GBA player vs SNES output on a TV

[neorichieb1971]

A game I want to buy is Magical Adventure 3 on SFC, but its in Japanese. The GBA cart is available in English.

I'm assuming the SNES will output better given an OSSC to team up with. Another item I want is the GBA player which I will pickup in Japan.


So should I get the UK GBA cart via GBA player, or the SFC cartridge of the same game? If I had both, which would I prefer from a hardware perspective?


Thanks for your consideration.

[SavagePencil]

Get Everdrives and try both

The SNES will be outputting native 240p.

What output method will you be using for your GBA player?

[SCARTicus]

Easily the Super Famicom version. It has a larger visible play field thanks the the SFCs higher resolution. It will also have less input lag than the GBA Player, which has a rather unacceptable amount of lag using the official software. If you have a modded GC, then you can use the GBP with the homebrew GBI software, which helps but does not eliminate the lag. The SFC also has a far superior controller. Action games suck total ass on a GC controller, although I use a SNES controller on my GBP via an adapter.

No GBA port of a SNES or SFC game will play better than the originals. The audio WILL be inferior on GBA and the colors WILL be mussed to some degree. Donkey Kong Country 1,2 and 3 for example look like absolute dog shit on GBA.

[ASDR]

If you go the GBA route, make sure to pair up the GB Player with the GBI software instead of the original disc and you also get 240p with perfect sound & speed from the GC solution.

I'd go for the SFC cart if there's no language barrier and no other reasons to prefer the GBA version. It's higher-res and GBA games often have poor sound. I mean, they play great on my GB Micro but the lower res and often low-bitrate audio can be grating on an HDTV & big speakers.

[ASDR]

Action games suck total ass on a GC controller, although I use a SNES controller on my GBP via an adapter.

It's not exactly cheap these days but I can highly recommend the dedicated Gameboy Player controller Hori made for the GC. It's very much SNES inspired but has all the GC buttons and works great with the GBP and the few dpad playable games on the system.

[neorichieb1971]

I was going to buy both versions but i'm a sucker for complete packages. I did not know GBA games are the Rarez. The only complete copy of Magical Quest 3 on GBA is £100 on ebay.

I have a component cable for my Gamecube and its modded for US/JP playback. Its not modded for what I assume is homebrew software. I could give it to a friend who knows the technicalities of modding a GC although I doubt he has done one before.

I'm beginning to think the GBA player is a bad addition to my Japan trip shopping list. I might as well buy an SP, since it has a charger, will play the games as intended. I'll just have to get MQ3 on SFC and do with the Japanese text. From what i've seen of the text its hardly riveting stuff.


If you were going to Japan and you had one or two GBA games, would you buy a GBA player? I only have one GBA game at the moment, the Sega classics compilation.

I will look out for the pad, it looks rather swish.

[ASDR]

I have a component cable for my Gamecube and its modded for US/JP playback. Its not modded for what I assume is homebrew software. I could give it to a friend who knows the technicalities of modding a GC although I doubt he has done one before.

In order to play homebrew software like the GB Interface software all you need is a boot disc and an SD card -> memory card adapter. Those are still being made, I think I bought mine for 20GBP, which is probably less than what you'd have to pay for the software disc that comes with the GBP hardware. The GPB hardware is often sold without the disc and you'll pay through the nose for that stupid thing So even if you just buy it for running GBI, it's worth it. It's cheaper & better than the original and there are other neat homebrew things you can do. Your friend could also install a Xeno GC modchip. They're like 2.50$ and require basic soldering skills. Then you can just burn GBI on a mini DVD-R. Both methods are just fine.

If you're going to JP consider picking up the Hori pad, yeah. It's sweet, was only released over there and is not getting any cheaper.

[Ikaruga11]

No GBA port of a SNES or SFC game will play better than the originals. The audio WILL be inferior on GBA and the colors WILL be mussed to some degree. Donkey Kong Country 1,2 and 3 for example look like absolute dog shit on GBA.

There are patches that fix the butchered color palettes and sound effects on GBA SNES ports.

Also a lot of the SNES ports on GBA have new/extra content that makes them superior from a gameplay perspective. Plus there's the portability factor.

[Kez]

I have a component cable for my Gamecube and its modded for US/JP playback. Its not modded for what I assume is homebrew software.

Running homebrew on Gamecube is super easy. If you don't have a modchip then you can get the Datel SD Media Launcher, which is still available brand new. Put the .dol file on an SD card, put it in the included SD->MC adapter and boot with the disc.

[bigbadboaz]

If you're going to JP consider picking up the Hori pad, yeah. It's sweet, was only released over there and is not getting any cheaper.

I'm going to be the asshole here. For me, the Hori pad was a monster disappointment. They put stupid "grips" on the back - completely unnecessary - which ruin the way an SNES pad fits in the hand. Even worse, the D-pad was stiff and really not that playable. When in Japan, get hands-on time with this thing before deciding it's for you.