Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP - Platinum

We just bought GBA SP two days ago at the Forbidden Planet store in NYC, and our whole family has been playing it practically continuously ever since. ... We tried to maximize the additional investment by buying the Cobalt Black, which was not available through Amazon. It is beautiful, although personally, I think I might have preferred Orange, which they didn't have. Also, the instructions are in Japanese - not that this matters much; aside from the obvious stuff, it mostly said stuff like don't drop it or get it wet and if your fingers or wrists start hurting you should stop playing immediately and go see a doctor. I was reading it to may husband and we were just *rolling*. It's pretty wierd, though, when you think about it.) Anyway, I had refused to get my son a GBA because I believed they would come out with this someday. It was a long wait. We couldn't play any of the good GBA games and I had to listen to my son's eternal whining. But upgrading to the GBA screen just wasn't worth it versus the GB Color when we had PSII and GameCube to keep us occupied. To note, GBA SP is not perfect, as other reviewers have noted. There is no earphone (although I never play with sound anyway) and you can't switch new batteries in to continue playing immediately, although you *can* continue playing while you are recharging -- not ideal if you are on a plane, though, which I often am. The LiON battery inside will give out after 500 charges, which I figure will be (for us) in about two, maybe three years. The manual does show you how to take it out, although it also tells you not to else you void the warranty. Go figure. But in 2-3 years they will have come out with something else -- an upgrade or a new battery or whaever, so who cares? It's not like we're upgrading a PC. Also, there are few accessories out, not that I care. The thing closes up, so you don't really need a case as much (although I guess you might want something to carry your games in, maybe). I don't really use those rumble thingys, so that didn't matter. You don't need a light attachment for obvious reasons. The screen is beautiful and bright and you can play in total, pitch darkness (which my husband did after I went to bed). If you have a PalmIIIc or a Sony Clie, this is not *that* good, as far as screen resolution, but you know what I am talking about as far as the luxury of being able to play in low light/poor light conditions. You will be able to free up a lot of valuable memory space on your PDA now. As far as size, the total footprint, when closed, is even smaller than a 3.5in disk and slightly thicker than a deck of cards. The weight's about the same as old GB, though, IMHO. To note, my brother, who already has a GBA and is pretty cheap, wasn't sure if he was going to get one of these, was really impressed by the screen, the compactness of the design, etc. so now he's going to get one too. (He'll probably try to sell his old GBA). Net, if you play GB/GBA enough and care about your eyes, this might be a good investment. Or, you can (like I did a few years ago). Wait for Nintendo's next portable gaming breakthrough (hotswap batteries? I dunno.) All I know is that this was the one I was waiting for.

The one shown, in very pretty light silver gray is the older version. It has two settings but the first is really poorly lit. This is the older model, not the SP. These were lit from the front somehow, I was told, not backlit. It is much less desirable then the newer ones I am about to describe. I bought it out of sentimentality because it was in beautiful condition. This model later came in colors either gunmetal(dark gray), or pale blue or pale pink and id referred to as SP. The improved backlighting that lets you do either a normal or a brighter viewing is truly wonderful and presents beautiful games that look like the Sunday comics colors in the funnies of many years ago. The detail of the games is remarkably superior to the earlier ones that were made in red, black, or bright silver as the one mentioned. The newer ones were totally improved These newer ones in pink, blue or gunmetal are the best that - in my opinion- were invented. While improvements continue to be made in an ever-changing and updating market, there is nothing like these compact, pocket-sized Game Boy Advance SP handy and beautiful game players. They last forever (so it seems) and recharge quickly, lasting quite a while before needing recharging again. The have a volume control. The Warioland 4, Zelda, Mario Pinball, Castlevania, Collapse II, Tetris and certain other games that stack and fling a completed row...you probably known what I mean..are really wonderful on this type of compact. While the exquisitely-made smaller (miniature) machines are truly works of art, they are harder to manipulate and strain the eyes a bit. They do not have the choice of a bright or brighter screen but are also the more modern backlit kind. They have less volume. I would worry about eyetrain in a youngster, the same as too much time for young eyes viewing any computer screen but the difference is that today's computer screens often allow an enlargement of whatever material is to be viewed. As I mentioned, The one we are talking about, the Game Boy Advance SP(ecial) is portable ...absolutely perfect to fit in a pocket. The games are two dimensional and some of the games can be preserved so that you can turn the thing back on and return to the same place where you stopped. Some can be played till you get everything you need to then advance to the next level. These games and the units themselves, are treasures. The power cord/charger unit is still available...online if nowhere else., Some games don't let you store the achievements and allow turning off the unit, but the Game Boy Advance SP does this., depending on when they were created, pretty much. I bought a bunch of the earlier games that were very primitive, just out of fascination for them and to appreciate where a game like Warioland 4 Super Hard Level is about. Not many people even know about this last one. Kids would not know how to pursue it to this high level an not probably have the patience or wisdom to figure it out. Not to put down kids because they are creative and fantastic little buzzards....I could learn a lot. I am 75 and at was 73, when starting on this adventure, had to figure out every single move by trial and error. What a thrill to find the place in the wall that allowed Wario entry, for example, and how to avoid and overpower this and that. Beautifully created and devised. Some day it would be fun to tell the people who created these beauties what a contribution to the world of art and electronics they have given. I wish I could say that I was as good at the other games. But if you are coming up to my age, and a woman, and never had anything like this as a child....get started with Warioland 4 and eventually Mario Pinball. Just don't bother with the gladiator on the end of that game. The trip is great but the designers dropped the ball with the ending. I have won it twice. It is not worth the adrenalin it takes. Couldn't sleep after putting myself under that kind of stress to have the design of the game not respond properly. As ;you can see, I can not say enough good things about these wonderful things! Who says that we had it all, back then, does not understand, that those of us still alive, had it all, and now again have it all! Great. Just great. Sorry if this seems really wordy but I wish someone had written all of this for me when I had a lot of questions. nancy morse

This is probably the definitive iteration of the Gameboy but you should read this review. It will play all Gameboy games up from the pea-soup generation to the Advance games and it will even colour the BW games (combination of d-pad and A and B buttons during the GB logo). The clamshell design is very 00's as clamshell cellphones were all the rage. I like this as it protects the screen (a big plus in my book) and keeps the unit small. Folded up it's about as thick as my GB color. There are also plenty of vinyl skins for it and molds for you to make your own which is nice as the material these are made of isn't very scratch resistant unlike the older models. It's still ABS plastic but a different kind. The frontlit units provide decent illumination that can be turned off even if the backlit ones are better and the volume is a lot better compared to the Color version. I really like the slider as you know how loud it is before you power it on. The internal rechargeable battery actually holds up a long time even if I hate the idea as when proprietary batteries die you have a hard time getting a new one, not to mention the charger is something extra to carry with you. Not as contained as previous versions which were, partially, why they were so successful. Sadly this unit doesn't feel as solid as the older ones. The buttons are responsive but feel cheap which isn't helped by the fact they are recessed into the body. Understandable but it still feels that way which is something to bear in mind. The lack of a 3.5 audio jack is something I really don't like. There is an adapter so you can use your regular headphones but that's one more thing to lug around and lose. Having bought the unit as a donor to mod my GBC (the frontlight can be used on both) I opened it and I can say it doesn't look like it was built to last. Too many small pieces just hanging there. The more complicated they make the plumbing the easier it is to plug up the drain. The price of progress, of course. This won't last as long as previous generations but I decided to play with it, making use of it's own library of great games, until it dies off and then I'll remove the light and use it on the GBC. People looking into this are people looking for some nostalgia. If you already own a GB, GB Pocket or Color, but want newer games or some lighting solution get this and if you are looking for a cheap system, you could do worse as the games are actually more expensive than this (not too much, still acceptable). Based on the feel of it and the amount of crapped out units I've seen expect the screen and/or hinge to be the first things to give you trouble. They are still Nintendo products and they are tough but the older ones were (and still are) better suited to last. Same thing as a Gamecube in relation to a Wii, the Wii won't usually crap out but it does so more frequently than a Gamecube. Happy retro-gaming.

Conforme et bonne batterie, fonctionne bien a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

Exactly as described! I love it.

Funciona perfectamente y me llegó antes de lo previsto

Consegna arrivata nei tempi previsti. Oggetto a dir poco eccezionale, date le condizioni in cui è tenuto. L'unica cosa è che è presente qualche graffio sulla parte di davanti, ma non mi lamento per questo ! Prodotto eccezionale 👍