The Good:
Incredibly small, stylish, great screen, long battery life, standard headphone port.The Bad:
Screen might be too small for some; not compatible with older Game Boy games and accessories.The Verdict:
This gadget really comes down to personal preference. If the size of the screen doesn't deter you, you'll love the Micro. If that's a deal-breaker, you can still get the GBA SP and save a few bucks, or spend a bit more a get a Nintendo DS.
REVIEW:
Nintendo has long been known for innovative hardware design. Even the company's biggest failure, the Virtual Boy, broke new ground with its 3D-oriented controller — a design that would be further improved upon with the Nintendo 64. And with the Game Boy Advance SP, the company achieved what many considered to be the best-designed handheld to date.
Now Nintendo has revised the venerable Game Boy yet again with the release of the Game Boy Micro, a ridiculously portable system smaller than many cellphones. The sleekly designed handheld, available in either silver or black, measures four inches wide, two inches long and 0.7 inches thin, and weighs just 2.8 ounces — which Nintendo is quick to point out is about the weight of 80 paperclips.
The screen is equally diminutive — only two inches diagonally, which is about the smallest usable screen I can imagine. In fact, it will probably be too small for some gamers, but it is incredibly crisp and bright (with variable brightness settings), and easily visible in most conditions apart from direct sunlight. I also didn't have a problem reading text in any of the games I tested it with, despite the size of the screen.
The device is unquestionably an eye-catcher, with a slick design and lots of nice little touches — like Start and Select buttons that light up blue when you turn the unit on and turn red when the battery is low. The unit also comes with a couple of interchangeable faceplates (and many more that you can buy) which, in addition to suiting your style, also serve as a screen protector.
Like the Game Boy Advance SP, the Micro has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which should last more than nine hours when fully charged. And unlike the GBA SP, the Micro has a standard headphone port, something the earlier model lacked.
There are a couple of minor problems, though. The "L" and "R" buttons on the top of the unit take a bit of time to get accustomed to, since you need to press them close to the middle rather than at the edge. Also, not surprisingly, the internal speaker isn't very loud, and it's placed below the "A" and "B" buttons, so there's a good chance you'll occasionally cover it with your thumb.
The biggest drawback is the fact that the Micro is not compatible with older Game Boy or Game Boy Colour games, and it won't work with the GameCube link cable, the eReader device, or many other accessories designed for the regular Game Boy Advance. So if you need your old-school Tetris fix, you'll probably want to hang on to your SP. For the rest of you, that still leaves more than 700 regular Game Boy Advance titles that will work with the Micro.
If you can live with those issues and make do with the tiny screen, the Game Boy Micro should please both style-conscious adults and younger gamers alike.
