Advance Wars: Thrift and Consequences
Jul. 1st, 2016 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsThursday I was in a local thrift store and saw an original-model Game Boy Advance for $3, complete with a game stuck in it. At that price I couldn't resist taking a chance on it, although I didn't expect much.
(I also bought a self-consciously daring backless dress, but that's a story for another time.)
Anyway, the GBA and the shocking revelations it revealed!
The free game was "Dogz," which appears to be pretty worthless (and if I wanted something like that, well, I picked up "Nintendogs" for DS at another thrift store for another $3 about a week ago), but still.
And the GBA was, unsurprisingly, DOA. Wouldn't power on.
However, I figured I might as well tinker with it as throw it away, and after a few online tutorials, I got it working! I had to clean corrosion/leakage off the battery contacts, give the insides a good cleaning, and fiddle with the power switch, but it does work! It's in pretty rough shape. The buttons are a bit stiff, there's a big scratch on the screen, and the said screen is one of those god-awful non-backlit ones the original GBAs had (I bought one when they came out, with Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, and I didn't get far on that screen; when I finally played CotM for real on my DS Lite I was literally surprised to find out what the game actually looked like --- "Oh, this part's a cave??").
But still, 48 hours ago I didn't have a device that would play original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, so I'll say that's not bad for $3, plus it was a fun project tinkering with it. (If I want to play GBA cartridges I'll still use my DS Lite).
However, it happened by chance that as I was finishing up I tested it out with my Castlevania Double Pack cartridge (contains Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow, the latter being probably my second-favorite video game of all time after Symphony of the Night), and found that my save data was all gone. In fact I saved the test-game, and the cartridge wouldn't hold the data for even an hour.
Emboldened by my success reviving the GBA, I went looking for how to replace the cartridge batteries (in the process discovering that I actually own a soldering iron --- well, a wood-burning tool that can also do soldering), but even as I looked, it niggled me. The game wasn't so old that the battery should be that dead, and then I found the horrible truth:
My cartridge, including my copy of probably my second-favorite video game ever, was a knockoff. I've owned it for years, played through it at least twice, and never realized.
It was actually quite obvious once I knew to look. Major tells: real GBA cartridges have a number stamped (pressed not printed) into their front label, the Nintendo logo on the back will be in the correct font, and legit Igavania games are not rated "E." Armed with this knowledge, I found that my copy of Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is also a knockoff. So yeah, my two favorite GBA cartridges, pretty much.
It got me all paranoid, but the rest of the collection seems to check out (including the free copy of Dogz, and all my DS and 3DS games --- haven't checked the PSP games yet). If I recall correctly both of the fakes came from Amazon marketplace sellers. Be careful what you buy on the internet, friends!
It's a little weird though. I'm not like all mad about being cheated (although I probably should be; replacing these with legit copies isn't going to be cheap). I'm not too proud to use emulators, either --- heck, I have a flash cart for my DS lite that will let me play these exact games on the exact system I'd be playing them on anyway (and use cheat codes!). But I still want to own proper copies, and knock-off cartridges just feel icky.
But at the same time, I don't know what to do with them now. I hate to just throw them in the trash, but I certainly can't sell them. If I ever do want to learn to replace GBA cartridge batteries, I guess I could practice on them...
(Or if anyone reading should happen to want them, I won't think any less of you, just know that the Castlevania one won't hold a save.)
(I also bought a self-consciously daring backless dress, but that's a story for another time.)
Anyway, the GBA and the shocking revelations it revealed!
The free game was "Dogz," which appears to be pretty worthless (and if I wanted something like that, well, I picked up "Nintendogs" for DS at another thrift store for another $3 about a week ago), but still.
And the GBA was, unsurprisingly, DOA. Wouldn't power on.
However, I figured I might as well tinker with it as throw it away, and after a few online tutorials, I got it working! I had to clean corrosion/leakage off the battery contacts, give the insides a good cleaning, and fiddle with the power switch, but it does work! It's in pretty rough shape. The buttons are a bit stiff, there's a big scratch on the screen, and the said screen is one of those god-awful non-backlit ones the original GBAs had (I bought one when they came out, with Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, and I didn't get far on that screen; when I finally played CotM for real on my DS Lite I was literally surprised to find out what the game actually looked like --- "Oh, this part's a cave??").
But still, 48 hours ago I didn't have a device that would play original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, so I'll say that's not bad for $3, plus it was a fun project tinkering with it. (If I want to play GBA cartridges I'll still use my DS Lite).
However, it happened by chance that as I was finishing up I tested it out with my Castlevania Double Pack cartridge (contains Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow, the latter being probably my second-favorite video game of all time after Symphony of the Night), and found that my save data was all gone. In fact I saved the test-game, and the cartridge wouldn't hold the data for even an hour.
Emboldened by my success reviving the GBA, I went looking for how to replace the cartridge batteries (in the process discovering that I actually own a soldering iron --- well, a wood-burning tool that can also do soldering), but even as I looked, it niggled me. The game wasn't so old that the battery should be that dead, and then I found the horrible truth:
My cartridge, including my copy of probably my second-favorite video game ever, was a knockoff. I've owned it for years, played through it at least twice, and never realized.
It was actually quite obvious once I knew to look. Major tells: real GBA cartridges have a number stamped (pressed not printed) into their front label, the Nintendo logo on the back will be in the correct font, and legit Igavania games are not rated "E." Armed with this knowledge, I found that my copy of Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is also a knockoff. So yeah, my two favorite GBA cartridges, pretty much.
It got me all paranoid, but the rest of the collection seems to check out (including the free copy of Dogz, and all my DS and 3DS games --- haven't checked the PSP games yet). If I recall correctly both of the fakes came from Amazon marketplace sellers. Be careful what you buy on the internet, friends!
It's a little weird though. I'm not like all mad about being cheated (although I probably should be; replacing these with legit copies isn't going to be cheap). I'm not too proud to use emulators, either --- heck, I have a flash cart for my DS lite that will let me play these exact games on the exact system I'd be playing them on anyway (and use cheat codes!). But I still want to own proper copies, and knock-off cartridges just feel icky.
But at the same time, I don't know what to do with them now. I hate to just throw them in the trash, but I certainly can't sell them. If I ever do want to learn to replace GBA cartridge batteries, I guess I could practice on them...
(Or if anyone reading should happen to want them, I won't think any less of you, just know that the Castlevania one won't hold a save.)
