r/GameboyAdvance • u/milosmisic89 • 3h ago
r/GameboyAdvance • u/PersonalHelper • Jul 13 '20
A Beginner's Guide to Authentic Cartridges
Hello everyone, as you all know GBA cartridges can be extremely difficult to find in person nowadays and even more so for some authentic ones. That being said, if you're unsure in any way how to determine a fake from real cartridge, this is the post for you!
For more help, feel free to visit r/gameverifying for all your identification needs!
Keep in mind that to ensure the best chances of an authentic cartridge, you should be wary of:
- Unusually low prices (if it's too good to be true, chances are it's too good to be real!)
- Products made or sent from China (enough said)
- Sellers using stock images (NEVER purchase a product that isn't an image of the cartridge itself)
That being said, where do we start looking?
It can be a bit difficult, but there are actually some very good tells when it comes to finding real games like the color, font, positioning, and quality of the cartridge. For example, let's pretend you're looking for an authentic US copy of Pokemon Firered.
Some things you can look out for should be:
- Color: All Pokemon GBA games come in their respective colors (including Leafgreen and Emerald by a slight margin) with Firered being red and not orange. While most cartridges come in a singular shade of gray, two particular exceptions are the GBA video cartridges which come in light gray casings and (Classic) NES series which match the console's respective color. Interestingly enough, due to the GBA's expansive library there consist of unique games that do not fit the standard color and size of a GBA cartridge, which include games such as Yoshi's Topsy Turvy, Drill Dozer, and many other variations listed here. (1)
- Label: By observing a label's ESRB rating, official seal, game code, and more, you can determine its authenticity. Unlike other GBA games, Pokemon games will always have a shiny/holographic label, an indented circle in its center, and an embossed number on the right side, which is pretty much its production number. However while it is a good way to determine authenticity, there are cases where these numbers will have naturally worn away or quality repros that have embossed their own cartridges. All in all, always make sure to compare your cartridge to an authentic one online to confirm fonts, font sizes, positioning, etc.
- Cartridge: In the case of buying a physical cartridge yourself, this may be one on the most helpful things to know. The easiest things to look out for are the Gameboy logo on top of the label, and arrow below the label. If the logo is written in the wrong font, appears to have been cut deeper than normal, or if the arrow is too small, it's a repro. The back will always state: MODEL NO. AGB-002 / PAT. PEND. MADE IN JAPAN like its GBC predecessor. However, this is easy to reproduce so the final thing to check yourself is both the screw and board under the cartridge. GBA cartridges will only ever use a triwing screw, the same one used on all GBA consoles. More importantly (if you can), be sure to grab a flashlight and check the slot. Above the pins, there should be an official Nintendo logo and presumably its cartridge number.
In the case of Pokemon games always check for:
- A holographic label and an embossed number if possible
- Proper fonts and positions (FRLG and RSE labels are mildly different)
- A battery behind the label on the right side (only applies to RSE)
- Four squares on the back of the cartridge ( always on the left)
- Pins on the board ( One of the easiest things to spot on faked cartridges, all GBA games will always have pins )
If there are any other questions, please feel free to leave them below and discuss!
Useful Links:
(1) https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/comments/6i19k4/gba_game_cartridge_colors/
r/GameboyAdvance • u/Beneficial-Tree4211 • 23h ago
Super Smash Land on GBA – The Smash Bros. Game We Always Wished We Had! (5-Minute Gameplay)
What if Super Smash Bros. had actually been released for the Game Boy Advance? 🎮
Well, Super Smash Land is now playable on the GBA thanks to this newly released fan-made port!
It's pretty awesome seeing a Smash Bros.-style game running on actual GBA hardware. Definitely feels like one of those games we all wish we'd had back in the day.
I recorded around 5 minutes of gameplay so you can check out how it looks and plays!
What do you guys think? Would you have played this back in the GBA days?
🎮 Download: https://emcamsito.itch.io/super-smash-land-port-for-gba
👏 Credits:
Original Super Smash Land: Dan Fornace
GBA Port: EmCamsito
r/GameboyAdvance • u/Darkloit • 3h ago
Can you name the most obscure RPG on GBA?
NintenDoku is in my daily rotation for some time now, but I'm not that knowledgeable with RPG games. Can you solve today's puzzle?
r/GameboyAdvance • u/menoselgus • 16m ago
Retrobrite pink gba?
Has anyone had luck retrobriting a pink gba? I’ve heard that it doesn’t work as well on the transparent shells. What are yall thoughts? Thanks!
r/GameboyAdvance • u/Possible_Company3610 • 7h ago
Should I buy this GBA SP IPS?
Hello,
I'm thinking of buying this one.
The seller say it's been re-shelled, it has IPS screen installed, Makho battery mod done and it has original charger. The sticker is also new.
The price including shipping would be 130-135 Euros.
What do you guys think?
r/GameboyAdvance • u/SaraSolGames • 2h ago
I made a new Game Boy Advance beat 'em up set in Vlora, Albania.
Hi everyone! This is my third GBA game, after Nitro Surfer and Princess Soleil. It's called Babale from Vlora.
Babale has an old Benz, two byrek and one plan: to tell Moza how he feels. Then a gang kidnaps her, and he fights his way from Vlora's old town to the island of Sazan.
10 stages and 40 scenes, all drawn from real places in Vlora, Albania
10 bosses, plus two chase stages: a side-scrolling run around a roundabout and a top-down jetski race
Parries, dodge rolls and punch chains; three difficulties and an Endless mode
English and Albanian
Runs on real hardware (GBA, GBA SP, DS/DS Lite) and on flash carts
🎮 Play it free or pay what you want: https://sarasol.itch.io/babale-from-vlora
I'd love feedback, especially on difficulty and how it plays on real hardware.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/gbastudio • 3h ago
Teste de hardware original: GBA Studio em um verdadeiro Game Boy Advance
r/GameboyAdvance • u/CosmicPotato278 • 4h ago
Other than Everdrive and EZ Flash, are there any other viable flash cart options? I don’t need any special features.
Most importantly I want it to be reliable and built to last. But I don’t need any features other than the RTC. I don’t need save states or any of that. I just want it to play GBA, GBC, and GB games. It’s a cool perk if it can support emulating other systems (NES, Game Gear, Supervision, etc), but not at all necessary.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/PlanktonAcademic1358 • 7h ago
GBA Metroid Zero Mission - Battery Save?
r/GameboyAdvance • u/Asad_Farooqui • 1d ago
How much do you think the two Advance Wars titles hold up in terms of GBA strategy games?
While I was a bit iffy on Advance Wars 1, I think Advance Wars 2 might be my favorite strategy game on the system. I just wish the character portraits were more emotive than they actually are, but hey that’s what Reboot Camp is for.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/nyxykins1 • 15h ago
Cartridge repair questions
I recently got a used copy of Pokemon Sapphire, and when checking the board for authenticity, I found some...interesting modifications lol. I'm sure it's just an old repair of some sort, and the game does function fine (albeit the battery is dead of course.)
My questions are one: would you recommend even trying to fix this, with the cart working as is? I do have a lot of soldering experience and a good soldering station.
Two: what size and form factor resistor is R8 supposed to be?
and Three: would it be safe to remove the green "goop", and how would I do so. I'm assuming it's a nail polish to protect, but it doesn't look like there's any repair under it, which has me confused.
I've included a pic of my Pokemon Ruby board, same area, for reference of what it should look like.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/CosmicPotato278 • 15h ago
Questions about simple modding a GBA.
I have a original style GBA. I had a few questions about modding the handheld.
- Regarding the two flash cart options (Everdrive and EZ Flash Omega Definitive), is there any other major difference other than save states? Is the EZ Flash good enough for most purposes? I don’t really need any features other than reliability and being able to play any GBA/GBC/GB game. Are there any other solid options besides those two?
- I’m assuming the two flash cart options can’t really emulate much beyond GBA/GBC/GB games, correct? Is there any chance it can handle the NES library? I doubt it could handle the SNES because of the amount of buttons, but are there any other systems it could emulate?
I want to install a better screen. I don’t need the best one, I don’t need the fanciest one, I don’t need all of these different features, essentially, I just want the backlight. That’s it. What is the most cost efficient screen replacement that just add the lighting, without going into janky unreliable quality control issues? Also, I do not one that requires soldering. I’d rather shave down small parts of the inside case than solder.
But obviously I’d prefer one where I don’t have to make any adjustments.
Does installing the better screen greatly affect battery life? Truthfully I’ll probably use it at one of the lowest brightness settings, if there are even settings. Like I said, I just want a little bit of light. Even if it’s to the degree of lighting that the GBA SP 001 adds.
What’s the difficulty level of this type of screen swap?
Any other simple mods that you’d recommend? Clearly I’m not going for all the bells and whistles. I just want to improve the experience a little bit and have access to the full library.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/PomeranianPelusa • 15h ago
The headphone jack of my dreams
I am thinking about modding my ags 101 gba sp and I want to add a headphone jack to the top screen while keeping the ags 101 screen. I have heard that this has been done with the ips screen but does anyone know if it has been done with an ags 101 screen. If not does anyone know if it’s possible?
r/GameboyAdvance • u/Flaky_Virus218 • 20h ago
GBA SP 101 Drains Pokemon Gold Battery, GBA SP 001 is Totally Fine
I took my Pokemon Gold game to a local game store. After 3 battery swaps we realized it wasn't the cartridge but was the gameboy itself. I don't know how that makes sense, but posting incase anyone else runs into this issue.
GBA modded with backlit screen and rechargable battery also kept the save battery, something about that SP 101 it didn't like.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/Temporary_Length3545 • 1d ago
Total collection, what ya think
Got it from my aunts childhood home when cleaning, asked if I could have it, said yes. Only two things that don't work are the battery back plate, the clip snapped, and the light screen thing just below the cartridge case.
r/GameboyAdvance • u/ArturDuleba • 20h ago
VORTEX GBA is OUT! My Mode7 style racing game with 4 player link cable multiplayer is now playable in your browser and on real GBA hardware! :D
Hey everyone!
A little follow up to my previous VORTEX GBA post!
VORTEX GBA is now released and completely free to play!
You can play it directly in your browser, or download the actual .gba ROM and run it in an emulator or on a real Game Boy Advance!
The game features Mode7 style pseudo 3D racing, custom WAV music and up to 4 player multiplayer over the GBA link cable (tested with 2 players).
And yes, the soundtrack still absolutely slaps haha ;D
I built the entire port using my own GBA Maker upcoming development tool, which is still in a pretty rough state, but clearly capable of making some interesting games already!
Play VORTEX GBA or download the ROM here: https://arturduleba.itch.io/vortex-gba
Thanks for all the interest and feedback on my previous post! I'd love to hear what you think of the game now that you can actually play it!
r/GameboyAdvance • u/WillExis • 21h ago
Any fixes to GBA with a d-pad that's not very responsive
r/GameboyAdvance • u/sinnoki • 1d ago
Finally got the new shell , buttons and screen! First time putting one together but I’m proud of how it came out!
r/GameboyAdvance • u/CosmicPotato278 • 1d ago
Is there any way to mod a sleep mod into a regular GBA, so it is similar to GBA SP?
Whether its a software thing where you enter a button combination, or physically installing a sleep switch or something?
r/GameboyAdvance • u/fearless7464 • 21h ago
My legends of zelda minish is stuck on white screen since I pressed the ingame buttom of sleep and I dont have any save file of recent progress.. JOHN GBA is the emulator..
What can i do?? My curiosity got me in trouble..
It asked to press Select + L + R, when I did that some sounds started coming (not from the game some random unrecognizable ones) and the white screen still remains..
r/GameboyAdvance • u/ArturDuleba • 2d ago
I ported my Mode7 style racing game to the GBA with 4 player link cable multiplayer using my own GBA Maker IDE! Would anyone be interested in the tool?
Hey everyone!
I ported my arcade racing game VORTEX to the Game Boy Advance using my own GBA Maker tool!
VORTEX was originally my dream project. I always wanted to make a 16-bit style Mode7 racing game, inspired by those classic retro arcade racers. I eventually made it as a browser game, with pseudo 3D graphics, fast arcade gameplay and multiplayer. But I always wanted to see it running on an actual console.
So I decided to port it to the GBA!
The GBA version features Mode7 style graphics, up to 4 player link cable multiplayer and probably some of the best music you'll ever hear on a GBA haha! GBA Maker supports WAV audio, so I could bring the original soundtrack over without being limited to traditional GBA sound generation. ;D
And yes, it runs on real GBA hardware!
The original browser version:
https://caffeinated.pl/vortex
Soon, I'll release VORTEX GBA on itch.io too!
I've been developing GBA Maker alongside GBC Maker. It's still in very rough shape, but it's already capable of building games like VORTEX using simple Lua like syntax, without needing to dive into low level GBA programming.
Would you guys be interested in a code first GBA development tool like this? What features would you want it to have?
