can still get a good long 3 hours of Golden Sun out of it before it turns the light red on the dim setting, so I'm still happy with the performance. It's probably not as good as the day it was bought, I know things degrade... But it's still in great shape for it's age. I just hope I can still find a battery for it when the time comes to replace it.

 

[crea]

Technically the best flash card for GBA is the M3 Perfect. But they are not sold anymore so EZ4 is the best available imo.

Regarding special games, there is also Yoshi's Universal Gravitation, which as WarioWare Twisted uses a tilt sensor.
Then there is Boktai 2, same as the first one. Finally Boktai 3, which was only released in Japan.

 

[Vipera]

Well on a full charge, I can still get a good long 3 hours of Golden Sun out of it before it turns the light red on the dim setting, so I'm still happy with the performance. It's probably not as good as the day it was bought, I know things degrade... But it's still in great shape for it's age. I just hope I can still find a battery for it when the time comes to replace it.

A SP should hold around 18 hours of gaming with a single charge
I actually contacted Nintendo asking if they had any idea of a good third party brand batteries, but they had no idea. I'd suggest to avoid cheap ones and to bug the seller as much as you can before he sells you a defective battery.

 

[cearp]

How can a 10+ years old battery be as good as new?

i have no idea, but my gba sp, bought new, i have not charged it for years, i'm talking like 6, 7, 8, possibly even 9 years.
a year or two ago when i turned it on, IT STILL POWERED ON! (the battery led was red, but yeah)
meanwhile my psp is completely dead after about 3 weeks no charging...

 

[Jayro]

i have no idea, but my gba sp, bought new, i have not charged it for years, i'm talking like 6, 7, 8, possibly even 9 years.
a year or two ago when i turned it on, IT STILL POWERED ON! (the battery led was red, but yeah)
meanwhile my psp is completely dead after about 3 weeks no charging...

I need to replace my PSP battery with another name-brand one... The official Sony 1800MAh one it came with somehow became a permanent soft-modded Pandora battery, which I'm okay with... But when the PSP gets charged to 100%, it just powers off... and not the "shutdown"way, just straight-up "fuck whatever you were doing, we're going OFF now" kind of shutdown. So I'm thinking of buying an official Sony Extended battery for a 200x model. (Mine is a PSP-2001)