I have the frontlit model closed and the New “Brighter One” open. The Bright backlit SP could be considered the successor to the frontlit model, it seemed to replaced it on the store shelves for that brief moment.
 Nintendo goes from light to bright!




I Released in Japan by Nintendo February 14, 2003.
Game Boy SP Review
      What is this in front of my eyes? Is it? Yes, it is light! Finally we have light from Nintendo! The Game Boy Advance has went through a total redesign and fitted into a clam shell body. We are back to the vertical design like the Game Boy Pocket and Color, except it folds in the middle, giving you a nice little portable size gaming machine that fits neatly into your pocket.


        In my opinion, this is the best design of the Game Boy Advance system. For some reason I find it very comfortable to hold. The first thing that is very noticeable is that the cart slot is now located at the bottom of the unit. AND NO HEADPHONE JACK!!! What were they thinking? You have to purchase an attachment to have a headphone jack. Who's idea was that? I have yet to purchase that add-on. This is the only real big flaw I find with this system design.
     I am going to include in this review both styles of Game Boy Advance SP units. The first one is the front light and the second one is the backlight model. As far as I can tell, both systems are the same except for the difference in the screens and the lighting. Two totally different TFT LCD hardware we are looking at here. Anyone who went from the old GBA to this newer model probably never picked the old one back up again. That may be the reason you see so many of the nonlit version used at such a low resale price.








Pros:
Light, both back and front.
Still the large gaming library.
Built-in rechargeable battery.
The laptop design for added portability.
The brighter light version.
Wireless link.
Backward Compatiblity.

Cons:
Built-in rechargeable proprietary battery.
Some past games and peripherals hindered by slot location.
No on board headphone jack, needs separate attachment.


.
Your gaming choices are the same as the original GBA. And yes the older carts still stick out, only this time it is from the bottom of the system.


    Just one example that the Game Boy SP is not fully compatible with all the old Original and Color Game Boy stuff.
 Games:
          It is the same as with the Original Game Boy Advance, it plays everything that is Game Boy. The only problem now is that the cart slot is at the bottom of the unit. Compatibility is now a problem with something like the Game Boy Camera or any Game Boy Color game that uses a tilt and tumble feature. It will be upside down for the camera and everything will be backwards for the tilting game. The brighter screen version is great for playing all those Original, Color, and GBA games. You have never seen all those older games look so good.
     I would be redundant if I did not mention the "wireless link" peripheral that you can purchase and attach to the back of the base. This is a wonderful little gadget. The Majesco model is the best because it supports the most games that uses the link feature. The Nintendo model was only compatible with certain games. Throw away that cord and get one. It is powered by the SP through the link port. A lot of peripherals have been produced for this system, including a TV tuner and Movie Player, but they are not always sold or made available outside of Japan.
     New to the GBA library is now a series of cartoons made available on carts. If you have a thing for the Saturday morning cartoons, you can get your fix on the go.




     In case no one has yet explained it to you, this is the only way to play Bubble Bobble with a fellow gamer. And if you just happen to have any other two player games, this is probably the best wireless link available for the Game Boy SP. It is called "Wireless Link" and it was marketed by Majesco. It has the best game compatiblity, even better than Nintendo's wireless link, form what I understand. It plugs into the top port and uses the SP for its power source.

Controls:
      With the unit open, the two shoulder buttons are hidden out of view, sort-of. They are located at the bottom of the screen on the backside or on the base of the unit. You have the typical "Nintendo" cross directional button and the “A,” “B,” select, and start buttons. All located basically like a Nintendo game pad. Your on/off switch is now located on the right side of the unit and the volume control is on the left. The volume control has changed from an analog wheel to a sliding button. Both, I assume are still some form of variable resistor. At the back of the unit's base, you will find the two peripheral slots with the GBA link port and now a proprietary AC adapter port located in-between.
 
 Power:
  For the first time, with this system, Nintendo decides not to continue its support of the AA and AAA battery market. They, for the first time, have a built-in proprietary lithium ion rechargeable battery. I have mixed feelings about built-in proprietary batteries. To me, they are both a "pro" and a "con." Will we be able to find a replacement 15 or 20 years from now? How about 7 years? All batteries have a lifespan. If there was a universal standard, I would have no problem. I can still play my vintage retro gaming systems of the past simply because they still make AA and AAA batteries and they are a universal standard. It is said that one charge will give you 10 or more hours of continuous play. I don't know because I have never sat for 10 hours playing and testing this out. I have never had a problem with loosing anything because of  a low battery problem. The power lights on the side give me enough warning time by their turning from green to red. Red means it is time to, save, plug up, and recharge. And you can continue to play while recharging.





CPU: Sharp ARM7TDMI  RISC 32-bit 16.8 MHz
4/8 MHz Z80 co-processor for backward compatibility.






The top screen is the frontlit model. It has the advantage of being able to turn the light off and playing it in the sunlight. The bottom screen is the backlit model with colors so rich it makes you want to scream. When placing both screens beside each other, even with the normal backlight, the backlight version gives the front light screen the appearance of being dark. Both screens are slightly recessed, and the ability of the unit to fold like a miniature laptop gives great protection to the screen against scratches. 		Screen:
      Front Light: The screen is the same size as the non-lit version. I am thinking that this is the same screen as the Original GBA. The front light gives you what was needed in the first place. The screen is highly visible. There was complaints with this and the non-lit version, at the time, concerning certain games that were still hard to see, like Castlevania.  The screen was still not very bright. Colors are good in low light situations, but they do look a little washed out and somewhat pale. Still it was a great improvement over the non-lit version. The advantage of this frontlit version is the ability to be able to turn the light off, with the button beneath the screen, and use it in sunlight. It still had the same reflective LCD as the original.
    Back Light: The screen is the same size. But I believe, from visually looking at both, that the actual screen is entirely different from the front light version. Different as in, an actual different component. The backlight gives you a very bright screen, filled with rich colors! You have no trouble seeing anything in this version. Even in daylight it is still visible. It has a very nice feature. The button under the screen now gives you the option of normal backlight and a bright backlight. No longer can you turn the light off and have a non-lit screen. This is the best of the GBA systems, in my opinion.
    





      If you can handle the eyesore of playing your Original and Color Games Then your choices of gaming on the Game Boy Sp becomes a vast library of games that will satisfy any retro hungry gamer.



    Another thing that you will have to contend with is the how you are going to view the game. You have two choices, one is a stretched screen or the tiny screen. The difference in the aspect ratio of the previous Game Boys and the Advance creates some nausea for any gaming purest. But this problem was on the unlit version as well. So I have learned to live with it and enjoy my retro gaming.
Final Thoughts: The extra bright backlit SP is my favorite version of the GBA. And the overall design of the SP gives you a better "in your pocket portable." One thing that is very true, as long as people bought this system, Nintendo will continued to sell them, and tons and tons of them have been sold. I think the extra bright GBA SP is the ultimate design, and a crowning achievement by Nintendo, for the GBA series. The amazing thing about Nintendo is that they use old technology and focus on what counts, the games. Sometimes the commercial hype gets us off focus and causes us to think we need some all powerful gaming system, when all we need is a good addictive game. The system has been well supported with third and first party games over the years and the system's 2D gaming gives one a modern retro experience. I think, for me, that part of my love for retro 2D is the hand drawn sprites and animation. I am so glad that this gaming system from Nintendo continued that tradition. This is a very "big thumbs up" for Nintendo's Brighter Game Boy Advance gaming experience.

 


Redesigned by Retro Junkie