Double Agent
Dim screens, sweaty palms - June 13, 2001 - Chris Jones

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. No network connection for most of today... funny how you never miss things until they're gone. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Well, it's here.

I'd say more, but every line I write means less time spent with the GBA.

Onward.

Who needs fingertips, anyway?
I disagree with whoever is saying the GBA is too small for those with large hands. I got mine yesterday, and as someone who has big hands (helps with the guitar playing, don't you know), I think it's just peachy, size-wise. Although I can see why they might; if you are playing a game that requires you to constantly use the shoulder buttons, your hands may get a little cramped. However, if you use just the tops of your forefingers (the part above the first knuckle) to hit them, and don't keep your fingers on them unless you need to, it should be fine.

Jon

That's actually my main problem with the GBA - I feel like I'd greatly enjoy it if I cut off each of my fingers above the top knuckle. I don't have huge hands (I can palm the GBA lengthwise without too much trouble) but the entire thing sits about one inch lower on my hands than I'd like it to. I suppose I'll learn to hit the shoulder buttons with the lower part of my index finger, but it's still a pain I'd ideally not have to go through... maybe I should look into some of those oversized grips.

The BIG button
GBA ergonomical verdict: Lots of thumb strain, no RSI yet.

The big stress area so far (having been playing Wai Wai Racing, Pocket GTA and F-Zero on and off) seems to be racing titles. I don't seem to have much of a problem with anything but light for games like Castlevania or Mario Advance, but that group of racing titles seems to force a lot more on the thumbs by requiring a lot of constant and simultaneous pressing (acceleration, multiple turns)

A GBA face plate we managed to pick up at E3 seems to help alleviate pressure (it has an analog like stick and larger buttons), but the bottom line is you are probably not going to be playing these games for long periods of time, regardless of interest level.

Richard "KZ" Knight
(wonders why Mario 2 got so difficult all of a sudden...)

I've been taking a long, serious look at GBA accessories, moreso than any other system I've ever owned - grip extenders, faceplates, battery/adapter systems, and most importantly, lights. Not a lot of feedback on any of it yet, but if someone wants to volunteer a few succinct product reviews, send 'em in.

And my guess is that it's a lot harder to jump on a Shyguy just right when he's about 4 millimeters in size.

Sympathy for the devil
Chris,

Yeah. I can resist the GBA just fine. It's easy, really. All you have to do is not have any god damned money.

-The Neocount of Merentha, really wants to play CotM.

Eh, don't get too upset. I bought the damn thing even though I really can't afford it, and I probably won't be playing it all that much, compared to a real system. Just think of it as 130-odd bucks that you'll have for FFX and MGS2 in a few months.

A sinister resemblance
I know this is kinda out-of-date, but I just recently picked up Super Puzzle Fighter Turbo... and realized is practically identical to Sega's Baku Baku. Granted, the details are different, but fundamentally there are blocks which much be matched with other consumers blocks by color. Both games were released in 1996.

I can't say I was paying too much attention then, but was there a Sega-Capcom collaboration I missed? Or a lawsuit, perhaps? They're just too darned similar... what's the deal?

-Anson

You're right that the two games are damn near identical, but to the best of my knowledge, nobody's ever had much luck copyrighting a particular type of "drop pieces until they disappear" game. SPF2 has Street Fighter characters and uses gems rather than food and animals; that may well be all they need to claim uniqueness.

My personal theory, completely halfassed and based on no evidence whatsoever, is that the only person who could have made such a claim stick was Alexi Pajitnov, the inventor of Tetris (because obviously just about every falling puzzle piece game out there is a result of someone else saying "how can I be like Tetris, but not?") But since the Soviet government screwed him out of the royalties for many years, nobody was much in the way of enforcing copyright, so anybody could rip off anybody else's falling puzzle piece game.

Of course, if anyone knows the real story of the relationship between the two games, feel free to send it in.

In the beginning
Yo Chris,

I realize this topic was covered a few days ago, but I have something new to add to the debate on the order of games in a series and their respective creative direction. A number of high profile franchises from the NES/SNES era set the third game in the series as a prequel to the first two titles. Castlevania III starred the forefather of Simon Belmont, Zelda 3 told the story of the original Zelda and Link's ancestors, and Dragon Warrior III centered around the legendary Edrick mentioned in the first game. (I'm pretty sure there are a couple more I'm forgetting)

My theory on this is that by the time the third game rolls around, it's officially a "franchise," and thus, the game's creators want to explain the game's mythology a little bit. Just a guess.

-Evil Lights, who's planning on buying Final Fantasy Tactics, but doesn't like the idea of the Greatest Hits cover

Interesting... it'd also explain why the gameplay of those third games matched up with the first titles so well, because often those games take place in a game world that's a clear ancestor of the world of the first game, which would necessitate similar play styles. Good call.

When I'm not at home, I'm not playing the GBA
Recently, my friend who has been out of a job for the last few months sold me his Japanese Neo Geo Pocket Color and 2 games for $30 total so that he could purchase Madden 2001 on PS2. I've yet to even remember to ask for the device.

When I'm at school, I'm working or at least using one of their terminals to play NetHack.

When I'm on the road, I'm driving.

When I'm at work, I'm working.

That leaves my own home, and... I'm sorry, but when I have my 32" TV in front of me that has 7 systems hooked up to it, there is no way in high holy hell I'm going to dink around with a portable "console", or as I call them, glorified key-chain games.

Not to say I hate the system or the games; I got the chance to play F-Zero A today and I was rather pleased as to how it turned out... but, own one? Sorry, but I don't have the time or the desire.

-Thomas D Mc Nulty, who should probably get his NGPC and get his GB Pocket out of his trunk, where it's been sitting for the last couple of ... years?

Yep, that's pretty much the size of it for me too. The thing is, there's a whole lot of really good games out for the GBA, and more coming soon, and many of them are done in a tasty SNES-style 2D fashion that brings back memories from the halcyon days of yore... or something like that. I'm just hoping Nintendo makes a GBA-display mode on the Gamecube, because otherwise I may have just bought a very expensive paperweight.

Revolution without the R
I can resist the Game Boy Advance. I've got a Merlin. I don't need GBA. Merlin's better than GBA because you can play it with the lights off.

In all seriousness, though, there doesn't seem to be anything that innovative about the system. When PS2 came out, you could pop in SSX and realize that there was something very different here. GBA, at least at launch, looks to me like a refinement of GBC rather than the next step in portable gaming. It's more powerful, but the games are basically the same.

I'll be buying the new Stanley Kubrick box set instead.

--Pilcrow

I disagree tho; both the PS2 and GBAs aren't vastly new approaches to gaming, the way the N64 was - they're more powerful, higher resolution versions of what came before. Admittedly there's a big difference between the edgy, grainy 3D models of the PSX and the (largely) smooth, beautifully textured stuff on the PS2, but they're basically the same thing, just refined. Likewise, the GBA is to the GBC as the SNES was to the NES (now why isn't that an SAT question?), but that's fine: I'm perfectly happy to see shiny new versions of old classics, rather than constantly chasing after the next big thing. (Besides, it's a portable system... how much can anybody really do innovative work on something that small?)

Portability, not size
Chris,

To tell you the truth, I'm starting to wish that someone would release a portable that's maybe not so portable... well, let me explain. I tried out a demo unit of the GBA a few days ago at Wal-Mart, running Mario Advance. Now, I'm a guy with average sized hands and I found the little sucker to be incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe I'm not as dexterous as I used to be with the original GB, but I found it incredibly difficult to manipulate the D-pad and both face buttons (especially simultaneously, run-jumps were killing me) while holding the thing at a good angle to see the tiny screen.

Anyway, since I don't really do much portable gaming, I doubt I'll ever get a GBA. What I was thinking though, is I wish someone would make a unit, say 2 or 3 times the GBA for people who value comfort and screen real estate over portability. That way, when/if I did wanna get my portability on, I could do so more comfortably. I mean, really, I don't need the damn thing to fit in my pocket; a backpack would do just fine...

Regards,
alpha_weltall

Part of the discomfort at Wal-Mart might have just been to the way the unit was displayed - if it was attached to some sort of stiff connector that moved up and down slightly without letting you change the angle, I can see why you'd find it uncomfortable. (Many of the GBAs at E3 were set up the same way.) Try and track down a free standing one, you may find it makes a big difference.

As for ideal portable gaming systems, I'll make my standard rant once again: it's not as important for the whole thing to be in one easily graspable package as it is that the system be portable and relatively uncumbersome. The controller could be a different unit from the processor and screen (ideally a head mounted model) and as long as they didn't have easily lost/tangled parts, it'd be ok. There's really no reason to make it pocket sized as opposed to other, portable devices (like laptops) - as many people have already found out, you're asking for a badly scratched screen if you actually try to transport a GBA in an unprotected pocket. Ironically enough, Gumpei Yokoi, the creator of the original Game Boy, may have been on to something with the Virtual Boy... if only he had survived 15 or 20 more years, to when display technology got good enough and cheap enough to realize his dream.

Sion kindles my human warmth...
After reading a letter by CEO of Namco, I don't think the company should have any trouble with the "philosophy" part of Xenosaga. According to Mr. Nakamura the 21st century will be an "Era of Spirituality" and that the "tertiary industrial sector has given rise to higher dimensions: a fourth sector based on the intellect, and a fifth sector based on emotions." Um, yeah, clearly. Oh well, I guess its better than having a corporate philosophy of screwing games out of their money or something like that.

Christian Ashlock
P.S. Pac Man enkindles my human warmth

It's not that bad... most of the rest of the letter is about good old profit-making expansion. Still, you're right. If the CEO of the company can spew out touchy-feely crap like that, the game designers themselves should be able to wrap themselves in a philosophical straightjacket faster than you can say "Wave Existence".

Closing Comments:

More GBA stuff for tomorrow, if you please: this time more about games and accessories. See you then.

-Chris Jones, Color: Indigo

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