• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Game Boy / Game Boy Color Appreciation Thread

plc268

Member
I recently front-lit a gbc using a broken GBA SP's (with a cracked screen) frontlight.

My first attempt wasn't so great, as I scratched the frontlight plastic, and I was careless about the dust. But I'm attempting to get more broken gba sp's to attempt again.

7575666158_ff0a934306_z.jpg
 

Peagles

Member
I recently front-lit a gbc using a broken GBA SP's (with a cracked screen) frontlight.

My first attempt wasn't so great, as I scratched the frontlight plastic, and I was careless about the dust. But I'm attempting to get more broken gba sp's to attempt again.

7575666158_ff0a934306_z.jpg

Wow neat! Have you got some instructions? I'd love to give this a go!
 

plc268

Member

Peagles

Member
Here you go, two different tutorials. They're largely the same, but different pictures and all that.

http://mikejmoffitt.com/wp/?p=70
http://www.choochoobot.com/builds/gameboy-color-mod-001.html

It requires you to cannibalize the older frontlit GBA SP. It's not a difficult mod, and honestly the disassembly of the gba sp screen is the most difficult part (the part I messed up).

Thanks, looks awesome! I'm pretty sure I have a spare broken SP 001 lying around. Now to find a snazzy GBC to mod!
 
Last progress I experienced in its development wasn't much beyond the demo that they took around to different publishers, which if I remember right started with a cutscene, then a forest region to explore, then a cave with a boss fight. And the basics of combat were in place, but not any actual combat animations. Though the story was completely done, as was the entire soundtrack, and a ton of the art was done. But then I had to leave the project, as I was completely out of money, and they got another programmer. And of course eventually they restarted the game as a GBA game.

Dude, small world. I did some graphics work for the GBA version of the game.
Wish things had worked out differently cause it would have been awesome!

Loved what you guys had done on the GBColor version.
 

Link1110

Member
International Track & Field
Developer: Konami
Plays like: Track & Field + Training & Love Simulator

This one came out of left field. Konami managed to successfully mix a classic Track & Field game with a training and love simulator. If you want, you don't have to play the story mode and can just concentrate on the classic T&F game play. But if you do, you'll play as a student training for the annual Olympics in his school. You'll have to make up exercise and rest routines (really easy to do) which will last for a week. The exercises are automatic too, so you don't really have to race around a million times. Train too hard or rest too much and your abilities will diminish, you'll have to find a balance to keep your abilities on top shape. Occasionally, female trainers and friends will call you to hang out, eventually the might fall in love with you if you go out of your wait to be with them (such as calling them or skipping practice to be with them).
Eventually several events and tournaments will take place (usually on Sundays) and will test your button pushing powers. If you want you can skip them by staying asleep or going out, but you don't want to do that.
I managed to reach the annual Olympic and I lost, but it didn't matter because you started training for the second year. I don't know if you beat the game by winning the Olympics or if you have to play for several years before reaching the end.

inttrack.png
Are those Tokimeki Memorial art assets?
 

AndyboyH

Neo Member
You sir, have an incredible avatar.

Thankyou so much, though I must say yours looks stellar too. Is that TCG art?


Back on topic - I had a gold/silver light, but when I got the Pokemon Center Light, I gave it away to a coworker, free. Kind of kicking myself, cos he didn't even buy me a pint or write me a good LinkedIn reference when he changed jobs >_<
 

Zing

Banned
Earlier this year, I got my hands on a Game Boy Color, so I acquired the "classics".

I wasn't aware Super Mario Land 2 was "divisive". I thought I was the only one who found it extremely boring. I can see how it was a marvel back at its release, especially compared to the first game, but it is mindlessly easy and the levels bored me to death. Oh, then you hit Wario's castle and suddenly it's the longest and most difficult level of any Game Boy game. I managed to beat the game, but I have zero desire to go back and finish the levels I skipped.

I did enjoy Link's Awakening. This and Metroid II were the primary reasons I bothered to get a Game Boy in the first place.

Wario Land is next on my list to play.
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
I guess this is a good place to mention that I modded my original Gameboy with a backlight, and it's really wonderful. The process was painful since I've never soldered, but somehow I got it all to work.

One game I haven't seen mentioned here is Mario Picross, and the even better Japanese sequel, Picross 2. Those, Tetris and Link's Awakening are all I really need. I got Super Mario Land 2 for free, too, but I'm surprised at how much I don't like it, since I've heard great stuff about it...
 

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
I guess this is a good place to mention that I modded my original Gameboy with a backlight, and it's really wonderful. The process was painful since I've never soldered, but somehow I got it all to work.

One game I haven't seen mentioned here is Mario Picross, and the even better Japanese sequel, Picross 2. Those, Tetris and Link's Awakening are all I really need. I got Super Mario Land 2 for free, too, but I'm surprised at how much I don't like it, since I've heard great stuff about it...

I have so many original Fatboys, I should really try this at some point.
 

Enzon

Member
This right here is my favorite game on Gameboy and probably on any platform, i played this so much, i was addicted, i made my mom spend so much money on batteries because i played this all day. Love it and that's why my most requested game on the 3DS is a Donkey Kong Land.

 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
So I assume the Azure will look just like a Gameboy Light?

I'm lucky enough to own one but am still curious what this would look like. Maybe I could try Bright White.
All I can comment on is Lime, since that's what I put in. I've got a yellow old school GB, and the green light looks really complementary to the image as well as the GB itself. I might be nuts, but I thought the green popped a lot more contrast-wise than azure, but I'm just basing this on YouTube videos.
 

Parallacs

Member
All I can comment on is Lime, since that's what I put in. I've got a yellow old school GB, and the green light looks really complementary to the image as well as the GB itself. I might be nuts, but I thought the green popped a lot more contrast-wise than azure, but I'm just basing this on YouTube videos.

Interesting. I have my childhood gameboy which I would never touch and a Red one. The thought of Red + Green makes me a little nauseous.

I wish they had orange lights. Orange/red would be pretty awesome. I guess I can get whatever and then scrounge up three orange LEDs once I know their dimensions.
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
I am DEADLY curious as to what game (or games) he has that level of continued appreciation for to carry multiple Game Boy Lights with him everywhere.

It's just OG Tetris, I think, I remember reading an interview where he talked about how he had the high score in Nintendo Power for so long that they stopped taking his submissions, so he started submitting his scores using an alias that was just his name printed backwards or something.
 
I guess this is a good place to mention that I modded my original Gameboy with a backlight, and it's really wonderful. The process was painful since I've never soldered, but somehow I got it all to work.

One game I haven't seen mentioned here is Mario Picross, and the even better Japanese sequel, Picross 2. Those, Tetris and Link's Awakening are all I really need. I got Super Mario Land 2 for free, too, but I'm surprised at how much I don't like it, since I've heard great stuff about it...
Got a link to the instructions, wouldn't mind doing a mod like this to a game Boy Colour or my Neo Geo Pocket Colour
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
I am DEADLY curious as to what game (or games) he has that level of continued appreciation for to carry multiple Game Boy Lights with him everywhere.
Yeah, Woz is like a tourney-level Tetris player or something, and he's adamant that the GB version is the greatest. In fact, reading about his love for it is what got me on eBay last month to buy one for myself.

And as far as tutorials for backlight installs, it was at the link I posted too. Be sure to read more than one though, everybody seems to have a different method...
 

leroidys

Member
What say you gaf, is it worth it to get a GC and the gameboy player if I already own a GBA/SP/micro? The thought of playing a couple games like Zero mission the big screen has me drooling, but I'm having trouble justifying the purchase since the additional hardware would increase my game library by 0 games. Do games scale well?
 

Slermy

Member
I think it's worth it. They scale pretty well, but don't expect super sharp pixels or anything. It will be a little blurry, though you can adjust how strong the "smoothness" filter is. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy a game on a larger screen instead of in your hands.

The only issue I've come across though is that Shantae seemed to run a touch slower on the GameBoy Player compared to my SP, but I never encountered such issues with any other game.

Also, a few games have additional GameBoy Player features, such as Pokémon Pinball Advance:

Wikipedia said:
Drill Dozer
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
Shikakui Atama wo Marukusuru Advance: Kokugo Sansu Rika Shakai
Shikakui Atama wo Marukusuru Advance: Kanji Keisan
Summon Night Craft Sword Monogatari: Hajimari no Ishi
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
 

Jharp

Member
In my opinion, the best Mario and Zelda games were both GameBoy titles, those being Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. Ages lovers can hate all they want.
 

Parallacs

Member
So any good import shops to pick up a Game Boy Light? Or should I just stick to Ebay?

eBay

I found a mislabeled eBay auction. Based on the seller's other items and descriptions, I believe he was a grandparent selling his grandchild's items.

I got it for $15 and $4 shipping. It came with Pokemon Gold.

Probably in my top 5 ebay auctions of all time.
 

Borman

Member
Ive been trying to justify one of the new ones that are on there. Some of the used ones are quite tatty looking.
 
You guys are giving me portable gaming hardware acquisition syndrome.

After reading this entire thread I think that I will try to find every single version of the Gameboy out there, wish me luck.

I remember when i was a kid, Nintendo was selling the old Gameboy fat in red with a pretty cool plastic see through box to carry it around, It wasnt the stand alone box they advertised, it actually came with the system and it was see through, anyone remember that???
 

Parallacs

Member
You guys are giving me portable gaming hardware acquisition syndrome.

After reading this entire thread I think that I will try to find every single version of the Gameboy out there, wish me luck.

I remember when i was a kid, Nintendo was selling the old Gameboy fat in red with a pretty cool plastic see through box to carry it around, It wasnt the stand alone box they advertised, it actually came with the system and it was see through, anyone remember that???

I remember having a case shaped like a large gameboy. It held about six games and the system plus a spare set of batteries. I never used it. I would just shove my gameboy into one of my dad's old black socks (it was the only sock capable of stretching over that beast).

I might start thinking of buying all of the gameboy colors for the original size. I see the colored pockets all the time at flea markets but the big ones are pretty rare. I just have the red one.
 
I remember having a case shaped like a large gameboy. It held about six games and the system plus a spare set of batteries. I never used it. I would just shove my gameboy into one of my dad's old black socks (it was the only sock capable of stretching over that beast).

I might start thinking of buying all of the gameboy colors for the original size. I see the colored pockets all the time at flea markets but the big ones are pretty rare. I just have the red one.

That would be pretty neat and for some reason it tickles something in my brain.

Its kind of like... I always wished I could own EVERY Gameboy as a kid but it was just impossible and now that im an adult, I can actually attempt to do that. A young version of me would be proud hahah.
 

Parallacs

Member
That would be pretty neat and for some reason it tickles something in my brain.

Its kind of like... I always wished I could own EVERY Gameboy as a kid but it was just impossible and now that im an adult, I can actually attempt to do that. A young version of me would be proud hahah.

Yup,

It really is amazing how as a child you have all the time in the world but no money, and then as an adult you have all the money and no time.

I already have way too many gameboys but displaying all the 1995 colors on stands would be pretty cool.

BTW if you want to get ALL the gameboys:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Game_Boy_colors_and_styles
I am guessing ~$4,000 :(. The micro collection is alone ~$1,500
 

drspeedy

Member
What say you gaf, is it worth it to get a GC and the gameboy player if I already own a GBA/SP/micro? The thought of playing a couple games like Zero mission the big screen has me drooling, but I'm having trouble justifying the purchase since the additional hardware would increase my game library by 0 games. Do games scale well?

I think it's worth it. They scale pretty well, but don't expect super sharp pixels or anything. It will be a little blurry, though you can adjust how strong the "smoothness" filter is. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy a game on a larger screen instead of in your hands.

The only issue I've come across though is that Shantae seemed to run a touch slower on the GameBoy Player compared to my SP, but I never encountered such issues with any other game.

Also, a few games have additional GameBoy Player features, such as Pokémon Pinball Advance:


+1 for the GC player. They're literally <$10... you won't break the bank. It's pixel-y goodness on the big screen, dude. Do it!
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
I just sprung $10 for Final Fantasy Adventure, now that I have a backlight and can actually play it at night I figured it would be a good choice.
 

Pietepiet

Member
IMG_1365.JPG


My new one :) Bought at a chiptune party. A friend of mine mods these and sells them at local chip parties.

Backlit + Pro Sound.
 
People on my local classifieds want way too much for retro Gameboy stuff :( Off to eBay I guess :(

Gameboy color with 3 games for $60 WTF
 

Parallacs

Member
People on my local classifieds want way too much for retro Gameboy stuff :( Off to eBay I guess :(

Gameboy color with 3 games for $60 WTF

Ouch haha. $5 is my limit for Gameboy Colors and Pockets at flea markets.

It looks like the play it loud Gameboys will be harder to get than I thought. I'll probably go up to $20 if I can even find them.
 
Ouch haha. $5 is my limit for Gameboy Colors and Pockets at flea markets.

It looks like the play it loud Gameboys will be harder to get than I thought. I'll probably go up to $20 if I can even find them.

Wish I had kept my red one, it looked so sick with the red Gameboy Camera, good luck finding them!
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
Love the GB and GBC. Spent so many hours playing Tetris Attack back in the day. :')
Thanks for the reminder, I just found it on eBay for $3.50 ;)
 

Parallacs

Member
Wish I had kept my red one, it looked so sick with the red Gameboy Camera, good luck finding them!

I have both a red and blue gameboy camera. When I see them for a dollar I can't pass them up.

Last 4th of july, I went to a festival with the red gameboy and the blue camera to take street photos. It was really fun.
 
I have both a red and blue gameboy camera. When I see them for a dollar I can't pass them up.

Last 4th of july, I went to a festival with the red gameboy and the blue camera to take street photos. It was really fun.

That sounds like so much fun, I miss all my old hardware aghhh!, I remember selling everything, including my N64 to save for a ps2.
 
Top Bottom