Just too good! you have done very impressive work. You should launch a collective aimed at producing high quality GBA games and keeping the console alive, because the anticipation and now playing has been amazing
I agree. Coding programs for homebrew devs, like GB Studio, have been doing this for the original Gameboy relatively recently, and it seems to be rising in prominence from what I've seen -- it would be so great to have more focus on the GBA as well nowadays. It's clear they agree because of the dev site they run as well. It's appreciated!
I think it must be a mixture of wanting to breathe new life into old hardware you love so much from your past, and also the smaller scale of the creative projects that it allows.. also the sounds, and the visuals (sprites!).. endlessly appealing, isn't it? IMO, this is where projects like GBG have LOTS of appeal and charm (and as they say, limitations can breed creativity), and not only that, this'll later be ported and enhanced on multiple platforms so we get the best of both worlds. So cool
The soundtrack and additional ROM that was just added is so fantastic. The music player in the bonus GBA ROM is a nice little extra treat. Would recommend getting that as well!
On mGBA, even with hardware boosts, I can't get the game to run quite as seamless (especially during cutscenes). I'm assuming this is either due to the limitations of the 3DS hardware when it comes to emulation performance or mGBA needs to be updated to be further optimized..? As it is, unfortunately GBA emulation doesn't get too much of a regular focus in terms of maintenance in the 3DS modding scene, I suppose.
You do have to trade off some of the inherent benefits of using the emulator though (save-states, optional screen widening, etc.). If there's any suggestions for better methods of running GBG on a N3DS, def share!
TBH, I don't use my New 3DS XL for GBA games for the exact advantages you listed by using a mGBA core emulator, plus the screen resolution/scaling just doesn't look right IMHO on the 3DS for GBA games. Here is a photo comparing the game start screen on my 3DS and on my RGB30: https://imgur.com/fA8EQP7 The 3DS screen doesn't look as bad as the photo shows, but it is nowhere as nice as on the RGB30's screen. I'm using the mGBA-rumble core on various handheld emulators and I'm not seeing any game play performance issues. I adore my 3DS, but I'm much happier just using it for DS/3DS games.
The rumble (vibrate) option isn't working for the GBA retroarch cores on multiple emulator devices. I have set "Rumble: On" it in the options screen and the game restarts, but with message "A GB Player has not been detected. Rumble set to fallback mode. This requires a compatible emulator or flash cart." I have retroarch core options -> Input & Auxiliary Devices -> Game Boy Player Rumble option set (on mGBA-rumble core)
I'm able to play "Drill Dozer" on the same retro handhelds with the rumble working normally. Not sure why rumble is being disabled automatically on this game\?
Hey! This happens because many emulators use the game's ID to decide whether to activate rumble. There is a patch available to make it work, you can find out more here: https://goodboygalaxy.com/wiki/doku.php?id=rumble
Awesome, thank you!!! Once my gba file was patched, I was able to play GG with rumble working on my Odin (1), Anbernic RG353M and my Powkiddy RGB30 (see ArkOS wiki on RGB30 for info on adding rumble). I also tried on my Miyoo Mini v2, but Drill Dozer wasn't rumbling on it; I likely need to do some updates on it first. I don't have a rumble pack for my Analogue Pocket, so I wasn't able to test on it.
Overall, I'd say this issue is solved with the simple workaround. Thanks!
Game runs perfectly on MiSTer! Also what a fantastic game! It just excels in every way, and I'm super impressed with everything you've managed to pull off on the GBA.
[edit]: we discovered this is a problem with the openFPGA core on certain batches of Analogue Pocket. (more info here) Downgrading the core to 1.0 will fix it.
Original response below:
You may have a faulty SD card - we experienced a similar problem during development, but it wasn't the game's fault.
If you want to verify the ROM, you can try holding A+B+Down+Left while booting the game. If it doesn't show 'A4A932B1' then that means the ROM is corrupted.
Also if you're using a flashcart, please make sure all add-ons/patches are disabled (use 'clean boot' on the menu)
I completly formated my µSD card, reinstalled the GBA core with the pocket updater script, I'm running on 1.1 firmware, the checksum is A4A932B1 like you said after copied the game again on the card. But still the same crash. And no flashcart used. I've done a video and I can sent it to you
I'm having a similar repeated crash on two separate retroarch cores on my Miyoo Mini. In fact at the moment the Miyoo Mini is auto loading to the same crash and I can't using the device. I'm guess I need to remove the rom completely for the SD card and try to reboot. Considering the Analogue Pocket isn't emulation it shows there may be coding issues - and it not being the devices or software.
The cores were mgba and gpsp - this is the first game I've seen crash both of those cores.
The game works fine on my OG GBA and Gameboy micro using an EZ Flash Omega though.
UPDATE: Nothing wrong with the game - just a corrupted file that must have happened when transferring to my SD card. I just re-downloaded it and it's fine now.
It's been played thru completely many times on both cores and on the AP, I've only seen it do a kind of hard-crash (a freeze with an ugly noise?) with an old/less reliable SD card or if it got corrupted while copying over. If you hold A+B+Down+Left while booting do you get the correct checksum? (A4A932B1)
If there is anything we can do to increase reliability on emulators we will do so! (in fact, we had to make many special considerations for it to run on gpSP!) - if you could grab a short video of it crashing on the miyoo it may help us narrow it down, we'd be very grateful! (you can email it to hello@goodboygalaxy.com)
Hi, just some feedback. It seems my download had picked up some corruption. It's working on my Miyoo Mini now - and with rumble too!
I'm also lucky enough to own an EZ Flash Definitive Edition and rumble working wonderfully on there with my Gameboy Micro as well. I think the Micro with rumble is going to be the way I go for my first play-though. I love that device and playing such a well made new GBA game on it in 2023 is beyond a treat!
it's about 8hrs I think (longer if you 100% it). There's another different little mission that unlocks after completing the game where you play as a different character.
That sounds a perfect length! With this sort of game I tend to go for the 100% too. And if the demo is anything to go by I'll enjoy relaying it plenty.
With the Demo being essentially a prequel do youthink that could also be added to the main rom as an bonus menu option one day? It could be renamed 'Goodboy Galaxy Origins' or something?
it's a bit too big to fit! We used the maximum cartridge size for GBA and filled it all up (we even went over several times and had to figure out how to compress sone things more)
just wondering - is it a Metroidvania? It has the tag, but the description says it has “levels”. Are they like zones (Metroid fusion) or linear levels like super mario (just non-linear within the level)
It's not completely metroidvania, but something related. The levels are planets which you can travel between mostly when you like - planets are unlocked at points during the game. (There's also some sub-areas like buildings or caves).
Congrats on the release!!! This is up there with some of the best looking GBA pixel-art out there! Can't wait to see if the full game is to the quality of the demo. Wishing you great success with your game.
I was so happy to see the email! Bought a digital copy right away. I love that the pc emulator and wallpapers come with the purchase. Can't wait to play on my GBA when I get home!
You can write the game to NOR memory on the EZ-Flash IV to make it work - it's been a while since I've used mine but there should be an option for it somewhere!
afaik it's there just for this purpose (big games like Mother 3) or games you want to launch frequently. Unlike PSRAM, the contents of NOR remain even after power-off, so you don't have to wait for the game to load every time. (it's just a loooong wait the first time, as you've seen) x)
Thanks so much! Yeah you're right, the game won't run in GBARunner2 unfortunately. This is out of our control but I believe GBARunner3 is in the works which should fix it. :)
What an incredible piece of programming. This feels just as solid as some of the best official GBA games. Like if you told me this was a late gen game I'd totally believe you. Everything is well crafted including the music which has always been a sore spot for most GBA games. Yet this one manages to pull of a clean soundtrack without any drawbacks. And the amount of extras is worth the price of admission.
loads of publishers re-released old DOS games on Steam by just packaging them with DOSbox, which is the exact same thing tbh
worth reading up on what the license for the specific emulators you're looking at says about redistribution though, some of the DOSbox cases got into some minor controversy (and potentially could have opened themselves to legal liability) by not including the required GPL license documents etc
Nintendo's official party line used to be that even developing emulators without a license is copyright infringement but I'm pretty sure that that's been well established to be nonsense
Just got the Limited Edition, but sadly I don't have a way to get the 3DS version without buying it again (cries inside). It's a great demo, so surely will be a great game. All the best!
← Return to GBA ROM
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I saw the QR codes of all friendship cards, and it was beautiful.
How? I tried a couple with my iPhone and it didn’t seem to link to anything.
On my Galaxy Fold, words are visible. I'm not sure about iPhones since I don't have one.
Oh, I saw that, but thought it was an error. So, it is a word puzzle, with 'numbers: words' for each code scan?
Wait, the QR codes are real? I tried one and my phone didn't recognize it as a valid URL.
Just too good! you have done very impressive work. You should launch a collective aimed at producing high quality GBA games and keeping the console alive, because the anticipation and now playing has been amazing
I agree. Coding programs for homebrew devs, like GB Studio, have been doing this for the original Gameboy relatively recently, and it seems to be rising in prominence from what I've seen -- it would be so great to have more focus on the GBA as well nowadays. It's clear they agree because of the dev site they run as well. It's appreciated!
I think it must be a mixture of wanting to breathe new life into old hardware you love so much from your past, and also the smaller scale of the creative projects that it allows.. also the sounds, and the visuals (sprites!).. endlessly appealing, isn't it? IMO, this is where projects like GBG have LOTS of appeal and charm (and as they say, limitations can breed creativity), and not only that, this'll later be ported and enhanced on multiple platforms so we get the best of both worlds. So cool
The soundtrack and additional ROM that was just added is so fantastic. The music player in the bonus GBA ROM is a nice little extra treat. Would recommend getting that as well!
Must own game for GBA!
Works beautifully on a New 3DS. I'm having a ball. Thank you.
I posted this elsewhere but I'll leave it here too. Besides using the included installable 3DS .CIA file (which will have visual limitations):
FYI -- the game runs perfectly, and looks fantastic, on: https://github.com/profi200/open_agb_firm (recently updated too!)
On mGBA, even with hardware boosts, I can't get the game to run quite as seamless (especially during cutscenes). I'm assuming this is either due to the limitations of the 3DS hardware when it comes to emulation performance or mGBA needs to be updated to be further optimized..? As it is, unfortunately GBA emulation doesn't get too much of a regular focus in terms of maintenance in the 3DS modding scene, I suppose.
You do have to trade off some of the inherent benefits of using the emulator though (save-states, optional screen widening, etc.). If there's any suggestions for better methods of running GBG on a N3DS, def share!
TBH, I don't use my New 3DS XL for GBA games for the exact advantages you listed by using a mGBA core emulator, plus the screen resolution/scaling just doesn't look right IMHO on the 3DS for GBA games. Here is a photo comparing the game start screen on my 3DS and on my RGB30: https://imgur.com/fA8EQP7 The 3DS screen doesn't look as bad as the photo shows, but it is nowhere as nice as on the RGB30's screen. I'm using the mGBA-rumble core on various handheld emulators and I'm not seeing any game play performance issues. I adore my 3DS, but I'm much happier just using it for DS/3DS games.
The rumble (vibrate) option isn't working for the GBA retroarch cores on multiple emulator devices. I have set "Rumble: On" it in the options screen and the game restarts, but with message "A GB Player has not been detected. Rumble set to fallback mode. This requires a compatible emulator or flash cart." I have retroarch core options -> Input & Auxiliary Devices -> Game Boy Player Rumble option set (on mGBA-rumble core)
I'm able to play "Drill Dozer" on the same retro handhelds with the rumble working normally. Not sure why rumble is being disabled automatically on this game\?
Hey! This happens because many emulators use the game's ID to decide whether to activate rumble. There is a patch available to make it work, you can find out more here: https://goodboygalaxy.com/wiki/doku.php?id=rumble
Awesome, thank you!!! Once my gba file was patched, I was able to play GG with rumble working on my Odin (1), Anbernic RG353M and my Powkiddy RGB30 (see ArkOS wiki on RGB30 for info on adding rumble). I also tried on my Miyoo Mini v2, but Drill Dozer wasn't rumbling on it; I likely need to do some updates on it first. I don't have a rumble pack for my Analogue Pocket, so I wasn't able to test on it.
Overall, I'd say this issue is solved with the simple workaround. Thanks!
The game is AMAZING! Love the cutscenes, so well animated. Can you share the game box art? I want to put on my LaunchBox library 😊
I think I already emailed you the box art, but here are the regional variants!
goodboy_galaxy_boxart_na_style.png
goodboy_galaxy_boxart_eu_style.png
goodboy_galaxy_boxart_ja_style.png
Thanks!
Game runs perfectly on MiSTer! Also what a fantastic game! It just excels in every way, and I'm super impressed with everything you've managed to pull off on the GBA.
Thanks so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it!
The game crash every time on my Analogue Pocket when I enter in the laboratory at the beginning :/
Well, even when I just stay outside and walk a few instant, the game crash
[edit]: we discovered this is a problem with the openFPGA core on certain batches of Analogue Pocket. (more info here) Downgrading the core to 1.0 will fix it.
Original response below:
You may have a faulty SD card - we experienced a similar problem during development, but it wasn't the game's fault.
If you want to verify the ROM, you can try holding A+B+Down+Left while booting the game. If it doesn't show 'A4A932B1' then that means the ROM is corrupted.
Also if you're using a flashcart, please make sure all add-ons/patches are disabled (use 'clean boot' on the menu)
I completly formated my µSD card, reinstalled the GBA core with the pocket updater script, I'm running on 1.1 firmware, the checksum is A4A932B1 like you said after copied the game again on the card. But still the same crash. And no flashcart used. I've done a video and I can sent it to you
Hmm, I'm not sure what the issue could be in that case, please send the video to hello@goodboygalaxy.com and we'll take a look
Thanks, it's in your mailbox :)
I'm having a similar repeated crash on two separate retroarch cores on my Miyoo Mini. In fact at the moment the Miyoo Mini is auto loading to the same crash and I can't using the device. I'm guess I need to remove the rom completely for the SD card and try to reboot. Considering the Analogue Pocket isn't emulation it shows there may be coding issues - and it not being the devices or software.
The cores were mgba and gpsp - this is the first game I've seen crash both of those cores.
The game works fine on my OG GBA and Gameboy micro using an EZ Flash Omega though.
UPDATE: Nothing wrong with the game - just a corrupted file that must have happened when transferring to my SD card. I just re-downloaded it and it's fine now.
It's been played thru completely many times on both cores and on the AP, I've only seen it do a kind of hard-crash (a freeze with an ugly noise?) with an old/less reliable SD card or if it got corrupted while copying over. If you hold A+B+Down+Left while booting do you get the correct checksum? (A4A932B1)
If there is anything we can do to increase reliability on emulators we will do so! (in fact, we had to make many special considerations for it to run on gpSP!) - if you could grab a short video of it crashing on the miyoo it may help us narrow it down, we'd be very grateful! (you can email it to hello@goodboygalaxy.com)
Thank you – I'll try to replicate it and do the checksum thing – and thank you for the swift support btw.
Hi, just some feedback. It seems my download had picked up some corruption. It's working on my Miyoo Mini now - and with rumble too!
I'm also lucky enough to own an EZ Flash Definitive Edition and rumble working wonderfully on there with my Gameboy Micro as well. I think the Micro with rumble is going to be the way I go for my first play-though. I love that device and playing such a well made new GBA game on it in 2023 is beyond a treat!
Glad to hear!!
May we ask about the final 'howlongtobeat' time please - as a rough guide. Is it a short/medium/long game. Are there many planets/levels etc?
Many great games are fairly shot - like some of the 2D Metroid for instance - but it'd be good to have a bit of an idea of length.
it's about 8hrs I think (longer if you 100% it). There's another different little mission that unlocks after completing the game where you play as a different character.
That sounds a perfect length! With this sort of game I tend to go for the 100% too. And if the demo is anything to go by I'll enjoy relaying it plenty.
With the Demo being essentially a prequel do youthink that could also be added to the main rom as an bonus menu option one day? It could be renamed 'Goodboy Galaxy Origins' or something?
it's a bit too big to fit! We used the maximum cartridge size for GBA and filled it all up (we even went over several times and had to figure out how to compress sone things more)
Gotcha. Actually I loaded it into the 'nor' memory on a EZ Flash Omega last night and I could see it's about as big as any GBA game I've seen :)
just wondering - is it a Metroidvania? It has the tag, but the description says it has “levels”. Are they like zones (Metroid fusion) or linear levels like super mario (just non-linear within the level)
It's not completely metroidvania, but something related. The levels are planets which you can travel between mostly when you like - planets are unlocked at points during the game. (There's also some sub-areas like buildings or caves).
Ah gotcha, sounds great! Sounds like a similar structure to that game “The Ramsey” which I also loved. Will be playing :)
Congrats on the release!!! This is up there with some of the best looking GBA pixel-art out there! Can't wait to see if the full game is to the quality of the demo. Wishing you great success with your game.
FINALLY
Finally, I am looking forward playing this.
Does the .cia file for 3DS support stereoscopic 3D?
No it is just the same GBA game running on 3DS/2DS
That would be so awesome if a homebrew 3ds port of this game did come out one day with 3d support!!
Thanks for letting us buy it digitally! Can we purchase the Chapter Zero comic anywhere?
You can read it here https://goodboygalaxy.com/manual ('the story so far...')
I was so happy to see the email! Bought a digital copy right away. I love that the pc emulator and wallpapers come with the purchase. Can't wait to play on my GBA when I get home!
Is it possible to get a copy of the gba rom if I've preordered a physical copy?
That's exactly what I was wondering too!
Sadly doesn't work with EZ-Flash IV - simply not enough RAM on that one to load it.
You can write the game to NOR memory on the EZ-Flash IV to make it work - it's been a while since I've used mine but there should be an option for it somewhere!
Whow! I never knew this was a thing! That totally worked, though it took a while!
Do you, by any chance, know what NOR memory normally does in EZ Flash, and what is the difference with PSRAM?: )
afaik it's there just for this purpose (big games like Mother 3) or games you want to launch frequently. Unlike PSRAM, the contents of NOR remain even after power-off, so you don't have to wait for the game to load every time. (it's just a loooong wait the first time, as you've seen) x)
Great job. I'm very happy to support this game on KS. The gameplay is great on a modded GBA with an IPS screen and EZ-Flash Omega.
I've tried playing on a DSi but it always crashes. The demo version is playable on the DSi, but the release version crashes.
Thanks so much! Yeah you're right, the game won't run in GBARunner2 unfortunately. This is out of our control but I believe GBARunner3 is in the works which should fix it. :)
Good! Boy! Galaxy!
We did a (spoiler free) review of this game in the New Game Old Flame podcast. Go have a listen!
What an incredible piece of programming. This feels just as solid as some of the best official GBA games. Like if you told me this was a late gen game I'd totally believe you. Everything is well crafted including the music which has always been a sore spot for most GBA games. Yet this one manages to pull of a clean soundtrack without any drawbacks. And the amount of extras is worth the price of admission.
is the "with emulator on pc" legal for steam to use? if so, can we use it to "port" our homebrews to steam?
Preeetty sure there's already ways to do that? Followed a guide years back and converted a couple of me games to exe's and Dreamcast files
loads of publishers re-released old DOS games on Steam by just packaging them with DOSbox, which is the exact same thing tbh
worth reading up on what the license for the specific emulators you're looking at says about redistribution though, some of the DOSbox cases got into some minor controversy (and potentially could have opened themselves to legal liability) by not including the required GPL license documents etc
Nintendo's official party line used to be that even developing emulators without a license is copyright infringement but I'm pretty sure that that's been well established to be nonsense
Such a beautiful game. I'm so glad to be a part of the KS journey
Just got the Limited Edition, but sadly I don't have a way to get the 3DS version without buying it again (cries inside). It's a great demo, so surely will be a great game. All the best!
Ayyy, it's out! So very very keen!
'tis nearly 4am here and I just woke up to get a drink buuut might just have to have a go before snoozin' haha.
Awesome! Great work
Eeeeeeeeeeeee!
Hooray, finally!
I waited for this for a long time. I'm so happy it released.