Identifying Fake GBA Games ​

Part One: How does it look on the outside? ​

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The FFV Advance game pak doesn't have an "Official Nintendo Seal" on it. The Final Fantasy series is approved by Nintendo.

There is no Nintendo or Square Enix logo on the bootleg.

The official FFV Advance card does not have an image of the main characters on the front. This is what it actually looks like.

Below the grip where you can pull the card out of the system, Where it says "Gameboy Advance", the font on the fake is smaller than the legit card.

The game code on the fake does not match. AGB-BYME-USA is the GBA game Monster Trucks Mayhem.

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Part Two: How does it look on the inside? ​

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The most obvious change is the chip itself. The fake game has a battery on it, which the retail game does not need. The battery is used to store the rom on it. If that battery dies, the game dies.

The job of soldering on the chip is shoddy. It will fail easily and loose connections.

There is no text on the bottom of the card. This text can be seen partially by looking in the slot of the card.

Part Three: List of known fake GBA games ​

Final Fantasy V Advance with the main characters on the front of it.

Any game card with Pokémon Shiny Gold on it.

Any game card with Pokémon Naranja on it.

Any game card with Pokémon Quartz on it.

Any game card with Pokémon Chaos Black on it.

Any Final Fantasy VI Advance card with Edward, Rydia and Rosa on it (GBA Code AGB-BKWE-USA)

Any Super Mario Advance with "Nintondo" on the back

Any Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced card with a green, blue and yellow swirl on it

Any Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow with AGB-ACTE-USA front of it (That game code does not exist).

Any Kirby: The Amazing Mirror with Kirbys on the front of it and AGB-033 on the back

Any F-Zero with a Blue Falcon on the front

Any Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga with the official box art on the Game Pak as opposed to having Cackletta on it