The Game Boy Micro: thirty quid well spent

A quick delve around the bargain bucket of his local game retailer, and Rob had himself a console that's been criminally overlooked...

Robert Mclaughlin

A friend of mine recently bought a Game Boy Micro to work. To be honest I had never really seen one before, jumping straight to a DS as far as handheld consoles were concerned. However, after spending lunchtime playing Mario Kart I was hooked on this nifty, often overlooked console and set forth to find out what was available and how much these consoles and a game can be picked up for. And yes, I know the DS is backwards compatible...

A quick route on a certain online auction site showed that even though the console has only really been out for a few years, they cost peanuts to pick up. That notwithstanding, I opted to buy a second-hand one from a high street retailer. On closer inspection, the one I picked up seemed to be straight from stock, left around after the influx of the DS.  

So for thirty quid I have a new handheld console, and I must say I am really impressed with it. The Micro is even more portable than the DS, fitting into a pocket very easily, and is robust enough to carry about and shrug off an in-game battering. The durability of the Micro is one of the main attractions of this tiny, yet nifty piece of kit.  Inexpensive enough to take back and forth to work without worry, the console is nonetheless equipped to survive hectic commutes and butterfingers, something that has always worried me about taking my DS to work.

The Micro’s screen is actually excellent for something so small; taking a page or two out of the Game Boy Colour's book, the screen resolution is vivid, bright and incredibly clear.  

So onto the games. This economical piece of kit has them in abundance, and all at pocket money prices too…

Picking up my own copy of Super Mario Kart as well as a PacMan game, Astro Boy and Tetris Worlds for a couple of pounds each, I’m delighted to find that the Micro plays Game Boy Advance games too, which slot into the bottom of the console.

With other great - but overlooked - titles such as Advance Wars, Bomberman, and Super Mario World out there ready to be picked up at bargain prices, I am looking forward to scouring shops, online marts and car boot sales to pick up some classic, addictive and fun games, and also trying the console's serial link option.

For a price of an evening out (think cinema for two and a pizza) you can pick up this overlooked portable console gem. While it might not be state-of-the-art or bring out the nostalgic glow of a DS, the Micro is a well built piece of in-pocket wizardry that was criminally overlooked, but now remains a cool, fun and inexpensive piece of kit that will keep you entertained for hours. Hurray!

12/05/08