Was the Game Boy really more powerful than the NES.
If it had color, maybe.
Ultimately a far superior choice to the SEGA Gamegear.
>>2882645
Gamegear was back lit. Nintendo lost until the SP came out, AND that didn't even need batteries (neither did the Game gear, just plug it in)
Hard to compare that stuff.
It has a lower resolution and no color. But it had stereo sound, diagonal scrolling (without special chips) and parallax. I'm wondering how many sprites they could push.
http://www.rickard.gunee.com/projects/playmobile/html/3/3.html
According to this site the GB could handle 40 sprites on screen with a max size of 8x16 and the NES could handle 64 with the same size limit.
It's a hard choice. Sprites are important, but on the little screen, you don't need that many sprites. I'd say the GB is a better handheld system than the NES is a home system.
Technically, yes. Magnitudes more processing power and RAM compared to the NES, but of course the games were in grayscale detail instead of color. The GBC tacked on even more processing power and RAM, so there were more improvements than simply allowing games to be rendered in color.
>>2882645
"Superior" in the number and quality of games available, but Sega's hardware was technically superior. GG's downfall was the impractical nature of its design (bulky, very short battery life) paired with poor third-party support. I think Sega was overreaching with the GG's design. A backlit screen with full color support running on batteries just wasn't feasible with the technology of that generation. Who wants to buy dozens of batteries every week?
>>2882705
Also in my opinion, most of the B&W shading they used in games for backgrounds and sprites had more of a sense of depth and "popped" than sprites in gameboy color or nes, probably because its easier with tones of grays than a limited color memory
From what I _hear_, the original GB was slightly less powerful than the NES, the GBC slightly more.
The Duck Tails games suffer from so much slowdown on the Game Boy, I always assumed it was because it was less powerful than the NES, but were the NES versions just as bad? Or perhaps it's just the way they were ported.
you're comparing a z80 to a 6502, it's apples and oranges m8, each one has individual strengths and weaknesses.
otherwise, GB sound is comparable to NES sound. GB video is a bit more flexible than NES video but at much less resolution and only 4 colors.
Assuming both devices were equally powerful, the Game Boy would still win because the framebuffer and game art needed less memory.
>>2882772
The thing about the Game Gear is it's just a handheld Master System with the Master System quality 'ports' of Genesis titles.
Rehashing titles? Yeah, SEGA did that, alot.
>>2882628
No? Lower resolution, monochrome, less VRAM.
Gameboy's sound is a bit less flexible than the Famicom because it only has square waves+white noise while the latter had pulse/triangle/PCM. The video bus also isn't on the cartridge slot like the Famicom's is, so the Gameboy couldn't support add-on chips to enhance its capabilities.
>>2882956
Are you sure about that? I remember Pokemon Yellow having PCM samples.
>>2882956
Are you shitting me? The GB is very flexible, you just played a lot of Japanese games and frankly, Japanese chiptuen artists are untalented or uncreative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVnxHrqibT0
This piece alone is better than anything the Japanese musician ever dreamed of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnzHTkRLcE4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DZ1ENAX82c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBGvJ4IsrMk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRejS-izaZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u45fk1pBdJc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8H_gONEp2I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boCgMcSCXlI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4IrkW4NSwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTbJTjkpjcg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x35H3mcTDfM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSMwzRd0UPI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qls_njTQLs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcvjYZBIN-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_knrVvwg4E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAkc63WOwuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGa_OAZFY3g
My ass the Game Boy ain't flexible.
>>2882685
> Nintendo lost until the SP came out
This has to be a joke. Gameboy was more successful in every way, and better since it was actually portable without spending an arm and a leg on batteries. If you're playing near an outlet, you may as well just plug in a TV as well. GG isn't shit, but was never a real contender.
>>2882990
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVnxHrqibT0
why the fuck is this from a game called happy hippo
>>2883017
because most titles western developers produced for the Japanese consoles were license games. Most European musician were stuck too license games, at least on consoles. Most famously Tim Follin. He even composed for Maya the Bee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvIPVhRAI4w
Which reminds me, I wanted to include two tunes by Geoff Follin, but forget to do so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Ai2s5pkiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt12HoMqbHc
And I forgot one of the most unique composers, Jean-Marie Philibert. Not really a fan of his work, but he has a very distinctive style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3giOAZseIdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMnzVSgsbGw
Also a really good game to show of the GBC's musical capabilities, Little Nicky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unMGuGfEO_E
There is a ton of shit I could include. But that's enough, I think.
>>2828589
>>2882714
>"superior" in the number and quality of games
Only reasons you need.
>>2882628
Well the Gameboy's CPU was clocked at 4.19 MHz and the NES was clocked at 1.79 MHz but that doesn't tell much without knowing much about the architecture. However, seeing as how both are an 8-bit processor I would imagine the Gameboy had more raw processing power.
Its also worth mentioning that the Gameboy had 4 times as much ram and bigger cartridges. The only thing the Gameboy lacked was a decent screen and color. On a chipset level the Gameboy is more powerful than the NES.
>>2883131
NES CPU is based on the 6502, GB CPU is based on the Z80. 6502 is about 3 times as fast as the Z80 at the same clock speed, so NES is somewhat faster.
There's not much variety in those soundtracks at all. Every song you posted sounds like it came from a C64 demoscene production.
>>2882990
>muh arpeggio ridden garbage with shit melodies
Kill yourself, Jonas.
>>2882685
Gameboy lasted way longer on less batteries, especially once the Pocket came around. The Game Gear wasn't really portable, it could only run for 3-4 hours on a full set of batteries.
And it also had other problems, like the bad caps they used.
>>2882685
>Nintendo lost until the SP came out
lmao did the Game Gear have fucking Pokemon
It's hard to say with the original GB, but I definitely think the GBC was beyond your average 8-bit system. A lot of games were inbetween the NES and SNES in many aspects, such as the Mega Man Xtreme games for example. Especially the sound work is great here, with many tracks being of almost the same quality as their SNES counterparts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu5xbLa-jcE
The GBC could also do proper voice work, some basic 3D and even CGI, so it was a very capable system to say the least.
https://youtu.be/__hqUM0WfDE?t=1m12s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFwbfN18x0I
>>2883406
Good games don't make a good console, you doof.
>>2883406
When Pokémon came out, I thought that shit was bland and would never sell. I was surprised to see kids flog to it.
Well, I've played it, and it's not my thing. But oh boy did it print money.
>>2883523
Except they do? The best consoles out there are the ones that actually have games, which is why even the DS and PS2 remain some of the best systems in history, despite being inferior to their competitors on a technical level. Sure, the Game Gear was an advanced system, but it had too many portability flaws, which is what ultimately denied it any success.
>>2883523
That's EXACTLY what makes a good console, you flaming retard. The number of good games available for a system is the only metric that actually matters.
>>2882772
>>2883575
Let's not.
>>2883579
It's too late, the hole has been dug now we get to lay in it.
>>2882967
It does for Pikachu's screaming but that's it iirc. I can't think of any GB games that use PCM samples for percussion like the Famicom did.
>>2883571
>That's EXACTLY what makes a good console
Not for a handheld. For a handheld, you also need good battery life. No point in having many great games on your handheld if you have to spend a fortune on batteries to play them.
>>2883042
Western VG music sucks 90% of the time. The GB was capable of some cool jams, but nothing compared to the Famicom.
>>2883575
you're proving the opposite of your point.
>>2883590
>You're saying what I don't like so you're wrong!
Who even said I was a Sega guy? This is my observations over the last 20 years of interacting with both sides of idiots. I grew up with both companies in my household, I have no axe to grind here. If there was no truth in what I'm saying you wouldn't be so quick to get defensive
>>2882772
>of course it's superior to the shit tier Game Gear, unless you like games made for autists
Talking shit about the Game Gear is a ten year stretch in the cubes, creep.
>>2883589
>Western VG music sucks 90% of the time.
But when it shines it outshines 99% of Japanese VG music.
>>2883594
>I was totally alive for and had a genesis and snes believe me!
I'm not defending anything, I'm just saying you're autistic bb.
>>2883587
Bullshit, even though it's important to have a decent battery life, a good library is what defines a sucessful or a game.com handheld.
>>2883594
No, no, no Anon; please read before responding. I appreciate the effort tho bb.
>>2883594
No, no, no bb; please read before responding. I appreciate the effort tho!
>>2883610
It doesn't matter what library you have if the console works for only 3 fucking hours and is too huge to be really portable.
The gameboy won the handheld war because it was the smallest handheld with the longest battery life; therefore it was the console most suited for the job of a portable games device.
Then it got the GB Pocket which was twice as good in both size and battery life.
Quality of games came in secondary to that (not that it lacked on that front either since it had Tetris).
>>2883587
Thank God the GB had great battery life then, unlike the GG.
>>2883595
> built to stand the test of time!
Haha, what? The GG is infamous for it's components literally rotting away after a few years.
>>2882685
>>2882738
Forgot about this little fucker?
>>2883794
I wonder why they didn't implement the backlight into the GBC or original GBA, when they obviously knew how to. I've even heard the backlight on the GBL was pretty good, so Nintendo had no excuse.
>>2883794
nice Japanese only model that no one in the states had.
>>2883820
1. battery life concerns above all others
2. planned obsolescence
basically they release the crap screen model that has extreme battery life, then release the improved model at a markup. If the backlight model has shit battery life, then just make it have a higher markup, or sell in limited numbers. This way they rake in money, get a good model out for those who are bitching, and if the deluxe model is not up to par to the predecessor then they won't end up ruining their reputation because it's a special model not the normal one.
And if the new model ends up good enough technically, then they can just switch production to it anyway, but by then they already raked in the cash from the huge markup it had, when they introduced it.
Win-win situation.
>>2883820
GBC and early GBA used a transflective LCD. It has a mirror foil behind the screen, and by design light passes through the screen, gets reflected, passes through the screen again, to your eyes.
A major advantage of this type of display is the ability to cope with ambient light, and lots of it. Take DS or even DS lite outside and you'll see the problem. The tiny light source in the device is competing against the massive one in the sky, and losing. As the GB by design was portable, and hence for outdoor play, that was a concern.
A side effect of this kind of screen is that you can not add a backlight to it. The light must pass the display twice, or it won't produce the right colors. That's why early GBA models, and the afterburner kit, were a frontlight. With a frontlight, an optical wedge is put in front of the screen, and a light source installed on the side. When the light is on, it enters the wedge, is reflected downwards into the display, and so on. As such, this light source works together with the ambient light, it merely supports it. There's no advantage in leaving the afterburner on during high ambient light, but no drawback either. In low light conditions, the afterburner simply pretends to be the ambient light source.
A disadvantage of these display types is that they strongly depend on the quality of the outside light source. For the GBC, the best that could happen is an overcast summer day. Uniform white light coming from all directions. The screen is looking its best. With direct sunlight, from a clear day, the GBC is actually too bright and the colors have a yellowish tint. Still miles ahead of any backlight system of the day.
>>2883820
I consider the introduction of a backlight to the GB or DS series of devices one of the biggest drawbacks. From that point on it was really difficult to actually play outside. The better the conditions were, the worse the display was. Very little has changed there. I've seen a new 3DS in direct sunlight, it's sad, the image is worse than on an original brick GB, because all you're left with is a few shades of dark grey on dark grey. Also from an engineering perspective it strikes me as insane that you'd try to compete with the major light source nearby, instead of using it to your advantage. Sadly, backlit displays have superior color reproduction in low light conditions, due to the very controlled and uniform light source. In other words, a backlight looks superior in a store, even though it loses badly when outside.
>>2883523
uhh...
You are not serious, right?
>>2883867
>battery life concerns above all others
I miss these days, really do. My DS lite is running on the original proprietary battery that came with it. I can get maybe 5 hours out of it, in part because I'm forced to run the light on high in well lit environments. My GBC, which is considerably older, still gets at least three times that life on brand new eneloops. In a couple years the DS will barely turn on, and with a bit of luck I can buy an expensive third party battery by that time. The GBC will have increased its battery life, because the batteries available by then have a higher capacity.
>planned obsolescence
Planned obsolescence is creating devices with a limited lifespan due to durability or support by the manufacturer. Releasing a compatible successor model is something different. Though, Wikipedia mentions "Style obsolescence", which would fit here, I suppose.
>>2883867
>>2883906
>>2883909
The Game Boy Light already had the perfect solution for this problem, though. By the simple flick of a switch, you could turn the backlight off. As far as I know, that should have been possible for later handhelds too. Apparently not. It was a fine little piece, which is why it's depressing that none of its features stuck around.
>>2883925
The GBL uses a different kind of LCD than the GBC does. The background of the GBL is a matt layer, that can be illuminated. You will notice that a GBL with its light on has washed out shades, because the light only passes through once. That problem would have been emphasized on the GBC. Also, you can't illuminate a mirror.
As for the simple flick of a switch, the GBA with an afterburner and the early GBA SP had exactly that, with its frontlight. Transflective LCDs with frontlights can run on ambient light, the front light source, or any combination of the two.
Modern handhelds with LCDs have a purely transmissive display, relying on a back light source. So it's impossible to implement a switch, as they'd be plain black without the light source. Modern devices with OLED displays are a different league. Although fundamentally they suffer the same problem, the tiny light sources competing against the strong ambient light.
>>2883906
and I realized I messed up. The GBC has a reflective LCD, not a transflective ones. Transflective LCDs combine the abilities of a transmissive (backlit) and a reflective (frontlit) display, although they may not have the same image quality in both modes. Of course they're also more expensive. Some Nokia phones a while back had transflective displays, and so did the OLPC, and various "outdoor laptops"
>>2883937
Yeah, that was a retarded reply of me.
Got too carried away without reading the posts properly, but I have to agree that handhelds have lost a lot throughout the years. Then again, hardly anybody plays outdoors anymore anyways, so I guess there's nothing to gain from making them differently. Thanks for the thorough explanation, by the way.
>>2882990
This is pure personal taste talking here but I have never liked this style of chiptune instrumentation. Can't fucking stand it, actually. European demoscenefags seem to love it. That being said, there's obviously a lot of skill behind these compositions.
>>2883951
>Then again, hardly anybody plays outdoors anymore anyways, so I guess there's nothing to gain from making them differently
It's a catch 22. People don't play outdoor as often, because the displays suck for that, the games suck for that (good luck playing touch input on a shaking bus or train, the old GBC was a sturdy little fucker), and the battery life limits the applications right out of the gate. Dumb example, but it would be trivial to take a GB on a camping trip, without any outlet nearby. Just pack a handful of batteries, and you're good to go. The device handles the dirt as well, it's quite durable. With a modern handheld, if you know you'll be without recharge abilities for multiple days, you won't even take it with you, it's a brick after a day or two. That's on top of the risk of damaging the expensive custom shell, or the touch screen, or the mic, or ... Of course my example is dated. Nowadays technology is so commonplace, you would not take a handheld on a camping trip, because you'd go on a camping trip to get away from all the electronics. I hope my example still makes some sense.
It's why I still have my GBC, and still play it occasionally. It's a handheld, a real one. They won't make them like that anymore.
>>2883971
I'm inclined to agree. These compositions aren't really any nice to listen to, but rather just good on a technical level. I just find that it really hurts to listen to when the song isn't good, and yet so much is going on. Even if it is good, it gets drowned out by all the ear-raping high pitches. But that's just me. I would like to hear something more traditionally composed a la Super Mario Land for example, but at the same time taking full advantage of the GB's sound capabilities.
>>2883138
You obviously didn't listen.
>C64 demoscene production
So you admit that the GB is very flexible, because that was kinda the C64's thing, being flexible and that these compositions are really technically impressive, because that's what the demoscene is all about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_3d1x2VPxk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la3coK5pq5w
>>2883163
They don't even feature arps that heavily!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnzHTkRLcE4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFwW9Qfq-NQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Ai2s5pkiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt12HoMqbHc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVpkon8oOSA
Still technically more impressive than anything Japanese. I really don't think you or anyone in this thread knows what a bad composition or arpeggios are. Here, let me show you both.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QXCCVxbYrs
And no, the Game Gear was not part of the problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smQbh3gHo6Y
>>2883538
That is very interestig.
"The Game Boy uses two pulse channels (switchable between 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 75% wave duty cycle), a channel for 4-bit PCM playback, and a pseudo-random-noise generator." According to Wikipedia. And if I understand the article right, the GB can also utilize the saw tooth wave, which the NES can't.
>>2882956
>>2882967
>>2883586
This ofcourse adresses your problem. It is fairly obvious that the GB can do everything the NES can do, including PCM and adds the sawtooth and stereo on top of that. But I don't think the GB offers full control over the waves like the C64 does.
>>2883589
Nah. If you think of the whole European market, all those fucking home computers and all the Europe license games which feature European composers, we did a lot of good music. It's just that Americans didn't do anything. Tommy Tallarico is the only good American chiptune artist I can think of.
>>2883595
>But when it shines it outshines 99% of Japanese VG music
At least someone.
>>2884258
>Nah. If you think of the whole European market, all those fucking home computers and all the Europe license games which feature European composers, we did a lot of good music. It's just that Americans didn't do anything. Tommy Tallarico is the only good American chiptune artist I can think of
LucasArts had some killer Commodore 64 tunes, but generally NTSC devs never used anything but the default SID envelopes.
I do notice that Japanese devs tended to favor smoother, more melodic sound without that staccato Yuropoor style.
>>2882956
LSDJ on the gameboy allows you to have 2 pulse channels, 1 wavetable/pcm channel, and 1 noise channel. Idk if the program uses the gameboy to it's full potential though.
>>2884283
>so they all composed music on the SNES
I don't think so. The only SNES music that sounds like European SID is Vortex, since it actually uses arpeggios. The rest is very different from SID and Japanese stuff.
>>2884284
Japanese could do one think very well. Melodic, up-beat and catchy beb-bop music. Europeans could do anything with chiptune. I love a lot of the stuff they did, like Pokemon, Nintendo World Cup and Super Mario Land. In fact, I think SML1 is one of the best composed pieces on the GB and I hate people who think SML2 sounds better. I think to really appreciate it's composition you need to run it through and emulator and look at the voices separately.
http://cirrusretro.com/listen/3629-super-mario-land-game-boy#5
Fucking look at it. Disable wave and noise, just listen to the square waves. They carry this song with the melody, but noise and wave are fantastic support and really make this song come alive. That's the case for the entire soundtrack. Really fantastic.
If you want to do that on your PC I recommend Audio Overload and zophary, snesmusic and http://gbs.joshw.info/ for gbs files.
And there is another think Japanese composers like to do, make shit crowded as fuck. Like, most SFC stuff, especially JRPGs, always feature these grand, big orchestras but in a horrible sample quality. The only way to really enjoy these compositions, is by listening to the arrangements. And this is were the Europeans contrast themselves.They went for sound quality and clarity.
https://youtu.be/-FggOnzJlZI
https://youtu.be/oW7ANhOAwrE
https://youtu.be/y0PixBaf8_Y
https://youtu.be/xbEr2PVvjZQ
https://youtu.be/GvTAPRfvt90
And on the SNES it still worked for them, but the Gensis produced some horrible, incoherent shit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWM9KGBr7dE
There is no rhythm or melody or any composition. Fuck, this is ear raping. It's really embarassing next to something like Time Trax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqyEbu8cmMg
>>2884258
>Still technically more impressive than anything Japanese
https://youtu.be/my36_UvbMP4?t=16m5s
This was also earlier than most titles mentioned ITT. It's not that the Japanese couldn't, but more in the lines of choosing not to. Most developers wanted technically good music over technically impressive music, as the problem with many of these tracks is that they are too much strain on the ear. Too much going on, too many unpleasant pitches, too messy in composition etc.. You gotta have very specific taste to actually enjoy music like this. At least that's my opinion on the subject, and I don't think it's a coincidence that they all belong to virtually unknown shovelware. I also think something like this is more impressive, as in when a Gameboy game sounds almost on par with its SNES original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLa4abfW6vc
>>2883925
My DS phat had a screen that performed really well in direct sunlight.
I have no idea what it was but if you switched off the backlight it actually turned off and worked like a GBA screen.
Too bad that thing broke, the D-pad on the phat was way better too.
>>2884314
I always forget the original DS exists.
I really do recall it being quite sturdy and ergonomic, kind of like the first GBA model.
>>2884307
>>2883971
>>2884009
>Too much going on, too many unpleasant pitches, too messy in composition
Nah.
>You gotta have very specific taste to actually enjoy music like this
Nah. As others said, these guys a basically making SID music for the Game Boy. SID music is very popular. One of the most viewed GB songs on YouTube is Robocop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZBDNQ3gas
Just not with you Americans and probably not with Japanese either. And desu I really think it's just a problem with familiarity, as generally any chiptune will sound like incoherent noise to an outsider. It is definitely niche sub-genre, of an already very niche genre.
Still think they are more talented, since Japanese only made catchy, melodic driven songs and Europeans could do anything.
>I don't think it's a coincidence that they all belong to virtually unknown shovelware
Because that comprises like 90% of the games the west made on Japanese consoles before the PS1!? What a shit argument. I mean, which artist could say he only worked on quality titles? I think, solely Chris Hülsbeck.
>when a Gameboy game sounds almost on par with its SNES original
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLa4abfW6vc
lol, really nice track, but nothing like the SNES.
>>2884336
>Nah.
Taste. Do you by chance work with music?
>Because that comprises like 90% of the games the west made on Japanese consoles before the PS1!?
True, but stuff like Shantae and Donkey Kong come to mind.
And I am a western European gentleman, but I just don't find music like this all that enjoyable. Never have, most likely never will. And music fads in the 90's were of course much different in Japan than elsewhere in the world, which contributed to the high focus on either pop or rock-driven soundtracks. What I can give these western composers props for is clarity in sound, like you mentioned. That is definitely something lacking from the Japanese spectrum of things. Also the fact that even if it might not work, western devs did often try to push hardware to its limit. This is evident with the GBA and Driver 3 among other things, and once again on the DS with anything Renegade Kid did. Not that the Japanese were really too far behind on the DS, but worth mentioning. I might have exaggerated with the Xtreme track, but it definitely sounds beyond NES quality to me, even if not quite up there with the 16-bit stuff.
I think we can al agree with:
Euro composers = Japanese composers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> American composers
>>2882685
The Gameboy sold over 100 000 000 units in it's lifetime, had a screen with adjustable contrast, MUCH better battery life, and a WAY bigger library. It was also very cheap.
The Game Gear had a screen that was difficult to see despite backlight, very short battery life, a much smaller library, and was much more expensive. Also, no Pokémon, no Zelda, and no Tetris (though Columns was a good alternative).
>AND that didn't even need batteries (neither did the Game gear, just plug it in)
What, so a handheld system should have relied on wall sockets? That kinda defeats the point, and it's not like the Gameboy couldn't be plugged into a wall.
We're not talking about the Nomad here.
>>2882714
I agree, it was too early for colored handhelds, black and white would have been good enough.
>>2883173
Oh yeah, Sega handhelds had problems with poorly made capacitors for a time.
>>2883523
A console can have the coolest specs and features ever but if it has no software to use that, then it's nothing.
The library is ultimately what matters.
>>2883525
You kind of had to be a kid at the time to appropriately appreciate the original ones to the fullest extent. It helped that we were all sucked in by the TV show.
>>2883587
The Gameboy had a vast library and good battery life, it sold gangbusters.
The Gamegear had a limited library and limited battery life, it had quite lukewarm sales.
>>2883610
For a portable, battery life matters a lot, the Nomad had the Genesis library but that doesn't make it a great handheld.
>>2882685
>Nintendo lost until the SP came out
underage ban incoming
>>2884292
>Idk if the program uses the gameboy to it's full potential though.
These programs don't emulate any channels, the CPU is way too weak for that. They simply expose the operations available on the hardware. The ones you enumerated, that's precisely the sound channels a GB has.
>>2884801
one thing where tracker programs may not use the "full potential" of the system would be anything requiring heavy i/o. You could create almost wav-like playback by streaming a shitload of pcm samples in rapid succession, which a tracker program simply may not support, because it's a silly thing to do in a tracker. And of course trackers may limit the number of patterns available, or song length, both of which are arbitrary limits, not inherent to the GBC hardware.
>>2884356
>Taste
Definitely
>Do you by chance work with music?
Nah.
>GBA and Driver 3 among other things
While we are at the topic, Asterix XXL on the GBA is very impressive.
Also, when judging this youtube uploads of music, you got to keep in mind that they come from some sort of emulator. Be it an emulator for the whole game or just the music files, they do make mistakes. Like, I now Alberto Gonzalez told explod2A03 in an interview that his Game Boy music doesn't sound right. Some channels were to loud and others to quiet.
And to get back to the real topic, the Game Boy's sound capabilites are far more flexible than the NES'. Whether or not you like SID music, at leas the GB could sound like that, the NES couldn't. There were quite a few NES soundtracks from SID composers and none of them sounded like SID. Sure, they used arpeggios, but there is more to SID than just that. The NES' four sound channels really aren't flexible. The PCM channel was, ofcourse, but the others weren't.
>>2882628
I'll just chime in that the Gameboy is one of the only things I can actually play outside in strong sunlight. Feels good man!
>>2884857
>The NES' four sound channels really aren't flexible. The PCM channel was, ofcourse, but the others weren't
GB has 1 x PCM, 2 x Square Wave and 1 x Noise. What does the NES offer?
>>2884861
Why do you willingly give yourself cancer?
>>2884283
>>2884336
Yeah that's what I meant by personal taste and instrumentation; that arpeggio thing, as you call it (it doesn't sound very arpeggio-y to me but whatever.) That bloopy shit. Just never liked it. They certainly know what the fuck they're doing. The compositions are obviously good, just that one instrument/sound. I know it shows up a lot from European composers, and it drives me fuckin nuts. Haven't liked it since I first heard it in Codemasters NES games (which is annoying because a lot of Codemasters' music is really fucking good, like Bee52 or Super Robin Hood), didn't like it when it showed up in C64 music. Don't like it. I guess I could try to clarify and say I don't like it when it has the lead; it's much less annoying when it's an accompanying instrument/voice.
>>2885548
>I guess I could try to clarify and say I don't like it when it has the lead
Like this?
https://youtu.be/rJuoOJZcg3Q
I think that is the arp-heaviest song I really like. I think the final seconds of the song will kill you. These could do the trick too.
https://youtu.be/bw0yRqajrgU
Neil Baldwin thought this track had the perfect amount of arpeggios. I don't know about that, but I do know the song is fantastic.
https://youtu.be/PSmJre3LrmA
Alberto Gonzalez didn't overuse arpeggios and his soundtracks are fantastic.
>>2884861
>going outside
>>2882763
I have played it hundreds of times through and it never has slowdown.
>>2882763
One thing that's rather important regarding slowdown on these machines: Most of the time it's not a matter of CPU or processing power. These old machines have hard limits on the number of sprites per line. If you exceed these limits, the game effectively misses the drawing of one frame. However, since practically all game physics are based on the framerate, such a delay will instantly half the movement speed of everything on screen, which is very noticeable. The solution to such slowdowns is not a beefier CPU, but instead re-designing that moment in the game to work around the sprite limits.
>>2882990
and you just posted a japanese game there dude
Manabu Namiki is great tho
>>2888230
Bullshit, it just skips drawing the excessive sprites. And usually the sprite order is shuffled every frame so you get sprite flicker instead of sprites disappearing completely.
Slowdown is always caused by trying to do more than the CPU can process in one frame.
>all this music being posted
>no casltevania adventure 2
???????????
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHLsolltIJ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6mftPOyQX0&
>>2884868
Dunno why that guy said 4. NES had 5 sound channels, not including the extra ones coming in from the expansion port. 2 x Square Wave, 1 x Noise, 1 x Triangle Wave, and 1 DPCM that could be used for PCM. The Triangle wave channel is fixed volume though.
>>2889454
and that is why slowdown happens pretty much only when the sprite limit is reached, regardless of the game that experiences it. It's all because these games just so happen to want to do too much only when the sprites align just right.
>>2884336
That Robocop track is actually kinda amazing
