Game Boy



"Now you're playing with portable power."

The Game Boy was not the first portable gaming system, or even Nintendo's first, but it became a massive hit and a cultural icon. Thanks to its low cost and great battery life, it trounced technically superior rivals such as Sega's Game Gear and Atari's Lynx, and amassed a vast library.

The Game Boy had various editions, such as the multicolored "Play It Loud!" series, the more compact Game Boy Pocket, and the Japan-only Game Boy Light that introduced the sorely needed backlight. But they are all fundamentally the same system.

Its games can be played on its successors, the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance - with very few compatibility issues. On the reverse direction, it's partial: Game Boy Color titles sold on a black cartridge (about 30% of its library) will run on the original Game Boy, but games on a transparent cartridge will only give you an error message. The Super Game Boy add-on for the Super Nintendo lets you play all Game Boy titles on your TV (even colorizing and enhancing some games). Similarly, the Game Boy Player add-on for the Gamecube lets you play almost all Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance titles on your TV.

Obvious note: don't bother with the original hardware. It has a very blurry, non-backlit screen. But if you insist, look into a screen replacement mod.

The List
Japanese-only games go on their own page.

This icon indicates a game is "SGB enhanced", meaning it will have visual improvements when played on a SNES with the Super Game Boy adapter.

Videos
H99yoWY5XrU Dl4gKdI0J2o