"Gameboy: The Two Powers"

Back in the early 1990's, Nintendo created a system that changed the face of the planet forever. This huge handheld system single handedly opened the doors to other companies like Sega and those other guys that no one heard of to jump onto the handheld console market, but no one could compete with Nintendo. Then in the mid 90's, Nintendo thought it would be an awesome idea to introduce an upgrade to this system by making it smaller and use less battery power. The result was the invention of the Gameboy Pocket. And with these two super powers introduced into the world that could play over 300 something games, you would think that they would be unstoppable! Too bad so many flaws attacked this system from being the perfect system though.

The Systems
Gameboy Classic
The classic Gameboy system is so recognizable you would know it if you saw it in any display case. The Gameboy classic is about the size of a TI-83 calculator, and double the size! The fat little system is big enough so that you know exactly what you are playing, yet comfortable enough for you to know exactly what you're doing. On the surface of the Gameboy is the directional pad, the start and select buttons, the A and B buttons, and the main screen with the official Gameboy logo on it! And on the lower right hand corner is your speaker, which will provide you tons of sounds that this little bad boy can produce. To the right is a small hole that will allow you to plug in an AC adaptor to play with unlimited battery power, and the contrast wheel, which will allow you to change the shading of the game so that you can see what you are playing. On the top of the system is the Power switch and the cartridge slot which will let you put in your game! To the left is your volume wheel which will allow you to adjust your volume to a point where you can hear the music and your game link spot that will let you play a 2 player game with a friend. On the bottom of the Gameboy is a hole to put in a set of headphones for stereo sound. On the back is the opening that may or may not be covered by a battery cover that can support four AA batteries. You may think that's a bunch of batteries, but keeping in mind that your system will run for about 30 hours or something is good enough for the Gameboy to keep you entertained for a good long while. As an added bonus, around the end of the Gameboy Classic's life (around 1994 or something), Nintendo introduced the 'Play It Loud' series that introduced COLORED Gameboy systems! Not only did you have your classic grey, but now you had your choice of Clear, Red, Black, Yellow, and Green, and of course the standard promotional colors that Nintendo did once in a while.

Gameboy Pocket
The Gameboy Pocket easily takes what made the original Gameboy a smash hit and makes it so that you can take it anywhere much easier! Using half the size of the classic already, the Gameboy Pocket already has one advantage over the original. On the front of the Gameboy Pocket is everything that was on the original, but much smaller! The entire layout is the same as well, except for the redesigned link cable which was made to become much smaller to be able to make this system even more portable than before. The AC adaptor is smaller as well to make use of the exteriors smaller size. The system even uses less batteries by using TWO AAA BATTERIES instead of the whopping' four the classic system did. The system even had a nice selection of six colors to choose from as well as limited edition Gameboy's that came out much later.

The Sounds
Gameboy Classic and Pocket
The classic Gameboy had a speaker that just would not quit back in the day, although mine is starting to disagree with me. The speaker at its prime could easily be played loud enough so that you could make out the music over even a vacuum cleaner. After the system gets older though, you'll need headphones to be able to hear everything, but even though this problem won't happen for years (well...back in 1990 at least), that problem will come and bite you in the butt one day, and you won't hear it. The other problem is that both Gameboy's have the speaker in the lower right hand corner, and if you either have big hands and don't hold the Gameboy like you should (thumb over the buttons, hand covering the back) then your sound will become muffled quite easily, especially on the Pocket since it is much smaller than the classic.

The Graphics
Gameboy Classic and Pocket
The graphics for both systems are exactly the same. Both are on par with the NES, but you would never know it since the graphics are all in black and white and have a blur effect whenever you move your character down the screen. With the NES rapidly becoming better by each game it produced, the Gameboy at least doesn't look as bad as some of the first games produced for the NES, yet at the same time can produce graphics similar to the SNES. Ever see Links Awakening? I thought it was the same game as the SNES at first glance!

The Games
As well as most every other gaming system to have ever come around, the Gameboy has an impressive lifespan and an equally impressive amount of games. With a library of over 500 some odd games, the Gameboy has something for everyone! Like action? You got it! Like RPGs? You got it! Below is a list of the best of the best!

Action:
With hot titles like Super Mario Land, Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening, and Donkey Kong, the Gameboy has everything you would ever need in a console for your action needs! With the action library containing the vast majority of Gameboy titles, you will more than likely find something that you'll enjoy!

RPG:
With the RPG industry pretty much wiping out the entire market, you can be sure that there will be something on the Gameboy to fall into this category. With classics like Pokemon, the Final Fantasy Legends series (don't let the name fool you), and many more, you can be sure to be entertained on the go.

Puzzle:
This system alone brought us Tetris. Enough said. And if that isn't enough, there's also Dr. Mario and Yoshi to keep you entertained.

Other games on this classic system fall into the categories of Sports, Fighting, and Racing, but since there aren't many games in this category that are worth mentioning, I won't go into full detail!

So is the ten bucks worth it?
At ten bucks, you can get both Gameboy's! With the two systems, you can go anywhere and play a game wherever you go! Think of the benefits of playing this game in class one day when your teacher is going on and on about a boring lecture of something you have forgotten in ten minutes. Bust out the Gameboy Pocket! Got large hands? Use the Gameboy Classic! With two systems remotely the same in everything but size, what do you have to lose? Get one today!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/10/04