The DS Lite improved upon its predecessor in almost every way. Brighter, sleeker, and smaller .. but, alas, it perhaps became a bit too small. Due to it's decreased size, the DS Lite was unable to fully house GBA cartridges, creating a veritable tumor on your system.In days of yore, we would carry around our DS permanently loaded with both our current DS game of choice, as well as a pick-up-and-play GBA game. These days, we seek to retain our beautiful form factor and simply leave the placeholder "cart" in the slot. Do you guys care about the GBA functionality at all, and are you willing to handle the eyesore? Ladies and gentlemen, to your comments!



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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-13-2007 @ 9:13AM
PocketGoddess said...
I don't play too many GBA games on the DS. Then again, I have a Micro which I use quite a lot for GBA games.
I tend to leave the placeholder in the slot, because my DS Lite case wouldn't work if I left a GBA cartridge sticking out of there.
Would I rather give it up entirely? NO--I really appreciate the backwards compatibility. I still play a lot of the original Wario Ware, and have a few GBA games I haven't finished.
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2-13-2007 @ 9:33AM
Mark McClure said...
I just wish they'd release a DS lite version of the rumble pack, that monstrosity jutting out of my beautiful DS puts a damper on playing Elite Beat Agents with rumble
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2-13-2007 @ 9:39AM
jesus torres said...
i stopped playing GBA games because of this. i might go out and pick up an updated GBA SP if i find one used, but i'm honestly more likely to feed the fix through other means, if you know what i mean, and i'm sure you do
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2-13-2007 @ 9:39AM
Hezi said...
My M3 Lite fits perfectly in the GBA slot and I've got several GBA games on it, so there's no need for me to walk around with a sticking-out GBA cart
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2-13-2007 @ 9:57AM
Robert said...
I purchased a DS Lite rumble pack on eBay. I know it may not be made by Nintendo, but it still works great. They had different colors to match your DS lite as well. I went with white and it matches pretty well. It functions pretty well, but the thing I like the most is being able to just leave it in all the time and not have anything sticking out.
I do like having the port on the DS, even though I rarely play any GameBoy games.
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2-13-2007 @ 10:09AM
Blue Sam said...
DS plat rocks. :D
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2-13-2007 @ 10:55AM
George Penston said...
Like others have commented, I don't mind too much since I don't play that many GBA games much anymore. But I do wonder why game companies don't take more advantage of this fact. For example. I'm playing Final Fantasy V right now for the GBA and the tumor bugs me a bit. Why doesn't Square Enix just release a compilation DS card that has both Final Fantasy V and VI on it? I'd totally be a sucker for that and buy it. The same thing goes for the two Metroids for the GBA and the Marios. Give me 2 to 4 games on one Nintendo DS card and I'll be set.
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2-13-2007 @ 11:06AM
Katherine said...
I kept the GBA for this purpose. I tried to play the GBA on DS platform, and could not get used to the 4 buttons, I keep getting confused with which buttons to use.
I didn't pay much for the GBA, so am keeping it just for GBA games.
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2-13-2007 @ 11:10AM
Jayenkai said...
Blue Sam "DS plat rocks. :D"
Thanks..
I have a Datel Max Media Dock, so that adds an extra bit of size, on top of the standard GBA cart size.
Silly chunky Datel stuff.
It doesn't annoy me too much, except that I can't get a decent sized case to fit the thing. Not even a standard Phat case.
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2-13-2007 @ 11:11AM
MaHe said...
I backup my games and put them on my M3 Lite adapter. Saves space. And looks nice. :)
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2-13-2007 @ 12:03PM
tom b said...
Mark McClure, you can get an official Nintendo DS Lite Rumble Pak:
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-b8-49-en-70-1fgo.html
Anyway, at the moment my black DS Lite normally just has the filler cartridge in (soon to be replaced by a DS Lite Rumble Pak), or a GBA game (Pokemon Emerald, Fire Red or any Metroid) if my Game Boy Micro has run out of battery.
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2-13-2007 @ 12:55PM
20XX said...
My DS has a Castlevania GBA game in it AT ALL TIMES. You know, for emergency Castlevania.
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2-13-2007 @ 12:57PM
Naruhodou said...
I can't say I really mind it. I usually keep Zelda and Castlevania in there so I can play them periodically. It's ugly, but it still fits in my pocket. Still, I would really love a DS Lite rumble pak without having to import.
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2-13-2007 @ 1:14PM
Jouw said...
I've got both a DS and DS Lite. Used to keep Super Mario Advance 2 in the GBA slot to stop it getting dusty (I never play that game), but when I got a DS Lite, I just left the game itself to collect dust.
Later I got Pokemon Emerald. Played it, finished it, blah blah. Still play it sometimes. But I got a case for my DS Lite so I can't put it in with Pokemon in, so I just keep the game in the game storage compartment and leave the placeholder in the DS.
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2-13-2007 @ 1:34PM
wildweasel said...
I own a DS Phat, and the "tumor" still exists for games with the rumble feature, like Wario Ware Twisted. It doesn't bother me at all, really.
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2-13-2007 @ 1:42PM
Xian! said...
When Nintendo opted not to incorporate the familiar "Gameboy" moniker on their new system, they knew there was a risk of alienating fans (just look at the masses mourn their beloved Gameboy brand, even though Nintendo insists it's not being phased out). If they hadn't added backwards compatibility, even though barely anyone uses it, I don't think the DS would have taken off the way it has.
As for me, I don't mind that GBA carts don't fit flush in the DS Lite. I stick to my old GBA SP at home, and if I'm travelling I'm just happy it plays GBA carts at all.
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2-13-2007 @ 4:23PM
Nik said...
To be honest I find playing GBA titles on the DS to be a drag in general. The black strip around the edges, the four buttons and the blank screen really irks me. I still play a little but nothing like I used to. I'm on the lookout for a cheap Micro or updated SP (I have the original SP) because the GBA still has one of the greatest libraries of all time.
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2-13-2007 @ 5:28PM
Risingsun said...
This was a concern for me when the ds lite first came out but honestly the GBA is a dying system, its last major game relase is final fantasy 6 and after that nothing. The GBA had a great run and i have several gbas that are more than capable of handling my gba libary. Basicly i dont need my ds to play gba games anymore, im to busy playing all those great new ds games.
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2-13-2007 @ 6:24PM
LindenRathan said...
I kept my GBA SP but the main reason had nothing to do with carts not fitting perfectly in the DS. It was because I wanted to be able to still play older Gameboy games.
But then I also have a Micro which gets most play with GBA games.
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2-14-2007 @ 8:31AM
andyr said...
I found a simple an mini solution to this problem. I brought myself a Gameboy Micro! They seem to be on sale in Europe at the moment and I managed to pick one up for £29.99, which is none to shabby.
Furthermore, not only do I not have a cart hanging out of my DS, but the Micro has proved surprising good at re-invigorated some of my old GBA collection.
For some reason I never really got comfortable playing a game where I had to ignore one of the DS screen. I could never decide, should I play top or bottom! Now all these worries are behind me with my wuverly widdle GBA Micro.
Ahhh, a touching valentines tale.
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