Game Boy Player worth it?

Went down to the local Gamestop today just on a whim to see if they had any used/new wavebirds. No such luck there but I did spot a used Game Boy Player for sale for $20.

I was pretty tempted to get it, but decided to think about it a little. I doubt it's a high-demand item and will probably stay there for a little while at least.

Do you think it's a worthy buy? $20's pretty cheap but the problem is I don't have many GBA games. Played through FFI and II on my GBMicro and am working my way through Metroid Fusion. The only other GBA carts I own are Golden Sun 1 and 2, Zelda Minish Cap. May or may not pick up some more depending if I can find some good ones.

Anyways, not that I really have any complaints about the GBMicro's excellent screen, it might be nice to utilize a larger screen if I am not playing portable. Might make playing through Golden Sun a little more enjoyable too on the bigger screen.

The question is should I spend the $20 for the unit or save the money up in anticpation for a new console (say like a Wii or 360)? My other worry is that beyond the few GBA games that I own, there really isn't much else out there that I would seriously consider buying for the GBA. I already have a DS and GBMicro, Gamecube and Xbox. Would like to pick up a next-gen console too at some point down the line but I need to buy a new TV to really justify getting a new console (right now I only have a small 14" SD CRT TV) which makes the cost of entry for next-gen near the $2000 mark.

Ruahrc

Definitely worth it. This is the best way to play some of the classics from Nintendo and others instead of paying for the VC downloads. Many of the GBA games are better with extra levels, more save points, etc.

Well worth the money.

Make sure to get the disc, for some reason some stores aren't selling them with the disc.

Worth it. The number of fun games to play on the TV via the GB Player is worth it. Ranging from all the old GBA ports, classic Zelda games from the original Gameboy, Pokemon games, Golden Sun, etc.

It's, effectively, a Super Gameboy upgraded to allow you to play GBA games.

Well I ended up picking this item up, $20 is pretty cheap, even on eBay or Amazon they are selling in the ~40 range. This copy was great too in that it came with the boot disc (and the original mini-case the disc came in) as well as the instruction manual. Excellent condition too, I can't find any visual defects on the unit. The only problem I have with it is that it makes my GC about an inch higher, and therefore it is more difficult to switch out the game discs on the top of the GC because my GC sits in a sort of cubby-hole and the lid hits up against the top of the cubby.

A brief test shows that the games look pretty good on my TV, I set it to "full screen" rather than having the border (heck my 14" screen is barely larger than a handheld screen lol ) but controlling games is a little funny with the GC controller. I tested out my GBMicro>GC cable and it worked too as a controller.

I honestly can't figure out where the "cheap" in cheapassgamer comes from- I have spent more money on video games and systems than I did before I found this site... I hate you bastards! (j/k)

Ruahrc

[quote name='Ruahrc']I honestly can't figure out where the "cheap" in cheapassgamer comes from- I have spent more money on video games and systems than I did before I found this site... I hate you bastards! (j/k)

Ruahrc[/QUOTE]
We all know what you mean. Even though I get games/systems/accessories cheaper because of this site, I buy SO much more because they are deals. I have a backlog of games that is unbelievable as do many others. But I now cant survive without this site and thank everyone that contributes with the deals.

[quote name='Ruahrc']The only problem I have with it is that it makes my GC about an inch higher, " (j/k)
[/quote]

I think it makes the Gamecube a true cube.

It gets it closer but still not quite a perfect cube . With the GBP attached, it's a 6"wide by 6"deep by 5" high box. Without it it was only about 4" high. Amazing though that even though it looks pretty "tall", it is still too short to be a perfect cube!

Ruahrc

Does every Gameboy Advance game work with the Gameboy player on the Gamecube? Or is this limited to certain games? If it is limited is there anyplace on the web I can go to find which games are compatible? My local Gamestop also has some of these players in, and I've been interested in getting one but not if it won't play any of my GBA games.

Thanks in advance.

i think it plays every NTSC gb/gbc/gba carts, b_burrack. i had one back in the day and never had any problem playing any game i had for it.

That sounds great. I'll probably pick one up to check it out. Thanks!

b_burrack: The Gameboy Player is essentially a Gameboy Advance. It will play almost everything a Gameboy Advance can. I think I've heard that it can't play those GBA videos. You know, those carts with an episode of Pokemon or Spongebob on them... Heh.

[quote name='yayece']b_burrack: The Gameboy Player is essentially a Gameboy Advance. It will play almost everything a Gameboy Advance can. I think I've heard that it can't play those GBA videos. You know, those carts with an episode of Pokemon or Spongebob on them... Heh.[/quote]

! Now what will I do with these things!

I don't see why it wouldn't play them. It is a GBA that was flatened out and made bigger.

What I'd like to see is a gbplayer hooked up to another gbplayer for a linked gba game. Would it work? Obvious next step, 4 gbplayers linked together.

[quote name='crunchewy']What I'd like to see is a gbplayer hooked up to another gbplayer for a linked gba game. Would it work? Obvious next step, 4 gbplayers linked together.[/quote]

I think I remember reading somewhere about playing FF:Crystal Chronicles or 4 Swords with 5 gamecubes & 4 game boy players...

[quote name='tsmvengy']I think I remember reading somewhere about playing FF:Crystal Chronicles or 4 Swords with 5 gamecubes & 4 game boy players...[/QUOTE]


The manual says that you can't link gameboy players together like that. I've never tried, though, so YMMV.

I think that the gameboy player is made so that the video cartridges will not work due to some kind of licensing issues.

There are certain GBA games you might have trouble playing on the GB Player for obvious reasons such as Boktai or Warioware Twisted, but for the most part it works pretty well

From what I have read, it will play any GB/GBC/GBA game. The only instances of incompatibility are the ones listed below:

The video GBA carts do not work because of the possibility that one could record the video from the cart with a VCR or something and then distribute it. So they disabled the video playing (not that the hardware isn't capable, but I think some software lockout is in place).

Lastly, games with the motion sensor or the sunlight sensor will play, but obviously you're not going to have a lot of fun playing WW:Twisted by twisting your gamecube around. And you'd need a pretty long extension cord to get a good game of Boktai in . Although technically it shouldn't hurt anything too severely so long as you don't throw your GC- I noticed that the optical disc drive stopps spinning when you are playing the GBP, which means the only moving part in it becomes the cooling fan.

As far as hooking up GBP>GBP, I don't see why not, they all seem to have the standard GBA port on them.. why you couldn't just hook them up with a cable...

I did try to connect my GBP to my GC via a link cable to see if it would activate the island in Animal crossing. Turns out it doesn't work- probably because unless you use the "boot disc" there is no power applied to the GBP.

Ruahrc

[quote name='Ruahrc']
I did try to connect my GBP to my GC via a link cable to see if it would activate the island in Animal crossing. Turns out it doesn't work- probably because unless you use the "boot disc" there is no power applied to the GBP.
[/quote]

I wouldn't think this works anyway... You wouldn't be able to see anything that's supposed to be on the GBA "screen" anyway!

I don't see why it wouldn't work though, if you had 2 Gamecubes. 1 Gamecube has the GBP. The other Gamecube has Animal Crossing in it? Seems like it should work.

Connecting between 2 gamecubes would most likely work- although I thought it would be cool if it worked using the GBP that was attached to the cube with AC in it.

The thing about Animal Crossing is that you don't necessarily really need to see the screen to unlock the island. It's optional that you can "play" the island on the GBA itself, but to make the boat appear that takes you to the island you just have to have the GBA turned on. In fact the screen just says "Game Boy" the whole time. Oh well that's what my Micro is for

Ruahrc

You need to see the screen in AC because once you get to the island you can play that little minigame.

[quote name='yayece']I wouldn't think this works anyway... You wouldn't be able to see anything that's supposed to be on the GBA "screen" anyway!

I don't see why it wouldn't work though, if you had 2 Gamecubes. 1 Gamecube has the GBP. The other Gamecube has Animal Crossing in it? Seems like it should work.[/quote]

It definitely works if you have 2 GameCubes. I connected to my Cube with GBP to my friend's Cube and used mine as the Tingle Tuner while she played Wind Waker.

I haven't tried both of my Game Boy Players connected to each other yet, but I assume it would work as if you're using two GBAs.

[quote name='yourlefthand']The manual says that you can't link gameboy players together like that. I've never tried, though, so YMMV.

I think that the gameboy player is made so that the video cartridges will not work due to some kind of licensing issues.[/quote]

Here we go (I got the address from a 2004 slashdot article but the server isn't around, hence the wayback machine):

http://web.archive.org/web/20040613131402/http://www.arxmage.net/ffcc.htm

And a picture:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060428215040/www.arxmage.net/setup.jpg