"Gameboy: Return of the Kings"

Back in 1991, Nintendo released to America a force to be reckoned with. Nintendo had created the first non-Tiger handheld gaming system known as the Gameboy. This fat little handheld became so popular, that it managed to crush all of the handheld competition that headed its way, and remained the ultimate handheld for a good seven years without even receiving an update (unless you count the Gameboy Pocket, but it was relatively the same system). After the failure that the Virtual Boy brought Nintendo, the company decided to go in a new direction: Color. So in 1998, Nintendo brought forth the revolutionary advancement in the Gameboy's life: The Gameboy Color. Sure it was fine and dandy now, we had color. It was like back in the 60's when they first invented the color TV. All sorts of games got remade into color much like so many shows from the early 60's, yet was it for the better? Apparently not, seeing how the Gameboy Color lacked the power to produce a stand out game. So exactly two years later, in the year 2000, Nintendo announced that a revolutionary handheld gaming system would be unleashed onto the world. And at the end of the year 2000, we were introduced to the Gameboy Advance. But the action did not stop there! Exactly two years into its life, Nintendo had the brilliant idea to create yet ANOTHER improvement upon this handheld, and brought us the improvement: The Gameboy Advance SP.

So what is the difference between the two systems? Both do exactly the same task of playing our classic games on the road, not to mention the excellent new games that just keep coming.

The System
Gameboy Advance
With the creation of this thing, you will wonder why you even put up with the classic Gameboy for all of those years. The Gameboy Advance brings us a new way to play our Super Nintendo games...er...Gameboy games on the go, seeing how the graphics are on par with a cross between the SNES and the Sega 32X expansion for the Genesis. The Gameboy may seem like it isn't anything special at first glance, but that's only because you haven't turned it on yet! On the surface of the Gameboy Advance, you'll notice that it is not in the shape of your normal Gameboy. The Gameboy Advance features a similar layout to the Sega Gamegear, only about 2/3 less the size. Right smack dab in the middle of the system is the screen. It might not seem like much, but if you compare this screen to any of the previous Gameboy's, then you'll notice that it is MUCH LARGER than the three classic systems! To the left of the screen is the direction pad, as well as the Start and Select buttons. To the right of the screen is the A and B buttons, as well as the speaker that has always been in the lower right hand corner. For the first time in Gameboy history, there is NOTHING on the left or right side of the console! Instead, everything has been moved to the BOTTOM of the system! On the bottom, you can find from left to right, the Power switch, the headphone jack, and the volume wheel. On the top of the system you will find the L button, the cartridge slot, the link cable adapter (for 2 player gaming...and more!) and the R button, a first for a Nintendo Handheld (the L and R buttons that is). On the back of the system is a slot covered up by a battery cover (we would hope) that will hold up to TWO AA batteries, much like the Gameboy Color before it. And with a battery life of about 20 hours, you can be sure to get in a good day of gaming in a long road trip or something.

Gameboy Advance SP
With the invention of this two years later, you will wonder why the heck Nintendo decided to tease us with the classic Gameboy Advance. For the first time EVER, the Gameboy Advance introduces us to RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES THAT ARE BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM! On the Gameboy Advance SP, you will NEVER have to change your batteries for about 500 separate charges (replacements can be bought online if you somehow end up with a dead battery). You may also notice that the SP is the SMALLEST Gameboy ever made as well! The Gameboy SP introduces a concept that should be applied to every portable gaming system ever produced after the Gameboy Advance is dead, and that is the FLIP SCREEN! By simply flipping over your screen, you can protect it from all sorts of bad things, like fingernails, or scratches or something. And once you flip open your SP, you will notice that it looks more like a classic Gameboy than the original SP! On your main pad, you will notice that the buttons have changed drastically to resemble those of a remote. The shrinking of the buttons was necessary to close the screen without causing the screen any damage. The buttons are also made out of some sort of heavy duty plastic, even the Start and Select buttons which were NEVER made of plastic before, but some sort of rubber thing since the days of the NES. The buttons change actually reminds me of the Virtual Boy controller. The Gameboy SP has exactly the same layout as the classic Gameboy systems, with the Control Pad on the left, the Start and Select near the bottom, and the A and B buttons to the right. However, something is different on the SP. Near the top center of the system is another button. This is a light switch! Using this button will allow you to turn your BUILT IN LIGHT on and off! The built in light is an AWESOME addition to this already awesome handheld, since now you can play it at night WITHOUT needing a flashlight! WHOO!! The other difference on the SP is that the speaker is now in the middle of the console, in-between all of the sets of buttons. This doesn't faze me much at all, but it should be great for those people who were complaining about covering the speaker up with their hand. To the left of the Gameboy SP is the volume switch. No longer do you have a wheel to control the volume, but a moveable switch like those on a switchboard. The SP provides about the same volume as the classic Gameboy Advance, but it is slightly harder to get the volume to right where you want it. Oh well. On the top of the system is your link cable extension port, and your battery recharge port. You can even use both at the same time for rechargeable 2 player action! On the right of the system is the power switch, which is similar to the position of the Gameboy Color. And for the first time ever, on the BOTTOM of the system is the cartridge slot. Sure this may not pose a problem, but if you're playing with that E-Reader thing or a classic Gameboy game, then your hands will be on top of the cartridge, which seems very claustrophobic. Its something to deal with, but you'll adjusts.

Now as for why you should get one of these systems over the other instead of just getting both will be listed in this list of pros and cons!

Gameboy Advance
PROS
-Takes only 2 AA batteries
-Good button layout
-Classic Gameboy Cartridges won't get in your way

CONS
-Batteries get expensive in the long run
-Screen isn't backlit, so you'll need a good corner to sit in to play

Gameboy Advance SP
PROS
-RECHARGEABLE!!
-BACKLIT SCREEN!
-Can become even more portable than the classic Advance

CONS
-A classic cartridge may get in your way
-If your battery dies on a road trip, you are going to be bored out of your mind
-The volume switch is hard to adjust to your liking unless its max power or muted
-No headphone jack, so if you can't hear your game, you're screwed

As you see, there is very little difference between the two systems, and both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you happen to get both, you can play the Classic Advance during the daytime, and the SP at night for maximum gaming on a large across country road trip!

The Graphics
THIS is why the Gameboy Advance is the only Gameboy you will ever need! With graphics that are on par with the SNES, and a processor that can take the games to the next level, we finally have a console that is noteworthy of respect! Since the Super Nintendo shall always remain the best console ever made, the Gameboy Advance comes close to mimicking its every move by being able to produce more sprites and animation on the screen than the old bad boy could ever handle. Too bad the screen is still too small for this to be taken into full advantage! And with the graphics being a large step up from the original Gameboy, the Advance can bring to you amazing gameplay just by enhancing the power the system has!

The Sound
Unfortunately, the sound problem that was in the Gameboy Color is also in both versions of the Gameboy Advance. The tiny speaker just isn't like what it used to be on the Classic Gameboy, seeing how you still can't hear your game over people shouting at you or a vacuum cleaner. But whatever does come out is on par with the Sega Genesis. Why not the Super Nintendo? Because if you play a remake of ANY of the SNES games, you will find that they had to change a few notes in CLASSIC game songs just to meet with the standards of the Gameboy Advance (check out some of the tunes in Super Mario Advance 2 if you don't believe me). But any original works on the Gameboy Advance all sound nice, unless they just don't aim to please.

Hardware add-ons
Ever since the Gameboy Advance was created, Nintendo had kept in mind the possibilities that could take it to the next level. With new inventions like the E-Reader, you can play a game by simply scanning a few cards through the slot! With the wireless adapter that was recently created, you can now play games with people who may be in the general area that you don't even know! And with the new link cable, you can now challenge up to FOUR people to a game of Mario Kart or something! Even better, some games may even have multiplayer features that don't REQUIRE everyone in your group to have the game! Awesome idea, seeing how spending all the cash for multiple systems and multiple games has probably been a pain on everyone's wallet.

The whole friggin' Game Library
"HOLY CRAP!" is what you may be thinking when I say that this bad boy sports over 700 something games. Of course that number is that high seeing how this system has been around for an entire decade. But since this is for the sake of the Gameboy Advance and not the other two systems before it, I'm only going to mention the titles that are worth mentioning on the Gameboy Advance.

Action
This is what I'm talking about! With hot games like Megaman Zero, Castlevania, and a butt load of NES, SNES, Genesis, and Classic Gameboy ports (Nintendo's answer to them ROM issues they got going on), the Gameboy Advance sure does have a lot to please everyone.

RPG
With the RPG industry at an all time high, Nintendo would be stupid not to have any on their Gameboy Advance! And with hot titles like Pokemon, Sword of Mana, Golden Sun (despite the fact I didn't enjoy that game), and again, ports from just about every other system like Lunar Legend, the Gameboy Advance has tapped into the potential of what people actually want.

Puzzle
With the classic NES series that came out, we now can play Dr. Mario yet again, as well as Tetris the way we always could. Plus with Yahoo! and all of those other internet places that advertise free online games, you can now buy them instead of playing them on the internet and take them with you. Is it just me or have puzzle games just gotten lazy? Oh well, at least we have Tetris.

Racing
Normally, I don't get into racing games on the Gameboy, but with titles like Mario Kart: Super Circuit, I can easily get in on this action. The other hot racing title that I know of is the F-Zero series.

First Person Shooter
Just like the problem that the SNES brought when trying to emulate a first person shooter from the PC, the Gameboy Advance fails as well, but worse. Games like Doom have been ported over to this handheld, but were actually worse since they had to remove tons of enemies and levels just to lower that dumb ESRP rating. So any FPS that you see on the Gameboy Advance is probably too butchered to even bother with.

Fighting
With hot titles like Street Fighter 2 being ported over, your answers to play a near perfect arcade game in the car may be over. Just keep in mind that you are still missing two buttons, so you may not be able to fight like you used to remember.

Worth getting?
Being the best portable system ever made, and seeing how it is STILL cheaper than the Nintendo DS or that PSP system that's supposed to be coming out in a few months, the Gameboy Advance is still the king of the portables. And with two different styles to choose from, you can safely choose the system that suits your style of play better, be it that you enjoy sitting under a light and have changeable batteries at your side, or having the enjoyment of playing your SP anywhere at night. Whichever style suits you best, you can now rest assured that there is a Gameboy made for you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/10/04