Topic: Game Boy Player Questions

[Omni]

Will The game boy player work for games that have GC.GBA connections? I am not sure how it would be done, but it would be noce, that way i dont hae to buy a GBA and the hookup cable to complete Zelda completely.

[Bloodworth]

I believe we've explained this before, but I'll give it another whirl.

Yes, you can use the Game Boy Player with the GC - GBA Cable.  However, since it does not have a screen, you would need to have a separate GC and separate TV to make it work.

[Clonester]

Is the sound quality better on the GB player as opposed to the handheld itself? Will an Snes ported GBA game such as Yoshi's Island sound the same as it does on the Snes, or does it sound worse? On some games, sound is not a huge issue, but there are several SNES classics on the GBA which I really enjoy the music, and I think the playing experience would be *slightly* diminished if the sound was not up to par with the SNES. I say this because I don't have a GBA, and I am looking forward to the GB Player as the second coming to the Snes (seeing as how there are so many Snes ports, hopefully they will port Chrono Trigger), but I would be overjoyed if the sound quality of the GB player was superior to that of the GBA. Does anyone know???  

[Bloodworth]

Well, that depends on what you mean.  The sound capabilities of the GB Player are exactly the same as the GBA which arguably aren't as good as the SNES.  However, pretty much anything is better than the GBA speaker (including the GBA SP speaker) so in that sense, yes sound quality would be better on a TV.

[jasstoltz]

What about the picture? This may be a simple question, but do the games look any better? Is the GBA screen limiting, in the sense that the games look better when presented on a better screen? Or do they look worse, becuase the image flaws are magnified?

[Ian Sane]

I imagine the GB Player's sound would match that of when you hookup a GBA to headphones or computer speakers.  That can sound pretty good depending on the game.  If the GB Player is in mono though I'm going to be pretty pissed off.  There's no excuse for something like that.

"I say this because I don't have a GBA, and I am looking forward to the GB Player as the second coming to the Snes"

If you don't own a GBA and plan on using the GB Player for SNES ports why not just buy a used SNES?  It's way cheaper and will generally look and sound better.  Plus you won't need multiple systems for multiplayer.  I have a SNES and I'm only going to use the GB Player for original GBC and GBA games.

While we're asking questions does anyone yet have a clear answer on whether or not Japanese GB Players will work on North American Cubes?  I don't mean "I think it will" or "it should" I want to hear "it does" or "it doesn't".  I think by the time I get a clear answer it will be so close to the North American release I won't need to import.

[Bloodworth]

jasstoltz
Well, the picture looks better in the sense that you have bright colors that you can see easily - the light on the SP kind of washes out the color a little.  However, you're still dealing with the GBA's low resolution blown up on a TV screen so it does look very pixellated, however after spending a little time with it, it likely won't bother you.

Ian Sane
We can't give you a definite until we have a JPN GB Player later this month.  

[Clonester]

Thanks Bloodworth. Even if it is not perfect, I will be happy with good.

Ian Sane:
Unfortunately, console's do not last forever. Controllers wear out, consoles die, game batteries die, etc. I am experiencing this with my good old Nes right now. The console itself is shot (16 years+ from it, even though there are still working nes's out there). Only one of my three controllers works decently. I am pretty sure that my Final Fantasy's save battery still works, but I haven't played it in a couple of years. One friend who has Final Fantasy says his battery is shot. Another has gone through many controllers and his are no good anymore.

Although the Snes is several years newer, it eventually will suffer the same fate. I have borrowed a friend's Snes off and on for the past 10 years (haven't in a few years, though) and have experienced many timeless classics on it. However, the GB Player and GBA games made in 2003 will most likely last longer than an Snes made in the early 1990's (you would think, anyways). That is the biggest reason why I am looking forward to it. When a working Snes becomes rare, we will still have the GB Player and Snes ports. Plus, it will all be one one console, so I won't have to make room for two (I have limited console resting space around the TV in my room). However, I actually might go buy one off a friend, now that you mention it. Thanks for the idea.

And I have been planning to get a GBA for the past couple months, but when the GBA SP was announced I figured I would wait and decide which one I like better before I make my purchase.