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Super Retro Boy & other game boy clones


godslabrat

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Yes but there are 4 red buttons. The original gameboy had 2 purple buttons. So there are 2 more than needed.

This plays GBA games. The GBA had four buttons. The four buttons are to play GBA Games. GBA games, which this thing plays, will use all four buttons. Because it has four buttons, it will be able to play GBA games. If it did not have those four buttons, it would not be able to play GBA games. As a result, it has four buttons, which allows it to play GBa games.

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This plays GBA games. The GBA had four buttons. The four buttons are to play GBA Games. GBA games, which this thing plays, will use all four buttons. Because it has four buttons, it will be able to play GBA games. If it did not have those four buttons, it would not be able to play GBA games. As a result, it has four buttons, which allows it to play GBa games.

This doesn't change the fact that that certain button combos, specifically A+L and B+R, will be extremely difficult to pull off with out mashing the entire diamond.

 

Nintendo designed the GBA with shoulder buttons for flexibility, but it remains to be seen if this device allows for rear facing shoulder buttons. I somehow doubt it, but my long index fingers could reach the top easily, and I hold my DMG this way when I play it.

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some action shots, and footage of the back.

I hope they have some options for aspect ratio. With today's resolutions, it's not totally out of the question, I suppose.

 

at the end when they jammed a game in with it powered on, I think I felt some of my gears grinding. Oh, cnet, you're so wacky.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2cP8ldlWr4

Edited by Reaperman
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Yes, looks a bit tall and square. GBA was a little bit widescreen and pillarboxes the legacy GB/GBC games. This looks like the legacy square format. Still cautiously optimistic, and I think I could still have a bunch of fun with one of these.

Me too, but that photo just made me far more cautious than optimistic.

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Thanks for posting that video. I took some cropped screen grabs which answer a few questions.

 

The back of the unit is as I hoped -- the cartridge rides down low so there's no unsightly stickup. This is something I care about more than screen aspect ratio, personally. Burn me as a heretic if you must, but that's how I feel. That's the difference between getting an Everdrive and waiting things out.

post-2410-0-03076000-1483850538_thumb.pngpost-2410-0-24460300-1483850552_thumb.png

 

But as a result, it has a big hump in the back and doesn't seem to lay down flat. That's weird. But hey, 10 hour battery. I don't like how the screen brightness bleeds through the sides. Maybe that's better in the black version?

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Another view of the cartridge slot in the back. This makes me happy. Green battery light is too bright. That shouldn't be.

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The size in hand looks nice.

post-2410-0-91191400-1483850759_thumb.png

 

But please don't tell me this is the final build quality. Seamy. They still have many months to get this right, though. Looks like microUSB for charging, which is nice.

post-2410-0-82193700-1483850795_thumb.png

 

The screen looks sharp and bright (though a little square). It would be nice to see something with circles so we could better tell for sure. You can see the screen light bleeding through on the sides here, too.

post-2410-0-77056300-1483850849_thumb.png

 

I could totally buy and enjoy this, though. Especially for $80 with a multicart full of legit games.

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More thoughts, since everyone cares what some nerd thinks about a rerelease of an old toy.

 

This front view gives you a better idea of the screen in use. There had better be some onboard options, because they've cropped off the right side of the screen.

post-2410-0-05591100-1483851549_thumb.png

 

Zoomed in, you can see that numbers on the right side are missing. That's not cool.

post-2410-0-50726400-1483851602_thumb.png

 

Here's what it's supposed to look like. I would accept some letter boxing on GBA games so we can see the whole screen, thanks Retro-Bit!

post-2410-0-83250100-1483851646_thumb.jpg

 

The headphone jack is on top, which is OK I guess. There are different schools of thought on this. The bottom seems more natural, so the cord won't flop around in your way. But then you can't play in bed with the device lazily propped on your stomach. The power indicator is bright enough to be seen from space. I don't like that so much. Nor do I like the screen light bleeding through the sides of the handheld, it makes the build quality look cheap. Maybe it's better in black.

post-2410-0-02237200-1483851704_thumb.png

 

From the outside, I would guess that this toy will look and wear better in black. Good shot of the power toggle switch.

post-2410-0-22516800-1483851742_thumb.png

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attachicon.gifIMG_4750.JPG

 

Clearest picture yet. I really don't like that screen now. BUT the buttons have a very unfinished look them, indicating this is indeed not the final build. There's also a button of unknown use on the right side.

 

You can see the labels in your picture. ON/OFF is on the left side, volume slider is on the right side, with a brightness toggle below it. You probably press it multiple times to step through different brightness settings. Or maybe it's like the GBA SP 101 that booted at low brightness but you could hit the bulb button to crank it to the maximum brightness.

 

It's bright, I'll say that for it.

 

I see conspicuous screw holes, which means this should be easy to take apart and mess with. The buttons don't look rough to me. I wonder how far along they are? Remember how different the demo units of the Nintendo DS were from the final hardware?

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Well Flojo, you finally got your wish. GBA flashcarts don't stick out 7mm, and Game Boy Classic no longer have the "classic" inch of overhang. I do very much want one, provided they fix the screen cropping and the unit is a proper clone that works with flashcarts, not just an emu/dumper. Here's hoping Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble and Yoshi Topsy Turvy work as well.

 

One potential issue with that cart port however, is devices like the eReader or cheat carts designed to fit flush with the system absolutely will not fit the GBA cart slot. Also where is the link port? Oh well, can't win em all... :P

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This doesn't change the fact that that certain button combos, specifically A+L and B+R, will be extremely difficult to pull off with out mashing the entire diamond.

 

Nintendo designed the GBA with shoulder buttons for flexibility, but it remains to be seen if this device allows for rear facing shoulder buttons. I somehow doubt it, but my long index fingers could reach the top easily, and I hold my DMG this way when I play it.

 

Exactly

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With the new pictures and videos out I think for me personally the decision of whether or not to buy one of these is just going to come down to whether or not the final retail version will support native aspect ratios for both Game Boy / Color and Game Boy Advance games. As it stands the screen they've chosen for the prototype is too wide for GB / GBC games but not wide enough for GBA games. It seems like they chose an aspect ratio for the screen that's about halfway between the 10:9 ratio of the Game Boy / Color and the 3:2 ratio of the Game Boy Advance, so GB / GBC games would have to be letterboxed on the sides and GBA games would have to be letterboxed on the top and bottom to display properly.

 

Here's hoping the final retail version encorperates some scaling software to play games in their native aspect ratios and properly fit them to the screen. That'll be the make or break issue for me. I can live with the funky L & R button placement if they can get the aspect ratios for the games right.

Edited by Jin
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My GB BOY COLOUR arrived this morning. It's a bit crappy, as expected, but worth the asking price if you like this kind of thing.

 

66 onboard games include some weird things I always liked, such as Yars' Revenge (ported by Telegames, in full color), and Crystal Quest (ported by Data East).

 

DK94 is indeed broken, but life will go on. Mario Land, Contra, and Tetris seem to be fine. This thing will probably live at my office for the occasional offline geek break.

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Well Flojo, you finally got your wish. GBA flashcarts don't stick out 7mm, and Game Boy Classic no longer have the "classic" inch of overhang.

 

Yes, but now the 'underhang' is real. :D

 

I kid, I kid. They did the best thing (within reason) that they could possibly have done. If the final screen pulls a miracle, and early reviews are good, I'm on board with this. In that scenario, who knows, the krikzz gba cart might still be in my future for use with this thing. I'm looking at it more for gbc use, though, since there are already more options for gba, and the form factor seems more natural for gb/gbc. I haven't heard of anything like a release date, but the major clone companies seem good about getting review hardware out to the usual review sources beforehand.

 

What do you all suppose the odds are of ever getting some sgb compatibility in any kind of handheld? I mean more the colorization than the borders and other craziness. I'm sure the rdp does fine with the appropriate accessory, but you know what I mean.

Edited by Reaperman
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