The Game: The Boy and The Gear

[TransatlanticFoe]

There's also the converter that allows Master System games to be run on the Game Gear. At school both kids I knew with Game Gears had one, because every other kid had a Master System (they were about £50 at one point!). Though I'd imagine it doesn't do anything clever, so games from about 1992 onwards would probably run too fast on the GG's 60 Hz output.

[NYN]

Meanwhile: Game Boy selected titles are now part of Nintendo Switch Online, with Color options and even a GBC game like Wario Land 3. Game Boy Advance games are part of the +Expansion Set and require, as with N64, more coinage.

Just the starter games, The Six Golden Coins is the first Mario, omitting SML for now. It will be at least some kind of quality meter to the claim of "classic material", I feel. Until now I could very well resist Online, since I don't subscribe on principle. Silly to have an selected "all" or none, though this is how the moola flows.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

That's pretty much how the Switch Online emulator bundles have operated since day one. Their selection of games are pretty narrow and often deliberately omit sequels so they can release them down the road for additional hype. Part of it's likely minimizing how much they pay third parties to offer their games, but it's still strange to see the NES bundle offer Lolo 1 but not 2 or 3. The games on offer are not necessarily that good (there's a lot of Nintendo made ones on the NES that are of minimal interest), and there's plenty of great games for the system that aren't included.

The hilarious part is you're sometimes paying for a worse experience, as with Pilotwings 64. Sure, they made it so it now runs at 60 FPS and looks pretty, but one of the better events, the Birdman (which is a reward for getting above a certain medal ranking in events as well as finding secret stars hidden in levels), requires button mashing to play. The rate at which you need to press it expected the game to be at 30 FPS, and wasn't adjusted, so it's now basically unplayable as the mashing speed required to stay airborne is unbelievably fast. Since Birdman is really fun to play to chill out with normally, you might as well just play it in an N64 emulator and not miss out on the experience.

[XoPachi]

Man, it's so inventive how Wario Land switched from traditional powerups to powerups being status effects in the form of p a i n inflicted on Wario by enemies. I feel like I've never seen that besides Wario Land 2-4. That was such a defining and brilliant gimmick. Also highlights how indestructible Wario is..

Wario is the best.

[BryanM]

Another way Pokemon was practically made for the platform: palette limitations. Blasted, infuriating, evil palette limitations.

A human being requires about five colors on average, minimum, to paint. A color for their skin and hair. A couple for their clothes/weapons. And black for matte outlining.

So almost all sprites on the gameboy color only have two stupid unique colors. And the third is black. So tricks or compromises have to be employed. An extremely low number of sprites on screen like Shantae so you can stack a bunch of them on top of one another without breaking the sprite limit. The old timeworn "transform transparent into black by using a black background" trick from the NES days.

One way to go is given up on the ambition of including humanoids and their stupid stuff altogether. Two colors is almost enough for a lizard or a dog or whatever.

... what's really annoying is greyscale is almost better than color thanks to the cursed palette size of these systems. Everything could look so much better, if only black was standard as an extra color. Greyscale only conveys luminosity, so two shades is plenty.

[NYN]

I got my hands on a Darkwing Duck GB cart where instead of CAPCOM there is SunSoft in it's place. Can't find further information on the Nutnet. Did they do the port from NES? Publish? Did they develop it? Is it a misprint? Odd thing.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

As per: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gameboy/1 ... duck/boxes

It looks like it was developed by Capcom, and in the US Sunsoft handled the publishing, whereas in the EU Capcom handled the publishing. Bit unusual, but not totally out of the ordinary.

[NYN]

Thanks! It's a bit misleading developer-wise, though I imagine this could've been corrected later.
As said, it's the first I ever recognized those Disney toon licenses for not having CAPCOM on it.

[BrianC]

AFAIK, Darkwing Duck was a re-release and also had a Capcom published version in the US. Sunsoft also re-released some Square Soft GB games.

Edit: There are defintely carts, manuals, and boxes out there with the red boxed Capcom USA logo.

[NYN]

AFAIK, Darkwing Duck was a re-release and also had a Capcom published version in the US.

Yes, that fits with that I've never seen the SunSoft before. The year of release, with all the stuff aside frome handheld, it would be easy to overlook the D0T MATRIX port. Sure that didn't happen to the NES one. Nevermind, I played it first somewhat late 90s. Mis-remembering that I cleared it maybe? Dunno. I rember the final boss. Yet, is that from screens in mags? Not convinced I beat that then, though there is no password. Was I tuff'nuff for it? I'll just make new momories of it! Music bops!

[BareKnuckleRoo]

This discussion reminded me I have a copy of Final Fantasy Legend for the GB that has Sunsoft on it which always struck me as odd... and turns out it was a reprint! It seems Sunsoft bought the rights to do reprints of a number of GB titles from several different developers: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gameboy/5 ... gend/boxes

Interesting stuff to learn!

[BrianC]

Nintendo also re-released a few GB games in their "Player's Choice" line, including a couple Capcom ones. Most Duck Tales 2 I have seen in the wild are the reprint and I wrongly assumed that it was the only US release of the game, though there were games in the line that didn't have a previous US release like Mickey Mouse Magic Wands (aka Mickey Mouse V).

This discussion reminded me I have a copy of Final Fantasy Legend for the GB that has Sunsoft on it which always struck me as odd... and turns out it was a reprint! It seems Sunsoft bought the rights to do reprints of a number of GB titles from several different developers: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gameboy/5 ... gend/boxes

Interesting stuff to learn!

Yes. They even had print ads in magazines advertising their reprints of Final Fantasy Legend 1-3 and FFA.

[NYN]

Interesting stuff to learn!

Glad to hear my ramblings lead to something you could take away from it. From old to new.

Cleared 1cc. Play felt a bit stiff at first, and find it now very lean. Or my forgotten experience returned somehow.
More forgiving then GB MM. Bonus rounds get old fast, the following more then the first. Bosses vary the MM formula for the better, some, like Quackerjack, don't even have attack patterns and only evade.

[Lemnear]

I'm glad to never had a portable console, or i would end like all those idiots walking around searching for pokemons with their smartphones during Pokemon Go period...even at nights! even in the woods!!! at the lake! Everywhere!!!.

BUT, i've found my uncles Game Gear at my centenary olds grandma house one day.
The console was already old, with a little bunch of games with it...
Maybe was the atmosphere of that house, the panorama, the fact that this Game Gear was abandoned (but working) + how it sounds!.
Was so magical !!!

I still own it, it works, maybe the screen is not bright as it used to be, not at a normal inclination at least.

Loved GG Shinobi II the most!

Spoiler

There was also a piano at my grandma home...sometimes i playing some songs i've listen on the GG, the home was on an hill with an endless visual on the sunset.

[AZA]

Been enjoying Money Idol Exchanger on GB. It’s one of my favs now. It even is still good next to the MVS version because it has a more laid back, chill kind of feel. The arcade gets frantic a bit too fast for me.