Here are the pics. I honestly cannot believe this is not on all of them. here is what you see.
Pic 1) The adjustable dial for light control
Pic 2) Brightness on about medium
Pic 3) Brightness turned down alot
Pic 4) Brightness at level of pic 3 but game gear tilted

As you can see, if I want to save battery life, I can turn the light down, tilt the game gear slightly, and have just as much brightness as if I look head on at higher brightness. This is particularly useful in the car at night so that the light doesn't bother others.

And this is exactly what they should have done for the GBA, IMO.

Amazing. My does not have this. Maybe mine is one in a million. Let me ask you this. Can you turn off the back lighting and still the the image well in normal day conditions? Because that would be the only way Nintendo would implement this feature. Even at "low" back lighting, it still sucks power quite a bit.

Unfortunately, you have to keep the light on at least a little. But as you can see in the first pic, I have the rechargeable battery pack and can usually go 6 hours or more, which is more than I need with car and AC adapters that charge while I play.

I can see why some may not want this on the GBA, but I would think there is enough of a market to make an upgraded unit for $119 with the backlit feature. Just not a big fan of the worm light.

Your prefrence is understandable. However I don't see nintendo ever offering it. It only complicates manufactering and confuses consumers. Something nintendo always trys to avoid. (Or any smart company. )

1. The Worm Light sucks, I've used it and it's horrible.
2. I was under the impression that that was just the Brightness control. I didn't think it actually affected power output, but I guess it would stand to reason. LOL, it's just as well, I sold mine a couple years ago.
3. Is that Sword of Hayja you're playing?

-Matt

It is! Fantastic game.