One of the greatest Nintendo's accessory get's an upgrade.
Written: Mar 06 '04 (Updated Mar 10 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's a great accessory
Cons: some fuzzyness on GBA screens.
The Bottom Line: It's a great accessory
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| tommy_lop's Full Review: Game Boy Player for Gamecube |
Back in the 90’s during the 16 bit era Nintendo released something called a Super Gameboy, it let you play the classic gameboy games on the TV screen. It also added some color to them, and programmer could even program there own limited color schemes for the games. It was a great little add on, no batteries, no small screen, and pain in the neck for looking at the small gameboy screen. Problem is that the gameboy color came along and only a few games even had Super Gameboy support, not to mention compatibility. After that came the advance which games don’t even fit in the super gameboy, and we won’t even mention the bad lighting for the gameboy advance. Luckily Nintendo has came to the aid of gameboy fans, and an accessory that will help boost there sales. The gameboy player is the latest way to play gameboy games, and while Nintendo has also released the lighted gameboy SP the gameboy player is still the best way to play gameboy games at home.
I got this thing when it first came out but I have been to busy playing it to review it, well here’s the review.
What is the gameboy player.
The gameboy player is a black add on (you can import different colors) to your game cube. It goes underneath the cube and hooks up to the modem slot. You can then play your gameboy games, the new and the old on your TV
Installing the gameboy player.
The gameboy player is an easy to install unit. You just flip over your gamecube find the modem jack and remove the cover. Put the gameboy player into the junction until it snaps in. Then find a quarter and screw it in tight. Then insert a game upside down and insert the start up disc into the cube. The start up disc is for two things. First it tells the cube to run from the gameboy player so you can keep the player hooked up all the time, without uninstalling it to play gamecube games. Just insert another disc and you can play the cube normally. 2nd thing is the obvious the cube can’t start up with a disc. In case your wondering no you can’t use your gameboy modem while the player is attach (insert your own joke here).
Gameboy player special features.
The gameboy player has a few different features in the menu system. Hitting Z on the gamecube controller will pull up the window. One lets you change the resolution between soft and sharp, I didn’t notice any difference between soft and sharp but then I play my cube on a 1970 TV. Another option lets you play in full screen mode. Since the gameboy screen isn’t the same shape and size a TV screen is it’s done in a frame. If you do this the screen size becomes super size and takes up most of the screen, however the resolutions and color on some games go to pot. Another lets you change the picture of the border, there are several different gameboy color schemes, then there is one that looks like a gamecube, pictures of outer space and several other different frames. I stick to the gameboy ones myself there less distracting. The most worthless feature the game has, inless your playing Pokemon is a timer that goes off when the time runs out. It’s useful if you want to play a quick game of something without going over a limit but it is a rather useless feature. The final feature is the most useful one on the menu it lets you stop the gameboy player without turning off the cube, you can then change gameboy games without having to restart your cube. It’s a nice feature.
On the outside the gameboy player includes a link port so you can play 2 player gameboy games. Just link your friends gameboy up through the link cable and you can play your screen on the TV while he uses his gameboy to verse you. You can also use the gameboy transfer cable to use your gameboy has a controller.
So how does the gameboy player work
The good news is that it plays gameboy advance games great. While there is a little drop in color and resolution on the player, however you can now see a lot of the games perfectly so it’s worth the drop in color.
Gameboy color games come out just has crisp and clear do however the screen border is only used for gameboy advance games so you have to adjust them using the L and R buttons and the full screen button, it’s a pain but it’s worth it. Has for classic games don’t get rid of your super game boy for these. You only have the 8 or so color options that game boy advance and color systems have for these. Super game boy features don’t come up at all on the game boy player. If you don’t have a super game boy the game boy player plays these fine, but if you do and like playing classic game boy you might want to keep it.
Most improved advance game.
Castlevania Circle of the moon.
When this game came out when the advance first came out. It was everybody most favorite game to play on there new system, if they had 15 trillion wat bulb around so they could see the game. Now with the game boy player that has all changed. While the sprites do look a bit small and primitive, almost fitting a game boy color game. The backgrounds which you couldn’t see on the game boy advance now come out using the player. Things like paintings and windows looking out over forest come out perfectly in this game. Konami artist put a lot in this game and it’s to bad that we had to wait 2 years for game boys with lighting good enough to see them.
The game that is best left on the small screen.
This would go to Mario Kart Super Circuit. The game still is good, however since it mimics 3d the designers had to cheat. Using the effects make the game look like a smooth running 3d kart racing game on the advance. But on your TV screen they come out all wrong. The screen is blurry you can see some of the frame rate problems and the racers seem to flash often. This isn’t a bad game and I still recommend it but it’s defiantly more appealing playing on the small screen.
Games I do recommend for the player.
Ok advance games.
Castlevania Circle of the moon
Your Nathan Graves and your master has been captured by Drac, and his son Hugh is starting to turn on you. What should you do, well you grab a whip and kick some undead butt that’s what you do. Like Symphony of the night the game is done in a metroid like fashion where your free to explore anywhere your skill level will let you. Has you go on you will get new magic items that let you get to new places that you couldn’t before, and you will also level up Nathan to make him more powerful against Drac’s undead army.
Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance
Ok Konami dropped the ball on this game a little bit mainly because of the messed up magic system made the game a bit to easy, the wind book combine with a cross makes you invincible. Once again you’re a whip wielding Belmont in Drac’s castle. But there are 2 castles an evil one and a slightly less evil one that you can explore. The object is to collect Drac’s parts and battle him before he destroys your 2 friends who are trapped in the castle.
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow
The latest Casltevania to grace the GBA takes place in the future, and your character is no longer a whip wielding Belmont. But that’s good because there are so many other things to play with, Knives, spears, Hammers, swords, and other pointy objects to obtain. Has well has being able to steal enemy abilities make this one of the best Casltevanias around.
Mega Man and Bass
If your looking for one of the hardest game boy game on the market then look no further then Mega Man and Bass. Players get to take charge of the heroic blue bomber or the villainous Bass has they try to stop a new foe called the robot King.
Mega Man Battle Network
This game takes remix character from the original Mega Man characters and puts them in a battle similar to a Yugioh card game and a Mega Man shooter. It also split’s the action up between 2 character, LAN in the real world will explore things, but when he finds a computer to jack in to he can send Mega Man.exe in to check things out. This game is a lot of fun.
Mega Man Zero
While not has hard has Mega Man and Bass, Zero is no slouch on the challenge side either. Mainly because of it’s unforgiving if you die you fail your mission set up. Count there not that many lives to begin with and some pretty tough bosses and you got a great Mega Man Game.
The Legend of Zelda the 4 swords
So it’s another port, but it’s the port of the best SNES game ever created a Link to the Past. But if players get bored of a Link to the Past they can link up and play a multiplayer game called the 4 swords. Defiantly a game not to be missed. And now with the game boy player and the Zelda collectors disc you can play every single game on your gamecube.
Pokemon Sapphire.
Nintendo slipped a little when they made this game has it’s not quite has fun has the 2 other series of Pokemon games. But it’s still a blast trainers will explore a new region call the Hoen region. And Nintendo has added in a new twist to the battle has each Pokemon has a special power that will automatically kick in battle making battles a lot more complicated now then just choosing a stronger type.
Yugioh the Eternal duelist soul
Ok there are a lot of Yugioh games out there, many of them not even worth looking at. But this game is one of the best games on the GBA. Mainly because Konami kept it simple and just stuck to the card game. There is no story involved but there are 24 duelist to battle and plenty of cards to use. This game and it’s upgrade world wide edition are 2 games defiantly worth picking up.
GBA games to avoid.
Dragonball Z the legacy of Goku
You want to experience a game that has the action and intensity of Dragon Ball Z. Then you came to the wrong place, this short and slow pace game is definley not it. If your looking to fight great fights against villains your first disappointment will be that a lot of the game is doing stupid fetch quests and killing evil squirrels (don’t ask) to level up. Once that is done though fighting the bosses are also disappointing stun them with solar flare, punch and run away, and then repeat the process. This game belongs in the Home For Inftine Losers category and should not be played.
Irdion 3d
Talk about a game that should cold have been a great game. At launch a lot of people thought the GBA was just a redone GBC, Irdion 3d proved them wrong. The graphics are colorful nice looking 3d graphics with a killer sound track. But with pointless power up’s and boring stage design this game quickly becomes a bore. Leave this one in the bargain bin.
NFL Blitz 2002
Pure sh!t isn’t even close to what this game is about. Take all the hard hitting, smooth graphics, and trash talking out of the console and arcade versions. Then replace with dumb AI, a crappy and ugly look 3d engine, and finally add in a computer that can’t even remember what yard your on and this game is one that shoulder’s even be bought. In less your idea of having fun with your GBA games is to microwave them
GBC games I recommend.
Just a quick list of GBC games I recommend.
Zelda DX
Link’s trapped on an island and wants to get home to Hyrule. The only catch is that this island is in a dream of the wind fish and the only way off is to wake the dreamer. But if Link wakes the wind fish the island he’s on and it’s inhabitants will disappear, and so might he. The only way to answer the question of what to happen is to collect 8 magical items and wake the fish. This is a revamped and colorized version of Link’s first appearance on a gameboy. And it’s not one to be missed.
Zelda Oracle series.
Nintendo and Capcom came up with a great idea, having 2 games and turning them into one giant quest. When you finish either Oracle of Seasons Oracle of Seasons Ages can then link them up and then play a link game on the other one. In a linked game the story you started on in the other one continues and beating a linked game lets you battle Gannon and see the true ending. Both games are great stand alone games but to get the full enjoyment you need both.
Super Mario Bros DX.Super Mario Bros
A great port of Super Mario Bros, followed by a port of the insanely hard Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2 (The lost Levels over here) and you got yourselves a great game.
Pokemon Silver
This is probably one of the most unique games in the series. With a build in clock that keeps the time and days, and certain Pokemon appear and events are held on certain days Pokemon Silver is a fun game to play.
Final Recommendation.
The gameboy player is a great accessory to have. It lets you play your GBA games on the big screen where there is no need to worry about battery, lighting, or sore neck problems again. While there is resloution problems when blown up to the big screen most Gameboy Advance games though come out looking out fine, the only one I had trouble with is Mario Kart. If you’re a fan of Gameboy games, including long ones like Pokemon then this is an accessory for you.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tommy_lop
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Member: tommy
Reviews written: 971
Trusted by: 119 members
About Me:
Ran over a grandma, punched a kid, and still diden't get a PS3. (just kidding.)
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