Which System To Buy As a N00b?

[100proof]

I'm inclined to agree with the GBA/flashcart option. For someone who might play this thing for a couple of hours and then lost interest, you don't want to spend a bunch of money and want to dial in to what they're actually interested in. The Evercade has little to nothing on it that someone looking for retro handheld nostalgia would want to play, The Steam Deck is nice but way too much money if all you're interested in is emulating 25+ year-old games. The cheap Chinese handhelds seem to be fine but cost about as much as a GBA with an IPS screen.

If you think she would get overwhelmed by paralysis of choice, only put a handful of games on there. It beats paying through the nose for a few carts that would likely cost the same amount in the long run.

 

[fenikso]

Yeah, I agree, a curated list of good games is the way to go, should she want the flash cart route. She can always add more games later if she wants, or if she hears about something she wants to try out.

 

[Takumaji]

Yup, that was my plan right from the start. I've been using Everdrives and stuff like that for a few years now and I always loathed those all-in-one packs of games many people like to put on it. I usually delete them and put one game after another on it that I actually play instead of having tons and tons of shit that I will never even touch once. I will put a selection of about 100 titles on there, show her how to add ROMs herself and then see how it goes from there. At least that's the plan, let's see what system she opts for in the end.

 

[AppleiDog]

A steam deck is for current gamers, fuck that monstrosity shit. She wants the classics, give her a gba.

Steam deck is the best. Psp takes 5 seconds to hack done.

 

[SML]

I wouldn't do the GBA + Flash Cart.

If you do a little bit of setup (install AmberElec and place bios files where needed), the Anbernic 351m or 351p can be a better GBA for you. The games load faster, the screen is larger and brighter, and the resolution supports 2x integer scaling for GBA games. Auto save states will let you drop in and out of your games without trouble.

You can still put together a curated collection of games without limiting yourself to the GBA library. If you really want to use a GBA flash cart, at least consider using it with a DS Lite instead.

 

[Ghaleon]

Unless you re a serious hobbyist who can redo caps and work on your systems, DO NOT get into OG handhelds (GG, GB, TV Express). They die and will need caps replaced, even if you get one newly recapped.

I've been soldering for 5 or 6 years and I'm proud of what I've learned and my projects in that time, but I couldn't even revive my GGs with cap kits.

I have a number of GBA SPs and DSes that have never needed work, unsure if they also die eventually and need similar work.

Yeah, a GBA SP with an Everdrive is really nice. You have every GBA game and it also has really good emulators for GB, NES, and probably more. I can't tell the different between GB carts and GB emulated on the GBA Everdrive honestly.

I know people seem to like regular GBAs but you for sure need a modded screen and I'm sure there is a battery mod too, which prob makes it more expensive than what you'd get an SP for.

 

[terry.330]

I wouldn't do the GBA + Flash Cart.

If you do a little bit of setup (install AmberElec and place bios files where needed), the Anbernic 351m or 351p can be a better GBA for you. The games load faster, the screen is larger and brighter, and the resolution supports 2x integer scaling for GBA games. Auto save states will let you drop in and out of your games without trouble.

You can still put together a curated collection of games without limiting yourself to the GBA library. If you really want to use a GBA flash cart, at least consider using it with a DS Lite instead.

Sure but this isn't for Tak, it's for a female friend of his. I would keep it as simple as possible. You guys that mess around with emulation, OSs and stuff on regular basis don't realize that for a normal person all that is totally foreign. I'd keep it as simple as possible for her.

 

[smokey]

Make her buy a good book, fuck videogames.

Fuck her good, fuck books and videogames

also what gay ass forum is this, why is nobody recommending the NGPC?

If she is nostalgic for the game gear just buy a modded one. (With the new screen and the new batteries it becomes one hell of a system.)
I personally enjoy playing with my modded OG Gameboy. So many good games on there.

 

[SML]

Sure but this isn't for Tak, it's for a female friend of his. I would keep it as simple as possible. You guys that mess around with emulation, OSs and stuff on regular basis don't realize that for a normal person all that is totally foreign. I'd keep it as simple as possible for her.

An EZ Flash cart can also be a headache, though. When you start up the system, you have to be careful not to interrupt it as it records your save from the last session, you might have to break even a curated collection down into smaller folders, you have to load the larger roms into nor-flash, etc.

I really believe a AmberElec system that's well set up from the start will "take care of itself" better than an EZ Flash. Pressure's on Tak to do it right.

The 351p and 351m both partition a single micro sd card, and she *might* accidentally reformat the OS partition if she's trying to load her own roms and windows prompts her to do so.

In that case, the 351mp has an internal "boot" card which she never needs to touch and an external card for roms, which she can move back and forth between the handheld and her computer without worrying about it. The 351mp has a 4:3 screen, so it'll be more suited to console games than the 351p or 351m, which have 3:2 gba-style screens. Practically speaking, the screen ratio probably won't make that much difference to her.

Edit: I wouldn't be saying this of earlier devices like the rg350, as those are more for enthusiasts. Rogue Firmware requires tweaking and memorizing how the different emulators work, and "Adam Image" preconfigures settings and unifies the controls, but is buggy and unstable. The 351 generation and newer tend to have more uniform and user-friendly interfaces, at least in the form of custom firmware.

 

[Moob Butter]

also what gay ass forum is this, why is nobody recommending the NGPC?

because its screen is terrible and most the games suck ass

 

[Dr Shroom]

most NGPC games are pretty good, what are you on about?

 

[basic]

Steamdeck 100%

not very good at following directions lol

 

[kernow]

Fuck her good, fuck books and videogames

also what gay ass forum is this, why is nobody recommending the NGPC?

First sentence - are you 13?
Second sentence - did you read the requirements

 

[Moob Butter]

most NGPC games are pretty good, what are you on about?

I had a look at the library again, in fairness there’s much less filler/turds as the library is so small than the Gameboy or Gamegear so I was being a touch harsh.

I assumed there was more neo cherry masters or pocket reversi or baseball stars like titles.

*Looks at watch, wonders how long till someone tries to defend those games*

 

[wikipejoe]

She's a classically trained cellist and works as a teacher and arranger for the Nuremberg music conservatory, she has more books and records than I have hair on my head so don't worry too much.

So, that's a lot of records and books?

 

[Takumaji]

 

[Takumaji]

Heh, joe with the ninja edit.

Spoiler:

If she's a serious musician (artist), she arguably shouldn't be messing around with video games, anyway. It's hard to draw a lot of inspiration/influence from them.
Reading books, and listening to (classical) music would be a more worthwhile pursuit, in terms of what would (possibly) help with her career.

 

[Moob Butter]

Goddamit Joe9...

Post your picture or you’ll get locked in the uber secret under forum which only Rot and KingChuckmelom are in. It’s called ’The r0tten m3lonz’.

 

[@M]

Joe, people usually play video games as a temporary escape from their everyday life/work. And I would argue that there is much a musician could find inspirational in video game music if that was her goal.

 

[Shito]

Make her buy a good book, fuck videogames.

Nice one.

Or, a DS Lite with some good jrpgs.

 

[@M]

Heh, joe with the ninja edit.

True shinobi edit within 5 minutes so the "Last edited:" footnote doesn't appear.

 

[Dr Shroom]

First sentence - are you 13?
Second sentence - did you read the requirements

 

[smokey]

First sentence - are you 13?
Second sentence - did you read the requirements

First sentence - sorry
Second sentence - NGPC with a flash fits the requirements no? I reread them

 

[Takumaji]

I met Sandra today and we went through the options listed here over a cup of coffee. After much consideration, we narrowed things down to GBA with Everdrive X7 or DS Lite with Everdrive-GB X7. DS systems and games seem to be cheap so it should be no problem to find one in good condition. With a select few DS games and the Everdrive GB that can also emulate GB games there should be no shortage of great games to play. GBA on the other hand also has enough great titles to be a happy handheld gamer and it's more compact.

She will sleep over it and then we'll go shopping come weekend. I've already browsed ebay and some local ads, there are tons and tons of offers but I'm a bit worried about condition. There also are offers for refurbished GBAs with new backlit screens and fancy cases, not sure if that's worth €120+, tho.

Oh, and I also told her about smokey's and joe's suggestions which made her almost choke on her coffee.

Thanks for the help, guys!

 

[smokey]

I met Sandra today and we went through the options listed here over a cup of coffee. After much consideration, we narrowed things down to GBA with Everdrive X7 or DS Lite with Everdrive-GB X7. DS systems and games seem to be cheap so it should be no problem to find one in good condition. With a select few DS games and the Everdrive GB that can also emulate GB games there should be no shortage of great games to play. GBA on the other hand also has enough great titles to be a happy handheld gamer and it's more compact.

She will sleep over it and then we'll go shopping come weekend. I've already browsed ebay and some local ads, there are tons and tons of offers but I'm a bit worried about condition. There also are offers for refurbished GBAs with new backlit screens and fancy cases, not sure if that's worth €120+, tho.

Oh, and I also told her about smokey's and joe's suggestions which made her almost choke on her coffee.

Thanks for the help, guys!

DS lite is excellent for gba, the screen is fantastic. However personally I hate the second screen hanging on. Some people have cutted them and turned it in a sort weird gameboy micro called the macro.

Game Boy Macro

What is one to do with a Nintendo DS or DS Lite where perhaps the hinges are broken, the top screen shattered, or the top completely missing? Usually these unfortunate handhelds would end up tossed aside, but not with the advent of the Game Boy Macro.Tracing down the history of the Game Boy...

handheldlegend.com

Apologize to Sandra for me .