Reader Reviews

Game Boy Player (Cube)

by Kami

One thing which I used to love about Pokémon Stadium on the N64 was linking up Pokémon to it. That was an era when I didn't quite get the point of those charge-packs and wasted a fortune on batteries while furiously playing Pokémon Gold. Still, good days.

So why'd it take me so long to get a GB Player for the Cube? I mean, logically it makes sense. It's cheaper than a Game Boy Advance. While admittedly not portable, it saves on batteries/power reserves when you're at home. And it conveniently slots in the bottom of the 'cube. Surely, a sound investment, right?

Adding an extra inch to your Cube is actually good. It looks more like a Cube than a box. Not to mention it looks pretty cool, just slotted in there. Makes it seem complete, whole. As if your Cube has been baying out for it since it was built.

Admittedly, it is rather good fun. But the backgrounds that it provides are somewhat dull and boring. While you may be thinking, "Who's looking at the background?" - Pokémon battles do tend to make your eye drift away from the action" and the backdrops are noticeably boring. While for me it swings my eye straight back to the action, some may just prefer the blank backdrop (I do)...

The list of options is initially quite appealing. But again, a quick check with a sound mind and after the great spending feeling subsides, shows that it's not really anything to shout about. Just a few small customisation options... nothing to shout about.

But it plays games well. Thankfully, the controls are relatively simple to get to grips with and you'll soon be playing games just as you normally would... the Cube's D-pad isn't exactly the greatest of things so you'll find yourself using the control stick much of the time. The resolution can be small or large, and the games scale up surprisingly well and don't really appear too blocky or stretched.

It also plays old GB and GBC games... again, surprisingly well. Although, to be honest, there are a handful which don't seem to like being played on a GB Player... which is surprising. RE Gaiden, for example, has a disgusting tendency to crash on the GB Player... although to be reasonable on the GB Player, it does crash a bit on the SP. Still, you'd somehow think quite reasonably that such games would run with no problems... Gaiden still prefers my Game Boy Color.

Not surprisingly, the best games that you can play on the GB Player are (shock horror!) SNES ports! Yes indeed people, the old SNES ports look so much better on a TV screen. Yoshi's Island, for example. It was good on the SNES. It was just as good on the GBA. And it's even better still in a GB Player... instead of the squashed nature which many of us frowned upon with Yoshi's Island, it is whole again. Which just kinda demonstrates a point to SNES ports, I think...

Also, the GB Player supposedly incorporates several "novel" forms of gameplay. Which isn't true, as you basically get what you expect. You can use your GBA or GBA SP as a controller (self-explanatory and you'd kinda expect that!). Or, and this is what galls me, have four players - one hooked up to a TV, the others on GBAs. Now, I'm sorry if Nintendo didn't realise this, but that is awfully cheap-as-heck. Since Mario Kart has a four-player split screen, it would have been nicer, and probably even more of a selling point, if you could have four-player split-screen GBA games. It probably would not have taken a huge amount to have implemented such an attractive and obvious feature (And probably be willing to pay more!). But it is a glaring omission that taints such a great idea...

So - is the GB Player worth £40? Well, yes and no. If you don't have a GBA, or GBA SP, but have a Cube - by all means. It costs the same as a game and you'll get loads of mileage from it with a whole new range of games to enjoy. If you have a GBA, it'll save on the batteries when at home I suppose. And if you have a GBA SP... there isn't much more to the GB Player than you already have - doesn't need recharging, admittedly, but that's the only bonus you'll get for your extra £40 investment.