Digital Trends

Game Boy Micro

September 25th, 2005 | by Scott Steinberg

Setup and Testing

Consider role-playing and strategy titles such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Rebelstar: Tactical Command. Boasting reams of text, smaller sprites than normal and angled, overhead camera perspectives, one might suspect these outings would suffer from tighter viewing angles. Not so. If anything, these games look better for the transformation. As in, to the point you can finally see the detail on foes' armor or vines creeping up latticework throughout the former title's backgrounds. Or, while we're at it, better appreciate the aesthetic caliber of cinematic sequences and overall character design presented throughout the latter outing's sci-fi storyline.

Still, it's hand-drawn or animated action, arcade, and racing games which benefit most from the transition. Grab your guns and get killing in side-scrolling adventure Metal Slug Advance or duke it out hand-to-hand with comical opponents in Atomic Betty. You'll notice an immediate difference between experiencing the titles here versus on other Game Boy Advance editions.

Worth mentioning as well: No slowdown, technical glitches or compatibility issues (i.e. corrupted saved games) were encountered during the evaluation process either.

The control scheme's the same as ever too. You get a directional pad, A and B buttons, plus top-mounted L and R shoulder inputs. In an interesting twist, a single switch — toggle functions by holding the L button while mashing it — located on the right of the system further controls luminosity and volume. And finally (finally!) a proper headphone jack is included on top of the device, eliminating the need for custom-made peripherals.

On the downside, it's easy to smudge the screen. After all, nothing beats looking at the display only to see a greasy, pizza-stained thumbprint staring back.

Button positioning isn't necessarily the most comfortable for some either. Certain adult users we put the unit in the hands of complained it was too small for their hands, while others cited a lack of room to rest the thumbs on that the SP offers. Note: none of these issues were raised by kids.

Fragility also presents a problem. The tank-like SP is made to take a beating. We'd be scared to drop the Micro for fear it'd shatter. Read: it's hard to recommend for use in a playground or romper room environment.

Speaker quality's not the best either. While suitable enough to annoy your spouse or first class cabin companions with, gamers won't be blown away. Then again, some sacrifices are worth making for convenience.

Nor, for that matter, does rechargeable battery life improve — you're still looking at around 10 hours. (Not that we're complaining overly much, considering it's the most for a handheld gaming system.)

Image Courtesy of Nintendo America