Great improvements in the Game Boy Advance SP

Author's Rating:

Pros: Compact design, built-in light and flip up screen

Cons: None that I can see so far.

The Bottom Line: 
Great improvements make the Game Boy Advance SP a must-have handheld.

Author's Review
My kids had been bugging for a Game Boy Advance ever since it came out. We rented it from Blockbuster a few times to see what it was like and the kids loved it, but we didn't really have the money, so they were still stuck with their Game Boy Color. We had some extra money after tax time and when report cards came out, we decided to get them something they really wanted since their grades were so good. Since the Game Boy Advance SP just came out, we bought that since we knew the kids would eventually bug for it once they saw it advertised.

The unit itself is very compact compared to Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. When closed, it's about 3 inches by 3 inches and when the screen is flipped up, it's about 6 inches tall. The first thing my kids said when they saw it was: Cool! It looks like a laptop!. All the buttons are the same, except they are a little closer together because of the smaller design. Game Boy Advance SP did add one button, the light button, not only did they finally listen about needing a built-in light, you can choose to have it on or off. If the kids are in a dimly lit room, they will use the light, otherwise they don't use it to conserve battery power. It uses 32-bit power and digitized stereo sound, which gives you great graphics and sound.

The Screen

As I mentioned earlier, one of the biggest differences is the fact that the screen flips up, not only that, but it is a side lighted screen meaning no more straining to see the screen in poor lighting. The screen size is the same as on the Game Boy Advance, so don't worry about losing screen size with the more compact design.

Graphics

Honestly, I didn't think they could really improve upon the graphics from Game Boy Advance, but I was wrong! The colors are bolder and more vivid than before and the graphics are crisp and clear. You can really tell if you play a game on Game Boy Advance SP and then play the same game on Game Boy Color, the colors when using the Game Boy Color will looked washed out and faded compared to playing it on the Game Boy Advance SP.

Sound

This is another area that they seemed to greatly improve over previous versions. You won't find any pings and monotone sounds here, with the digitized stereo sound, you only get a nice stereo sound coming from the speaker. It won't be anything like what you get from your home stereo system, but it is improved over previous versions.

Controls

The controls are setup just like the Game Boy Advance. All the buttons are within easy reach when holding the game and there is no need to adjust the way you hold the unit in order to use the buttons. The major buttons that you will use are the A and B buttons, located to the right of the screen and the control pad, which is located to the left of the screen. The start and select buttons are located on near the bottom and then you have the L and R buttons on the top of the unit, which are considerably smaller than they were on the Game Boy Advance. It took my son a while to get used to the buttons, they respond to the slightest touch and he was so used to having to push hard on the buttons on his Game Boy Color to get them to respond. He has since gotten used to them and is having no problems. I also found the controls easy to use, I was afraid with the buttons being closer together that I would have a problem accidentally hitting the wrong button, but surprisingly I have had no problems.

Battery Life

This is one area they greatly improved, at least in my opinion. You don't use conventional batteries anymore, it comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack and AC adapter. No more making Energizer or Duracell rich! According to Nintendo, the battery will last 18 hours on a full charge without the light. My son used his for about 12 hours before having to charge his and that was with using the light at some times, so the charge does last a while. When you need to charge your unit, just plug in the AC adapter and you're all set. Another great thing is that you can play your Game Boy Advance SP while it's charging, it will take longer to fully charge, but I think it's great that you can use it while it's charging. Nintendo claims that it takes about 4 hours to fully charge the battery.

Games

There are a ton of games to choose from. One great thing about Game Boy Advance SP is that you can play any Game Boy game on it, whether it be one of the original Game Boy games all the way up to Game Boy Advance games. My kids are mainly Pokemon addicts, so along with the Game Boy Advance SP, we got them Pokemon Ruby and they are having a blast. There are games out there for everyone, no matter what type of game you like. So far, my kids are sticking with Pokemon and Zelda.

Overall

I have to say that they made a lot of improvements with the Game Boy Advance SP. The kids favorite improvement is the flip up screen, they just love it and so far they haven't forgotten to close it up when they're done playing it. My favorite improvement has to be the built-in light and the fact that you can choose to have it on or off.

I definitely recommend the Game Boy Advance SP to anyone wanting to upgrade. It's a great improvement over Game Boy Color and I think it has enough improvements over the Game Boy Advance to warrant the $100 purchase price.