GameBoy Advance - Suicine Edition

Introduction to the Nintendo GameBoy Advance

The GameBoy Advance (often referred to as GBA) is a 32-bit iteration of the GameBoy console and was released in 2001. It’s predecessors include the classic GameBoy, the GameBoy Pocket, the GameBoy Light as well as the GameBoy Color. Compared to the GameBoy Color, the GameBoy Advance featured an even larger screen clocking it at 2.90 inches with a wide-screen resolution of 240×160 pixels. That’s almost 70% more pixels than the GameBoy Color’s screen, which had a resolution of 160×144. Not only was the screen larger and featured a higher resolution, it could also display far more colours than it’s predecessor: it could display up to 32,768 different colours simultaneously. An additional feature that sets the GameBoy Advance apart from it’s predecessors are the L and R shoulder buttons, which allow for more advance gaming controls. Further improvements to the system include a two-color battery power indicator, which switched from green to red when battery is running low and an increased quoted playtime of 15 hours.

The GameBoy Advance in this post is the Suicine Pokémon special edition which was released to coincide with the Japanese release of the Pokémon Gold and Silver games. Officially this device was sold only in Japan exclusively in Pokémon Center stores.

Specifications

  • Product name: GameBoy Advance
  • Model number: AGB-001
  • Manufacturer: Nintendo
  • Product line: GameBoy line
  • Release date: March 21, 2001 (Japan)
  • Console Generation: Sixth generation
  • Game format: GameBoy Advance cartidges, GameBoy Color cartridges, GameBoy cartridges
  • Region lock: no
  • CPU: 32-bit
  • Screen size: 1.51 inches (4.08cm) × 2.41 inches (6.12cm) with a diagonal length of 2.90 inches (7.36cm)
  • Screen resolution: 240×160

The Box

The box of the GameBoy Advance Suicine edition features a light blue GameBoy advance device with the three legendary beasts of the Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal games. These games are GameBoy Color games, therefore the cartridge which can be seen sticking out of the GameBoy Advance is a Pokémon Crystal cartridge. Furthermore, behind the image of the GameBoy Advance silhouettes of  Incognito Pokémon are visible.

The standard GameBoy Advance box looks fairly similar, with the only differences being the box color, the missing Pokémon Center logos and the lack of Pokémon.

GameBoy Advance - box front

The standard GameBoy Advance was released in the following colors:

  • Arctic
  • Black
  • Orange
  • Fuchsia
  • Glacier (translucent blue/purple)
  • Indigo

Inside the Box

GameBoy Advance - device and box contents

A new Pokémon Suicine edition GameBoy Advance from Japan comes with the following box contents:

  • 1x GameBoy Advance device
  • 1x manual
  • 1x health and safety leaflet
  • 1x battery safety leaflet

The Device

Front

GameBoy Advance - front

On first glance one immediately notices the redesigned form-factor of the device. Instead of the screen and buttons being laid out vertically, here they have been laid out horizontally. The D-pad (directional pad) and the start and select buttons are now on the left next to the screen instead of under the screen. The A and B buttons are both located on the right of the screen, as well as the speaker grill. The power indicator is not located on the right side, compared to on the left side on older GameBoy models.

The Pokémon Suicine edition features silhouettes of Pikachu and Pichu, two iconic monsters from the Pokémon franchise, on both sides of the GameBoy Advance logo under the screen.

Back

GameBoy-Advance---back

The back of the device is where the battery compartment is housed, which fits two AA batteries. Device info can also be found here on the sticker above the battery compartment. Finally, the game cartridge slot is located at the top of the device and accepts classic GameBoy, GameBoy Color and GameBoy advance games.

Right Side

GameBoy Advance - right

The right side of the console has no buttons or inputs, as this is where the player grips the device.

Left Side

GameBoy Advance - left

While the left side does not have any buttons same as the right side, it does include a loop for a safety strap.

Top

GameBoy Advance - top cartridge slot

The top of the handheld device is where the shoudler buttons are located. It also includes an EXT. port, which is slightly different to the one which can be found on the GameBoy Color and GameBoy Pocket models. On both sides of the EXT. port are two small empty rooms, which allow for devices to be connected and hooked to the device. One such device is a wireless dongles, as were bundled with Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeadGreen, that allowed for the communication between two GameBoy Advance devices. A second device which made use of the hooks was the GameBoy Advance to GameCube connection cable, which allowed for communication between the device and the Nintendo GameCube gaming console. Finally, the top is where the game cartridge slot is located.

Bottom

GameBoy Advance - bottom

On the GameBoy Advance the bottom of the device plays a larger role than in the past. As a result of the new form factor, the power switch and volume wheel could not be placed on either side of the device anymore. As a result, these were moved to the bottom of the device. The 3.5mm headphone jack is still located at the bottom of the device, as it was on previous GameBoy models.

 

Images by PlayEnthusiast.com, facts and trivia from the GameBoy Advance manual (as provided with the device), Nintendo.co.uk, Bulbapedia.net and the GBA Wikipedia page.