review: game boy advance SP

Gaming has never been a hobby with me; it's been a way of life. In the past, I've always spurned the likes of most consoles. Maybe it was because the hardware depreciates a lot faster than PCs, the limited graphics capabilities, the controllers, or even the games to some point. To this end, I have no idea what possessed me to even think of purchasing the GBA SP. After playing the hell out of it this past weekend though I honestly believe that portable game systems should be a part of every gamer's lifestyle.

Let's start at the beginning. Firstly, the retail package is very small - both in size and in content. All you get are the GBA SP unit itself, and the AC adapter for the rechargeable battery. That's it. The old Game Boy came with headphones, the game link cable, and of course, Tetris. Sure, Tetris was a puzzle game - but at least you could play with your Game Boy right when you got it.

The GBA is a 32-bit system, and as a result the quality of the visuals in most of its current games has increased significantly over its green-and-yellow predecessor. In fact, as I said before, one of the reasons I wanted to get this system was for the re-release of all the SNES games I played and loved in the past. Now that I've been thrust into the world of GBA gaming I see that there are outstanding original titles to be played.

The overall design of the unit is pretty slick. I really like the fact that the screen is protected when not in use; the clamshell design was a great idea. Scratches on the screen are all too common on portable game systems. The screen is as large as the original GBA, and is extremely crisp. The backlight, which was not standard issue with the original release of the GBA, definitely makes a difference here. The fact that it can be turned off to save on power is nice too. Not like power would be an issue, though, since the GBA SP comes with its own built-in rechargeable battery pack. You can get roughly eight to ten hours of real-world gameplay out of one full charge if you have the backlight on the whole time. The entire unit is extremely light and compact, and I can totally see myself tossing this in my pocket for when I'm bored or need a quick fix of gaming.

All is not super lucky fun in GBA land though. Two key items are missing: the headphone jack, and the uplink cable. To make a consumer have to purchase these things separately is a crime, in my opinion. The add-on port is also in a really awkward place behind the screen, which makes plugging in headphones into the adapter little strange. I have to admit the design of the original Game Boy, and even the original GBA for that matter, was better in this respect.

The controls are adequate, but due to the compact size of the unit I can see them being fairly awkward to use if you have large hands. After a couple hours of play I grew accustomed to the controls, but I do have to question the button layout a bit. Why not four buttons near the D-pad similar to the XYAB buttons on the SNES controller? There's enough room, and even though I find the L and R shoulder buttons convenient fighting games would be a lot easier to pick up with two more buttons.

Playing classic Game Boy games on the GBA is pretty much the same as if you played them on a Game Boy Color. By default, they are at the original Game Boy resolution and look fairly clean. If you want you can expand the resolution to fit the new screen size, although it looks like crap. GBA carts are about half of the length of old school Game Boy carts, so the old carts will tend to stick out a bit. Annoying, if nothing else; I appreciate the fact that they are playable at all.

As expected, the GBA SP is pretty expensive because of the backlight and built-in battery pack. If you already own a GBA, though, don't kick yourself. The excellent Afterburner lighting kit is available, and works quite well from what I have read. That's if you don't mind cracking open your GBA and installing it yourself. And since all Game Boy games are compatible with both GBA systems, there really is no compelling reason to get an SP if you already own GBA Classic. However if you're looking for a slick, compact and well-established portable gaming platform, this is definitely the one to buy.