Not Really Worth It

Everyone and their sister had a Game Boy within six years of the release of that beautiful system. I got mine in 1992 at the tender age of seven in preparation for a cross-country trip. That system served me well for several years, during the ages when I, either out of clumsiness or purposeful accidents, would often damage a lot of things. That machine was frozen, left in 140 degree heat, dropped down flights of stairs (twice), and had several batteries explode within it. All of that and it still worked perfectly. Until one sad September day in 1998, my poor Game Boy just quit. *tear*

That Christmas, I found a grape color Game Boy Color under tree, along with Star Wars Ep. 1 Racer. I was ecstatic. It was small, it was colorful, it had twice the battery capacity, I was obviously thrilled. It took me not too long to look back and realize it was a wasted purchase.

I'll start off with the good about the Game Boy Color. Firstly, it's small while still being efficient. It easily fits into a front pocket, often right alongside a wallet. Although the Game Boy Pocket was marginally smaller, it took four AAA batteries, a size that is usually needed once every two years as a clock or a remote control runs out of power. No, the GBC uses two AAs, which last as long as the 4 of the original machine. Very Convenient.

The next good thing is also the most obvious, it's COLOR! Color, as in half the advantage the Game Gear had. Even original Game Boy games have the entire screen colored, usually green backgrounds with red characters. The colors are also sharp, albeit subtle at times.

The screen itself is sharp, having over twice as many pixels as the original Game Boy or even the NES. On a GBC-only game, the graphics are incredibly well detailed. Even little things, like Spider-Man's spider symbol, are easily recognizable.

The final good attribute is really the best: it can play original Game Boy games. That means you can take your copy of Super Mario Land that you bought in 1989 with you. This is an attempt that has definitely worked in GBC's favor.

Now onto the bad. The shape of the system was awkward, having a nasty bulge for the batteries at the lower back of the system. It was hard to pack, made weird shapes while in your pocket (Hey, is that a Game Boy in your pocket or are you just...), and was a general eyesore.

As I said, the Game Boy Color has color. Of course, for the most part, the color was so subtle you often had to squint your eyes to see it. Most of the time, the screen had three colors: the back ground, one sprite of the main characters, the other sprite of the main characters. Oh, and it had black for the outlines.

The next problem goes to the games. They were BAD. And then, on those few occasion when they weren't bad, they were REALLY BAD. Especially the ones that were ports of N64 and PSone games. Most of the time, they simplified and dulled down the story and controls. The controls were also very unresponsive for the most part. In several games, you'd use a complex button move (the only way to do many game moves) and get pummeled three times before it worked. Ick

The final and most signifigant problem goes to the fact that the Game Boy Advance game out only three years later. The GBA was head and tails over anything the GBC brought to the table. It made the GBC obsolete the day it was released.

Now, you can only find a GBC used for $30 or less. If you find yourself wishing to purchase one, I suggest you save up another $20 and get a used GBA. Better yet, get another $50 and get a new GBA sp. Afterwards, buy the two Spider-Man games for GBC (the only games worth playing) and forget about the unfortunate Game Boy Color, a system that was too little, too late, and too bad.