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Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

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Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#31

Post by danbolt »

Igelau wrote: post #23
abhinav22 wrote: post #2

Game Boy Advance, especially the SP, was the greatest handheld console to me. Had rechargeable batteries that you could charge by plugging in (back in those days, as a kid, it was a game changer), played all your existing library of game boy games, amazing folding mechanism and portable, small size and of course a great library as well. Perfection. And as I say that, the Switch has proven to be an amazing challenger…

The greatest handheld console was the Genesis Nomad. Cons: - It was the size of a brick. - It was designed with oddly skewed angles. - It didn't have room for batteries inside, so they had to be shoved in a little pack that clipped on to it. Pros: - It was a handheld Sega Genesis. - You could connect it to your TV. - You could connect a second controller. - You could run it off A/C power. - Ergo it's also a console!…

I never had a Nomad, but did you ever find the console inconvenient to use? One thing I find Nintendo always does so well with their consoles is the ease-of-use and complimentary library. I feel like a clunky handheld that plays Gunstar Heroes for 2-3 hours might be harder to appreciate than Pokemon for ten.

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#32

Post by fuball63 »

abhinav22 wrote: post #2

Game Boy Advance, especially the SP, was the greatest handheld console to me. Had rechargeable batteries that you could charge by plugging in (back in those days, as a kid, it was a game changer), played all your existing library of game boy games, amazing folding mechanism and portable, small size and of course a great library as well. Perfection. And as I say that, the Switch has proven to be an amazing challenger…

I think that the GBA is great because of the kinds of games you can make for it. It is a perfect blend of having hardware limitations to inspire creativity but being powerful enough to have games with enough depth to be compelling. Golden Sun comes to mind.

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#33

Post by benoror »

implicit wrote: post #14

I did a little bit of GBA homebrew development back in its heyday. It is a really fun little bit of hardware to hack on. It's powerful enough that you can write your whole game in C++, but not so powerful that you should rely on the system allocator for anything. It's in a lovely sweet spot for a particular dialect of zero-overhead C++ that's really fun to write. As a simple example, I had a little class library of d…

Did a bit when I was abt 12yo, embarrasing/naive code: https://github.com/benoror/gbadev/blob/master/%40rkanoid/jue...

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#35

Post by smabie »

kiwijamo wrote: post #18
anonunivgrad wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Switch is great but you have to get a third-party dock and AC adapter for optimal portability[1]. I'm kind of perplexed by the bad design of the official dock. [1] There were some issues with unofficial docks/adapters bricking consoles, but they seem to be sorted out in the current gen third-party accessories.

I use the official dock and just leave it at home attached to my TV. Are there any advantages to using third-party docks over the official ones? The official one seems to work well--it charges my Switch when unused (I actually mostly use the dock as 'storage' when I am not using it) and provides me with the option to play on my TV (not that I do that often). I also have a nice bag which I occasionally use to take my…

3rd party docks are so much smaller and so much better. Makes it so much easier to bring along the dock on a trip so you can connect it to the TV in a hotel room, for example.

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#36

Post by dleslie »

abhinav22 wrote: post #2

Game Boy Advance, especially the SP, was the greatest handheld console to me. Had rechargeable batteries that you could charge by plugging in (back in those days, as a kid, it was a game changer), played all your existing library of game boy games, amazing folding mechanism and portable, small size and of course a great library as well. Perfection. And as I say that, the Switch has proven to be an amazing challenger…

Did you ever try the Micro?

I have hands large enough to find the original xbox controller to be comfortable and preferable to the S, but even still the Micro with its superior display and larger shoulder buttons is preferable to the SP. I feel a bit like I'm balancing it on my fingertips, but nevertheless, it's the pinnacle of mobile gaming.

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#37

Post by enshake »

sharatvir wrote: post #13
abhinav22 wrote: post #2

Game Boy Advance, especially the SP, was the greatest handheld console to me. Had rechargeable batteries that you could charge by plugging in (back in those days, as a kid, it was a game changer), played all your existing library of game boy games, amazing folding mechanism and portable, small size and of course a great library as well. Perfection. And as I say that, the Switch has proven to be an amazing challenger…

The DS Lite edges it for me. You could get a microsd ds cartridge adapter as well as an expandable flash cartridge for the GBA slot and store all of your home brew games on the microsd. Back then, it felt so futuristic to have an entire library of games in one cartridge on the go.

An R4DS!

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#38

Post by meddlepal »

fuball63 wrote: post #32
abhinav22 wrote: post #2

Game Boy Advance, especially the SP, was the greatest handheld console to me. Had rechargeable batteries that you could charge by plugging in (back in those days, as a kid, it was a game changer), played all your existing library of game boy games, amazing folding mechanism and portable, small size and of course a great library as well. Perfection. And as I say that, the Switch has proven to be an amazing challenger…

I think that the GBA is great because of the kinds of games you can make for it. It is a perfect blend of having hardware limitations to inspire creativity but being powerful enough to have games with enough depth to be compelling. Golden Sun comes to mind.

And... a reminder that I should go reply Golden Sun as I found my GBA SP while visiting the parents for Christmas.

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#39

Post by dleslie »

sharatvir wrote: post #13
abhinav22 wrote: post #2

Game Boy Advance, especially the SP, was the greatest handheld console to me. Had rechargeable batteries that you could charge by plugging in (back in those days, as a kid, it was a game changer), played all your existing library of game boy games, amazing folding mechanism and portable, small size and of course a great library as well. Perfection. And as I say that, the Switch has proven to be an amazing challenger…

The DS Lite edges it for me. You could get a microsd ds cartridge adapter as well as an expandable flash cartridge for the GBA slot and store all of your home brew games on the microsd. Back then, it felt so futuristic to have an entire library of games in one cartridge on the go.

You can get microsd gba carts nowadays.

Re: Architecture of the Game Boy Advance

#40

Post by dleslie »

justsomeshmuck wrote: post #25
bombcar wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The backward compatibility continued into the original DS - which was a phenomenal lineup increase - I also fondly remember the Game Boy Player for the GameCube - a precursor to the switch in some ways.

The Super Gameboy for SNES predates that by nearly a decade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Game_Boy

It's such a bummer that it doesn't support GBC carts.
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