The Game Boy Advance Chronicles, a brutally sacrificed console | A Game Boy Advance Documentary

[@sakharubaguette]

I sincerely hope you enjoy this video, I really love making it! Sorry I can't release them more often, but I'm trying to make them as high-quality as possible (I'm sorry if my English isn't perfect; it's not my first language) Made by myself(Sakharu), voiced over by Brad Ziffer.

[@princegroove]

Beautiful work, Sakharu. ☝🏻

[@tical2399]

Are you going to make some NON nintendo content? I subbed due to thinking i found a channel that makes vids on various consoles and companies, but it's been mostly nintendo. If you're just going to be another nintendo channel, let me know so that i can unsub.

[@MegaQuestions123X]

This video perfectly explains what's happening with Nintendo Switch right now

[@viridionwaves]

Im really happy you made this. It clearly took a lot of work and you did a great job!

[@csm.andrew]

@@tical2399only 5/8 of his videos have been about Nintendo

[@stephenwhite506]

I developed about twenty titles for the GBA, including Doom2. I remember getting one of the early IS development kits that was just a large PCB with a LCD screen in the middle. Originally the GBA was only going to have 64K of RAM. With all my pleading to Nintendo to increase it they refused and informed me that it was going to market with only 64K. However, at the last minute they got spooked by all the competition and rumors about Sony entering the hand held market which caused them to upgrade it to 256K. It would have been crippled without the larger memory. Over all my years developing games, the GBA was my favorite console and best time to be in the industry.

[@mariowario5945]

Did you have a working prototype of the doom engine running within the restrictions of only 64kb of internal work ram before the ewram was added? Ive also read in the internal sdk docs that it wasnt 64kb of iwram, but instead 48kbytes. If the title in question wasnt doom you couldnt work with only 64k, what title was it?

[@stephenwhite506]

@@mariowario5945 No, Nintendo updated the GBA to 256K before any of the games we were developing were published. The first title we were trying to fit into 64K was Planet of the Apes. Sorry, I should have said Doom2 that was a year later.

[@Martysama64]

I love when youtube reccomends quality stuff

[@Chrisezo]

Another video that demonstrates how far ahead Satoru Iwata was in his plans for the game industry. While the older Nintendo President made poor decisions, such as holding a grudge with Square for making games on the PlayStation, and not letting them release stuff on the GBA, as soon as Satoru Iwata took rein of the company, he turned things around for the GBA, by actually working with Square and other companies, to bring as many games as he could to the handheld, and then it was genius of him to make the next Nintendo Handheld be backwards compatible with the previous one, because I still remember all the GBA games I enjoyed on my DS, that I wouldn't have enjoyed had the DS been like the Switch right now, that has no backwards compatibility at all with any of Nintendo's past systems, and I remember how Mr. Iwata let the DS and GBA coexist with each other until almost at the end of support for the DS, which meant that the GBA had not been shelved for a very long time, and that was good for not just the consumers, but also for the stores and stuff, that were still selling GBA games.

[@theothenintendomaster3717]

Yamauchi was terrible and killed both the N64 and Gcn due to his pride and hubris.

[@frankschuler2867]

My Mom had a translucent purple GameBoy Color and a translucent pink GBA. She used to spend hours sitting in her chair in the living room playing Dr. Mario. She was disabled, so she spent much of her later years in a wheelchair…so, lots of Dr. Mario time, lol. It’s also worth noting she was the sweetest little person to ever grace the Earth. A couple years after she passed, I found a small satchel in my basement. I opened it and found both of her GameBoys and all of her games. She must have given them to me in the year before she passed…and in the turmoil of her passing I had forgotten about them. I was overjoyed. I gave the purple GBC to my little sister…along with Dr. Mario and a couple other games…and I held on to the GBA. I still have it, and after some TLC, it’s in top shape. Thanks for this video, and thanks for bringing back some happy memories of my Mom!

[@NemusDark]

Your documentaries are always top Notch quality I really appreciate them!

[@InsomniumX]

A huevo valedor a huevo!!!! Es un BACILON de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores locos están locos porque son unos pinches valedores de mamey.

[@viridionwaves]

Since no one else has mentioned it, it should be sacrificed, not sacrified.

[@viridionwaves]

Great documentary! The one error i picked up was that the first SP did NOT have a Backlit screen. This is repeated a few times when you discuss the first SP release. It had a Front lit screen. It made the screen much more usable, but it also washed out the colors a bit compared to a typical backlit lcd. It was the same technology as what the Afterburner mod did to the original GBA design. The SP revision released after the micro, the AGS-101, was the only version that had a Backlit screen, which was much better than the front lit version, and miles better than the original gba, with well balanced and vibrant colors. Still, excellent documentary. I'm super impressed and super happy someone took the time and dedication to make such an in depth documentary. The gba is my favorite console of all time, and the pixel art truly hit a sweet spot that has endured in its appeal even today. Thank you!

[@viridionwaves]

Excellent work! The gba is my favorite console of all time, and its so great to see a comprehensive documentary like this. I think the only thing that could make it better was if it had interviews with the people mentioned, or had more first person accounts, whether voiced answers to published interviews, or videos of people from the executives actually discussing the gba, or even just footage from the time of people playing it. I also think a visual timeline would've helped a lot. Still, there were a ton of publication and magazine references which was nice to see, and overall I'd say it was an excellent documentary. Very impressive to have been made by a single person. Thank you for making this

[@natedog301]

Literally yesterday I was wishing someone would make documentary about gba and now there is what are the odds you just earned yourself a sub very good job

[@adammahoney7526]

Oh my god the legend returns! I love ever documentary you put out!

[@jonwolfenden]

GBA was the 1st system I got on launch day.

[@verbage432]

Your documentaries are so professionally done, genuinely some of the best on youtube. I'm surprised you aren't bigger

[@hairyrope1912]

I love your documentaries. This is an awesome topic

[@chackbro1]

Oh wow I caught up on your channel yesterday. What a treat

[@Bigge277]

I'm so glad I came across this channel. What another brilliant documentary - you did a fantastic job of capturing the zeitgeist of the early 00s and it was fascinating to learn about the pressure Sony was applying on Nintendo. I can't wait to see what you cover next Sakharu!

[@SketchCartoonGuy]

By the end of the video I understood why you called GBA the sacrificed console because of its short life span and displacement due to the DS but I’d say the GBC fits that bill even more because it was just a stop gap between the GB and the GBA which was equally short lived.

[@とふこ]

Yes. GBC: 1998 GBA: 2001 and DS: 2004. GBC was capable even fmv and speudo 3D games if properly developed. GBA even ok real 3D games like open lara. If GBC released in 1995 and GBA 2000 and DS 2005 developers can use the hardware real capacity. But somehow ... I can recall kinda real 3D fighting games on GBA like mortal kombat and tekken. this genre does not exist on DS. Many good fps games like James bond nightfire, Ecks vs Sever, dark arena, duke nukem advance exist on GBA. But i can't recall good fps game on DS what used the hardware for real outside Metroid Prime. (The call of duty DS was shovelware quality port)

[@SerpentNight]

Got my Gameboy Player and Gamecube in the other room. Used it fairly often.

[@Cedalus]

Some GBA games are those weird isometric types that honestly feel a lot better with a stick, even if there is no analog control. I use mine too

[@SerpentNight]

@@Cedalus The only complaint I have about the device is there are a handful of GB games that were designed to have custom color schemes to work on the Super Game Boy. This didn't get carried over to the Game Boy Player unfortunately.

[@Cedalus]

@@SerpentNight yeah I agree, seems like a missed opportunity. I feel like the GBA should have had Super Game Boy colorizing hardware too. But it really is a treat to see some of my favorite handheld games from my childhood on a big screen without the use of emulation.

[@diskoBonez]

Super fascinating look into this time in gaming history. Had no idea all this was happening in Japan at the time, the history lesson on the WonderSwan was surprising. I just assumed because the WonderSwan never released in the west it didn't have that much of an impact, didn't even know Gunpei Yokoi developed it. Really brings a lot of context around why the GBA was what it was.

[@eduardoaguilar7361]

Well done. You did your homework and gou touched on important points in the timeline. Also, somewhat unrelated. Seeing Gumpei, Iwata, and Reggie hit hard on the nostalgia spot❤️

[@FSAPOJake]

I watched this while grinding out 99 firemaking in Old-School Runescape and absolutely loved it. Important correction though: The Gameboy Advance SP had a frontlight at launch, not a backlight. The SP didn't switch to a backlit screen until 2005.

[@lliixzllii1794]

Just in time for the RG34XX, perfect timing

[@Shiatama]

I started watching your channel only a week ago and i watched every video expect the Mario and zelda one. There are a lot of documentaries on youtube regarding videogames and consoles but this has to be the best channel and videos regarding this topic.The information provided is really interesting and this videos are fun to watch. Amazing voice over by the way!!!! I am already looking forward to the next video in approx 2 months as it seems according to the release history of your videos :)

[@mask1342]

That was an amazing doc. Superior quality - instant sub

[@kyleoden3015]

Im not a gamer but your documentaries sure have entertained.

[@paulwitrock8411]

The quality of the the video and audio is incredible! Going a long with great research and information. I see the channel has been around for 8 months but it’s going to blow up once more people see how good these videos are.

[@MrLaserpowered]

You have a great voice that perfectly compliments your documentaries.

[@danielloureiro5687]

Finally a new video 🎉🎉🎉 one of the best content/documentary in video game on KZbin 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@Attard73]

Incredible as always. You are the goat of video game docs.

[@knexplayer]

we love you sakharu

[@Miguel_Macias1]

Yes! I've been waiting so long for the next video and you didn't disappoint! I remember I got a GBA ags 101 model for christmas of 2006 I think? I never had many games for it but I really loved that console, I still have it to this day! A few months later my dad got a DS for my youngest sibling but he enjoyed playing the Mario minigames so much that he eventually got one for each of us LMAO It was so fun, we could all play together with Mario kart, mario party and a bunch of other games with only a single cartridge! Wow my comment just made me realize how much the GBA was actually overshadowed by the DS 😅

[@cirmothe9]

Great content. You packed a lot of details into this video.

[@atilamachado7379]

Please more, I love your channel

[@cayder7485]

thank you for the work you do friend these videos are amazing

[@princegroove]

A new episode from SB? Let’s go! 😊

[@TMracer73]

Thanks for the video!

[@Zudovader]

I got my first advance in the form of SP in 2003. So to me the DS didn't even exist till 2007 when pokemon came out. So i had a good amount of time with my SP. I had a ton of advance games.

[@tonypacino7034]

These videos are perfect for work 😁 Love it

[@Scanner_51]

How long will Pokémania last?? Dec 2024.... it's still going strong.

[@rockmanfan5104]

Still going strong despite the slop games that are being pumped out.

[@JoPeTuYaTroJoueY]

Super taff et c'est un plaisir d'avoir une voix-off humaine par Brad Ziffer plutôt qu'une version IA (qui aurait fait le taff, mais bon, on sent encore la rigidité dans la voix des IA).

[@LGF18]

Excellent documentary 👏🏽

[@connormclernon26]

The first console I ever saved money for! I saved up birthday and Christmas for it, and still have it.

[@7211mason]

Another Great documentary

[@bes03c]

I completely overlooked the GBA when it was new. I had only a faint idea that it rven existed and assumed ot was just for kids. Now, I see what an amazing library it has. Lately, I have been playing Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. It is a must play game for any JRPG fan. The animation and sound design have an ineffable charm. It is just fun to pick up and play. I often genuinely laugh out loud while playing. It is criminally overlooked.

[@colinshonaman4168]

I'm lazy and almost never sub to anyone but you earned it. Great video!

[@farmerwithashotgun8623]

Man these videos are awesome ! i listen to these at work. please keep it up !

[@delscoville]

I waited until the GBA SP. I didn't lick the non-backlit screen. Although I did prefer the formfacter of the original GBA. However, now, now I used the GBA Player for the Gamecube, and my SP rarely gets used. Favorite series on the GBA in Golden Sun.

[@torrence-carmichael]

another good one! the choice of graphs in this need improvement though lol. the choice of x axis min/max for the 2001 gbc vs. gba sales is very misleading, as is showing a graph of 10-year yield rates to represent the Japanese economy in 2000 (but that one is more forgivable, because it does show a dimension of the full picture)

[@aiodensghost8645]

I still play my GBA and GBA SP. Its really good, sacrificed or no

[@Chidoro41]

Original SP, and most SPs on the market are front lit screens not back lit. It wasn’t until the end of its life when the ags-101 was released that possessed a back lit screen.

[@Finalblue1234]

1:07:00 it's wild how this is even more accurate for Microsoft then it was back then

[@midnightstrike3625]

The MegaMan Battle Network series alone made this console worth owning. The first two Harry Potter games were also great.

I love how much of the GBA's marketing tried to appeal to adults, but the console in principle is still aimed at kids with a boatload of Nickelodeon licensed games and stuff.

[@NoLvlCap]

Love your voice!

[@Tirgo69]

I think the Nomad really should have done better, after a year it was given absolutely no money in advertising

[@bombfog1]

It won’t be long before you have several hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

[@decisionparalysis7856]

I will never understand why they did not work in the whole abxy controls of the snes. It is not a deal breaker by any means, it is still a favorite of mine. It just seems like it would not have been too difficult, I could be wrong though, I am no expert.

[@mcduvall2000]

@1:02:50, typo, sacrificed is missing the 2nd "c"

[@superstreetfighter14]

The cartridges were a pain to import. The batteries that needed to be replaced left the cartridge unusable and irreplaceable leaving a lot to be desired by the format.

[@eric76P]

Great video you should make one about the Sega genesis sega cd 32x and the Saturn

[@sambajane]

We will never forget your sacrifice.

[@decisionparalysis7856]

It was sacrified so others could flourish.

[@sambajane]

@@decisionparalysis7856 Amen.

[@truedaito9420]

The virtual boy was not a failure because Nintendo did not care about it or because journalists did not understand it. It’s because it was utter shit, it was garbage plain and simple.

[@Miguel_Macias1]

ok buddy

[@suluturnip]

A soft dick take that wont be surpassed for ages. congrats.

[@ragsdale710]

​@Miguel_Macias1 they are right, it's a gimmick system that you are meant to play a few times

[@FoundOasis]

Shutup with ur okay buddy it’s a terrible console there’s no denying it

[@WizardClipAudio]

🤷‍♂️ Whatever. I like it.

[@とふこ]

BTW the gameboy color have an overlooked feature: two times faster CPU than GB and 4 times more ram. This is why games like alone in the dark and shantae and almost snes quality release of dragon quest 3 was possible on GBC. About GBA 3D: asterisk and obelisk xxl, stuntman, driver 3 are good examples how real 3D games worked on GBA if properly developed even tomb raider 1 is possible (openlara port exist) so it is matter of developer's. Sadly not the best developers created GBA games rather shovel ware developers so the games quality was usually not the best.

[@ragsdale710]

Its interesting how Nintendo is often harmed by its success. The gameboy was to successful for too long, like the wii was.

[@Un_Bison]

✌️

[@tpf92]

8:24 Front-lit screen, not backlit.

[@OvercookedChips]

Definitely brutally sacrified

[@claudiocucinotta2097]

What game is it Zelda: mistycal acorn at 39:02?!? French name of one of the Oracle games? Anyway, no results on Google!

[@carlospunish]

Make the wii's video!

[@XavierAirgts1]

Sakharu Baguette Why you mean The song of the Ocarina of Time commercial had to be mute because of DMCA unfort in The Nintendo 64 chronicles, isolated and revolutionary | A Nintendo 64 Documentary Video Last Year? Why Sakharu Baguette Why? Can you Explained this Sakharu Baguette?

[@InsomniumX]

A huevo valedores a huevo. Es un BACILON de mamey pinches carnales pinches valedores locos están locos y además es de mamey el bacilon!!! Tu bad iu most daiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Or els iu Will daiiiiiiiiiiii.

[@thardump859]

I personally think the GBA is fine hardware wise, pretty powerful console despite it's puny ass screen. But unfortunately it's library is 99% hot garbage!

[@viridionwaves]

More like 85% hot garbage. Then about 10% middling, 3% great, 2% gold. Realistically theres at least 20 objectively great titles for the time, most of which still hold up today. That's at least 2 percent. Probably there's another 10-30 depending on genre preferances for each person. So not entirely bad. The problem was once the ds was on the horizon a short 2 years later, and released 3 years later, most good games were made for it instead. The gba became the home of licensed tie-ins and cheap or experimental games for the most part.

[@chimericalical]

It feels jarring hearing “mega drive” spoken in an American (or maybe Canadian… idk, I live up North, Canadians sound like Americans to me) accent. I’m used to hearing “Sega mega drive” in a European accent anytime it’s spoken.

[@amarchand-uc5gs]

👏🏼

[@geldofpunk32]

The game boy color WAS the successor to the game boy. It had exclusive games and was a more powerful machine. Not sure why you act like game boy and color are the same. You can't play color games on the gb, therefore they are not the same console.

[@portalalchemist320]

The first Gameboy i actually considered real. I owned both original and Gameboy color, they never felt like truly gaming handhelds to me personally the way the gamegear did. It was only until the Gameboy advance that it felt like a real handheld gaming console experience

[@misterxar]

>Get hired by Nintendo >Given complete creative control >Slowly lose all control due to money >Quit Nintendo and make your own damn company >Create handheld you set out to make >Watch as your creation grows in popularity rapidly >Immediately die

[@scikoolaid]

It's not very nice to boil down Gunpei Yokoi's life like that. He did alot more than that, and had a huge influence on how Nintendo as a company changed it's direction and built it's initial empire in the vg industry

[@misterxar]

@@scikoolaid sorry, i forgot >press a button super fast

[@jeremym9011]

Excellent work. This may sound biased and hypocritical, but I think the system died because of Nintendo allowing all countries to make games for it instead of only the Japanese, which led to a lot of trashy shovelware games.

[@nxtvim2521]

it makes sense. but honestly I feel that gave it life. it really was a third pillar for a long while; Nintendo supported it for quite a bit, just like Microsoft with Xbox 360 main console, experimental product, portable and both the GBA and 360 were cheap as hell, and were still very much available same with gamecube for a while after the wii

[@goiabexp]

There were American developers for Nintendo's other platforms too

[@Dionaea_floridensis]

Oh believe me the Japanese are perfectly capable of making shovelware lol. They even have a word for it, クソゲー "kusoge-" literally "shit game"

[@HammerStudioGames]

That seems very ignorant, the Japanese make plenty of shovelware

[@deadmetalbr]

The GBA's primary lifespan was short because it should have started much, much earlier. The first prototypes were being worked on as early as 1996, but Nintendo just couldn't get the battery consumption to a level they would deem acceptable. They knew they didn't have a viable product yet and pushed out the Game Boy Color as a stopgap. Once GBC was on the market, they weren't about to announce GBA for another couple years as that would just kill it on the vine a la Sega's 32X.