Poll of the Day > GameTok with Lok: The Gameboy Color might be the most underrated system

(+) Yeah! (+)

It came out at an unfortunate time, but almost every game on it is a gem
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Wow, I just looked at the release dates on GBC and GBA. The GBC didn't even last three years before the GBA came around, and with BC that made it pretty useless. Although a similar thing happened with the DS eclipsing the GBA.

What I don't understand is how the original GB stuck around for like ten years. Surely they could have come up with a color version a lot sooner. Their competitors had color portables, so obviously it was possible, even if those came with their own issues. I know a lot of people love the original GB but even at the time I thought it was kind of lame. It was probably pretty nice when we just had NES games, but once you compare it to SNES and especially N64, it seems pretty archaic, yet it coexisted through parts of all three's lifetime.

The GBA was the bomb and was the generation leap that was truly needed and that library mmmmm, so big and diverse. Also I have a love for weirdly graphically ambitious games and the GBA had those in spades with tons of 3d titles that pushed the hell out of the system

Andromicus posted...

The GBA was the bomb

Undeniable. GBA, especially when the remodel game out, revitalized portable gaming.

Which is another reason the GBC is oft forgotten.
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I played the GBA a lot back in the day since I couldn't afford any of the current home consoles at the time, but looking back, like all my games were just ports of home console stuff. I never really experienced much of its original catalog. If I ever feel like diving into that more I'll probably only emulate stuff, since I have a first-gen GBA and it's impossible to see shit.

That's another thing, I can't believe it took them so long to add backlighting to their GB line.

I've always considered the gbc a different skew of the original gameboy. Like with the 3ds and new3dsxl.

I wish there was a new Lost in Blue game, GBC Survival Kids was great
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Sorry, but in 1998 there is no valid excuse for it not having a backlight. And then, to think, even the first GBA didn't have one. I mean damn, Nintendo.
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GBC didn't need a backlight 'cuz it was, like, different tech - it was like how the Gamegear was.
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What do you mean? I remember taking my GBC on a car ride, and of course it was dark on the way home. The whole point of a handheld is to give you something to do on long, boring lengths away from home. But you couldn't do that because no light. I ended up not buying a handheld game again until 2017.
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WarGreymon77 posted...

What do you mean? I remember taking my GBC on a car ride, and of course it was dark on the way home. The whole point of a handheld is to give you something to do on long, boring lengths away from home. But you couldn't do that because no light. I ended up not buying a handheld game again until 2017.

That's weird, was there a remodel? I know the GBA didn't have a backlight, but I remember the GBC having one.
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Remember the Nyko worm light for GBC?
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/38329/nyko-worm-light-turns-15

Edit: Other than the dark screen, I will give the GBC its due. Some games seemed to push it graphically beyond what you might expect.
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WarGreymon77 posted...

What do you mean? I remember taking my GBC on a car ride, and of course it was dark on the way home.

Even when it was light out they sucked to look at, shit's like a mirror. Well, at least I remember that being the case with my GBA - probably GBC too, but I didn't play that as much

*thinks*

I feel like the GBC was a tentative step because of a key weakness of the other color portables of the time (e.g. the Game Gear and the Lynx): hilariously poor battery life. I get the feeling that the original Game Boy had such a long life span for the same reason. ... Also a big fan of the GBA, which is the result of Nintendo solving that long problem (IMO).
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There was also the Wonderswan Color which was killin' it

Plus the sad Neo Geo Portable... ... which did have a unique sound chip, too bad it didn't get any decent games for it
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I remember seeing the WSC under glass, but the only reason for me to be interested in that one was Super Robot Wars (and the Final Fantasy I & II releases that got recompiled into FF Origins on PS1).

And I actually have the NGP, but there's not much to play on that aside from stuff you've seen from SNK before on bigger, better platforms.
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There was an official backlight game boy released outside the US before the sp but I think it was the pocket light. I remember the modding community was making backlights for the gbc even back then though.

In retrospect, the GBC was less its own system than it was the equivalent of the DSi or N3DS -- that is, to say, a half-generational SKU.

Lokarin posted...

It came out at an unfortunate time, but almost every game on it is a gem

No, it had a lot of crap but it didn't last long so you probably didn't notice.

WarGreymon77 posted...

Sorry, but in 1998 there is no valid excuse for it not having a backlight. And then, to think, even the first GBA didn't have one. I mean damn, Nintendo.

Uh, what? I'm not even sure what your reasoning is. At that point, the only major handheld with a backlight was the Game Gear and it was massively energy inefficient, among other problems. (Yes, you very briefly had *other* handhelds as well, but most of them had already left the market.)

Also I should note that even the *early* GBA-SPs (AGS-001) were frontlit instead of back. The backlit ones (AGS-101) are harder to find and tend to be far more expensive. Honestly, the frontlit ones work well enough.
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Zeus posted...

In retrospect, the GBC was less its own system than it was the equivalent of the DSi or N3DS -- that is, to say, a half-generational SKU.

Lokarin posted...

It came out at an unfortunate time, but almost every game on it is a gem

No, it had a lot of crap but it didn't last long so you probably didn't notice.

WarGreymon77 posted...

Sorry, but in 1998 there is no valid excuse for it not having a backlight. And then, to think, even the first GBA didn't have one. I mean damn, Nintendo.

Uh, what? I'm not even sure what your reasoning is. At that point, the only major handheld with a backlight was the Game Gear and it was massively energy inefficient, among other problems. (Yes, you very briefly had *other* handhelds as well, but most of them had already left the market.)

Also I should note that even the *early* GBA-SPs (AGS-001) were frontlit instead of back. The backlit ones (AGS-101) are harder to find and tend to be far more expensive. Honestly, the frontlit ones work well enough.

The technology was certainly there in 1998. The Game Gear, Lynx, and pretty much everything else had a backlight. But not Nintendo.
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SteamedHams posted...

Wow, I just looked at the release dates on GBC and GBA. The GBC didn't even last three years before the GBA came around, and with BC that made it pretty useless. Although a similar thing happened with the DS eclipsing the GBA.

What I don't understand is how the original GB stuck around for like ten years. Surely they could have come up with a color version a lot sooner. Their competitors had color portables, so obviously it was possible, even if those came with their own issues. I know a lot of people love the original GB but even at the time I thought it was kind of lame. It was probably pretty nice when we just had NES games, but once you compare it to SNES and especially N64, it seems pretty archaic, yet it coexisted through parts of all three's lifetime.

Stuff like the Game Gear and Lynx were really expensive for hand helds, and drained batteries like crazy. The Gameboy lasted as long as it did because it was cost effective and fun. Once a color handheld become much more cost effective, the GBA came roaring in.... I'll go on record and say the GBA SP may be the best handheld of all time.

Lokarin posted...

It came out at an unfortunate time, but almost every game on it is a gem

False. While the GBC definitely had some great stuff like Mario Golf, Pokmon Pinball and Top Gear Pocket 2, it also had a nice, healthy dose of crap to go along with it. Batman Beyond, Men in Black: The Series, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 and, worst of all, Mortal Kombat 4. And that's just from my admittedly barebones collection. Not to mention the mediocre stuff like Power Quest (fantastic fighting system with a horrendously boring and grindy story mode) and Looney Tunes: Alert!.

That said, I did enjoy my time with the GBC even though I mainly played Pokmon Red on it back in the day. My stupidity cost me mine about a year after I got it but I've since bought another one recently (found it for cheap) and, despite having superior handhelds like the GBA SP and the 3DS, it was a nice nostalgic trip being able to hold one of these in my hand again. I've also noticed that the screen isn't as reflective as the GBA's as I can see the games a bit better on it.