"Game Boy micro- It is 2007, and there has never been a better time to get one."

The Game Boy Advance, Nintendo's 32 bit handheld, started its journey into the world in 2001. It achieved great success, pushing out games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Rayman Advanced, and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Right after, its strong line-up continued with titles like Advanced Wars and Golden Sun. During its first year in the market, some could say that its library of games already topped that of the Game Boy Color. The momentum never truly stopped until around 2005, where the GBA started to begin its decline. WarioWare: Twisted!, Zelda: The Minish Cap, Final Fantasy IV, and many more came, yet soon after that, people started to notice that the GBA was faltering.

With the release of Nintendo's newest portable, the Nintendo DS, in late 2004, people were starting to declare that the GBA had reached its limit. Games still came out for the handheld though, some notable ones being the newer Final Fantasy remakes, Super Robot Taisen: Original Generations, and Yggdra Union. Nintendo still had something to give the GBA another kick back into action in September 2005, and that was the Game Boy micro.

This literally unknown portable came out-- some not even knowing of its existence. It was met with only a little success. Some people didn't know about it. Some people didn't want to buy ANOTHER GBA incarnation. Some just didn't care. Others decided to give it a chance, and they picked up Nintendo's miniature portable. The people who purchased it generally liked it. Nintendo soon even made the Game Boy SP with a brighter backlight, dubbed the SP2 by fans. Criticism occurred. The SP2 costed LESS than the GBm, holding an 80 dollar price point. Compared to the micro's 100 dollar price, this was another factor that drove sales away from this small handheld. Although most people who had obtained the micro loved it, the sales never grew high. Nintendo soon admitted that the sales were bad due to poor marketing and not reaching the target audience it was made for.

Jump to 2007.

I am writing this at the summer of 2007. The Nintendo DS has dominated the market. Sony's Playstation Portable is getting respectable sales-- the first opposing handheld to truly be able to battle Nintendo, if only for a short time. The Game Boy Advance has stopped selling games in Japan completely, and America is now stuck to licensed games. Europe still has Final Fantasy VI to wait for, and after that, the GBA will soon run out of steam. Although it may seem like the GBA is dying out, I'd say that there has never been a better time to buy one—in fact, it is the prime time to get a Game Boy micro. In the following paragraphs, I will give a large litany of reasons why this is true, and why you should seriously consider picking up Nintendo's smallest handheld ever.

System Architecture-9.5 out of 10

This is arguably one of the main selling points of the micro. It comes at around the size of any average cell phone, or maybe a few stacked credit cards. It is the size of the PSP's screen. It can fit in your pocket without even showing (as long as you aren't wearing tights). You can sneak it into your class without anyone seeing (not advised). It is truly portable. It is truly micro.

The ergonomics of the handheld are great. Even with big hands, it still is easy to hold, and much more comfortable as compared to the GBA SP, in my opinion at least. It loses the SP's cramped feeling, retreating back to the GBA's original design of having the screen in the middle with the buttons on the side. Overall, it is the most comfortable GBA incarnation yet. Also, it is clear that Nintendo made the micro with fashion in mind, because it looks amazing. The comely design looks like nothing other, and its metal body shines brightly for all to see.

The slot for cartridges is at the bottom-right of the system, due to the space needed for the headphone jack and the start trigger. The port to charge your GBm is at the top of the system, and it is important to notice that its port is different from the GBA/GBA SP. This means that you must buy a separate link cable to connect with your friends, and it also declines peripherals like the e-reader and the GBA-GCN connection. The link cables can be bought off Nintendo's website, so in case you have a multiplayer craving, I'd suggest going there. This is really the only problem with the system design. As a last note, I would like to point out that it CANNOT play Gameboy or Gameboy Color games. If this is a necessity, then I'd suggest getting the SP2. The GBA already has a massive library, so unless you absolutely NEED to play your classic games, then go for it. If you already have a regular SP/GBA, then I'd suggest just skipping the SP2 and going for the micro.

BE SURE TO PUT THE MICRO IN THE POUCH THAT COMES IN THE PACKAGE WHEN YOU AREN'T USING IT, OR WHEN YOU ARE CARRYING IT AROUND IN YOUR POCKET. Having a scratched screen is horrible, and the pouch does an amazing job of protecting it, no matter where you carry it.

SUMMARY: Feels great.

Buttons and Button Layout-9 out of 10

This is another great part of the micro. The d-pad feels great. It is squishy, once again going back to the original GBA. Please realize that I am not saying that the quality of the original GBA is that of the micro. This is much bigger and easier to press. You can achieve all directions quite easily (this is good if you are one of those who don't like the DS Lite's d-pad due to the trouble of getting diagonal directions). If you enjoy fighting games on your GBA like Street Fighter, Guilty Gear, etc., then the GBm should fit your needs quite nicely.

The a and b buttons (in lowercase) work great; no problems there. The L and R trigger buttons are different from the other versions of the GBA-- instead of pressing the outside, you must press the inside of the button. This may feel odd at first, but after a day or two, you will probably become accustomed to it. I only truly have one problem, and that is the position of the Start and Select button. They are under the screen, at the bottom of the system. When playing a game where you need to press Start or Select quickly, it becomes tough get your thumb to them fast enough. On the upside, they are the indicators for if you are charging or low on batteries. If you are low on batteries, then the words Start and Select shine red. If you are charging (or after you turn on your GBm), they shine blue. A very trendy move for Nintendo, and it is quite nice. As a last note, the power trigger is at the bottom of the system, in case you were wondering.

On the right side of your micro, there is a button that you can press either up or down. This controls the volume. When you hold the L trigger and press the button, then it will change the brightness settings. A very creative idea from Nintendo, and it is convenient as well.

SUMMARY: Amazing, especially when you become accustomed to Start and Select's positions.

Screen-10 out of 10

"It must be hard to read text! The screen is too small to see!".

Ever since the news of the Game Boy micro, people had thought's that the 2 inch wide screen would be egregious-- much too small for gaming no less. The truth of the matter is, this is completely false. Actually, the opposite is true.

Because the screen is smaller, the pixels are brought closer together. I have a request for you. Turn on your GBA and pause one of your games. Do you see how the pixels are separated, if only a little? The GBm's screen makes the separation smaller, therefore 'bringing everything together'. It really makes games look a WHOLE lot better. I'd actually go far enough to say that this is the main reason to buy the micro. The text is easy to read, if not easier. The 3D that some games try to incorporate look much better as well (think F-Zero or Golden Sun as examples).

The screen has 5 brightness levels. This is great in case you need to conserve batteries, or if you already have enough lighting. I personally use the highest always, just because it looks the best. The highest brightness is above the regular DS's. If you have a Lite and want to compare, then it is around the Lite's 3rd brightness setting.

I believe I should also mention the faceplates. You get three with your GBm (including the one on it), and only one with the Famicom edition. They are rather durable, and if you ever feel like customizing, then you can just take one off and swap it with another. As long as you always use the pouch that comes with your Game Boy micro, you shouldn't have any problems with scratched screens.

SUMMARY: The best screen I have ever used in terms of quality.

Sound-7 out of 10

The Game Boy micro doesn't have a loud sound, so if you truly love listening to the music, then I suggest getting headphones (it does have a headphone jack). I personally don't use headphones-- at the loudest setting, I can still hear it as long as it isn't too noisy. The sound quality is good, but as I said, it won't go too loud.

SUMMARY: Soft, but decent.

Games-10 out of 10

I really can't stress how breathtaking the library for the GBA is. I'd assume that you already know some about the games if you are reading this review, but for those who don't, here is a small list of some of the GBA's finest.

Advance Wars series
Castlevania series
Fire Emblem series
Mario Advance series
Golden Sun series

Those are a small amount of the GBA's best offerings (13 from just that list). I really wish I could list them all, but this is a GBm review, not a list of good GBA games. Ask around on any gaming forum, and I'm sure that some people will be able to compile humongous lists for you. Also, look around for yourself-- you are bound to find many things that you will enjoy. I firmly believe that the GBA has the best handheld library of all time.

SUMMARY: The micro has MANY amazing games.

Price-10 out of 10

Back when the GBm first came out, Nintendo asked 100 dollar for it. Now you can find it for around 50. If you ever wanted one in the past, yet didn't want to pay 100 dollars for it, then now is the time to buy. This is why I said it is prime time to buy a micro.

Let me talk about games also. New games are now usually 20 dollar or less. I'd personally suggest checking out your local store's used game section. Now, used GBA games can cost from 3 to 15 dollars, 20 at max. With such low prices, the Game Boy micro is a budget gamer's heaven. You have a huge library at your disposal, and you should take advantage of it. The Game Boy Advance series isn't dead. The micro can live in harmony with the DS, not be overshadowed by it. Whenever the DS is having a drought of games that you want, just pick up your micro. Even so, pick your micro whenever you want to play a great game, it doesn't have to be there for times when you are bored with your DS. I actually buy more GBA games then I do DS games.

Dispelling Rumors

I would like to emphasize why some rumors about the micro are wrong, just because they seem to drive away those who have never even touched it. Most rumors were made before the micro came out, and they still stick around today.

The screen is too small! The text is unreadable, and it will damage your eyes

FALSE- The text is actually EASIER to read, and it won't damage your eyes as much as any other handheld would.

It's so small that your hands will be cramped!

FALSE- Actually, it is quite comfortable-- one of the best designs yet.

The L and R triggers are horrible to use.

FALSE- You should be able to get used to them within an hour, most likely even less time. I find them to be better than the regular configuration of pressing them on the outside. I actually have my fingers over the top of my micro, and press with the inside of my index finger.

My DS can already play GBA games, this is a waste.

FALSE- Yes, your DS CAN play GBA games. Even so, the Game Boy micro tops them leaps in bounds in terms of playing GBA games. It has better buttons than the DS (especially the DS Lite in terms of diagonal movement). The games won't stick out like they do in the DS Lite. Also, it is easier to play WarioWare: Twisted! on. If you ask someone with both a micro and DS about which they prefer for GBA games, I can assure you that at least 80% will say the micro.

Overall-10 out of 10

The Game Boy micro is the best GBA player out there today, and at the price it is at, as well as the prices for games, you have no excuse to pass it up. It does exactly what it is meant to do, and it passes with flying colors. The Game Boy Advance is far from dead; there has actually never been a better time to pick one up! With the library that is available, there should be no problem about finding a great game to pass the time with. Even despite the very minor flaws, I have no choice but to say that the micro passes my review with flying colors.

The Game Boy micro deserves nothing less than a 10 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/07