Product Review: Game Boy Micro

I have a confession to make. I have an obsession with tiny electronic devices. From cell phones to mp3 players to digital cameras, if its advertised as being comperable in size to a credit card, I want it. The Game Boy Micro from Nintendo is just that. Unfortunately, its size is one of only a few redeeming qualities.

Pro's
-Tiny
-Beautiful Screen
-Built-in Li-Ion Battery

Con's
-Poor Battery Life
-Poor Screen Durability
-Not Backwards Compatible

The Game Boy Micro is, first and foremost, small and convenient. It's a little shorter and a little wider than a credit card, and about three quarters of an inch thick. It's very light weight, and comes with a nice little felt carrying case that protects, but still keeps the size and weight down.

The screen takes up almost the entire front of the unit, with the directional pad and A and B buttons on either side. The Start and Select buttons are down on the bottom, and the L and R buttons are on the corners, in locations that even the most limber hands must strain to reach. While the screen is nearly an inch smaller than that of the Game Boy Advance SP, it's very crisp and clear and I never had any trouble seeing anything.

That is, except when what I wanted to see was under one of the scratches and scuffs that the screen attracts. My Micro was always either being played or in its case, it was never dropped or hit or rubbed on anything, and the screen still managed to look terrible in just a few weeks. A little spit and a soft cloth could get much of the scuffing off, but try as I might I couldn't protect it from scratching.

The Micro's built-in lithium-ion battery was a nice touch. I always appreciate not having to worry about what kind of batteries I'll need to be buying. It's convenience, however, is overshadowed by its weak battery life: less than seven hours with the sound off. The Advance SP gets double that.

Finally, my biggest problem with this system. It's not backwards compatible with older Game Boy games. I cannot understand why Nintendo would build the Micro that way. With other Advance systems you could plug in an old Game Boy or Game Boy Color game and it would stick out an inch or so, but it would play just fine. The Micro, on the other hand, refuses to play them. Don't get me wrong, I love the new games, but every now and then when noone else is home I get the urge, so I lock all the doors, close the curtains, and play a little Pokemon Blue.

The Micro looks really cool. Unfortunately, it just can't back that up with anything worth while. Get a Game Boy Advance SP instead. It's better in almost every way and its not even that much bigger. It's cheaper too.