Articles

What Use of Handheld?

Like many of you, I used
to utterly ignore the gaming giant’s miniature game console.
When not ignoring it, I scoffed at it. When not scoffing, I patronizingly
considered it a child’s toy on which to play dusty old arcade
games like Tetris or (even worse) inscrutable Japanese games like
Pokemon that only children could understand.

I had all the gaming I
possibly needed on my PC, right? How could I ever need another gaming
platform? Well, I mean, how could I need anything besides my PC and
my PlayStation2.

Six months later: Well
. . . how could I conceivably need anything more than my
PC, my PlayStation2, my XBox, and my GameCube?

By the time I had also
acquired an old NES, SNES and N64, it was time to admit that I had
developed a decidedly ecumenical approach to gaming consoles. Which
was a good thing. I now enjoy a greater variety of games than I ever
have. With the consoles, I can even play games that are much older
than what I can play on my PC, which is great for someone like me
who loves to explore classics from the past.

My New Best Friend

I
have also become, at last, a passionate fan of the GameBoy Advance.
In fact, I assume I am the oldest person in North America that carries
around a GameBoy. It pretty much goes wherever I go.

To be nerd specific, it’s
not merely a GameBoy that I tote around as my constant companion .
It’s a GameBoy Advance S.P. in fetching silvertone.
Having first ignored and then resisted the entire concept of handheld
gaming for years, I have now become a pocket console supergeek. Why?

First, just a tiny bit
of background for the Handheld Uninitiated. The GameBoy is now fifteen
years old and is by far the most successful gaming console of any
kind in the history of computer games. Its 1989 launch was given a
great boost by Nintento’s canny decision to bundle with it a
little game you may have heard of called Tetris.
Since then, through various iterations (Super GameBoy, Color GameBoy,
GameBoy Pocket, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, and GameBoy Advance
SP), the Little Handheld That Could hasn’t slowed down for a
second.

Let Me Count the
Ways

So what turned me into
such a shill for this peppy little device? Three things:

1. VISIBILITY.

The GameBoy Advance
SP, released in 2001, was the first version of the system to FINALLY,
THANK YOU JESUS, have a backlight. Before the SP all playing sessions
on the system were hampered by irritating visibility problems. Of
course, you could purchase a third-party light, but they were annoying
as well. Finding just the right amount of light at just the right
angle became more challenging than the games themselves. At last
there’s a GameBoy that you can play in the anywhere, even
in the dark!

2. CONTENT,
CONTENT, CONTENT.

I
don’t care what kind of games you like, you can find them
on the GameBoy. First of all, all GameBoy systems are fully backwards
compatible, so you can pop in a GameBoy cartridge from 1991 and
it’ll play on your new system. Second, there have been innumerable
ports of classic old NES, SNES, Saturn, and other consoles onto
the GBA. Finally, the console attracts the attention of many of
the best game developers in the business.

Now, you might be thinking,
“I’m a graphics whore. Playing really, really pretty
games is very important to me.” Ironically, the graphics limitations
of the GameBoy actually enhance the games. Now, don’t get
me wrong, many developers are doing lovely visual things with GBA
titles. But they know their graphics will never have the sexy sizzle
of the latest PC or Xbox title.

The happy result is
that the developers realize that, since their games can’t
look as good as other consoles, they’d better have gameplay
up the wazoo! This translates into a world of games that are simply
incredibly fun to play.

3. PORTABILITY.

Okay, I know this one
is obvious. But it’s still the great strength of the system.

I’m a contractor,
so I’m often working at remote sites, and this can mean lots
of eating alone in restaurants. No, don’t feel sorry for me.
Not anymore. With my trusty GBA in hand, lunch alone can be a diverting
and entertaining experience!

I don’t like to
fly. I’ve learned that, MUCH better than a mere book, playing
a game distracts me beautifully and almost completely from all of
those puzzling and ominous noises I don’t want to hear during
the flight. A couple of battles and I look up and Hey! It’s
LaGuardia!

My GBA can also get
me into fun conversations in public. The other night while I was
eating at the bar at a P.F. Chang’s, the couple next to me
leaned over and asked, “Okay, so what is that thing, Mini
Me’s laptop?” Sometimes, while hunched over my GBA in
a restaurant and furiously focusing on some cool onscreen endeavor,
the kid from the next table, overcome by curiosity, will come over
and demand to know what game I’m playing.

With my GBA in hand,
I can sneak in gaming sessions on a lunch break, in a boring taxi
ride, waiting in line at the Post Office, etc. In fact, I think
this is the single biggest draw the handheld has for me: That delicious
feeling that I’m sort of getting away with something.

Recommendations

So you think you might
be interested in taking a dip into the wonderful world of handheld
gaming but need a little guidance?

First of all, don’t
buy any GBA except the SP. The backlight is KEY. And it’s less
than $80 at Amazon.

Second, if you are a GameCube
owner, consider also acquiring a handy doodad called THE GAMEBOY PLAYER.
It’s an easy-to-use device that lets you use the GameCube to
play your GameBoy games on your television! This can be very helpful
when you’re starting a new GB game. Get a feel for the graphics
and the gameplay, then when you pop the cartridge back into your GameBoy
you’ll have a visual shorthand that makes playing the game easier.

And what games should
you try? Well, I hardly know where to start, there’s such an
embarrassment of riches to choose from.

Like side-scrolling action?
Try any of the Metroid or Castlevania
titles.

Like Mario? Try Mario
& Luigi: Superstar Saga, or any number of great
old Mario games that have been ported to the GBA.

Like RPGs? Try the Golden
Sun or Breath of Fire series
or Sword of Mana. Or even Baldur’s
Gate: Dark Alliance or Eye of the Beholder.

Like Zelda games? There
are a whole pile of Zelda games, both old and new, available.

Like Platformers? Try
any of the Spyro or Crash Bandicoot
games.

Like Strategy? It doesn’t
get much better than Advance Wars.

Or
how about my pet genre, strategy RPGs? Load up Final Fantasy
Tactics Advance or Fire Emblem
and watch the hours fly by.

And let’s not forget
about Adventure! There’s good choices here, too, from Bionicle,
to Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars,
Harry Potter, Déjà
vu, and Shadowgate (and Nancy
Drew/Haunted Mansion & The Fish Files
– ed).

Finally

Notice I haven’t talked
about the two large elephants sitting in two corners of the room:
The looming, much-discussed, much-debated, and highly-anticipated
showdown between the new, two-screen Nintendo GameBoy DS and the
sexy Sony PSP. My feeling is, let’s wait and see how everything
shakes out. What I do know is that the DS will still be backwards
compatible with all GameBoy Advance games (but NOT pre-GBA GameBoy
games).

I also haven’t discussed
things like phone games or the Nokia. As usual, I must plead personal
bias here, for two reasons: 1. I need my cell phone to make phone
calls. I don’t need it to take pictures, play games, or predict
the weather. Plus, the screens are even smaller than the GameBoy,
and my tired old eyes are only human!

But the bottom line is,
I recommend you consider giving the mighty GameBoy a tumble. How good
are the games on it? Well, here’s the best way I can demonstrate
their allure: It’s not at all uncommon, even when I’m
safe at home in my gaming haven, with all of my above-mentioned gaming
consoles old and new, to spend the evening playing a compelling GBA
title. When a game is so good you’d rather play it on a three-inch
screen than play the latest sexy XBox or PC title, that’s some
seriously yummy gaming, my friends.