GAMEBOY ADVANCE FAQ - V0.4 (11/6/01)
Jim Taylor
anyway).
Also I'm posting this a day early as I'll probably forget to do it
tomorrow.
Jim
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UK GAMEBOY ADVANCE FAQ - VERSION 0.4 - 11/6/01
News: uk.games.video.misc
Web: http://www.gbafaq.co.uk/
E-mail: j...@gbafaq.co.uk
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Welcome to the UK GameBoy Advance FAQ.
Hopefully one day a UK GB newsgroup will be created, until then this FAQ
will be posted to uk.games.video.misc.
As always, version history and contact details are at the bottom.
*//CONTENTS\\*
SECTION 1 - Reserved for future use
1.0 - [Reserved]
SECTION 2 - The FAQs
2.0 - General FAQs
2.1 - General Importation Information
2.1.1 - Importing a Japanese GBA
2.1.2 - Importing a US GBA
2.1.3 - Buying a UK GBA
2.2 - Technical Details
2.3 - Add-ons and Peripherals
2.4 - Game FAQs
2.4.1 - UK Launch games
SECTION 3 - Glossary
3.0 - Terms and acronyms used
SECTION 4 - Other Online Resources
4.0 - Web sites
4.1 - Newsgroups
SECTION 5 - The Contacts and History
5.0 - Where to find this FAQ
5.1 - Contact Details
5.2 - Contributions & Thanks
5.3 - Version History
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SECTION 1 - Reserved for future use
1.0 - [Reserved]
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SECTION 2 - The FAQs
2.0 - General FAQs
+ So what is the GBA?
The GameBoyAdvance. Nintendo's next generation follow up to the highly
successful GameBoy.
+ A new GameBoy already? The colour only came out two years ago!
The GameBoyColo(u)r was intended as a stop-gap measure. Nintendo
realised that the GB was getting on a bit, but weren't yet able to
produce a full-blown successor for various technical/manufacturing
reasons. Thus the GBC was produced.
+ So, why is this new GB so good?
Most people are excited becasue in *very* simplified terms, it is
basically a handheld SNES. In reality, this is of course not the case.
Technically the GBA can run games comparable in graphical and technical
quality to latter-day SNES games. The most obvious example of this is
the upcoming Mario Kart Advance, which actually looks better than the
SNES original.
+ Can I still play my old GB/GBC games?
Yes, the GBA features full backwards compatibility with old GB/GBC
games. However, due to the increased screen size they will play with
borders down either side. You can, if you wish, hold the L button to
stretch the game's display area - similar to how a Widescreen TV can
stretch non-widescreen broadcasts. You can also hold R to reverse the
process.
In addition you will also be able to alter the colour schemes for
Monochrome games as you can with the GBC (i.e. button and D-pad
combinations).
+ So, is this the end of the GBC?
No. Nintendo will continue to produce and support the GBC for some time
yet, they have sold over 31 million GBCs worldwide and want to continue
supporting the system for as long as possible.
+ I see that the GBA and the GameCube can link up, how?
The GBA and GameCube were both designed at about the same time,
therefore Nintendo decided to enable a link-up between the two via use
of a simple link-up cable.
Basically the link cable will allow you to use the GBA as a more simple
controller for certain NGC games. This also allows you use the GBA as a
High-res VMU unit, similar to the Dreamcast's but much higher quality.
Nintendo's president Hiroshi Yamauchi has confirmed that a game linking
GameCube and GBA will be launched some time in 2002. For example, this
could be similar to the Chao in Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast -
where you are able to grow and develop the Chao in the DC and also to
download one to the VMU to grow individually. The most obvious use for
this would be a Pokemon game.
+ I also notice that you can link up to 4 GBAs together. How?
Via the Multi-Player Link which can be daisy chained between GBAs. Note
that you will need 3 link cables to enjoy full 4 player gaming. The
attraction of this is that for certain games you will only need one
cart, rather than four. This feature should hopefully be widely
supported. However one drawback of this is that you will be limited in
your choice of levels and gameplay options e.g. in F-Zero you are
limited to a restricted choice of vehicles and levels.
+ Can you link up two GBAs using old GB/GBC games?
Yes, although you will definitely require two cartridges and obviously
be limited to two player link up.
+ What colours will the GBA be available in?
Currently the only colours available are Indigo (purple), Arctic
(white), Glacier (a see-through milky purple), and Fuchsia (milky pink).
Japan was also witness to a special Pokemon themed GBA available
exclusively through Nintendo's own Pokemon centres. You can expect
further colours to appear in due course.
+ I'm interested! When can I get one and how much will it cost?
The GBA will (as is customary) be released in Japan first, then the US
followed closely by Europe. The timetable is as follows:
Japan: OUT NOW @ 9800¥ (about £70-£80)
US: OUT NOW @ $99 (about £70-£80)
Europe: June 22nd @ ¤120 - ¤130 (about £75-£85)
+ How much will the games cost?
The Japanese game costs range from 4800¥ to 5800¥ (about £20-£30)
US game costs should range from $29.99 to $39.99 (about £20-£30)
UK games will cost between ¤45 and ¤50 (about £25-£35)
+ How many GBA systems do Nintendo plan to sell?
24 million within the first year.
2.1 - Importation Information
+ I can't wait that long, I want to import it. How can I do this and
what should I be wary of?
Importing should be a relatively straightforward procedure although
there are a few pitfalls to be wary of though:
If buying from Japan:
All accompanying literature will be in Japanese,
Import duties may be added.
If buying from the US:
Import duties may be added.
If you are happy with the above issues then I would suggest you visit
the links section at the bottom of this FAQ to find suppliers.
+ Regional lockout - Will it have one?
No. However a situation may occur that prevents link-up between the GBA
and the Gamecube if you are using an imported game. Similar to the
current situation with imported copies of Pokemon Red/Blue and Pokemon
Stadium i.e. they're incompatible.
+ Will I be able to play link-up games with imported GBAs/games?
A bit of an odd one this, it appears that F-Zero works in both single
and 4 cartridge link-up but Mario Advance only works in single cartridge
link-up. Obviously there are a few barriers in place but no one is sure
how or why as yet.
+ Is it worth importing a GBA? What will the costs be?
These are my calculations for the GBA price at launch in the UK, purely
for comparative reasons (Estimated total is for a GBA with one game).
GBA - £80-£90 when launched
Games - £25-£35 each
TOTAL = £105-£125
See the sections below for current import prices (correct as at
11/6/01).
2.1.1 - Importing a Japanese GBA
+ Where can I import from, and how much will it cost me?
You basically have three options at present:
-Import via the UK
-Import via the US
-Import direct from Japan
All options have their own advantages/disadvantages but your best bet is
to check on the exchange rates at the time of importation. You should
also bear in mind what you will need to do if something goes wrong
within the first month or so.
All websites mentioned below are listed in the links section at the end
of this FAQ.
-Importing via the UK
There are currently three main import stores in the UK selling the GBA:
CEX
Standalone GBA for £110.
Another World
£110 standalone
£140 with one game
£170 with two games
£200 with three games
Project K
£96 standalone
-Importing via the US
There are three main options from importing via the US:
NCSX
$125 standalone
$175 (£120) with one game
$225 (£160) with two games
$275 (£190) with three games
Tronix
$115 (£xx) for the console alone
$143 (£100) with one game
The Rage
$115 (£xx) for the console alone
$140 (£xxx) with Super Mario Advance
-Importing direct from Japan/Asia
Again you have three options here:
Lik-Sang
$98 (£xx) for the console alone
MicMic
$75 (£xx) for the console alone or various bundles up to $175 (£120)
dcshk
$100 (£75) for the standalone console.
Note that all prices are exclusive of shipping.
2.1.2 - Importing a US GBA
Come June 11th the GBA will be released in the US which obviously
means a whole new slew of import options become available.
Full details as and when.
However just for starters:
Tronix
No details announced as yet
NCSX
No details announced as yet
EB
$195 (£140) with Mario & Tony Hawk's + accessories.
2.1.3 - Buying a UK GBA
The GBA is released here on June 22nd. Most of the big shops are
offering pre-orders as follows:
EB/Game
Online:
£100 console with light and AC adaptor
£130 console with batteries, link cable and Mario Advance
£150 console with F-Zero, Mario Advance and link cable
In-store:
£90 for the GBA itself with a £20 trade in for your old GBC
Gameplay
£80 for the GBA alone
SimplyGames
£75 for standalone console
£150 for the console with Kuru Kuru Kurin, F-Zero and Mario
GamesStreet
£80 for the standalone console
Special Reserve/UKAdvance
£89 for the GBA + case
£99 GBA + batteries, light and AC adaptor
£126 above bunlde + Mario Advance
2.2 - Technical details
These are the technical specifications for the GBA:
Screen: 40.8mm x 61.2mm (non-backlit) TFT colour LCD
Size: 82mm length x 144.5mm width x 24.5mm depth
Weight: About 140g
Resolution: 240x160 pixels, 32,000 colours available
Display ability: 511 out of a possible 65000 colours on screen in
character (action) mode and 32,768 colours in bitmap
(still) mode.
CPU: 16mhz 32bit RISC-CPU + 8bit CISC-CPU (for inbuilt
GB/GBC backwards compatibility)
Memory: 32KB WRAM + 96KB VRAM 256KB WRAM (built-in CPU)
Sound: One Mono speaker or Stereo via headphones
Link Play: Up to four players with other GBAs, or two players
with a GB/GBC.
Power: Two AA batteries or Battery Pak/AC adaptor
Battery Life: AA batteries should last for around 15-20 hours
Cartridge Size: Maximum of 256 Megabit (32 megabyte)
Cart Dimensions: 34.5mm x 60mm x 9.5mm
Controls: Standard D-Pad, Start and Select buttons, A and B
buttons and L and R shoulder buttons.
Connectors: Link-up port.
Just a few points to note here:
The dimensions of the GBA are roughly equivalent to a GBC turned
sideways.
The cartridges are the same width of GB/GBC carts, but only half the
height, while still managing to contain up to 256 Megabits of data -
about the same as the largest N64 carts today. This means that if you
use a GB/GBC cart on the GBA it will stick out of the top of the
machine.
One of the most appetising technical aspects of the GBA is that it has
the 3D capabilities of a SNES with the SuperFX2 chip built in. While
this is nothing spectacular by today's console standards, it does mean
that we could get conversions of the original StarFox and Stunt Race FX,
both of which used some form of SuperFX chip. The GBA also boasts very
advanced 2D capabilities - allegedly better than the Dreamcast's. It
should also be able to handle Mode 7 scaling techniques (as seen on
Mario Kart and F-Zero) with ease.
2.3 - Add-ons and Peripherals
These are the confirmed official Nintendo peripherals, most are
available now. These should all be self-explanatory.
Multi-Player Link Cable
AC Adaptor
Battery Pak
Mobile Phone Adaptor (Japan only)
E-Card reader - Primarily designed to read various kinds of data stored
on a new range of Pokémon E-Cards. Could also have some interesting
applications for future 'homebrew' projects.
Pictures of these peripherals are available on the GBA FAQ website.
There are also now a number of third party peripherals available:
Various 'Worm Lights' - GBA update of the GBC favourite
Game cases - Nintendo insist on using rubbish plastic bags rather than
proper plastic game cases, use these instead.
Water-proof sheets - Stick on clear plastic sheets
Replacement screens - self-explanatory
3rd party battery paks etc are also available.
2.4 - Game FAQs
+ Mario Advance - a new Mario game?
Sadly not. This is a conversion of Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES,
widely regarded as the worst Mario Bros. title, mainly since it was
actually a conversion of another game called Doki Doki Panic re-coded to
feature the Mario sprites.
It does, however, also feature a special 4-player version of the
original Mario Bros.
+ Mario Kart Advance! Details!
Possibly one of the best games ever for the 16bit systems. People have
been salivating over this ever since it was first announced. Graphically
the game looks better than the SNES original and plays just as well,
however the true killer feature is the 4 player link-up. The original's
battle mode was excellent fun, so a 4 player version is fantastic news,
reports to date suggest this could be the 'killer app' the GBA needs.
+ What is this I hear about Sonic and Chu Chu Rocket being released?
These are Sega games, what's going on?
With effect from March 2001, Sega announced that it is to cease
production of the Dreamcast after frankly disappointing sales. However,
with this Sega have now begun the process of turning into a 3rd party
publisher, announcing games for all the next generation systems. Part of
this plan features the GBA which means that Sonic, Chu Chu Rocket and
Puyo Puyo are all planned for release. Sega have previously made an
abortive foray into the handheld market before with both the GameGear
and a Sonic game for the NGPC being released. Both consoles are now no
longer supported so Sega have turned their attention to the GBA.
+ So which developers have signed up then?
There are more than 60 developers in the West alone so this list is by
no means official but most of, if not all of these developers have games
in the works. Similarly it is not entirely comprehensive, if you know of
any developers missing from the list then let me know.
3DO
Acclaim
Activision
Asmik
Atlus
Bam!
Capcom
Classified Games
Conspiracy Entertainment
Crave
Crawfish/Cinemaware
EA
Epoch
Havas Interactive
Hudson
Imagineer
Infogrames
Jordan
Kemco
Koei
Konami
Kotobuki System
Lego
Majesco
Media Ring
Media Works
Midway
MTO
Namco
Natsume
NewKidCo
Nintendo
Rare
Sega
Southpeak
Spike
Starfish
Swing
Tam
TDK Interactive
Tecmo
THQ
Titus
Ubi Soft
Victor
+ What games are coming out then?
A full list would take a long time to produce but some of the more
note-worthy titles are listed below:
A Boy And His Blob
Advance Wars
Advanced Columns
Advanced Fire Pro Wrestling
Aerial Aces
Army Men Advance
Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
Batman Vengeance
Bomberman Story
Breath Of Fire 1
Breath OF Fire 2
Caesars Palace Advance
Car Battle Go!
Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon
Chu Chu Rocket!
Crazy Chase
Creatures
Dark Arena
Dave Mirra FreeStyle BMX 2
Dexter's Laboratory
Diddy Kong Pilot (tilting feature)
Disney/Pixar Monsters, Inc.
Disney's Atlantis, the Lost Empire
DK Coconut Crackers
Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers
DOOM
Driven
Dukes Of Hazzard 3
Earthworm Jim
ESPN Championship Golf 2002
ESPN Gr. Outdoors Games: Bass Fishing
ESPN X-Games: Skateboarding
ET: The Extra Terrestrial
Extreme G3
F-14 Tomcat
F-18
Fievel
Final Fight One
Fire Pro Wrestling
Flintstones
Fortress
Frogger
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Golden Sun
Golf Master
GT Advance: Championship Racing
Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
High Heat: Major League Baseball 2002
Hot Potato
Hot Wheels (working title)
Iridion 3D
Jelly Belly
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Jurassic Park 3 (Sub-title Pending)
Jurassic Park 3: Park Builder
Jurassic Park 3: The DNA Factor
Kao The Kangaroo
Klonoa: Empire Of Dreams (working title)
Konami Krazy Racers
Lady Sia
Lego Bionicle
Lego Island 2
Lego Racers 2
M& M's Advance
Magical Vacation
Mario Kart Advance
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen: Crush Course
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
Mech Platoon
Mega Man: Battle Network
Men In Black
Metroid 4
Mia Hamm Soccer Advance
MLB Sluggers
Monster Breeder
Moseley (working title)
Moto GP
Ms. Pac-Man Advanced
Namco Museum Advanced
NBA 2001
NFL Blitz 2002
NHL Hitz
No Rules Get Phat
Pac-Man Collection
Paintball
Phalanx
Pinobee: Wings Of Adventure
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Planet Monsters
Pocket Music
Pocky & Rocky 3 (working title)
Power Rangers: Time Force
Powerpuff Girls
Prehistorik Man
Puyo Puyo
Rayman Advance
Razor FreeStyle Scooter
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
RMX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael
Robocop
Rocket Power: Dream Scheme
Rugrats, The
Sabre Wolf: Rumble In The Jungle
Sansara Naga (working title)
Scooby-Doo & the Cyber Chase
Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder
Snoopy Detective
Sonic The Hedgehog Advance
Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace
SpongeBob SquarePants SuperSponge
Sports Illustrated 4Kids Baseball
Sports Illustrated 4Kids Football
Spyro the Dragon
Star Communicator
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles
Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Super Dodge Ball Advance
Super Mario Advance
Tactics Ogre: Gaiden
Tekken Advanced
Tetris Worlds
Tiny Toons: Buster's Bad Dream
Tiny Toons: Wacky Stackers
Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Top Gear: GT Championship
Tweety and The Magic Gems
Unlimited Mystery Zero Tours
Wario Land Advance
Wild Thornberrys
Wings
WWF: Road To Wrestlemania
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse
Z Warriors
2.4.1 - UK Launch games
There are 14 launch games for the UK release of the GBA as follows:
Army Men Advance
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Fire Pro Wrestling
F-Zero: Maximium Velocity
GT Advance Championship Racing
Konami Krazy Racers
Kuri Kuri Kurin
Pinobee: Wings of Adventure
Rayman Advance
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
Super Mario Advance
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Top Gear GT Championship
Tweety & The Magic Gems
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SECTION 3 - Glossary
3.0 - Terms and acronyms used
16Bit systems - The MegaDrive and the SNES
CPU - Central Processing Unit
GB - Game Boy
GBA - Game Boy Advance
GBC - Game Boy Colour
GC - GameCube
Mode 7 - A SNES term, allows the hardware to rotate and scale sprites
NES - Nintendo Entertainment System
NGC - Nintendo GameCube
NGPC - NeoGeo Pocket Colour
SNES - Super Nintendo Entertainment System
SuperFX - An extra chip designed for SNES cartridges to give them extra
3D capabilities. the most obvious example being StarFox. Subsequently
improved upon with SuperFX2.
VMU - Visual Memory Unit, device for Sega's Dreamcast console that plugs
into controller giving a small screen in the controller.
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SECTION 4 - Other Online Resources
4.0 - Web sites
Official Sites:
http://www.gameboyadvance.com/ Recently updated
http://www.gameboyadvance.co.uk/ What it says
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/ Nintendo UK
http://www.nintendo.com/ Nintendo of America
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ Nintendo Company Ltd (Japan)
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/ Nintendo of Europe
Unofficial Sites:
http://pocket.ign.com/ From the IGN network
http://www.gbacentral.net/
Importing:
http://www.tronixweb.com/ Importing via/from the US
http://www.ncsx.com/ Importing via/from the US
http://www.therage.com/ Importing via/from the US
http://www.ebworld.com/ Importing from the US
http://www.liksang.com/ Importing from Hong Kong
http://www.dcshk.com/ Importing from Hong Kong
http://www.micmic.com.hk/ Importing from Hong Kong
http://www.anotherworld.co.uk/ Importing via the UK
http://www.cex.co.uk/ Importing via the UK
http://www.projectk.com/ Importing via the UK
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html For calculating exchange rates
Online shops (UK):
http://www.gamesstreet.co.uk/ Has pre-orders available now
http://www.gameplay.com/ Has pre-orders available now
http://www.simplygames.co.uk/ Has pre-orders available now
http://ukadvance.com/ Has pre-orders available now
http://www.game.uk.com/ Has pre-orders available now
http://www.eb.uk.com/ Has pre-orders available now
4.1 - Newsgroups
There are currently two other english language newsgroups dedicated to
the GameBoy Advance and Nintendo in general. Be warned that both are US
based and thus may not be to everyone's tastes:
rec.games.video.nintendo
alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance
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SECTION 5 - The Contacts and History
5.0 - Where to find this FAQ
This FAQ is posted bi-weekly to the uk.games.video.misc newsgroup.
It is also available online at http://www.gbafaq.co.uk/
5.1 - Contact Details
This FAQ is maintained by Jim Taylor.
I can be contacted at: j...@gbafaq.co.uk
5.2 - Contributions & Thanks
Thanks to CJA for his comprehensive GameCube FAQ and for some good
information/pointers.
Thanks also go out to Julie Brandon and the population of
uk.games.video.misc for help and ideas.
5.3 - Version History
Version 0.4 - 11/6/01
GBA released in US!
Versions re-numbered for greater ease of use.
All references to uk.games.video.gameboyadvance deleted.
UK buying details added.
UK launch titles added.
Import prices updated.
Minor details corrected.
Version 0.35 - 27/5/01
Website now @ gbafaq.co.uk.
E3 game information added.
Links updated.
Version 0.34 - 11/5/01
Import details updated.
Minor corrections/updates.
Website expanded.
Version 0.33 - 29/4/01
Importation details updated.
Deleted 'Launch Titles' section.
Version 0.32 - 20/4/01
Another update so soon?
Importation details updated.
New importation sections added.
Peripherals updated.
Version 0.31 - 17/4/01
General updating and corrections.
Version 0.3 - 25/3/01
GBA officially released in Japan!
Couple of preorder questions deleted.
Updated import information.
Version 0.22 - 10/3/01
US Launch details added.
Official names of colours added.
Various corrections and amendments.
Version 0.21 - 18/2/01
Importation details updated.
Version 0.2 - 11/2/01
Various corrections and updates.
Version 0.1 - 4/2/01
The beginning.
LowerWolf
>+ Can you link up two GBAs using old GB/GBC games?
>
>Yes, although you will definitely require two cartridges and obviously
>be limited to two player link up.
Do you know if you can link up a GBA and either the GB or GBC to play the
older games? I thought I read somewhere that you could but I might have been
thinking of this instead.
>2.1.3 - Buying a UK GBA
>
>SimplyGames
>£150 for the console with Kuru Kuru Kurin, F-Zero and Mario
The site implies that you can only have the white GBA with that bundle, I
thought that might be worth noting.
They also have a pic of the "Fuschia" one looking much redder than I've ever
seen it.
~Ryan