How to spot fake vs authentic Nintendo GBA games

[Makar | 2,062]

Fake GBA games, they're probably the most faked of any game on a system, probably after fake DS games. Don't believe me? Type in pokemon emerald on eBay. The first 6 listings are all fakes. One of the listings has sold 238 fake pokemon emeralds. Do your part, report any listings of fake games, or as they tend to call them, reproduction games. It is illegal to sell bootleg games. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pokemon+emerald&_trksid=p2380057.m4084.l1313

BUT MAKAR, HOW DO I KNOW IF MY GAME IS REAL?!? 

Unfortunately fake GBA games are harder to spot than DS games, but luckily there are a few easy ways to spot fake GBA games, especially when it comes to the most faked games, Pokemon games. The easiest way to tell if a GBA game is fake is the label, BUT only if it's a really poorly made label. Does my label look like the real label? Unfortunately over the past 5-10 years, scammers have gotten very good at making the labels look a lot better so you tend to have to rely on other methods now, which I'll talk about below. These methods will work even if you can't test the game, open it up, or see it in person. Opening it up to see if the board is legit is one way to tell if it's fake but I find that to be the most complicated method to verifying a game when these methods can do the trick more easily. 

THE 2 (OR SOMETIMES 4) CHARACTERS ON LABEL IMPRINT METHOD

Real GBA games have 2 characters imprinted into their label (sometimes 2 groups of 2 characters). These characters can be numbers or letters and the same game can have different characters. For example, my Pokemon emerald has an 11 imprinted on it but yours could have a 12 or 08. If your GBA game does not have 2 (or 2 sets of 2) characters imprinted into it's label, it's fake. Sometimes the 2 characters are hard to see, but I assure you, they're there somewhere. I have yet to see a legit GBA game without 2 characters imprinted into it's label. 

My legit Drill Dozer has 2 sets of 2 characters imprinted into it's label. E3 is slightly over the Nintendo official seal and 09 is above E3.

08 is above the official Nintendo seal on my legit Zelda four swords. 

11 is above the official Nintendo seal on my legit Emerald

09 is above the official Nintendo seal on my legit Pokemon ruby

 

THE 4 RECTANGLES METHOD (FOR POKEMON GAMES ONLY)

Turn over your main series GBA Pokemon game. Look in the top left corner. Are there 4 rectangles? If there aren't, your game is fake. 

Pics below are all of legit Pokemon games. I have a blue circle around the 4 rectangles, and then the same pic without a circle on it just so you can see the whole board. 

 

THIS IS THE BACK OF A FAKE POKEMON RUBY. Notice there are no 4 rectangles in the top left corner. 

 

There are definitely other methods to spotting fake GBA games, most of which involve the board. Please feel free to post your methods too. If you have any questions, please ask. 

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Makar

[guitarzombie | 935]

Ive been saying that there should be a sticky thread for this, including NES/SNES for anyone thats unsure what to look for.  The number in the label also applies for Game Boy and probably Game Boy Color too.

[Makar | 2,062]

1 hour ago, guitarzombie said:

Ive been saying that there should be a sticky thread for this, including NES/SNES for anyone thats unsure what to look for.  The number in the label also applies for Game Boy and probably Game Boy Color too.

Not a bad idea at all. @Gloves what do you think?

[Gloves | 12,240]

Rather than a pin, I've moved it to the Guides section.

This forum moves more slowly in general. If you wanted to do a couple of these for various consoles and then have a thread linking to each, I might pin that. I'd rather not pin too too much if we can help it.

[guitarzombie | 935]

38 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Rather than a pin, I've moved it to the Guides section.

This forum moves more slowly in general. If you wanted to do a couple of these for various consoles and then have a thread linking to each, I might pin that. I'd rather not pin too too much if we can help it.

I suggested it because I figured this section gets more attention.  I remember the constant new threads on NA asking if their game was real or not, so figured a sticky at the top might do the trick.

[Gloves | 12,240]

Most people who come to forums with a question don't bother looking manually for an answer. Heck most don't even use the search option. 

If we saw a lot of people here asking if their GBA games were real it might be a stick, but for now it is not.

[guitarzombie | 935]

Just now, Gloves said:

Most people who come to forums with a question don't bother looking manually for an answer. Heck most don't even use the search option. 

If we saw a lot of people here asking if their GBA games were real it might be a stick, but for now it is not.

I was thinking more of a 'master' thread for all things cart based.  But then again I don't think i've seen one of those threads asking if their game was a boot in a year this place has been around.

[Gloves | 12,240]

1 minute ago, guitarzombie said:

I was thinking more of a 'master' thread for all things cart based.  But then again I don't think i've seen one of those threads asking if their game was a boot in a year this place has been around.

Exactly. I've seen a few of people asking if their sealed game was an original seal, that's been about it so far.

Not getting pinned isn't like some shameful thing or anything, we do appreciate both the thread and your suggestion, so definitely don't feel like it's wasted breath. There's just reasons it's not a sticky at this time. I'd still love to see more content like this, it's very helpful.

[Estil | 1,291]

Let's see...

1. The laziest and easiest to spot fakes are when they don't even get the label right.  That is, the label on the fake looks nothing like the real one (some fake SMB3 GBA games are like that)

2. Make sure the ESRB rating logo and the Nintendo (not Nintondo!!) logos look exactly the way they're supposed to.  The "Game Boy Advance" logo on the front and the Nintendo (not Nintondo!!) logo on the back should always look the same on all GBA carts.  Make sure the letters/words on the label are clear and not fuzzy.

3. As already mentioned, a real cartridge should show an indented two digit number on the label.

4. Look at the game's cartridge contacts...make sure the (C) 2001 Nintendo is clearly visible above the connectors (white letters on green background) and is the correct font.

And none of these involve having to open the cartridge.  But these (especially the last one) should catch most fakes most of the time.  Be especially careful of the Pokemon games as they might put more effort into making it look right.

It's not much different from detecting counterfeit money really.

[Tanooki | 5,103]

Add to that the plastic molding inconsistencies on the GBA carts.  There's a few eye easy tells, and one if it's bad enough is too but definitely for feels.  The rear, the never the font, spacing, and/or depth and clarity of the rear stamping on the back right.  The rear of your fake next to non-fake pokemon up there at the bottom of the post illustrates it fairly well but it's easier to make out on the normal gray type.  The badly done ones you can see it too, but mostly it's down to feel, but the seam around the edges of the cart isn't 100% lined up, and if you can't see it, you can feel it.  Your thumb rubbed over it will catch, kind of like rubbing over a bladed edge so it feels sharp, scratchy even as you rub across it (not with it.)

Occasionally they'll fubar the front GBA logo too, but I haven't seen that on more recent stuff like the rest, just the older wannabe molds when they started to try faking better.  Kind of like back then they never did (C)NINTENDO up by the pins, but most fakes get that now too to cover their tracks.

[guitarzombie | 935]

I should mention too sometimes the plastic casing doesn't have the font correct on the back for "Nintendo".  Instead of the O being thicker on the left and right side, the thickness is uniform, just like this o.

[Capn_RDM | 9]

Thanks all for the info in this thread!  Picked up a nice, clean GBA along with a couple CIB games for my son this Christmas and this info came in handy!