Game Gear ballers post here

NeoSneth said:

There's still many hidden gems on the GG. This thread hasn't even scratched the surface.
GG modding is expensive if you are paying for it. I'm sure part of that is the low demand.

I still think this is one of the best systems to get into at the moment. Unlike many other retro systems, the game gear is just reasonable all over.
- Low prices.
- Low focus on boxes and manuals.
- Huge Selection.
- The games are very playable today.

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This just made me remember when Ames was shutting down, they clearenced out all of their GG games, but this was in the late 90's.

We're talking like $2-3 a game.

NeoSneth said:

There's still many hidden gems on the GG. This thread hasn't even scratched the surface.
GG modding is expensive if you are paying for it. I'm sure part of that is the low demand.

I still think this is one of the best systems to get into at the moment. Unlike many other retro systems, the game gear is just reasonable all over.
- Low prices.
- Low focus on boxes and manuals.
- Huge Selection.
- The games are very playable today.

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Pretty much, but you can find someone who isn't a douche that will do the job cheap if you find the parts and ship them with the unit as some will charge a bs fee to pad profit off the parts. When I had mine done it was off a member on another forum and it wasn't much at all and he only charged me $10 for both the LED mod and the cap too since I supplied the parts. I know it was a deal still, but the rates I've seen them go for is bogus (ebay at least.) The truth of the matter is objectively against any other Sega and definitely Nintendo, NEC, and SNK system CIB Game Gear games are cheap, if you're just a cart grabber it's disgustingly cheap like it's raining late 1990s discount cart prices once more outside of maybe Mega Man and oddly(why I don't know) Urban Strike in the US market, and then a few out of Japan like the Aleste duo of titles plus Panzer Dragoon Kids. The US alone has a n64 sized (300~) game library and a wide selection of titles and genres, though some under-supported (like JRPG/RPG for one) but on the whole a lot there to go around. And yes even the stuff that can get pretty crusty, the library holds up well as they were designed nicely like Gameboy stuff (just not all the high score I'm bored Gameboy stuff) so it has legs to keep interesting.

Look what a GG and a stack of games costs you paid out on ebay if you don't find some moron bid war... needless to say a $100 can go a very long way, farther than most things.

You can still pick up games for $2-3.

Arena: Maze of Death
This one is about $15-20 now and worth it. I'm betting this will be one of the first to jump if retro community catches on to the GG.

^ Beat that price. Yesterday with a case too I found the Sega 4in1 Game Pack for 99 cents. It's a dopey fun game with 4 minigames on it. There's a rally car racing game (it's like outrun off road basically with 5 stretches of road to it), flash columns, then a mini goalie (both sides) game of soccer and a mini tennis title. This surprised me finding it as it's a Europe only game.

Just picked up Outrun Europa, Sonic Spin ball (Majesco re-release), and a second copy Super Columns for eventual two player shenanigans.

Unfortunately Outrun isn't booting correctly. The 'Produced by or under license from' splash screen shows up letterboxed instead of full screen and the controls sometimes will lockup on the game. I've cleaned the contacts VERY thoroughly (Deoxit, eraser. used the sega branded cleaning kit, too) nothing seems to fix the problem. I don't want to have to return the game (it was less than $4), but I'd really like a working copy.

Cleaned the contacts on the Game Gear, as well. No other game gives me this kind of trouble after cleaning. My JP copy of Wonder Boy did this too, before a good cleaning.

Someone with a McWill screen needs to post some GG porn up - I am anxiously awaiting mine and there are so few pics/videos online

Funny I had just posted on this thread that I really wanted a broken GG and a friend just gave me one with columns this past weekend. When he finds stuff he doesn't want he tends to trade me for future mod work.

I noticed I had the single chip later version and it has all the original caps and it seems to function just fine. Should I go ahead and replace the caps just to be safe? The McWill mod looks good but I think I am more inclined to try the TV out mod.

ginoscope said:

Should I go ahead and replace the caps just to be safe?

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Why don't you read the thread? That exact question was already answered.

FilthyRear said:

Why don't you read the thread? That exact question was already answered.

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I did read the entire thread and I prefaced my question that I had a later release GG that has just one chip and no symptoms of leaking caps.

1. Do you have a Game Gear?



If yes, have the caps been replaced?



2. If no, replace caps



3. But my system works fine, is a later release, etc



See no 2

Doesn't matter with Sega, just like NEC they used supremely cheap ass garbage caps the fish oil type if I remember right, they all rot and die, just a matter of when. I dont' recall the single chip GG, is that the Majesco one? They're far more stable with caps but they still fail less frequently and they supposedly have a slightly clearer/better evenly lit screen.

Seriously though I'd pop for the $10 shipped packet of the proper caps and just do it and it will last, and while you're in there it you love the OEM look of the panel get the LED strip replacement for the awful CFL (evens lighting out, removes that blue tint too and adds 2.5x the battery life) and if not that LED solution.

Sweet a GG thread!! I haven't read it it all yet but that's what the train journey into work is for. I did a cap replacement and a McWill mod back in may on my "Flatty" GG back in May will post some pics in a bit! Sweeeeeeeeeet!

StalkS said:

I did a cap replacement and a McWill mod back in may

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Interesting. How did you get the McWill and how hard was the mod? What caps have to be replaced before putting in the McWill? Did you add a controller input and video out?

I have a pair of GGs VA1 and a VA5 which I have both recapped, planning to get another hopefully a VA 1 for modding. As for favourite games so far which I have played would be Streets of Rage, Dragon Crystal and Columns.

xsq said:

Interesting. How did you get the McWill and how hard was the mod? What caps have to be replaced before putting in the McWill? Did you add a controller input and video out?

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I found a thread on McWill'ss Atari Lynx mod and then saw that he had modified it for the GG I couldn't resist and emailed him directly he shipped the within three days after payment.

The mod just required some patience and about 3 - 4 hours to complete with limited soldering skills. To be honest I really enjoyed working on the GG and I'm extremely happy with the results it is by far my favourite mod! I decided to replace all the caps as I didn't want have to take the GG apart again Some of the solder points are very delicate (especially along the bottom edge of the board) and would be best left alone

I decided not to install the video out as I really like the aesthetics of the GameGear and having a VGA connector visible just spoilt that. To be honest I have a full MK1 Sega (Multi) Megadrive system with an Everdrive V7 so I use that to play SMS and GG games on the big screen when I have the urge!

Below is a shot of my wiring - i'll try and dig out some more of the finished article




Cheers

StalkS

Just uploaded a short test video I did before finishing the install.

Ignore the red band running across the screen it is the factory fitted LCD protector that came with the kit. I removed it once I was happy with the final install.



StalkS

Just got three games in a lot off of eBay: A second copy of Defenders of Oasis, Smash T.V., and Woody Pop (a favorite from when I was a kid).

Found a loose cart of Halley Wars recently. Good shooter. The Game Gear is very sparse when it comes to that genre.

My GG has been dead for quite a time now, so using the Retro Freak adapter to play it. Nice to be able to enjoy GG games on the big screen.

thought about picking up an Everdrive... but after reading this and this, I'm not so sure anymore. Any opinions?

StalkS said:

Just uploaded a short test video I did before finishing the install.

Ignore the red band running across the screen it is the factory fitted LCD protector that came with the kit. I removed it once I was happy with the final install.

StalkS

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Looks great man! I started to do a cap replacement on mine and got frustrated pretty quick.

Heard recapping a GG is a pain. So picked up a 2nd GG for $7 to use as my guinea pig. Now to actually break out this full cap kit i've had sitting around. How long should one of these take?

lions3 said:

Heard recapping a GG is a pain. So picked up a 2nd GG for $7 to use as my guinea pig. Now to actually break out this full cap kit i've had sitting around. How long should one of these take?

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It all depends on if you fuck up or not! GG recaps aren't bad if everything goes well, the issue is that if there is cap juice that has leaked and is marinating you may have to clean that stuff up and maybe even repair traces. If you don't, you can probably do a recap in an hour. I ripped off a couple of pads like a dumbass my first time but it was still an easy fix.

xsq said:

thought about picking up an Everdrive... but after reading this and this, I'm not so sure anymore. Any opinions?

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I still love my GG ED, even if I couldn't get that game to work. I ended up playing through the superior Sega CD version instead.

GohanX said:

It all depends on if you fuck up or not! GG recaps aren't bad if everything goes well, the issue is that if there is cap juice that has leaked and is marinating you may have to clean that stuff up and maybe even repair traces. If you don't, you can probably do a recap in an hour. I ripped off a couple of pads like a dumbass my first time but it was still an easy fix.

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How easy????

TELL ME???

I may have done that on the sound board

It depends on how badly you messed up! If the pad is still there and not completely ripped off you can use the continuity function of the multimeter to find another point that the pad makes contact and run a jumper wire. Or use a fiberglass pen over the nearby trace so you can get some good copper to put the probe in.

thinking about getting the retron 5 addon for some fullscreen GG.
It might make some of those sonic games more tolerable with less motion blur.