• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Gamecube Game Boy Player owners, is there any noticeable frame skipping?

J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
I'm on the edge of picking one of these up and I was wondering how smooth the emulation is. I won't be playing racing games or anything where the framerate is critical but I still wanna know how good it performs.
 
K

KojiKnight

Member
Jotamide said:
I'm on the edge of picking one of these up and I was wondering how smooth the emulation is. I won't be playing racing games or anything where the framerate is critical but I still wanna know how good it performs.
Click to expand...

Framerate is good, nice and smooth. Big problem though is that it only plays games in interlace. There is no progressive scan option.
 
M

Madao

Member
the Game Boy Player isn't emulation. it has the actual GBA hardware inside it.

KojiKnight said:
Framerate is good, nice and smooth. Big problem though is that it only plays games in interlace. There is no progressive scan option.
Click to expand...

only if you live in PAL land since the NTSC version has Progressive Scan.
 
M

MadOdorMachine

No additional functions
Madao said:
the Game Boy Player isn't emulation. it has the actual GBA hardware inside it.



only if you live in PAL land since the NTSC version has Progressive Scan.
Click to expand...

This. Also, you may want to find a controller with a proper d-pad. Probably the cheapest option would be a GC -> PS2 converter cable.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
KojiKnight said:
Framerate is good, nice and smooth. Big problem though is that it only plays games in interlace. There is no progressive scan option.
Click to expand...

Hmmm I don't understand this bit. Care to elaborate in simple words please? :S
 
T

tiggerkiddo

Member
I found some games like the Sonic Advance games suffer a little bit, they don't play as smooth as being on the actual GBA and if you've played them a bunch you'd notice.
 
K

KojiKnight

Member
Argh.. double posting BS...

Anyways, there are some youtube videos showing the difference between playing GBA games in progressive (as in on an emulator or on the real GBA/ds system) and how the GB Player looks... it can be quite distracting.
 
T

Tain

Member
I've heard that there is some sort of compensation for the refresh rate differences that causes an occasional frame of stutter, which makes sense. Haven't used one myself though.
 
P

Persona7

Banned
Some games have issues but it works well for the most part because it uses hardware that is basically what is inside an actual GBA.
 
D

dhonk

Member
I've never noticed anything to be honest with you. Playing Gameboy Player with Component cables. Im actually going to stream some 480p Gameboy Player goodness tonight too!
 
M

Mupod

Member
...I completely forgot I have one of these. This could be my excuse to finally play through Zero Mission.
 
S

Starwolf_UK

Member
Reset timings can be odd. As in you hit the reset button and it fades out and only executes the reset part way into that fade. I can't remember if it affects soft reset or just hard reset (the latter can't be done on an actual system anyway).

I remember in the Awesome Games done quick Pokemon glitch runs they resorted to powering off the gamecube completely when trying to hit the timings [to partly corrupt saves].

MadOdorMachine said:
This. Also, you may want to find a controller with a proper d-pad. Probably the cheapest option would be a GC -> PS2 converter cable.
Click to expand...
Doesn't a GBA with the Gamecube GBA cable also work?
 
M

Mupod

Member
Starwolf_UK said:
Reset timings can be odd. As in you hit the reset button and it fades out and only executes the reset part way into that fade. I can't remember if it affects soft reset or just hard reset (the latter can't be done on an actual system anyway).

I remember in the Awesome Games done quick Pokemon glitch runs they resorted to powering off the gamecube completely when trying to hit the timings [to partly corrupt saves].


Doesn't a GBA with the Gamecube GBA cable also work?
Click to expand...

Oh yeah! Now I remember why I stopped using my game boy player. I have that cable, and I wanted to get an OG GBA to use as a controller but I could never find a cheap one.

I have a GBA SP but it's no good as a controller. The cable actually gets in the way a little.
 
Mithos

Mithos

Member
MadOdorMachine said:
This. Also, you may want to find a controller with a proper d-pad. Probably the cheapest option would be a GC -> PS2 converter cable.
Click to expand...

I got me one of these for my Gameboy player..

ulwIrRb.jpg
 
A

Astral/H3X

Member
Jotamide said:
Really? Because I only would be getting it to play the Castlevania Double Pack on my TV.



Wait what?! Go now play it!
Click to expand...
Bahahaha. Thats literally the game that brought the issue up to me. Sucks man. I love the thing for anything and everything else though, so theres that I guess. The issue is that it randomly crashes. :x
It could just be mine though.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
GCN has a great dpad. It's a bit on the small side but it is perfectly responsive.

Somone in this thread blasphemed by saying that you'd want to use a PS2 controller via an adapter. Now that's a shitty dpad.
 
M

Mupod

Member
Jotamide said:
Wait what?! Go now play it!
Click to expand...

I'm not at home! I really am in the mood for some metroid though, this speedrun marathon combined with rogue legacy has me going for it. Funny thing is I was watching the Metroid Fusion speedrun yesterday and wondering how they were playing it on the TV, that's how completely absent the GB player was from my mind.

But yeah, gamecube controller is a downer and I don't own zero mission. And now I really want some gamecube component cables, too...
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
H3XAntiStyle said:
Bahahaha. Thats literally the game that brought the issue up to me. Sucks man. I love the thing for anything and everything else though, so theres that I guess. The issue is that it randomly crashes. :x
It could just be mine though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the mega heads up. I will probably get Aria alone then, not too big of a fan of HoD. This is why I love GAF lol.
 
A

A Twisty Fluken

Member
GBA player is great for RPGs, can't do it for action games. If you want to know what I'm talking about, pop in Rhythm Tengoku.

First time I did it I realized why I had such a hard time with the SA-X battle.

Best way to play GBA games is still the GBA SP+ (101, backlit model)
 
R

Ramune

Member
A Twisty Fluken said:
GBA player is great for RPGs, can't do it for action games. If you want to know what I'm talking about, pop in Rhythm Tengoku.

First time I did it I realized why I had such a hard time with the SA-X battle.

Best way to play GBA games is still the GBA SP+ (101, backlit model)
Click to expand...

IIRC, I didn't experience any problems with my unit. Replicated the SA-X battle and beat Mega Man Zero 2-4 so my brother could watch more easily. Granted I could have just gotten used to how it works maybe. I popped in Shantae about a few years ago and keep getting wrecked. Although I DID have it hooked up to my laptop( EyeTV on a PowerBook G4) -> playing off a CRT Monitor so....yeah...>_>;

(Don't laugh, that was how I could game during college. Minus the CRT of course. Beat GC Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid, Saturn, etc. Made plenty of friends jealous I did.)

And by all means I echo the recommendations for this:

merun11-img600x412-1371365037obefzz77810.jpg


Probably why I was able to do what I did above. There's a few eBay auctions right now, but no "Buy it Now" options. :(
 
The Spoony Hou

The Spoony Hou

Member
KojiKnight said:
Framerate is good, nice and smooth. Big problem though is that it only plays games in interlace. There is no progressive scan option.
Click to expand...

Either I'm crazy or this post is totally wrong.

Framerate is decent but has hiccups every few seconds I believe, and I remember my games using progressive scan fine.
 
T

the thoroughbred

Member
This whole discussion about image quality is nonsense. Yes it is slightly blurry. You are blowing up a very tiny resolution, but you get used to it very quickly. Same with the GC controller. I played F-Zero on it. No problem with framerate and quickly adapted to resolution and controller.
 
B

Bill Rizer

Member
Pal GB player definitely had stuttering. Super annoying.

Graphics also were applied a terrible blurry filter that made them soft and confused.

A forgettable experience imho.
 
M

Madao

Member
ctothej said:
Really? I played Final Fantasy 1 + 2 a few years back and I don't remember framerate problems.
Click to expand...

i think the problem here is carts that have 2 games that used to be separate combined as one.

iirc, the FF 1+2 game for GBA were always made as 1 game.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I haven't touched my Player in years because I don't have component cables, and the thought of imperfection bothers me :(
 
D

doctorcdcs

Member
Man, I'm so glad I picked this up used from my local Eb Games on a pure whim for $15. Came with the CD and everything. I love my GBA SP, but being able to play on a big screen is so awesome. Best part? I'm able to use it with my GBA ROM cart so I can play the fan translation of Mother 3. It's hit or miss when it comes to getting it to start (requires more than one restart in order for the GBA player to detect it), but when it does work, it's glorious.

Speaking of which, I should continue playing it once I finish off Skyward Sword.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Overwatch 2 players say that frame rate drops are making the game 'unplayable' on PS5
Platform
7
812
BouncyFrag replied
Berserk Boy | Review Thread
Analysis Review
4
750
StevieWhite replied
Déjà Vu: Is PS5's Performance Mode a Rehash of the Early HD Debacle?
Opinion 2
53
3K
Gojiira replied
AMD announces frame generation for all DX11 and DX12 games
2 3 4
169
12K
Crayon replied
I can't take 30 fps games seriously anymore
Cringe 2 3 4
188
8K
Dorfdad replied
Top Bottom