I wrote an article about the 3 games and just how good they are. Imo, they're extremely underrated. I really wanna play more games similar to it but I can't find much in the way of isometric collectathons(?) at all. Looking for any suggestions. Apologies if this isn't the right spot. GBA is retro right?...
This week's game is Little Master: Raikuban no Densetsu, a monster-focused strategy RPG brought to you by some of the people who would go on to make Okage: Shadow King. If you're familiar with Majin Tensei, this is essentially like that but cuter and simpler!
A couple of days ago, I posted some initial thoughts and rough testing of the FunnyPlaying GBC.
I decided to write up a full blog post with some additional details and potential alternatives for playing Game Boy and Game Boy Color on modern hardware.
Back in December, @hbgameclub held a #SHMUP competition, and I was introduced to Dangan GB2 (https://snorpung.itch.io/dangan-gb2). If you're not familiar, it's a bullet hell boss rush SHMUP for the Game Boy Color.
No, wait, come back! It's good!
It's good, and it's also hard. Deliberately so -- if you want an addictive challenge, it's a great choice. The boss design is awesome. Well, as far as I know they're all awesome ... I've only ever gotten to the third stage.
Even though I have a pair of Game Boy Color handhelds (one original and one with an IPS screen mod), a DMG Game Boy with an IPS screen mod, and an Analogue Pocket, I wanted to see what all the hubbub is with the new Funny Playing FPGA Game Boy Color. So, I picked up a kit and assembled it tonight.
Getting the battery and screen plugged in with my stubby fingers was not fun. But, I got it all put together in a translucent purple shell with clear buttons and purple membrane pads.
Updating the firmware was easy as plugging it onto my laptop, powering it up and copying over the update.bin file.
I have only tried it with my copy of Tetris and Road Rash so far. Not sure if I'll stick with the full screen or go back to the 4X with pixel line mode. Also need to test it with my EverDrive X7 flash cart.
Here's a comparison between the FP-GBC and a Game Boy Color with an IPS display. Using their GBC core (which you have to manually select) with GB_CLRFIX disabled, the screen doesn't flash when Super Mario Land 2 is paused. It does flash similar to the GBC when the setting is enabled.
But, the colors of the EverDrive X7 menu are swapped or inverted when it is enabled, making it hard to read. While I can start games and enter the menu from the EverDrive, loading previous game states will almost consistently return a white screen. When it does seem to work, audio is glitched out until the next note is played or the game is paused and unpaused.
Firmware version 1.08 is still lagging behind the Analogue Pocket by a long ways in terms of compatibility and options. Of course, the Pocket is a lot more expensive and they've had more time working on the cores (both the Analogue cores and the OpenFPGA cores) compared to the newness and fast turn nature of Funny Playing.
For those interested, here is a comparison of an Analogue Pocket and the Funny Playing FP-GBC.
The Pocket is running the Spiritualized v1.3.0 GBC core with display mode set to Original GBC LCD. The FP-GBC is running the GBC core included with firmware version 1.0.8 and with the CLRFIX setting on.
The color on the FP-GBC is similar to my Game Boy Color with an IPS display, which is logical. If I set the core display setting to Normal on the Pocket, it closely matches the GBC IPS displays.
Since I'm more accustomed to the faded colors of the OG Game Boy Color, I prefer the Original GBC LCD display mode setting on the Pocket.
I have horrible timing or sense of time, so I don't know if the FP-GBC is running at the correct speed compared to any other GBC or GBC cores on the Pocket.
Anyone know any games similar to the Spyro GBA ones? Isometric collectathons? I need more like this.
I wrote an article about the 3 games and just how good they are. Imo, they're extremely underrated. I really wanna play more games similar to it but I can't find much in the way of isometric collectathons(?) at all. Looking for any suggestions. Apologies if this isn't the right spot. GBA is retro right?...