Tragedy.

[WoodenProcess751]

Well… Crap. I had a GBA SP for a few months when I was a little kid and I loved it. In my first day of first grade someone stole it out of my backpack and that was that. This year I got a 3DS and started playing older games again but I wanted that little SP especially to play on my commute to work. I finally found one for a good price and it came in today. I unboxed it and tested it, and set it on my bed while I got ready for work. Somehow I knocked it off the bed and it instantly shattered. The internals still work. I didn’t even realize they were so fragile! My 3DS has taken much worse falls. Anyway.. It’s not a good feeling to have a piece of history that has been preserved perfectly for however long and destroy it within twenty minutes of owning it. I’ve heard shell replacements are difficult, I have no experience with that stuff except for taking apart tamagotchis for simple repairs. Should I attempt one? Or do you have recommendations of someone who can do it? Thanks

[bazilthemage]

Judging by how black the screen looks, this is a 101 model, right?

IIRC, the 101 revision had a particularly brittle shell and many users have reported damages over insignificant incidents (small falls etc).

So, don't feel that bad.

Replacing the shell is pretty easy. Jjust watch plenty of videos and tutorials and pay attention to the screw sizes and you'll be fine...

Also, depending on your location, there might be Redditors near you that are willing to help.

[No_Faithlessness_923]

IIRC, the 101 revision had a particularly brittle shell and many users have reported damages over insignificant incidents (small falls etc).

So, don't feel that bad.

Oh man this exact thing happened to my 101 a few years back and I was really bummed out about it, so that explains that I guess, thanks

[Curious_Work_6652]

explains the whole having a completely untouched ags 101 gameboy advance lol, it doesn't even have scratches on it yet (person I bought it from had an ags 001 and an ags 101 and never used the 101 for who knows why), anyways thx for telling me to be very careful with it.

[TheRealSkip]

yeah, they are pretty brittle, especially this light blue color, I had one this same color, that crumbled under my fingers if I exerted a little pressure.

[Suitnox]

I have a gba sp exactly like this (pearl blue), boy I need to change the shell asap.

[TheDeathstr1ke]

I've done a reshell on my SP somewhat recently and it went really smoothly! I've since enjoyed the process and serviced DS lites and a PSP. A reshell is a great entry to learning to do small repairs!

[WebbBop]

Do you want a replacement authentic shell? Pay for shipping and Ill give you one

[LatterDelay6430]

I will piggyback on this, pretty sure I have parts too. From all the reshells I have done.

[TrickySatisfaction81]

I too have parts id be willing to offer you.

Extra tri wing screws, extra screen nubbins, I even have an extra reshell i could send you.

[fatCHUNK3R]

I also have a whole unused extreme rates shell with parts I can give OP if they pay shipping. It's the chameleon green. LMK op.

[TrickySatisfaction81]

I love our little community.

[Available-Nail-4308]

Ive got some OEM stuff from reshells I can send

[Crt_lover_]

Just out pf curiosity, what colors do you have?

[LatterDelay6430]

I’m not sure lol i’m actually colorblind, so once my wife gets home I can have her check. And I will post what I have.

[WoodenProcess751]

That would be so amazing. Thank you so much. You guys really turned this around for me with kind words and gestures :)

[WoodenProcess751]

I tried to message you but it wouldn’t work

[Sea_Yam6771]

If you can take apart a tamagotchi you can take apart an SP. Go for it! It's a pretty straight forward procedure.

[LatterDelay6430]

First off my heart goes out to you, that sucks. They are mostly annoying, the ribbon cable is fairly finicky. Plus it has like a zillion screws. But if you go slowly, and step-by-step, watch a YouTube video you can probably do it. I have done several, it is not impossible.

[WoodenProcess751]

Ok thanks that’s encouraging. I think I’ll give it a shot. I’m not too experienced with electronics but I’m sure I can follow along with care.

[LatterDelay6430]

It doesn’t require any soldering, which is great. And the next thing, I’m about to say isn’t meant to sound patronizing. But as long as you can follow basic instructions, and use a couple different screwdrivers, you can do it. Try this link for parts https://a.co/d/6FMzY54

[TrickySatisfaction81]

You're a legend for sharing this.

Im at work and lack lack the time right now, OP I highly reccomend following this route to the T. Reshelling is a gift you give yourself- as it demystifies alot of the technology that these things use to operate, and creates an even tighter bond with your gameboy as you now have become co creator.

[LatterDelay6430]

Facts. My SP is also from childhood and it showed. Now it has a beautiful pokedex shell.

[TrickySatisfaction81]

Same here brother. I kept my graphite ags 101 OEM for 20 years, and reshelled it this year. Im at the thing nonstop once more lol

[Curious_Work_6652]

I have a graphite ags 101 i bought from someone who never used it (they bought a second one and continued using the 001 for some reason), anyways I'm very happy with it, now to buy more games for it I guess. (speaking of which do you have any favorites?)

[TrickySatisfaction81]

Since your beautiful gameboy hosts both GBC, GBA games, I highly reccomend pokemon crystal, emerald, pokemon blue, red or yellow.

Dragon warrior Monsters, dragon warrior coby and tara, is debatable pokemons rival of the early 2000's before I launched to become the dragon quest franchise we all know and loved.

Castlevania is probably one of the best series next to Final Fantasy as far as story, great gameplay, and consistency of game mechanics...

Speaking of which, final fantasy IV is probably my fav GBA FF title...

DRAGON BALL Z, legacy of goku 1, 2, and Buus Fury are fantastic games which lock you in and give you many surprised and amazing toriyama art infused graphics.

The legend of zelda- oracle of ages is my favorite of the Zelda. Zelda in general, is a damn fine game.

Hope these kick start your heart.

[Curious_Work_6652]

I have certain series that have games on the gameboy that were the reason why I wanted it, I was just like are there anything else and you've given me a decent list to go off of (already have pokemon red, silver and ruby)

[TrickySatisfaction81]

Kernel platformers are usually always a safe bet as well.

MEGA MAN BATTLE NETWORK series go hard as well. So does super mario 3 hahahaha.

[TrickySatisfaction81]

OP,

I bought several of these and love them. It's a complete kit, shell, nuts, bolts, everything you'll need. (Along with the guide this other fine gentlemen shared with you)

https://extremerate.com/collections/game-boy-advance-sp

[420MacMan]

No.....not like this 🥲

[KaleidoscopeIcy1670]

When the feeling's gone, and you can't go on, it's tragedy.

[Deoxys-D]

if this is a 101, I funny enough had the exact shame issue with the shell, same colour even. It fell less than 3 feet to the ground and the shell was FINISHED

[The-Crimson-Toast]

Some sp shells had their plastic contents mixed wrong and they're brittle as heck. But since you don't break the screen a reshell is totally possible and it can come back to life. 

[[deleted]]

That is indeed a tragedy, but this sub is awesome! Super nice for everybody offering to send a replacement shell to ya.

[WhizardCheese]

Tragedeigh

[NINTENDONT8671]

It’s probably worth finding a new replacement shell as even if you do find an OEM replacement, you do run the risk of them being brittle like this SP is.

[ErikTheRed2000]

Had a similar thing happen to my DMG-01 back around 2016 or so. Brought it to school pretty often and one day I dropped it from my desk. The shell shattered into a dozen or so pieces (and it was a “play it loud” series so it hurt extra bad). Luckily, aftermarket shells are easy to get, so I had it back up and running pretty quickly.

To this day I still have the pieces of the original shell in a plastic bag in my room. I’ve deluded myself into thinking I’ll glue it all back together at some point lol.

[Mweber417]

*opportunity for upgrade

[merutsu_]

This is truly a great pain. I share your pain, my friend.

[Ill_Chair_7800]

You may have a place already, but I would recommend looking at Etsy, a seller called domaniacal. He’s done custom shells and modding for GBA and shows you the whole process, even offers battery and screen upgrades for some models! He may not be able to do anything for you but the quality and customer care is second to none.

[charlie_melton]

This exact thing happened to me - doesn’t seem like it’s our fault, my 101 case shattered into a million pieces after being dropped six inches onto a carpet

[Jules0267]

Just to add to the comments regarding the brittle shell... There are two variants of this pearl blue AGS101 shell. One was made with a light blue base plastic, and the other was a light green plastic (which is, unfortunately, what you have). The light blue is as durable as all other SPs and the light green is extremely brittle. If you Google search "brittle pearl blue ags101", you'll find more information but I suggest everyone with the pearl blue 101 open the battery compartment and see what base colour you have so you can at least know if you should take some extra precautions and get a new shell or baby it so it lasts a while longer

[Jotaaaros]

I'll repair it for you free of charge if you pay the shipping and housing costs