Interested.. Gba Vs Gp32

[Thraka]

I cannot seem to search the forum well for GBA because it requires 4 letter words but I've done a bit of browsing. While there is extensive talk of Zodiac vs GBA I couldn't find much on GBA.

I'm interested in playing my old C64 and NES stuff. SNES and GENESIS would be way way fun. But I also have a few GBA games I play on my Gamecube that I would love to be able to play in the car or something.

How much emulation is available for the GBA? Do they run well? How well compared to the GP32. What about homebew games? Is there a lot of stuff for either?

Please help me out. I want to purchase GP32 really bad but I do not want to make a mistake...

Thanks for your help friends!

Andy

 

[toxibunny]

as far as i know, GP32 is better at emulating *everything* than the GBA... apart from SNES...

it's all down to CPU speed.


...but the GBA SNES emulator uses the GBA's special hardware well..

 

[Racemaniac]

they're both good, i've got a gp32 for a long time, great handheld, but also bought a gba with flash cardridge, gp32 got great emus and nice homebrew games, the gba got great commercial games and some nice emus, they kind of overlap

 

[PAUL103DOGS]

GP32 SNES emulation is better (and cheaper) than GBA SNES emulation. SNES on GBA doesnt run many games and doesnt run them well, with bugs. GP32 is infinetly better than GBA for emulation. As for homebrew games, i dont know.

 

[Miner49er]

I also own both GBA and GP32...


Hardware:

The first thing I would point out is that (at least with my hardware) the GBA is _A LOT_ better in terms of physical build quality. GBA just feels better, solid, sturdy and strong. Whereas the GP32 feels somehow less solid and sturdy. the Joystick on the GP also is fairly poor. Initially I thought the joystick was great but now I much prefer the GBA dpad. Why? My Joystick won't do diagonals! It's a pain in the ass, as there are many many games that require this kindof precise movement.

Then you must compare the media. If your gonna get a GBA then you must get a flashable cart, can be exspensive. Mine is a pain to write to via the parralell port as well, it takes ages and sometimes won't work. However once you got your stuff on the cart it's great! The GP32 is _much_easier by comparison. SmartMedia cards are cheap as chips and dead easy to copy onto (get a flash card reader!).



Software:

Many commercial games are available for the GBA and they're very good. There is a lot of emulator stuff as well, though some will not run/play as well as the GP equivilents mainly due to the CPU speed differences and the lower screen resolution of the GBA. On my 256M cart I have loads of Speccy games, nes games, Sega Master System games, GB/GBC games and a couple of commercial games. I havn't bothered re-flashing for months though as it's annoying to do....and I'm perfectly happy with the games that are on there.

GP32 is brilliant for software, expect to never pay anything for anything (but make donations to the fantastic coders out there ). The emus are brilliant couldn't ask for anything more really!


Overall, the choice is yours. I expect the GBA will physically last longer, but the GP does so much more (I forgot to mention MP3 player!!!) and will keep you entertained for hours on end - I love em both though and would'nt part with either as they both have their advantages...

Hope that helps and doesn't cause more confusion!

Miner49er

 

[KickinWing]

has anybody tried a GBA Flash card in the DS yet? If so, does the DS run the homebrewn stuff for GBA just as well as the GBA itself?

 

[EvilBoB]

has anybody tried a GBA Flash card in the DS yet? If so, does the DS run the homebrewn stuff for GBA just as well as the GBA itself?

​

The DS runs GBA flash cards without a problem. There is also a way of using a GBA flash card to run DS games (yes, you heard correctly)... Have a look around for the ROMs.

I haven't used my GBA since I got my GP32 for christmas - it's Soooo much better than the Nintendo...

 

[skeezix]

I wouldn't know, but as I understand it, when the DS is in GBA-cart mode, the DS componentry is disabled.. so it sounds unlikely that a GBA flas cart could invoke DS software. There've been a few hoaxes for sure...

Any urls?

jeff

 

[Steve-O]

I wouldn't know, but as I understand it, when the DS is in GBA-cart mode, the DS componentry is disabled.. so it sounds unlikely that a GBA flas cart could invoke DS software. There've been a few hoaxes for sure...

Any urls?

jeff

​

Apparently the GBA Flash Card thing does work in the DS for DS Roms. Maybe if there is a autodetect thing that detects the kind of card, they might have came up with like a "Crack" that enables the DS Hardware again or something

Personally I think the GP32 is 100 times better than a GBA

 

[DaveC]

The GBA will never run Genesis either. The GP32 runs it quite well. Plus the GBA screen is small, low res, and is washed out, it just plain sucks compared to a BLU.

 

[DaveC]

I also own both GBA and GP32...


Hardware:

The first thing I would point out is that (at least with my hardware) the GBA is _A LOT_ better in terms of physical build quality. GBA just feels better, solid, sturdy and strong. Whereas the GP32 feels somehow less solid and sturdy. the Joystick on the GP also is fairly poor. Initially I thought the joystick was great but now I much prefer the GBA dpad. Why? My Joystick won't do diagonals! It's a pain in the ass, as there are many many games that require this kindof precise movement.

​

Me and a few friends have GP32s and the diagonals work perfectly. We have BLUs, so they are relatively new. Yours must be old and worn out.

 

[Fishbong]

Probably the 111st. GP32 vs. GBA thread....
Anyway, if you buy a GBA, you also can´t expect many new games in the further future. The publishers will prefer the DS.
And nobody talked about that astonishing movie playback capability, what was the main reason i bought it (and you can use it as a gamepad on your PC). That rocks !!! B)

 

[ralp99]

usual argument. buy GBA f you want kickass commercial games.
buy GP32 if you want tons of emulated stuff.

neither emulates anything "perfectly." but both do a good job depending on what you like. Anywya if you are skewed for awesome commercial stuff, just buy GBA. if you want lots of weird HB and apps etc and of course genesis/PCengine/c64/ etc than.. you know.

 

[Talyz]

I also own both GBA and GP32...


Hardware:

The first thing I would point out is that (at least with my hardware) the GBA is _A LOT_ better in terms of physical build quality. GBA just feels better, solid, sturdy and strong. Whereas the GP32 feels somehow less solid and sturdy. the Joystick on the GP also is fairly poor. Initially I thought the joystick was great but now I much prefer the GBA dpad. Why? My Joystick won't do diagonals! It's a pain in the ass, as there are many many games that require this kindof precise movement.

​

Me and a few friends have GP32s and the diagonals work perfectly. We have BLUs, so they are relatively new. Yours must be old and worn out.

​

The diagonals gets bader with time. But there's away to fix them! I posted it in another thread about diagonals a minute ago, but I'm not the one that came up with the original idea.
Anyway, just put some paper behind the joystick (yes, you'll have to open up your GP32...). I promise it works. If you don't beleave me, then just search for the original thread...
This mod makes the GP's joystick far better than the d-pad on the GBA will ever get!

//Talyz Prower

 

[Drumaster]

Emulation on GP32 is FAR much better than emulation on GBA.

Firstly because the GP32 is much more powerful (even if it hasn't any dedicated hardware).

SNES emulation is shitty on GBA (no sound I believe and only a few games run) but good regarding GBA specs but it's still a lot better on GP32.

Acording to very skilled people as Flubba or Reesy, Genesis will never be possible on GBA, don't dream guy.

And many more emulated systems are on the GP32 and will never be on GBA at a descent speed.

For commercial games buy a GBA, for homebrew and emulation buy a GP32, nothing else to say.

 

[yaustar]

I wouldn't know, but as I understand it, when the DS is in GBA-cart mode, the DS componentry is disabled.. so it sounds unlikely that a GBA flas cart could invoke DS software. There've been a few hoaxes for sure...

Any urls?

jeff

​

DS Dev.org
Look for darkfaders posts...

 

[mr twit]

Buy a GP32 and a DS and GBA flashcard. Sorted.

 

[MaDsk8tard]

...
not comparison between gp32 and gba because the both systems are completely different !!
GBA if you love Nintendo and money
GP32 if you would be a great and active develloper with much claims and to take pleasure with a "not commercial" system

 

[yaustar]

Buy a GP32 and a DS and GBA flashcard. Sorted.

​

I second that and while you are at it get a Zodiac as well

 

[Prophet]

Some personal input:

I own GP32 BLU, GBA SP, DS, Zodiac etc. So I have had quite a chance to compare things.

My GP32 BLU (and also the FLU I once owned) has no problems with diagonals. Controls are perfect, and far more comfortable and accurate than GBA or any of the other systems I mentioned.

GP32 is THE best emulation portable overall. It has a huge variety of quality emulators, and supports many retro systems that you don't see on other platforms (i.e. Atari 800, Amstrad, MSX etc.). The GBA has some nice stuff, but it cannot match the GP32.

Also consider that GBA emus have to scale the display down because the GBA is only 240x160. So you never really see emulated games pixel for pixel perfectly. GP32 has no such problem because 320x240 accomodates just about every emulated system.

If emulation is your thing, I would highly recommend the GP32. Especially the BLU model because the screen is excellent.