Is the original Gameboy worth owning to play?

[BriGuy82 | 768]

17 hours ago, peg said:

The original system is absolutely still worth playing...but with a few caveats.  If you are going to play the old-school brick "DMG" gameboy you need to get it modded.  The backlight & bivert mod is an absolute must.  I would also recommend the rechargable usb battery mod as well, so you don't have to run through a bunch of AAs all the time.   The DMG does actually have a lot going for it, as the d-pad is still one of the best Nintendo ever made, and the size is much more accommodating those those tiny, shitty and worthless d-pads of the later models.  I don't care about playing GBC games or advance stuff so I have no need for the later hardware, and if I did, I'd just use the GB Player for the cube.

I still play GB Tetris all the time on my modded DMG and it is much better than the newer models (GBC, GBP, Advance, SP, etc).  Those systems are all cheap pieces of shit in comparison and hypertapping is basically impossible on any of them.

So I'm leaning towards the DMG with the backlight and bivert mod. It looks like they have some backlight options that change the screen color, but I like the original green with the backlight the best. As far as the rechargeable USB mod goes, I'm not sure. I'll have to look more into that. I don't want to pull the trigger too quick here and be disappointed, and have to buy a bunch of different gameboys until I get it right.

[RH | 4,903]

4 minutes ago, BriGuy82 said:

So I'm leaning towards the DMG with the backlight and bivert mod. It looks like they have some backlight options that change the screen color, but I like the original green with the backlight the best. As far as the rechargeable USB mod goes, I'm not sure. I'll have to look more into that. I don't want to pull the trigger too quick here and be disappointed, and have to buy a bunch of different gameboys until I get it right.

Good call but to be 100% sure, try to use your GB unmodded (unless you’re just going to drop the $$$ to get a GB with all of those mods already installed) and be sure you like the feel and experience of playing on the brick. 

I don’t have a modded unit but I really like the brick. It’s so chunky and it’s good for adult hands.

[Gloves | 11,776]

I've been considering modding mine, simply to have a project to work on. But meh, I have enough stuff to be doing, it's not exactly cheap to do, and there are better ways to play the games.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

Yeah, you're better off using Super Gameboy or even emulation unless you're nostalgic for the original Gameboy.

 

[acromite53 | 337]

No way. The screen is a huge problem. The blurry ghosting in games with any speed makes it almost unplayable. Unless you have nostalgia for it, there is Zero reason to play it. Play a GBA SP 101.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

I had a GBA SP 101 and I thought it was great. No way I would go with the original.

[andrew244 | 26]

The original brick is the most comfortable original Gameboy imo. Big and chunky, feels nice in the hands, buttons feel solid (same size as the NES's iirc). The Pocket has the best b/w screen of the bunch and is better in almost every way save for the comfort. The screens are fine if you're playing in the light, unlike the Color or og GBA. Only problem is the DMG's screen kinda kills itself over time, either with the ribbon cable causing lines (easy fix) or that weird inky gunk that's built up in mine between the lcd layers.

[Nintegageo | 582]

Super Game Boy! It can also play the black cartridge GBC games, but not the see-through ones with the convex part at the top o the cartridge. Survival Kids is a good one you can play

[AstralSoul | 502]

Original Game Boy is absolutely worth playing but I'd recommend a GBA SP with a backlight, Game Boy Player or a Super Game Boy or some backlit mod on a Game Boy Pocket or Color.

[tbone3969 | 304]

I love my bivert modded OG Gameboy.  I suggest you go that route.

[Knuxie | 3]

To be honest, I'd suggest going with the Super Gameboy 2, or the Gamecube GBA player with custom GBA software (swiss)

 

If you want to stay portable, go with the Gameboy SP model AGS-101 specifically.

[Gloves | 11,776]

28 minutes ago, Knuxie said:

To be honest, I'd suggest going with the Super Gameboy 2, or the Gamecube GBA player with custom GBA software (swiss)

 

If you want to stay portable, go with the Gameboy SP model AGS-101 specifically.

Super Gameboy 2 is so nice. 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

11 hours ago, BriGuy82 said:

 As far as the rechargeable USB mod goes, I'm not sure. I'll have to look more into that

With how fast rechargable AA batteries charge these days, I stick with a couple of sets of those to hold you over  until you're ready a USB mod. 4 AA last me between 7-12 hours of play. Sometimes more depending on brightness settings. Gameboy color lasts 12+ on 2 AAs and they recharge in a hour or so. 

[Br81zad | 629]

Maybe just for a quick hit of nostalgia, but the OG isn't fun to play on (after experiencing the far better options available). 

If you want to just play all the way thru a game, I'd say just use the Super GameBoy. Save your eyes and your hands.

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

Have a look at the Game Boy Light. Was a Japan exclusive console with a great backlight, better than most mods. 

[Splain | 2,569]

I made a wooden one and a slim one. Both have a backlight and rechargeable battery. Both great to play.

[T-Pac | 7,539]

7 hours ago, Splain said:

I made a wooden one and a slim one. Both have a backlight and rechargeable battery. Both great to play.

Whoa - these are sick, Splain! The builds look so clean!

-CasualCart

[Tanooki | 4,933]

On 12/18/2019 at 1:46 PM, BriGuy82 said:

So for some reason I'm getting the itch to buy an original gameboy. It's one of the only things I traded in when I was an early teen and I regret it. I don't know anything about all the different mods and what not. I really would like to get an original one and just play it as is. But is it gonna strain my eyes and give me a migraine or what? I watched a few YouTube reviews and that screen looked pretty damn green and blurry. I'm on the fence here and I'd like to get some opinions. 

I'll answer this without reading responses already made so I could just be on repeat.  Is it worth it?  Mostly.  It would depend why you want it and what you may do to it away from being a stock system.  Working on them is something I do when I can find them local cheap and I refurbish/upgrade and then turn them back out into the wild for people to enjoy.  The original DMG style system will not give you a headache or give you eye strain, at least as long as you're in proper lighting as it's not backlit.  Also the refresh on the original is fairly bad so it blurs, not so terrible in most games but some with tiny objects or faster moving can get lost so a game like Gradius or Mega Man can be a bit worse off on it.

If you're worried about the blur and the green, mod it or leave it.  There is a GB Pocket, basically the same, but with a pure black/white panel and it blurs significantly less so it's far more enjoyable to use without worrying about minor upgrade hardware changes like the GBC has.

But if you want the the original brick, you can either replace the panel, throw a new one in there with some choice of color backlighting, and some even like to bivert it which swaps the way it displays (I'm not a fan.)  Personally for my own needs what I did was take an excellent GBC and I went to Handheld Legend and ordered a drop in LCD replacement, a new IPS backlighted panel and it's as pretty as the DSLite/3DS style panels, it's amazing.  Yes y ou have the auto coloring issue on older titles, but I think it's hold RIGHT+B BUtton to get black and white mode anyway so that negates it.

[BriGuy82 | 768]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

I'll answer this without reading responses already made so I could just be on repeat.  Is it worth it?  Mostly.  It would depend why you want it and what you may do to it away from being a stock system.  Working on them is something I do when I can find them local cheap and I refurbish/upgrade and then turn them back out into the wild for people to enjoy.  The original DMG style system will not give you a headache or give you eye strain, at least as long as you're in proper lighting as it's not backlit.  Also the refresh on the original is fairly bad so it blurs, not so terrible in most games but some with tiny objects or faster moving can get lost so a game like Gradius or Mega Man can be a bit worse off on it.

If you're worried about the blur and the green, mod it or leave it.  There is a GB Pocket, basically the same, but with a pure black/white panel and it blurs significantly less so it's far more enjoyable to use without worrying about minor upgrade hardware changes like the GBC has.

But if you want the the original brick, you can either replace the panel, throw a new one in there with some choice of color backlighting, and some even like to bivert it which swaps the way it displays (I'm not a fan.)  Personally for my own needs what I did was take an excellent GBC and I went to Handheld Legend and ordered a drop in LCD replacement, a new IPS backlighted panel and it's as pretty as the DSLite/3DS style panels, it's amazing.  Yes y ou have the auto coloring issue on older titles, but I think it's hold RIGHT+B BUtton to get black and white mode anyway so that negates it.

From the little bit of research I've done it almost seems that if you were to get the DMG model backlit you would also have to get the bivert mod as well or the image quality would be degraded no? 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Not that I've noticed.  I've seen it both ways, and I think it comes mostly down to preference.  Basically if I recall right you rotate the silver backing under the LCD 90 degrees, and install the bivert chip which basically 180's the visual output spectrum.  For some people they feel it's brighter, poppier, sharper, and for others it's just not right and they don't care.  Either way you're not getting a new better panel, it's a preference option is all when it comes to biverting.  The actual LCD swap, they work just fine and they're clear and clean much like if you found a way to light up a GB Pocket in a rough sense.  You have like maybe a half dozen or so color choices you can use for your panel in your DMG too, GBP I think was the same.  I didn't dig very far when I caught wind of handheld legend doing their own IPS, but what really nailed the door shut was finding a cheap and non-paint damaged GB LIGHT for $80 from the US so I've kid glove used that since.  I started talking to the company rep/owner through facebook and got some power ratings and it actually sips less than the popular freckleshack that started it, great refresh, bright and clear panel, so I dropped one of those into my grape GBC and have used it since.  It truly is the ULTIMATE 8bit Gameboy option for the best of all worlds without using a GBA.  I don't like  and never have liked the default blech color scheme old games GBC sets, so I do pick that black and white mode and even on the new panel it's strikingly beautiful.  Personally I'd strongly recommend skipping the DMG entirely unless you really really felt the need and do what I did.

 

Personally I like leaving stuff stock in general, but as I'm very budget tight I try and find things and refurb and repair them these days.  I typically work on GB, GBP, GBC and also the Virtual Boy ribbon repairs too but I can do a few others too.  I weighed my options probably longer than I should have before I tore into it so I'm just passing my thoughts on about the matter.

 

 

Hey for fun I've attached my recent stuff, the one on the left is the panel and my iphone kind of made it look a bit blue on the backlight, it's not like that for real.  The repop shell on that ended up having a sticky D-pad which ruined fighters/shooters using diagonals so I transplanted it into my grape one and put an original panel back in that and sold it after clearing the problem up after the fact.  The GBP there had been in a ruined rubbed bare paint/scratched/gone battery cover mess, and that other color was also destroyed and nothing but the screen and board were good originally on that too.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Tanooki

[peg | 370]

You definitely want the bivert mod done on the DMG, just doing the backlight by itself is ok, but it looks really washed out unless you do the bivert.  The bivert mod basically inverts the pixel colors, but you add a polarized screen to it which then inverts it again back to the original colors but with much better contrast.

Here's some more info if you haven't seen it yet.  I might take some pics of mine to show it off, but it really does look much, much better than the stock DMG, which I agree is unplayable.  You also want to order a glass screen to replace the original plastic one. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/comments/2uu8ru/for_those_of_you_considering_a_bivert_mod_heres/

 

If you mod the GBC you actually replace the entire LCD with a new screen, which also involves cutting up the interior of the plastic shell so that it will fit.  It's actually probably easier to do the GBC mod than than the bivert mod, but I still think the d-pad and buttons are complete shit on all of the other GB models except the original.  That is the only reason I kept the DMG is because the other models are unplayable for high level Tetris IMO.

 

Edited December 20, 2019 by peg

[Tanooki | 4,933]

8 hours ago, peg said:

If you mod the GBC you actually replace the entire LCD with a new screen, which also involves cutting up the interior of the plastic shell so that it will fit.  It's actually probably easier to do the GBC mod than than the bivert mod, but I still think the d-pad and buttons are complete shit on all of the other GB models except the original.  That is the only reason I kept the DMG is because the other models are unplayable for high level Tetris IMO.

 

That's false now.  If you get the kit from handheldlegend.com it's a true drop in LCD replacement with zero cutting required.  It even comes with a small 3D printed bracket to squarely mount it into the existing space.  Even the freckleshack unit required annoyingly to snip the tips of the pins off the board that are there from the cart slot being mounted and then laying a strip of kapton tape so it potentially doesn't cause a short.  The HHL one, it's a ribbon, super thin PCB, and another ribbon out to the LCD all in one nice piece.  You just bracket it in there, close it up and you're good, though you can optionally string a brightness touch sensor if you wish.

[BriGuy82 | 768]

I ended up getting the DMG with the backlight and bivert mod. Now I just have to get some games . I might even bite the bullet and get an everdrive too while I'm at it. 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

On 12/19/2019 at 10:27 AM, Gloves said:

I've been considering modding mine, simply to have a project to work on. But meh, I have enough stuff to be doing, it's not exactly cheap to do, and there are better ways to play the games.

Modding a GBA and GBC is really easy. They're plug and play now as long as you buy a shell with it. Otherwise it's just a small piece of plastic you need to chip away. DMG and Pockets require some soldering. I have a $10 soldering iron from radio shack and it did the job for my first DMG. It was literally 2 points for the screen and 4 or 5 for the bivert. 

 

I prefer handhelds to consoles tho. It feels like a more intimate way to play a game. 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

Here's a review and install of the lastest display from a popular YouTuber. It blows the back lit / bivert mod out the water. And it's $50 for the screen, just a little more solder work.

Skip to 6:10 for gameplay footage.

 

Highly suggest anyone looking to play the DMG to check out this mod. Truly incredible. 

Here's a link to the screen from a US seller.

https://www.retromodding.com/collections/featured-items/products/game-boy-backlit-tft-lcd?ref=97rnxwqscwf

Edited January 4, 2020 by RegularGuyGamer
The Fonz