I Hate Retro Video Game Scammers... $4 GBA Bootlegs

GBA Bootlegs have gotten better?

(Note prices change all the time, I paid $3-4 a game.. but may be different when you look.. don't come at me about it LOL!)

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#shorts #GBA #Retro #Madlittlepixel #GamingNews #VideoGames #retrogaming #GamingReview

[ngantnier]

I like when they make cool bootlegs with clear color carts and format shift GB and GBC games to GBA.

[Septer_Sever]

There's so many fake Switch Pro controllers now that you can't even trust any online retailer.

[naenre]

I saw a bootleg "FF4" SNES cartridge in a local game shop and knew immediately it was fake, even brought it up to a clerk and they got furious at me. It was for sale at $199. It blew my mind.

[InvaderTAK]

Even official GBA games used Flash memory or EEPROM instead of SRAM (batteries) for saving. The best giveaway is the black blob. Also for the see-through carts, you can look for four rectangles on the back in the upper left corner. Bootlegs don't usually have those from what I've seen.

But yeah, I don't mind paying for bootlegs, when I KNOW it's a bootleg AND I'm paying bootleg prices.

[dekky]

Got Super Metroid for 60 bucks. The first thing I did was open it up and check the PCB and replace the old battery. The second thing I did was beat me some Super Metroid.

[gregoryballestero]

Im sure there is a gamestop employee somewhere swaping out bootlegs for real games then keeping or reselling the legit carts

[luisrb]

As long as the seller is upfront and I know is a repro and I am paying repro prices I have no problem with buying and playing such repros on original hardware. Leaving aside the collectors factor (which I do not care except for a very specific childhood titles) some of those repros carts have quality of life enhacements (flash ram, English translations of Japanese only released games, etc) original carts do not have.

[andrewlodge]

So, technically you're better of buying reproduction since you don't have to worry about the battery dying?

[jarredkrum]

If the store tells ya its a reproduction i dont have a problem with that. But ya when they try to sell it for a crazy price thats just messed up. One place here sells repros but they tell ya and they cheap

[ChewyChicken]

I agree, I don't mind a bootleg as long as they're honest about it and as long as it works

[AndrewStottisTheIndiWerWlf]

I don't mind replacement labels and sometimes I replaced my labels myself if they look too worn out. So I definitely wouldntely on the PCB and not assume that a game is fake just because of the label.

[RonanRocha-pe]

Sooo no risk of battery issues to wipe out all your hard work unexpectedly, cleaner and less flaws than a 20-something year old game thats been passed down a dozen times, and you said you got most of these for $4? That all sounds a lot better than the price gougers on ebay selling some games for 60-100 bucks just because they’re “genuine”. I actually like to play my games, so as long as it works correctly and looks good, I don’t really care where it comes from.

[scherge]

One look and I know immediately if a GBA game is fake. The fakes never get the font of the Gameboy Advance writing above the label right. It protrudes slightly more and it doesn't have the flat mat areas. Hard to describe, but when you know what I mean you can never unsee it again.
That check works even when you only have one picture. If you have the cartridge in hand, the fakes also never have the stamped numbers in the label. Never.

[KatTutPeggle]

The store I go to in my area refuses to even accept repro games to trade in they will accept bootlegs but only if they’re “vintage”

[bland]

Most GBA games don't have a battery in them apparently a few of them do but most of them do not.

[Jebret-inhc]

As long as it works and they are honest i don't care playing is as playing does

[arksin]

best way to spot reproduction, is the shape of the GAME BOY ADVANCE font on the cart, itsa big difference once you compare legit vs repro, and the label sticker corners, fake ones have more rounded corners that does not match up with the shape of the cart corners that is arouns the label

[VideoGameJNPoop]

Actually, the way these bootlegs save is a bit confusing.

But long story short, these cartridges utilizes something called “memory bank switching”, which means the save data is actually stored on the same chip as the game ROM and when the game is powered on, the save data moves to the SRAM chip and when saving, the game freezes temporarily so that it can update the save back onto the ROM chip, then when the console is turned off, the save on the ROM chip would be used next time you turn on again.

This only works if the ROM was patched before flashing it to a bootleg though, as flashing the original untouched ROM would just result in saving not working as if no battery was present again.
Technically on some bootlegs without batteries, you can add a battery to make battery saving possible, as some bootlegs have silver tabs specifically made for battery placement.

All sounds complicated but that’s how saving works in most bootlegs you find online.

[Horace-]

Hey, if you want a rare game for cheap and you don’t care about authenticity, these are a blessing.

[DigiPen]

Is the mic audio accidently going to fast earlier or is it just some audio issues when video editing? It felt like Madlittlepixel's voice sound little bit different earlier in this video till he mentioned Auli Express went normal.

Also, I did accidentally bought a Bootleg Copy of Crusader of Centy for the Sega Genesis from eBay years ago for $7 and I did tried to sold the copy I got from eBay to Another Castle after getting a Sega Genesis Mini 2, they told me it was Bootleg.