A third-party project was underway during the Neo Geo Pocket Color's short (but beautiful) life to add Game Boy and Game Boy Color functionality to SNK's handheld. Ganksoft Entertainment began by working on a software emulator capable of running GB/GBC software on the NGPC. The project was cancelled before the emulator was finished, due to SNK's dramatic exit from the console market. The screenshot shows roughly what state the emulator was in. Of course, with no software, the hardware never came to fruition either.
Would the system's history have been different if it could run its major competitor's games via an obscure, unlicensed peripheral? The Dreamcast says no.
For all of you folk who enjoy using that other game slot on your DS, take note: Wal-Mart is having a sale on select titles. Whether you go with the option of picking up 2 games for $20, or 3 games for $25, it's a fairly decent deal, if we may say so.
To sweeten the deal even more, they're allowing you to choose from some compilation games, as well. Titles such as Risk, Battleship & Clue, and Centipede, Breakout & Warlords (!). So, if you're trying to bulk up your collection, you might want to head on over there and check out what titles they have on offer.
Looking over this week's releases, we're feeling a lot like last week: empty and cold inside. Unless you're in Australia, there pretty much isn't anything worth checking out. We're in kind of a GBA mood, though (after reading JC's Virtually Overlooked last night), so this weekend will probably have us dusting off our copy of Metroid Fusion or something.
What about you all? Have any good GBA games that you could play while waiting for some new DS games to enjoy? Or do you have something else in mind? What are you playing?
Since we're unabashed game enthusiasts, we appreciate any opportunity to combine our love for modern day gaming with our nostalgia for gaming of the past. That's why we find these DS covers to be absolutely darling. The Game Boy cover makes more sense to have, since the system belongs in the same family tree as Nintendo's dual-screened handheld. Yet, the NES controller is a perfect shape for a DS pouch -- and who doesn't love a NES controller? -- so that works, too.
Should you like these as much as we do, you can check them out at Janis13's Etsy store, along with some other DS cases.
Are you looking to finally unload your Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or any accompanying games? We'd suggest doing so sooner rather than later, because in a few days it will be too late (at GameStop, at least). As it turns out, the games retailer will no longer be taking these trade-ins as of April 7th.
If you own these systems, though, there's a good chance that you either a) sold them a long time ago or b) have no plans to ever sell them, so we're sure this is a non-issue, for the most part. Still, this makes us feel old.
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.
Long before Nintendo began its international Touch! Generations campaign to beckon casual gamers with promises of trained brains and improved vision, the company was putting its marketing money behind the original Game Boy to expand its audience to adults.
The resulting commercials were cringe-inducing productions, so much so, it's hard to believe they captured anyone's interest at all. Of course, with Tetris leading the push, the handheld sold like hot cakes anyway, nullifying the ineffectiveness of the ads. But that doesn't mean we still can't dig them up and have a laugh at their expense!
Posted Mar 27th 2008 6:00PM by David Hinkle Filed under: GBA
Let's face it: we all love the DS, but if it wasn't for the handhelds of yesteryear, we wouldn't be enjoying the dual-screened bliss we do on a regular basis. Instead, our reality would be dark and cold, our fear of what is right in front of us only challenged by our incredible lack of knowing what is right in front of us. It would probably lead us to suicide.
But, lo and behold, the passage of time flowed in favor of Nintendo, as the Game Boy lead to the Game Boy Advance and the Game Boy Advance lead to that stupid Game Boy Micro thing the Game Boy Micro and then, finally, to the DS. But what about all of those great Game Boy games that time forgot?
Well, now is the time to rustle up those nostalgic memories you have pattering around your noggin. The games are:
Rolan's Curse 2
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
Mole Mania
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
Mega Man V
Kirby's Dreamland 2
Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land
Personally, we would've liked to see Street Fighter II get some love (kidding!). What do you all think? What games do you like? What does this list need?
Making music with outdated electronics is no longer relegated to the GBA Micro. Oh no, you can, in fact, make some great music with a plain old original Game Boy Pocket. And Clay Morrow, the man featured in the above video, is doing just that.
Throughout his interview with Mahalo Daily's Veronica Belmont (videos by day, vampire hunting by night?), he explains the appeal of using a Game Boy, as well as how to use it. And, we also get to peep some of the sweet equipment he uses to make the whole thing possible.
We love fans. Not only because we are fans and we're completely narcissistic, but because they always come up with some of the coolest things.
Take, for example, this remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus for the original Game Boy. It may be nothing new for a fan to recreate an oldschool game, but this is one of the best we've seen. DoctorM64 not only did a great job with the sprites, but also tweaked the level design a bit so that the game flows more smoothly.
If you want to try this remake for yourself, it's only a click away. Keeping in mind that this is only a tech demo and not the completed version, we're sure that you'll be even more impressed. Also, you can check out DoctorM64's blog to get a feel for the creation process.
Releases like Super Wings prove the old adage that limitations breed creativity. Programmer Mukunda "eKid" Johnson created this polished GBA shoot'em up specifically for PDRoms' recent coding competition, a homebrew contest constrained to child-friendly games using a maximum of only four colors.
eKid took those restrictions as an opportunity to relive the Game Boy experience with his shmup, packing the title with genre standbys like floating weapon power-ups, listless tanks, and rock-out music. Super Wings' humor is tops, too -- each stage begins with a campy briefing and silly, generic objectives, all in hilariously terrible Engrish. Make sure you hit the Game Over screen at least once in each level to catch the encouraging Continue messages.
Though it's a short game with only three stages -- the last of which will blow your mind -- Super Wings already looks to be one of 2008's best original homebrew titles. It's a free download, and you can play it on a flashcart or pretty much any GBA emulator, so there's no reason for you to miss this one!
Do you love your Game Boy so much that you just want to hug it to death? Then perhaps instead of a game system, you should have a plushie. These cute little handheld dolls also have sweet little facial expressions, making them all the more lovable.
The best thing about KungFuCowgirl's Etsy creations is that they're not ridiculously overpriced. They only cost $14 a pop, which is very reasonable for something handmade. We love craftsters, but we always appreciate them more when they don't exploit our gaming love for everything it's worth.
Many a history buff know full well the contributions the lowly steam engine has made to not only the development of our native country, the U.S.A., but also that of the world. And now, finally, one of the driving forces behind the Industrial Revolution is now being used for something far more important: powering Game Boys. Actually, we're not sure why someone would make a steam-powered Game Boy, but hey, our hat is off to them because we could never do such a thing ourselves.
We have a hard enough time figuring out which way the AA batteries go in.
When our handhelds die, we tend to either put them up in the attic (our own little "console heaven"), or throw them across the room in a fit of rage, depending on the circumstances. Never are we as productive as Josh Burker, though, who made an awesome housed diorama with his dead Game Boy.
There's no big mystery to this beauty; it's simply a work of papercraft encased by a Game Boy shell (which Josh gutted himself). We know the papercraft is in color, so it's not an accurate artistic portrayal of the DS's portable ancestor, but the creativity and craft work put into this project are astonishing.
Hmm, maybe our broken Game Boy is still in the attic somewhere ...
If you have an old Game Boy brick lying around, no one has to tell you that it's nigh-on indestructible. After all, yours probably still works, and can often be tossed at people who irritate you at social gatherings, or used to fend off would-be muggers. That thing is a beast, and you can abuse it and immediately turn it on for a little Battletoads or Link's Awakening.
And now, folks, the Game Boy is being lauded for just that long-lasting quality. Over at CNET UK's Crave gadget blog, the original handheld monstrosity turned up on a list of "bombproof" gadgets. "If you ever saw one that was broken, it's because it lost a boxing match with a nuclear bomb -- on points," they say. Them's big words, but then again, we're talking about the Game Boy here, and it's way more hard than the other gadgets listed. Anyone still have one lying around, being all hard with its bad self?
Posted Jan 14th 2008 6:00PM by David Hinkle Filed under: GBA
If you dig giant hunks of metal with marker scribblings all over them, then you'll want to cruise by this eBay auction for a Game Boy Demo Vision unit. The dev kit allows your Game Boy game to be displayed on your TV, like with the GameCube's Game Boy Player, only without the border.
As tempting as being able to use it may be, you will need a special kind of Game Boy unit in order to interact with this device. So, unless you have that matching bit, you're not going to be able to do much with this.
A third-party project was underway during the Neo Geo Pocket Color's short (but beautiful) life to add Game Boy and Game Boy Color functionality to SNK's handheld. Ganksoft Entertainment began by working on a software emulator capable of running GB/GBC software on the NGPC. The project was cancelled before the emulator was finished, due to SNK's dramatic exit from the console market. The screenshot shows roughly what state the emulator was in. Of course, with no software, the hardware never came to fruition either.
Are you looking to finally unload your Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or any accompanying games? We'd suggest doing so sooner rather than later, because in a few days it will be too late (at GameStop, at least). As it turns out, the games retailer will no longer be taking these trade-ins as of April 7th. 
