Gameboy Micro Review

The big company Nintendo keeps thinking smaller and smaller with it’s dominant handheld system by introducing the Game Boy Micro, a tiny version of their SP that plays all of their Advance games while offering extreme portability.

The thing is small. The size is 4 inches by 2 inches. The Game Boy Micro is about the size of an Ipod, which makes it very portable. It fits in your pocket better than the Advance SP, but is more prone to getting the screen scratched (especially if you put it in your front pocket with a lot of change), unless you add a screen protector.

There are your standard Game Boy buttons: an ‘A’ and ‘B’ button, two shoulder buttons (a left and a right), and a nice digital control pad. The shoulder buttons seemed sturdy, as did the entire system. Measuring a little over ½ inch thick, you get the feeling that just because it is small, it will hold up better than the PSP if dropped multiple times.

The screen is very well lit. Even though it’s only a 2-inch LCD screen, you don’t have to squint your eyes to see it, which has plagued early Game Boy Advance systems. The game that I got to play was King of Swing, a game in the Donkey Kong series. The screen showed off excellent colors, true to Nintendo form and handled very well. Manipulating the buttons (the game used them all) with my big hands wasn’t a problem, which I thought would be because of its diminutive size.

The Micro uses the same processor as the Advance SP, so running any past games should be no problem. Unfortunately, it does not run Game Boy Color or older games. On the bottom are the ‘select’ and ‘start’ buttons, in translucent blue. A small feature, but it looks cool. You can adjust the screen’s brightness and add headphones, which I would suggest since the single speaker doesn’t put out the sound as well as the older systems did.

One negative aspect I find in the Micro is the Lithium-Ion battery. It lasts only a couple hours (according to the representative) and can only be charged by its own power cord. You cannot use the Nintendo DS charging cord or the Advance SP cord, which I couldn’t understand.

I was able to change the face plates. Depending on which color you buy (silver or black), you get two additional faceplates to change out. I didn't think this was really a selling feature since one set is more for girls and the other for boys.

The GameBoy Micro originally sold for $99, but Nintendo recently dropped the price in March and retailers are selling it for $89 (oooh, look out savings). Still I can save even 10 more dollars and get an Advance SP with a bigger screen and a longer lasting battery and the ability to play a larger library of Game Boy games. And besides, with Nintendo reissuing the Advance SPs with a brighter back-lit screen, I don’t see how the Micro can compare.

I’ll probably wait until the price drops or a must-have game comes out here in the U.S. (Mario Tennis will be available soon) before picking one of these up, but if you’re looking for a super-portable way to enjoy your Game Boy games, then this little powerhouse is for you.

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