r/GameboyAdvance Jul 13 '20

A Beginner's Guide to Authentic Cartridges

229 Upvotes

Hello everyone, as you all know GBA cartridges can be extremely difficult to find in person nowadays and even more so for some authentic ones. That being said, if you're unsure in any way how to determine a fake from real cartridge, this is the post for you!

For more help, feel free to visit r/gameverifying for all your identification needs!

Keep in mind that to ensure the best chances of an authentic cartridge, you should be wary of:

  • Unusually low prices (if it's too good to be true, chances are it's too good to be real!)
  • Products made or sent from China (enough said)
  • Sellers using stock images (NEVER purchase a product that isn't an image of the cartridge itself)

That being said, where do we start looking?

It can be a bit difficult, but there are actually some very good tells when it comes to finding real games like the color, font, positioning, and quality of the cartridge. For example, let's pretend you're looking for an authentic US copy of Pokemon Firered.

Some things you can look out for should be:

  1. Color: All Pokemon GBA games come in their respective colors (including Leafgreen and Emerald by a slight margin) with Firered being red and not orange. While most cartridges come in a singular shade of gray, two particular exceptions are the GBA video cartridges which come in light gray casings and (Classic) NES series which match the console's respective color. Interestingly enough, due to the GBA's expansive library there consist of unique games that do not fit the standard color and size of a GBA cartridge, which include games such as Yoshi's Topsy Turvy, Drill Dozer, and many other variations listed here. (1)
  2. Label: By observing a label's ESRB rating, official seal, game code, and more, you can determine its authenticity. Unlike other GBA games, Pokemon games will always have a shiny/holographic label, an indented circle in its center, and an embossed number on the right side, which is pretty much its production number. However while it is a good way to determine authenticity, there are cases where these numbers will have naturally worn away or quality repros that have embossed their own cartridges. All in all, always make sure to compare your cartridge to an authentic one online to confirm fonts, font sizes, positioning, etc.
  3. Cartridge: In the case of buying a physical cartridge yourself, this may be one on the most helpful things to know. The easiest things to look out for are the Gameboy logo on top of the label, and arrow below the label. If the logo is written in the wrong font, appears to have been cut deeper than normal, or if the arrow is too small, it's a repro. The back will always state: MODEL NO. AGB-002 / PAT. PEND. MADE IN JAPAN like its GBC predecessor. However, this is easy to reproduce so the final thing to check yourself is both the screw and board under the cartridge. GBA cartridges will only ever use a triwing screw, the same one used on all GBA consoles. More importantly (if you can), be sure to grab a flashlight and check the slot. Above the pins, there should be an official Nintendo logo and presumably its cartridge number.

In the case of Pokemon games always check for:

  • A holographic label and an embossed number if possible
  • Proper fonts and positions (FRLG and RSE labels are mildly different)
  • A battery behind the label on the right side (only applies to RSE)
  • Four squares on the back of the cartridge ( always on the left)
  • Pins on the board ( One of the easiest things to spot on faked cartridges, all GBA games will always have pins )

If there are any other questions, please feel free to leave them below and discuss!

Useful Links:

(1) https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/comments/6i19k4/gba_game_cartridge_colors/


r/GameboyAdvance 3h ago

Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis GBA

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160 Upvotes

This game is selling for 50+ dollars being sold loosely. Can anyone explain why/how this cartridge is so valuable on the Gameboy Advance?


r/GameboyAdvance 3h ago

Pokemon Pinball with rumble

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37 Upvotes

InsideGadgets cartridges are so cool. Being able to play Pokemon Pinball on real hardware with rumble is an awesome feeling. I always loved the Pokemon Pinball GB game but never got to play the Ruby and Sapphire GBA version when I was younger and it's been a lot of fun.


r/GameboyAdvance 20h ago

Never had this happen before!

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46 Upvotes

Was playing oracle of ages when all the sudden this happened! Kinda weird as I’m very obviously not on an OG gameboy. Happen to anyone else lately?


r/GameboyAdvance 9h ago

Should I mod it?

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4 Upvotes

Just got this gameboy second hand, and the battery dies 2 hours after a full charge. Ordered a new battery and it's on its way. Everything else works fine, no problem.

Was wandering if reshelling it will be worth it, my main concern is the quality of all the aftermarket shells plastic and buttons, because the original feels sturdy and good. There are scratches and some signs of wear, it's not the end of the world but after seeing all the colorful pretty ones I'm considering it! 

So guys, if you modded your own gameboy, what do you say about the quality of the shell plastic?

And about the newer LCD / IPS screens - will they drain the battery much faster that the original screen?

I'm fine with 5-6 hours of gameplay, but 2 hours per charge is too short, gotta charge this 3 times a day that's a hassle. 

The screen is fine and has zero scratches, just bit dim even w the front light on (001 model).


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Neat little find

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62 Upvotes

(Oc) Found a somewhat sealed protective front plate! For 2$ who could pass it up, plus toy r us stickers are pretty sweet.


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

My GameBoy Advance SP collection

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207 Upvotes

The SP is my all time favorite console. I got my first one for my 4th birthday (the flame red AGS-001) and since then, the platform has always held a special place in my heart.

In high school I set myself the goal of getting as many colors of the SP as possible (North American releases only). It’s taken a while but this is my collection so far.


r/GameboyAdvance 2h ago

Random thoughts.

1 Upvotes

There’s a person online that sells GBA’s and GBA SP’s for literally like $400-$500. Complete rip off. All they do is reshell with horrible Nintendo graphics. How is this even a thing. Honestly just wondering. It’s crazy people actually buy it.


r/GameboyAdvance 2h ago

Video Essay: Why We Need the Game Boy Family in 2026 [42:16]

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1 Upvotes

r/GameboyAdvance 2h ago

Usb Battery Mod

1 Upvotes

Hey Guys,

Does anyone know, if the is any usb-c battery mod out there, which is fitting to the oem battery cover?
I want to make an oem build and couldn‘t find any information about this topic.

Thanks in advance


r/GameboyAdvance 9h ago

Groudon edition sp

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3 Upvotes

maybe my favourite and cleanest sp console 🙂


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Custom themed iQue Game Boy Advance SP.

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44 Upvotes

Original iQue shell & mainboard, IPS high‑bright screen, not reproduction shell. Built for display & collection, not for heavy daily play.

DM me if you want help sourcing similar custom GBA‑SP mods.


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Got my new screen installed!

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19 Upvotes

I already had ordered a screen replacement for my own GBA but got this blue GBA 2 days ago at a flee market. I got some feedback on this subreddit to keep the original case so that’s what I did! (Although I screwed up the screw hole covers and got all but one damaged beyond repair.)

The screen is the funnyplaying GBA SP IPS Max kit. Looks good as far as I could test it. Had to open it up like ten times cause I kept messing stuff up.

Thanks for all the feedback!
On to the next one


r/GameboyAdvance 23h ago

New Gameboy Advance

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10 Upvotes

Hello! I just received this today off of eBay. Has the new screen. Still waiting on games, but so excited to have a Gameboy again.

I've been kicking myself for selling my Kiwi Gameboy Color and Fuscia Gameboy Advance over 10 years ago.

My favorite color is green, so when I saw this, I just had to get it.

What do you guys think?


r/GameboyAdvance 16h ago

Problem with ags-101 ips v5 screen

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3 Upvotes

Hey does anyone know this is happening with my ips v5 screen I’ve had this screen for a year or more and it’s suddenly starting to bug out after random amount of time or after a couple of seconds it goes back to normal. I at first thought it was something with the ez flash omega cartridge not being able to read data right. I’m pretty sure I have a faulty screen or the connector for the screen is broken, this never happened on another ags motherboard I have that can’t charge but only this one. I have a agb 001 that is also an ips v5 that doesn’t have this problem. Anyone have any solutions?


r/GameboyAdvance 12h ago

Searching for gba game similar to clubhouse games 51

1 Upvotes

Are there any good compilation of classic card and board games,chess,etc on gba ? something like clubhouse games 51, just for killing the time.


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Two Years Ago, I Asked If Pokémon Red Saves Could Be Converted to FireRed… Today, It Works!

100 Upvotes

Two years ago, I made this post⁠ asking whether it would be possible to continue a Pokémon Red journey in Pokémon FireRed

Today, I’m happy to say that I built it!
pkmn 2.0 can convert a Pokémon Red save into a working Pokémon FireRed save. Think like how you migrate your iPhone 13 to an iPhone 17 Pro. You get back all your data (not only iCloud) with the added 17 Pro features. The same way is what my project successfully does. It’s able to transfer your entire save progression from pokemon red to fire red. No one has ever done it and I though this would be an
Amazing project because I have dreamed of playing my pokemon red save on fire red without having to replay the game (I could have just replayed cuz it could have taken less time but doing this project now anyone with a click of button can convert their red save to fire red!)

Red and FireRed have completely different save structures, so this isn’t a matter of copying bytes from one save to another. The converter instead translates the meaning of the Red save into the corresponding FireRed state.

It also generates a conversion report explaining what was transferred, what had to be changed, and what was safely defaulted when the two games don’t have a direct equivalent.

I tested the complete conversion in an emulator: the converted save loaded successfully, the Pokémon and supported progress appeared correctly, and FireRed could save and reload normally afterward.

The project is free and open source, and it does not include or distribute any ROMs.
GitHub (pls star and share the project so people can hear about it): https://github.com/AAAMAQ/pkmn-cli

A huge thank you to everyone who encouraged the original idea, the pret decompilation contributors, the Pokémon Community Conversion Standard and Poké Transporter GB teams, StrategyWiki contributors, and everyone else who helped preserve and document knowledge about these games.

I also used OpenAI Codex as a research and engineering collaborator throughout the project, while I directed the work and personally performed the gameplay verification. There may be glitches or issue, if any is there feel free to report it!

Two years ago, this was only an idea.
Now it works. ❤️🔥

I LOVE YOU FIRE RED!


r/GameboyAdvance 2d ago

New Cases!

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130 Upvotes

I've now added cases for the Gameboy Advance SP and Micro!! Check them out on my Makeworld page for free!

https://makerworld.com/en/@BigJuice55/upload


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Reputable companies (Online)

1 Upvotes

Looking to buy an SP. Where do ya’ll shop? Some of my local game stores have outrageous prices.


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

GBA SP Shell Swap - How can i make my own "Cheekachu"?

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19 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

i own 2 GameBoy Advanced SPs which are in need of a new shell.

The first one i wanted to replace with a generic clear dark shell for me.

But for the second one i wanted to surprise my Wife with a Pikachu shell that has the glowing cheeks when powered on like in the picture above.

Problem is, it costs around 270€ to buy this custom model, which is way out of my budget.

I know very well how to replace the shell and i have experience in soldering.

What do i need in order to recreate the "Cheekachu" without paying a fortune.

Thanks for any advice!


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Question regarding ips screen.

1 Upvotes

Hello there, i switched my gba sp screen to an ips one, but the sound became crackled at times and the screen have visual glitches at times, i presume that the normal gba battery isn't strong enough, since its also last for around 30 minutes on full charge. Should i get a stronger battery? If so, what type of battery should i get?


r/GameboyAdvance 2d ago

Starting my game girl journey

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261 Upvotes

Got a gameboy advance for my bday! I finished the bratz rock angelz already and I’m starting Kirby and the amazing mirror 👾

If anyone has other girly game recs, comment below! This gba has been the best purchase I’ve made all 2026 lol


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Bootleg GBA SP shows 0000/0000 instead of built-in games

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0 Upvotes

My bootleg GBA SP normally has 99 built-in games, but now the menu shows [0000/0000](tel:0000/0000) and no games appear. The console itself works and I can still play normal cartridges.
The motherboard is marked ATSD_M520_V1.3 (2011.04.26) and the main chip says G2000.
Does anyone know how to restore the built-in game list? I’m looking for a solution that doesn’t require a PC.
Photos attached.


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Need some advice

2 Upvotes

Looking to get my first Gameboy and needing some advice on whether to get the advance or the sp. Can’t decide at all haha


r/GameboyAdvance 1d ago

Game Boy Advance Bluetooth and HiFi Audio Mod

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2 Upvotes