Gameboy talk

[nebula | 0]

May I please have your thoughts on the greatest portable handheld of all time? Any nostalgic memories of the first time you received your gameboy, or any other childhood memories playing the gameboy you'd like to share?

To start I'll name one of my favorite games for the system.  Everyone's top 10 is very similar, so let's focus on obscure games.   

Mine is not too obscure, but definitely a goodie.  I really fell in love with Solomon's Club for gameboy.  Not as long or difficult as its NES brother, but I think those are positive qualities.  It has a bit more charm and playability than the NES version.  Granted, I also like the NES version, but the gameboy version plays better.

What are you favorite obscure games for the system?

[Rooster | 124]

Not really an obscure one, but as a kid I loved playing Kirby's pinball land.  It was fun to try and get higher scores every time, but it also felt really hard to try and beat all the levels.  Also it was kind of forgiving because if you dropped a ball, you had a chance to get it back by pressing A at the right time.  I still play it sometimes even to this day.

[Tanooki | 4,953]

Any nostalgic memories of the first time you received your gameboy, or any other childhood memories playing the gameboy you'd like to share?

-- Well yeah, Christmas of 1989 I ruined my moms fun.  She blew it and I opened up this small square box and out popped Super Mario Land.  From there on the scramble was in play for the Game Boy I knew had to be hiding somewhere.  It was like the 2nd coming of the NES (pre)Deluxe Set freak out of Christmas 1985 which had it been caught on camera would have dwarfed the n64 christmas kid bit.  I still had opened up presents before and even after the Game Boy, and sure I did play with my stuff, in time, but damn did that thing come out of the box fast.  I couldn't help myself going between Tetris and Super Mario Land.  At the time I was 12, so like, I was old enough to get it, so Mario didn't last long, but I didn't care.  I played played and replayed it as it was almost like a zen relaxing thing to knock off in a little over a half hour, I didn't mind, it was unique and fun and still is.

Since I believe most sane types consider the GBC just a beefy color Gameboy as it is, that game system kind of saved my Nintendo sanity in 1997 through the Gamecube in those annoyingly long stretches between good releases worth buying (and then and now still detest overkill fetch quest games so I was NOT a Rare gamer.)  The N64 made me two things, a handheld gamer first ever since, and second, broke my habitual middle finger to other systems, I went multiplatform with a NEC Turbo Duo.   True story though, Tetris from 1989 until the GBC era, even into the GBC era was my go-to game to leave in the system to keep dust out and to do around new stuff.  Mario Golf broke that, shame every game since lacked more and more of its good RPG to fun balance and charm and became more grating.

What are you favorite obscure games for the system?

In all fairness I know the library pretty solidly, so a list would be a bit much.  Out of the games I currently have now, not over time which would be a lot more, I'll list a few but it's the readers choice to read up on it as I don't want to write a story here.

GB: Ganso!! Yancha Maru, Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu, Pop'n Twinbee(EU release), Samurai Spirits 3 (JP release), The Getaway HIgh Speed II, Trip World (J/EU)

GBC: 3D Ultra Pinball Thrillride, Cannon Fodder, Konami GB Collection Vols 1-4(EU), Project S-11, Warlocked, Wendy Every Witch Way

[ookii_risu | 206]

I never owned a Gameboy, but I borrowed one from a friend for about a week. Got to play through Super Mario Land. I loved that game! The music is the best. I don't really remember a whole lot of the game itself, but I do remember being ingrained and playing for hours. I read about the Mega Man games in Nintendo Power. I really wanted them, but I couldn't afford to get the system or the games. I'd like to visit the library one of these days.

[MeganJoanne | 365]

Never owned a Gameboy. My brother had one a long time ago, played several games on it then. Oh, I did have the Super Gameboy adapter, got Wario Land and Donkey Kong for it, but whatever little experiences I had back then, they just don't hold the kind of ooh or awe factor or lasting nostalgia that I always had with the NES and SNES and Playstation. I just wasn't into the haldheld thing then. I do have a DS that I got like 7-8 years ago I think it was. Used to play it a lot, mostly the Castlevania and Metroid games (GBA and DS which is the nicest part about the handheld, two in one), played the hell out of those for a while, but have and had some other games too. As for nostalgia over it, nah, just something to do and could take with me if need be. but haven't played it in a long while. The buttons malfunctioned sometimes and other times I had to fiddle with the cart several times for the thing to recognize it was in there. While it hasn't been used in a while, I keep it as a just in case, never know, could be without other gaming means and at least I would still have that.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,079]

Any nostalgic memories of the first time you received your gameboy, or any other childhood memories playing the gameboy you'd like to share?

My oldest gaming memories actually go back to the Commodore 64 and the Gameboy. We had the C64 first and I remember not really enjoying most of the games since they were either awful or too difficult to get into/set up. But every now and then my uncle would come over and bring his new Gameboy for us to play with, while he was chatting with my parents. So we would take turn and play Super Mario Land, Tetris and some other puzzle game, that I can't remember. These new games were much more enjoable for me since you could just put the cartridge in and play. Also, the games were much simpler to understand and way more polished or just better designed overall. Thus I also got my first introduction to Super Mario via the Gameboy, and not the NES or SNES.

Anyway, we eventually got our won Gameboy and had a bunch of fun games that we would play over and over again. My first favorite game was Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge. I liked this even more than SML even though I could never beat it as a child. When my older brother sold it off to get something new, I was really upset and devastated despite this being his game. So my parents bought me Mega Man III for my birthday or Christmas, I'm not quite sure. I still own this game though, including the box, and it's my oldest Gameboy game. A few years later I was at a toy store with my mother and saw that the original Mega Man for the Gameboy was on sale and I was absolutely enamored with it. I probably also whined a little bit or so, because my mother actually bought this game for me. This was the first and only time my parents ever bought a game spontaneously for me and I still have the box with the price sticker on it (the inlay is missing however).

Over the years I played many more games of course, and one of my alltime favorites was Final Fantasy Adventure. We regularly took the Gameboy with us to play on long trips or vacations, so it was still being used years after we got it. And that life was extended by the release of Pokemon. It is hard to overstate how big of an impact Pokemon was on me and the kids my age. I remember reading about it in a gaming magazine shortly after it became a hit in Japan. I was so hyped for this game and couldn't wait to play it, but I didn't know that we had to wait for about 3 years until we eventually got it. But it was still worth the wait! I also can't believe how GameFreak went from pushing the boundaries of what was possible on a handheld system to the state it is in now.

What are you favorite obscure games for the system?

We never had many Gameboy games since we ended up focussing more on the SNES. After all, we would only get about one or two new games a year, so w would naturally tend towards a big SNES game instead of a tiny Gameboy game. What I'm trying to say is that we didn't have or play any weird or obscure game for this system. Only as an adult did I try to dig a bit more into the Gameboy (Color) library. And I'm not sure if all of them can be counted as obscure, but I quite enjoyed Kid Dracula, Magical Taruruuto-kun, Dragon Quest I&II as well as III and Ayakashi no Shiro.

[cj_robot | 546]

I never really spent much time with the original GameBoy. I didn't get mine until '93. Played a lot of Tetris, DuckTales, Mario Land 2, and Zelda but that's about it, until...

Not sure how obscure this is, but once I got Mario's Picross I became obsessed with it. It's such a fun, simple puzzle game, and it's such a great time-killer when you're on a plane, or just bored somewhere. It's a little rough playing the original these days, but now I satisfy my Picross cravings with the DS version or the Pokemon one on 3DS.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

My main Original GB memories:

1) my cousin and I both getting it for Christmas the same year and trying out linked Tetris

2) my mom and dad both quickly getting better than me at Tetris, and that holding up for a few years, at least

3) my dad getting his own GB the following Father's Day

4) getting Super Mario Land as a "gift from my baby brother" when he was born

5) buying Metroid 2, Kid Icarus, and Gargoyle's Quest at Lowe's, of all places

6) spending MANY hours pouring over Nintendo Power coverage of various games (even though i never owned them, I loved reading about Sword of Hope and Mysterium)

7) playing Final Fantasy Legend at my cousin's house

Edited November 18, 2019 by arch_8ngel

[RH | 4,982]

My original titles were Tetris, Alleyway, Motocross Maniacs, Duck Tales, World Cup Soccer, Gargoyles Quest and eventually Final Fantasy  Adventure. I wore them all out. A cousin of mine had Link's Awakening and he let me "borrow" it, which meant he let me have it and never cared to get it back. In fact, I think, I did give it back to him, he spilt Pepsi on it and gave it to me to keep if I could fix it.  That was my first repair job.  I really mangled the game case to get the screw out but once I did, I soaked the cartridge in alcohol (dumb luck move, honestly) I scrubbed it with a toothbrush and then let it set out for a week to dry. Boom it worked, including the battery.

I know my grandparents bought all of their grand kids Game Boys, probably in 1989, because I remember it coming in the OG packaging and it felt early. My parents refused to buy another game system after my Mom literally got addicted to Dr. Mario (which is another story) but she allowed my grandparents to buy the Game Boy, and she'd pick up a GB for me each birthday or Christmas after that.  After the NES days were over, I had my Game Boy and eventually at Game Gear up until I could afford buying an N64 on my own.  My parents also bought me a battery pak, probably for my birthday after the Christmas I got a GB, because I always remember having it.  It, of course, doubles as a wall outlet connection and a batter pack.  I took my GB everywhere, because we lived in the country and it was also a staple of every single road trip.

Now, I'm almost done with my complete NA, Game Boy cart set.  When I started collecting, I wanted to choose a system that meant the most to me.  NES was top of the list, but considering the legendary status and cost of Stadium Events and even the high costs of Little Samson, I passed it off and thought of either the N64, Game Boy or Game Gear.  Not sure why, but I just picked the Game Boy. Not related to this discussion, but if time, money and space in my home were not a problem, I would have probably, actually chosen the PS1.  Sooooo many games I had to overlook for that system just because there were to many good games. I still collect for the PS1, but there's no way I'll ever have the desire to go for a legit complete set.  I'd love to have it, but I just couldn't feasibly make that happen. The GB has been a much better, realistic option #2.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

8 minutes ago, RH said:

I know my grandparents bought all of their grand kids Game Boys, probably in 1989, because I remember it coming in the OG packaging and it felt early.

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure the OG packaging (with the VR-style robot hands playing the system) was around for Christmas of 1990, and I think even summer of 1991.

[RH | 4,982]

1 minute ago, arch_8ngel said:

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure the OG packaging (with the VR-style robot hands playing the system) was around for Christmas of 1990, and I think even summer of 1991.

Yeah, but now that I'm trying to recall it a bit more, I think it was that first year.  I think my parents gave me Alleyway (which meant I would have opened it before the Game Boy) and also bought my brother Motocross Maniacs for that same Christmas.  When we opened them, my parents "apologized" for getting games for the wrong system rather than the NES--classic parenting move for when the grandparents come over in the afternoon with their Christmas gifts.

Anyway, I think it was 1989 because they would have more options by 1990.

[MiamiSlice | 3,100]

I had the very first DMG that came with Tetris and headphones. Everyone had this. I kept playing it even after the Pocket came out. I didn't upgrade until the Game Boy Color. I figured, the gray monster fits in my cargo pocket, so what do I need a "Pocket" for? 

One of my favorite obscure games for the system that I have fond memories of is Ninja Boy 2. This was an RPG but the mob battles were all real time action brawls, only boss fights were turn based and you could use items in either context. Playing this game at 6 years old I never got very far. A few years later I came back to it and discovered how to get off the first planet and managed to play through all the way to the end. The story and settings were just so creative and fun. I still think about one of the locations in the game (a space station inhabited by dinosaurs where it never rains) all the time. Few RPGs have topped this one in terms of style for me. 

[bigdawg8412 | 0]

I didn't have an original Game Boy as a kid. I chose to get the Sega Game Gear. Had fun with that system. I got a Game Boy Color shortly after it was first released. Some of the first games I got were Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Tom and Jerry,  Men in Black , Super Mario Land 2, and Kirby's Dream Land 2.

[nebula | 0]

Loved reading all the stories!  I actually fell in love with the Gameboy in my adult life.  Never could afford it as a kid.  In fact, we couldn't afford much so I didn't really play too many video games except 3 or 4 NES titles that we would borrow. 

As an adult, traveling here and there for work, I wanted to play some games during my travels that I had some connection with.  The gameboy was the only choice since I always wanted one as a kid.  About 7 years ago, I bought myself a gameboy and a few games, Tetris, Alleyway and Contra.  I haven't stopped since.   There are sooo many great titles for the gameboy.  I still think it has the greatest library of any handheld.  Almost weekly I discover some new game that I have to acquire and play at some point.  Right now I'm playing Flappy Special.  It's a Japanese exclusive puzzler.  It's a fun little title...and allows me to kill time while I wait for my flights.

[Alder | 243]

I think my first game boy was a hand-me-down red gameboy pocket with F1 race and Kirby's Pinball Land. For christmas one year I picked out the atomic purple game boy color from Walmart with THPS, Turok 2 Seeds of Evil, Link's Awakening DX, and Dave Mirra BMX. I remember Link's Awakening being the one "expensive" game I got, and the other 3 being in the bargain shelf on the side of the rack. I later got Pokemon Blue, followed by Red and Yellow. I remember sitting in the shopping cart at the local K-Mart when I got red and yellow as a gift from my grandma. I remember getting Commander Keen and Alone In The Dark from CVS, and Zelda Oracle of Ages and Seasons and all of the 3rd gen Pokemon games when they came out. I got the glacier game boy advance with THPS2, Super Mario Advance, Rayman, F-Zero, and Pinobee, and later got a Splinter Cell game and a Rugrats game. Even later I ended up getting... let's see... Mario Kart, the LttP remake, Zelda 1, Zelda 2, and Castlevania NES classics, Metroid Fusion from an EB Games, Minish Cap, Tetris Worlds, Harry Potter, 007 Nightfire, LoTR, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, and Yoshi's Island. I also traded some kid at school (this would've been like 5th grade) two twix and some beef jerky for Fire Pro Wrestling, Shinobi, and F14 Tomcat.

[MachineCode | 159]

I got a Game Boy for Christmas one year, I think 92. I liked it, but bought into the hype and traded it to FuncoLand to get a Game Gear within a year. I do regret getting rid of it as I missed out on some great games until way later, but I really did like my Game Gear so at least I didn’t totally screw up.

[LtCasual | 27]

Original Game Boy was the first thing I ever saved up a large chunk of money to pay for by myself as a kid. I was going up north to a cabin with my grand parents, and we stopped at the local Walmart so I could purchase one. I had enough to cover the game boy and a box of Rice Krispie Treat cereal. I spent that whole 3+ hour drive up north chilling in the back seat of the Buick, munching cereal and playing Tetris.