Release Date: 11/18/1998

Colors: Atomic Purple, Berry, Grape, Kiwi, Dandelion, Teal

MSRP: $79.95

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The GameBoy Color wasn’t something I had growing up. My parents couldn’t afford one. I had the DMB GameBoy, but that was it until the GBA SP came out. I did play some of my classmates’ GBC in school here and there and did experience Pokemon Blue a few times, but my GBC experience has mostly been as an adult, and mostly in the last few years. See, the GBA SP could play GameBoy games, but I always felt they were “old and dumb” being 8-bit titles. I had very little money growing up, and I didn’t want to waste it on older titles. I only owned a single GBC game, and it was The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, which I never finished.

Fast forward over a decade later, and I appreciate the system a lot more. While I have a modded GBC with a modern backlit LCD, RGB buttons, and USB-C charging, I still remember what the system was like as stock. One thing that kept me from wanting one was the lack of a backlight. The GameBoy Lite had a backlight; why couldn’t the GBC? I understand it was a budget system as the hardware inside was dirt cheap to produce at this point, but come on, Nintendo! You still needed a flashlight or had to play with a flashlight under the blankets. This makes playing today nearly impossible and unbearable with all of the modern LCD display technologies we have. Some like this and get a more nostalgic feeling from it, but I didn’t play my original DMB Gameboy much because of this when I got it for my 7th birthday back in 1997.

Not much else is improved over the original model. The Gameboy Pocket had already been released at this point, but it did feel lighter and was slimmer than the original model. However, the screen was smaller at 2.3″ compared to the DMG’s 2.6″, but it was in color, so there was a trade-off. It did have more RAM, which was needed for the wider color palette, and the sound was slightly improved, but we still had the same 10-year-old processor. We got square wave channels, which made the system less “bleepy” than the original model, but not by much. The only other I/O was an infrared receiver, which could be used to beam digital data across to other consoles. The battery life was also cut by 1/3 due to the color screen.

Some might say there are more drawbacks and improvements, but just the color alone was incredible. Many later DMB games were released with GBC compatibility, and later, hundreds of GBC-only games were released. The system still feels great to play to this day. It’s clearly the best Gameboy to have, as it can play original games with a slightly better screen. However, if you own both, the slightly larger screen for the original games might be preferred. It’s all down to personal taste, to be honest. We mostly judge these older systems on their libraries, and the Gameboy and GBC libraries are some of the best. Classics like Tetris, Wario Land II, Pokemon, Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario Land, and many more are engrained in millions of people’s minds. As for the original hardware, the only setback is that screen. I wish it had more improvements, and it feels like it could have had more, but at this point, the GBA was probably deep in R&D and only a few years away.

If you get one today, I suggest getting an LCD upgrade at the bare minimum. USB-C and any other mods are optional and not really needed because the system has great battery life already. You can do the mod yourself or buy one custom-built from many shops online. There are so many aftermarket shells, buttons, silicone pads, and even sound mods for these handhelds that have blown up over the last 5 years. It will get to a point where you will have trouble finding someone with an unmodded Gameboy.