Nintendo Game Boy is a huge part of gaming history. It was the first handheld that reached widespread popularity, and it managed to pack a lot of entertainment into a (relatively!) small package. On the other hand, it lacks any sort of aesthetic appeal. To put it nicely, the Game Boy was a brick–a large, grey, plastic brick that ate through batteries like they were going out of style.
Yet despite these shortcomings, Nintendo Game Boy still holds a tremendous amount of popularity even 31 years after its release. There are a lot of different reasons for this, but perhaps the main reason is the lineup.
The Games of the Game Boy
Nintendo Game Boy had a lot of great games–a lot. These include one series that defined the system above all other titles and continues to be a cultural presence to this day: Pokémon. Red, Blue, and Yellow all released on the Game Boy to incredible acclaim.
Then you had The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. There was also Tetris, Final Fantasy, and at least two-dozen other games that fell squarely into the realm of classic masterpieces. The Game Boy allowed players to take advantage of hardware on par with that of the NES, albeit in four shades of green. At the time of its launch in 1989, that was beyond impressive.
The appeal doesn’t lie only in collecting, either, although there is a vibrant collector’s community surrounding the Game Boy. The system has next to no copy protection, which means emulators can boot on the system with no trouble. The reason why is a bit technical, so all we need to know right now is: flash carts (basically modern GameBoy carts with an SD card inside) can be used in place of legitimate carts.
Many people use a single cart that contains the entirety of the system’s library. The cart allows them to boot up any game they want to play. These flash carts are easy to purchase online, although some brands are more highly regarded than others.
There are also hundreds of reproduction carts that are almost identical to the original games, but not quite. This means legitimate copies of games are valuable, but it also means reproduction carts are readily available for people that want to get their hands on them.
Modding Keeps the Dream Alive
The original Nintendo Game Boy holds a lot of nostalgia, but it’s capable of doing that because of its size. It comes in at just under half a pound without batteries. With batteries? You have something that can take the place of a dumbbell. Or a self-defense weapon.
That said, the nostalgia for the original Nintendo Game Boy lies in the games, not necessarily the hardware. Many people opt instead to get their hands on a Game Boy Color. It has a larger library of games, but still retains the ability to play the original GB games, and it comes in a much slimmer package.
The modern modding community is alive and well. Users can replace shells, put in new, brighter screens, increase battery capacity, and so much more. Aftermarket shells allow for levels of customization that weren’t available before.
New Games Are Still Made
Fans and enthusiasts are still in the business of producing Game Boy games. A company called Green Boy Games recently published a physical cartridge for the system called Where Is My Body? Another group published Game Boy software that can control your air conditioning.
And a third title called Dragonborne is slated for release this month. That’s amazing, think about it: it’s January of 2021, and a new Game Boy game is hitting the market. That’s the kind of enthusiasm the community supports, and that’s what keeps it alive.
The Game Boy might be far out of style, but it isn’t forgotten. Devices like the Analogue Pocket, modern case and battery mods, and brand-new games coming to the market keep the Game Boy’s legacy alive. And if that isn’t enough proof, well, the Nintendo Switch is the ultimate evolution of the grey brick from 1989.