At first glance, you're not sure if this system is just a gimmick by Nintendo to sell more GBAs, or if it really is a well-intentioned game machine delivered in the smallest of packages. After a few minutes of play, we've been convinced that it's the latter. Although there are obvious drawbacks to playing on the Micro rather than the more comfortable GBA SP or standard Game Boy Advance, the GB Micro is a handy little gadget to have, and is plenty capable as a game machine even at its diminutive size.
The GB Micro's chief feature is its incredible size, but the thing that we find almost more impressive is its screen. Vastly superior to the GBA SP screen, the brightness on this tiny doodad is even brighter than the Nintendo DS, and approaching the luminance of the PSP. (You can even crank up the brightness way past the default setting.) Although it was a little too foggy today in San Francisco to test it properly, the GB Micro didn't seem to wash out in sunlight. The system does seem to have a somewhat strict sweet spot in its viewing angle, shifting colors if you hold it at the wrong angle as LCDs tend to do, but it is only a slight shift unless you are drastically off-angle (and being this small, it's hard to view it that far off-axis and still play.) You won't see ghosting or bleeding from the refresh rate as you might with the PSP, but in fast-action scenes, the screen does lose its clarity. We're not sure if it's an issue with the screen or just the fact that we're staring at a monitor that's the size of a car key, but in the new Kim Possible 3, the game gave us a headache in the fast-moving rocket skate stages. The rest of the platforming stages were fine, and we've tried the Micro with a host of games with little trouble.
Is the GB Micro good enough for any GBA game? So far, we haven't hit on a game that's impossible to play on it. Nintendo squeeze the pixels in incredibly tight with this tiny system, so all of the detail is there -- with the handful of RPGs that we booted up with the pocket system. Games that use the tilt sensor are awkward since you're tilting a fraction of what you're used to in terms of system size and weight, but it's playable. We did notice some slight slowdown in sections that we didn't remember slowdown on our full-size GBAs, so performance may come into question occasionally, but on the other hand, the Micro played advanced 3D GBA games at full speed without a hitch.
As cool as the Micro is, the system's size has its drawbacks. It's so very small, and there is only so much room on the system for the game control. The D-Pad and slightly oversized B and A buttons are nice and accessible, and it's actually a comfortable system to hold because of its size. Unlike the GBA SP, with its awkward square design, the Micro is so small that its corners won't jam into your finger joints, and its weight is obviously very easy to support for long play sessions. And because the buttons are spread out by the screen to the edges instead of in the middle like the SP, some editors here are liking the feel of playing a Micro better than the cramped-together SP (you don't have to stack together or stack your fingers to play, thank the Lloyd.) In terms of comfort over a long play session, we'd rank the GBA line with the original GBA as best, then the Micro, then probably Nintendo DS (even if it is heavy) and the GBA SP last. Your feelings on its feel will likely vary, but for being as small as it is, you will be surprised how well the button layout makes the GB Micro comfortable to hold and play with.
The shoulder buttons are a different story, however. Nintendo chose to set the buttons to be hit in the inside edge rather than the outside, allowing you to rest your fingers along the top and press in with your relaxed fingers. It makes the system easy to hold, but it's not exactly an intuitive position for playing -- you can hit the buttons, but it's a different flex of the finger than normal, so you'll have to train yourself to play with a Micro. In general, we preferred playing it without fingering the shoulder buttons, feeling more comfortable holding the system and more in control of the game. Obviously, that's only going to work for a handful of games, and it's not like the shoulder buttons are impossible to hit; just uncomfortable. The Select and Start buttons are in an even worse position, placed at the very bottom of the system and underneath a slightly tilted lip. Not many games use those buttons for anything but a map or the pause function, but even then, they're hard to get at.
The story of the GB Micro hardware itself is pretty told with just the screen, the few face buttons, and the cart slot. There's little else to this lil' bad boy. There's a proper headphone jack at the bottom of the system (take that, GBA SP!), and the plug is far enough out of the way for the cord jack to not get in your way when you're playing games. On the other hand, instead of a Link Port, there is just an EXT port up top for plugging in the power adapter -- it's a different plug from that of the SP as well, so you'll need both plugged into your power strip for charging. The volume is handled with tiny buttons on the side (which, again, don't get in your way, and are nicely difficult to hit by accident), and by holding the L-trigger, you can crank the brightness up. The system has a small single speaker in the bottom right corner, which is decent on a system this size, but isn't the ideal way to listen to your GBA games -- the speaker is tinny in quality, and the volume is lower than the SP. There isn't a battery light, but the Micro does the SP and GBA one better on that -- the Select and Start buttons light up in two-tone colors, glowing at start-up (or while plugged in) with a blue light to show when there's enough charge and going red when the system is almost dead. The light will be off usually when you play, to further save battery. There's also a keychain slot on the side -- and for once, we have a system small enough to actually make sense as a keychain.
Finally, there's the removable faceplate. This is one of the sort of hidden surprises with the GB Micro, and even though it's an advertised feature (the package even comes with three faceplates), it kind of catches you off-guard when you first pry at the plate and it comes off. Taking the faceplates off takes some care, as the locks for the faceplates are press-in hooks on one side but tilt-out hooks on the opposite side. We haven't broken a faceplate taking it on and off yet, so it holds up better than expected when some knucklehead comes along and pries it off without knowing which way the hooks go. The ability to constantly change the look for your GB Micro is nice, but one of the best things about the detachable faceplate is that it covers the screen -- the unit includes a plastic window that protects the screen, and when you've gotten too many dings and scratches in a faceplate, toss it and get a new one.
The GB Micro isn't exactly the ideal way to enjoy Game Boy Advance games, but don't misjudge it by its size. Given the choice between toting a GBA SP in our backpacks or a GB Micro in our pockets, we'll take the Micro. It's tiny, its screen is amazing, and it is surprisingly comfortable to hold. At a price tag of $100, it's not a no-brainer to run out and get a Micro (the full-sized SP is $20 cheaper), but it's clearly a handy game system to have in your collection. You can put a Micro in your pocket when it hits stores on September 17.
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