A Guide: Are Your GBA Games Bootleg?

I just picked up pinball of the dead from GS but it seems to be a bootleg, oh well, I'll just keep it for 2.99...it works fine and it doesn't really matter for save files since its pinball.
 
As a new GBMicro owner (first portable gaming device) I am glad I stumbled across this thread! I have bought 3 carts total now (FF I+II, Golden Sun, and Zelda Minish Cap) and they all were used. Two came from a local import/retro gaming store (both check out okay) and the third came from a local EBGames.

The one from EBGames is FF I+II: DoS and everything checks out okay except the writing on the PCB. It does not have the full (c)2001 Nintendo, but rather just a Nintendo logo and a serial number after it. I am inclined to say it's legit since all the other features seem to check out (including the imprinted 2-digit number on the label) but has anyone else seen this type of labeling on their PCB's too? Since I have yet to see evidence of a pirated PCB having any kind of forged nintendo text above the contacts I think this was just a different style of labeling that Nintendo used for a little while (or maybe this cart is even some kind of overseas cart?). Still though, anyone with FF I+II out there can confirm this?

Again, great info and I will be aware from now on to keep an eye out for counterfit carts.

P.S. has anyone ever had problems with buying bootlegged carts off of amazon.com? I do not buy things from ebay (I have only bought maybe one thing from ebay ever and don't even think I have an account there anymore) but I did buy my GBMicro from an independent seller on amazon.com.

Ruahrc
 
I bought Minish Cap off of an Amazon independent seller and it turned out to be bootleg.

I will try to bump this thread so that it is always on the 1st page until the mods sticky this thread instead of stupid things like Wifi night.
 
[quote name='Ruahrc']As a new GBMicro owner (first portable gaming device) I am glad I stumbled across this thread! I have bought 3 carts total now (FF I+II, Golden Sun, and Zelda Minish Cap) and they all were used. Two came from a local import/retro gaming store (both check out okay) and the third came from a local EBGames.

The one from EBGames is FF I+II: DoS and everything checks out okay except the writing on the PCB. It does not have the full (c)2001 Nintendo, but rather just a Nintendo logo and a serial number after it. I am inclined to say it's legit since all the other features seem to check out (including the imprinted 2-digit number on the label) but has anyone else seen this type of labeling on their PCB's too? Since I have yet to see evidence of a pirated PCB having any kind of forged nintendo text above the contacts I think this was just a different style of labeling that Nintendo used for a little while (or maybe this cart is even some kind of overseas cart?). Still though, anyone with FF I+II out there can confirm this?

Again, great info and I will be aware from now on to keep an eye out for counterfit carts.

P.S. has anyone ever had problems with buying bootlegged carts off of amazon.com? I do not buy things from ebay (I have only bought maybe one thing from ebay ever and don't even think I have an account there anymore) but I did buy my GBMicro from an independent seller on amazon.com.

Ruahrc[/quote]

Could you post a picture? It'd be much easier to give an opinion with a visual :)
 
Many of the newer GBA games just have the Nintendo logo and a serial number.
 
Yeah, thats fine, its just a variation of printing nintendo uses, older games just have the word Nintendo with a year after it and newer games have the logo. I would assume they changed it because the first kind of printing could be easy to duplicate on pirate carts (if the pirate was so ambitious to do this heh) and the logo would be harder to duplicate.
 
pirate3.jpg


counterfeit?
74d0_1.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/Max-Payne-Game-...ryZ62053QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
The Max Payne looks legit, it looks like it has the 2 numbers stamped into the label and the Game Boy Advance font at the top is correct. The only way is to check the contacts though, as I do not own that particular game to compare your copy to.
 
That Max Payne cat is definitely legit, no bootleg games have that stamp and no bootleg game carts quality is that good.
 
[quote name='briandadude']Sticky this[/quote] They already have a very detailed guide on bootleg GBA games in the CAG FAQ. The FAQ probably isn't frequented as often as this GBA forum, but maybe this existing guide is the reason why no one is listening to you every time you request this thread to be stickied. Just a thought as you may be wasting your time with posting sticky requests.
 
[quote name='parKer20']They already have a very detailed guide on bootleg GBA games in the CAG FAQ. The FAQ probably isn't frequented as often as this GBA forum, but maybe this existing guide is the reason why no one is listening to you every time you request this thread to be stickied. Just a thought as you may be wasting your time with posting sticky requests.[/quote]

Haha, thanks for the heads up. Never thought to look there. :oops:
 
So I happened across this site with some interesting wares:

http://www.made-in-china.com/showro...YnhA/Gameboy-advance-cassettes-catalog-1.html

http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/fjanjie/product-listUTxQmsEuepJn/GBA-games-catalog-1.html

Do you think that these carts are legit? I couldn't definitively tell from the photos. What tipped me off was that the "Gameboy Advance" engraving at the top of the carts seemed a little deep when compared to my carts. Could be the lighting though. But some other tip-offs like the Pokemon carts that aren't in colored casings, also potential misspellings like Pokemon: Perla version???

They have some convincing pics where they show like Pokemon:Emerald in the green translucent casing but there are also photos of Pokemon:Fire Red in grey casings and also Leaf Green, etc. Not to mention their "multi-cart" games being offered.

I don't have any of those games though so I can't compare the photos of carts/boxes to the real thing. Maybe some of you guys can...

Ruahrc

PS- if they are not legit carts, there is quite a lot of company info posted on their site, would be fairly easy to pass this on to Nintendo.

PPS- I looked again and it appears that many (if not all) of these GBA cart postings were put up yesterday 6-18-2007.
 
Those are definitely not legit. There's some nice Pokemon version names though. Frigo Returns? Quartz Version? Naranja Version? (Unless that actually translates to something... but Celebi was never a boxart Pokemon). And yeah, the Ruby, Sapphire, Fire Red and Leaf Green carts are supposed to be colored.

Summon Night GBA's cart sticker is also wrong.

Oh, and their DS game is a GBA cart :D
 
so where the hell am i supposed to get legit GBA games? I'm too scared to buy them off of ebay and gamestop has such a shitty selection...
 
eBay is tricky, you really have to look at the Feedback and even then who knows.

I have emailed a few sellers and asked them to kindly tell me not to bid if I am looking for an authentic game.

Check out my FAQ in my sig too.
 
Oh why didnt I look here before I made a purchase on ebay! Stupid stupid. I was looking for a good deal for Legend of Zelda Minish Cap, and I felt I got one. Well, I got it in the mail, put in my recently aquired ds lite and tried to play it. Unfortunatly the game froze in the create/choose a file screen when I scrolled up. I even tried to bypass it by creating a new file and yet again frozen. Fearing the worst I check online and now this thread and I understand that I have a pirated copy. Hell, the sticker is white, isnt the background of it supposed to be red?

Anyway, I sent the seller an email about the item, how its not working and that I think its a pirated copy (sent it before I really knew for certain (after reading this thread)) I asked for a refund and if we could work something out I could send him the game back or other. Now after reading this thread I'm not so sure that I might get my money back. What should I do now? I payed for it through paypal with a credit card. I want to bust this guy, but can I do it and still get a refund? I mean, whats the luck that I get a pirated version and it doesnt work. Hes got alot of positive feedback too and looking at their buys they look like real buyers. Advice for an idiot please.
 
I've been buying a bunch of GBA games lately, from local retailers, gamestop, and 2 off of ebay, and who would have guessed that the two games I bought off of ebay were the only two counterfeits I bought....oh well. I compared the two games I got from ebay (FF:Tactics and Metal Slug Advance) with my other games and they are different for sure, and they have the wrong labels. On the bright side, they both work great and I actually like the fake labels over the real ones, so I'll just keep them. I mean the games work, and I bought them for less than half I could get them elsewhere, so I'll just suck it up this time. I won't be buying anymore GBA games off ebay though....I didn't know GBA games held a chance to be counterfeit, but now I know...
 
Just tell paypal you got a pirated copy and they will give you a refund. Then you can just throw away the game sell it th GS or what ever. Just for future reference almost all GBA games on e-bay or bootlegs.
 
[quote name='GaveUpTomorrow']I've been buying a bunch of GBA games lately, from local retailers, gamestop, and 2 off of ebay, and who would have guessed that the two games I bought off of ebay were the only two counterfeits I bought....oh well. I compared the two games I got from ebay (FF:Tactics and Metal Slug Advance) with my other games and they are different for sure, and they have the wrong labels. On the bright side, they both work great and I actually like the fake labels over the real ones, so I'll just keep them. I mean the games work, and I bought them for less than half I could get them elsewhere, so I'll just suck it up this time. I won't be buying anymore GBA games off ebay though....I didn't know GBA games held a chance to be counterfeit, but now I know...[/quote]

I would get a refund. They may work fine now but once the battery dies they will start giving you problems.
 
[quote name='itachiitachi']I would get a refund. They may work fine now but once the battery dies they will start giving you problems.[/quote]

I would get a refund too. Even if the battery is okay, the saves are known to be unreliable. It may work great for awhile...and then you lose all your work.
 
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