A 2004 Look At the Gameboy Advance SP: More Features At What Cost?
Written: Jul 07 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: small, folds up, backlit, built in rechargable battery
Cons: no built-in earphone jack, no batteries, battery life is less than old GBA
The Bottom Line: I am one of the few who does not gain much by owning this device as opposed to the old GBA. But to most people it's worth the extra $20.
kjell1979's Full Review: Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP White Console
I was a little hesitant to pick up a Gameboy Advance SP unit. I knew what the new features were and I didn't think that they appealed much to me. After my daughter was born and with and with my son on the way; many new factors played into my decision to buy a Gameboy Advance SP. All of a sudden AA batteries were at a premium. My gaming was all of a sudden on hold when my daughter needed a quick battery change. I found myself playing games in precarious situations like in bed late at night with the door closed to prevent people from knowing I'm in there. I no longer found myself playing for multiple hour stints, instead an hour was as long as it got. I took the plunge. What I found was a mixed bag.
Specs and Design
The Gameboy Advance SP's hardware is roughly the same as the original Gameboy Advance. You're not getting any better graphics (32 bit RISC processor that runs at 16MHz) , resolution (240x160), or even screen size (1.61 X 2.41 inches). The Gameboy Advance SP also has a power switch similar to the original and the same linking port that allows more than just data transfer.
Despite the similarities, there are many significant innovations that set the Gameboy Advance SP apart from its rivals. The first thing you'll notice is that the system is much smaller. The design is back to a vertical layout, the same as the older Gameboy models. It also allows you to flip the unit shut like a laptop. When closed the Gameboy Advance SP measures in at a size of 3.33 X 3.23 X 0.96 inches and weighs roughly 5 ounces.
In addition to the size, the Gameboy Advance SP also has a few other useful features. One of those features is a built in battery. The unit comes with the AC adapter allowing you to recharge the unit or play it while directly plugged into the outlet. The other major innovation is the backlit screen. This is a much appreciated feature for many people who were once left to buy optional lighting accessories or risk being left to play in the dark. The downside to this backlighting is that it reduces the battery life from 18 to 10 hours of play. However, the backlighting can be toggled during play to conserve battery power.
The layout of all the ports and buttons are different as well while keeping the Nintendo standards intact. Most of the ports are located at the top of the unit (when closed). They include the data link port, the AC adapter port, and the peripheral attachment slots. The left side is where the power switch lies and functions similarly to that of the old Gameboy Advance power switch. The right side has the volume dial to control the sound levels. It resembles more the volume dial on the very first Gameboy unit than the old Gameboy Advance design. When opened up, The bottom side is where you plug in your game cartridges. the front face of the unit is where most of the buttons are located. The control pad is still on the left and the A and B buttons are still on the right. The start and select buttons are in their original places side by side in the bottom middle. There is a lone button in the top middle of the unit that toggles the backlighting. It's small and relatively out of the way. The shoulder buttons are on the top two corners of the bottom half right behind the flipped up screen.
The controls of the unit felt very responsive; however I don't like the placement of the shoulder buttons. The control pad and buttons on the Gameboy Advance SP are very responsive. They are contoured better than the old Gameboy Advance unit and provide less blistering over time. The biggest issue is that for older folks like me, reaching the shoulder buttons can be tough at times. This can even affect the way I play certain games like Double Dragon Advance where the shoulder buttons are commonly used during gameplay.
Accessories
The good thing about the Gameboy Advance SP is that many people won't need to buy very many (if any) accessories. Like previous Gameboy incarnations, all you need to play is the unit right out of the box, a game, and a source of power. The biggest accessory with the Gameboy Advance SP is the AC adapter, but that comes with the unit when sold as new.
Most of the accessories available are simple luxuries that most people will not foot the bill for. However, roughly half the accessories are recyclable from the old Gameboy Advance. The link cables that connect to other Gameboy Advance units and to the GameCube respectively are the same. Individual storage cases for games can also be used as well since they are independent of the unit. Also units like the Ereader still work with the new Gameboy Advance SP as well. There are some accessories that cannot be transferred though. Many magnifying glasses to blow up the screen size were only designed to fit on the old Gameboy Advance, whereas there are new ones that are only designed for the Gameboy Advance SP. Since there is a new power source, certain car adapters won't work anymore and a new generation is built to plug into the AC adapter port. The most annoying aspect is that you need an adapter to use your headphones since there is no built-in headphone jack. The adapter plugs into the AC port and doesn't allow you to use the AC adapter while the headphone adapter is plugged in.
There is one good aspect to the Gameboy Advance SP. You no longer need the lighting adapters since the screen is now bright and easily visible from a pitch black room. Also since the unit flips closed, protecting the screen, you won't have to worry about purchasing a screen cover to protect it. You'll notice that the screen doesn't get damaged as easily anymore since it's only exposed for a short time when used correctly.
Games
There are no special games designed solely for the Gameboy Advance SP unit. All the Gameboy Advance games as well as any other previous generation of Gameboy games are compatible with the Gameboy Advance SP. The games are very wide ranging due to the sheer size of the library. Most genres are covered from sports, to puzzle, to arcade, to platformers. Like Sony's Playstation 2 console but unlike the GameCube console, the Gameboy Advance system attracts many 3rd party developers in addition to having an exceedingly large library of older games that are backwards compatible with the unit. This allows it to gain strength in numbers as it can hide its shortcomings with many sleeper titles that were first released when I was in grade school and unheard of among newer generations of gamers.
The Gameboy Advance has much strength in its games. However it's greatest strength is its platformers. Just about every Super Mario Brother's game short of the 64 bit gaming era has been released in some Gameboy form. Games like The Super Mario Advance series (1-4) are tried and tested games from either the 8 bit or 16 bit era of gaming to new Metroid titles are the strongest. Sega even is developing Sonic Advance games that only serve to stregthen the platformers available for the Gameboy Advance. Couple this with the older but solid Super Mario Land series and it's easy to see that the Gameboy Advance might have the strongest lineup of platformers in the history of gaming.
While the Gameboy Advance boasts a heavy lineup of platformers, it's no slouch when it comes to RPGs. The Golden Sun series is very popular and is a throwback to the Golden Era of RPGs on the Super Nintendo. In addition, Square Enix has its Final Fantasy Tactics Advance game available for the Gameboy Advance as well as a new Kingdom Hearts game on the way. Another popular and widely acclaimed RPG that deserves mention is Fire Emblem. Add that to the old Final Fantasy Legend games and the Dragon Warrior remakes and you have a tremendously robust lineup. Finally, mix in countless Pokemon games and you're left with a lineup of RPGs that can challenge many modern consoles in terms of the volume and quality of its library.
The Gameboy Advance also has many other strong showings in its lineup. Adventure games are spearheaded by many standout Legend of Zelda titles. There are vast amounts of quality puzzle games from the more recent Wario Inc to the very old but very addictive Tetris. There are even some great strategy titles headed by the highly acclaimed but very underrated Advance Wars series.
While it seems like there is nary a flaw in the Gameboy Advance's library, there is one that stands out like a sore thumb to me. There aren't very many good sports games. While I admit I can be pretty picky about my sports games, I can appreciate some good titles that existed on older consoles. Titles like Tecmo Super Bowl, Baseball Stars, World Series Baseball, and NHL '94, are all games that have changed the way I looked at not only video games but the way I watched sports. Sadly, while many 8 bit and 16 bit games have been re-released for the Gameboy Advance, none of those titles have been ported. There are a few that have tried, but they have either come up mediocre or in the case of NHL 2002, have been shown to be pitifully poor. Sadly I'm left to either hope that one of those titles is ported or hope that the next generation portable Nintendo DS does the genre justice.
Overall Impressions
Taking a look at the Gameboy Advance SP today going forward makes me wonder whether it's worth the $99 price tag. The next generation console is slated to come out in either November or December of this year and has many of the same features and compatibilities as the current Gameboy Advance SP as well as offering a new library of games to buy. If you have a Gameboy Color or old Gameboy Advance unit it's a toss up whether you should upgrade. Waiting 6 months will yield a better bounty of options from the newer but more expensive Nintendo DS to what will probably be a much lower priced Gameboy Advance SP. I can sense that the Gameboy Advance SP is destined for a price break soon, certainly before Christmas. If you're set on getting a Gameboy Advance unit now and can't choose between the old and the new, the difference can be as high as $40. I think the benefits to the SP heavily outweigh the difference in price. However there are a select few people who would be much more content with the older model.
In conclusion, I can't tell you what to do since there are so many variables and situations for each individual case. However, my best advice is at this moment to wait for the Nintendo DS. While it only cost $30 to upgrade, I'm beginning to wish I was more patient myself.
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