When the Game Boy Color was released the name Worm Light became quite popular. It was a relatively inexpensive and flexible product that helped to illuminate the game screen regardless of lighting conditions. Nyko is now pushing a new product specifically for the GameBoy Advance (not compatible with SP) from the Nyko Worm Lab. Unlike the previous WormLight Advance (which was essentially the old light but compatible with GBA), the Super WormLight comes equipped with a brighter light and rubber grips.
So how does this light stack up to the competition? Lets see what the council came up with.
Features- Pass-thru port for multi-player gaming.
- Gliding release button with adjustable head .
- Rubber grips.
- Ultra-bright fluorescent bulb.
Jason Nuyens: Back when the Game Boy Color was released, the WormLight was pretty much the best (and most cost-effective) solution for lighting. Now with a bigger screen, the Game Boy Advance is quite the challenge to keep lit. The Super Wormlight was created to overcome this issue and distribute light evenly over the screen. It succeeded here quite admirably.
The first thing I wanted to take note of was how well the light was used on the screen. Old WormLights were unfortunately prone to lighting roughly 85% of the game screen really well while leaving the corners dark. And while this light seemed to fix the problem, it only did so by a slim margin. In theory, you can actually have the whole screen lit up perfectly with no glare at all. However, to achieve this you have to bend the light just right, then tilt the whole unit until the glare of the light sits just above the game screen. If you tilt the Game Boy even the slightest bit either up or down, you get the glare of the light or a darkened bottom of the screen, respectively. Im sure many of you readers who use a GBA with lamps know what Im talking about. There is a fine balance between getting the light on the screen and keeping the glare off. The problem here is that in order to get the perfect amount of light, you need play without moving your hands too much. Having to concentrate on keeping you hands steady doesnt really allow you to completely focus on what youre playing, and thus, becomes tiresome. However, since it is basically a glorified portable fluorescent light, the point is not necessarily against the Super WormLight itself but rather the GBA lighting problem in general.
So, in essence, it does its job quite well even if that means falling victim to the shortcomings of the GBA unit itself. The light distribution is quite alright, but just as important is the brightness. Although the light itself is using fluorescent, it really isnt all that bright. You will quickly notice a slightly blue tinge on the screen that is not too distracting but makes colors look less vibrant. But what do you want from playing a game in complete darkness? Its pretty much understood that if you need use a peripheral or accessory to see your game screen you will have to make some sacrifices. In this case the sacrifice is quite small in terms of lighting.
An unwelcome addition to the unit, however, is the rubber grip. You see, your GBA sits in the Super WormLight unit so that the bottom (where the batteries are located) is completed covered by the device itself. On either side of the bottom are rubber grips that were installed to further your comfort. This is where things turn for the worse. To start, the grips dont have much actual grip to them. They are made from a hard rubber that is actually quite smooth, instead of a sticky rubber akin to the top of the GameCubes main analog stick. So calling it rubber is really quite misleading. The second point is that these grips are quite uncomfortable at times. There were many times when I just wanted to rip them off. The problem is that they are too pointy and small so they end up making your middle finger (which normally holds the underside of the GBA) start to hurt. I tried all sorts of different positions for my fingers, but nothing was even close to as comfortable as the GBA without grips (and that should speak volumes considering the slightly uncomfortable setup to begin with.) And thats what makes the unit slightly disappointing. The light itself is actually quite good at what it does, but the grips lessen the whole experience. Its quite a shame really.
The construction of the unit lies somewhere in the middle I would say. Its relatively sturdy, but putting it together can get a little bit troublesome. When trying to install it, I had to use a curious amount of strength to get it to stay on. Since you push the plug into the extension port on the GBA, you have to make sure that you slide it straight so nothing gets damaged. This isnt much of a problem luckily. You just have to make sure to be firm with it and push it in all the way. Once installed, the unit stays on very well and can even fold down so it doesnt take up as much space. This brings me to my next point.
The space needed for the light is quite remarkable. Its quite bulky and has a height of roughly two GBAs stacked up when placed next to it. So although this wasnt much of a problem for me, I thought it would be worth nothing that you may not be able to fit this product into a Game Boy case. Other than that, it was quite useful to have it fold down into a compact space that even doubles as a partial screen protector. The standard on and off switch also came in handy when the conditions werent right to have it on. A down side is that the pass-through port on the top can not be used with the GBA-GC link up cable. The GBA-GC link cable needs two latch holes that are actually missing from the top of the light. So if youre thinking of taking advantage of the pass-through port, just remember that you wont be doing any GameCube linking in the dark. And finally, getting the light off of the GBA is really easy. It clips on to the little crease at the bottom of the GBA, so all you have to do is release it from there and away you go. Just make sure to be careful when plugging it back onto your GBA so as to not destroy your link port.
If it all comes down to money, youre certainly in luck. With a suggested retail price of $14.99 US, you really cant go wrong. If you have a standard GBA and are looking for a cheap light then I would consider the Super WormLight as a candidate. The grips and touchy lighting are something I would be wary of though. The grips along have turned me off enough that I try and avoid using them at all costs now. However, I talked to others who didnt find it as annoying as I did. Perhaps its just me and my big hands getting in the way once again. Either way, you now know what to expect when you get to the store shelves.