The Game Boy Color was released when I was in my peak ‘kid’ years, being about 8-years-old. Pokemon mania was sweeping the country, and having already been introduced to gaming via the DMG Game Boy, Super Mario Land 2, and Tetris, I was primed to become a conduit for Japanese gaming values via the greatness of the N64’s Ocarina of Time, and the Game Boy’s Pokemon Red and Blue.
Nintendo hadn’t traditionally done well in the UK. However, the Game Boy was an outlier in this trend, and every kid between the ages of five and 15 would know about Nintendo’s handheld systems. While the Game Boy Color had no backlight, the screen was indeed better than the green monochrome screen of the original handheld, and the Game Boy Color was more power efficient in that it used two AA batteries rather than four. This meant it was a cheaper, more efficient system.
However, because of the release of the long-awaited Game Boy Advance, the Game Boy Color had a relatively short life span. It was released in late 1998 and the GBA released in early 2001. Some people missed out on a lot of titles that were designed specifically for the handheld because it was around and was popular for a much shorter time period compared to the DMG Game Boy.
Fast forward around 20 years, to around 2015 and a growing hardware and software modding and homebrew scene has developed around the Game Boy Color. New titles such as Dragonhym, Infinity, and Kudzu are being unofficially released and there are kits developed by FunnyPlaying and Hispeedido that replace the old Game Boy Color screens with new fully backlit beautiful IPS screens. Post nineties, there has never been a better time to play the Game Boy Color.
Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons
The two exclusive Game Boy Color Zelda games released in 2001. They are worth playing in 2024 for a number of reasons. Both are quite underrated and you don’t hear much about how good they are nowadays. They haven’t been remade since the original releases, and as they were developed by Capcom, who’s Zelda games have never been remade, they might not get remakes anytime soon. However, both games are story-focused, innovative, and packed with side quests (and quests exclusive to ‘linked’ games). On top of this, they are distinct from each other. Unlike the Pokemon pair games such as Red and Blue, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages have distinct, exclusive locations, bosses, dungeons, and even tribes (for example the Subrosians from Oracle of Seasons).
Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages improved on their predecessor, Link’s Awakening in several ways. The story was more complex, had more nuances and introduced characters like Din and Nayru while having dynamic events and side quests some of which could only be accessed after you’d completed one game, and entered the “secret code” upon starting the second game. This last aspect of the Oracle games and the post game access to exclusive side quests remain a unique feature of these games, and a big reason why Zelda fans should play them (Zelda herself makes an appearance on “linked” game files!).
Infinity
Infinity is a resurrected Game Boy Color game that was originally in development back in 2000 by Affinix Software but ran into publishing struggles. Then the Game Boy Advance was released and the shift in development that was needed was too much for Affinix Software leading to the project being shelved. Around 2015, Incube8 Games revived the project with some members of the original Affinix Software team. The game is a turn-based RPG that was released both physically and via the sale of a ROM back in 2016. While not an officially licensed Nintendo product and technically homebrew, the game has high-quality production values and looks amazing with its 8-bit classic RPG art style.
Infinity has a focused, ambitious narrative that looks to be inspired by Chrono Trigger and the early Final Fantasy games. The story is good enough to drive the player on to the next portion of the game despite the enemies being difficult and grinding sometimes being required. However, despite the grinding, some cool graphical effects are used and the game is worth playing just because it’s such a novel experience of being a resurrected project. I haven’t gotten too far into the title myself, but there are enough positive things about Infinity that keep drawing me back to make progress.
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
The classic original Pokemon games are timeless experiences for both the Game Boy, and Game Boy Color. These ambitious games are grand, full adventures for 8-bit machines and whether you’ve played through them 100 times, or you’re encouraging youngsters in your family to play through them with you, they remain some of the best games for the Game Boy Color. In 2024, there are also numerous ROM hacks based on these original experiences.
The original Pokemon games are arguably the most well-balanced in terms of types and stats, and they have some of the coolest monster designs. There is a certain charm to the artwork, and these games are free from modern glitches and bugs that plague games like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, although they do have their own old-school glitches (which can be used to your benefit).
Pokemon Silver/Gold
After the phenomenon of the initial Pokemon games in 1998/1999, developers Game Freak released a follow-up duo of games, in the form of Pokemon Gold and Silver. These titles added color and slightly better graphics, as well as an interesting new story, and a complete second world. The second world was Kanto from Red and Blue along with the new world Johto.
There was a total of 16 gym badges to collect, double the number found in Pokemon Red and Blue. The wealth of content is really what made Pokemon Gold and Silver such great sequel games. As a sequel package, it can be argued that Pokemon Gold and Silver have never been outdone in the 20 or so follow-up games. The reasons for this is the inclusion of Kanto.
Similarly to Pokemon Red and Blue, there are also many Pokemon Gold and Silver ROM hacks. If you want to go ‘open-world’, hacks such as Crystal Clear are available that allow the player to tackle dungeons in any order, and they also have a huge number of potential starting Pokemon. Pokemon Crystal Clear really has good production values and it has so many cool polished features. Overall, Pokemon Gold and Silver is a great experience and it is recommended to play the original version if you’ve never done so before.
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (English Translation)
When I first played the English translation of Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, without ever having played the original Japanese version, I was surprised by the ambitious narrative, and how easy to learn the combat system was. Without a doubt, the title would have been one of the best RPGs on the Game Boy Color if it had ever had localization in the rest of the world (it only officially released in Japan).
The game uses a nice colorful 8-bit art style reminiscent of Phantasy Star. The animation is fluid and the game begins with you and your adventurers having crash-landed on an alien planet. I’m not familiar with the lore of Star Ocean but it seems like there are planets teeming with intelligent life that can visit one another and this is where the story of the game comes from. The game puts emphasis on exploration. There is also combat, which I would describe as an active system, similar to the Tales games, and maybe a bit of Chrono Trigger.
Unfortunately for localization prospects, the GBA was already on the horizon when the game was released in Japan in 2001. Square Enix didn’t think it was worth localizing a Game Boy Color game which would have cost more than the potential profits, so the game was never released worldwide. The English translation was released as recently as 2020, and the person/people who worked on the translation deserve acclaim as they’ve allowed the game to be appreciated by a huge proportion of gamers who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to experience this gem.
Which Game Boy Color game is your favorite? Which game do you think should belong on our list? Let us know in the comments below and on our social media.
