Game Gear ballers post here

[GohanX]

The ones I've bought were bare pcbs. When I got my SMS one I ordered the PCB, a shit used game as a shell and they gave me a label. It was about the same price as ordering from krikkz, but krikzz wasn't doing shells then.

 

[ChopstickSamurai]

I never could get Shining Force Gaiden to save on mine. Played the Sega CD version instead.

Firmware v9 fixes the SG-1000 games, but Gunstar Heroes still doesn’t work for me. Haven’t tried the Shining Force games yet.

 

[Yoshi]

How big an issue is piracy with the Game Gear? If you're looking at loose games on ebay, is it as dangerous as, say, the GBA?

 

[famicommander]

How big an issue is piracy with the Game Gear? If you're looking at loose games on ebay, is it as dangerous as, say, the GBA?

I've never come across a Game Gear boot. Just wasn't that popular of a system. GBA sold like 8X as many.

 

[[OCEAN]]

GameGear was more or less the same as the original GameBoy in terms of piracy: lots of multi X in 1 carts floating around (with some of them containing Master System conversions), but not so many counterfeit trying to sell as originals. Nowadays there are reproduction boards available for cheap, but, fortunately, it doesn't seem they're being sold as originals.

 

[NeoSneth]

a counterfeit would probably be more rare than a legitimate copy. I do have some multicarts that had rare games on them.
There's only a few games that are really >$100, and the GG collector-base is quite small.

 

[Yoshi]

Thanks, guys. Glad to hear it.

 

[fenikso]

Anybody know where I can find replacement silicone conductive pads for Game Gear. I had a quick look online, but I was unsuccessful. Not even on Console5, at least not that I could see.

 

[Neorebel]

I powered on my Game Gear for the first time in years to find that the life of my caps had come to an end. The screen is only visible when looking at it from a weird angle. Does anyone on the forums do repairs on these + McWill upgrades? Saw some folks set up on eBay for that for like $200 and was wondering if that price is fair

 

[fenikso]

I powered on my Game Gear for the first time in years to find that the life of my caps had come to an end. The screen is only visible when looking at it from a weird angle. Does anyone on the forums do repairs on these + McWill upgrades? Saw some folks set up on eBay for that for like $200 and was wondering if that price is fair

A cap kit its sevenish dollars and a McWill replacement screen is $90. So at $200 dollars $100 is going to the modder (plus presumably you are paying shipping both ways). Seems a little steep... I mean don't get me wrong it's fiddly work, but just a little pricey by my standards.

I paid someone a few years back, off eBay no less, $50 bucks to re-cap one of my Game Gears and install an LED backlight kit. They did a shit job, to the point I'm considering redoing the sound board. I just haven't decided if I care enough.

 

[NeoSneth]

$200 isn't that bad. These are not plug and play upgrades. You are paying for good labor to put this together correctly.

 

[fenikso]

$200 isn't that bad. These are not plug and play upgrades. You are paying for good labor to put this together correctly.

Yeah alright, if you're not someone who wants to learn to solder, then $200 for a job well done isn't necessarily that bad. Just find someone who is reputable and not a random modder off'f eBay. I learned my lesson the hard way.

 

[FilthyRear]

Or take a day and learn how to solder. It's not hard.

 

[Burning Fight!!]

Or take a day and learn how to solder. It's not hard.

Soldering isn't hard... tell that to any kit that has you soldering ribbons directly to pins on a QFP processor, or anything that requires you to lift specific pins, etc. Shit's easy to screw up if you don't have experience.

 

[fenikso]

Meh, I've been trying to get my soldering skills to the point that I feel comfortable installing the McWill kit. I'll get there eventually.

 

[BlackaneseNiNjA]

Solid Game Gear Fighting/Action Games by SIMS Co.

When it comes to fighting games on this system, I know gamers are aware that the Fatal Fury Special port on this system was really great and fun for the time. I’m just popping in here to say that aside from some decent ports on this unit, SIMS co. also made some unique action/fighting games on this thing that were way more fun than they had ANY right to be:

Buster Fight
(Fighting Game: Japan-only rerelease of “Masters of Combat” with improved special move commands. Unique fighter utilizing 1 button for attacks and 1 button for evasive dodging maneuvers/jumping.)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
(Fighting Game: improved fighting engine from Buster Fight. Movement has been adjusted to be more traditional and utilizes 2 attack buttons now)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
(Fighting Game: Sequel to the above Power Rangers fighting game, new movies, new enemies, but much shorter game length)

Being the same devs that made the fun and unique Sega Master System entry in the Ninja Gaiden series, it makes sense that the gameplay in the above Game Gear titles turned out to be pretty solid.

 

[NeoSneth]

GG Ninja Gaiden was way better than it needed to be. especially compared to the Lynx which was more of an arcade port.

 

[FilthyRear]

GG Ninja Gaiden was way better than it needed to be.

Too easy, tho.

 

[ChopstickSamurai]

I recently picked up one of Jellybelly Custom’s USB power cords. Now I can power my McWill modded Game Gear off a power bank instead of a fistful of AA’s. It works just as advertised:

https://www.jellybellycustoms.com/sega-game-gear-9v-usb-cable-740-p.asp

 

[NeoSneth]

Too easy, tho.

too easy on an emulator ?
or
too easy on a washed out low refresh rate original game gear screen?

 

[FilthyRear]

to easy on an emulator ?
or
too easy on a washed out low refresh rate original game gear screen?

Both.

The graphics are chunky enough to make out whats happening on-screen.

 

[Massive Urethra Chode]

My first gamegear is on it’s way in the mail now! Fully recapped, original LCD. 1994 model i believe. I’m actually really excited. I definitely want to grab an everdrive for it, fully loaded with SMS and GG roms. Will be searching this thread for game recommendations.

 

[fenikso]

My first gamegear is on it’s way in the mail now! Fully recapped, original LCD. 1994 model i believe. I’m actually really excited. I definitely want to grab an everdrive for it, fully loaded with SMS and GG roms. Will be searching this thread for game recommendations.

You're in for a treat. Great little system.

 

[BlackaneseNiNjA]

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

I know GohanX posted this years ago, but it’s solid advice that is always applicable. However...

I have started to encounter a new issue with the last 2 game gear units that I’ve repaired. Board inspection and capacitor replacement are the best starting point, but as the other components in these consoles age, I am seeing more consoles that have a failing inductor on the power supply board (at D3, I believe) that seems to be causing some game gears to exhibit the infamous “1-second” shutdown issue (the issue occurs both with, and without the use of an ac adapter). Even after a recap, these consoles will require multiple power on attempts before they stay on for a full gaming session. Replacing this failing inductor has been a necessity on the last 2 units that I worked on.



After replacing the inductor on the isolated power supply board the unit operates fine:



I just wanted to help spread this information in case others encounter this particular issue in the future.

Edit:
Watch what happens when this tech replaces just the inductor on a unit that had no caps replaced and had no sound or picture:
(Fast Forward to the 4:45 time mark)

 

[FilthyRear]

I know GohanX posted this years ago, but it’s solid advice that is always applicable. However...

I have started to encounter a new issue with the last 2 game gear units that I’ve repaired. Board inspection and capacitor replacement are the best starting point, but as the other components in these consoles age, I am seeing more consoles that have a failing inductor on the power supply board (at D3, I believe) that seems to be causing some game gears to exhibit the infamous “1-second” shutdown issue (the issue occurs both with, and without the use of an ac adapter). Even after a recap, these consoles will require multiple power on attempts before they stay on for a full gaming session. Replacing this failing inductor has been a necessity on the last 2 units that I worked on.

View attachment 57561

After replacing the inductor on the isolated power supply board the unit operates fine:

View attachment 57562

I just wanted to help spread this information in case others encounter this particular issue in the future.

Edit:
Watch what happens when this tech replaces just the inductor on a unit that had no caps replaced and had no sound or picture:
(Fast Forward to the 4:45 time mark)

this is great, thanks