/rhh/ Retro Handheld Thread

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I just bought a Kongfeng GB Boy Colour and have played it for a few hours and this is my initial review. Feel free to AMA.

First of all, the build quality on this thing is surprisingly high for a knockoff. The plastic feels very sturdy and dense, almost like a real Nintendo product. The plastic has no flex to it and overall it feels very similar to a real GBC in my hands.

I'll get right to the part that you are probably wondering about though, which is the screen. The screen isn't perfect but overall it is really, really good. It doesn't quite have the same "wow" factor I got when I first turned on my modded McWill Game Gear, but that's to be expected since this is only a $30 system and the screen is a lot cheaper. Regardless, it's much brighter than my front lit GBC and the contrast and color depth are very good.

The screen is unfortunately not integer scaled so you will see some artifacts, and it's a 4:3 screen instead of 1:1, but if that is not a deal breaker for you then I can definitely say it's worth buying. That's something I got used to on my modded Game Gear so I adjusted very quickly to it.

There are a few other quirks that are worth mentioning. First of all, the built-in games are a bit dopey. The way the GBBC detects a cartridge is through a levered micro switch in the cartridge port, and I find this method to be somewhat flakey. Sometimes it gets confused about whether or not a cartridge is inserted and I have to remove it and power cycle. I will probably end up removing the switch and disabling the games permanently. They're all original Gameboy games anyway and some of them have weird bugs, like Donkey Kong.

Beyond that, the D-pad is a bit different. It's possible to press the center which in some games can cause glitches, but it's not nearly as bad as some aftermarket GBC d-pads I've tried. Corners register well, which is a must for Metal Gear Solid. Also, the "IR port" is just decoration.

Overall, for $30 I give it a major thumbs up for now.

>>3524449
Something else that I was a bit surprised by is that there appears to be an optional "outdoor mode" on the screen. This makes the screen appear a lot brighter when playing outdoors, but it also makes the colors appear lighter and more washed out compared to the standard more. I haven't figured out how to control it though because I've only booted the system in this mode by accident so far.

>>3524449
I got one earlier this year and the power switch broke off after about 2-3 weeks of use. I recommend you replace it as soon as possible with a better one if you can. At the moment it will turn on if it has batteries inside it but there's no way to switch it off now and it doesn't even boot up properly. I still own the fucking thing but I have zero electrician skills so I can't repair it myself. Kinda wanna throw it away but kinda not in the slim hope that I might meet someone who can repair it. It's a really nice piece of hardware for sure.

>>3524465
That's a shame, sorry to hear about it. Replacing a switch is generally easy with basic soldering skills, although sourcing one might be a bit tricky. I would definitely look into fixing yours instead of trashing it though. It might be a good chance to learn how to solder, too-- I didn't learn how to solder until I was in college and I found an Atari 2600 that I wanted to fix.

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Just got this, really loving it and now I just ordered a flashcard because I can't be bothered to spare the trouble for failing save batteries and such, also games that just cost too much.

I should look up into turning the charging cable into USB if possible so I can charge it off my power bank

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I finally picked up a refurb AGS-101 SP. I honestly could not be happier with my purchase. I underestimated how beautiful the screen is in person. I'm not great at comparing screens but I think games look better on my SP than my N3DS XL which is crazy. I almost bought a GB Boy Colour but decided against it because of the incorrect aspect ratio.. Happy to answer any questions. Pic related, it's the SP I bought and don't worry, I don't stretch GB games when I play!

>>3525331
considering getting one but I already got a AGS-100 SP recently (which I regret because backlight is ass) and a micro

>>3525362
its frontlit brah. thats why it sucks.

>>3525362
101 is not really unequivocally better. the "upgrade" will get you more ghosting, eyerape oversaturated colors on games that compensated for no light/frontlight (which is most), shit battery life (lol 2-3 hours with everdrive on full charge)

if you just play turn based games it's probably better. the ghosting is kind of bad. people downplay it. it's not DMG or PSP 1000 bad, but it's there

>>3525397
Haven't noticed any ghosting on mine but it is a refurb so maybe something was done to it. Also, battery life is more like 5 hours on max brightness according to multiple field tests online. Saturation can be mitigated if you use the less bright setting but personally, I think the games look better with some more saturation, as some games like Mario Advance 2 look washed out otherwise.

I got a gba micro and one game and then I realized I don't really want to play any games, what a waste of money

>>3526716
You can't find a single game in the whole GBA library you're interested in playing?

>>3526720
it's the game I got, but I feel bad about not having anything else interesting to use the console with, considering it took me just two hours to finish metroid zero mission

>>3524449
even the softest cotton wipe will scratch the shit out of the screen

>>3526776
I keep it in a soft case so I think I'll be okay, but I'm curious about what it would take to get a glass replacement screen made up for the thing. Kind of silly to go through so much fuss for a bootleg but considering it's an exceptionally good bootleg there may be a market for such a thing.

>>3525397
The AGS 101 screen has better battery life than the AGB 001 screen. The technology behind the AGB 001 screen is so outdated that even a backlit modern LCD like the one in the AGS 101 is more battery efficient and requires less power to drive it. The AGB 001 and AGS 001 screens are glorified calculator screens.

So how often should the battery in a Pokemon game be changed? I put a nice little battery holder inside my copy of Pokemon Gold although the catch is that I had to use a smaller CR1616 battery as opposed to the original, which probably doesn't make a huge difference but I'm curious about when I should back up my save data even if it's not for another 5 years.

>>3525397
There is some ghosting on the AGS 101 screen but the brightness and contrast more than makes up for it in my opinion, at least compared to an AGS 001 screen. Games like Castlevania: Circle of the Moon are much more playable on an AGS 101 than on an AGS 001.

>>3525331
I thought the aspect ratio on the GB Boy Colour was going to be a problem but I really stopped noticing it after only a few minutes of playing. It's no worse than playing Gameboy games on a Super Gameboy in that regard.

The non-integer scaling is somewhat unfortunate but it's not bad either. The ghosting / refresh on the GB Boy Colour is also slightly better than the AGS 001 screen or at least similar, and it's got excellent color depth / contrast.

Considering that GBC games are displayed larger on the GB Boy than they are on my AGS 101 GBA, and it has a more authentic GBC form factor, I think this thing may well be my new primary means of playing Gameboy Color games. It never quite felt right playing GBC games on a GBA just because the cartridge sticks out so much and the games look smaller.

The GB Boy Colour is all about how much you're willing to trade off for that lovely backlit screen, but fortunately the damn thing is so cheap that it's not like you're going to have massive amounts of buyer's remorse if you end up not preferring it. I only paid $28 for mine with free shipping. I also appreciate the fact that it's a full hardware clone and not a system-on-a-chip, which was pretty surprising to learn.

>>3526724
Why would you buy a system if you never planned to get more games for it? This is making even less sense.

>>3527031
Some guy on one of these forums bought a special exclusive mgs3ds just to play mgs3ds
Collectors are crazy

>>3527051
Yeah but that's a special case. It sounds like this dude bought a GBA and Zero Mission and expected that's the only game he was ever going to need or something... Just seems weird. I never buy a system unless there's a bunch of stuff I want on it though.

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I've noticed something interesting about the GB Boy Colour that may make the buying decision a little bit easier for people who are on the fence about the screen resolution.

While the vertical resolution is not integer scaled, which does cause a "shimmer" effect in certain games with vertical scrolling, the horizontal resolution is integer scaled which means that every side scroller I've tested on the thing has very smooth horizontal scrolling, and in my opinion side scrollers are where non-integer scaling is usually the most detrimental to a game's look.

And even with that in mind, I personally don't have a problem with the "shimmer" effect in the handful of games I've tried that do have vertical scrolling-- Zelda Oracle of Ages, Metal Gear Solid, Perfect Dark and Pokemon Gold. Only certain patterns make it noticeable, like wooden flooring in Pokemon, although this partially comes down to personal preference. Some people will find it annoying and others won't.

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For fun I decided to take some pictures of my LED backlit Game Gear, my McWill screen Game Gear, my LOCA front lit Gameboy Color, and my GB Boy Colour and see how they all compare with each other in non-scientific fashion. Both Game Gear systems obviously have bigger screens so I will try not to factor that in.

The original Game Gear screen and GBC screens with LED mods are at a glance similar when it comes to contrast and color depth, with the GBC perhaps having slightly better contrast and the GG having slightly better color. The LED GG screen is a lot brighter than the front-lit GBC screen, although it has a lot more ghosting. The LED GBC beats the LED GG but only just barely, because of the ghosting on the GG screen.

Between the GBBC and the the McWill GG, the McWill GG is hands down the winner because it's significantly brighter and sharper, although the GBBC still manages to look quite pleasing. The McWill screen in some ways may actually be too bright to play comfortably in complete darkness for some people, although turning on the scanlines does help a lot in that regard-- my phone actually had trouble photographing it properly. I think the GBBC is has just the right amount of brightness for playing in either a well lit room or in total darkness. Both screens have excellent contrast and color depth, though the resolution of the McWill screen is definitely sharper and has almost no ghosting. Overall screen quality easily gives the point to the McWill GG, though the GBBC is no slouch, especially for a budget device.

1st place: McWill Game Gear
2nd place: GB Boy Colour
3rd place: LED modded Gameboy Color
4th place: LED modded Game Gear

>>3525313
>i blew my last cent on a micro and cant afford a $2 USB cable
Damn. You must have really, really wanted that thing. Hope it takes your mind off the hunger pains while you don't eat for a month or whatever. kek

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>Really want to backlight mod my AGB-001
>All the backlight kits are stupid expensive now
The SP feels like shit in the hands, the Micro can't play GB/GBC games, and the GBC has no backlighting option. A backlight GBA is literally the best option but actually doing the mod now is expensive.

>>3525331
I got one of these recently too, I didn't really think the ghosting would be as bad as it is, but it's easy to ignore. Does the original GBA or AGS100 do this too, and you just don't notice it? I can't really compare with my AGB001 by doing the frontlight mod, holy fuck is that a waste of money, looks horrendous even when done right.

The ghosting looks very different from the ghosting I see playing NES games on CRT with bright sprites on dark backgrounds. It's worse. Certainly not a dealbreaker, the screen is excellent. Also, the grass in some games looks like nuclear waste, way too bright, but I assume that's just a deliberate palette choice designing for non-backlit screens.

Fuckin Everdrive GB sticks out like a mile but it's not too big a deal. GB Boy and SGB are better for that.

>>3528983
Yeah, those are expensive now. I almost went that route because better ergonomics, headphone jack, and a cart slot placement that isn't retarded. But it seems like backlit AGB is the best gameboy that money can buy.

What are some of the top games for game gear that weren't on master system?

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Anyone here like modding?

>>3529065
I'm shit at it and have a really bad iron. I want a backlit Pocket but I don't think I'm up to it.

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>>3529065
I do.

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>>3524416

I love my green GBC.

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>>3528983
Eventually I just biit the bullet and paid up. You might have an easier time buying a broken AGS 101 to salvage the screen from though.

Any of you guys have experience with installing a backlit screen in a Wonderswan Color? I found something about it a long while back but wasn't really sure if it'd actually work. It's the only thing that'd make me play my Wonderswan more.

>>3529176
if you could backlight gbc it would be the best game boy.

unfortunately that title belongs to GB Boy, for now.

>>3529173
Sweet

>>3529445
Not sure if a true backlight is possible but I've seen front lit ones.

>>3529495
I think a full replacement LCD board for the GBC could be possible but it would be very challenging to design. The GB Boy Colour is pretty damn close though.

>>3525313
Is it comfortable to play if you have big hands? I have always wanted to get one of these, but I'm kinda worried about that.

>>3529803
gb boy introduces non-integer scaling which is a worse trade-off in my opinion.

>>3529810
>is the micro comfortable to play
not at all.

>>3525397
There is no ghosting. The colors are being displayed as they are, instead of a dark unsaturated shitfest. The batteries are exactly the same, but the 101 is more lit, so of course the battery life won't be as good. You can also the backlight mod so you run on AA Batteries instead of a rechargeable lithium ion battery.

You probably think the 101 runs at 50Hz too, right?

>>3529941
I'm not him, but if it isn't ghosting, can you explain what exactly the visual artifact is that I see? When the screen scrolls quickly (such as moving to a new screen in a zelda game) any dark pixels will remain dark for longer than they should. 3DS VC for nes games does the same thing even though that's not integer scaled. It effectively blurs any moving object on the screen that has some dark areas in it. More noticeable in GB/C games, to me.

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>>3524416
I find it comfier to play on this, i don't think i'm missing out on too much since GB classic games were coming out thru most of the 90s

>>3529974
It's 100% ghosting. He's clueless.

>>3529987
It's not ghosting. You're retarded.

>>3529982
word. too bad game boy player isn't half as good as this thing, and you better have a kidney left to afford good video cables for gamecube
>>3530001
Why did you reply to his post and not mine? Are you incapable of answering the question?

>>3529982
Is it true the Super GameBoy deletes save data?

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>>3529982
Get a load of this pleb.

I agree, though, it really is the best way to play.

>>3530037
Never happened to me.

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why not?

Thinking about getting into Gameboy collecting. Is it worth it for me to pick up a GBC or should I get a GBA? I already collect GBA games to play on my DS, so I was thinking of using a GBC instead.

>>3530783
Sooner or later you're going to want something with a light, trust me on that. GBA SP is the easiest method (and the best with an AGS-101), but installing a frontlight in a GBC is also an option.

>>3530814

Would a regular GBA be worth it then? Looking at this at my local place: https://www.estarland.com/GameBoyAdv.cat.HW.product.14623.html

>>3530835
At that price it better be brand fucking new. But there are frontlight kits for GBAs as well if that's what you're wondering. Unless you just really like how the original GBA looks/feels, I'd personally just do a GBC at that point. Especially if you already have a DS for GBA games anyway.

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>>3530767
portable

>>3530005
What makes the Gamecube Gameboy Player worse?

I have one and it plays all my games just right

>>3530893
no oem 240p. swiss and gbi take care of that though

>>3530915
do I basically need a hard mod to be able to pass arguments to GBI? I'm using the new LL version from a month or so ago, I want to load controller mapping 2, but I can't seem to get the text file (.gci) onto my memory card. It's just one line. I assume it needs Swiss to pass the arguments in as well, but then I have the problem of what gci file gets booted from the home bros entry point (gbi or swiss or just crash).

I ordered an SD gecko from hong kong but I don't know if that's going to solve my problem, maybe it will since GCMM is cut out of the equation.

>>3530893
What that guy said, also SGB has better options for GB palettes imo, you're stuck with the Color bootstrap palette on GBP and maybe a dozen okay ones by holding button combinations on boot.

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Ags-101 mod is the best way to play

>>3531039
this

Play GB games on an SNES 1-Chip/Mini with CSync RGB via Super GameBoy 2.

Everything else play on ULL GBI or an AGS-101 screen.

>>3531456
Is there any mod to make SGB run at the same speed as GB?

>>3531465
Not that I know of.

>>3531465
It's honestly not that big a deal, it's only 2.4% faster and most GB games are much slower paced than their console counterparts. Last I checked the SGB2 was 2-3 times the price, but maybe you can find a good deal.