With the Nintendo 3DS rapidly approaching release in North America, GameStop is preparing to phase out all GameBoy Advance-related content very, very soon. Come April 2nd, the retailer will cease all trade-ins for GameBoy Advance systems and games; this according to sources at Joystiq.
The GBA is home to MANY Mega Man games -- sixteen titles, to be precise (that includes multiple versions). Used copies of most are plentiful, but after April 2nd stock won't be replenished; once they're gone, they're gone. That said, now might be a good time to run out and pick up any games you've missed in the past, especially those that don't have their own Nintendo DS collection counterpart (i.e Battle Network!).
There's also been some talk of a GBA clearance sale in the future, but nothing's official yet. In any case, it'd be wise to keep an eye out.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to secure a copy of Battle Chip Challenge.
Why, you can still buy them online...And Battle Chip Challenge was...meh
ReplyDeleteMaybe now I can finally own MMBN2 when I don't need it.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone can buy things online, Hyper.
ReplyDeleteI should probably get out and get some of those Mega Man Battle Network games I'm missing. Or wait for Capcom to release a Collection. C'mon. You know there's gonna be a collection. :)
ReplyDeleteI like instant gradification from my purchases, Hypercoyote, so I try to avoid ordering online. I hate waiting.
ReplyDeleteThat's ironic, because my best friend gave me Rockman EXE BattleChip GP as a birthday present (with box, manual and everything).
ReplyDeleteDespite it being vastly different, I actually can see why some people liked it. It had it's own sense of strategy and depth to it, much like all the other Network-timeline games (EXE and SSR).
Unfortunately, seeing how my copy is the Japanese version, I can't fucking battle with anyone unless they go out of their way to get a 100% save file for the JP version, copy their exact Program Deck from US version and then we exchange the passwords. (US version introduced the weird symbols for the passwords, which made them incompatible with JP versions, which just had English letters and Numbers for the passwords)
Feck... :/
I tend to use Heat Rockman a lot. I might switch over to Saito Batch Rockman when I finally unlock him, however....
As for Rockman & Forte, I'd rather just continue playing my Super Famicom original. Better controls, better sound, no screwed up zoom-in, no weird Auto-Save feature that sometimes ruins my save files because of inconsistency between each other, etc.
ReplyDeleteI feel really fast and hyper today for some reason. :S
I thought the GBA was already "out"? :/
ReplyDeleteWell, this isn't good. :( Dunno when I can get to Gamestop next...
Only just now? GBA games are already rare in the stores I've been in.
ReplyDeleteOh well, used used game stores will still scratch that GBA itch.
And Protodude, how do you not already have BCC? That game was pretty tight. Never beat it, but it was good. (Though lazy. They pasted some animations from Megaman's arm over the other navis. Srsly?)
Capcom won't leave you hanging. If there's one thing Capcom's pretty good about, it's re-releasing games to keep them available to the general public. And a Mega Man Battle Network Collection is long overdue. :) I give it a year.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be worried about whether or not GameStop still has any MMBN games.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if they still sell Fire Emblem games. Been looking to try out that series for a while.
Well thats a gip........I was at my Gamestop and they told me "We don't trade in GBA games"
ReplyDeleteThat was back in september those jack wagons.
Amazon is your friend.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I already got myself a used copy of Mega Man & Bass back in Summer '09 (despite having the SNES ROM already). However, this may still be a problem for me, since I've been meaning to get ahold of the Donkey Kong Country port for quite some time.
ReplyDeleteSeventeen games? I can only count 17 if I include the Japan-only EXE4.5. What am I missing?
ReplyDelete1-10 - MMBN 1-6
11- MMBCC
12-15 - MMZ 1-4
16 - MM&B
The GBA had the most MM titles available for it. PSX had what 14 MM titles? SNES had about 5, NES had 7, DS has what 7 (if you don't count multiple versions of Star Force) as well? Man what a system GBA was...
ReplyDeleteDang, I better head down there next week on my Spring Break then. I love to play the BN games on the TV (through the GameCube GBA player), so I guess I should make sure I get the one that I want that I don't already have...
ReplyDelete@VoiceOfReason: The BEST handheld before the DS's entrance into the world of gaming.
ReplyDelete@VoiceOfReason: The funny thing is that the GBA had a relatively independent shelf-life. It came out in 2001 and by 2004 the DS was already coming onto the scene.
ReplyDeleteAt least eBay and Amazon are still good sources, even though it's not quite "instant gratification." :P
I don't buy used GBA games from Gamestop cause the jackasses threw out the boxes and manuals.
ReplyDeleteI keep all the stuff that comes with my games, and wouldn't you know it... in no time at all most of my GBA games became more valuable than their retail price. The only exception is Ninja Five-0, that game was rare enough, buying it complete was too damn expensive.
I'll pass on a copy of Battle Chip Challenge, but then again, I said that about Misadv. of Tron Bonne back in the day.
Well, I paid a visit to Gamestop earlier today, and to my surprise, there was very few Game Boy Advance games left, and there's usually tons of them. It looks like they've already begun cleaning them out. What a shame...
ReplyDeleteHehe, I already own all of the English Mega Man releases for my Gameboy. I didn't realize there were that many, but the GBA is one of my favorite handhelds. :P
ReplyDeleteWell good thing theres online but the problem is waiting and they release a MMZ collection or maybe just maybe there gonna release a MMBN collection if that fits in one ds cartrage or or by bundles like 1-3 on the 1st cart then 4-6 in the 2nd cart with special features like the unrelease yet MMBN Shooting Star in english ver.
ReplyDeleteReminds me the picture, when they gonna release the Megaman & Bass in Ware version and I hope is in english translations not like the PSN version its not translated better if they put in english so other new Megaman fans can recognize.:)
ReplyDeleteHi Protodude. Talking about betas (MM8) and GBA games, do you know if there is a rom of the cancelled Mega Man Mania around the web? In the game's info from The Mechanical Maniacs, some screens were taken from the emulator VisualBoyAdvance:
ReplyDeletehttp://themechanicalmaniacs.com/articles/mmmcmysteries.php
^
ReplyDeleteNope, Mania has yet to be made public.