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Edit: turns out these are all bootleg and I’m a moron. Only two Zelda games were officially released for GBA.
Just kicked off a return.
this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2024
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They don’t. These are reproduction cartridges and not official. Apparently these are using emulators.
They might be tricking the GBA into thinking it's a GB cartridge (it has a built-in GBC "emulator"). I found different ways this could work online: perhaps by adding extra plastic to actuate a switch (that switches between 5 V (GBC) and 3.3 V (GBA) power to the cartridge); alternatively, the ROM chip is made to withstand both voltages and the system selection is done by a 0 in the top bit of the cartridge's "B" register.
Indeed that could be the case but they are definitely not official cartridges.
So admittedly I bought all of these off eBay having done zero research. They’re all bootleg? If so, the physical quality is very good, but it could explain why Link’s Awakening won’t keep a save.
Yes they all look bootleg to me. If you compare the sticker online you will most like find subtle differences. You can also open the case and look at the board which will tell you for sure if they are real or not.
Also Links Awaking and both Oracle games never released on GBA they are all GB/GBC games.
Links Awaking had two releases. The original Links Awaking is a GB game for the original Gameboy and Links Awaking DX is a game for the GBC with extra features and colour support. Links Awaking DX came in a black cartridge instead of a silver one.
Whelp kicked off an eBay return. Thanks all for the advice. $60 for 5 original games was definitely too good to be true.