Experiences with Nintendo 64 to Gameboy SE adaptor
July 23, 2004 10:48 AM   Subscribe

NERDS, PLEASE ADVISE! ... I have an old (but still treasured) Nintendo 64. I am currently addicted to playing games on my Gameboy SE. A friend tells me you can play Gameboy cartridges on the new Gamecube. I am excited about this, and price a Gamecube with the Gameboy add-on. I find it will be $150 for this. I am only really interested in playing Gameboy cartridges, and not so much interested in Gamecube games. So I have found this gameboy adaptor for the n64, which I can find all over the place for about $30. This sounds awesome, especially since it's $120 cheaper and since I fear that if I upgrade to the gamecube I'll never play the n64 anymore.

My question is: is the gameboy-to-television image as good on this n64 cartridge? Has anyone actually played with this? Or if I'm just interested in playing Gameboy on the t.v. , is the Gamecube worth the money?

Thank you for your time on this most important discussion topic.
posted by Peter H to Technology (19 answers total)
 
I believe the old n64 cart can only play original GameBoy games and not GameBoy Advance games. (but I could be wrong)
posted by falconred at 10:53 AM on July 23, 2004


yep, pretty sure that n64 adapter predates the gameboy advance and won't work for ya.
posted by GeekAnimator at 11:08 AM on July 23, 2004


Yeah, I'm also 99% certain that it only works for GB and GB color games. 150 bucks it is!
posted by graventy at 11:35 AM on July 23, 2004


I'm having trouble with Gamboy SE, if you mean the Gameboy Advance SP (or the plain Gameboy Advance) then you need to get the Gamecube and Gameboy Advance Player (and WarioWare if you don't already have it because it's the best game for the GBA).

If you've got a Gameboy or Gameboy Color (with the square-ish cartridges) then the N64 version should be fine for you.
posted by revgeorge at 12:05 PM on July 23, 2004


Response by poster: Thank you for the replies! Yes, it is a gameboy SP - the new cartridges.

And this is the sound of $150 of sadness!

(to be certain though - i've heard some of the n64 cartridges don't work for gameboy advance cartridges, but are you all saying, NONE of them do? Can't something exist?)
posted by Peter H at 1:08 PM on July 23, 2004


Response by poster: Well, okay, is the Gamecube worth the money? For such a limited use?

Although the gamecube versions of smash bros, mario kart and 1080 do look amazing.
posted by Peter H at 1:10 PM on July 23, 2004


The gamecube is a really, really awesome console. It gets flack for being too kid-oriented, but it has some of the most innovative and fun games out there, if you can get past the cartooniness.
posted by Jairus at 1:16 PM on July 23, 2004


I got a gamecube for christmas for my 5 year old, and though it isn't the most "superior" system on the market, I have a lot of fun with mine. Expecially since most of the really good games for it are super cheap (as cheap or cheaper than the gameboy advance games).

As far as how the graphics look: for the gb advance add on for the gamecube, it looks pretty much the same as it does on the gameboy, but obviously bigger. I believe there are a few games that have extras if you have the gamegcube and the gameboy games (I believe a zelda game does this, though not certain).

Bottom line: 150 is cheap for the amount of fun you will have with it.

On preview: Super Smash Bro's for GC is one of the fun-est games available. Mario Kart Double Dash manages to be better than the previous versions. Never played 1080.

Other games we like: Soul Caliber II, WarioWorld, Super Monkey Ball, Pikmin, Super Mario Sunshine...
posted by Quartermass at 1:17 PM on July 23, 2004


I (heart) my Cube. Agreed about Super Smash Bros. Melee and Double Dash - also pick up the Sonic Mega Collection; for $20 you get the entire Genesis run of Sonic plus a few other related games, and it's a heck of a lot of fun. Super Mario Sunshine's fun, too, if incredibly frustrating at times.

So - yeah, go for the Cube and the GB Player. You won't be disappointed.
posted by wanderingmind at 1:50 PM on July 23, 2004


Yep, the Gamecube is excellent. People who sneer at it tend to be people who think that Metal Gear Solid on PS2 is brilliant ("finally! I can watch my game instead of having to play it!") or enjoy spending thousands every few years so they can play the latest cookie-cutter FPS on their PC.

If you want fun, go Gamecube. Heck, I paid £150 (that's like $300) for mine a few years ago with no games, and I've never regretted it. If you like the kind of games you get on the GBA, you'll like the GC.
posted by reklaw at 1:57 PM on July 23, 2004


I second all the Gamecube and game recommendations. We love ours and can't wait for Pikmin 2 to come out at the end of August. I also have an N64 that we still use to play Mario Golf (beats the Gamecube version IMHO) and the early Mario Party games.
posted by Otis at 2:50 PM on July 23, 2004


The gamecube is great(it's the only system I own), and does have a ton of great games, but I don't necessarily know if it's the best system available.

I think a modded Xbox is a pretty sweet setup (although, there are only about 3 games for it that I want to play), and PS2 is simply AWESOME with it's backwards compatibility and huge library. For RPGs, there is no choice.

Also, Metal Gear Solid is a freaking cool game. As is MGS2. They can get awfully talky and pretentious (the end of 2 in particular) but they are good games. And, both are available on the Gamecube.
posted by graventy at 3:50 PM on July 23, 2004


You can mod the xbox all over the place. I knew a guy who had a huge hard drive put in his xbox. He had downloaded every episode of the simpsons and they were all stored on his xbox, as were any other movie/game/mp3 they had downloaded. They had it networked with the other computers in the house.

Better than a Tivo.
posted by Espoo2 at 11:49 PM on July 23, 2004


You can 'mod' your GameCube, too...

Search google for "psoload" and do the math. Note: It's not nearly as good or fun as it sounds (for GameCube hacks).

The system itself is REALLY nice, though. Well built (I think...) well designed, etc, etc. Oh, and the controllers won't kill your wallet, too.
posted by shepd at 10:40 AM on July 24, 2004


Couldn't you buy a Gamecube with a broken laser assembly and use that with the Gameboy adapter if that's all you're going to use it for? You could probably pick one of those up pretty cheap. Though I'm not sure what the gameboy adapter requires I doubt it has a disc. Find out before you spend money, anyway.

That said, is there something you find better about gameboy games... or...?
posted by ODiV at 11:27 AM on July 24, 2004


GBA to TV transverter (out of stock, but there are other places that sell them).
posted by toby\flat2 at 12:50 PM on July 24, 2004


Couldn't you buy a Gamecube with a broken laser assembly and use that with the Gameboy adapter if that's all you're going to use it for?

the gameboy player for the the gamecube comes with a gamecube disc that is needed to play games on the gameboy player.

owning all three consoles. i think nintendo has giving me the best games for the best prices. and if you liked the n64 over the playstation i would advise the gamecube would be the best system suited to your tastes for you this round.

you can get a used gamecube for $79 usually with a free game. and i picked up my gameboy player second hand off ebay for $18...
posted by Dreamghost at 10:00 PM on July 24, 2004


And this is the sound of $150 of sadness!

It shouldn't be.. if you want to save $150, keep using your Gameboy ;-) Alternatively, if you don't want to spend any money, get a Gameboy emulator for your PC, they work extremely well. Of course, if your PC isn't convenient, then Gamecube it is!
posted by wackybrit at 2:35 AM on July 25, 2004


Response by poster: Well it sounds like Gamecube it is!

(thanks toby\flat2 for the GBA-tv device. I knew something like that had to exist. If it's cheap enough I might want it just as a gadget for another tv)

Thank you all for your answers!
-Peter
posted by Peter H at 8:32 AM on July 27, 2004


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