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RetroMo: Game Boy
Written by Chris Buffa on Thursday, June 22, 2006
The little system that could still outmuscled its color competition for almost seven years...
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BEHOLD! The original Game Boy, while not as uncomfortable to hold as some would have you believe, is actually a very decently-made machine, sporting buttons that are quite easy to reach unless you have mad monster claws. The tiny screen isn't exactly easy on the eyes (it never was), especially since the resolution is so piss poor, but it certainly gets the job done in furious bouts of Tetris, Ninja Gaiden, or Adventure Island, just with intense amounts of light behind it. And what you've got is your standard Nintendo d-pad on the left, the B and A buttons on the right, and Select and Start buttons smack dab in between (sort of).
Here's the top, where the start button resides. It's a sliding switch, much like those found on most portable systems. Ooh, and you can totally see down the cartridge slot. It's sort of like catching peak down a woman's bra, except this isn't nearly as interesting...unless you're an engineer.
On the left side of the device are the AC plug and the control for the screen contrast. Not that it's actually possible to get a razor sharp image from the Game Boy's screen, but it did its best to help the system display a passable picture.
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The right side contains the volume control as well as the external connector for hooking up the Four Player Adapter peripheral, which came bundled with F1 Race.
Ah yes! The bottom! Nothing special to see here, other than the headphone jack, which, if you have parents that are bothered by bleeps and bloops is pretty pretty damn useful.
Here's the back of the system with the battery cover in place. Be sure to dial that number for World Class Service.
Same angle, except I've removed the cover. Unlike the battery hogging Lynx, Game Gear, and Turbo Express (which all take six AAs), the Game Boy is powered by four AA batteries. And true to form, Nintendo was able to maximize battery life and whip its competitors, as it was possible to play well beyond the ten hour mark.
Whoah! Old school Game Boy games! Now we're talking! These thin and easy to carry cartridges were pint-size versions of their NES counterparts, and to sweeten the deal, they could be protected inside of slick clamshell/see through cases.
In typical Nintendo style, the publisher fully exploited its franchises as well as created new IPs, and the result is one of the most impressive libraries ever seen. You've got your Mario games, Metroid, and Kid Icarus, among others, and Nintendo introduced the world to Kirby, who's become one of the company's most beloved characters. Of course, this library would be expanded with future versions of the system, most notably the million-selling Pokemon series, which debuted on Game Boy Color.
Considering the fact that the original Game Boy cartridge design is more than ten years old, it's nice to see that the media has stood up compared to the newer systems. True, the DS games are superior because of their tiny size, but Adventure Island holds up quite well next to a PSP UMD.
Systems may be well-designed, but it's the games that drive the hardware. Here are some memorable titles from the Game Boy's legendary past...
