I’m selling all my Game Boy Advance carts. While taking pictures I noticed two cartridges looking a little off. The logos on both Metroid Fusion (AGB-AMTP-EUR) and Final Fantasy VI Advance (AGB-BZ6P-EUR) seemed fuzzy.

A picture of Metroid Fusion for GBA showing that the logo on the cart is fuzzy A close-up picture of Metroid Fusion for GBA showing that the logo on the cart is fuzzy A close-up picture of Final Fantasy VI for GBA showing that the logo on the cart is fuzzy

That’s not a good sign and I decided to open them up and take a look at the circuit boards.

Here’s a picture of an authentic, Nintendo manufactured circuit board for Golden Sun (AGB-AGSP-EUR). It looks neat, tidy and well put together.

A close-up picture of the circuit board of Golden Sun for GBA showing that it's authentic

The contrast with the boards below is striking.

A close-up picture of the circuit board of Metroid Fusion for GBA showing that it's fake

This is the inside of the Metroid Fusion cart. The board is dirty, the fonts and logos are incorrect, there’s even a label on one of the chips (it says something about a ‘North Star’).

A close-up picture of the circuit board of Final Fantasy VI Advance for GBA showing that it's fake

The Final Fantasy VI Advance cart is less dramatic, but a reproduction nonetheless. The Nintendo logo looks awful.

I haven’t decided what I’ll do with these. Either I’ll throw them out, or I’ll drop them off at the local thrift store. Trashing them means somebody else won’t be able to buy (or sell) them anymore.