Retro game stuff talk

[ruckage]

Going back to more retro systems, here's my Game Boy/Game Boy Advance collection. I had some of these for a long while but I've bought a lot this past year. Most are unboxed without manuals as it's just cheaper but I do have some complete in the box and others just with the manuals. So far I've managed to avoid buying fakes from ebay, luckily it's pretty obvious most of the time from the photos as the labels are often wrong and they never get the case moulding right.

I've also been making custom cases for them using EU NDS Cases, it' will take me quite a long a while as the ones available online tend to be designed for US NDS cases plus they are usually stretched and not the best quality so I've been creating mine from scratch.

[ClassicGMR]

@ruckage said in Retro game stuff talk:

I've also been making custom cases for them using EU NDS Cases, it' will take me quite a long a while as the ones available online tend to be designed for US NDS cases plus they are usually stretched and not the best quality so I've been creating mine from scratch.

Very nice work!

[celly]

@ruckage what a cool idea putting them in NDS boxes. Do they slide around loosely inside or are you adding something to keep them from moving around?

[ruckage]

@celly said in Retro game stuff talk:

@ruckage what a cool idea putting them in NDS boxes. Do they slide around loosely inside or are you adding something to keep them from moving around?

DS cases actually have a space with clips to hold GBA carts at the top, the original purpose I believe was to store expansion packs such as the rumble pak which were placed in the GBA slot on the original DS and DS Lite. For EU cases you can modify this easily to also hold Gameboy carts. It makes them ideal cases for Gameboy and GBA games.

[celly]

@ruckage would you look at that. And here I am, making tape cassette cases for a few of my loose carts. I like this idea way better.

[ruckage]

@celly said in Retro game stuff talk:

@ruckage would you look at that. And here I am, making tape cassette cases for a few of my loose carts. I like this idea way better.

The tape cases I've seen people make look really cool too. If you did want to try out the DS cases though make sure you get the European style and double check that they have the GBA slot as I have a feeling it may not be present on all cases - particularly if they are third party cases. I bought mine from a company called Dragon Trading in the UK and the cases appear to be 100% genuine. The USA cases should also have the GBA slot but due to the case design they can't really be modified to hold original Game Boy games as the DS cart holder is too high up.

Below is a picture of my US copy of Metroid Prime Pinball showing the Rumble Pak occupying the GBA holder, you can see that there just isn't enough room to fit an original Game Boy cart without some really major alterations

.

[Karsnegssen]

Gameboy Advanced is a great gift for a friend!

[obsidianspider]

I installed my GBA Consolizer today and following the instructions from Game-Tech.us was straightforward. I would say if you have intermediate soldering skills and a temperature controlled soldering iron/station you should be ok.

I started with a known working 40-pin AGB-001. My wire routing isn’t quite as gorgeous as RetroGamingArts’ work, but I tried to keep things neat.

The video quality is wonderful and it plays just as it should with the GBA controls or a first party Super Nintendo or Super Famicom controller. I tried using my ASCIIPad and the Consolizer didn’t like it. The menu came up and would keep scrolling and nothing worked. I also noted you can’t plug and unplug controllers while the unit is turned on or it will freak out.

Unfortunately on my main TV that I have my consoles hooked up to the DVI+ mode that carries audio over the HDMI cable does not work. I get a funky purple border and the image is shifted and there is no sound. When I switch it to just DVI mode the video works properly on my Samsung 65UH7150. ‬

I tested it on my other TV and DVI and DVI+ modes work properly on my Samsung UN24H4500.‬ I’m bummed that I can’t get audio to play through my main TV, but I can hook it up to my surround sound via analog and it’s fine, just not the panacea I was hoping for. Maybe a firmware update will fix things, but it’s not updatable via USB, so if it becomes available that could be tricky.

[ruckage]

@obsidianspider
That looks great. I'd love one of those, it's just a shame they're so expensive.

[obsidianspider]

@ruckage I didn't go for the full case version as I don't really love the design of it. I paid around $150 after shipping and considering what small batch electronics projects go for I think it's pretty reasonable. I've certainly spent a lot more than that on a Pi project.

[Clyde]

Klaatu Barada Nikto … (necromantically resurrecting this thread)

My girlfriend gave me this for christmas, 🤩 but now my pet spider is playing it all the time. 🤨

[obsidianspider]

@Clyde I love those mini arcade things. I still want to stuff a Pi Zero in one.

I guess since this thread is alive again I should post some retro pickups. I won't bore you with all of the Switch stuff I've bought lately.

[obsidianspider]

Here are the "retro" pickups I've had since the thread went dormant. I post pickups and other stuff on my Instagram.

I picked up one of those Arduino-based Tetris games

I have the pink Sakura Nintendo pedometer. Now I only need to find the Hello Kitty one and I should have each variant.

My new crown jewel of my collection: A blue DMG. This was a Europe-only color and a guy in Poland helped me buy it.

For the Frog the Bell Tolls. This game uses a lot of the same mechanics as Link's Awakening and is really fun.

My nephew was throwing away his old 3DS. I cleaned it up and aside from a wonky home button that I need to solder in a replacement for, it works well.

I got a sealed Ni no Kuni for a great price. I opened it up to check out the awesome book that it comes with.

An 8-Bit-Guy video inspired me to look for a Game Boy Camera.

...and Printer.

A friend of mine asked if I "wanted any of this stuff" and sent me this awesome case, Pocket, and games!

I picked up a few more of these Burger King Game Boy Colors. One of these days I'll finish putting a Pi in one.

たねをまく鳥 (Tane o Maku Tori)

While in Manhattan I stopped at Book Off and saw this PSP Go. A friend told me that it was a great price (I had no idea how valuable the cradles were) so I grabbed it. It's my first Sony handheld and I really like it.

I also stopped by VideoGamesNewYork and got this sealed Mr. Driller 2 for Game Boy Advance

Sennou Millennium, Slitherlink, and Xi Little

Guilty Gear Petit - it even includes the Wonder Coin!

A good friend sent me an awesome Christmas gift: A sealed Dreamcast Web Browser disc, a Tiger Jumble game (that uses cartridges!), a copy of StarFox to replace my long lost copy, and a PSP 2000!

Is a PlayStation TV "retro"?

I managed to find a Donkey Kong Jr. "Nintendo Mini Classics" keychain to add to my collection.

My final cool addition for 2019: A CIB Pokemon Mini and Shock Tetris

[Clyde]

@obsidianspider said in Retro game stuff talk:

@Clyde I love those mini arcade things. I still want to stuff a Pi Zero in one.

Me too. By the way, it's funny how your username fits my pictures. :D

[VictimRLSH]

I got that case, but in beige, and time has NOT been good to it... :(

[obsidianspider]

@VictimRLSH said in Retro game stuff talk:

I got that case, but in beige, and time has NOT been good to it... :(

There are a few variants of that case, the GB-70 and GB-80 were offered in DMG colors. This is the only one I've seen of the GB-70 in person that is designed to look like a MGB.

[WeirdH]

@obsidianspider That PSP Go is a thing of beauty. I really didn't like it when it first came out, but now I appreciate it a lot more. Homebrew possibilities help too, of course.

[Dipkid]

Hi gang, happy new year!
I made some good pickups in 2019 aswell:

Got this for free; a near mint Sony Trinitron KV 29" (NTSC & PAL compatible, rgb scart) Crt Tv.

With the new tv setup, I couldnt resist the pi2scart from ArcadeForge anylonger. The overscan settings etc takes some work but I love it. Still need to mount it somewhere.

The NES, I sh*t you not; I found in a dumpster, with all the cables, 2 controllers, a zapper & 9 games.
My GF actually saw it first and told me in bed, and I was like, nah you prob saw an old faxmachine or something. But I ran out in my PJs, and voila, there it was, just the corner of the console sticking up from at grocerybag :) The SNES I bought from a local craigslist site. Iv been slowly picking up some games here n there.

The Super Scope is CIB, found at a thriftstore. MarioPaint CIB, RNR Racing, Zombies & Barts Nightmare Iv had since the early 90s. The rest of the boxes are made by me and my trusty CNC. Real collectors might hate it, but i just like the look of them in the bookshelf.

My teeny tiny DIY MicroSD Covers.

Bazookas on the wall in my daughters (and my!) "playroom"

And last but not least; my biggest project of the year was my virtual Pinball Cab build. It mostly runs VPX, Pinball Fx3 and some vert MAME. I use PinballX as a frontend. (And yes, I wanna build a new one. Bigger, better, flashier!) But for a first VP build, it does the job.

See you in 2020.

[quicksilver]

@Dipkid said in Retro game stuff talk:

The NES, I sh*t you not; I found in a dumpster, with all the cables, 2 controllers, a zapper & 9 games.

WHAT?!?!?! someone just threw it away and it was working?

[Dipkid]

@quicksilver yes, probably someone's spouse or mother tossed it.. (we had a big spring cleaning in the attics and basements of the block were living in.) I could have picked up enough hifi stuff and older flatscreens to start my own shop :D