Tuesday, February 14, 2012

From the back of my boyhood closet, part three

So, the first two of these "from the back of my boyhood closet" posts featured a Nintendo 64 and a Sega Genesis. The focus of this one: The shiny, blue GameBoy Pocket seen in the photos below.


I know it looks like it's in immaculate condition, but it's actually a bit scuffed up (especially its backside). Still, the screen's in great shape, which is all that really matters to me.

The best part of digging this system out of the back of my childhood closet: It had a copy of Wario Land II stuck inside of it!


Unfortunately, I couldn't find Wario Land II's box or case (you know how important that is to me). Who knows, though, maybe I'll find them the next time I pay my parents a visit.

See also: Previous 'from the back of my boyhood closet' posts

30 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Sweet! I've still got mine...somewhere...that is one system I don't have stashed in our apartment. But my GBA plays the Gameboy games...so...there's that.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Justin! I'll probably play my GB games on this system from now on. I have a GBA SP, but I don't like how it puts a border around GB games when it plays them. Also, the carts jut out from the bottom of the system quite a bit. Gosh, I really am picky, aren't I? :P

Kimimi said...

That's a lovely looking GB! I skipped straight from the original GB to the Colour, but I wouldn't mind finding one of those in my wardrobe at all ^^~

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'm with you, Bryan. I never really liked how the setup on that system worked...from the either tiny screen or stretched aspect ratio to the way it as like a tongue sticking out...

David said...

As I have huge gaps in my gaming history, I didn't play any Gameboy games until a few years ago, and I was shocked that people tolerated the non-backlit screen for as long as they did. So it's GBA SP all the way for me! Of course, I've picked up a couple GB and GBC systems in my travels, and I am a packrat, so I can't really part with them...

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks, Kimimi! Yeah, it's a nice looking system, isn't it? I have to admit that I prefer the aesthetics of the original GB to the Pocket (and esp. the Color), but that doesn't mean I'm going to turn up my nose at this particular find :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Justin: Yeah, I wish you there were a few more options RE: how the GBA SP plays GB games. How about making the game fill the screen, but not stretching the image--kind of like how the 3DS can play DS games? Oh, well, at least I can play GB games on this system...

Bryan Ochalla said...

David: Oh, I agree with you. The lack of backlighting is terrible! It makes playing games on any of the old GBs pretty painful, IMO.

BTW, are you the same David who raced against myself, Justin and Robb (Fooster, I believe), last night? If so, thanks for joining us! I had a really good time :)

Retr0gamer said...

Been looking for a GB for ages but every time I come across one that's a decent price the screen is scratched to pieces. I used to own one and loved it but it was stolen from me when I went to a gaeltacht summer school (Irish language school basically) by one of the guysin the house I was staying at :/ Hope I get my hands on a pea soup green screened beauty soon!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, you want an original GB, Retr0gamer? If so, I salute you! I have to warn you that they're a bit difficult to enjoy these days -- due to the lack of a backlight, as mentioned above -- but the systems sure do look good :)

I'm not surprised to hear that it's currently hard to find old GBs with pristine screens and cheap pricetags, unfortunately. It's hard to find old GBs with pristine screens period, so I'm guessing folks who have them -- and who are looking to sell them -- have the upper hand.

Anyway, I hope you find one sooner rather than later. Any particular games you're looking forward to playing again?

Retr0gamer said...

I recently bought all the Warioland games so want to play them, I think it's an injustice to play them on a GBA :) Also would like to give Links Awakening a go since I only ever played it a bit in a friends house. I had Megaman 3 and really enjoyed it but it's lost now so wouldn't mind giving the MM games on GB a go. Also I know every other vania fan hates it but I kind of linked Castlevania adventure so want to play that and the other two vania games again.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, sounds like you've got a load of games to play, Retr0gamer :) I feel like I played Castlevania Adventure back in the day, but I'm not entirely sure. Why do most folks hate it?

As for me, I really want an OG GameBoy so I can play games like Tetris, Tennis, Alleyway, etc. Oh, and the Final Fantasy Legends games!

Retr0gamer said...

Yo put it bluntly, they don't like it because it's not very good :) The controls are really stiff, Simon Belmont's walking speed is challenged by snails. Some of the jumps are ridiculous and you'll find yourself lining up the edge of the jump with the pixels in the player sprites feet. It's quite short as well with only four levels although it's stupid hard. However I played it so much that I got over those niggles and ended up enjoying it but I can definitely see why it's hated and can understand! I do really like the music in it though.

Belmont's Revenge is a much better game to play and the music is fantastic.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, well, when you put it that way, Retr0gamer, I guess I can understand why so many gamers think it stinks! That said, I understand how personal experience -- and nostalgia -- can overcome such "issues" :)

Anonymous said...

Noo! You've beaten me to the punch! I just found my gameboy pocket too. I was going to write on it. Oh well. I like the photographs you took. Really nice color.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Well, you can write about your GB Pocket, too, Daniel! What color is yours, by the way?

Unknown said...

What a lovely color! As I mentioned on a blog post long ago, I miraculously skipped much of the Nintendo handheld console early years. I do still have my original GameBoy! And what a brick it is.

As for games, all I ever had for it was: Tetris 2, Link's Awakening DX, Super Mario Land, and the spin-off Pocahontas game. I wasn't much of a gamer back then, but man, I remember Pocahontas being really hard! I also have very vivid memories playing a WarioLand game... I don't know which it was, though. Since I never had any friends who played games back then it must've been my own copy that I subsequently lost. What a shame :(

Bryan Ochalla said...

Anne: Yeah, the original GameBoy is a brick, isn't it? Still, I love its design. So iconic :)

It's interesting that you have such vivid memories of playing the Pocahontas game. I never even knew such a game existed!

Super Mario Land and Link's Awakening, though -- now *there* are some good portable games. SML's graphics are rather pitiful today, I guess, but when the game first came out I thought they were great :)

Sean said...

I agree with apricotsushi about the color, it is quite nice.

In 1989 when I got my NES, my parents gave my sister a Game Boy, so it created an odd balance of video game power in our family. When we were in the house, I had the upper hand. When we were in the car though, she had the monopoly on gaming thanks to that GameBoy.

MimiPRGameFreak said...

Nice! I got the original GameBoy when I was just 6 years old from my aunt and still have it. I would play everyday and almost anywhere lol. Played a lot of Pokemon also. Should be still working. Sadly I never got a GameBoy pocket, but I did get the GameBoy Color exactly when the Pokemon: Gold and Silver came out. Then I got the GameBoy Advance. I still have all three GameBoys. Had great memories. =)

- The Girl Gamer

Bryan Ochalla said...

Sean: I love that story! I'm sure you didn't love it when you were a kid, but now it probably seems kind of cute.

As for the color of this particular GB Pocket: I'm kind of surprised I bought it, to tell you the truth. I tend to buy only black, white or gray/silver systems, you see. In fact, I think this is one of the only systems I own that isn't one of those three colors. (My red 3DS is another.) That said, I quite like this shiny shade of blue, too.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Those are great stories, too, Girl Gamer :) I like that you still have your original GameBoy. I don't think you should feel too bad about not owning a GB Pocket, by the way. They're nice little systems, but if you have a regular GB, a GB Color and a GBA, there's really no reason to own a Pocket unless you just have to own every GB in existence (something I wouldn't turn up my nose at, of course!).

Marco Grande Arbitro said...

As a child I always wanted a gameboy. I have not had many consoles, we played with those of friends. I remember my father when I cover the SNES ... Remember that!

Bryan Ochalla said...

So, Marco, you always wanted one but never got one, or did you eventually get a GameBoy?

Of all the portable systems in existence, I think I'll always look back at the original GameBoy as my favorite. It was an amazing thing when it was released---you could play Nintendo games any time, anywhere! Sure, the screen was the color of split-pea soup, but that didn't keep me from wanting it more than anything else at that point in my life.

Along with that, the design of the system is really great, IMO. Yes, it's huge and brick-like, but it's attractive all the same. Nice lines and colors, comfortable to hold, etc. Honestly, I want to buy an in-perfect-working-order one at some point just so I can stare at it :P

Drew said...

Man, my favorite game of all time is on the GBC, shame I don't actually own the system. This makes me want one. And was cool seeing that game again. I played Warioland sooooo much as a kid. It's one of the games I keep forgetting about whenever I go on a shopping spree.

Bryan Ochalla said...

So, which GBC game is your all-time favorite, Drew? You can't mention something like that and then not spill the beans :P

I've never actually owned a GBC, by the way. And original GB, yes, and a GB Pocket, too (obviously). No GBC, though.

Drew said...

Yeah I guess I can't mention it and not give the name... that's no fair.

It's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Some people will laugh, but I love Harry Potter and it's a fantastic RPG, so it's kind of a blend of two super awesome things. Makes for a wonderful game, and of course I played through it many, many times throughout middle and high school, so tons of nostalgia. =)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, eh? I've never even seen the GBC version of that game. I guess I'll have to check it out. I love the idea of it being an RPG :)

Drew said...

Yeah it somehow got lost among all the other variations on the game when the movie came out. The console ones are alright, I played the Gamecube one as a kid, but there's not much depth to them really.

Most people know of the Chamber of Secrets on the Gameboy Advance, which is pretty mediocre.

Seems like most people never knew there were Gameboy Color games made, and I suppose it's because that system was already getting sort of old at the time, and most fans of the Harry Potter series were younger so that probably factors into it as well.

But the GBC version of Chamber of Secrets sticks really closely to the story, so for die-hard fans like myself it's perfect. Probably put hundreds of hours into that game over the years. =)

Bryan Ochalla said...

I'm really going to have to look into this now, Drew. It sounds very interesting! Thanks for turning me onto it :)