GAMbIT Magazine May 2014 | Page 32

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Game Boy Advance SP

First released in Japan February 14, 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP—Nintendo model AGS-001—resolved several problems with the original Game Boy Advance model. It featured a new smaller clamshell design with a flip-up screen, a switchable internal frontlight, a rechargeable battery, and the omission of the headphone jack, which requires a special adapter to be purchased separately. In mid September 2005, Nintendo released a significantly improved Game Boy Advance SP model hat featured a backlit screen. frontlit, similar to the Game Boy Micro screen but larger.

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Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color, as suggested by the name, features a color screen. It is slightly thicker and taller than the Game Boy Pocket, which is a redesigned Game Boy released in 1996. As with the original Game Boy, it has an 8-bit processor and the custom Zilog Z80 central processing unit (CPU)

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Game Boy Advance

The Game Boy Advance (also referred to as GBA) featured a 32 bit 16.8 MHz ARM. It included a Z80 processor and a switch activated by inserting a Game Boy or Game Boy Color game into the slot for backward compatibility, and had a larger, higher resolution screen. Controls were slightly modified with the addition of "L" and "R" shoulder buttons. The system was technically likened to the SNES and showed its power with successful ports of SNES titles. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past.