Hello. Jarrodj here again to try something that has never been done here on Gameboomers.com: A hardware review. Now, two of the biggest things in gaming over the last year has been the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The two have been fighting for handheld supremacy since around march, and neither of them at the moment can even touch the sales, games, and simplistic perfection of the Gameboy Advance. Nintendo decided to give the GBA one last swan song with a new version of the system. The super, super small Gameboy Micro.
Alright, now for months, this little bugger has been a bit of a laughing stock around the gaming community. It's been touted as stupid, worthless, insipid, not necessary, and all around a bad idea. It also isn't really selling all that well here in the States (But selling very well in Japan). Well, I'm here to say that I bought one, and...I think the little thing is awesome.
First off, it should be mentioned that I have never owned a Gameboy Advance. So right off the bat, buying this thing opened the ability to play more then 700 games I had previously been unable to get. Now I was pretty much on the "it's a dumb idea" bandwagon for a while, but last week, Nintendo released the 20th Anniversary edition Gameboy Micro. It's a shimmering red with an awesome gold plate. I looked into it, and this GBM is actually the Famicom style GBM from Japan, and Nintendo decided to release it as a 20th anniversary GBM here since it's the most popular one in Japan. For some reason, I was really drawn to it, and I decided that I finally needed to get a handheld, and my $150.00 Christmas money needed to be spent, so I picked it up along with:
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of memories (New): $19.99
Astro Boy: The Omega Factor (Used): $14.99
Gunstar Super Heroes (Used): $19.99
Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon (Used): FREE (At game crazy, if you buy a console and 2 used games for it, the cheapest one is free. Sweet!)
Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga (Used): $14.99
Gameboy Micro screen protection kit (2 screen protectors and a screen cloth): $1.99
So I've got this cool looking little rectangle, and a bunch of games. First thing I, or anyone who buys this thing will notice is that this sucker is small. You probably know this already, but it's not until you hold it in your hand that it finally sets in that this thing is incredibly small. First off, I am 6' 1", 220 pounds, and my huge hands have been compared to a catchers mitt. The gameboy micro is 4 inches wide by 2 inches tall and less than an inch deep, weighing in at less than 3 ounces. The Game Boy Micro is almost novelty sized. When my mother saw it, she said it looked like something I won out of a vending machine. But for some really weird and implausible reason, it feels really good in my hands. I mean really good. The Micro's incredibly simple design makes it so that no matter who you are and what the size of your hands are, you're not gonna have a problem. This is a testament to the great designers at Nintendo. So the design of the Micro is pretty much impeccable.
So now my biggest fear about the system has been voided: It fits in my hand. Now the other problem I thought I was gonna have was the screen. I was worried that it would be too small and you wouldn't be able to do things like read text and notice all the little details. Once again, Nintendo has shocked me with the amazing (and I mean amazing) screen on the GBM. The screen on this thing is incredibly bright, crisp, colorful, and flat out jaw dropping.Reading text is a breeze, and the detail is absolutely amazing. It is the best quality screen I have ever seen on any handheld ever. It's one of those situations where you have to see it to bellieve it.
Now you don't just get the device. First off the battery on this thing is gonna last a good 15-20 hours, and it comes with a AC adapter if you wanna plug it in and play it, or you need to recharge it. It also comes with a little sock like carrying case, which is a nice touch. I can fit the system, 4 games and the screen cloth from the kit I bought into the pouch.
I really don't have many complaints. The simplistic design of this thing is pretty close to perfect. The only real complaint about the system itself is that unlike every other Gameboy Advance, this one can't play regular Gameboy or Gameboy Color Games. This isn't a huge loss, but I'm sure some people are gonna miss that feature. I also think that, right now, the system may be a little pricey. $90.00 for an outdated system with a new look might be a little much, especially since the Gameboy Advance SP costs $80.00. And while this isn't really a complaint on the system, I really wonder if there's an audience for this thing. I'm probably one of like 14 people who hasn't owned a GBA. And won't most people just wanna get a DS at the moment since that can play GBA games? One last thing: if you get one of these, you might wanna think about investing a couple of bucks on a screen protector so the screen doesn't get scratched up, but that's just me.
So overall, this little device blew me away with it's quality. I think if you already have a gameboy of some kind, then I'd hold off. But if you're one of the 12 people who don't have one of the 45 different ways to play GBA games, then I would defiantly get one of these things. I don't think it's the greatest investment you'll ever make, but if you want to play tons of fantastic games on something 4 inches wide and 2 inches tall, then I would recommend it. . If you take away the fact that there are probably smarter ways to play GBA games at this point, and judge it as a standalone product, it is, without a doubt, the best way to play Gameboy Advance games. I think it's an awesome little device.
Pros
+This sucker is small! Really small!
+It's comfortable no matter how big your hands are
+The screen is of unparalleled quality
+hundreds of games available, and they're cheap now too!
Cons
-You can't play regular Gameboy games
-It's a little expensive
-You might just wanna get a DS at this point
9 Out of 10: fantastic product, but not necessary.
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