GRcade Retro Gaming Chat

[Green Gecko]

I'm pretty sure I bought my copy of wind waker on launch day from Tescos as well. You know, when they still sold any Nintendo games.

Soldering is easy by the way, the trick is to not buy a gooseberry fool iron and use a small chisel tip. Yeah maybe surface mount components (SMDs) isn't the way to dip your toes in...

A dremel is good for cutting stuff up. I could do a whole load of mods but haven't yet for some reason. I'm going to reshell my new 3DS XL though because I got it pretty strawberry floated up from cash converters for just £70, just checked all the buttons and functions were good.

[The Doom Spoon]

I'm going to reshell my new 3DS XL though because I got it pretty strawberry floated up from cash converters for just £70, just checked all the buttons and functions were good.

That's a pretty good find! Is it a standard coloured one? I've never reshelled a DS before. Something I'll get round to especially when I want to make a Game Boy Macro.

I remember reading the manuals of new games on the bus on the way home .

Especially when I was younger and I wasn't allowed to go into town alone. Me and a friend sat in the back of the bus looking at the screenshots getting excited and fantasizing about what we were about to witness when we got it home.

[Sandy]

I made a macro, I just haven't gotten around to bondo-ing the top section and taking the nubs off yet.

I'm also in the process of trying to move the GBA connector deaper into the system to allow the cart to go all the way in. Results are middling.

[The Doom Spoon]

I made a macro, I just haven't gotten around to bondo-ing the top section and taking the nubs off yet.

I'm also in the process of trying to move the GBA connector deaper into the system to allow the cart to go all the way in. Results are middling.

How have you found the process? There's a guy I follow on Instagram who probably does the best conversions. He calls them the Neon Advance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnt0jLsFKcq/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1b0w5vwp0ctfj

He sells them for about £130 and I think they could be worth every penny for that level of detail... Still gonna give it a go myself though lol.

[Sandy]

How have you found the process? There's a guy I follow on Instagram who probably does the best conversions. He calls them the Neon Advance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnt0jLsFKcq/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1b0w5vwp0ctfj

He sells them for about £130 and I think they could be worth every penny for that level of detail... Still gonna give it a go myself though lol.

They do look beautiful and for £130 that looks well worth it if you don't like the DIY aspect.

Just to do the switch to single screen DS Lite is pretty easy. It just needs one resistor to trick the system into thinking the top screen is still there. I had a board I wasn't using that had the SMD resistor that I needed on it so I borrowing it from that and soldered it on. Nothing too complex.

Getting the case itself to look nice shouldn't be too hard but it's time consuming so it's taken a back seat for a little while until the winter comes and I can use that as an excuse to sit inside all day.

[Gemini73]

While I'm pleased with how my retro collection is shaping up it's a shadow of its former self. That said I did keep back a few classics after my clear out some several years ago, including this beauty.

Box is in good shape, (no cracks etc), inlays and manual also in good condition, and the disc is mint.

[jawafour]

I've enjoyed the talk about your Nintendo portable machines, Doom Spoon, and that copy of Tobal looks great, Gem!

With the reinvigoration of retro gaming chat here I've decide to resurrect the Retro Club Weekender! Please take a look and - hey! - if you feel like posting a pic there, go for it :-) .

[Green Gecko]

I'm going to reshell my new 3DS XL though because I got it pretty strawberry floated up from cash converters for just £70, just checked all the buttons and functions were good.

That's a pretty good find! Is it a standard coloured one? I've never reshelled a DS before. Something I'll get round to especially when I want to make a Game Boy Macro.

It's a metallic grey one with coloured letters on the face button. And I'm pretty sure it was a misprice, even though the receipt says new 3ds XL on it (randomly found it the other day). One of those heart pounding moments hoping I didn't let it on because I had just been at the indie store down the road thinking about getting one for over £100

Key thing to look out for on DS/3DS is the ribbon cables and ZIF connectors. I tore my microphone out, but I sold that one to fund the new. If you ever need a new 3DS microphone let me know as I still have the brand new replacement!

[The Doom Spoon]

It's a metallic grey one with coloured letters on the face button. And I'm pretty sure it was a misprice, even though the receipt says new 3ds XL on it (randomly found it the other day). One of those heart pounding moments hoping I didn't let it on because I had just been at the indie store down the road thinking about getting one for over £100

Key thing to look out for on DS/3DS is the ribbon cables and ZIF connectors. I tore my microphone out, but I sold that one to fund the new. If you ever need a new 3DS microphone let me know as I still have the brand new replacement!

Love it when that happens. I bought 2 Gameboy Micros from someone on Facebook for £20! One is great condition the other was reasonable. I felt bad and did let them know how much these goes for and they thanked me for my honesty but as they're untested they kept the price the same. Best find so far!

OK cool I'll keep that in mind when I take one apart! Done my homework so I'm relatively confident. I might do a video diary for it and stick it up on YouTube.

[Gemini73]

...

We briefly discussed folk asking silly prices for crap yesterday and on my hunt for a GBA SP I came across this prime example. This is the sellers photos and he wants £41 for it. I mean, look at the strawberry floating state of it! (He also states the screen not only has scratches but dust under it as well!).

[The Doom Spoon]

...

We briefly discussed folk asking silly prices for crap yesterday and on my hunt for a GBA SP I came across this prime example. This is the sellers photos and he wants £41 for it! I mean, look at the strawberry floating state of it! (He also states the screen has scratches and dust under the screen).

A good example of either someone who is naive and hasn't got a clue and has seen a good condition ags 101 go for big money and thought "hey I got one of them in bad condition maybe I can ask something for it!" or it's someone who has got a clue and thinks they can make a quick buck from someone who hasn't got much of an idea.

[kerr9000]

I have a Zelda GBA scratched probably worse than that but a perfect screen and it only cost me like £15 to £20 with about 15 carts and the wireless adapter, ..... Some people just have a stupid idea of what things are worth but sometimes it's worth asking any games with it etc as the side bits they'll chick in can be worth more than the machines etc

[The Doom Spoon]

I have a Zelda GBA scratched probably worse than that but a perfect screen and it only cost me like £15 to £20 with about 15 carts and the wireless adapter, ..... Some people just have a stupid idea of what things are worth but sometimes it's worth asking any games with it etc as the side bits they'll chick in can be worth more than the machines etc

It's amazing what people are willing to give away if you ask. I picked up an N64 with 2 controllers, the rumble pack and WWE No Mercy from a charity shop!

One person's trash is another person's treasure is so true when buying old games!

[Green Gecko]

I have one SP same colour as that which was left behind at my mum's office one day and I ended up with it. Been chucked about a fair bit (for a while the right shoulder button was stuck too), it's the only reason I have a copy of the (terrible) LOTR Return of the King (which I still lament blighting my collection on occasion . I certainly wouldn't ask 40 snoops for it. Yeah, punter probably saw an AGS-101 and "matched" to that. they are so uncommon now my local indie is doing them for about £80 when they come in in good nick.

I'm not sure there can be that much to shout about though, I think the front-light is OK, and if I wanted better, I would just mod it... Or play the same game on a DS Lite, which has a great little screen (maybe it's a bit small).

[The Doom Spoon]

I'm not sure there can be that much to shout about though, I think the front-light is OK, and if I wanted better, I would just mod it... Or play the same game on a DS Lite, which has a great little screen (maybe it's a bit small).

They are decent screens but the prices are getting a little silly. If you want the best looking screen the Micro had it covered. It squeezes the same pixel density into a little 2 inch screen. It basically makes the image close to HD quality but the small screen isn't the most useful with games with lots of text (you can read it clearly its just not ideal.).

The DS Lite screen is the best of both worlds
It's a higher resolution and it's actually a bit bigger than a SP screen plus being a more modern screen has high refresh rates so everything looks smoother plus its brighter. The best way to play gba games is using a DS Lite. If you're gonna spend £80 you might as well get a modded DS Lite.

[Victor Mildew]

I just so happen to have a dslite in great condition, boxed with an R4&M3 (... for playing movies ) I'd be willing to sell.

[Green Gecko]

Ah yeah I was thinking of the lower screen. Good point on the refresh rate, the subtle sort of scanline effect while kind of nostalgic and CRT-ish is technically a bit poor on SP. That and it's blue/greyish still.

[The Doom Spoon]

I just so happen to have a dslite in great condition, boxed with an R4&M3 (... for playing movies ) I'd be willing to sell.

Interested!

Ah yeah I was thinking of the lower screen. Good point on the refresh rate, the subtle sort of scanline effect while kind of nostalgic and CRT-ish is technically a bit poor on SP. That and it's blue/greyish still.

Admittedly there are much nicer ways to play GBA games. Third party "clone" systems like the Revo K101 or emulation stations like the GPS XD Plus are far more superior. I play on a modded GBA or a Micro because I like the thought on playing on original hardware. You get a feeling of playing the game how it was meant to be played. The Gameboy Macro is the best of both worlds. Original hardware but you get a far superior screen to play on.

[Gemini73]

Started a game of Dino Crisis via nullDC. It's definitely of its time, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. Runs very well on the DC emulator and naturally is a lot crisper than the PS1 version.

[Pedro]

So I picked up a Dreamcast for what I think was a good price (£40, two controllers, 1 VMU, VGA-->HDMI adapter box) with a couple of games (only Sonic Adventure worth mentioning) but got to say I'm a bit in love with the thing now I've figured the backups out. Playing Power Stone 2 and Project Justice looks great on a modern monitor and so many of these games never made it off the Dreamcast.

Q. Does anyone have any further recommendations/hidden gems for the console?

Sidenote: Also picked up a PSP GO so the same question could be applied for that as well.