Zelda Game and Watch device

[eri0o]

Recently got the small Zelda Game and Watch device and it's a sweet little thing. It's a small device that you can play Zelda I, Zelda II and Zelda Link's Awakening (the original one, not even the dx).

It's such a nice thing. It has buttons for that and that's it. It does also contain a timer and a clock and a mini game. It's battery apparently lasts a lot, I am still in the first charge.

It totally makes me imagine a small device that only plays a small selection of ags games - although I have no idea how the thing would look like.

I saw that apparently there is one that only plays Mario 1 too, but I don't think I will get that. I have been rediscovering the original Gameboy and Gameboy Color and the mindset to play is so nice - grab the cart, shove the cart in and play, no updates, you can turn things off at any time. The games are also things that you can play a little and turn off - works great in busy adult life, lol.

But anyway, back to the Zelda Game Watch, I think if I would complain one thing is it deserved a physical volume slider or at least a mute button. If you want to change the volume you have to press a small config button and then find the option in the menu, and then click it and then opens another window to change the volume. You can also place your finger over the speaker output to muffle the sound.

Ah, the device has a clock so you can play while you wait for something - maybe the lunch break.

Anyway, I played Zelda I and II way too young and didn't finish neither at the time (I think), and it's a nice experience to revisit and it's a device I could hand to kid at some point and not worry too much.

[LimpingFish]

I saw that apparently there is one that only plays Mario 1 too, but I don't think I will get that.

I have that. It has Super Mario Bros, the Japanese Super Mario Bros 2, and Ball, a Game & Watch title. I agree with your points about it lacking certain features, but the resume game feature is dope.

I remember seeing a YouTube video about someone soldiering a headphone jack into the Zelda one (EDIT: here).

[Khris]

I got this a few months ago:
https://anbernic.com/products/rg35xx?variant=43649446805761
(from here: https://www.geekbuying.com/item/ANBERNIC-RG35XX-Handheld-Game-Console-64GB-Card-Grey-519449.html)

It boots really fast, has a great UI and emulates everything up to and including Playstation 1 games.
It costs about as much as the Zelda G&W but also plays the SNES, GBC and GBA games
You can even use it like a console if you connect it to a TV and a gamepad.

[eri0o]

Uhm, nice information it also has Mario 2, now I may get it, lol. Thanks!

@Khris how well does it work? Does it boots right away? Does it have too many software updates?

The other interesting thing I saw is there are some cheap kits to change the screen of Gameboy Color and some cool different plastic cases for it, and you simply get an old beaten up one to scavenge the main board, take out the screen, resolder it and put it in the new plastic. It looks reasonably doable and beaten up Gameboy Color can still be found reasonably at ok prices.

There is also apparently some chinese gameboy carts that are very cheap and work somewhat the same for simpler games.

I also saw some flasheable carts, thinking a bit to explore this paired along with GB Studio to make my own Gameboy games and play in real hardware.

I also was looking for a portable SNES that could boot real cartridges but apparently the ones available are using some unstable emulator instead of so.e regutted SNES chips.

[Khris]

@eri0o

It takes 13 seconds to boot to the console selection screen (including holding down the button to power it on). Way, way faster than for instance RetroPie.
You cannot connect this one to the internet; you simply put your games on an SD card and pop it in the 2nd SD card slot. Upgrading is possible if you flash a suitable image on the card in the 1st slot, but there's no reason to do this once you have a working system; it's not like you need to constantly update a gameboy emulator core

I've looked into DIY kits but I primarily wanted a new, reliable, fast handheld that emulates all the 80's and 90's consoles. The kits all seem to be Raspberry based and therefore running Retropie, so it'll take you about 2 minutes from powering it on to being able to play, which is a dealbreaker for me. I also find the controller configuration to be a massive headache. (And let's not talk about the fact that a Raspberry doesn't have a power switch...)

The RG35XX also has the Gameboy Pocket form factor but features the full set of PS1 controller buttons and a great screen. It also does use RetroArch under the hood, so you have the full range of settings to tinker with, if you want to.

I'm pretty sure a homebrew GB game will run fine on most GB cores, but I get the appeal of putting your own cartridge into an actual Gameboy

[eri0o]

Uhm, I think the magic of cartridges and Real Hardware™️ is a lot to me. I was wondering here whether to get one of those but for now I will restrict the emulation on my PC. I found a really nice GBC emulator on GitHub and am using it to play Survival Kids. I also found a repro of the English version of the cartridge on AliExpress for really cheap including shipping and got it (like around 6USD!), I will wait it arrive and test it as the real cartridge I can only find in Japanese - not sure if it was released in English at all, but I found a ROM in English and am playing it. The Japanese cartridges here are cheaper than in US, I guess because of the certain proximity (a lot of japanese people here) a lot of japanese cartridges are still somewhat easy to find.

I am happy playing on my flip GBA (I think it's called SP), and surprised how well the battery lasts.

I am looking around for some kit for writing in a cartridge, thinking about one cartridge with USB itself for quick dev/test cycle and one of those kits for recording in a single cartridge... To play with GB Studio. But still reading a lot on the topic, a lot of things in there are out of stock.

In the meantime I found a GBC screen that is around 50USD that includes the possibility to switch the palette of the game and some image filters... Also lots of plastic kits to customize your GBC are around 5USD! The hard part is getting an old GBC itself at a good price, they didn't sold as much here so there aren't a lot and I fear themselves will take some tax when shipping.

I ordered some things to play with here and will update when they arrive.

[eri0o]

Just updating, I've been slowly but surely since the last message playing with my new Gameboy hobby. The only Gameboy I had growing up was the Super Game Boy SNES cartridge and Pokemon Pinball and Donkey Kong Land... I mostly played games that I traded along with friends - my Pokemon playthrough was not on my cartridge on the Super Game Boy, although I think I also had the nocash emulator along with the rom for Pokemon Blue in a floppy disk. I don't remember where I put my Donkey Kong Land...

Anyway, I recently acquired a few used things, so the Gameboy Color I am playing is a beaten down that I got for really cheap online in a local market. I cleaned it up and it's what I am actually using for playing right now. The GBA SP and the teal Gameboy Color are from eBay, both I got from fairly good deals (I asked for cheaper prices in eBay and the seller accepted), I find I don't like much of catridge protruding in the GBA-SP and the other Gameboy Color is working very good, I will keep it as is. The screen of the GBA-SP surprised me and I find it easy on my eyes, and the battery is the only thing that has been replaced in this GBA-SP, it's fairly durable.

I am using rechargeable Toshiba batteries on the purple transparent gameboy I am playing.

The game I played the most was Survival Kids, which is a repro cartridge, which you can get for cheap (I got mine from Aliexpress and it was around 5 USD). It worked so well I ordered Metroid II, Shantae and Magical Chase from the same seller and they all work very well. Shantae is incredible, the game feels incredible modern, like when I played Shovel Knight for the first time. I have been playing Magical Chase a lot too, it's a shoot'em up that has a more slower pace than others I've played so I can relax a lot more playing it.

Mario Tennis I played as a kid, on a friends gameboy color at school, and had good memories. I found it used for a cheap price in a small local shop and forgot how much I am bad at it. I find the story mode has a lot of story that doesn't matter so I kinda wished for a simpler menu to access the modes instead of walking on the map, but the actual tennis matches are very fun and they happen fast, this is a good game to play between things.

Kirby Tilt'n Tumble, I wanted a version in English and could only find japanese cartridges available, I had to buy in a internet shop from here and it cost a lot, more than all other cartridges combined. It's hard to play because it doesn't works reversed in the GBA-SP cart slot and turning the screen makes it hard to see... This lead me to dive into...

I ordered a new AMOLED screen or whatever, the screen that has touch screen to select the different palettes and filters and all. I also ordered a new case and buttons... I will soon dive into the world of Gameboy modding and update it here when that happens!

[LimpingFish]

Nice!

I still have a bunch of GB/GBC carts...somewhere. Off the top of my head, uh, Metal Gear Solid, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Link's Awakening DX, Perfect Dark, Star Wars Racer, Pokemon Pinball, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Pokemon Blue, Pokemon Yellow, a really battered copy of Super Mario Land, maybe more. Some are boxed (MGS, the Zeldas, the Pokemon, and Perfect Dark), the others were bought as ex-rentals (I think). All were obtained during the GBC's original lifetime, and I owned more (Azure Dreams, R-TYPE DX, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Resident Evil Gaiden, Alone in the Dark, etc.) but these were traded-in, somewhere back in the mists of time.

Seeing Pokemon Pinball in your picture, reminded me of the built-in "rumble" those lumpy carts had. For such a limited system, the feedback in Pokemon Pinball, and especially in Star Wars Racer, was actually really well done. Perfect Dark was less impressive.

My purple GBC disappeared way, way, back, but I still have my original GBA (jet black, Toys'R'us exclusive, apparently ) purchased in...cheezus, when was it? 2002? I'm actually lucky to still have that GBA, as I had a hard case that I usually kept it in, along with a few carts, and that case vanished into the ether during a house move, along with the carts inside. It still bugs me that I can remember the exact carts, too; Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Golden Sun, Columns Crown, and the copy of Super Mario Advance 2 that came with my GBA. But I had, for some reason, put the GBA itself back in it's original box before the move. So it remains.

[Khris]

On the topic of rechargeable batteries, I recently discovered that these exist:
https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Batteries-Charging-Over-Charge-Protection/dp/B098QTZND6/
1.5V lithium ion batteries in the shape of a regular AAA or AA battery, perfect for gamepads and of course Gameboys

I also found my silver Gameboy Pocket and it's still working fine but the screen is so dim! Being used to bright phone screens it's kind of incredible how unreadable the screen is without a bright lamp close by.

[Danvzare]

Nice!

I still have a bunch of GB/GBC carts...somewhere.

Ah the Gameboy Colour... I still have mine. And the box it came in. And all of the games. And all of those game boxes. And all of the manuals. All in almost pristine condition as well. (Am I sitting on a gold mine?)

I haven't used it in years. Mostly because let's face it, you can't see anything on the damn screen unless the lighting is perfect. (Speaking of which, it's nice that the Switch emulates the actual colours you'd see on the real screen, instead of what the colours were supposed to be.)
It's a good thing I also still have my Gameboy Advance SP, so I can actually play the games with a backlight if I want. (Also surprisingly it still has a charge in it, despite having not been used in over a decade.)

I also found my silver Gameboy Pocket and it's still working fine but the screen is so dim! Being used to bright phone screens it's kind of incredible how unreadable the screen is without a bright lamp close by.

Trust me, it was unreadable back then. I can never forget the eye strain.
The horror of the lack of a proper backlight on the Gameboy is up there with the horrors of having to use a rubber ball mouse.
Optical mice and backlights are the BEST... MODERN... CONVENIENCES... EVER! 

[LimpingFish]

Ah the Gameboy Colour... I still have mine. And the box it came in. And all of the games. And all of those game boxes. And all of the manuals. All in almost pristine condition as well. (Am I sitting on a gold mine?)

Yes. Yes you are.

...

Maybe...

Buying and selling Gameboy games is apparently a minefield, and everybody is suspicious of everybody else, due to the amount of fake cartridges floating around. But authentic boxed games in very good condition can fetch hundreds of euro/dollars, depending on the titles. Even boxes and/or manuals can fetch decent prices, without the cartridge.

You can use a pricing website to gauge how much a game is worth, such as this random one here.

[Danvzare]

Ah the Gameboy Colour... I still have mine. And the box it came in. And all of the games. And all of those game boxes. And all of the manuals. All in almost pristine condition as well. (Am I sitting on a gold mine?)

Yes. Yes you are.

...

Maybe...

Buying and selling Gameboy games is apparently a minefield, and everybody is suspicious of everybody else, due to the amount of fake cartridges floating around. But authentic boxed games in very good condition can fetch hundreds of euro/dollars, depending on the titles. Even boxes and/or manuals can fetch decent prices, without the cartridge.

You can use a pricing website to gauge how much a game is worth, such as this random one here.

Cool. I guess my hoarding finally paid off for once. 
I never threw away the boxes because they looked too... for lack of a better word "important". I mean, they had a picture on the front of them. (It's very nice looking packaging.)
Clearly my sister thought the same thing, since she kept all of hers as well (she didn't keep any boxes for the consoles themselves though, unlike me).

I remember buying Pokemon Red for around £5. I liked Pokemon Gold, it was cheap, so I figured why not buy it.
Using that website you linked, I can see that now it's worth £200. 

Now if only I wasn't still a hoarder, I'd probably consider selling them. Too bad I buy my games to keep them.