Nintendo’s grip on the home consoles may not be as tight as it once was but its domination over the handheld market is still strong. The original GameBoy was launched in 1988 and has gone through a slow but worthy evolution to colour, pocket size and even having little cameras attached to it. There have been many competitors that have tried to dislodge it. The Game Gear by Sega introduced a colour screen but it was marred by poor battery life and distinct lack of quality games. The SNK Neo Geo just didn’t have the software library and, most recently, the Japan only WonderSwan Colour has admitted defeat.
The Gameboy Advance was a fine piece of kit but it was savaged by its biggest criticism; you needed almost perfect light to play the damn thing. The screen, while in nice 32-bit colour, was virtually black in all but the brightest conditions. This meant that you had to either attach a light to or, if you were more adventurous, get an afterburner fitted behind the screen so you could play in constant brightness. The GBA SP (SP standing for ‘Special Project’) allows gamers to finally play games in their entire glorious colour anywhere thanks to its in-built front-light and it also manages to bring a few other changes to the overall design.
Just on looks alone the GBA SP is, simply put, gorgeous. It has a slim, sleek and stylish design, which is obviously what Nintendo had in mind to appeal to the more mature person as well as the younger kids who want to play the games. It has a nice finish of either platinum (silver), black or blue and it will seem most people will opt for the ever sexy silver, which is what I plumped for, but seeing the other colours up close too all of them retain a stylish look about them. Its dimensions are also worthy of note. Measuring at just 3.33’’ x 3.23 x .96’’ it will be able to fit into a case or pocket very comfortably indeed. It
weighs a meagre 5 ounces so it wont break your back. The LCD screen is virtually identical to the one of the GBA SP but it has the notable addition of a front light. The diameters are pretty much the same 2.41’’ x 1.61’’ but it looks a lot better recessed into the console by about 1mm. This is mainly due to it not being allowed to scrape against the buttons on the console. At the backside of the console there are a two ports that can be used for charging up and also fitting various additions to the GBA SP as well as link cables and the GameCube link up.
Playing the actual games is certainly aided by the front light. Indeed it may seem a little unnatural at first for people using cheap third party lights to see their way. The light illuminates every single corner of the screen to make even the darkest games (Castlevania I’m talking to you) be playable. There is, of course, the option not to have the light on via a handy button just below the screen. The system still has the same 32-bit colour technology. Button layout has obviously changed a bit due to the new dimensions but they have remained roughly the same size. The A and B buttons are on the right hand side and are far enough apart not to press either one accidentally but close enough to reach if needed to in fast situations. The D pad, is to me, is improved upon. It now seems a lot more solid and a lot more accurate when playing games. It also does a nice ‘clicky’ thing when you move it around as well which at least gives you an indication it registers your pressing if nothing else. The L and R buttons are on the respective corners of the console and, while small, have not posed a problem with any game I have played on yet. The Select and Start buttons are down at the bottom and are never pressed accidentally while in play. In between the area between them and the rest of the buttons is the integrated speaker, which can produce some good sounds in such a small space. Speaking of sound the volume, on the left hand side, is now controlled by a slider in the same vain as the On/Off switch on the right hand side which both fit in well with the design though sometimes adjusting the volume can sometimes cause you to go too low or too high. The flip top screen can go back about 185 degrees but will settle at a very playable 175. You can, in theory, play at whatever position you choose but the 175 option is the standard as it automatically clicks into place. Cartridges slot into the underside of the console and remain unobtrusive throughout play.
Settled into the top right of the playing area are two lights one to indicate power the other to indicate when the charger is being used (you can play and charge at the same time) the power light will be green throughout most of the time but will turn red when the battery is low. The battery itself is rechargeable so there are now no problems with batteries. Playing time is generous. Nintendo have had a reason to shy away from including a light on a portable system because they can eat batteries but technology has come along. The built in battery can now last about 10 hours playtime with the light on and 18 hours with no light. Incidentally a new rechargeable battery has been released in Japan boasting a 16-hour playing time with the light on. Ten hours is still a very good time to play on but it can cause a problem because being rechargeable means you need to be around an electrical socket when the battery runs low, if you’re on a train it wont help.
There are a few little problems for the dinky little handheld. There is an obvious lack of a socket for headphones which does seem a glaring omission. I doubt people on the train or bus would be best pleased to hear the little bips and bleeps coming from your machine every few seconds. If you do want to listen to your games in private then Nintendo provide a headphone adaptor that can slot into the ports at the back but at a price of around £3.00. Not expensive but it’s something you shouldn’t really need to shell out for. There have also been reports that the smooth metallic finish on the GBA SP is just cheap paint that can scratch and chip. I’ve had mine for a few weeks and there have been no scratches just yet but just try and take care of it and there will be plenty of carrying pouches to choose from to protect it. There is also a small percentage of people that have found dust specks inside the screen, they are very hard to notice but when you do notice them that’s all you’ll look at, however you should easily be able to take the console back and ask for it to be exchanged if this happens. As said these are just little problems in an otherwise impressive package.
As ever the choice of games does come into play. There are, shall we say, a few ‘bad’ titles out there, which are normally lazy games of some film licences, or TV shows which do little for the GBA. However there are plenty of gems too. These are mostly old SNES ports but with a few added extras. Yes, it would be nice for Nintendo to come up with an original Mario title for the GBA (it will happen one day as they are running out of titles) but for those too young or old enough and haven’t got their SNES anymore to be able to play Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island, Metroid and Donkey Kong again or anew brings a whole lot of joy. There are, of course, notable new releases, Wario World 4 is not a bad slice of gaming and let us not forget Pokemon. If you look around you will find some great GBA games out there but you need to look carefully and be able to distinguish between the dross that can surround the shelves. As with the GBA before it the SP can play almost any GameBoy Colour and normal Gameboy games albeit with a slightly reduced screen size.
At £90 the GBA SP isn’t that cheap and for those with a GBA you may need to think about the upgrade. For me, though, I didn’t really think twice. My playing time on it has now increased ten fold now I can see the action and I wouldn’t want to be without it if I wanted to while away a few bored minutes or hours. It isn’t perfect but for what it offers then no other thing comes close. Forget the Nokia phone that will offer gaming that is coming out soon as it’s proving an altogether cumbersome affair. Nintendo still has the hand held market wrapped up and has taken it to a new level with the SP. Who knows, in a few years from now we may see a GameBoy 64.
GAMEBOY ADVANCE SP IS
Bright Playable Stylish
GAMEBOY ADVANCE SP IS NOT
Going to be surpassed soon That battery hungry A cheap cash in
Written for NINTENDO SEASON 2003
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(+) Plenty of storage space, for media. Good Games, Great for partys, with singstar. Very Reliable. (-) Sometimes the optical drive, breaks; but not very likely, my 60gb still working after 2 1/2 years.
nice review but you might want to update it as there is a head phone adapter out now.
hegarty1987 24.07.2003 20:40
I've got a game boy advance and I don't think I play it enough to upgrade to the Sp and there doesn't seem to be any great games comming out on the advance
mattwood 11.07.2003 18:12
Good op, I've got one of the original GBAs but find it very hard to play because I can't see ever see the screen, short of going outside to play or putting a bloody table lamp between my legs, neither of which are very useful for gaming! I can't afford an SP though :( Matt
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